2012-04-11 #WikiLeaks News Update: Cablegate coverage; New Assange interviews; Other news
WikiLeaks has been financially blockaded without process for 494 days.
Julian Assange has been detained without charge for 491 days.
Bradley Manning has been imprisoned without trial for 688 days.
WikiLeaks News (Releases):
- Cablegate coverage:
- Invisible Children, the makers of the viral Kony2012 video, were informers for the Uganda People's Defense Force, leading to the arrest of multiple suspected opponents of the regime. While Invisible Children initially denied the claims, they have now confirmed their involvement.
- Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is undergoing extensive treatment for an unnamed condition, though cables released by WikiLeaks suggest he is battling terminal prostate cancer.
- Journalist Seymour Hersh revealed that the Bush administration secretly trained Iranian opposition group Mujahideen-e-Khalq, or MEK, which has been listed as a foreign terrorist group since 1997. In an interview with Democracy Now!, Hersh mentioned WikiLeaks cables which show the U.S. helped Yukiya Amano get elected as Director General of the IAEA to ensure pressure on Iran.
- A report released by the Environmental Investigation Agency shows that more than 20 American companies have played roles in the steady flow of illegal hardwoods from the Peruvian Amazon. The report is partially based on information from State Department cables released by WikiLeaks.
- In February 2011, The Telegraph analysed WikiLeaks cables on Omar Suleiman, who has now formally entered the Egyptian presidential race.
- The Chinese Government recently gifted a $35 million stadium to the Bahamas, which The New York Times related to WikiLeaks cables showing diplomats being increasingly worried about Chinese presence in the area.
- The UK is exporting surveillance technology to repressive nations. Many brochures, presentations, and marketing videos detailing these technologies were released in WikiLeaks' Spy Files.
- A blog covering the WikiLeaks Grand Jury has published a two-part series about revelations from Stratfor emails. WikiLeaks recently tweeted that the Grand Jury has been sitting for nearly 18 months and a verdict is expected.
- WikiLeaks Press has released a news review for the week of March 8-14.
WikiLeaks News (Genereal):
- Julian Assange's submissions to the Leveson Inquiry are now available at the WikiLeaks website.
- WikiLeaks lawyer Geoffrey Robertson and Australian Attorney-General Nicola Roxon are among the guests for next week's Q&A. You can submit a question via the Q&A website.
- Patricia Bellia, Law Professor at University of Notre Dame, has written an 80-page essay entitled "WikiLeaks and the Institutional Framework for National Security Disclosures," which details legalities and comparisons to the Pentagon Papers.
- EFF writes that the proposed CISPA bill (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011) would be a "powerful weapon to use against whistleblower websites like WikiLeaks." You can take action against CISPA at the EFF's website.
- An article in Global Research looks at how the Obama administration is using the guise of "cybersecurity" to open new backdoors for intrusive government surveillance and how this could be detrimental for WikiLeaks.
- The U.S. State Department IT chief Susan Swart gave an interview about changes in cyber security after WikiLeaks release of diplomatic cables, nearly 18 months ago.
- OFCOM is continuing its investigation into the documentary, "WikiLeaks: Secrets and Lies." Channel 4 has now admitted that The Guardian's David Leigh was a secret paid production member.
- Professor Ferrada de Noli has updated his article detailing how WikiLeaks has buried the myth of Sweden's neutrality.
- A Swedish blogger has been analyzing Expressen editor Thomas Mattsson's smears and mudslinging against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.
- During a book reading in Portland, Oregon, political activist Ralph Nader responsed to a question on WikiLeaks by criticizing the Obama administration for going after whistleblowers and saying he agreed with Ron Paul: "We need more WikiLeaks."
- George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed teenager Trayvon Martin, has opened up a support fund which accepts donations from credit cards and Paypal. This has caused multiple Twitter users to ask why one is allowed to donate to Zimmerman but not WikiLeaks.
- The list of Christine Assange's Talking Points has been updated and now contains 90 facts about WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.
- Twitter user @SomersetBean has created 80 posters addressing Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr with facts about WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.
Julian Assange News:
- New Internationalist has published an exclusive interview with Julian Assange, in which he discusses surveillance, communications, and how he had to become the 'fall guy' for WikiLeaks.
- El Telégrafo also published an exclusive interview with Julian Assange, where he discussed such things as the Swedish extradition case, Australia's political situation, attacks against WikiLeaks, market regulation, and the expulsion of the U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador.
- There is a new section at Justice for Assange which covers irregularities in the conduct of the Swedish prosecution in the investigation against Julian Assange.
- An article in Business Insider gives an overview of the Assange case and notes that by looking at the "Agreed Statement of Facts and Issues," Marianne Ny does not seem to be an impartial judicial authority.
- In the upcoming TEN TV movie, "Underground: The Julian Assange Story," Alex Williams is cast as Julian Assange, Rachel Griffiths as his mother, and Anthony LaPaglia as Detective Ken Roberts.
Bradley Manning News:
- Support events for Bradley Manning are planned worldwide during the dates of his next hearings, April 24-26.
- An article in Salon (authored by Charles Davis, filling in for Glenn Greenwald) looks at how most American liberals have betrayed Bradley Manning by attacking his character and failing to stand up for him.
- The Bradley Manning Support Network published an article written for the two-year anniversary of "Collateral Murder," which calls on people to discuss the video and join in their campaigns to free Bradley Manning.
- Chase Madar's book "The Passion of Bradley Manning" will be released tomorrow.
Upcoming Dates & Events:
April 12-28: Performances of "The Radicalization of Bradley Manning" held between these dates in schools across Wales.
April 16: Julian Assange's Supreme Court verdict expected to be handed down this week.
April 17: WikiLeaks' 500th day of financial blockade without process.
April 19: "WikiLeaks, Assange, and Defending Democracy" panel at BMW Edge in Melbourne, 6:30PM, with Christine Assange, Scott Ludlam, Lizzie O'Shea, Bernard Keane, and Greg Barns.
April 20: Julian Assange's 500th day of detainment without charge.
April 23: Bradley Manning's 700th day of imprisonment without trial.
April 24-26: Bradley Manning's next set of pre-trial hearings. Support events planned worldwide.
April 27-28: Kristinn Hrafnsson to speak at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy at panels "Whistleblowers and anonymous leaks: can the media do without them?" (27/4) and "Dossier WikiLeaks. Segreti italiani" (28/4).
May 23: Julian Assange to speak at Enterprise Information Management Congress 2012 in The Netherlands.
May 27: "Incident in New Baghdad" to air on The Documentary Channel, 8PM.