There is a price to be paid for challenging the US. Moreover, working for American multinationals making mutant products is seemingly in the job description at the State Department: The US embassy in Paris advised Washington to start a military-style trade war against any European Union country which opposed genetically modified (GM) crops, newly released…
Wikileaks
Wikileaks is one of the biggest and most important stories in the world, challenging governments and journalists alike. I’ve been writing extensively about the group since 2006, featured an exclusive interview in 2008 with founder Julian Assange and examined the myriad of issues around the website. Assange himself asked me in the early days whether I wanted to be on the group’s board to vet incoming leaks and determine their veracity before publishing. I agreed but unfortunately this never eventuated.
Not trusting Sweden
No wonder Wikileaks doesn’t trust Sweden: The secret cables, seen by The Daily Telegraph, disclose how Swedish officials wanted discussions about anti-terrorism operations kept from public scrutiny. They describe how officials from the Swedish Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Foreign Affairs had a “strong degree of satisfaction with current informal information sharing arrangements” with…
The Tzvangirai, Mugabe, MSM and Wikileaks dance
The deluge of Wikileaks cables bring moral considerations. What is released? Is anybody at risk? Who takes responsibility? This discussion at WLCentral examines the issues in Zimbabwe and Morgan Tzvangirai’s meetings with US embassy officials. He is potentially facing treason charges. Where does Wikileaks fit into all this? If this is actually the method by…
Wikileaks is dead?
A Wikileaks backlash was almost inevitable, even from those who generally share the belief of a transparent world. Cryptome unloads and makes some valid points (but seemingly ignores the speed with which Wikileaks has become a cultural phenomenon; this requires constant tending on multiple fronts): The original Wikileaks initiative is dead, replaced by a bloated…
America thrives on protectionism and screws the world
US diplomats must be busy. Spying on the UN and other countries. And pimping for Boeing. The glories of empire, indeed: The king of Saudi Arabia wanted the United States to outfit his personal jet with the same high-tech devices as Air Force One. The president of Turkey wanted the Obama administration to let a…
Washington and Israel preparing to bomb Iran (to peace, of course)
The Wikileaks revelations just keep on coming, this time from Aftenposten. Barack Obama wanting to assist Israel strike Iran? Yes (via Richard Silverstein): Wikileaks cable describes a November, 2009 meeting between a high-level delegation of Israeli and American political, military and intelligence operatives. … On the agenda was the U.S. delivery of 100 bunker-buster bombs to…
Judy Miller talks about integrity over Wikileaks but should look in the mirror
Former New York Times “journalist” Judy Miller – who pushed countless bogus reports over Iraq’s non-existent WMDs – tells Fox News (where else?) that Julian Assange is a “bad journalist” because he didn’t verify his sources. You can’t make this stuff up:
Wikileaks shows how keen Israel is to launch wars in the Middle East
Juan Cole brings news of yet more Wikileaks cables that show the threat Israel poses to world peace: The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten has summarized an Israeli military briefing by Israeli Chief of Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi of a US congressional delegation a little over a year ago and concludes that “The memo on the talks…
Somebody in Spain understands why Wikileaks is so damn important
Here’s an inspiring reason why the mainstream media can, if it wants to, matter. Spain’s El Pais editor, Javier Moreno, on why his paper participated in Wikileaks cablegate: Cynics will argue that none of what we have learned from WikiLeaks differs from the usual way in which high-level international politics is conducted, and that without…
If You Love This Planet (with Dr Helen Caldicott) on Wikileaks
The myriad of issues surroundings Wikileaks continues. I was interviewed in late December by Dr Helen Caldicott on her globally syndicated radio program If You Love This Planet to discuss the long-term ramifications of this new form of journalism. My previous appearance on the program from 2009 is here.