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The whole rendition thing was happening in Secret though (well almost secret). If the US did anything to Assange it would be seen by the whole world. Very risky during an election year for starters.

Whatever you think of Assanges actions running the Wikileaks website it was always going to get him into a world of trouble. If the US really did want him to drop in for a chat they've had plenty of opportunities that didn't involve a trip to Sweden. They could have just pinched him off the streets of the UK.

Both the British and Swedish governments are buckeling under U.S. pressure, to enable them to get their hands on Assange.
The Swedish government had refused to give assurances to Assange's representatives, that he wouldn't be extradited to the U.S. if he returned to Sweden, to answer charges of not using a condom during intercourse.

So Pussy Riot get 2 years for a non-violent demonstration of belief, incredible!

Putin and his henchmen are still caught in the 'old ways', it would seem, and their reaction is quite reminiscent of that.

Apparently their rather puerile rant (sorry to describe it as such) had "crudely undermined social order" and shown a "complete lack of respect"! This is Russia remember and both of those phrases have held good for decades, if not centuries.

Each to his own, but I think the worst thing the 'Pussies' did was perform under that name.

Kudos to Assange for displaying how crap the US security systems are. And that, of course, is why he is now in the position that he is.

My youthful heart applauds his audacity, but my old head says he was a fool and should have realised the outcome (maybe he did though). He's safe whilst in the Ecuadorean Embassy, but the minute he emerges he will be on his way to Sweden to face what ever can be manufactured to display his 'character malfunctions'.

There is infinitely worse in the world.

Assange cocked a snoop at the biggest powers he could find for no-one's benefit but his own.

I think it's right that laws should be followed in all cases, but I don't think they should be interpreted for his advantage simply because the drunk small guy started punching the entire rugby scrum down the pub.

In this case he is gaining sympathy because of what may happen next, not what has to happen now. Right or wrong laws should be enforced, and changed if bad. Oh, and if he is guilty, the charge is sexual assault and I've worked for a number of companies where the controlling mind of the leader has effected the way people behave until he's out of the way, so I for one would not be against the case being heard somewhere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ellsberg

It's all been done before. Some of the recent press stories claiming that if Assange was prosecuted in the US under the 1917 Espionage act he would face a death sentence are way over the top. I agree that the case against Assange in Sweden seems weak at best and the Swedish Authorities turning down Ecaudors offer of interviewing Assange in London at the embessy does add another layer of suspicion to the story however, while all of this is being done in the full view of the public and due legal process is being correctly used then Assange should have nothing to fear.

That may be true Brogan but Assange can make a hell of a lot more noise and a lot more trouble for the US than some poor bunch of faceless people in orange jump suits. Assange's biggest protection is the very fact that he's high profile.

Oops, missed the last bit of your post Brogan. Hope you're not saying I am anything like those two assholes?

Yes, that's a very good point.

The trouble for Assange though is that you can't expect to do what he's been doing with Wikileaks and not piss half the world off.

I have always been aware of one thing, even during the cold war when Russia and America were locked in an arms race everyone would say you can't trust the Russians, but my feeling has always been that we have far more to worry about from Americans than we ever did the Russians....

The band members who got 2 years in Russia is nothing compared to Guantanemo Bay. And I still have no idea of the outcome in the case of a Brit who hacked into the Pentagon and left messages on the system such as your security is rubbish all I know is that the Americans wanted him extradited and locked up in one of their prisons until the day he dies....

Half the world were probably more pissed off with those who committed this atrocity, in which Wikileaks and Assange exposed to the rest of the world, and will never be truly forgiven or forgotten by the U.S government.

Do you mean this guy Mephistopheles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_McKinnon

He's still waiting to see if he will be extradited.

I've long since thought that it is better to employ the hackers than jail them. Anyone who knows your weaknesses must be able to tell you were the entry points are?

That's just cold blooded......

Unfortunately Jen the Americans cannot see the logic in what you've just said.....

Whilst on my way to Hockeheim I was listening to a BBC radio program involving a presenter and a few guests. One of these guests is involved with trying to fight cases in the US where he believes the accused are innocent. One of the things he said was that there is no automatic right of an accused person getting to see the evidence before, during or after the trial. This makes it difficult for an innocent person, it is like being told that you have a speeding ticket but are not told where, when or how fast they claim you were going.

We now have an extradition treaty with the US where they do not have to supply evidence to have someone extradited. In New Zealand there is a case going on where the judge has now said that the US do have to supply a reasonable amount of evidence to justify that extradition is a fair thing to do.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/16/us-megaupload-costs-idUSBRE87F07220120816

This is America now, with the passage of the Patriot Act.