Thank you Poirot, but the world doesn't dance to the music of Assange - the other option is that he submits to extradition to Sweden, faces the music, does his time, and then either comes back to Britain or goes whither he wishes.

And then, IF the Evil Empire initiates legal proceedings against him, somewhere down the track, he has to deal with them, sans balcony.

No rush. It might end up being easier, and quicker, just becoming a potato-farmer in Ecuador.

I guess it's not easy being a show-pony. It just breaks my heart. Still, as long as he has a few groupies to keep him warm at night.

Cheers,

Loudmouth :)

Poirot,

Prior to out-break of nazism, Germany was considered the most civilized and cultured country in the western world. The professional armed services, which Hitler inherited, were imbued with such social principles. This didn't stop the Luftwaffer straffing refugees fleeing on the roads nor, as the Dutch will tell you, straffing school children on their way to school. This remains in living memory for many.

The British in Northern Ireland ... and in your lifetime ...

With the advent of Wikileaks, governments will ensure greater security for any material they deem sensitive. Many of the gains others have made for openness of information will be lost.

Many governments will see Wikileaks as a wonderful opportunity for disseminating misinformation.

Poirot, I have always considered your comments extremely sound, and I applauded you. On this issue, we will have to agree to disagree.

Loudmouth,

"I guess it's not easy being a show-pony..."

Therein lies the crux of your whole tirade against Assange.

Your many posts call for him to "do his time". He hasn't been charged with a crime, let alone found guilty of one (Just as ounce of logic on your behalf, instead of contempt, would reveal how easy it would be to question Assange - and how easy it would be to guarantee against US extradition)....but, of course, that's not the point as far as you're concerned, is it?

You can't abide the fact that this guy had the balls to stand up to the big boys. Which would explain why you're so positively overzealous in your efforts to paint him as a prancing pony.

Frankly, that says more about you than it does about him.

Danielle,

There is an extremely thin line that separates civilised behaviour and barbarity in the human experience.

Striving for openness is admirable. However, split as we are into enclaves of self-interest, those who pull the strings will always seek to gain by deception. Ordinary folk are apathetic because they've never had or expected access to the uncensored facts - the truth.

I respect your input on this forum also - so, yes, this time we'll have to agree to disagree.

Hi Poirot,

Yes, maybe I deserve a good head-kicking.

But maybe we should play the ball, not the man, and get back to principles. For instance, what principle is involved in this case ? Is it 'principled' that Ecuador has now put itself off-side with not just the Yanks (no big deal there) but the Swedes and the British as well, and perhaps the EU, and for a long time to come. Will it be worth it to shield an alleged scum-bag, just so that the Ecuadorian government could rally the rent-a-crowds across South America and shove it up the Yanks ?

Who haven't, as yet, laid any charges against Assange. In that sense, dear Poirot, they are as innocent of any wrong-doing as your Boy Wonder.

Cheers,

Joe :)

"..what principle is involved in this case?...."

Principles?

Now let's see?

Here is a selection of your "principled" argument on this thread.

"...alleged scumbag...."

"....scum-bag, show-pony like Assange..."

"...he can r00t who he likes..."

"As long as he had a useful supply of virgins."

"...All Swedish women are sluts...."

"....Julian Assange has r00ted a couple of Swedish birds..."

"So our champion r00ter goes to Sweden...."

"....Hey maybe that's how our Julian saw his heroic r00ting of a couple of Swedish chicks..."

"If you ever go to Ecuador, Poirot, take plenty of condoms. And stay awake, whatever you do. And sober, I suspect, with the light on."

Speaks for itself, Mr Principled.

Cheers

: )