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Photographer Allen Clark Granted Exclusive Access to Embattled WikiLeaks Editor Julian Assange


Digital Journal
Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:00 UTC
Julian Assange
© unknown
Julian Assange
When Nashville-based photographer Allen Clark left for Europe in mid-June, he had no idea that he would soon find himself face-to-face with one of today's most controversial figures, WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange. An introduction through a mutual friend led to an unlikely friendship, and three days of rare and unprecedented access leading to an exclusive photo shoot in his home on June 22, 2011.

"Julian granted me a tiny peek behind the curtain where he has been living for this past year," says Clark. "Being a photographer has awarded me the luxury of meeting some interesting people over the years. I see myself as an observer who tries to remain neutral, so that I donʼt get in the way of a great portrait. But what I discovered was that Julian isn't the demon most people would want you to believe, and I found him to be very caring and kind to those around him. Protective, yes. But for someone in his position, I understand. People like their secrets, and they are not happy when you expose them."

Assange, who has been targeted by multiple governments for releasing large amounts of sensitive information via WikiLeaks, adamantly denies Swedish Judicial Authority claims that he committed sexual offenses in Sweden. Assange remains under house arrest at an undisclosed location in England, awaiting an extradition appeal hearing set for July 12-13, 2011 at the High Court in London.
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Hourglass

WikiLeaks: What Does it Cost to Change the World?

William Goodman
CBS News
Tue, 28 Jun 2011 06:28 UTC

It has been a while since we've seen or heard from Julian Assange. But WikiLeaks has just dropped a Vimeo video entitled "What Does it Cost to Change the World?" featuring none other than Assange himself in something of a MasterCard parody - take a look.

Okay, so it's still been a while since we've heard from Assange. The poster "WikiLeaks" writes about the video:

What do MasterCard, Visa, Bank of America, Paypal and Western Union all have in common? They help you pay for what you want? Well, yes... that is unless you want to help WikiLeaks make the world a better place. To see the shocking details, please go to wikileaks.org/?support.html.

Provocative, right? Though whatever your opinion about WikiLeaks and Assange, I would note that The Atlantic Wire provides the following info in terms of the various support that can be offered:

"potential donors should be aware that the WikiLeaks Legal Defense Fund does not directly support the activities of WikiLeaks. Instead it funds the legal defense of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, whose most pressing case is allegations of rape."
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Laptop

Government should use former hackers to boost cyber defences

Dan Worth
V3
Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:49 UTC
The UK's former secretary of defence, Lord Reid, has argued that the government must use a combination of education, partnerships with businesses and even recruiting former hackers to shore up the nation's online defences.

Reid was speaking at the launch of a report titled Cyber Doctrine - towards a coherent evolutionary framework for learning resilience in his new role at the Institute for Security and Resilience Studies at University College London.
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Display

US: Xboxer SWATTED by armed cops after online spat

Dan Goodin
The Register
Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:55 UTC
When games get (really) ugly

The family of a 15-year-old Xbox player was raided by heavily armed police after a disaffected online opponent made a hoax emergency call claiming there was a home invasion in progress.

According to news reports, SWAT, or special weapons and tactics, police entered the Naples, Florida, residence of Hunter Gelinas after receiving a false report that he had been stabbed and his family was being held captive. The reports blamed the stunt on a fellow Xbox user the youth had met online.

"They had a whole SWAT team at my door and I came out of my room and they've got their guns pointed at me," Gelinas told WINK TV news. Attempts by The Register to reach him weren't successful. An incident report from the Collier County Sheriff's Office confirmed the hoax emergency call and said it "came in through a hearing impaired relay."
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Display

US: Feds on trail of LulzSec raid Ohio house

John Leyden
The Register
Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:59 UTC
And Lulzers turn on m_nerva

The international investigation into the notorious LulzSec hacking crew has moved from the UK to the US Midwest with the search of a house in Hamilton, Ohio by FBI agents.

Feds searched the house without making any arrests - at least initially - according to local media reports (here and here). It is unclear whether intelligence that led to the arrest was secured during the investigation of Ryan Cleary, 19, the British teenager last week charged over denial of service attacks linked to the infamous LulzSec hacking crew.
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Health

Venezuela's Chavez Says He was Treated for Cancer

Daniel Wallis and Andrew Cawthorne
Reuters
Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© Reuters
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez addresses the nation during a televised speech on June 30, 2011 in this still image taken from TV. Chavez on Thursday said he had undergone a successful operation in Cuba to extract cancerous cells and was on the road to full recovery. Chavez said the medical process was "slow and careful" and he was on the road to "full recovery".
Venezuela's flamboyant socialist leader Hugo Chavez said on Thursday he had undergone an operation to remove a cancerous tumor, posing a serious challenge to his near-total dominance of national politics.

The announcement, which confirmed rumors swirling for nearly three weeks, convulsed the South American OPEC nation ahead of what was already looking like a tight race for a presidential election next year.

Speaking from Havana where he underwent surgery June 10, a pale and emotional Chavez gave no indication when he would return to Venezuela. Nor did he name a temporary substitute to lead the country of 29 million people.

"They confirmed the existence of a tumorous abscess, with the presence of cancerous cells, which needed another operation to extract the tumor completely," he said in his first address to the nation since his surgery.

Chavez, 56, said he was receiving "complementary treatments to combat different types of cells that were found" -- possibly implying chemotherapy.

"I deeply appreciate the demonstrations of solidarity by Venezuelans and other brotherly people," he added, standing at a lectern by a Venezuelan flag and a painting of his inspiration, South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.
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Attention

Strauss-Kahn Case Seen as in Jeopardy

Jim Dwyer, William K. Rashbaum and John Eligon.
The New York Times
Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News
Dominique Strauss-Kahn could be released on his own recognizance, and freed from house arrest.
The sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on the verge of collapse as investigators have uncovered major holes in the credibility of the housekeeper who charged that he attacked her in his Manhattan hotel suite in May, according to two well-placed law enforcement officials.

Although forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a sexual encounter between Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a French politician, and the woman, prosecutors now do not believe much of what the accuser has told them about the circumstances or about herself.

Since her initial allegation on May 14, the accuser has repeatedly lied, one of the law enforcement officials said.

Senior prosecutors met with lawyers for Mr. Strauss-Kahn on Thursday and provided details about their findings, and the parties are discussing whether to dismiss the felony charges. Among the discoveries, one of the officials said, are issues involving the asylum application of the 32-year-old housekeeper, who is Guinean, and possible links to people involved in criminal activities, including drug dealing and money laundering.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers will return to State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Friday morning, when Justice Michael J. Obus is expected to consider easing the extraordinary bail conditions that he imposed on Mr. Strauss-Kahn in the days after he was charged.
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Red Flag

U.S. Congress about to let agribiz get liberal - with pesticides

Tom Laskawy
Grist
Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:12 UTC
Image
© C.G.P. Grey
I recently wrote about a quiet but vicious fight going on in Congress to restrict the EPA's ability to regulate pesticides. It's in many ways an obscure bureaucratic turf battle, only this one is about how easy it should be to douse that turf in toxic chemicals.

It all comes down to two competing visions of how we should use pesticides -- either as much or as little as possible. For the most part, the EPA approves a pesticide when a company "lists" the chemical with the agency under the terms of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). To get a pesticide listed with the EPA, a company has to submit its own data showing that the pesticide won't cause undue environmental harm. Once a pesticide is listed, in most cases, farmers can use it as they see fit -- with one notable exception.
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Bad Guys

US Senate: Cut Aid if Palestine Declares State

Yitzhak Benhorin
Y Net News
Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:58 UTC
Image
© Reuters
Senate to halt PA aid?
Unanimously-approved bill calls on President Obama to consider suspending assistance if Palestinians insist on UN bid, Fatah-Hamas unity deal.

The US Senate approved a bill Wednesday that calls for suspension of American aid to the Palestinian Authority if it insists on carrying out a plan to gain UN recognition for its statehood declaration in September.

The bill was approved by all 89 senators present. Its initiators are the Jewish and Democratic Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland and Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine.

It stipulates that the Senate opposes "any attempt to establish or seek recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an agreement negotiated between leaders in Israel and the Palestinians".

Cardin explained that the Senate has conveyed a clear message to the international community with the bill, which states that UN recognition of a Palestinian state at this stage does not promote peace. An accord is achievable through negotiations alone, he said.

The bill also "urges the President to consider suspending assistance to the Palestinian Authority pending a review of the unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas".
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Bad Guys

Saudi Arabia's Survival Depends on Iran-US Tension: Part 1


Iranreview.org
Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:10 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Interview with Seyed Mohammad Sadeq Kharrazi Iran's Former Ambassador to France and the United Nations

Recent developments in the region, assassination of Osama bin Laden and a direct call by the US President Barack Obama on Israel to return behind 1967 borders and pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state are three sides of a historical triangle not only in the Middle East, but for the whole world. Some analysts believe that recent developments represent awakening of nations as a result of the accumulation of unheeded calls from those nations and suppression of their religious and national requests by despots. Others, however, allude to the hidden influence of the United States on these developments and maintain that they are in line with Washington's plan to form a new Middle East. Anyway, four months after the beginning of the Arab Spring, there are still questions as to the real nature of these uprisings, their temporary and long-term effects on regional stability and their relationship to Obama's concept of smart power and his promise for change. Perhaps, only time will respond to some of those questions. In the following interview with Khabar Online, Seyed Mohammad Sadeq Kharrazi, has discussed regional developments from a whole new angle and has explained position of Iran and its foes in the region. Iran's former ambassador to France and the United Nations maintains that under present circumstances, Iran, Turkey, and Egypt continue to be dominant powers in the region. However, certain players are trying to play a more effective role in power relations of the Middle East by banking on their relations with the United States. One of those players is Saudi Arabia.
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