MacLeod Cartoons gets it:
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.
Wikileaks in Catalan
I was interviewed today by a Spanish Catalan publication based in Barcelona about the Wikileaks scandal. For those a little rusty on the language (hands up who can understand this?) I talked about the authoritarian impulse in many Western governments: Julian Assange ja és en dependències judicials des de les 14 hores aproximadament, acompanyat dels…
This is how Australia is seen; vassals used by Washington over Wikileaks
Wikileaks news is coming thick and fast. Some “highlights” over the last 24 hours. One: [Israeli] Defense Minister Ehud Barak Tuesday told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that a deal was never reached with the United States on a renewed settlement freeze because the US is preoccupied with the mass of documents being…
Let’s not get overly focused on Assange legal wranglings (and do US job for her)
Just what the US wants; anything to not talk about its bankrupt foreign policy: The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been arrested by London police on behalf of Swedish authorities on suspicion of rape. The Metropolitan Police Extradition Unit confirmed at 10.30am London time (2030 AEDT) that the 39-year-old Australian had been arrested “by…
New Assange op-ed in Aussie Murdoch paper
Julian Assange, before being arrested in London, wrote the following article for Rupert Murdoch’s Australian newspaper. A curious choice of outlet considering the paper’s love of wars against, well, most Arab people, but there you go: In 1958 a young Rupert Murdoch, then owner and editor of Adelaide’s The News, wrote: “In the race between…
Open letter to Julia Gillard and the Australian government over Julian Assange
I was honoured to be called by Overland editor Jeff Sparrow on Sunday to discuss the possibility of launching a petition in support of Julian Assange. I offered a little advice and was one on the first signatories. Released publicly today (and lead story on ABC) and already garnering more than 2000 comments, this issue…
US Library of Congress continues its censorship of Wikileaks
WTF? The Library of Congress, which recently shutoff access to WikiLeaks on its computers, may be unintentionally undermining the research its analysts perform for lawmakers, classification expert Steven Aftergood, who regularly publishes a government secrecy newsletter, blogged on Monday. The Congressional Research Service, a branch of the library that scours bills, news and other primary…
Wikileaks support protest in Sydney on Friday
MEDIA RELEASE — MEDIA RELEASE — MEDIA RELEASE — Support Wikileaks rally called Supporters of the website Wikileaks will mobilise on Friday (10/12/10) to protest against the backlash it has faced for its release of more than 250,000 US government cables. The protest will hear from independent journalist Antony Loewenstein, award-winning author of My Israel…
Israel supporters using Wikileaks to promote attack on Iran are ignoring Arab public opinion
My following article appears on US website Mondoweiss: Sever Plocker, a columnist for… Yediot Aharonot,… recently wrote with pride and some sadness that, “At least on the Iranian issue — and apparently on more than a few other matters — the leaders of the world, including the Arab world, think as we do [the Israelis], but are…
What’s the thinking behind Wikileaks?
During the current Wikileaks storm, some necessary background. Here’s Julian Assange speaking earlier this year at the Berkeley School of Journalism on why he does what he does: