csteele says:

"... the issue of Australia providing sanctuary
got blown away with the Hew Griffiths case. Here
was an Australian who had never even visited the
US accused of breaking their copyright laws, held
in an Australian prison for three years before being
extradited to the US to face up to 10 years jail time."

I think in the Hew Griffiths case the Australian government siezed upon the convenient cop-out claim that Griffiths was NOT an Australian citizen, and used that claimed status of Griffiths as justification for 'running dead' with regard to contesting the US request for his extradition. As I understand it, Hew Griffiths came to Australia as a child from the UK, in much the same way as did our present Prime Minister, and, again as I understand it, did not take out Australian citizenship on his own account at any subsequent time.

Perhaps as many as one million persons still living who migrated to Australia as British subjects with British passports, and have lived here ever since without taking out Australian citizenship as such, fall into this category.

Not that most Australian politicians would want to know it, but there could be a problem with the way the Australian government seemingly washed its hands of its responsibilities in the Hew Griffiths case, and in the way it has disfranchised many of the permanently resident British subjects. That problem would appear to be the Constitution.

Arguably Section 44 of the Constitution implicitly establishes equivalent status with respect to citizenship as between permanently resident British subjects and native-born Australians, where it exempts from disqualification from being a member of either House of the Parliament officers or members of both the forces of the Commonwealth AND the Queen's (ie. British) forces in receipt of pay, half pay, or pension.

To the extent that Australian citizenship legislation fails to recognise this equivalence in status, it would presumably be able to be found unconstitutional. Griffiths (now in Australia released from US imprisonment) could be due compensation for justice denied due to his true citizenship status having been ignored.

Kevin Rudd has mounted a strong defence of Julian Assange's legal rights and is prepared to intervene to provide him with a laptop to help prepare his legal defence. Rudd also spoke in regard to suggestions by Julia Gillard and Robert McClelland referring to the possible cancellation of Assange's Australian passport saying that passport decisions were his responsibility as Foreign Minister.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/kevin-rudd-defends-julian-assanges-rights-and-promises-him-a-laptop/story-fnniix-1225969826148

dont go the free-laptop..julian
dopnt you know these giveaways all-ways got strings attached

i used to love kevie with a passion
[or maybe hated mr howhard...too much and got despirit]
but in the end knew he can only be...that his peers..let him to be

i guess that goes the same for any politition...[ i call it party polution]..the dumbing down of conscience..made into an art..gently struired never shaken..with a twist of spin..and ya on the road to sin

anyhow dont take the laptop..
its barely safe bying them off the shelf
talk about programed in obsolecance...after 6 months..the battery will only charge 60 percent..[over night the program kicks in..from that day you can only get a half charge]

anyhow you will never get it through customs
be it the c4...or the fact its a clone...

or only takes you to mirror sites..
for one thing you could never be alone

every stroke shall be recorded..then there will be times it simply wont work...no the gift horse is broken..no one gives you something for nuthing..[no one]..everything will have strings attatched..

its just the way it it
talk is cheap...julian has his own laptop
he just wants out of jail[or bail]...not a new computa..he aint no puta

Csteel come you are aware runner posts only about Christianity.
And judges every issue on his belief.
IF I got in to every thread and turned it to my union or ALP would you ask why.
What is happening here? I am aware of one Church that sends door knockers hoping to be abused so they win points in Heaven.
Happy to help.
But is it now so hard to sell your God that you must impose him on subjects so very distant?
IS it so important to try to force us away from discussing a subject.
Then we are close to getting as bad as the worst reildgions if it demands we give up our right to think freely,

I just wonder if all those Assange fans are willing to admit that Wikileaks sole goal is to damage the US and its allies.

The pretence that this is about freedom of information is laughable. Assange himself acknowledges that his goal is to reduce the freedom of information within gov't to make them less efficent. In other words, to wound.

Who does it serve to know that the US amabassador thinks Silvio Belusconi is a vain and feckless moron? Or that Sarkozy chases small mammals.

Who didn't know that Vladamir Putin has seized power for himself in Russia? Or that the North Koreans are mad dogs?

Who's honest enough to admit that this is about hurting the US and its allies. Nothing more and nothing less.

PualL liked you post, not because I agreed with any of it.
But because it highlighted why I think America needs help, to return to its roots.
Wikileaks has targeted a great deal more than the yanks in fact are seen in these leaks.
Can it be we should not know the truth,look at my team.
Rudd ,American ambassadors knew before I did Kevin was an empty shell.
The diplomatic bags from many country's over the last two century's would contain much the same stuff.
The real problem here is the actions of Americans, or proposed ones including death,why?
It seems this country, one we all know leads the free world, its way, wants to be free to do as it wishes without question.
Afghanistan, case in point, how can we win, why stay, why the corruption,why do our troops die and a prime minister who sent them say it frightens him.
No, I am not saying we do not fight extremism, but we create more of them every day and I want to know every thing America wants to hide.