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Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy after gaining knowledge about the US Grand Jury meeting to discuss possible extradition ie. to face charges of espionage. I believe Assange has been labelled an enemy of the state. Wikileaks publishes documents in the same way that journalists publish stories. It was perceived that Sweden was more likely to extradite Assange than the UK who have a history of telling the US to shove it (albeit more diplomatically) in some instances.

I am glad there is a Wikileaks and similar groups popping up all over the place. It is a shame we need them to facilitate the sharing of information, if our governments acted as truly representative democracies.

Much of the discussion around Wikileaks centres around the personality of Julian Assange rather than what he has achieved through Wikileaks. I don't know what sort of person Julian Assange is, he may be a bit eccentric, maybe you have to be just a bit, to succeed in establishing such an organisation. You certainly need courage. It is all conjecture in any case.

Wikileaks and Assange are often accused of being anti-American. This is to oversimplify. Many Americans support Wikileaks even if their government sees the group as a threat. Well it is a threat to those who seek to serve their own interests over all others. Wikileaks is pro-information and is about getting the truth of events out in the public arena.

Why is Hasbeen allowed to call for murder here?

Julian Assange knows that he will end up like Bradley Manning with no trial ,legal council or rights.It was Bradley Manning who fed info to Assange.Obama's NDAA should raise the concern of all freedom loving people in the West.

The National Defence Authorisation Act gives absolute power to the US Military to arrest anyone in the West indefinetely,with no accountability.This is happening to Bradley Manning.

Fascism is afoot in the West and the populace at large are clueless.

Hi Marilyn

I agree with your post. The Israeli's might well be brutal in cracking down on Wikileaks activities within their borders but the blogasphere is helping a bit.

The best ongoing commentary I've found about Ben is Richard Silverstein's blog (Tikun Olum) http://www.richardsilverstein.com/ .

In posts like http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2013/02/15/israeli-intelligence-sanitized-zygiers-cell-after-hanging/ "Israeli Intelligence Sanitized Zygier’s Cell After Hanging, Family Demands Millions in Damages" Richard goes into impressive detail on what the MSM and Governments aren't saying and probably won't say. For example:

"Magen David Adom was summoned in order to certify [Ben's] death. As opposed to other similar cases, the police were only called later. Even then [after they arrived] they and the forensics lab personnel were not permitted to enter the cell to examine the scene. Only hours later, after officials from different security and police agencies visited the site, was the forensics team permitted to enter."

Israeli whistleblowers working through Richard's Jewish-American blog are getting some info out.

Hi there PELICAN...

Thank you for providing a comprehensive, albeit brief summary, on the activities of Julian A. I must confess, I know little about him, other than what's been said on Radio and TV.

I take on board absolutely what good you say he's done, in terms of appraising the public at large, of those 'leaked' activities conducted by the US and her allies, ostensibly in secret. And I've found much of what you say on OLO and the Forum, both sensible and intelligent. Obviously, you know much more about this bloke then I do.

However, I'm from the 'old school' PELICAN, and I sincerely believe, that certain material or information, whether spoken or documentary, if it's not meant for public consumption, should therefore remain 'protected' and confidential. Therefore it should remain totally, in the care, custody, and control of the original owners. Or the actual originators of that material.

Otherwise, our way of life, our privacy would be forever compromised or thwart, by all manner of commercial espionage, corporate infiltration, and counter-intelligence. Believe it or not my friend, in some parts of the world, there's very very big bucks involved in this type of commercial crime.

Whether Julian A. is guilty of trading in 'leaked' protected material, I've no idea ? He's at least, involved as 'an accessory after the fact'. And if there's a 'knowledge' before that 'leaking', it may well amount to a 'conspiracy' ?

PELICAN, I realize there are many many people around the world who perceive Julian A. as a popular folk hero. But there are some authorities within several countries he has allegedly offended against, who consider him far less favourably, I'm afraid ?

Thank you PELICAN.

Marilyn, when did disposal of ones garbage become murder?

Here we have the sort of bloke who would sell his mother, or us, if there was a quid in it for him.

You lefties do choose strange bed follows.