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Julian & Benny, Muammar & Vladimir

Some people have the money. Others have the suits.

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The BBC revealed on 25 November that Papua freedom fighter Benny Wenda has been slapped with an Interpol Red Notice by the government of Indonesia. Odds are low that Wenda will be extradited as he's a citizen of the UK today. But it does make travel difficult.

The BBC also revealed that Russian banker Vladimir Antonov was slapped with an EAW this past week. Antonov is a Russian banker operating in London. Odds are he won't be extradited either: he's filthy rich, owns a football club, and has ties into the UK government and banking industry.

There'll be a ruling on Antonov's EAW. Antonov is now out on bail. He's suspected of embezzling hundreds of millions back home and faces up to ten years in prison if extradited and found guilty.

Antonov, a citizen of Russia, got a good deal from the UK court: he paid a petty £75,000 in bail and will have to report to a police station of his choice three times per week.

Julian Assange, wanted for questioning in a case of sex without a functional condom, is currently into his 354th day of house arrest, paid £240 K in bail, must report to the same police station every day, and wears an ankle tag monitored by Serco. Most pundits are in agreement that even if Assange were extradited and subsequently convicted, he'd face a prison sentence already served and the sentence would be symbolic only.

Julian's Interpol EAW was a Red Notice, the highest level possible. Benny Wenda's was a Red Notice too. Whether there's an Interpol notice connected with Antonov's EAW isn't mentioned by the BBC. But it's known that the family of Muammar Gadaffi got only an Orange Notice, even though they were sought for dicey things like genocide.

Meanwhile the Prince of Peace continues his rise to new heights of world hegemony. People are being murdered worldwide by the Nobel Peace Laureate, now with the help of drones. Empire Burlesque reported:

'The 'soldier' who pushed the button or squeezed the joystick that fired the missile got up from his comfortable chair and got into his comfortable car and drove to his comfortable home, where - who knows? - he might have had a delicious meal with his wife and kids, then later kicked back for a little R&R with the Wii. The peaceful Peace Laureate went out on the campaign trail, seeking to extend his mission of peace for another term. And the regime he supports in Yemen with peaceful weapons and peaceful money and peaceful pearls of wisdom about peace went on killing its own citizens.'

It's folly to the point of demented to think a court system can honestly entertain a Red Notice for someone wanted only for questioning and at worst facing a prison sentence that's already been served, whilst a major big-time hustler who faces ten times as much prison for a crime much more grievous gets out on what amounts to pocket change - and a beloved freedom fighter from southeast Asia has to remain at home now because a court system will extradite him to the enemy if given the opportunity.

The Idiot Prince may have been an idiot but he didn't bullshit about who he was or what he planned to do. Compassionate conservatism? Yeah right. Bush may have been the stuttering fool but he wasn't a cat in a poke.

Obama's been the diametric opposite. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize within weeks of taking office. The 'five' in Oslo who awarded the prize to him directly contravened the wishes of Alfred Nobel.

The Peace Laureate arrived in the Norwegian capital with his fleet of ominous vehicles all in Big Brother Black, all the while he sent an additional 30,000 troops to the war in Afghanistan, now the longest war on record for the peace loving US.

The UK government is hardly that of Hugh Grant in 'Love Actually' which took so much pride in David Beckham's feet.

The Peace Laureate bragged before the election how he'd parlay with anyone, even a terrorist, and without the usual state protocol, all in an effort to win peace. The Peace Laureate spoke before the election about the need for whisteblowers, because they ensure the 'free flow of information'.

George Bush sitting reading 'My Pet Goat' on 9/11 comes across as wildly innocent in comparison.

Jesse Jackson wept tears of joy at Obama's victory speech, given behind bulletproof glass. Was the glass there because the Secret Service suspected a plot to attack the Peace Laureate? Or was the glass there only to remind the plebes that there's a certain distance between US nobility and the rest of the nation, a distance between campaign promises and the truth?

I was an ordinary person when I got involved in this campaign but people have to realise that this case is pivotal for democracy in this country, and around the world, because we all share the Internet. The technology of the Internet has brought free information to the people of the world. We now have a voice - we don't have to go through the mainstream media - and we can talk to each other across borders, across ages and occupations, and we can share information for the benefit of the planet. This is a very important issue, not just for me personally because Julian is my son, but for the future of democracy.
- Christine Assange