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© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.WikiLeaks founder Assange arrested at Ecuador embassy in London
By DANICA KIRKA LONDON©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
62 Comments
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SuperLib
This should be fun.
BertieWooster
Poor guy! We need more people like him. We really need an Assange in Japan!
Stuart hayward
SuperLibToday 08:48 pm JST
This should be fun.
Fun for who? You?
Laguna
Well, he'll be on a small, unmarked plane to Washington very soon. Freedom of information is good; doing dirty work for political patrons is bad.
joyridingonthetitanic
Good and about time!
It seems even Ecuador finally had enough of this fool!
This has been an expensive and pointless 7 years for all involved. Innocent people don't run!
I hope he finally can answer for his behaviour that has put peoples lives at risk!
Patricia Yarrow
Oh, no!
yoshisan88
cleaning his bathroom and looking after his cat if he wanted the internet reconnected.
He keeps pissing off the person who offers him safe asylum. Funny, right?
Madverts
Finally a new chanter in his sad little reality show.
He could have got this out of the way 7 years ago and faces trial like the rest of us would have had to...
A huge blow for Kremileaks.
yoshisan88
His internet access was cut last year and was ordered to to stick to a new set of house rules, including avoiding contentious political issues, cleaning his bathroom and looking after his cat if he wanted the internet reconnected.
He keeps pissing off the person who offers him asylum. Funny, right?
CrazyJoe
Surprise, surprise... another low-life who worked on the Trump campaign, is arrested.
commanteer
For those of you who think this is funny, consider this... If the US can jail an Australian journalist in the UK for publishing state secrets, then Russia can can jail a British journalist in Turkey for the spilling Russian state secrets, and the Saudis can jail a US journalist for spilling Saudi state secrets (such as who killed a certain journalist).
If you are happy to see Assange arrested, then you are essentially a cheerleader for fascism and oppression.
Kestrel
The fascists are happy today.
mmwkdw
He should argue that extradition to the US will be unjust as a foreign National as he will be receiving an unjust trial particularly about the bad press he's already received, but also he cant afford a Lawyer there... so much for the Freedom of Speech right, as a foreigner he cant claim that one.
u_s__reamer
You can always count on the "Perfidious Albion" of the Tories who have been conspiring for some time with the treacherous Moreno who is eager to curry favor with Trump. We all remember Trump's "I love Wikileaks", but, as with Cohen, we'll soon see how quickly he'll pivot on that fake declaration of love. Assange spoke truth to power by exposing the hidden war crimes of American soldiers and the powerful just laughed, aided and abetted by lackeys like the Berkshire Hunt and his ilk whose sanctimonious remarks, " He is no hero and no one is above the law. He has hidden from the truth for years" just elicit the contempt of any honest person. The hypocrisy is galling. Have these politicians no shame?
Hubert Gulletchip
Now we see what happens to people who tell the truth and expose war crimes. Governments don't like their dirty laundry getting out. Tell the truth and you get treated like a criminal. Free Assange!
Alfie Noakes
Exactly. This is a absolute disgrace as well as a very black day for journalism and freedom of speech.
Strangerland
I don't like what Assange did, but I don't see that the Americans should have any jurisdiction over Assange.
They probably will though. He'll die in an American prison.
GyGene
Again, I wish I were as confident in knowledge about this as y'all boys seem to be. I haven't followed this story since it started in detail (I have a real life too), but try to keep up with world, national, and my local news (very HARD to do!). But, I simply do not know if what he did was good or bad. I do know this: just because you have some information doesn't mean it is right or wise to disseminate that knowledge. Hopefully, I will learn enough about Assange to form a knowledgeable opinion about what he did.
SuperLib
Any bets Trump will pardon him?
kohakuebisu
The UK merrily doing the US' dirty work here.
The last few months have been humiliating enough for the UK, peaking with the Prime Minister sitting in a corridor outside a EU meeting waiting to hear what they decide for the UK (this has happened now twice), but this is a further low. Assange is not a US citizen and his organization is not US based. I don't see what jurisdiction the US has.
Sweden has announced this has nothing to do with the sexual assault case against Assange there. He's being handed over to the US.
u_s__reamer
@ GyGene
You should start your research into Wikileaks by watching the 2010 "Collateral Murder" video. I'll never forget how sickened to my stomach I was when I saw and heard that tape. I continue to feel indignation over the impunity afforded the killers and the dishonesty of those who make excuses for that atrocity.
yoshisan88
Oh, please. Stop accusing people. Why this is funny is because Assange makes this happen! He gave the USA, the UK and Sweden the slip. If he had not pissed off the Ecuadoreans, (is it so difficult to clean your bathroom or look after your cat or not hacking the person who is protecting you) then he would still have had safe asylum and continues his crusade. HE BLOODY LOST HIS MIND!
yoshisan88
@GyGene
If you are really interested in knowing what Assange have done, try wikipedia.
It will be interesting to see what the Australian government will do. The Australian PM, Scott Morrison, has just announced the federal election to be held on 18th of May today. Assange really picks the right time to cause headache for him.
Jimi
If ever a country was in desperate need of an Assange figure it is Japan, blow this whole right wing feudalist kleptocracy apart with it's institutional cronyism, corruption and collusion.
CaptDingleheimer
I'm old enough to remember when Assange was the big, golden child hero of the left for hacking US military secrets.
Then he embarrassed Hillary so now they want his head on a pike.
Laguna
commanteer, that is a very grave point, one that will no doubt be discussed in detail for a decade or more to come. But a salient point will be, was Assange a journalist, a hacker, or simply a go-between?
Maybe he was all three, but he certainly hasn't done journalistic freedom any favors with his actions.
stormcrow
There should be a group photo taken with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Julian Assange, Flynn, Popodopolous, etc., in a room together raising glasses of champagne in triumph shouting out 'We did it!'
SuperLib
With them standing on a pile of spineless Republican senators.
CrazyJoe
Freedom of the Press is the Law, established by Constitutions around the world. As with every Law, words, and analysis are very important in determining and establishing its meaning, powers and limits.
The Press is free to publish. But individuals are not equally free to procure classified information if in doing so they break laws. The Press may not be prosecuted for publishing but individuals may be prosecuted, according to the law, for the methods by which they procured the information --not for making it public. Whether these acts where laws are broken are perpetrated by heroes, criminals or traitors is subjective. But the distinction between the act of theft of information and the act of publishing information is not open to interpretation.
madmanmunt
Elites: "Hey we told you not to release the truth"
Assange: "I released the truth"
Many People: "He didn't do what he was told! Lock him up!"
Where do you stand?
Black Sabbath
Republican scum who had once been highly critical of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange began to speak fondly of him after WikiLeaks published the DNC leaks and started to regularly criticise Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party
Trump: Having called WikiLeaks "disgraceful" in 2010, praised WikiLeaks in October 2016, saying, "I love WikiLeaks.
Newt Gingrich, who called for Assange to be "treated as an enemy combatant" in 2010, praised him as a "down to Earth, straight forward interviewee" in 2017.
Sean Hannity, who had in 2010 said that Assange waged a "war" on the United States, praised him in 2016 for showing "how corrupt, dishonest and phony our government is".
Sarah Palin, who had in 2010 described Assange as an "anti-American operative with blood on his hands", lavished praise on him in 2017
Ann Coulter called for Assange to be awarded the presidential medal of freedom
No honor. No shame.
Black Sabbath
If Assange is extradited to the U.S. to face these charges, it’s too late for the special counsel to question him about his role in Russia’s interference. That is very convenient for the president.
extanker
If he had only 'exposed war crimes' we probably wouldn't be having this conversation, but he also released tons of classified information that put actual people's lives at risk around the world.
Julian Assange isn't any kind of hero of the press, he just wants to watch the world burn as he gleefully steals secrets wherever he can find them. He deserves whatever happens to him. 5 years in prison is a joke.
SuperLib
That's why I detest him, extanker. He also released information that had nothing to do with security. He created a lot of useless collateral damage when he did have to, and I suspect he enjoyed it. Lots of innocent people were hurt.
Snowden, on the other hand, released specific information. He wasn't on a mission to destroy as many lives as possible, he was on a mission to expose something he thought was wrong.
Two completely different things in my eyes.
SuperLib
Did = didnt
arrestpaul
There wasn't any American extradition order. Assange fled Sweden before he could be charged with two counts of rape. England detained Assange at the request of the Swedish government. Assange then escaped from British custody, and fled to the Ecuador embassy where he was granted asylum. Ecuador has finally become so disgusted by Assange's personal behaviors and repeated threats that they've chosen to rescind their offer of asylum. Buh bye, Julian. The Brits promptly arrested Assange for running away from British law.
Unfortunately for Assange, Australia doesn't want their native son back under any condition. I thought Sweden was still looking for Assange so he could answer police questions about one of the rapes.
arrestpaul
If Assange was involved in the hacking of government information, he broke the law(s).
If Assange only released information that others had hacked and had given to him, he could legally claim that he's a reporter.
There are still two women in Sweden who would like to see Assange stand trial for rape.
lostrune2
Lol, Trump will pardon Assange
WikiLeaks released the Hillary emails that was hacked from the DNC
YESTERDAYTODAYTOMORROW
Spot on!
sf2k
This used to be the bastion of the media, like 60 Minutes of decades ago. Investigative reporting is long gone and now only increasing government control remains
extanker
@superlib
Right on.
@sf2k
What Assange did has nothing to do with reporting. He illegally hacked into government systems and stole sensitive information. If a reporter from 60 minutes decades ago did that, they would also be arrested.
sf2k
For the greater public good. To show a government out of control against its people. Instead the rightists back more government control
sf2k
whistle-blowing usually entails an ethical dilemma but if the public good is strong enough it's usually waived to a positive
extanker
What Assange did was not whistle-blowing. Whistle-blowing is exposing wrong doing. Assange exposed everything he found, including sensitive information such as identities of informants working for the US whose lives were immediately put in jeopardy.
Assange didn't care about exposing injustice or he would have been selective about what he released. He only cares about exposing secrets, good or bad, he does not care.
FizzBit
Hacking is usually illegal, but, did he do the hacking?
is that a fact or an accusation?
extanker
Well, if he didn't, I suppose he could give up which one of his hacker underlings did the actual deed under his orders, but as the director of the organization and the one responisble for disseminating the stolen information, it's pretty much irrelevant who actually pressed the keys on the keyboard.
u_s__reamer
There is a jarring discrepancy between the draconian punishment that awaits Assange in Amerika for exposing the US government's war crimes, torture and massive cover-ups and the shameless impunity enjoyed to this day by the unpunished American military and their cowardly civilian overlords responsible for countless crimes against humanity. Now is time for all honest people around the world to stand up for real justice, not the phony justice of East Virginia where Trump ("I know nothing about Wikileaks, it's not my thing" ) is about to give Assange the "Pontius Pilate" treatment and deliver him up the "deep state" mob.
FizzBit
Isn’t that what he’s accused of? Not hacking. Manning stole the information. He just got out of a one month solitary confinement for not cooperating with a grand jury.
This is just the US’s vendetta for being exposed.
If your going to make an issue out of what Assange exposed, it’s only fair to also point out the videos and other information of the US military murdering civilians and journalists that had been covered up.
FizzBit
well, it is ironic this has happened after the Meuller hunt is over.
The big elephant in the room is Seth Rich. I feel some deep state Dems are very worried.
commanteer
You really believe this tosh? Then maybe you really do deserve the government you will get.
yoshisan88
FYI, I am really happy with the government I will get.
yoshisan88
It is admirable that Assange exposed the civilians killings and cover ups but like the other reader said he also release documents that endangers people's life. If u says that this is the collateral damage to tell the truth, then you are just the same as those who covers up the civilians killings.
u_s__reamer
Experts have publicly gone on record to deny that the disclosures of Wikileaks have "endangered lives", a lame, routine red-herring of an accusation always reeled out by the US security organs who are themselves untouchable and immune from prosecution despite the well-documented record of THEIR real crimes against humanity revealed by Wikileaks, Snowden and other whistleblowers. Disgust is the only appropriate response to the impunity of the shameless elites in the US and UK who must be resisted in the name of freedom and democracy.
Raw Beer
Wikileaks is only a publisher. The only difference between Wikileaks and mainstream publishers is that Wikileaks does not publish fake news.
extanker
https://www.dw.com/en/wikileaks-endangers-lives-says-german-army-commander/a-5953324
https://apnews.com/b70da83fd111496dbdf015acbb7987fb
Yeah, that's a red herring. Keep believing the BS.
Stolen information. No different than you driving a stolen car that your buddy gave you. You knew it was stolen, you're responsible.