ASSANGE - ANTI "DETENTE" and a theory

Julian Assange

Julian Assange was yesterday granted asylum to Ecuador. The left wing playboy has been threatened with arrest should he attempt to leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Julian Assange fascinates many even enchants them with his evident bravery. An admirable quality. Yet few question the motives of Julian's brinkmanship. 

First and formost where is Julian ethnically from? The name Assange derives from Ah Sang or Mr. Sang a Chinese emigre that settled on Thursday Island in the early 1800's. Mr. Sang's descendants later moved to the Australian continent. Meanwhile his maternal ancestors came to Australia in the mid 1900's from Scotland and Ireland.  

Earlier this year in May Chinese defence strategist Li Xiaojun warned Australia to choose a "godfather". Essentially telling Australian people that they must choose between China or Britain and U.S. 

Julian in the 1990's

What about Julian Assang(e)'s early life? In 1987, aged just 16, Julian began hacking under the name "Mendax" derived from "splendide mendax" which means "nobly untruthful".

A suitable alias for a supposed champion of freedom? In 1991 Assange/Mendax was caught in the act hacking into the master terminal of Canadian Telecoms company Nortel. Here's the interesting part, unknowingly Nortel has been hacked consistently for over ten years because executives at the company had crackable passwords. Nortel filed for bankruptcy in 2009, turning what used to be a powerhouse in the industry into a buffet for rivals. Coincidently the accused of the 10 year long campaign are said to be Chinese hackers.

When Julian/Mendax hacked Nortel they used password cracking software and even boasted that they could sell the information to competitors. Perhaps Mendax did just that? When Nortel filled for bankruptcy in 2009, one of the most interested buyers of the company happened to be Chinese tech giant Huawei. The Chinese company's bid spooked Nortel's customers and the offer was scuttled. Huawei is said to be an arm of the Chinese military. Nortel presumably didn't know at the time the reason for their "mismanagement" and poor company projections. The 10 year hacking campaign was only discovered this year in 2012. This could be coincidence but then again Nortel was a very specific target selected by Assange.

Actor George Assang (no 'e") of Thursday Island

Why Ecuador? Ecuador is now client state of China. After Ecuador's default of foreign debt in 2008 amounting to billions of dollars which it's president considers "illegitimate". Mr Correa also described foreign lenders as "monsters". President Correa clearly assumes himself as a man of morals, then why in December 2011, did he approve a $1bn loan commitment from China. Since Ecuador's default Correa's government has borrowed up to $7.25bn from China, that's 16% of Ecuadors total outstanding debt according to Fitch Ratings. What does China receive in return for her generosity? Oil. This is but one instance of the hypocrisy of Correa's government.

President Rafael Correa was once hailed by environmentalists worldwide for his new constitution that recognised "the rights of nature" in 2008. With terminology like "Pacha Mama", a phrase used by Ecuadors indigenous Quechua people that means "Earth Mother".

The second instance of Correa's hypocrisy is that despite this courting of the worlds liberalists. President Corea is to push through a bid that involves a huge $1.77bn open-pit copper mine in the Amazon. The 450,000 acre site has ignited the country's indigenous minority. 

Aside from all of the mentioned above Ecuador frequently jails journalists. The campaign group Committee to Protect Journalists ran a piece that was titled "Ecuador not fit to champion free expression". Yet Mr. Correa contests this. Earlier this year in February major U.S. news outlets criticised the Ecuadorian President's media laws. The Washington Post  said the President should be known for "the most comprehensive and ruthless assault on free media underway in the Western Hemisphere". New laws came into force on February 4th which will restrict journalists when reporting about the 2013 presidential campaign in the country. Several Ecuadorian journalists have said that such laws amount to censorship.

In 2011, Mr. Correa filed a libel against the El Universo newspaper for allowing a former editor to write a column which accused the president of being a "dictator". The writer including the paper's three directors were sentenced to 3 years in jail on top of fines totalling $40million.

The reason why Mr. Julian Assang(e)/Mendax chose Ecuador for asylum was not because of Ecuador's 'flourishing' free speech, nor it's pristine rainforest. It was a political choice, one that may ironically mean the end of the Wikileaks the world fell in love with.

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