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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."

83 of 987 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Empty theatrics by Pojut · · Score: 4, Informative

    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."

  2. It's good to have allies by Animats · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Having a successful Hollywood producer with a track record of successfully embarrassing big companies and governments as a supporter can't hurt.

    1. Re:It's good to have allies by LWATCDR · · Score: 3, Informative

      Except that his movies made at least one completely false statement that I know of for sure. He said that factory that was making the Titan IV was making ballistic missiles. It is not and has never been a ballistic missile. It was based on the Titan II which was ballistic missile but was retired from service long ago.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    2. Re:It's good to have allies by Americano · · Score: 3, Insightful

      When he purports to be creating "documentaries," yes, it kind of does.

      You see, documentaries are generally held to be factual representations of some aspect of life that the filmmaker wants to... document. Now, if Mr. Moore titled his movies with such names as "The Conspiracy that I, Michael Moore, am sure is behind the 9/11 attacks!" then you could say that they are documentaries: documenting his views and opinions.

      But he represents these opinions and views and interpretations as objective, factual depictions of a situation, and they are demonstrably not in many cases. How much trust can you give to the work of a documentary filmmaker who is known to be distorting the truth, or even deliberately lying, in order to bolster his own viewpoint?

      Would you trust the Discovery Channel to tell you the truth if they released a documentary purporting to show the reality of how lions and other animals interact in the wild, and that movie turned out to be Disney's The Lion King, complete with musical numbers?

    3. Re:It's good to have allies by blair1q · · Score: 5, Informative

      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.

    4. Re:It's good to have allies by segedunum · · Score: 4, Interesting

      This is the same guy who has insinuated that George W. Bush is pals with Osama Bin Laden

      Well, we can only go on what we know and we know that Bush and Bin Laden, certainly through his family, have invested in a lot of companies together. The Bin Ladens are very well known, wealthy and extremely well connected in Saudi Arabia. The notion that Bush knows nothing about him is just plain fishy.

      ...and specifically sent too few troops into Afghanistan to make sure Bin Laden escaped and wanted to keep his Taliban friends safe.

      Well, all we know is that not a trace of Osama Bin Laden has ever been found. Not a single lead. Not a sausage. Nothing. This is from a guy and his supporters who are supposed to be propping up a worldwide terrorism network who are well connected and well funded. Oh, and there's a lot of companies with directors who are friends of George Bush who are making quite a bit of money from the 'rebuilding' of Afghanistan. Basically, it's in their interests to keep the whole thing going.

      I think people are more then entitled to ask what the hell is going on. The trouble with this stuff is that you almost get a kind of 'reverse conspiracy theory' effect and governments have learned to use this phenomenon, especially when they do something bare faced and obvious. Basically, it's so unbelievable for most people that no amount of evidence will convince them that there is even the smallest thing wrong. Note, we're not talking about grand conspiracy theories here, we're just talking about admitting that something is wrong. The notion that there is something wrong and the consequences would rock their cosy little world too much, and so, they will go into denial and even defend the status quo in order to protect their own bubble of perceived security.

    5. Re:It's good to have allies by segedunum · · Score: 4, Informative

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

  3. Posts it where?? by OzPeter · · Score: 3, Funny

    Someone tell me the IP address of the website where I see Assange's bail.

    --
    I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
  4. Re:In an alternate reality... by BobMcD · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So, since he's fat, he's lazy? Piercing insight, that.

    I don't care much for Moore, but he's doing the right thing here, so maybe store the venom up for a day when he's not?

  5. uhhhh, thanks, but... by HeckRuler · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That's probably going to hurt Julian in the long run. Michael Moore is kind of the Rush Limbaugh of the Liberals, and as odd as it is, it seems that the two-party system here has decided that Wikileaks is on the liberal side. So this will only re-enforce that.

    I'm still confused why the people that are supposed to be for a smaller government would be nay saying evidence that big government is doing horrible things behind our backs.

  6. Re:Just Leave by BobMcD · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why doesn't Michael Moore just move to a country more to his liking since he clearly hates the one he is a citizen of? Cuba, perhaps?

    A lot of people here like this country just the way it is and don't want anyone, Moore, Obama, or anyone else changing it in to something else.

    Leave, Michael! You'd be happier, and we'd be happier.

    If you think that allowing a government to flat out lie to us is 'loving your country', then I'd personally rather YOU leave. I don't care for Moore, but I care even less for all the sheep begging to be shorn!

    Your distaste for Michael Moore is causing you to lobby against THE TRUTH for crying out loud. And I'm sorry, but that's just morally bankrupt.

  7. Re:Doomed by patjhal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I do not understand comments like these. I have no reason to dislike him as a person from what I know of his personal life, but lets face it, I do not really know the guy. Hes not my neighbor. I love the professional work he does. There does seem to be allot of FUD attached to his person mainly due to people wanting to discredit him. I find people who believe it do not look deeply into whatever issue is involved.

  8. Re:Doomed by Pojut · · Score: 4, Insightful

    My problem with him on a personal level is he doesn't let the evidence speak for itself...he seems to find it imperitive to make sure that you know that he's the one saying it.

    Like I said, I absolutely support and love the work he does, but the man's need for attention pisses me off.

  9. Re:Alternative headline by commodore64_love · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Although I don't like Michael Moore (he's comparable to a propagandist) he sometimes does the right thing. His mid-90s movie about manufacturing an excuse to declare war (and give the president a boost in popularity) was very good. And this act to bail a Reporter out of jail and protect the Right to a Free Press is also very good.

    Without wikileaks we wouldn't know that US Soldiers were killing innocent journalists and children (the Pentagon denied the event happened). That Hillary Clinton was stealing credit card numbers from foreign diplomats. The content of the ACTA treaty to make backing-up your CDs or DVDs or MP3s and illegal act. And on and on and on.

    Democracy can not work when the people are kept in the dark about what their public servants are doing.

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  10. Not a Michael Moore Fan by diskofish · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I am not a Michael Moore fan, but he should be lauded for the action. Hopefully others will follow Mr. Moore's lead and take a stand for freedom of speech.

  11. Re:Empty theatrics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It is thought that one of the women, Anna Ardin, may no longer be cooperating with prosecutors."

    It should be mentioned that this statement stems from the fact that she is currently on a three month stay in Israel with an ecumenical Christian group. She has been blogging how excited she is about this trip for months.

  12. Re:Moore Claims Credit! by Bemopolis · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

    --
    "I guess the moral of the story is, don't paint your airship with rocket fuel." -- Addison Bain
  13. No money actually required by maroberts · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.

    --

    Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
    Karma: Chameleon

  14. Re:Doomed by Feyshtey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I enthusiastically applaud his work in pulling off the lamb outfit from world governments and corporations.

    What purpose is served in releasing the fact that Hilary Clinton worries about the mental health of other world leaders? How does that aid in our international relations?

    That's just one of 1000's of items that were released that are not crimes, are not important for the American people to know, and still undermine our government's ability to operate on the world stage.

    Releasing those kinds of documents doesn't serve a greater good. It doesnt expose any wrong-doings. It doesn't help create stability, ensure -anyone's- safety, or promote any kind of cooperation between nations. It was released to embarrass the US government and garner sensationlistic attention from a little weasle.

    Not to mention that this guy released the names of confidential informants in the middle east. In doing so he signed the death warrants of those people. What greater purpose was served by releasing their names? What good will come of that? What crime did they commit? What evil are they responsible for? Where are your indignant tears for them and their families who will almost assuredly be slaughtered?

    --
    "But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it,..." - Nancy Pelosi
  15. Re:Just Leave by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I guess he's much like me. I love the US. I love the country, I love the people.

    I just hate the government and the way it's run.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  16. only if by unity100 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    youre an american maybe. from the outside, we see moore a hero. maybe its possible that the endless propaganda perpetrated by corporate owned mass media have twisted you american people's views about moore, just as it twisted your views about wikileaks.

    1. Re:only if by Graff · · Score: 3, Insightful

      from the outside, we see moore a hero. maybe its possible that the endless propaganda perpetrated by corporate owned mass media have twisted you american people's views about moore

      The problem is that most of Moore's "facts" which he presents in his movies turn out to be no more than elaborate fabrications. He routinely takes quotes out of context, overlays a speech over video from another event, re-arranges video and audio, creates set-up interviews where he asks the guy one question and then re-shoots himself asking another question so the answer is presented in the manner which Moore wants, and many more methods of turning real events into fictional ones.

      There are plenty of websites out there that take Moore's movies and show, "fact" by "fact", just how badly Moore manipulates reality. Now this doesn't mean that Moore's topics aren't worth investigating, it just means that you can't take anything he says as the truth. Do your own investigation into the truth and you'll be far better off than relying on Moore to do the job for you.

    2. Re:only if by vegiVamp · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Isn't that pretty much the modus operandi of most American "news" sources, not to mention government institutions and politicians ?

      --
      What a depressingly stupid machine.
    3. Re:only if by kaiser423 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nothing seriously needing George W. Bush's attention was actually happening.

      What the fuck? No, seriously, what the fuck?!?! Fucking A, do you really believe this?

      9/11 just happened, and it wasn't anything seriously enough happening to require our President's attention?!? God damn man, seriously?!?!?

      Like, maybe getting informed as to what was happening beyond shit whispered in his ear? Calling up National Guard, declaring disaster areas, etc? He's not supossed to do any of that? What is this England, and he's royalty, some figurehead?

      Seriously, I am just mouth agape at this point. My god.

    4. Re:only if by tophermeyer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Like, maybe getting informed as to what was happening beyond shit whispered in his ear? Calling up National Guard, declaring disaster areas, etc? He's not supossed to do any of that?.

      No.... He wasn't really supposed to do any of that. Seriously.

      Intelligence activity takes time to come up from analysts through the various levels of filters until it gets to the President. We have entire agencies of analysts whose job it is to figure out what is going on and inform him. At that point him doing his job is saying "keep me informed".

      And more importantly, the rest of those responsibilities mostly fall under the State and local government. Specifically the National Guard would have had to have been called up by then Governor Pataki. Local emergency response was handled at the municipal level by Giuliani (quite aggressively I might add, he had to be evacuated from several command posts during the course of the day because buildings were falling down around him).

      Unless and until a State Governor officially requests federal assistance, the President literally has no authority to send federal troops or resources. Given the number of times this came up during GWB's Presidency, I am shocked that more people don't understand this.

  17. Re:Doomed by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He makes some good points, but he makes them incredibly badly. He's the kind of person who could turn 'water is wet' into a controversial statement. Even when he says something that I agree with, he makes me want to argue.

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  18. Re:Doomed by Pojut · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What purpose is served in releasing the fact that Hilary Clinton worries about the mental health of other world leaders? How does that aid in our international relations?

    That's just one of 1000's of items that were released that are not crimes, are not important for the American people to know, and still undermine our government's ability to operate on the world stage.

    Releasing those kinds of documents doesn't serve a greater good. It doesnt expose any wrong-doings. It doesn't help create stability, ensure -anyone's- safety, or promote any kind of cooperation between nations. It was released to embarrass the US government and garner sensationlistic attention from a little weasle.

    If they have nothing to hide, they have nothing to worry about...right? I mean, that's what they told us with the Patriot Act and warrentless wiretapping, so...

    Not to mention that this guy released the names of confidential informants in the middle east. In doing so he signed the death warrants of those people. What greater purpose was served by releasing their names? What good will come of that? What crime did they commit? What evil are they responsible for? Where are your indignant tears for them and their families who will almost assuredly be slaughtered?

    Can you find me one single recorded instance of anyone over there being killed directly because of the Iraq/Afghanistan war docs?

  19. Re:Empty theatrics by Keruo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    > Assange is wanted for questioning for alleged sex crimes involving two women in Sweden.
    What annoys me with media is that they twist the sentence above to say that he's wanted for rape charges.

    --
    There are no atheists when recovering from tape backup.
  20. Sweet, Sweet Irony by dcigary · · Score: 4, Funny

    If would be sweet, sweet irony if it turns out that Wikileaks has something on Michael Moore, like that's he a paid corporate shill, or that he has an account on iheart12yoldboys.com. /just sayin'

    --
    ...my Karma ran over your Dogma...
    1. Re:Sweet, Sweet Irony by greatgreygreengreasy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Or that he's actually the same person as Rush Limbaugh, but really both are played by the greatest actor in the world, FRED SAVAGE!

      --
      LRN 2 SWM
  21. Re:In an alternate reality... by Sockatume · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Right, it's the worst atrocities, or nothing. Nobody's supposed to condemn any of the other stuff in between. Certainly they're not supposed to address the issues that they, personally, find important. What the hell would we have then? Freedom? The hell with that.

    --
    No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
  22. Re:Doomed by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Insightful

    My problem with him on a personal level is he doesn't let the evidence speak for itself...he seems to find it imperitive to make sure that you know that he's the one saying it.

    Moore is a counterpoint to places like Fox News and CNN which screech really loudly their views. They sure as hell aren't letting the evidence speak for itself -- they speak for it, and sometimes, in lieu of it.

    I don't think Moore has ever denied that he has an agenda, and that he's telling the story his way.

    Like I said, I absolutely support and love the work he does, but the man's need for attention pisses me off.

    Well, Sarah Palin is no different, really ... just with a different set of biases. Same goes for most of the talking heads on CNN.

    Heck, I remember watching some guy on CNN several years ago saying that the crash of 2008 was coming because of all of the crap credit out there. He basically got shouted down by a bunch of arch-conservative guys who believed that it could never happen.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  23. Re:oh gee by Pojut · · Score: 4, Insightful

    so this is different from fox news, all the corporate news channels, how ?

    Moore works to expose corruption, while corporate media generally helps enable it. I'd say that's a pretty big difference.

  24. Re:In an alternate reality... by GodfatherofSoul · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Good point. There isn't really a health care crisis in this country and we weren't lied into the Iraq war. Thanks for clearing that up.

    --
    I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
  25. Re:Doomed by rainmouse · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I despise Moore as a person. .

    Michael Moore went through a mass character assassination to similar to Julian Assange. Note that as the stream of negative publicity backfired as the ulterior motives were exposed and people stopped swallowing so much shit, the pictures attached to news articles changed from an seedy looking, sneering, oily Gollum lookalike into a reasonably normal looking guy. They could both be asshats or great guys, I have no idea but I certainly don't intend to allow two faced news rag peddlers dictate my opinions of anyone.

    Lacking the opportunity to meet these people within my normal social circles, I prefer to form my own opinions based upon unedited and unbiased interviews of a reasonable enough length to prevent any contextual manipulation. Sadly that's not how the news will ever portray someone, it doesn't sell so well.

  26. Re:Goose Gander by moogied · · Score: 3, Informative

    Because it is NOT his burden. He is NOT guilty as of right now, he has no requirement to submit to this crap until they released there warrant. Once they released it he took about a week or so to turn himself in. Thats a very standard delay period in international cases like this, it takes a few days for paper work to travel around for lawyers to review and make sure everything is in order. Then people need a day or two to set there personal stuff in place, THEN he can go submit himself for questioning.. which generally means a stay in Jail.

    --
    So basically, -1 troll/offtopic is really slashdots way of saying "I hate that you thought of something before me."
  27. Re:Doomed by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I got disgusted with him after watching a part of Bowling for Columbine where he went to the Shopko (or some other store) where the assailants bought bullets. He then proceeded to badger one of the cashiers at length, insinuating that they bore responsibility for those murders because they sold bullets. That was when I was done with Michael Moore forever. Even if I agreed with his point (which I don't), that's no excuse to badger someone.

    --
    "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
  28. Common sense wins by horza · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Journalist John Pilger and socialite Jemima Khan are putting up $31,600 surety each, with bail set at $380,000. It looks like enough people like Michael Moore have guaranteed the bail money as he has been bailed pending appeal (the prosecutors have 2 hours to appeal). He should be released by the end of the day.

    He has had his passport confiscated, been electronically tagged, is under curfew and house arrest during the evenings, and must report to the police station every day. This is fair enough, it is no different to any other offender afaik. Certainly not the Guantamo Bay scenario he has had the past week, with "absolutely no access to any electronic equipment, no access to the outside world, no access to outside media" and no correspondence allowed.

    The fast tracking through political influence, and the imprisonment for an as yet unfounded allegation in a foreign country, is a blot on our country's record, but it's good to see our strong and mostly fair legal system reassert itself after a short delay.

    Phillip.

    1. Re:Common sense wins by horza · · Score: 5, Informative

      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.

  29. Re:Goose Gander by luther349 · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.

  30. Re:Alternative headline by commodore64_love · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have a better idea:

    Let's bring the soldiers home so they can't accidentally kill children, journalists, or innocents. Or get killed themselves. And I don't mean two years from now ('bama's schedule) but immediately. Tomorrow. The Soviets wisely stopped fighting in Afghanistan when they realized it's hopeless to civilize that mountain country, and we should too. We'd save a LOT of lives.

    >>>you didn't know that in war civilian sometimes get killed?

    Of course. But that doesn't excuse the Pentagon lying about it and pretending war is as clean as a hospital room ("surgical precision to avoid civilian casualties" they claimed). It's good to have these videos exposed to reveal the lie.

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  31. Re:OUR name and tax money? by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What the hell is it about Wikileaks that brings out the nutbag libertarians?

    --
    Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
  32. Re:Doomed by zeroshade · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Everyone believes they are in the middle.

  33. What to say to police by Lilith's+Heart-shape · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.
    1. Re:What to say to police by JustOK · · Score: 5, Funny

      COP: Is that your penis in the drive-thru window?

      • Yes, officer.

      COP: Did someone force you to do that?

      No, officer.

      COP: Why is your hand in your ass cheeks?

      Officer, I'm getting my wallet from my pocket now.

      COP: Why are you bending over like that?

      Officer, I'm getting my registration/insurance documents from the glove compartment.

      COP: I think you lost your mind. Let's look for it.

      I do not consent to any searches.

      Do you have a warrant, officer?

      COP: Did you ask me if I have a warrant?

      I will not answer questions without a lawyer.

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
    2. Re:What to say to police by bberens · · Score: 4, Informative

      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.

      --
      Check out my lame java blog at www.javachopshop.com
    3. Re:What to say to police by gknoy · · Score: 4, Informative

      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.

    4. Re:What to say to police by Lilith's+Heart-shape · · Score: 3, Informative

      "There are four lights!"

    5. Re:What to say to police by johnlcallaway · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Really...so a week or so ago when that police officer pulled me over to tell me my lights weren't on, I should have been far more confrontational instead of having that nice chat we had about how beautiful Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is during their Winter Festival.

      It's been my experience that most police officers are nice people that have to deal with the occasional asshole who automatically assumes he is being hassled and wrongfully claims he has never done anything wrong in his entire life, or feels that the police officers should have something better to do than to pull them over for going 15 mph over the speed limit since he can drive safely at that speed.

      Well .. the asshole is usually partially correct, police officers do have something better to do than traffic stops. And if said asshole would follow the speed limit or not run red lights or not do illegal lane changes that endanger other people, then the nice police officer could get right to those more important things.

      --
      I rarely read replies, it's my opinion and if you thought about your opinion a little more, I'm OK with that.
  34. Re:Doomed by Rakshasa+Taisab · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How does it aid your international relations?...

    Fuck you and your country's international relations.

    People in a lot of countries are getting a wakeup call on how the US really views them and their elected (or not elected) leaders, and while it has been 'known' by those in the know... Still to have it exposed to the public in such a manner means it's much harder to try hiding it from the people.

    Much of it is just embarrassing and not really 'relevant' stuff, true. Yet being a 'crime' is not really the standard by which we should filter them... Cause in that case even talk of acts of torture would be considered not interesting considering what the US has been up to lately.

    Remember; these leaks are not primarily for the American people. They are for the rest of the world.

    --
    - These characters were randomly selected.
  35. Ulterior Motive? by l0ungeb0y · · Score: 5, Funny

    If Assange goes missing and Moore puts on another 90lbs, I think we can chalk this up as the most expensive Take-Out meal ever

    1. Re:Ulterior Motive? by EnsilZah · · Score: 3, Funny

      Surely it's worth it, for only be feasting on his flesh may he gain his powers.

  36. Re:Empty theatrics by Myopic · · Score: 3, Informative

    My understanding is he's wanted for some non-standard local law having to do with wearing a condom, and that that "crime" is specifically not rape. Having seen this in at least a couple dozen news articles, you'd have to show me quite a bit of alternative stories saying the charge is RAPE, in order to convince me.

  37. Re:Alternative headline by gtbritishskull · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yes, in war civilians get killed. That does not make it OK to lie about how those people died. If it is only a few then the public will probably accept it as acceptable collateral damage. If not, then the public can put pressure on politicians to change how things are progressing. It is a check upon the workings of the government. But, if the government lies about it, then that check is circumvented. If you don't know the truth about what is going on, then how do you judge whether your government is acting in your best interests (as opposed to the best interests of the rich and powerful)?

  38. Re:Doomed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The greatest purpose that was served was to show you how fragile or even imaginative your freedom of speech really is. There seems to be a national will to get rid of Wikileaks by any means necessary. Nobody gives a shit he is not even US citizen and that even if he was, he broke no law. He is simply a reporter whom everybody is trying to shut down simply because he is embarrasing them. Sure, not all leaks server greater good per se, but you, USA citizens, really should ask yourselves what values you stand for. Cause it does not seem to be based on your constitution, the way your founding fathers planned.

  39. Re:Goose Gander by Lilith's+Heart-shape · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Doesn't matter. They talked. As soon as you say anything to a cop beyond name/rank/serial number and "I want a lawyer", the police will find a charge to hang on you based on what you tell them.

  40. Re:Or: by horza · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

  41. Re:In an alternate reality... by aztektum · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You know, Michael Moore may resort to half-truths and tugging at the heart strings, but if you have a brain you can see beyond that while still finding a valid message.

    If you're an idiot, I'd still rather have you following Michael Moore's rhetoric than Glenn Beck's.

    --
    :: aztek ::
    No sig for you!!
  42. Re:Doomed by spun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I hear this all the time, "He makes some good points but makes them badly." I don't understand this at all. You agree with him, but the way he says things makes you not want to agree? How does that work? What is it about his communication style that makes you want to disagree with things you actually agree with?

    Are you sure you agree with what he is saying? Maybe you do agree with him, but you really don't want to agree with him? Maybe you don't want a fat hippie liberal slob to be right, because it sets a bad precedent and then other fat hippie liberal slobs might start speaking up? I don't know, I'm just guessing here. Maybe it is because he is a populist, and you are an elitist, and even when populists are correct, elitists have to put them down, to maintain their elite status? Maybe "He makes some good points but makes them badly." is some sort of code for "I really don't want to agree with him, but I have pretensions of intellectual honesty I am loath to give up, and I have to admit that he is telling the truth even though I don't want to."

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  43. Re:And you're surprised? by Myopic · · Score: 3, Interesting

    He sure does. Sigh. I wish the truth were capable of changing the minds of most people, but it isn't. That's too bad, but until individual humans reject nontruths, at least the side of morality and reason has a liar to rely on. Moore is a rare liberal, the kind that would rather convince than tell the truth, and in that he does the world good. I bet you would agree with me that the optimal world would be one in which the truth is more convincing than a lie. Alas, we will have to long for that world, while we settle for this one.

  44. Re:Goose Gander by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 3, Informative

    Go watch the Youtube videos "Never talk to the police" and then come back to the thread.

    "I have nothing to say"

    "My lawyer's name is [their name here]"

    --

    ---
    ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
  45. Re:All that means is you don't fact check by copponex · · Score: 5, Insightful

    His version of the Iraq War? That the United States

    1) Manufactured intelligence about WMDs
    2) Ignored all international inspectors who said there were no WMDs
    3) Kicked the inspectors out so they could have their war
    4) Lied to the American people about the cost and length of war, with Rumsfeld publicly stating that it won't last "much longer" than 5 months or cost more than 50 to 60 billion dollars
    5) Ended up torturing Iraqis in the same prisons where Saddam did his dirty work
    6) Pretended that we hadn't supported Saddam right through his worst atrocities in the 80s, including supplying him with "dual use" technology to wage a war with Iran that killed a million people and
    7) Removing Iraq from the State sponsors of Terror list in 1982 so US firms could also sell him biological weapons to kill Kurds with

    If you were born in Germany in 1920, you would have died wearing a belt buckle that read "GOTT MIT UNS." Blind fealty to the flag is fucking pathetic.

  46. Re:Doomed by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What the hell? I never said the two were equivalent by any means. Your sense of reading comprehension needs work.

    --
    "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
  47. Re:Doomed by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 3, Informative

    People can hate both Moore and Palin.

    No, you have to choose. You get to pick either Moore, abortion, gun control, gay marriage support; or Palin, destroying terrorists, bailouts and conservative values.

    You can't pick and choose a la carte. This isn't a restaurant. This is America.

    --

    ---
    ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
  48. Re:Goose Gander by Moryath · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The problem with that is, most cops in the US are corrupt dickheads who will beat you down or arrest you on the "fuck it we'll find something to charge you with later" principle if they don't think you are being properly "respectful" to them.

    And yes, this includes telling them "no, I don't consent to any searches." Their actual response isn't "well then I can't search you", it's "well fuck that, I'll beat you up, throw you in my car in cuffs, and while you spend 48 hours in jail we'll break your window and search your car anyways."

  49. Re:Or: by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    However, Assange is NOT a journalist. Journalists are supposed to have a sense of responsibility. All Assange does is release documents no matter what they are, without apparently trying to determine if they NEED to be leaked.

    I don't think you know what the word "journalist" means. A journalist is anyone who reports the news as an occupation. That's it. No other qualification needed.

    And journalists who worry about "sense of responsibility" are everywhere -- they're the folks writing bland, instantly forgettable wire service stories; they're the interchangeable talking heads on TV; they're the soothing voices on the radio that you couldn't put names to if your life depended on it. The very few journalists who dig deeper, who know there's always more muck to rake, who have the intelligence and dedication and raw courage to speak truth to power, are the ones whose names are remembered, and rightly so.

    Woodward and Bernstein are still household names long after most of their contemporaries have been utterly forgotton. So will Assange be. And while people like you may continue to whine, those of us who want to live in a better world will remember why.

    --
    The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
  50. Re:What to say to police (what is costs) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I learned something recently about this. If you don't talk to the police, they will try to coerce you. Remember, they can hold you for 72 hours without filing charges. So, if you don't talk to them, expect to be arrested, booked, spend 12 hours in holding cells, held in jail with convicted criminals until they finally choose not to file charges against and release you. Bail is so high its impossible for non-celebrities to pay. Even bail bonds cost you 10% and that's a fee. I spent 3 days in jail vs paying $5,000 bail bond (on $50k bail). It was an educational experience. I was exercising my civil rights and for that I was treated like an animal. Hand cuffed, strip searched, DNA scanned. Jail is so dehumanizing.

  51. Re:oh gee by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Insightful

    the man engages in ideological arguments that don't guarantee any financial return. he could take the money he earns and lead a much more lucrative life, not doing things like, for example, springing for assange's bail

    look: you don't have to like michael moore, but you have to admit that he is a man of conscience, that what motivates him is belief, not greed. to say that someone like michael moore is really just motivated by money, when he clearly is a shining example of a person motivated by ideology, is just a lame weak ignorant smear on your part

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  52. Re:In an alternate reality... by Johnny5000 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You know, Michael Moore may resort to half-truths and tugging at the heart strings, but if you have a brain you can see beyond that while still finding a valid message.

    The thing is, there IS a valid message, and he doesn't need to resort to half-truths to get that message across. The message should speak for itself. Embellishments and falsehoods are only going to cloud the validity of that message.

    --
    The libertarian solution to the failures of capitalism is to apply more capitalism til the failures are fixed.
  53. Re:Doomed by spun · · Score: 3, Insightful

    And I think your mother was a llama. What do I base that on? Absolutely nothing, which appears to be the standard of proof you are using.

    Moore made his argument. Your rebuttal to his argument is "He lies and uses bad logic." which isn't really any kind of rebuttal or argument at all, it is just an unsupported opinion. Remember, that which can be claimed without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence. So, consider yourself and your opinions dismissed until you come back with some evidence.

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  54. It's called Democracy by mathmathrevolution · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Michael Moore falls prey to a mistake in ethical reasoning by failing to expound that taxation is immoral as well as the rest of my trite ideological drivel."

  55. Re:Doomed by spun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Uh, wow. Just... wow. You saw this movie? You saw a movie named "Bowling for Columbine," and you watched the whole thing? Really?

    I am reminded of a scene in A Fish Called Wanda and a line that goes "The central theme of Buddhism is NOT 'Every man for himself.'" You think the central theme of Bowling for Columbine is gun control?!? Really?!?

    I just have to ask, what about the whole last half of the movie? What about Canada? Micheal discovers that gun control isn't the answer, because guns were never the problem in the first place, and he makes that very clear.

    So, I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop you right there and ask you to actually watch one of Micheal Moore's films before you critique him.

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  56. Ok, well here you go: by HeckRuler · · Score: 3, Insightful
    -DynCorp, funded by USA taxpayers, bought young male sex slaves for Afghan cops in a "batca bazzi" party. It's a tradition over there apparently.
    -They're moving prisoners out of Guantanamo to foreign prisons.
    -Under reporting deaths in Afghanistan. It's not going nearly as well as they've said it has.
    -Strong-arm tactics regarding the Copenhagen Accord. Spying, bribing, threats, and cutting off millions of dollars to Ecuador and Bolivia. Politics as usual, sure, but it's still corruption.
    -Shoving US-style IP laws down Spain's throat.
    -Diplomats know that the Saudi Arabians are the primary donors to Al-Queada. Aren't they an ally? Isn't our "strong military presence" in the area supposed to stop that sort of thing?
    -The CIA pressured Spain into dropping investigations into the killing of José Couso, a Spanish journalist, in Iraq by American troops.

    That's, you know, our government doing horrible things of various levels. There's a BOATLOAD of details about others doing horrible things. For example:

    The Shell Oil Company claimed it had inserted staff into all the main ministries of the Nigerian government, giving it access to every movement of politicians. Ann Pickard, then Shell's vice-president for sub-Saharan Africa boasted that the Nigerian government had "forgotten" about the extent of Shell's infiltration and was unaware of how much the company knew about its deliberations.

  57. Re:Doomed by TooMuchToDo · · Score: 3, Informative

    The law isn't always used for justice. It's also used for revenge and control.

  58. Re:Goose Gander by Moryath · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Bullshit.

    They all start out on the lowest rung, making ticket quota. They quickly learn every trick in the book to make it "my word vs yours" - pointing their car's nose wrong-way to block off dashcam, leaning into your car to muffle the audio recording, and so on.

    By the time they graduate from traffic ticket quota days, there's no saving them - they're about number of arrests and convictions, not whether they actually did their job right, or followed the law, or got the real culprit. The goal of the police interrogator isn't to find out what you know and determine if your alibi checks out, it's to get you to say something that can be used to incriminate you, and to do so, they will pull any underhanded trick they need - drop a hint in the hallway, sit there "waiting for your lawyer" with the tape off for hours while bugging you about how "all you have to do is talk to us and you can go home", and on and on and on.

    I never wanted to admit this growing up, but cops - at least, cops that come up through the corrupt US system - are slime. If not 100% of them, better than 90% of them, easily.

  59. Re:Goose Gander by Svartalf · · Score: 3, Informative

    Heh...more the fool you.

    Here's a gem that shoots down the premise you're trying to promulgate here...

    Part 1
    Part 2

    These are videos of a lecture given by Professor Duane, an instructor at Regent Law School and a Experienced LEO that's moving into the Legal profession on just precisely WHY you don't do what you're talking about.

    Pay particular attention to how fast someone can be deep-sixed in a courtroom on flimsy crap, stuff that a Jury would have some difficulty discounting.

    Regardless of "if you don't have anything to hide"...anything can and WILL be used against you at any time.

    --
    I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
  60. Re:Doomed by spun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The reason that I want specific examples, rather than a general fucking google search, is that I can rebut specific examples. Thanks for wasting everyone's time with your useless contribution to the discussion. Give me some specific examples of Micheal Moore lying so I can prove he isn't, or shut the hell up.

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  61. Re:Doomed by jayme0227 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yes, because, in a state that has such a large dependence on tourism based around nature, most bullets sold are primarily for the purpose of murder rather than hunting, wildlife management, or target shooting.

    In 2009, there were 175 murders in Colorado. In 1981, the year with the greatest number of murders on record, there were 239. These are total counts for murder, they do not delineate gun murders from any other method. In 2008 approximately 41,000 pheasant roosters were harvested. That's just pheasants. I'm not even going to take the time to find out the bag totals of other animals/hunting seasons.

    Nobody's "pretending" that the majority of bullets sold are for hunting.

    --
    But then I realized the cable was blue, so I only gave it one star. I hate blue.
  62. Re:Goose Gander by puto · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Really? Though I do not doubt many cops are "crooked" in the US I have really never had a problem with them. Of course I have always yes sir, no sirred them and not run my mouth.(over the course of 27 years of driving). And I am brown and grew up in the south. However, I work in Colombia, Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Panama, and Mexico, and would love a good ol redneck police force in these countries. If you think US cops are corrupt, you have not lived, travelled in Latin America.

    --
    The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
  63. Max Stirner would like a word with you. by Lilith's+Heart-shape · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "The state calls its own violence law, and that of the individual crime."

  64. Re:Goose Gander by TheTyrannyOfForcedRe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    And in the US, you pay taxes and are given a court-appointed attorney to represent you if you can't afford to hire one of your own.

    Or are you suggesting that in the UK, your taxes get you legal representation from lawyers on par with Alan Dershowitz and William Rehnquist?

    I used to think the same thing. A friend of mine was recently arrested in an airport for saying the wrong thing. (It turns out that the officer misheard what he had said but that's another story.) This friend makes $13K a year. He was denied access to a public defender. Apparently, in some jurisdictions the judge gets to decide who can afford a lawyer. The incident happened during a layover on an international flight so the charges were in a city 1000's of miles from my friend's home. He had to pay to fly himself 1/2 way across the country to appear at his court date. Travel costs alone were a huge fraction of his yearly income. Still, they denied him a public defender.

    --
    "Liechtenstein is the world's largest producer of sausage casings, potassium storage units, and false teeth."
  65. Except, he never said those things... facts: by chrb · · Score: 3, Informative

    This is the same guy who has insinuated that George W. Bush is pals with Osama Bin Laden and specifically sent too few troops into Afghanistan to make sure Bin Laden escaped and wanted to keep his Taliban friends safe.

    Do you have a citation for these claims? From what I remember of the movie, the points you refer to are:

    • The claim that the Bush family have business contacts and personal friendships with some of the Bin Laden family - the friendships being so close that they affectionately nicknamed one Bin Laden "Bandar Bush". However, there is no claim, at all, that George W. Bush is pals with Osama Bin Laden. Moore does make a point that the Bin Ladens were given special "fly" approval and allowed to leave the country when everyone else in the U.S. was prohibited from flying. Given the personal and financial contacts that the Bin Laden family have had with Osama, Moore suggests that interviewing these people may have been more appropriate.
    • The claim that Bush sent too few troops into Tora Bora, despite having intelligence that Osama bin Laden was there. This refers to the incident: "How bin Laden outsmarted Bush in caves of Tora Bora". Despite publically stating that they were certain Osama was in Tora Bora, only a special operations task force of fewer than 30 US soldiers was sent after him, and no attempt was made to close mountain passes with Pakistan. Several thousand U.S. troops from the US Army's Tenth Mountain Division were just across the border in Uzbekistan and ready to be sent in to action, but the order was never given.

    The Bush/Bin Laden family and business connection stuff is documented fact. The President's special "fly" approval enabling the Bin Laden's to leave the U.S. immediately after the 9/11 attacks is documented fact. The decision to send fewer than 30 soldiers to pursue Osama, when they knew (or claimed to know) where he was, is documented fact. What is so outrageous about Moore's statements here?

  66. Re:OUR name and tax money? by RazorSharp · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm a nutbag anarcho-capitalist, and I donate to Wikileaks.

    And Ron Paul supports Wikileaks as well. Good old Wikileaks, bringing the nutbag socialists (myself) and nutbag libertarians into agreement. But really, why should government transparency be a right-wing/left-wing issue? The ones who paint it as a liberal/conservative issue are just trying to demonize their opponents. A sad effect of the two-party system in the U.S.

    --
    "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."