Assange Arrested in London

[rareboy]

Well, let the flaying, drawing and quartering begin in earnest.

Or boiling in oil.

Or eating his own penis while watching them make the incision on his chest to pull his beating heart out.

I'm sure that many of you will be able to imagine much more elaborate punishments for his sins against the State Department.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Lawyer--WikiLeaks--Assange-Arrested-in-London-111434179.html

But wait...big surprise. Saudi Arabia and Gulf States are accused of funding terrorism!!!

U.S. diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks are accusing Saudi Arabia and several other Gulf states of being the source of funding for a number of terror groups. The cables say much of the money is donated during the Muslim pilgrimage, when it is difficult to keep track of financial transactions.

Observers continue to dissect the latest documents released by Wikileaks, among them apparent accusations by U.S. diplomats that a major source of financing for terrorist groups, including al Qaida, comes from Saudi Arabia.

Press reports say the documents also point a finger at several other Gulf states, including Qatar and Kuwait, as being lax in tracking down residents who donate money to such groups.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news...Gulf-States-Terrorist-Funding--111397039.html

 

[swerve]

Something really bothers me about this...

I mean, didn't they already look into the rape charges LAST TIME he revealed documents? And then dismissed them for no merit???

Whether it is true or not, I almost feel like OUR government is pressuring OTHER governments to stop this guy irregardless...

And that bothers me -- A LOT...

Although, I suppose if he was picking on Russia or China -- they would have had him assassinated by now...

Also -- I though he had some sort of "safety net" in place JUST IN CASE he was arrested -- where even MORE SENSITIVE documents would be released automatically...

On the other had -- if he REALLY DID rape someone -- he SHOULD be held accountable...

I can't make up my mind on this...

 

[kallipolis]

The Guardian is providing minute, to minute coverage of Assange's arrest; the background to the Swedish public prosecutor's rape insinuations, and extradition request:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

To paraphrase, and misquote a wiser man, than I:

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Berlin 1963,

"Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was Civis Romanus Sum ( I am a citizen of Rome). Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ..."
Ich bin Julian Assange.

 

[Lostlover]

The Swedish police were sloppy before this current arrest. They either blew off the allegations at lower levels or didn't completely fill out the proper forms thus making the extradition void.

I don't think Sweden plays the mercenary game either for other countries. Aren't they supposed to be neutral in international affairs?

Something really bothers me about this...

I mean, didn't they already look into the rape charges LAST TIME he revealed documents? And then dismissed them for no merit???

Whether it is true or not, I almost feel like OUR government is pressuring OTHER governments to stop this guy irregardless...

And that bothers me -- A LOT...

Although, I suppose if he was picking on Russia or China -- they would have had him assassinated by now...

Also -- I though he had some sort of "safety net" in place JUST IN CASE he was arrested -- where even MORE SENSITIVE documents would be released automatically...

On the other had -- if he REALLY DID rape someone -- he SHOULD be held accountable...

I can't make up my mind on this...

 

[Corny]

Something really bothers me about this...
Whether it is true or not, I almost feel like OUR government is pressuring OTHER governments to stop this guy irregardless...

you FEEL like this? it is pretty obvious .. just look what happened to the website and his accounts in the last week ..

The Swedish police were sloppy before this current arrest. They either blew off the allegations at lower levels or didn't completely fill out the proper forms thus making the extradition void.

I don't think Sweden plays the mercenary game either for other countries. Aren't they supposed to be neutral in international affairs?

you obviously don't follow net politics much. on pressure of the US sweden has tried to take down the pirate bay (torrent website) multiple times, although the website is legal under swedish law.

 

[Corny]

oh by the way .. osama bin laden, enemy #1 is still free

 

[JB3]

oh by the way .. osama bin laden, enemy #1 is still free

What's your point?

 

[JB3]

you FEEL like this? it is pretty obvious .. just look what happened to the website and his accounts in the last week ..



you obviously don't follow net politics much. on pressure of the US sweden has tried to take down the pirate bay (torrent website) multiple times, although the website is legal under swedish law.

A TORRENT website is apples and oranges compared to this. The fact that you would even bring it up makes me question whether you are at all interested in discussing this rationally.

 

[justapixel]

What's your point?

We must rank our criminals. Then arrest them in order.

 

[Corny]

A TORRENT website is apples and oranges compared to this. The fact that you would even bring it up makes me question whether you are at all interested in discussing this rationally.

hu? YOU said

I don't think Sweden plays the mercenary game either for other countries. Aren't they supposed to be neutral in international affairs?

and I brought up an example how they are NOT neutral and how they ARE playing the mercenary game for a much less important topic. I didn't compare anything.

If you can't distinguish that, I am not sure what you are even doing in this discussion ..

 

[Kulindahr]

The whole set off accusations against Assnage on this are bogus. The two women had sex with him by consent -- they've said so. One got frightened after he'd left, when they'd had sex without a condom. She tried everything she could think of to find him, and came into contact with the other. They exhausted their resources, and went to the police for help finding him. They made no claim he'd harmed them in any way, they just wanted him to get tested for STDs.

This was spun into a crime by Swedish police. There's no substance to it.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS...ia_ow=t0:s0:a49:g43:r2:c0.052632:b40103542:z0

 

[Corny]

that's why he was not arrested while he was still in sweden. then this woman took over .. the one that wrote an article about "how to frame your husband"
there is a swedish law that considers sex somehow as somewhat of "rape" if the "partner feels bad" afterwards.
their sex was consensual, it is all documented .. yet the media doesn't stop writing about "rape"

 

[Kulindahr]

that's why he was not arrested while he was still in sweden. then this woman took over .. the one that wrote an article about "how to frame your husband"
there is a swedish law that considers sex somehow as somewhat of "rape" if the "partner feels bad" afterwards.
their sex was consensual, it is all documented .. yet the media doesn't stop writing about "rape"

If Sweden's law is that much a whiner-empowerer, I think he's got a good case against extradition. Britain should tell Sweden "Your law is uncivilized" and tell Assange to stick around as long as he wants.

 

[andysayshi]

Sweden's rape laws are some of the most ambiguous on the planet. Consensual sex can be deemed rape in many circumstances, and woman are often infantilised by a system that says "a victim is not a jury" - cases are often pursued whether the woman deems herself to be a victim or not!

Assange's case has highlighted the very wacky laws to the rest of the world.

Assange is now being represented by Geoffrey Robertson, an Australian-born lawyer who is probably the most highly regarded extradition lawyer in the world, and who specialises in Scandinavian issues. Robertson is something of a celebrity in Australia - he used to have a fascinating TV show called Hypotheticals, where he would pose complex and ethically challenging questions to politicians and celebrities of the day. He's an incredibly intelligent man, so it will be interesting to see how the case proceeds.

 

[Corny]

Britain should tell Sweden "Your law is uncivilized" and tell Assange to stick around as long as he wants.

I believe even for "real rape" (this somehow feels disgusting to write) there wasn't ever an international arrest warrant issued .. or? I am not sure. Yet in his case.

We will see if the UK will continue to be the US lapdog ..

 

[Kulindahr]

Sweden's rape laws are some of the most ambiguous on the planet. Consensual sex can be deemed rape in many circumstances, and woman are often infantilised by a system that says "a victim is not a jury" - cases are often pursued whether the woman deems herself to be a victim or not!

Assange's case has highlighted the very wacky laws to the rest of the world.

Assange is now being represented by Geoffrey Robertson, an Australian-born lawyer who is probably the most highly regarded extradition lawyer in the world, and who specialises in Scandinavian issues. Robertson is something of a celebrity in Australia - he used to have a fascinating TV show called Hypotheticals, where he would pose complex and ethically challenging questions to politicians and celebrities of the day. He's an incredibly intelligent man, so it will be interesting to see how the case proceeds.

Wow.
In strict Islamic countries, it isn't rape unless the guy who did it agrees it's rape; in Sweden apparently it can be rape even if both parties say it isn't.

Bogus.


That sounds like a kool TV shows. It would be fun to do internationally, and not have to get the permission of the "guests".....

Seems to me Robertson has got a good position to work from. The British like their laws tidy, and that Swedish law is anything but.

 

[T-Rexx]

The Daily Mail has a good description of the events in Sweden and the "merits" (or lack thereof) of this case.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...nges-2-night-stands-spark-worldwide-hunt.html

Whatever you may think of Assange, this is very clearly a trumped-up charge to try and get him to the USA. Swedish authorities re-activated the case in order to get Assange arrested in England. While he is being detained in London, the USA will charge Assange with violations of American intelligence laws, and will petition the UK for extradition to the USA instead of Sweden.

Assange is not, of course, an American citizen and he did not publish the latest WikiLeaks information while he was in the USA. He did not himself steal the information which was published. It is difficult to understand how he would be subject to American law.

But I don't think that's going to make much difference in his case.

 

[Kulindahr]

^ Interesting conjecture.

 

[MoltenRock III]

oh by the way .. osama bin laden, enemy #1 is still free

Of course he is. The CIA nor the US Armed Forces will ever "find" him. If they arrest him, then he gets to present all of the evidence of his CIA payments and cooperation over the last 40 years with the US government. But hey, he's a great boogie man for Americans to get pissy about.

But hey without Osama, the ME countries wouldn't have ever been able to get gasoline up to $3.00 to $4.00 per gallon. LOL! A sucker's born every minute.

 

[T-Rexx]

^ Interesting conjecture.

I can't take credit for the theory. That was the analysis (I believe on NPR) yesterday.