Meanwhile, Ecuador prepares to extradite a blogger it offered asylum in 2008.

[MADem]

31. Where's the US's "offer?" And why would they make one? They've gotten what they want!

The US doesn't want Assange--he's radioactive.

They might want Assange to shut the fuck up, and stop doing what he is doing, but he's nothing but a headache right now--particularly before a US election, so, despite the insistence of a few vociferous folks, they don't want to drag him to America to testify against Bradley Manning (like he'd be a good witness...not)--they already have the forensic evidence in that regard.

The best way to get Assange to shut up and stop doing what he is doing is to corner him...and that appears to have happened.

Ecuador, in Correa's need to pull the tail of the British lion to position himself as the Heir to the Chavez "Imperialist Tweaking" Crown, made a grandiose offer ... and now he's stuck with Julian, the Semi-Permanent Houseguest. At least until Correa chooses to throw him under the bus.

It looks like Assange is getting good at using a Flow-Bee to cut his own hair. He'd better guard his health and try to avoid illness so he won't need a doctor, and brush his teeth well--he won't be able to leave to see a dentist. He might be stuck in that embassy for awhile. A couple of cops and some passive/positive surveillance equipement monitoring his every move is way cheaper than having to imprison him formally. Let Ecuador be his jailer--they can pay for it, he's stuck, and everyone knows right where to find him.

This isn't about "win-wins," to my mind, and your silly little "you should be happy" comment tells me you're needlessly (and rather immaturely, frankly) personalizing this conversation--I am just looking at this logically. Why would USA want to re-energize the near dead "We're not political, we have no leaders, all the political parties suck" OWS movement (which couldn't bother to do any protesting over the outrageous sentence of young women musicians who were thrown in jail for two years for a silly little protest in a church) by goading them with a parade of "Assange, the poor victim?" Why would they be so foolish...when they've already gotten a good result, thanks to Ecuador's pompous need to play the tough guy? So long as Assange is in that embassy, he's not running Wikileaks. He's neutralized.

I don't know how often people are going to want to come by to hear Evita-like pronouncements from the balcony in Knightsbridge. I think that show will get stale in a hurry. I suppose if you were on your way to Harrod's anyway, it might be fun, but I don't think the interest will be sustained. The longer Assange stays in that embassy, the less people will give a shit about him. IMO. And this has nothing whatsoever to do with his guilt or innocence vis-a-vis Sweden (though if the Ecuadorans keep him imprisoned--er, under asylum protection--for three or four years, the Swedes may consider that fair value, too) it's just the way the public mindset works.