Wikileaks UPDATES (2010-12-16): Assange Release on Bail Affirmed; Etc.

The ad at right is for real (in Pakistan).

On appeal, the order for release of Assange on bail has been affirmed. It's been confirmed, it was the Brits who appealed, even though there's no allegation against Assange of any violation of British law. Talk about a "show": everyone knows the Swedes and Brits both are acting merely as proxies for the US. More details at The Guardian; and the BBC has a semi-satisfying summary of the legal technicalities.

Meanwhile, Australian federal police have confirmed that neither Assange nor Wikileaks has broken any Australian law, despite Prime Minster Gillard's claim of illegality.

Tweet from John Perry Barlow: "We have reached a point in our history where lies are protected speech and the truth is criminal."

Here's a good audio interview with Assange following his release:



Big news from the cables today, in an area in which I'm particularly interested: in March, 2008 – six months before Lehman's collapse, which triggered the worldwide economic meltdown – the governor of the Bank of England was secretly plotting a bailout of the world's biggest banks using funds from cash-rich nations including the US. "The problem is now not liquidity in the system but rather a question of systemic solvency." Rather a different story than the sales pitch we got from Paulson.

In another highlight, The Guardian reports that "Striking resemblances between BP's Gulf of Mexico disaster and a little-reported giant gas leak in Azerbaijan experienced by the UK firm 18 months beforehand have emerged from leaked US embassy cables."

Anonymous continues its efforts in Wikileaks' behalf with, in particular, Operation Paperstorm:



It remains to be seen whether a population that's managed so long to operate in the shadows and could arguably use help with what little public image its got, can now succeed in generating positive renown for WL's cause.

New slang for pusillanimous: "NYT." Among other reasons, the paper continues its non-publication of cable-related news.

Photo of Assange from Greg Mitchell's blog.

And last but not least . . .