Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder and target of a world-wide governmental effort to shut him and his organization down, has been released on bail in London.

The night before his release, Assange said in a written statement (as quoted by The Guardian):

“We now know that Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and others are instruments of US foreign policy. It’s not something we knew before,” Assange said in a statement likely to add new impetus to the spate of cyber attacks being perpetrated by Anonymous in support of WikiLeaks.

That’s one of the most stark statements I’ve read on the matter to date, but it’s difficult to dispute.

VISA is an agent of U.S. foreign policy. Still letting that sink in.

GP

UPDATE (12/16): Assange was granted bail, but not released pending appeal of the bail decision. The British high court has since agreed with the magistrates court, and release is expected. Latest details here.