I predict a dramatic helicopter rescue for Assange.

[Robb]

Plucking him from the rooftop of the Ecuadorian embassy, trailing at the end of a rope ladder, neatly avoiding certain arrest -- and the danger of suffocation inside a diplomatic pouch, an alternate idea I hope his advisors have already discarded.

I am unfamiliar with Ecuador's air power assets, but presumably some kind of stealth platform would need to be employed to thwart English ground defenses?

[HereSince1628]

1. Or a dramatic helicopter shoot-down by the UK military.

[greatauntoftriplets]

3. Commanded by Prince William, and for which he will receive some kind of medal.

[emulatorloo]

4. And Harry will be his comic side-kick.

[Robb]

9. Tights and codpieces, surely.

[Robb]

8. They'll give him double-secret knighthood.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. You forgot the stealth submarine

capable of deploying this fantastic stealth chopper.

I predict negotiations are happening as we both get silly and type.

[emulatorloo]

5. I thought they parachuted it out of a very large cargo jet.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Must be transformers, or 'thing like that

Now we know where they went...

[randome]

6. Mr. Obama...

...send in those drones!

(Channeling Reagan here. Who I'm given to understand was a previous President or a movie star or something.)

[treestar]

10. Trying to find out Ecuador's asylum laws

So far the google no help.

If they have the typical requirements, there is no way Julian will have his request granted. He has been persecuted by nobody.

[Robb]

11. It's getting out of the building that's the problem.

He can't leave Ecuadorian soil without being arrested. He cannot be issued a diplomatic passport without it being approved by the UK; he can't be naturalized as an Ecuadorian citizen, as it makes him ineligible for asylum.

Helicopter rescue. It's the only way to be sure.

[Luminous Animal]

12. It has been suggested that he be appointed as a U.N. diplomat.

He would then be free to leave.

[Robb]

13. Not remotely. Immunity from arrest is granted, not automatic.

He, or his representatives, would have to apply to the Foreign Office for that immunity to be conferred.

I don't expect it would be granted, since he is wanted for arrest, no?

[Luminous Animal]

14. Apparently, no Foreign Office approval required for U.N. diplomatic status.

[Robb]

15. "Diplomatic status" does not automatically mean "immune from arrest."

UN diplomats go through the same process.

Helicopter rescue. Or maybe hovercraft, as I think it over.

[Robb]

16. Update: Stuffing him in a bag not ruled out

http://dawn.com/2012/06/25/julian-assange-and-a-case-of-bizarre-escape-plans/

[Manifestor_of_Light]

17. Sweden has not charged him with any crimes.

This sounds like that prison break Charles Bronson movie I saw decades ago.

[Robb]

18. Not entirely true.

Time and again the question of Assange "not being charged" is raised. Well, that all depends on how you translate the term. If you mean that being charged is the same as being prosecuted, then the answer is that Mr Assange is NOT charged.

If, on the other hand, the term is meant as a mandatory prelude to being prosecuted, then yes, Mr Assange is charged. This does not mean that he WILL be prosecuted.

There is no such thing as being charged in Swedish law. There is however a formal step that must be taken before a prosecutor can _ as in the case of Mr Assange _ reguest a court to remand a person. This is the notification of a suspicion of crime. There are two levels of suspicion, reasonable and probable, the latter being the more serious level.

Mr Assange is "on probable grounds" a suspect of a crime that carries at least one year in prison (four years is usual for "standard rape" in Sweden) That is why the District Court of Stockholm remanded him (in absentia) and why the Svea Court of Appeal upheld that ruling.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jun/20/julian-assange-asylum-ecuador-embassy-live?mobile-redirect=false