Many in the US establishment – and indeed, the Australian one, rather upset that their badly protected secrets are no longer secret, poor people – are baying for the blood of Julian Assange. But some sense is around: The predominant consensus in official Washington that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should eventually stand trial here on…
Yes: “The watchdog press died; we have Wikileaks instead”
I’m coming a little late to this but I like it. Here’s US journalism professor Jay Rosen explaining how the mainstream media, after its capitulation to the US “national security state” post September 11, no longer became a reliable check on power (whether it was before 9/11, well, that’s another question). Wikileaks is therefore the…
Australians in London demand immediate release of WikiLeaks founder
I just received the following information: On Monday 13th December at 4.30 pm, concerned Australian academics, artists, activists and expats will deliver a letter of demands to the Australian High Commissioner calling for the Embassy to be proactive in securing the immediate release from custody of fellow Australian citizen and founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange.…
Wikileaks rallies in Australia hit a nerve
Green Left Weekly reports comprehensively on last week’s Australian pro-Wikileaks rallies: More than 1000 people rallied at Sydney’s Town Hall at 1pm on December 10 to show their support for Wikileaks and its founder Julian Assange. Rallies also occurred in Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth. The rally, held to coincide with International Human Rights…
So this is what the Afghan war is all about
Patrick Cockburn reports in the Independent on the illusion that Western intervention is helping Afghanistan. A few people are getting amazingly rich, especially private firms in the West, but local citizens are not seeing anything. Not hard to see why the insurgency is thriving: The most extraordinary failure of the US-led coalition in Afghanistan is…
Major Aussie media figures stand up for Wikileaks
Finally some Australian media heavy-weights join the cause in support of Wikileaks. It’s taken far too long but they clearly realise that this entire issue isn’t just about Wikileaks; it’s about our right to read important information in the public interest: The letter was initiated by… the Walkley Foundation and signed by the ten members…
Mastercard, Visa and PayPal rather like illegal Zionist colonies
The huffing and puffing over alleged illegality by Wikileaks (nothing proven by a mile) compares badly to actual behaviour by many corporates in the Middle East. An important Crikey investigation: Visa, Mastercard and PayPal all enable donations to be made to US-registered groups funding illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank in defiance of international…
Israel’s policy of separation is backed by Western powers
Akiva Eldar writes in Haaretz what many people have known for years; Israel’s goal is to maintain the occupation forever: The testimonies of 101 discharged soldiers who served in the West Bank over past decade and collected their comments in a book published by Breaking the Silence show that even the status quo Clinton referred…
Israel/Palestine needs a South African style truth and reconciliation commission
What would Israel/Palestine look like in a one-state solution? An exclusive new article on the Independent Australian Jewish Voices website by John Docker examines some possibilities: Recent South African history may also give us a basis for new ideas and visions. In Sydney this year I heard Albie Sachs speak about human rights and the…
Sydney rally for Wikileaks on 14 December
Demonstration to Free Julian Assange and Defend Wikileaks – Sydney Town Hall, Tuesday 14th December, 5.30pm On Tuesday, the Westminster Magistrates’ Court will decide the outcome of Julian Assange’s bail application. Alongside global demonstrations on this day, a rally will be held in Sydney. Spokesperson Antony Loewenstein, an independent journalist and author of My Israel…