By Ron Ridenour
Julian Assange, key initiator of Wikileaks, has been granted bail despite the British government's appeal made in behalf of the Swedish government. A British district court judge had waited two days before approving bail in the amount of $ 316,000, on the condition that Assange wear an electronic tag, report to a police station daily, and comply with a 16-hour curfew allowing just eight hours of freedom from the "mansion arrest" in the house of a wealthy journalist/club owner.
At play here could well be documents Wikileaks released that show that US diplomats communicated with their State Department and White House bosses in Washington saying British troops in Afghanistan are not very good at the job. Brits are angry about this slur, especially given their long record of standing "shoulder to shoulder" with Bush's in his terror wars.
Also, many Swedish politicians are angry after other Wikileaks documents exposing how, unknown to its parliament, Sweden's military and secret services have long worked behind the scenes with NATO and have offered more assistance to the CIA than is legally permitted in supposedly neutral Sweden.
Assange wasn't immediately released, as not all the bail money has been raised. It is difficult to get money to the defense, because the US government pressured conveyors of donations and website servers for Wikileaks' homepage to end cooperation. Paypal, Visa, Mastercharge, Assange's own Swiss bank, and other Establishment businesses have frozen Assange and wikileaks accounts and refused to process donations.
Wikileaks must be supported. It is a critical tool for maintaining what little freedom we have left to obtain the information we need in order to make grave decisions, like: should we go to war; should we torture people; should we destroy nature to have greater wealth"?
Michael Moore is one of several well known cultural figures who posted bail. This is what he wrote on his website, December 14: "No one can plot the next Big Lie if they know that they might be exposed. And that is the best thing that WikiLeaks has done. WikiLeaks, God bless them, will save lives as a result of their actions. And any of you who join me in supporting them are committing a true act of patriotism. Period."
I join in and urge readers to this piece to do the same. Just before writing these words, I sent my pension savings, $10,000, for our defense in Julian Assange's name. You can do the same:
Wau Holland Stiftung Commerzbank Kassel Bank code: 52040021. Account: 2772812. IBAN DE57520400210277281200. BICCOBADEFF520
The British daily carrying Wikileaks documents, The Guardian, wrote that this is a way to get money to the right people. So, I guess I trust this.
To recall how this drama began, let us go back to December 7, when Assange turned himself in to police in London, following Sweden's request to Interpol to issue an international warrant for his arrest and extradition to Sweden.
The accusing women are: Social Democrat party organizer of Assange's speaking tour last August, Anna Ardin, a 31 year-old anti-Cuba activist allied with US-paid so-called "dissidents" in Cuba. (Ardin was reportedly kicked out of Cuba for subversive activities with right-wing groups there , and Sophia Wilà ©n, 27, a Social Democrat member in the audience .
Artin's brother purportedly worked for the Swedish Secret Service/SEPO, which works with the CIA . (A word of caution about Ardin's brother: While several alternative blogs and webs have stated that he is a SEPO man, none have mentioned a source or his name. I have not read about this in any mainstream medium.)
What does appear certain is that neither woman rejected Assange for days after their consensual coitus with him, which included allegedly busted-condom or no-condom sex.
Before these women complained to the police, they had boasted on Twitter and over sms texts about their escapades. Ardin, who hosted a party in Assange's honor at her flat after his alleged sex "crime" of the night before, Tweeted her followers that she was with the "world's coolest smartest people, it's amazing!"
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