Is Qatar unduly affecting al-Jazeera’s clarity?

Al-Jazeera is a truly unique news service that covers the world in a way that no other global network does. However, there is always a risk when the major sourcing of funding is a Middle East dictatorship: Qatar is using the Arabic news channel al-Jazeera as a bargaining chip in foreign policy negotiations by adapting…

Rudd misses main message of Wikileaks dump

Australia’s Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd doesn’t seem to understand the paradigm shift of the Wikileaks release. His answer is more secrecy, less transparency and less democracy. He may find himself more shocked in the months and years ahead. Here’s hoping: Kevin Rudd has suggested the United States “tighten things up a bit” following the publishing…

Leading Australian politician defends Wikileaks

Australian Federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie: Mr Wilkie believes WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has not broken any US or Australian laws in publishing the documents. “It’s not Assange’s fault that this information is leaking out of the [US] administration – it’s the administration’s fault.”

More on the Assange accuser

Mmm: Yesterday Alexander Cockburn reminded us of the news Israel Shamir and Paul Bennett broke at Counterpunch in September.… …  Julian Assange’s chief accuser in Sweden has a significant history of work with anti-Castro groups, at least one of which is US funded and openly supported by a former CIA agent convicted in the mass murder…

Good luck shielding yourself from the next Wikileaks dump

The empire (tries) to strike back: The Obama administration is planning a major reshuffling of diplomats, military officers, and intelligence operatives at U.S. embassies around the world out of concern that WikiLeaks has made it impossible—if not dangerous—for many of the Americans to remain in their current posts. Administration officials tell The Daily Beast that…

Obama should resign, says Assange

Too right: President Barack Obama should resign if it can be shown that he approved spying by US diplomatic figures on UN officials, the founder of WikiLeaks said in an interview published Sunday. “The whole chain of command who was aware of this order, and approved it, must resign if the US is to be…

Australia likes the role of regional bully rather well

No wonder Australia is so upset over Wikileaks; released cables show a government keen to keep military options (aka US fire-power) on the table. And Canberra’s enthusiasm for special forces in Pakistan is another worrying sign that “fighting terrorism” knows no limits, legalities or bounds: Kevin Rudd warned Hillary Clinton to be prepared to use…

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