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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
Australia doesn’t seem to know what morality is re Wikileaks
Who is running the Australian government these days? Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday mounted a strong defence of Julian Assange’s legal rights. The WikiLeaks founder is preparing to face court in London early Wednesday morning (AEDT). Mr Rudd said he was prepared to intervene to have a laptop computer provided for Mr Assange in London’s…
Don’t forget the bigger Wikileaks picture
Agreed (via zunguzungu): If we moralize about Wikileaks and Julian Assange exclusively, we’re not doing our moral duties as citizens, and as human beings. Our job is to watch people with power and try to ensure that people with power don’t misuse it. Part of that is scrutinizing powerful men who have the opportunity to…
Don’t tell us that Australia is an honest broker in the Middle East
This is the not the behaviour of an ally; it’s the actions of a country utterly incapable of viewing the human rights of Arabs as equal to Israelis: The Israeli ambassador to Australia found Kevin Rudd to be “very pro-Israel” and senior Australian diplomats warned the former prime minister that his condemnation of Iran risked…
Telling Fox News that Assange’s Australian rights must be protected
Fox News broadcasts yet another person who says Julian Assange should be murdered. Nice work, Murdoch. Get Up!’s Brett Solomon injects some sanity: