Julian Assange just made matters worse

[Riverwind (imported)]

Then again it might just be that no charges will ever be filed, just the threat of them and look at what its doing to him.

River

[Cainanite (imported)]

You want an honest outside view of the USA? How do people around the world view the USA? Look no further than this case.

The USA is powerful. Its reach is long, and its influence deep. It doesn't even operate by its own rules. It is something to be frightened of.

Assange is afraid, and with good reason. He wouldn't be the first person to be disappeared by the USA.

[A-1 (imported)]

You want an honest outside view of the USA? How do people around the world view the USA? Look no further than this case.

The USA is powerful. Its reach is long, and its influence deep. It doesn't even operate by its own rules. It is something to be frightened of.

Assange is afraid, and with good reason. He wouldn't be the first person to be disappeared by the USA.

Maybe I should have said that he should be shot like JFK, then. I feel that the citizens of the U.S. are not the only ones at risk. Nobody is safe here or anywhere else.

What did he gain by his actions?

[BossTamsin (imported)]

You want an honest outside view of the USA? How do people around the world view the USA? Look no further than this case.

The USA is powerful. Its reach is long, and its influence deep. It doesn't even operate by its own rules. It is something to be frightened of.

Assange is afraid, and with good reason. He wouldn't be the first person to be disappeared by the USA.

Seriously here. Then again, you want him out of that embassy and on US soil without caring about his rights? Don't charge him with any secrecy violations. Charge him with copyright violations. Worked for the persecution of Kim Dotcom....

[DavidB (imported)]

One of the other things in this matter that somewhat bothers me is the rather cavalier manner in which Great Britain has so casually tossed away diplomatic immunity and the whole concept of 'foreign soil' when it comes to Assange. Sure, they haven't yet stormed the embassy, but they have actually talked about it and considered it. Right now, he is a man facing no criminal charges, anywhere. Yet Britain has considered essentially invading a foreign country to arrest him. And they've outright announced that they will invade if he sets foot into a diplomatic car. (As far as I know, diplomatic cars enjoy the same legal protection as the embassy itself, namely, it's foreign soil, legally part of the embassy's country.)

Why can't Sweden perform their investigations via remote conferencing, at least in the preliminary stages? Why can't that be enough to get them the information they need to actually FILE CHARGES and start proceedings? Hell, if that's not good enough, and they're convinced enough of his guilt to get another country to INVADE Ecuador just to detain/arrest him, why can't they file formal charges right now, and deal with interrogating him once he's in custody?

Tell ya what, screw due process, how would you feel if you were holed up in a US embassy somewhere, and the country you were in was talking about storming it just to arrest you, on the basis of a suspicion that you were somehow involved in a crime in a third country? Not that you were involved, not that they had proof, but that they figured you were involved. Plus there were no guarantees in place that if you were taken to this third country for questioning in relation to these alleged crimes, that you wouldn't be shipped to a fourth or fifth country for 'enhanced interrogation', or to be shut into a cell without a trial, never to see the light of day again?

Every single fucking American on this board should be disgusted over this. One of the founding tenets of the whole goddamn country was 'innocent until proven guilty in a court of law'. It doesn't matter what the hell he was accused of. It doesn't matter what the hell you think of him as a person. It doesn't even matter what the hell he actually did. Either press fucking charges against him, let him have his day in court, or leave him the hell alone. To do anything else is to completely violate everything your country is supposed to stand for.

I have been living in London for the last 2 years, I dont know where you are getting your intel from, but nobody over here has ever actually suggested invading the embassy, that is just pure BS. And nobody over here believes he isnt guilty of the sex charges either.

[DavidB (imported)]

You want an honest outside view of the USA? How do people around the world view the USA? Look no further than this case.

The USA is powerful. Its reach is long, and its influence deep. It doesn't even operate by its own rules. It is something to be frightened of.

Assange is afraid, and with good reason. He wouldn't be the first person to be disappeared by the USA.

Thats just crazy talk.

[kristoff]

I have been living in London for the last 2 years, I dont know where you are getting your intel from, but nobody over here has ever actually suggested invading the embassy, that is just pure BS. And nobody over here believes he isnt guilty of the sex charges either.

Actually, there was an official of either the police or forign ministry who was quoted as saying they could and might invade the embassy. Can't lay my hands on the citation at the moment, off to work.

[A-1 (imported)]

Actually, there was an official of either the police or forign ministry who was quoted as saying they could and might invade the embassy. Can't lay my hands on the citation at the moment, off to work.

As I said, nobody is really safe. Look at what happened in Libya just recently.

[Riverwind (imported)]

Seriously here. Then again, you want him out of that embassy and on US soil without caring about his rights? Don't charge him with any secrecy violations. Charge him with copyright violations. Worked for the persecution of Kim Dotcom....

America the good the bad and the ugly.

Who are we, really?

We are a people who come from every corner of the earth, we came here speaking every language known to man and within a generation only speak English, not British English or the Queens English but American English and we also speak bad English.

We don't have a monarch nor do we have titles, everybody is equal.

We are the most generous people on the planet bar none, we give from our heart to a cause at a drop of a hat and not ask why. We make a very loyal friend, but don't piss us off.

We have the biggest military in the world, we are in over 150 countries and several we are their only military.

We are the good cop on the beat, but we can be the bad cop just as easy.

We are fair and just to everybody and always have been, except for the way we treated our own native American, the Blacks we brought over from Africa as slaves, the indentured servants we brought from Europe, every group of people who came to this country looking for freedom had to pay their dues, by being on the very bottom of society for a generation and then some, and don't forget that we locked up Americans in WWII who's only crime was that they were of Japanese heritage and even today we are displacing Native Americans in Alaska because the dollar is more important then them.

But we are fair, we treat everybody the same.

We are the bully of the world, its part of who we are. We can be your best friend or worst enemy at the flip of a coin.

We are at our very best when we are doing all the things I have stated above to include arguing with each other, because put two Americans together in a room and the argument will start, its who we are.

We argue about everything, sports, states rights over federal rights, the environment of business, regulations of free enterprise, we see the world from the Far Right to the Far Left and everything in between.

We are at our very best when we are doing all of these things, when you need to duck and cover and make sure your not in our line of sight is when were all on the same page. That is when we are at our most dangerous, right and wrong no longer matters, we no longer care what the law says, we act as one and let the chips fall were they may and we have no regret for our actions.

We are a complex people for sure, but this is who we are for good or bad we are Americans.

Julian Assange is in our cross hairs we have him in our sights.

To my two friends from the wonderful country to the north of us, I can only add this. What you both have said above is totally correct, and I believe most of us agree with you on this, but right now on this issue, Americans are all on the same page. (see above) sorry.

River

[A-1 (imported)]

So if he is not guilty of anything, why is he hiding and why did he stiff his benefactors, you see nobody likes a guy like Assange.

River

Driving home I saw a possum who had been hit by a truck. IT was pretty messy. SO... why would a possum run out in front of a truck?

Gee, I don't know.

Why would this Assange guy post on the Internet the business of the Armed forces and the American government?

Hmmm...

Maybe the possum had the "right of way".

Aren't pedestrians supposed to be given the "right of way" at all times?

My mother told me when I was learning to drive that there were a LOT of people in the cemetery who had "the right of way" and that it had not made ANY of them less dead.

...and maybe the possum is just road kill who had the "right of way" and nobody considers that the poor possum was "just a pedestrian"... on all fours... who could not move too quickly out of harm's way.

...and maybe Assange is going to be road kill and maybe it is HIS OWN DAMNED FAULT...

...because he is as stupid as a possum who challenges a truck for "right of way"...

ASS_ange, indeed!!!

...so what would you have us do? ...outlaw TRUCKS in America?