Re: Ah, yes, the famous "afraid of the US" bogeyman.
Um, what?
"lack of any concrete steps to show even the slightest bit of interest in Assange (c)"
Uh-huh, USGov is perfectly happy to let someone accused of leaking so many secrets wander around scot-free and have no intention of having a quiet word in his ear.
"begun extradition proceedings"
Yup, cos nobody was ever picked up off the streets and sent to Guantanamo Bay without the full and proper legal process being observed.
"not thence be extradited to the US without explicit (and unlikely) UK permission"
Not only the same answer as the question above, but also why is it unlikely the UK would allow him to be sent? UKGov has been more than happy to hand people over in the past, with far less evidence of wrongdoing. Assange is not a UK-vian and he has freely admitted to whistle-blowing (as he puts it) - or data theft (as USGov describes it). Whatever "special relationship" it was that used to exist between the UK and the US is currently broken, written off by people who think sound-bite politics is more important than like-minded people working together. Whether it can be repaired or not remains to be seen.
Criminals decide that the restrictions placed upon their actions for the protection of others by the law of the land do not apply to them so why should they feel entitled to any legal protection themselves? You either accept and live within the law or you don't accept it and live outside it - but don't start crying if you suddenly realise what a crock of sh** you have landed yourself in by claiming the law doesn't apply to you. If you break the law, you shouldn't expect the law to protect you.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
