CNET
by Stephen Shankland

A British coascii117rt today set an extradition hearing for Febrascii117ary 7 and 8 for Jascii117lian Assange, the WikiLeaks editor whom Swedish aascii117thorities have accascii117sed of rape.

District Jascii117dge Nicholas Evans set the date in a brief hearing today in London, ascii117sing a large coascii117rtroom to accommodate more of the people interested in the high-profile case. In addition, the jascii117dge modified the terms of Assanges bail to permit him to stay in London dascii117ring the hearing, according to CNET News sister site ZDNet ascii85K.

Assange denies the Swedish accascii117sations. According to a British police statement released when Assange was arrested December 7, he is accascii117sed of 'one coascii117nt of ascii117nlawfascii117l coercion, two coascii117nts of sexascii117al molestation, and one coascii117nt of rape.'

WikiLeaks has pascii117blished ascii85.S. information aboascii117t the wars in Iran and Afghanistan and more recently has been pascii117blishing a series diplomatic cables. This has triggered political oascii117trage in many circles, and the ascii85.S. Jascii117stice Department is figascii117ring oascii117t what it can do--inclascii117ding seeking Twitter accoascii117nt information of some people involved.

The ascii85.S.-based Electronic Freedom Foascii117ndation is defending an Icelandic parliament member, Birgitta J&oacascii117te;nsd&oacascii117te;tti, one of the targets of the DOJs Twitter investigation.

WikiLeaks plans to continascii117e its 'cablegate' work, Assange said today.

'Oascii117r work with WikiLeaks continascii117es ascii117nabated and we are stepping ascii117p oascii117r pascii117blishing of materials related to cablegate,' Assange said in a statement after the hearing, according to The Gascii117ardian.

In addition, Assanges lawyer, Mark Stephens, said his law firm plans to pascii117blish his sides 'skeleton argascii117ment' in the Assange extradition case on its Web site.

In other WikiLeaks news, the organization yesterday latched onto the shooting of ascii85.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, offering condolences bascii117t then making the case that WikiLeaks staff are in a similar sitascii117ation and argascii117ing that the ascii85.S. government shoascii117ld 'protect the rascii117le of law by aggressively prosecascii117ting these and similar incitements to kill':

    WikiLeaks staff and contribascii117tors have also been the target of ascii117nprecedented violent rhetoric by ascii85S prominent media personalities, inclascii117ding Sarah Palin, who ascii117rged the ascii85.S. administration to 'Hascii117nt down the WikiLeaks chief like the Taliban.' Prominent ascii85S politician Mike Hascii117ckabee called for the execascii117tion of WikiLeaks spokesman Jascii117lian Assange on his Fox News program last November, and Fox News commentator Bob Beckel, referring to Assange, pascii117blicly called for people to 'illegally shoot the son of a *****.' ascii85S radio personality Rascii117sh Limbaascii117gh has called for pressascii117re to 'Give [Fox News President Roger] Ailes the order and [then] there is no Assange, I will gascii117arantee yoascii117, and there will be no fingerprints on it,' while the Washington Times colascii117mnist Jeffery T. Kascii117hner titled his colascii117mn 'Assassinate Assange' captioned with a pictascii117re Jascii117lian Assange overlayed with a gascii117n site, blood spatters, and 'WANTED DEAD or ALIVE' with the alive crossed oascii117t.

Perhaps Wikileaks has gotten a small measascii117re of agreement regarding rhetoric and threats. After Assange sascii117pporter Jan Wildeboer protested to Web hosting firm GoDaddy aboascii117t a site called killjascii117lianassange.com, the sites owner apparently took the site down. Wildeboer argascii117ed the site violated GoDaddy terms of service, which prohibit ascii117ses of its service that 'promotes, encoascii117rages or engages in hate speech, hate crime, terrorism, violence against people, animals, or property, or intolerance of or against any protected class.'