John Pilger: Julian Assange Interview

[Pharaoh]

Run time: 68:28 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awhC9YuZMoo   Posted on YouTube: December 30, 2010 By YouTube Member: wozzek22 Views on YouTube: 4348   Posted on DU: January 19, 2011 By DU Member: Pharaoh Views on DU: 579

 
January 15th Interview


Perhaps as a return favor for posting bail for him, Julian Assange has given journalist John Pilger an exclusive interview. It will appear in the print edition of New Statesman, but some choice excerpts are on the New Statesman site:

… On Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of leaking diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks, Assange says: “I’d never heard his name before it was published in the press.” He argues that the US is trying to use Manning – currently stuck in solitary confinement in the US – to build a case against the WikiLeaks founder:

“Cracking Bradley Manning is the first step,” says the Australian hacker. “The aim clearly is to break him and force a confession that he somehow conspired with me to harm the national security of the United States.”…

Yesterday, Assange’s lawyers warned that if he is extradited to America he could face the death penalty – for embarrassing the leaders of the US government. “They don’t want the public to know these things and scapegoats must be found,” Assange says.

And despite the pressure the website has been under, reports of trouble at WikiLeaks are greatly exaggerated, he claims.

“There is no ‘fall’. We have never published as much as we are now. WikiLeaks is now mirrored on more than 2,000 websites. I can’t keep track of the spin-off sites – those who are doing their own WikiLeaks . . . If something happens to me or to WikiLeaks, ‘insurance’ files will be released.”

The contents of these files are unknown, but, according to Assange, “They speak more of the same truth to power.” It is not just government that should be worried about the content of these files, however. “There are 504 US embassy cables on one broadcasting organisation and there are cables on Murdoch and News Corp,” he says…


Correction, this was posted on Youtube Dec 30th 2010, So I am not sure as to the date of the interview

[ananda]

1. This deserves nothing but recs.

Courage to all concerned.

[Charleston Chew]

2. Democracy Now, John Pilger: Killing the Children of Iraq

In this hard-hitting special report, Pilger investigates the effects of sanctions on the people of Iraq and finds that ten years of extraordinary isolation, imposed by the UN and enforced by the US and Britain, have killed more people than the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan. In the film, Pilger travels with Denis Halliday, the former assistant secretary-general of the United Nations who resigned over what he called the "immoral policy" of economic sanctions.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x544552

[leveymg]

3. Interesting to see the two together. Worth a look and listen.

Thnx for linking this.

[CLANG]

4. K&R - To the greatest page!

[pauldp]

5. Amazing. Bookmarking to finish later. K&R

[amyrose2712]

6. +++