I apologise for not having posted here for a few days – I’d make an excuse but it has been a mix of university work and just being slack. This piece is, however, one of my university assignments, which I am posting here as one of the requirements is to post it online with multimedia elements. This piece is different to the others as it is a half-half analytical/reflective assessment, and seeing as the topic fits the website’s theme it is both convenient and fitting to post it here. Feel free to read it, and seeing as I now know how to add images and videos (it’s simple enough but never saw the need to do so) I may begin to incorporate them more often in future posts.
Category: WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks and Whistleblowers: Attacks on Press Freedom
27/05/2019
Julian Assange has now been charged under the US’ Espionage Act, potentially facing over 170 years in prison and being the first person to be charged under this Act for merely publishing material leaked to WikiLeaks. A number of whistleblowers have faced this charge, from Daniel Ellsberg (who leaked the Pentagon Papers) to Daniel Hale (who revealed the assassination and drone programs implemented by Obama). But where is the media outrage? The public interest?
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Quick Quips: Now That’s Over…
21/05/2019
While I’ve been consciously taking the time to pick up on important global events, it has been easy that last couple of weeks to have been caught up in the spiralling election coverage here in Australia. So now that our quiet corner of the world has been rightfully criticised by the world, what better time to throw our sights elsewhere? Just a short one this evening.
Coups and Jail: Assaults on Freedom
01/05/2019
The long-expected coup attempt in Venezuela began this week, declared by Maduro as failed while Guaido received backing from some prominent figures. Meanwhile, Julian Assange has been sentenced for 50 weeks in the UK for skipping bail in 2012 when he sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy. Both events are quite disheartening.
The Price of Freedom
13/04/2019
No, not price in any metaphorical sense – literally. One day after the arrest of Julian Assange, where he was dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, the International Monetary Fund (seen by many as a financial arm of the US) approved a $4.2 billion loan for Ecuador. $4.2 billion is the price to pay for cooperation in silencing dissidence and tearing down the peoples’ right to expose their governments.
Assange Arrested – Australia Must Step Forward
12/04/2019
Videos and headlines surfaced last night (AEST) of Julian Assange being forced out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and straight into a police van. In a faint voice – he certainly looked and sounded like he’d spent 7 years locked in a small room – he was calling “the UK must resist”. Seeing as Ecuador’s corrupt and bought President betrayed him, and the UK has now arrested him for probable extradition to the US, it is up to his home country to take a stand. Australia.
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Assange in (More) Danger
05/04/2019
Julian Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since he took refuge there in 2012. He was running from multiple charges, but the murkiest are the ones threatening to have him spirited away into the US for the crime of shining a light on power. WikiLeaks is arguably one of the most important organisations in history, and now its Australian founder might be counting down his final days in London – and not willingly.
One Nation, the NRA, and Al Jazeera: A Question of Public Interest Pt.2
29/03/2019
One of my university lecturers posed these questions to us regarding ethics in journalism:
Is it ever ok for the media to engage in covert activities and deception? What role does public interest play?
In Pt.1 I gave One Nation and the gun lobby no quarter, and it is in this piece that I wish to explore Al Jazeera’s role, as well as answer the above questions.
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Julian Assange: Hero or Enemy?
25/11/2018
Assange has been in the news for three reasons in the last week, and as always, public opinion is divided on whether he should be celebrated for his work with WikiLeaks, or locked away for good. The US government would prefer to see the latter, despite alleged ties between him and Trump, because the man has been a thorn in the US’ side for a long while now. But the question remains: is he a hero of the people, or is he just bad?
Anarchist Rising 