Julian Assange

See this picture on POGS's Russia Today

Look at the lips, the chin, the eyes.

The grease.

Shudder!

Just look at his looks! You can see how creepy he is.

I'm baffled JO4. Your link presented him in quite a good light I thought.

Just a general question for someone to inform me the facts.

I saw a news report (RUssia Today) many weeks ago and they were interviewing Wikileaks workmates and they did not really have a good word for him in the latter stages of Wikileaks workings.
Russia Today is very much a fan of Assange so it was trying to be factual rather than biased, which I think it is at times.

The impression was he had become very arrogant and becoming a celebrity character and he was enjoying that side of his life a bit too much for their liking. Does anyone know what the feelings of Wikileaks are regarding Assange? Do they back him up completely? I don't know because I personally have issues with what they do, that's my choice and I respect that others will vary.

It is simply I am interested to know.

He certainly looks a bit sinister in that second photo!

Yeeuk!!!

"slimy, unsavoury, arrogant"

this man? surely not!

I have always assumed that the powers that be (especially USA ones) are out to get JA because he has published information they wanted kept secret and will probably continue to do so. I also assumed the sex charges were trumped up and if he is taken to Sweden he will either end up in America (and then heaven help him) or he will meet with an unfortunate 'accident'.

Also expecting he will be presented as slimey, unsavoury, arrogant etc. in the media as part of the process of trying to ensure he loses the sympathy of the general public.

One thing JA said was that Angela Merkel was basically a decent person, rather boring as regards scandal. This proves he is telling the truth.

Whatever!

Nanadogsbody, I will not "specify". Mainly because I haven't a clue who it was. I still agree with his opinion though, whoever it was.

I don't think JA did any good whatsoever in exposing emails and such-like that were supposed to be private. In fact, I don't think he has done any good at all by any of his actions.

Like I say, he's a twit. A self seeking one.

Correct bags. Have you actually read some of the atrocities that were committed in our name and hushed up JO? So 'someone on the radio' (specify?) expressed an opinion. Yes, all entitled to opinions, but let's not confuse opinion with fact.

JA and his group deal in facts. I for one am sick of being lied to by our own government and other governments. But to commit atrocities, or allow allies to commit atrocities, and cover them up is not acceptable. No wonder the world is in the state it is.

Sorry for the rant but well.........

Exposure of corruption in the government of the "free" world is all.

Someone suggested on the radio yesterday that we should leave him in the small office in the embassy he is living in, until he comes out screaming.

Sounds ok to me.

He's a twit and has to face the music for what he did. What did he expect to gain by it all?

Just been reading up and yes, Sweden does have a history of cooperating in rendition. There have been several cases and these have involved mainly Eygtians seeking asylum, from the now overthrown Egyptian Governement, and torture.

Rendition to the US by Sweden is most unlikely in this case due to the publicity surrounding it, it tends to be more underhand, which is probably why JA has acted as he has and kept himself in the public eye. However Sweden does have an extradition treaty with the US and it's quite probable that this woud be implemented.

I understood that the sexual charges had already been investigated in Sweden some time ago before this all blew up and it was found there was no case to answe?

BoomerBabe.

I didn't know that about Sweden. How many have they sent to America under rendition laws?. Interested to know as I have never heard anyone before mention Sweden in this way. May make me think a bit harder if true.

Spot on MargaretX. The US need to calm down and take a deep breath. Despite Wikileaks the country is still functioning, no harm has come to anyone because of it, it's just that certain people were made to look foolish, undoubtedly because they are. It's revenge that they're after. Their treatment of the young soldier who gave info to Wikileaks has been appalling and you can't blame Assange for not wanting some of the same whatever you think of him. Apparantly, Sweden has a bad record of rendition to the US so may not be totally trustworthy.

If I were J.A. I would not believe a word of having fair trial in the US either. They have been exposed and he exposed them. He knows where the danger for him lies. He made them look ridiculous and that is the thing that the US really can't take.
On Radio 4 this lunchtime the man from Sweden seemed to think that he would be tried in Sweden for the sexual assault crime and that would be the end of it. Either an embassy has diplomatic immunity or not and if it has then the British Government can't legally to anything about it.

As I have mentioned on GN before. I translated for a German man in court, who had been beaten up by US soldiers.When it came to finding witnesses we learned that the US Army had flown all the suspects and witnesses home a few days before the proceedings.

Technically we are able to take way the diplomatic immunity of an embassy so it is no longer considered belonging to that country. However if the government were ever to do this then it opens the door for other countries to do the same to British Embassies around the world.

Somehow this all smacks of us being manipulated by the US government....yet again.

Am I alone is finding something slightly creepy about the guy?
If he is truly innocent of the sexual assault charges, why won't he allow the Swedish police to question him? He seems to have many influential friends in this country and I just wonder if he feels he is somehow above the law.
As for the Wikileaks issue, again I feel ambivalent. There must be some rhyme and reason for national security - even if the US seems paranoid, and terrorism is a real threat.
Two wrongs don't make a right and if lives have been endangered by his revelations, that is wrong.

After what I said earlier, I've checked on the law and the Ecuadorian Embassy. The entrance to the block the Embassy is in is shared with a number of other organisations so the lobby is not Ecuadorian territory. And the law was introduced to control the designation of premises as Embassy territory after the murder of Yvonne Fletcher. There are limitations on diplomatic immunity which our ambassador in Quito pointed out to the Ecuadorian government. Not sure how that affects the Assange case except he isn't entitled to immunity. UK spelling this out seems to have been what triggered the Ecuadorian decision to offer Ass political asylum. How will he get from the Embassy to the airport? The lobby is full of police!

Julian Assange has reason to be concerned that he will be extradited to the US, especially after the treatment of Bradley Manning. There is a petition on Avaaz.org for Bradley Manning who has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Save_human_rights_whistleblower_Bradley_Manning/

Yes; either way it makes us look rather ridiculous.

I agree, *vampire, that storming the embassy would be incredibly stupid and just asking for similar treatment of British embassies all over the world. I'm surprised this idea was even countenanced. Maybe it was bluff. I sure hope so.