Assange's planned home, when out on bail

Assuming Swedish prosecutors' requests to deny bail don't go through, here is the dump where Assange will be staying.

"In 1879, it was described as 'a handsome modern erection' that had 'clayey loam' soil on which you could grow a mean wheat, barley, and turnip crops."

Quite an upgrade from his current digs, where he is being denied access to news (other than one jail-approved newspaper) and computer access.

• [Anonymous]

  Yeah, you don’t see ‘handsome modern erections’ around anymore.

• [Thad E Ginataom]

  I wonder what news papers are “approved” in British jails? And what are disapproved?

  • [Microchip08]

    The Daily Express. *shudder*

• [Tdawwg]

  Teehee, handsome erection.

• [museincognito]

  Perhaps “erecting” a greenhouse in the interim for those mean crops o’clock goodness? :)

  Sign me up!

• [Anonymous]

  erection.
  titter, chuckle, tee-hee,

• [Anonymous]

  mmm, Clayey Loam, such a versatile soil. Although it makes me wonder about the condition of the manor’s foundation. Let’s hope that Assange can leak a decent soil survey for the area so we can find out what’s really going on!

  • [Anonymous]

    I see what you did there.

• [museincognito]

  o’clock… not. Just plain ol’ o’.

• [vancouvergrrl]

  I’d have expected something different from a modern erection.

  How does one get to be an “independently wealthy journalist”? I’d like that job.

  • [Ugly Canuck]

    Star keeping a journal and then win a lottery.
    Or, be wealthy, and then start keeping a journal.

• [frankieboy]

  … or are you just happy to see me?

• [Ugly Canuck]

  Nice photo, but it needs more snow!

• [Anonymous]

  @ Anon

  No members of the working class will be harmed by Assange’s stay at Ellingham Hall. His accommodation is being provided for free.

  @vancouvergrrrl

  Ellingham Hall is owned by the family of Captain Henry Vaughan Smith, into whose care and supervision Assange is being released. Smith is independently wealthy, due to his wealthy family. Smith is also a journalist interested in freedom of the press – he runs the Frontline Club in London http://www.frontline.com (and maybe there’s a source of income there, not sure). In other words, Smith is “independently wealthy” + “journalist”, not “journalist therefore independently wealthy”.

• [hpavc]

  So to all you kids out there, make sure your condoms don’t break.

• [Anonymous]

  Am I the only one having flashbacks to Transmetropolitan?

  • [Purplecat]

    No. that would require a journalist with a backbone, a passion for Truth, and the ability to shoot politicians with an illegal bowel disruptor. Not a bunch of lightweight press-release regurgitating idiots who let other people do the serious and dangerous journalism.

• [Anonymous]

  Alas, I was too late on being the first to play off that ‘modern erection’ bit. Sad day.

  As a side note, who is paying for these accommodations and how much are they? With working class citizens donating their hard earned money for his legal defense for justice, it would seem insulting to have gross amounts spent on posh digs. Thoughts?

• [EH]

  Assange’s bail application has been approved, with conditions (ankle bracelet, curfew).

• [mmchicago]

  “Handsome modern erection” was my high school nickname.

• [Gainclone]

  I prefer my erections to be postmodern.

• [Rincewind]

  The approved newspaper (if you can call it that) is the Daily Express. And there was I thinking that torture was banned on these shores.

• [mreddy1]

  “a handsome modern erection”
  ah, i also have one of those.

• [aelfscine]

  In before someone makes a joke on “handsome modern ere-

  …shit.

• [Patrick Dodds]

  The Daily Express? Of course, so you can read how, whilst you are banged up, the key should be thrown away.

• [jerwin]

  [DeWynken]

  everyone should have a handsome modern erection to call their own.

• [agger]

  From the trend in Xeni’s reporting, I can’t really help thinking she’s running a hatchet job on Assange. Why oh why is staying somewhere nice for a brief while so exposé-worthy? Don’t any of you Boingers ever stay in luxurious surroundings? If you do, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong in that. But there is something wrong with being a hypocrite.

  • [Blue]

    It’s not just you.

  • [nate_freewheel]

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc (sub Xeni for Britney)

  • [Lobster]

    For the same reason Assange is newsworthy: it’s much easier to make this into the story of a hero/villain than to examine the thing that made him famous.

    The only surprise here is to see it on Boing Boing of all places.

    • [Brillobreaks]

      A lot of us, most of BoingBoing included (assuming you look back further than 12 hours), seem just fine examining Assange, Wikileaks, and the contents of the leaked material. And looking at them all independently of one another.

  • [Avram / Moderator]

    Agger and Blue, what trend are you talking about? What makes this look like an “exposé”?

    • [agger]

      Avram, do I really need to spell it out?

      Where Mr. Assange is staying while in London, whether in a hotel or in this house in Suffolk, is of no real journalistic relevance. Moreover, Xeni is presenting the nice surroundings as if there was something “suspicious” or “wrong” about Mr. Assange staying in such a place. But why would there be? Like I hinted, I presume other people, like Xeni herself, know people who can put them up in nice surroundings if they’re experiencing a hard time (as the founder of Wikileaks arguably is).

      So it seems she’s taking something that’s partly a private matter between Mr. Assange and his friends, partly quite natural and above criticism, and uses it to paint him in a bad light. Firstly, it’s tabloid journalism and secondly, why would she do that? Which is what make me think of a hatchet job.

      • [mdh]

        Moreover, Xeni is presenting the nice surroundings as if there was something “suspicious” or “wrong” about Mr. Assange staying in such a place.

        this is where your vision of reality and my vision of reality part ways.

        I read this as “this house is quite nice, and is quite a bit nicer than jail, which sucks”.

        You seemed to read this as “Lets go griefing on BoingBoing today”

        Also, I am the very model of a modern soil scientist, and clayey loam is a perfect descriptor. Using only those words I can nearly feel the soil in my hands.

• [Anonymous]

  You know, I’d much rather stay in my flat than staying in this admittedly nice mansion but with a curfew, ankle bracelet and surprisingly aggressive Swedes just waiting to get hold of me. (Probably in order to send me to the not-so-surprisingly aggressive Americans.)

• [outlyer]

  This article seems quite judgemental considering that:

  (1) He’s not renting this with Wikileaks donations, it’s being provided for him by a “independently wealthy journalist.”

  (2) It has the advantage of being relatively isolated, thus providing some measure of protection from some real or perceived threats.

• [lyd]

  Aggers response is typical of a trend in discourse that I’ve noticed developing over the past couple of years. It seems that the more care you take to present something interesting in completely neutral terms the more likely you are to be criticized by various factions for promoting an agenda.

  Apparently, it makes people uncomfortable when they can not readily determine what your personal opinions on a topic might be and they feel compelled, if you are not explicitly agreeing with their position, to read into your otherwise neutral comments an attack on them or support for their perceived opponents.

  Once they are able to settle back into an adversarial stance, it seems, they feel much more at ease.

  I have no idea how to counter this trend, but it is something have noticed.

• [Anonymous]

  Clayey loam? Somewhere, a soil scientist just died a little on the inside.

• [Rob]

  Xeni is obviously a CIA mole, amirite?

  • [Rob]

    Thats sarcasm… in case you in the tinfoil hats didn’t catch that.