Wikifloods, not leaks.

As I predicted, US lawyers are desperately trying to frame charges against Assange under Espionage Act, as admitted by Joe Biden. But there are a few problems. From my surfing around on this, I reckon that the lawyers will find it difficult to make a charge stick under this venerable piece of legislation because in my interpretation it only applies to agents of a foreign power or to servants of the US Government. In addition, Assange is a journalist and would therefore be able to pray in aid the freedom of speech provisions in the Constitution.

My guess is that they would be able to get an extradition warrant under the odious extradition treaty, because no evidence needs to be filed to support the charge neither need the offence be one recognised in English law.

But there is another snag. Extradition is not permitted if the offence carries the death penalty – which, of course, it does. If extradition is granted, Assnge’s next step will be to appeal through the English courts. If it gets to the House of Lords, there could be months before it is resolved under the English jurisdiction. If he loses, he will take it to the European Court, which, being very politically motivated, may well find in his favour – but not anytime soon. The EC has a backlog of cases stretching years ahead.

Never mind; Sarah the Moose-eater is going after him as an Al Qaeda supporter, so eventually we may expect a drone to be launched from the American air base at the conveniently-situated Mildenhall airbase.

This is not going away.

There have been some interesting revelations amidst much dross.

The leaks about the Arabs hating the Persians so much that they were persistently pressing the Yanks to bomb the s**t out of them show that the Islamic world is not as one in regarding the Americans a serial aggressors against Islam.

The comments from US Generals and diplomats about British soldiers not pulling their weight in Sangrin caused outrage in the UK but if it strengthens the ‘troops out’ movement it may have done some good. When the US forces replaced the Brits they very quickly discovered to their cost why 50% of British deaths since the war began have been in Sangrin. Coincidentally, at the same time as the leaks, General Petreaus went out of his way to praise 3 Para for an extraordinary series of 5 close-up raids on the Talban which terminated them in large numbers without causing any civilian casualties, including one in which they put an anti-tank missile into a fortified compound and reduced all 10 occupants to hamburger