"If Obama grants Manning clemency, Assange will agree to US prison in exchange -- despite its clear unlawfulness"
Sorry, but suspected offenders do not get to give conditions on their arrest.
And an arrest isn't a charge.
And a charge isn't guilt.
And guilt (or not) doesn't mean the US will try to snipe you from the opposite building. I mean, they're thick, but not THAT thick, and that's if they even DO care enough to be bothered (which I doubt).
It's really quite simple. You have two choices:
Live in the embassy forever and hope you never annoy the ambassador - or any of his replacements - enough that they just ask the police to come in and eject you (because they can do that)
Come outside and be arrested at some point, and face trial at some point, and do whatever time is assigned by a court (if applicable) at some point, and then lose the media circus forever when nothing happens after that.
Any other option (escape, appeals, negotiations, etc.) will inevitably end in one of the above anyway.
I hope the embassy has Netflix and Amazon deliveries. Because for sure the UK prison for skipping bail won't even if the Swedes decide they don't care any more.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
