# Julian Assange (remember him?) update **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 5, 2016, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210 "2016-02-05T07:20:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/221 "2018-10-20T20:49:11Z")
It always amazes me how many rich and famous people feel that having to do things like ‘clean up after your cat’ or ‘pay for your food’ are horrible impositions on their basic human rights. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/222 "2018-10-20T21:06:52Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > It always amazes me how many rich and famous people feel that having to do things like ‘clean up after your cat’ or ‘pay for your food’ are horrible impositions on their basic human rights. He once had _little people_ to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/223 "2018-10-20T21:42:36Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > When I’m in charge of a group, I figure I should do the stuff no one else wants to do. > > The cat is probably peeing on the carpet. How does a guy hiding out in an embassy acquire a cat? :dubious: His kids gave him the cat. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/224 "2018-10-20T22:43:50Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > The cat is probably peeing on the carpet. Of course it is - it is the Wikileaks cat. If his bathroom is filthy, Assange must leak too… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/225 "2018-10-20T23:44:07Z")
Maybe he’d feel more cooperative if the Ecuadorians offerend him a visit from the Saudo visiting team, complete with doctor and bone saw. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/226 "2018-10-21T03:03:23Z")
All the wrong people are getting murdered in embassies these days. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/227 "2018-10-21T03:22:51Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > Granted, genuine issues of asylum are involved, the cat notwithstanding. Under international law, asylum claimants must have freedom of speech. _Is_ he an asylum claimant? Can you claim asylum in a country you’re not in, and have it mean anything? ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/228 "2018-10-21T05:46:26Z")
There appear to be real espionage concerns and his hosts are putting limits on his access to the Internet or potential liaisons. On the other hand, if he wishes freedom of speech, all he has to do is leave. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/229 "2018-10-21T11:52:10Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > It always amazes me how many rich and famous people feel that having to do things like ‘clean up after your cat’ or ‘pay for your food’ are horrible impositions on their basic human rights. He may be famous, but is he rich? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/230 "2018-10-21T11:53:47Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > _Is_ he an asylum claimant? Can you claim asylum in a country you’re not in, and have it mean anything? It worked for [József Mindszenty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3zsef_Mindszenty) for fifteen years. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/231 "2018-10-21T12:10:16Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > Granted, genuine issues of asylum are involved, the cat notwithstanding. Well, he says there are. It’s a matter of debate whether anyone in the past, present or future has or will treated him with the kind of persecution the Geneva Convention is concerned with. AFAIK, the only thing he’s wanted for in Britain is jumping bail. Does anyone else have outstanding charges against him? The US might, but have any US authorities made any substantive moves to proceed with such? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/232 "2018-10-21T12:56:32Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > The US might, but have any US authorities made any substantive moves to proceed with such? Not publicly, but it’s theoretically possible that he’s been indicted in secret, and that the charges (whatever they’d be, if there are any) will only be unsealed once he’s apprehended. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/233 "2018-10-22T00:17:37Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > _Is_ he an asylum claimant? Can you claim asylum in a country you’re not in, and have it mean anything? Asylum procedures vary by country, but generally you can apply for asylum in a country’s embassy abroad. Ecuador granted him asylum and he has the legal status of a refugee. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/234 "2018-10-22T00:22:07Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Well, he says there are. It’s a matter of debate whether anyone in the past, present or future has or will treated him with the kind of persecution the Geneva Convention is concerned with. AFAIK, the only thing he’s wanted for in Britain is jumping bail. Does anyone else have outstanding charges against him? The US might, but have any US authorities made any substantive moves to proceed with such? (sorry. can’t get multi-quotes to work) it’s not the Geneva Conventions that apply but rather the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol. I don’t believe he faces charges other than the bail jumping one. It’s hard to see the Trump administration going after him, given how it’s benefitted from Wikileaks. So Ecuador really ought to boot him out. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/235 "2018-10-22T04:33:02Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > …On the other hand, if he wishes freedom of speech, all he has to do is leave. I would love to be there to see him bodily thrown out of the embassy and into the eager arms of the London Metropolitan police. > [@Emiliana](#): > > …It’s hard to see the Trump administration going after him, given how it’s benefitted from Wikileaks… You are expecting _consistency_ from this administration? They’ll go after him with all guns blazing just for messin’ with Murrica. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/236 "2018-10-22T04:50:39Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > How does a guy hiding out in an embassy acquire a cat? :dubious: The same way anybody acquires a cat. The cat just turns up and purrs until it gets fed. Then it keeps pissing everywhere to remind you who’s the pet in this relationship. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/237 "2018-10-22T05:13:45Z")
Why did Ecuador involve itself in all of this to begin with? Did they truly feel that he deserved protection? Do they have laws saying that their embassies must accept refugees (something I highly doubt)? Is Assange blackmailing them somehow? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/238 "2018-10-22T06:06:14Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Of course it is - it is the Wikileaks cat. If his bathroom is filthy, Assange must leak too… 😃 Do they know if it’s the cat, or Assange, who is peeing on the carpet? I understand that Sweden has many rooms available for Assange that have clean bathrooms and are free of cat pee stains/smells. He would only need to ask for one in person. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/239 "2018-10-22T10:09:30Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Why did Ecuador involve itself in all of this to begin with? > > Did they truly feel that he deserved protection? > > Do they have laws saying that their embassies must accept refugees (something I highly doubt)? > > Is Assange blackmailing them somehow? Ecuador has a long tradition of offering asylum to the politically persecuted. And the president at the time, Rafael Correa, enjoyed thumbing his nose at the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2018, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/240 "2018-10-23T01:32:52Z")
How long until Correa needs to find an embassy to hide in? Perhaps one of the reasons for evicting the cat hater is to clean house from Correa’s days. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210.md?page=13)