wikileaks: not just the story of a straight white man
Oh right, Bradley Manning
by JILL
12.15.2010
So the big Julian Assange news today is that he’s being released on bail, and Michael Moore is contributing. In fact, Moore went on Keith Olbermann’s show last night to encourage other progressives to donate to Assange’s bail - the accusations, they agreed, are “hooey.” Because Assange is a flight risk, his bail was set at $315,000, and he was released with a monitoring device to a 10-room mansion on a 650-acre estate owned by Vaughan Smith, the founder of a journalists’ club in London.
Now, I’m glad Assange was released on bail - there’s no reason to hold people in prison (especially in solitary confinement) if they don’t pose a threat to others and if they can be reasonably guaranteed to show up at their trials. Bail away, I say. Does Assange have a target on his back, and is the US undoubtedly trying to get him into the best possible position for extradition? Yessir, I would guess yes. Is that totally fucked? Yes, yes it is! And does Michael Moore have every right to contribute to Assange’s bail? Sure he does.
But let’s not pretend that contributing to Assange’s bail is a neutral act, and that Moore is only contributing because he can. Bail doesn’t help Assange fight extradition. It doesn’t do anything to forward his WikiLeaks-related plight. It gets him out of jail for the rape accusations. Moore also can contribute that $20,000 to RAINN, but as far as I know he hasn’t gone on Olbermann to tout that giving spree.
More at source.
There's a good article on the same topic at Tiger Beatdown.
by JILL
12.15.2010
So the big Julian Assange news today is that he’s being released on bail, and Michael Moore is contributing. In fact, Moore went on Keith Olbermann’s show last night to encourage other progressives to donate to Assange’s bail - the accusations, they agreed, are “hooey.” Because Assange is a flight risk, his bail was set at $315,000, and he was released with a monitoring device to a 10-room mansion on a 650-acre estate owned by Vaughan Smith, the founder of a journalists’ club in London.
Now, I’m glad Assange was released on bail - there’s no reason to hold people in prison (especially in solitary confinement) if they don’t pose a threat to others and if they can be reasonably guaranteed to show up at their trials. Bail away, I say. Does Assange have a target on his back, and is the US undoubtedly trying to get him into the best possible position for extradition? Yessir, I would guess yes. Is that totally fucked? Yes, yes it is! And does Michael Moore have every right to contribute to Assange’s bail? Sure he does.
But let’s not pretend that contributing to Assange’s bail is a neutral act, and that Moore is only contributing because he can. Bail doesn’t help Assange fight extradition. It doesn’t do anything to forward his WikiLeaks-related plight. It gets him out of jail for the rape accusations. Moore also can contribute that $20,000 to RAINN, but as far as I know he hasn’t gone on Olbermann to tout that giving spree.
More at source.
There's a good article on the same topic at Tiger Beatdown.