The US doesn’t have any laws to seriously prosecute Wikileaks? Why not make a few new ones up? Anger at Julian Assange continues to consume much of Washington this weekend, and a first formal hearing on Capitol Hill over options for prosecuting him could come as early as next week. Yet a claim made by…
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.
What makes Assange tick from somebody who should know
Suelette Dreyfus collaborated with Julian Assange to write Underground, a 1997 book about hackers in Australia and across the world. She writes today in the Australian media about the motivations behind Wikileaks and gets inside the mind of Assange himself: If you want to improve the lot of the poorest, most oppressed people in the…
Wikileaks dumps on slavish New Zealand leaders
More leaked Wikileaks cables show that Washington is constantly looking for compliant journalists and politicians: Leaked United States diplomatic cables explain why officials appear to have been caught on the hop last year when American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the resumption of intelligence sharing between the two countries – the deal was supposed…
How Wikileaks has unleashed massive online dissent
UK Observer publishes a piece that outlines the new info war with Wikileaks and the world. Call it cyber anarchism, payback to corporations, pro-Wikileaks rattling or just online revolution, there’s a new world out there: He is one of the newest recruits to Operation Payback. In a London bedroom, the 24-year-old computer hacker is preparing…
Clapton in Pyongyang?
Because music appreciation is the biggest issue facing North Korea: North Korea asked America to arrange an Eric Clapton concert in Pyongyang, saying that it could help to persuade Kim Jong-il to allow humanitarian aid into the country. A confidential cable dated 22 May 2007 from the US ambassador in Seoul to Washington reveals North…
The Left and the Right in Australia are (mostly) united behind Wikileaks
Wikileaks is bringing together some strange coalitions in Australia, individuals with different political views who recognise Julian Assange as a man who has dared challenge the establishment in ways rarely, if ever, seen. Of course the powerful hate him. But truths aren’t so easily dismissed. Only those who care so deeply about maintaining society’s status-quo…