Julian Assange

The long running saga of one of the founders of whistleblowers website Wikileaks runs on, as Assange still takes asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.  The trouble, in my view, centres on his work with Wikileaks, and the subsequent publishing of classified material.  The Australian is wanted in Sweden for an alleged sexual assault, but the fear of Assange is that he will be extradited to the most paranoid nation on Earth, the USA.  Much has been said by supporters and opponents of Assange, that it has all been set up by the USA so they can get their hands on him, and opponents saying "What tosh.  It is about him facing charges in Sweden and nothing else". Well if that is the case, then why was there such a Police presence around that Embassy, and much more sinister, why was there talk of actually storming the Embassy to get him?  Storm another nation`s Embassy simply to arrest a man facing common criminal charges?  Is he a terrorist?  No.  Has he taken British people as hostages?  No.   Has he been instrumental in terrorist atrocities?  No.  Then why would you storm an Embassy for such a man?  Logic says that somebody else is pulling the strings, like from across the Atlantic.

    In the States, opinions about Assange vary, as some say he exposes truth that Governments do not want.  Some scream that he is a traitor and should be killed illegally.  Nice to know that democracy flourishes.  The case of the Rosenbergs, executed in 1954 for selling secrets to the Russians, comes to mind.  It was obvious that an example had to be made, but remarkably, J. Edgar Hoover did not agree with the sentence passed on the couple.  I think that Assange should surrender to officials from the Swedish Embassy and if the Police try to take him, then you know whom has given the orders.  He should go and face the charges, but fears that Sweden will then allow him to extradited to the States.  Any such actions will then show the duplicitness of the British and Swedish authorities.  I wonder if that happened, the woman journalist who said in a radio debate said "What tosh....." will go back on it and say, "I was completely wrong.  It was the Americans pulling the strings".  Yeah right.  Fat chance of that.

    This country is one that is paranoid about "leaks".  Events and proposals that happened many decades ago, are still a threat to National Security.   Pause for laughter.  I`ll give a couple of examples.  Back in 1941, Rudolf Hess parachuted into Scotland to negoiate a peace deal with Britain, but nearly SIXTY years later, all files are still highly classified.  The reason?  "In the interests of National Security".  of course it was nothing to do with the high placed collaborators and members of the upper classes and aristocracy who supported Hitler, and they had to be protected.  Then the case of Anthony Blunt.  Exposed as a Russian spy in 1963, but this was suppressed for twenty years.  Strange that treason was one of the categories that still qualified for the Death Penalty in 1963 but there was no trial, no execution for treason.  Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that Blunt came from High Society.  An ordinary person from the street would have been topped.  Assange would have swung back then.  It remains to be seen what will happen to him.