Michael Moore Posts Julian Assange's Bail

digitaldc quotes Michael Moore in a story running on the Huffington Post where he says "Yesterday, in the Westminster Magistrates Court in London, the lawyers for WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange presented to the judge a document from me stating that I have put up $20,000 of my own money to help bail Mr. Assange out of jail. Furthermore, I (Michael Moore) am publicly offering the assistance of my website, my servers, my domain names and anything else I can do to keep WikiLeaks alive and thriving as it continues its work to expose the crimes that were concocted in secret and carried out in our name and with our tax dollars."

Comments

Re:Empty theatrics

[Pojut]

um...

"WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is back in court today, and has been granted bail by a British judge. He has been in a British prison for a week after being denied bail last week. Assange is wanted for questioning for alleged sex crimes involving two women in Sweden. It is thought that one of the women, Anna Ardin, may no longer be cooperating with prosecutors."

Re:Moore Claims Credit!

[Bemopolis]

FTFA:

I have put up $20,000 of my own money to help bail Mr. Assange out of jail. [emphasis to aid jackasses who can't fucking read]

But hey, look at me quoting what a person actually says he did instead of trusting the headline written by a Slashdot editor.

No money actually required

[maroberts]

You do not have to post any actual money when you provide a surety in the UK. You only have to show that you have the sum available and are liable for the sum in the event the (alleged) offender breaches bail conditions in some significant manner. See http://www.yourrights.org.uk/yourrights/the-rights-of-defendants/bail.html for a further explanation.

Re:Goose Gander

[luther349]

first rule of getting off charges. never corporate with police.hell its the only rule. never talk to them without your attorney. 90% of all people in jail are because they talked.

What to say to police

[Lilith's Heart-shape]

I'd mod you up if I hadn't already posted in this topic. Really, the only things you should say to a police officer are the following:

• Yes, officer.
• No, officer.
• Officer, I'm getting my wallet from my pocket now.
• Officer, I'm getting my registration/insurance documents from the glove compartment.
• I do not consent to any searches.
• Do you have a warrant, officer?
• I will not answer questions without a lawyer.

Re:What to say to police

[bberens]

I would suggest not offering any Yes or Nos. Simply politely provide the officer your license, registration, and potentially car insurance information if asked for it. The only thing you need to say is "Am I being detained?" and "Am I free to go?" If the answer to either of those questions is "No." Then your only response after that is that you need your lawyer.

Re:What to say to police

[gknoy]

Great point -- however, if one has a weapon of any variety (even one that might be in plain sight), it's wise to tell the officer that before making any moves that might possibly be construed as reaching for a weapon. Things like, "Officer, I am wearing a pistol on my hip, which is near my seatbelt" or "I have a pistol in my glove compartment" or "I have a hunting knife on my belt", followed by a question about how you can most safely comply with their directions might help their peace of mind (and your safety) a lot.

Re:Common sense wins

[horza]

Sorry to reply to my own post, but things have changed. Sweden have now decided they want to appeal against the bail, but have declined to provide any evidence as to any crimes committed. It looks like a vindictive attack is in process to keep him in jail and incommunicado as long as possible. Also the courts aren't taking cheques as they take 7 days to clear, so $380,000 has to be found in used pound notes. Looks like restaurant designer Sarah Saunders, who is putting up $237,000 of bail money, is going to be making a large withdrawal.

In addition to conditions above, curfew from 10am-2pm and 10pm-2am according to the BBC. What a coincidence these are the hours that cover the prime-time news slots.

Phillip.

Re:It's good to have allies

[blair1q]

I started reading that, but the first "lie" was merely dramatic license. I've seen lists like this before and they're all like that.

Moore's use of dramatic methods to tell the story are not lying, not in the way that the right wing's diversions, obfuscations, and blatant lies are lying.

In the end, Moore tells you the truth, and the GOP and its corporate masters and its gibbering minions take your money and move on to their next lie.

Re:Or:

[horza]

First of all what you are saying is not true. He offered the State department the chance to redact the documents, which they declined, then worked in conjunction with respectable papers such as the Guardian and New York Times to publish them.

Secondly, the job of a journalist is to find stories in the public interest and publish them. They aren't all caped crusaders. At least Wikileaks is only publishing information that is anonymously sent to them. In the UK journalists are quite happy to break the law, hack into people's private information, and do whatever it takes to get a story. News of The World in the UK hacked into the voicemail of celebrities, politicians and royal family to get stories (list of victims here).

I would trust Julian Assange to be more apolitical than Michael Moore.

Phillip.

Re:It's good to have allies

[segedunum]

Nevertheless, companies where Bush's friends are directors (Halliburton, most notably) have profited handsomely.