2012-02-18 #WikiLeaks News Update: #OccupyUNESCO, #WLAD, #Cablegate Coverage & More

• UNESCO held a 2-day conference entitled, “The Media World after WikiLeaks and News of the World.” It sparked controversy after WikiLeaks issued a press statement denouncing UNESCO for blocking all speakers from WikiLeaks. There is a live-blog and chirpstory of the first day, as well as a chirpstory covering the full conference and events leading up to it.

• Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam addressed the Australian Federal Police with concerns regarding WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. AFP Commissioner Tony Negus remarked, “We currently have no matters in front of us relating to WikiLeaks.” In a separate session with Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Senator Ludlam asked if Prime Minister Gillard had apologized to WikiLeaks or formally redacted her false claims that they had broken the law.

• A public forum entitled “Don’t Shoot the Messenger: WikiLeaks, Assange, and Democracy” was held at the University of Technology in Sydney. The speakers were Mary Kostakidis, Humphrey McQueen, Scott Ludlam, Jennifer Robinson, and Christine Assange. Currently, a livestream and chirpstory of the event are available, but an HD filming of the event will soon be available at CaTV.

• Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, author of “Operation Dark Heart,” was on MSNBC’s The Dylan Ratigan show discussing “Collateral Murder,” nearly two years after WikiLeaks released the video.

• RTAmerica reported on the proposed “Whistleblower Improvement Act,” which would actually lessen the protection and rights of whistleblowers by:
  • Requiring a whistleblower to first report information to their employer before going to a regulatory agency.
  • Requiring the regulatory agency to notify the whistleblower’s employer before taking any enforcement action.
  • Legalizing retaliation by the company against the whistleblowing employee.
  • Removing incentives for whistleblowers previously guaranteed by the Dodd-Frank Act.

Cablegate Coverage:

• The 100 most reported cables have been compiled into a list at Cabledrum.

• The Bahamas: According to a cable, former Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell was accused of being complicit in visa fraud for Chinese applicants.

• China: A series of cables show how difficult it is to get meaningful information about China’s elite.

• Egypt: A series of cables demonstrate the strained relations between the U.S. and Egypt.

• Madagascar: A cable alleges that South Africa was used as a transit point for weapons to Madagascar in order to bypass customs.

• Zimbabwe: A cable alleges that Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono planned on forming his own political party because he felt that President Mugabe and his party Zanu (PF) were so weak and no longer relevant.

Upcoming Dates & Events:

February 19: Final day of the “Occupy the Truth” whistleblowers conference at UC Berkeley.

February 19: The 500th episode of 'The Simpsons,' guest starring Julian Assange airs 8:00PM on FOX.

February 23: Bradley Manning's arraignment will be held at Fort Meade, beginning at 1:00PM.

February 26: The announcement of Academy Awards. "Incident in New Baghdad", a documentary on 'Collateral Murder,' is in the running for 'Documentary Short Subject.'

March 1: Julian Assange will host a Q&A on "Europe's Last Dictator," 6:30PM at The Old Vic Tunnels, London.

April 25: Kristinn Hrafnsson to speak at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy.

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.