About a month ago I asked a former colleague in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office what Hague saw as the endgame in the Julian Assange asylum standoff, and where the room for negotiation lay. My friend was dismissive – the policy was simply to wait for the Presidential election in Ecuador in February. The United States and allies were confident that Correa will lose, and my friend and I having both been senior diplomats for many years we understood what the United States would be doing to ensure that result. With Correa replaced by a pro-USA President, Assange’s asylum will be withdrawn, the Metropolitan Police invited in to the Embassy of Ecuador to remove him, and Assange sent immediately to Sweden from where he could be extradited to the United States to face charges of espionage and aiding terrorism.
I have been struck by the naivety of those who ask why the United States could not simply request Assange’s extradition from the United Kingdom. The answer is simple – the coalition government. Extradition agreements are government to government international treaties, and the decision on their implementation is ultimately political and governmental – that is why it was Teresa May and not a judge who took the final and very different political decisions on Babar Ahmad and Gary Mackinnon.
CIA supporters in the UK have argued vociferously that it would be impossible for Sweden to give Assange the assurance he would not be extradited to the United States, with which he would be prepared to return to Sweden to see off the rather pathetic attempted fit-up there. In fact, as extradition agreements are governmental not judicial instruments, it would be perfectly possible for the Swedish government to give that assurance. Those who argue otherwise, like Gavin Essler and Joan Smith here, are not being truthful – I suspect their very vehemence indicates that they know that.
Most Liberal Democrat MPs are happy to endorse the notion that Assange should be returned to Sweden to face sexual accusations. However even the repeatedly humiliated Lib Dem MPs would revolt at the idea that Assange should be sent to face life imprisonment in solitary confinement in the United States for the work of Wikileaks. That is why the United States has held off requesting extradition from the United Kingdom, to avoid the trouble this would cause Cameron. I am not speculating, there have been direct very senior diplomatic exchanges on this point between Washington and London.
There was confidence that the Correa problem would soon pass, but the State Department has since been shocked by the return of Hugo Chavez. Like Correa, senior US diplomats had convinced themselves – and convinced La Clinton – that Chavez was going to lose. The fury at Chavez’s return has led to a diktat that the same mistake must not be made in Ecuador.
CIA operations inside Ecuador are in any case much less disrupted than in Venezuela. I learn that the US budget, using mostly Pentagon funds, devoted to influencing the Ecuadorean election has, since the Venezuelan result, been almost tripled to US $87 million. This will find its way into opposition campaign coffers and be used to fund, bribe or blackmail media and officials. Expect a number of media scandals and corruption stings against Correa’s government in the next few weeks.
I do not have much background on Ecuadorean politics and I really do not know what Correa’s chances of re-election are. Neither do I know if any of the opposition parties are decent and not in the hands of the USA. But I do know that the USA very much want Correa to lose, were very confident that he was going to lose, and now are not. From their point of view, the danger is that in upping the ante, their efforts will become so obvious they will backfire in a nationalist reaction. My US source however is adamant that the Obama adminstration will not actually use the funds to incite another military coup attempt against Correa. That has apparently been ruled out. Assange being expelled into the arms of the CIA by a newly installed military dictatorship might be a difficult sell even for our appalling mainstream media.
Right. That’s great. Now that the BBC have finally got around to exposing something filthy and corrupt about their own internal organisation, can we hope that they soon get around to exposing the financial corruption, its players, their wars, their destruction of civil liberties and rape of the national assets etc over the past 40 odd years.
You know. Like kinda what a public broadcaster is for.
Otherwise would you please just wind yourself up and let someone else do it!!
did assange ever release information about Israel ?
Herbie, thanks for the link to the BBC article with interviews of staff at the Ecuadorean embassy in London. The consul, Fidel Narveaz, says that “While the decision was being taken [to grant him asylum], a member of the diplomatic staff needed to be here full time and that was me.”
I really hope that at least one member of the diplomatic staff, or other embassy staff but Ecuadorean and not British, is still there at all hours of day and night.
If that isn’t so, I could easily imagine a scenario where the electrics are sabotaged, the lock picked, Assange grabbed, perhaps after being sedated while asleep, and British authorities claim he went outside of the embassy into the non-extraterritorial communal stairway, where he was arrested. Oh and for some reason all the surveillance footage went missing, not just in the building, but in the surrounding area too (cf. the Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed car crash).
That’d all be a cinch for the ‘Increment’, the armed forces special ops personnel on call to MI6.
Never ever trust the perfidious ones. If Assange is the only person in the embassy at night, that is absolutely asking for trouble.
Great Herbie – strong and intentional – the way I like it!
Craig:
I remember an interview Esler did with George Galloway on Newnight (2005?) when he all but accused George of promoting terrorism. George questioned his motivation and said something like: “I’ve had my eye on you for a while, laddie.”
I too have had my eye on that laddie ever since.
scousebilly
As usual I have no idea what everyone is talking about. The joys of technophobia. As you seem to be not guilty by general agreement of whatever it was you were accused of doing, I suggest we don’t worry about it.
Jack Straw said in 2005:
.
“Unless we all start to believe in conspiracy theories and that the officials are lying, that I am lying, that behind this there is some kind of secret state which is in league with some dark forces in the United States…there simply is no truth in the claims that the United Kingdom had been involved in rendition“.
.
from the Guardian today:
.
UK intelligence officers knew of CIA’s rendition plans within days of 9/11
Meeting at British embassy in US raises questions about repeated denials by MI5 and MI6 of connivance in torture
.
Take it from Jack, we should not be put off the investigation of subjects by the cheap flinging around of the ‘conspiracy theory’ tag. Also, officials do lie & there is some kind of secret state which is in league with some dark forces in the United States………….
Phil W
Of course Assange is not the only reason, nor one of the first reasons, the US hates Correa. But it is undoubtedly now one of the major reasons.
“All we have as an organisation is the trust of the people the people that watch us and listen to us and if we don’t have that, if we start to lose that, that’s very dangerous I think for the BBC.”
John Simpson October 2012
To the BBC Trustees – that trust washed out when you refused to answer the charge of bind-eyeing the barbarity in Bahrain – the barbarity in Gaza referring to ‘rebels’ as ‘militants’ or ‘terrorists’ – failing to report accurately the abyss in Libya, the malnutrition, orphaning and dying from treatable diseases in Iraq despite numerous requests.
The BBC – you are carnal, unworthy, dishonorable and now licentious. The Royal Charter that ordained you is invalid under Clause 4 below
The Public Purposes
The Public Purposes of the BBC are as follows—
(a) sustaining citizenship and civil society;
(b) promoting education and learning;
(c) stimulating creativity and cultural excellence;
(d) representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities;
(e) bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK;
53. Dissolution and winding-up – The BBC may, if it appears to the Trust appropriate to do so, —
(a) surrender this Charter with the permission of Us, Our Heirs or Successors in Council and upon such terms as We or They may consider fit, and
(b) wind up or otherwise deal with the affairs of the BBC in such manner as may be approved by the Secretary of State. Where the BBC is to be dissolved voluntarily or compulsorily, the property and assets of the BBC shall, before the dissolution occurs —
(a) be applied in satisfaction of the debts and liabilities of the BBC, and
(b) subject to sub-paragraph (a), be disposed of in accordance with the directions of the Secretary of State. When this Charter expires at the end of 31st December 2016, the undertaking of the BBC shall cease, so far as it may depend upon this Charter unless We, Our Heirs or Successors,shall by writing under Our or Their Sign Manual declare to the contrary and authorise the continuance of the undertaking under some or all of the provisions of this Charter and under such provisions and conditions as We, Our Heirs or Successors may think fit. This article is subject to any applicable statutory provision or other legal requirement.
N_
I think it’s more difficult for Britain to mess with Ecuador these days. Any such messing would I’m sure result in sanctions of some description from a number of resource rich latin American countries. Were such messing to take place, I’m afraid it would only be with the private blessing of Ecuador.
Thanks Mark. There are fissures appearing in every area of British life. The curtain is pulled back bit by bit, the fraud revealed, critical mass built. It all collapses quite suddenly in the end. The last to know will be the players themselves.
“Seriously, the US and UK don’t give a rat’s ass about Assange or Correa”
S’riously?
“Revealed: Canberra shared intel on Assange with Washington”
October 18, 2012
WikiLeaks and Julian Assange have been the subject of intelligence exchanges between Australia and the United States for more than two years, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has revealed.
The WikiLeaks publisher was also the subject of Australian intelligence reporting from Washington shortly before he sought political asylum in Ecuador’s London embassy.
In a freedom of information decision yesterday, Foreign Affairs confirmed to Fairfax Media the existence of an intelligence report concerning WikiLeaks and Mr Assange cabled to Canberra from Australia’s Washington embassy on June 1.
Mr Assange, who had been unsuccessful in his legal fight to avoid extradition from the United Kingdom to Sweden to face questioning about sexual assault allegations, sought political asylum in Ecuador’s London embassy 18 days later.
Foreign Affairs has also confirmed that US-Australia intelligence exchanges on WikiLeaks date back more than two years by revealing the existence of two intelligence reports sent from Washington to Canberra on August 4 and 25, 2010, in the immediate aftermath of the transparency website’s publication of secret US military reports on the war in Afghanistan …
One newly released Australian diplomatic cable also shows that the Washington embassy did receive confidential information concerning the involvement of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigations targeting WikiLeaks as early as 29 or 30 July 2010.
Continues
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/revealed-canberra-shared-intel-on-assange-with-washington-20121017-27qo6.html
Anyone who thinks the UK wasn’t in on that loop isn’t following the story.
And Lance Armstrong has finally been stripped of all his Tour de France titles. He has to return $3 million as well.
Two troughers spot new opportunity. Better financially for them?? Probably. Mug electorates pick up the bills for extra by-elections. Hope they both lose.
22 October 2012
Tony Lloyd and Alun Michael quit Commons to fight police election
Following the death of Sir Stuart Bell, a by-election is due in Middlesbrough
Veteran Labour MPs Tony Lloyd and Alun Michael have resigned from the House of Commons so they can stand to be police and crime commissioners.
This will trigger by-elections in their Manchester Central and Cardiff South and Penarth seats.
These are expected to take place, along with four other by-elections and a mayoral election, on 15 November – the same day as the police elections.
Mr Lloyd and Mr Michael have both been MPs for more than 25 years.
/..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20031849
Parliamentary Expenses Claims
Alun Michael was one of the MPs who was investigated by the Daily Telegraph in its probe into MPs Expenses Claims in 2009. The Daily Telegraph reported that “Alun Michael claims £4,800 for food in one year, and £2,600 for repairs to his roof at his constituency home in Penarth. Claims for £1,250 cost of repairing a wall and building a 13ft chain link fence.”.[23] Subsequently it was reported he was among 390 MPs required by Sir Thomas Legg to repay taxpayers’ money which allegedly they had wrongly-claimed. An audit of claims dating back to 2004 revealed that Michael should repay £18,889.56 for mortgage interest on additional loans “not shown to have been for an eligible purpose”. He had also been paid £280 more than he was entitled to claim for council tax in the year 2004/05 – claiming expenses for 12 installments when, in fact,he had only had to pay 10 to the local authority. Michael blamed a “clerical error” for the inflated claim. He said “The council tax payment came at a time when I was under a lot of stress politically”.[24] Michael repaid £19,169.56 although later in a 2010 Election Hustings meeting in Splott he said press reports of his having been forced to pay back £20,000 were “untrue” and asserted he had “voluntarily” paid back the money.[25]
Bliar gave him the job of Secretary of State to Wales in preference to Rhodri Morgan after Davies’ moment of madness on Clapham Common following which Davies resigned.
Craig, yes, very happy to forget it.
Gone viral in Ecuador!
http://trendsmap.com/local/ecuador
What is an exit node?
Mary, I don’t know if you posted this earlier, but it’s hilarious:
“Donald Trump lawyers tried to stop BBC showing Scottish bullying film”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/oct/22/donald-trump-bbc-film-row
which includes
“In a short statement, the BBC defended its decision. “You’ve Been Trumped is an award-winning film that has been screened at international festivals around the world,” it said.
“During the making of the film, Donald Trump declined the opportunity to take part. We are confident that Donald Trump was offered sufficient right to reply in accordance with BBC editorial guidelines. Donald Trump chose not to participate but the film-maker took care to reflect his views on a number of different occasions in the film.”
Trump has refused to see the film but on Twitter last week he described his critics as “morons”. He asserted that Baxter had “zero talent” and was a “stupid fool” whose film had helped publicise and promote his golf course at Menie, north of Aberdeen.
Baxter said he repeatedly asked Trump for an interview while he was making the documentary but none of the offers were taken up.”
Be careful what you wish for.
I agree with everything being said here about the BBC. It’s purpose is and always has been to create and maintain the illusion that our rulers work for our best interests. However, the nature of our rulers has changed, Britain is more than ever a puppet state used as a tool in world affairs by powers which have no allegiance to this country. They are able to do this by their control over our news media.
Very few on this forum underestimate the extent of this power. In most of the world, wealth alone is enough – owning the TV channels and newspapers – but in this country, the BBC is state owned and they must use other means – infiltration, career threats and bribery, etc. Whilst the result is almost indistinguishable from the rest of the mainstream media output, at least they have to work harder to obtain it. Also a newspaper or TV channel, once purchased, is theirs forever, whilst they have to continuously maintain their control over the BBC.
We might not like the BBC, but we only need to observe the effort that, for example, the Murdoch empire put into undermining it, to realise that it has at least the potential to be a thorn in their side.
Better we work towards regaining control over the BBC than destroying it.
#yadice
Whatever about the need to regain control over the BBC, the idea of that well-padded idiot with the ridiculous hairstyle calling film makers “morons” and “stupid fools” and claiming they have “zero talent” is a hoot.
USA: watch out, pride goes before destruction, haughtiness before a fall. Beware hubris and a belief in your own exceptionalism. <– and Israel take note.
Thanks. No I didn’t Nuid. I posted this piece from the film maker.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/anthony-baxter-reviews-the-progress-of-donald-1390579
I still cannot believe how calm the Forbes couple were throughout as provocation after provocation was heaped upon them and Trump continued to insult them at his press conferences. The Trump son who trailed in the background looked a nasty piece of work. He has just become a father for the fourth time so the horrible dynasty continues. I hope they all come crashing down when Amerika goes down and that Gaia restores the landscape at Menie to its magical original condition. A few severe storms are needed to come in from the E to shift the sands and to obliterate the golf course.
I can’t get http://trendsmap.com/local/ecuador
Must be thousands trying to access it!
Disagree A Node – that is appeasement – you cannot gain control of Praetoria, you can only dissolve(collapse) and start again. That is the hand-writing on the wall. Decide which side you are on – with us or the terrorists. It is that simple.
“Better we work towards regaining control over the BBC than destroying it.”
And how do we do that? Through our politicians? Oh dear!
Without the utter falsehoods and false trails of the BBC’s independence, incorruptibility … whatever, of which traits only the BBC itself believes it possesses (like the Lords and Ladies wouldn’t fiddle their HoL expenses oh no) , everyone could at least refreshingly view the entire media with necessary critical questioning faculties operative.
Broken Broadcasting Corp makes a mildly critical prog about some detestable figure, straight from Central Casting -picks at the margins of a putrid whole. Trump and the boys have been sold shifting sands, the people will ever own the foreshore, now he’s tilting at windmills.
I write this in Spanish… I hope you understand
Es por este tipo de cosas que vivimos en un país que ha tenido problemas políticos por tanto tiempo. Personalmente estoy cansada de ver cómo el mundo entero opina sobre algo que no conoce y no vive, el gobierno de Correa ha hecho que sea tangible su obra y esto es evidente cuando vas a hacer un trámite en una institución pública.
Espero que Correa gane las elecciones y que por fin tengamos un país que sea libre, que no se deje manipular por intereses ajenos y peor aún de gente que ni siquiera sabe lo que es vivir en Ecuador.
I always believed Assange was a convenient poster boy that manages to appease the armchair radicals – an apparently worthy distraction which draws our support and attention away from the bigger, more vital things going on in the world. He may be genuine but is it going to stop NATO imperialist hegemony? What Press TV, RT and others are doing are far more vital and worthy of our attention i would say. Still trying to work out why and in which embassy in Ecuador Andrea Davison has been staying as well,
Signed,
A naturally occuring fluctuating temperature believer and conspiracy factist,
Chris Jones
I put Marian’s post through Google translate (a bad tool by any standard)
‘For this kind of thing that we live in a country that has had political problems for so long. Personally I’m tired of seeing the world opinion on something that does not know and does not live, the Correa government has made it tangible his work and this is evident when you do a procedure in a public institution.
I hope Correa wins the election and finally have a country that is free, you do not get manipulated by outside interests and worse of people do not even know what it is to live in Ecuador.’
Marian
Esperamos que Correa gane las elecciones
=========================================
Important contribution from Rowan Atkinson on reforming stupid repressive laws that benefit no one but those with something to hide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gciegyiLYtY
I can think of a few other bad tools. Ones with two legs that is. 🙂