Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Michael H Posner the 62 year old American lawyer, the current Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) of the United States, is the subject of an article published in the Guardian by Glen Greenwald who states “…accountability for high-level government officials is inconceivable in the US, highlighting its culture of impunity. A US State Department official  “expressed concern” about what he called “a ‘climate of impunity’ over abuses by police and security forces” – in Egypt. The official, Michael Posner, warned that failure to investigate Egyptian state agents responsible for “cruel treatment of those in their custody” – including torture – creates “a lack of meaningful accountability for these actions”. …statements that are so drowning in obvious, glaring irony that the officials uttering them simply must have been mischievously cackling to themselves when they created them,” and this American denunciation of Egypt’s “climate of impunity” almost certainly goes to the top of the list. After all, Michael Posner works for the very same administration that not only refused to prosecute or even investigate US officials who tortured, kidnapped and illegally eavesdropped, but actively shielded them all from all forms of accountability: criminal, civil or investigative. Indeed, Posner works for the very same State Department that actively impeded efforts by countries whose citizens were subjected to those abuses – such as Spain and Germany – to investigate them. Being lectured by the US State Department about a “culture of impunity” is like being lectured by David Cameron about supporting Arab dictators. …We also see here, yet again, how monumentally important leaks are. Almost everything we know about the conduct of the US government … comes from diplomatic cables published by WikiLeak …For exactly that reason, it is no mystery why the US government is so eager to punish so severely those responsible for leaks generally and these disclosures specifically: precisely because nothing sheds light on their bad acts the way whistleblowing does.”

Inspired by Glen Greenwald, The Guardian ow.ly/i3iwV Image source US Govt ow.ly/i3ite

Kevin Gosztola the American undergraduate writer and filmmaker has posed the question: Why Did Ecuador Grant Asylum to Julian Assange? in an article he published in The Nation magazine. In the article he states “…in the face of rumors that British authorities were considering storming the Ecuadorean embassy in London to arrest Julian Assange, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patiño, announced that his country will grant the WikiLeaks founder diplomatic asylum. He declared that his government endorsed the “fears” expressed by Assange that he could face political persecution if sent to Sweden, and that such asylum would protect him from the possibility of being extradited to the United States. …Patiño read from a list of points detailing the foundation for the asylum request by Assange, who he described as “an award-winning communications professional” known “internationally for his struggle for freedom of expression, press freedom and human rights in general.” He cited “strong evidence” that Assange faced possible “retaliation by the country or countries that produced the information,” revealed by Cablegate, noting that such retaliation “may endanger [his] safety, integrity, and even his life.” He said that “given an extradition to the United States of America, Mr. Assange would not have a fair trial, could be tried by special courts or military” and could be the victim of “cruel and degrading” treatment. …if the Swedish government is genuinely concerned over the women who brought forth the allegations against him, it is troubling to see its government continue to refuse to send someone to question Assange in London. It is this refusal that ultimately helped convince Ecuador to grant asylum.”

Inspired by The Nation ow.ly/d7cxQ image source Twitter ow.ly/d7d4c

Nikolas Kozloff the American writer and Latin American historian has published an article titled ‘Is Brazil the next cop on the beat in Africa? The Pentagon seems to hope so’ in which he argues that ‘any action Brazil takes in Africa should be based on peaceful cooperation and not military escalation’. Kozloff’s article on Aljazeera states “Facing budgetary constrictions and overstretched resources, the Pentagon knows that it cannot effectively patrol the entire globe on its own. …in Rio, Panetta [Pentagon] emphasized Brazil’s long held ties to Africa. Historically, Brazil was the largest destination of the Atlantic Slave Trade, and today a sizable portion of the country’s population is of African descent. …WikiLeaks cables suggest that some within the Brazilian political elite want to redirect Brazilian foreign policy toward Africa …Nevertheless, given all of the controversy about the US role in Africa, Brazil should firmly reject Panetta’s calls for closer military collaboration in the region. This doesn’t mean that Brazil should outright withdraw from Africa, and if anything the WikiLeaks documents serve to highlight the many shortcomings of the South American giant’s foreign policy on the continent. Hopefully, Brazil will become more engaged in Africa in the long-term, not less.”

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/bJ7k7 image source Twitter ow.ly/bJ7f3

Well-cast for role of fall guy and scapegoat (February 4th)

Chase Madar the US lawyer and author of ‘The Passion of Bradley Manning’ has released an article on Aljazeera stating “The bodycount that resulted from Pfc Manning’s leaks have amounted to zero thus far, while his accusers stand bloody.” Madar states, “Knowledge may indeed have its risks, but how many civilian deaths can actually be traced to the WikiLeaks’ revelations? How many military deaths? To the best of anyone’s knowledge, not a single one. …the “grave risks” involved in the publication of the War Logs and of those State Department documents have been wildly exaggerated. Embarrassment, yes. A look inside two grim wars and the workings of imperial diplomacy, yes. Blood, no. The civilian carnage caused by our rush to war … is not speculative or theoretical but all-too real. And yet no one anywhere has been held to much account… Only one individual, it seems, will pay, even if he actually spilled none of the blood. Our foreign policy elites seem to think Bradley Manning is well-cast for the role of fall guy and scapegoat. This is an injustice. …someday Pfc Manning will be honoured.

Inspired by image Chase Madar http://ow.ly/8Jm6I source Muhammad Ahmad http://ow.ly/8Jm4R

There is too much secrecy in our society (November 21st)

Michael Donald Kirby the 72 year old retired Justice of the High Court of Australia has told a Sydney forum of Accountants that WikiLeaks has created a world that is more open and transparent. Kirby stated “WikiLeaks has made the world a more open and transparent place, and therefore a bit more just, and that’s where I stand at the moment … It is part and parcel of the new technology … On the whole it’s probably been a good thing for all of us, to hold governments to account.” Kirby after his retirement as a distinguished Justice of Australia’s highest court over a fifteen year period, he has been appointed to numerous academic roles with twelve Australian universities. During his term as Justice, Kirby delivered controversial lectures relating to whether judges have the right to interpret the law in light of its intent or merely just follow the letter of the law.

Inspired by Doug Conway http://ow.ly/7rLKn image source newsinfo http://ow.ly/7rLVx

I am ready to face this affair (November 19th)

Suha Arafat the 48 year old widow of the former Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat is now the subject of an arrest warrant relating to a high level corruption investigation by the Tunisian authorities. The investigation relates to the International School of Carthage, founded in 2006 by both Suha Arafat and the former president Ben Ali’s wife, Leila Trabelsi a former hairdresser. A WikiLeaks cable has revealed the Tunisian government under Ben Ali granted his wife a $1.5 million grant along with land for the schools development. Arafat was born in Jerusalem, has French citizenship, and lived in Tunisia for three years following her husband’s death. She became a naturalized citizen of Tunisia, until her citizenship was revoked following a dispute with Trabelsi over the closure of the school. Forced to leave Arafat now lives in Malta.

Inspired by Aljazerra http://ow.ly/7kfsN image source http://ow.ly/7kfzh

Each attempt to silence us further emboldened us (October 5th)

Wadah Khanfar the 44 year old Director General of the Al Jazeera Network has been forced to stepped down as the head of the organization, after Wikileaks released a diplomatic cable showing he collaborated with the U.S. government. The cable stated Khanfar had agreed to remove detrimental images from the network’s online slideshow. Contrary to Al Jazeera’s reputation that Khanfar had built, taking the single channel news to a multi-national network that countered the US newsgathering hegemony, the cable implied Khanfar had systematically worked closely with the US intelligence. The images removed from the online slideshow depicted injured women and children resulting from US military actions. Khanfar’s replacement is Sheikh Ahmad bin Jassim bin Mohammad Al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family, seen as a move by the establishment to control the growing Network’s power.

Inspired by Zara Golden http://ow.ly/6DF2E image source AlJazeera http://ow.ly/6DFhs

I didn't expect the raw vitriol, the hatred (September 5th)

Adrian Lamo the 30 year old US hacker who initially received media attention for hacking into high profile media and software networks, and subsequently for his 2010 turning in of Bradley Manning to authorities over the leaking of US diplomatic communiqués and the so called ‘Collateral Murder’ video to WikiLeaks, has addressed a conference HOPE2010 to defend his decisions. Lamo having been labeled by fellow hackers as a scumbag, traitor and a snitch, claims he reported Manning to authorities as he believed the cables were dangerous to the lives of those named within. However the logs of the discussion between Lamo and Manning suggest deceit, with Lamo recorded stating “I’m a journalist and a minister. You can pick either, and treat this as a confession or an interview (never to be published)”.

Inspired by Quinn Norton http://ow.ly/6fgsJ image source http://ow.ly/6fgtZ

He has sabotaged years of work (September 2nd)

Daniel Domscheit-Berg the 32 year old German technology activist known as Daniel Schmitt, the German spokesperson for the whistleblower organization WikiLeaks, has destroyed over 3000 unpublished private communications to WikiLeaks. 12 months ago WikiLeaks suspended the former employee and have attempted through a mediator to negotiate the return of the whistleblower communiqués. Domscheit-Berg allegedly attempted repeatedly to blackmail WikiLeaks to prevent legal action relating to his theft of and refusal to return the stolen communications. A statement released from WikiLeaks states “Domscheit-Berg has illegitimately taken this data along with Wikileaks’ secure online submissions system, funds and internal documentation. He has sabotaged years of work … We have had to recreate this work under difficult circumstances … at a significant cost to Wikileaks, which is under an unlawful Washington instigated financial blockade”.

Inspired by WL Central http://ow.ly/69dc3 image source Andreas Gaufer http://ow.ly/69d6Q

Anonymous the secretive collective of hackers formed in 2003 to initiate Civil disobedience spread through the internet has come under intense law enforcement response in the US with an FBI investigation resulting in 16 people arrested. The arrests follow a spate of online attacks bringing down Web sites of governments and corporations deemed by the collective to be aiding the persecution of WikiLeaks. Anonymous uses a program called the ‘Low Orbit Ion Cannon’ to overwhelm a victim’s Web site with large packets of data. Anonymous has no leader or controlling committee, relying on the collective power of its participants acting in concert to an agreed agenda. The collective operates under the motto “ We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.”

Inspired by Ryan J Reilly http://ow.ly/5RYR8 image source Vincent Diamante http://ow.ly/5RYXs

Rowan Joffé the 38 year old UK screenwriter and director has been chosen by HBO and the BBC to write a film script about the WikiLeaks saga based on a New Yorker article written by Raffi Khatchadourian titled ‘No Secrets: Julian Assange’s Mission for Total Transparency’. The script will focus on Julian Assange’s leaking of the US government secret documents via his website and through selected media outlets, and likely to embroil the counter allegations brought against Assange of sexual related crimes in Sweden and his pending extradition. Of interest will be how the script deals with the US attempts to silence Assange’s embarrassing leaks that still continue to disseminate from the WikiLeaks website. The resulting film is likely to be produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall.

Inspired by James White http://ow.ly/5DhHv image source Zimbio.com http://ow.ly/5DhY0

Daniel Ellsberg the 79 year old former US military analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times and Washington Post about the top-secret Pentagon study of US government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War, has along with other demonstrators been arrested at a demonstration in support of currently detained whistleblower Bradley Manning outside the Marine Corps Brig at Quantico. Hundreds of protestors assembled outside the base where Bradley Manning is being held on dozens of charges relating to his leak of classified diplomatic cables and video to Wikileaks. The protestors primary concern relates to allegations of torture and punitive treatments being applied to Manning by his military jailors.

Inspired by Ben Nuckols ow.ly/4kwBn image source Jacob Appelbaum ow.ly/4kwEm

Philip J Crowley the 59 year old US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs has resigned from his role in the Obama Administration following his controversial comments on the Pentagon’s mistreatment of its military prisoner U.S. soldier Bradley Manning, suspected of providing classified diplomatic cables to Wikileaks the whistleblower website. Crowley told an audience at MIT that while Manning was incarcerated in the right place, his mistreatment while in custody was ridiculous stupid and counter-productive. Crowley in his letter of resignation stated that while the “unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a serious crime under U.S. law … exercise of power in today’s challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values.”

Inspired by Ed Pilkington ow.ly/4ftZG image source National Post ow.ly/4hWQC

Kristinn Hrafnsson the 48 year old Icelandic spokesman for the Wikileaks organization has won the Iceland’s National Union of Journalists ‘Journalist of the Year’ award despite having been terminated on three occasions from different workplaces as a journalist due to his investigations of Iceland’s Kaupthing Bank. The award however was granted for work on a graphic video of a US military Apache helicopter strike in Baghdad that killed two Reuters journalists, and his being a representative for WikiLeaks publishing important information. Hrafnsson was a political science graduate only taking up investigative journalism as a profession at age 28, and has now won Iceland’s journalist of the year award for the third time.

Inspired by Dylan Welch ow.ly/48KRQ image source Daylife ow.ly/48KTa

King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz the 87 year old King of Saudi Arabia and one of the world’s wealthiest royals has come under greater scrutiny following a significant release of documents from Wikileaks as to how his royal family receive such large volumes of wealth both legally and illegally. Schemes to finance Abdul-Aziz’s family members include allocating a million barrels a day of oil to six of his princes, and siphoning billions yearly from defense and infrastructure projects to thousands of other family members. The Wikileaks release of the documents on the eave of anti-government protests will likely fuel anger among the Saudi people at the enormous scale and nature of the payments, despite recently announced social welfare concessions.

Inspired by Gus Lubin ow.ly/48KJ3 image source Wikipedia ow.ly/48KOj

Snorre Serigstad Valen the 26 year old Norwegian pianist, singer and politician nominated the whistle-blower and anti-secrecy website Wikileaks for the 2011 Nobel peace prize, an award conferred by a committee of five people chosen by the Norwegian Parliament. This unique nomination of an internet website that utilizes social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to disseminate state secrets acknowledges the bringing about of immense change to the political landscape, as tyrannical regimes that have traditionally held power over conventional media sources are now unable to control the freedom of the internet. The Norwegian Nobel Committee accepts nominations from many sources including University professors and presidents, former committee members and advisors, former recipients of the award, and in Valen’s case members of national assemblies and governments.

Inspired by Wojciech Moskwa ow.ly/3Psf6 image source Wikipedia ow.ly/3Psdg

Rudolf Elmer the former Swiss bank employee of  20 years, come whistleblower gave secret documents to WikiLeaks detailing the activities of Julius Bär Bank in the Cayman Islands and alleged tax evasion.  Elmer tells reporters, “As a banker, I have the right to stand up if something is wrong […] I am against the system. I know how the system works and I know the day-to-day business. I wanted to let society know how this system works because it’s damaging society”. “… a friend of mine told me: ‘There’s WikiLeaks.’ I looked at it and thought: ‘That’s the only hope I have to [let] society know what’s going on.’ Elmer’s last position with the Bank was oversee of the Caribbean operations.

Inspired by Esther Addley ow.ly/3Gl0W images source SwissInfo ow.ly/3Gl2n