The Death of Truth by Chris Hedges (Interview with Julian Assange)

by Chris Hedges
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Truthdig
May 6, 2013

Image by BradleyLibero via Flickr

This interview is a joint project of Truthdig and The Nation magazine.

LONDON—A tiny tip of the vast subterranean network of governmental and intelligence agencies from around the world dedicated to destroying WikiLeaks and arresting its founder, Julian Assange, appears outside the red-brick building on Hans Crescent Street that houses the Ecuadorean Embassy. Assange, the world’s best-known political refugee, has been in the embassy since he was offered sanctuary there last June. British police in black Kevlar vests are perched night and day on the steps leading up to the building, and others wait in the lobby directly in front of the embassy door. An officer stands on the corner of a side street facing the iconic department store Harrods, half a block away on Brompton Road.

We Are Bradley Manning by Chris Hedges

by Chris Hedges
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Truthdig
March 4, 2013

Image by savebradley via Flickr

I was in a military courtroom at Fort Meade in Maryland on Thursday as Pfc. Bradley Manning admitted giving classified government documents to WikiLeaks. The hundreds of thousands of leaked documents exposed U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as government misconduct. A statement that Manning made to the court was a powerful and moving treatise on the importance of placing conscience above personal safety, the necessity of sacrificing careers and liberty for the public good, and the moral imperative of carrying out acts of defiance.

Transcript of Bradley Manning’s Statement for the Providence Inquiry

Dandelion Salad

by Bradley Manning
Transcript by Alexa O’Brien
www.alexaobrien.com
February 28, 2013

Image by savebradley via Flickr

This statement below was read by Private First Class Bradley E. Manning at a providence inquiry for his formal plea of guilty to one specification as charged and nine specifications for lesser included offenses. He pled not guilty to 12 other specifications. This rush transcript was taken by journalist Alexa O’Brien at the Article 39(a) session of United States v. Pfc. Bradley Manning on February 28, 2013 at Fort Meade, MD, USA.

Bradley Manning pleads not guilty to “aiding the enemy” charge

Image by hragv via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

Updated: Mar 1, 2013 added another video report

See also: Transcript of Bradley Manning’s Statement for the Providence Inquiry

Bradley Manning Tells Court Public had the Right to Know About US War Crimes

[replaced video]

TheRealNews·Mar 1, 2013

American Attorney for Julian Assange, Michael Ratner, reports he was in the courtroom and witnessed Manning speak with confidence and intelligence as he detailed the outrages that drove him to upload documents to Wikileaks.

Lies, Smokescreens and the Shameful Smearing of Julian Assange by John Pilger

Dandelion Salad

by John Pilger
Global Research
http://johnpilger.com
14 February 2013

Image by SamuelGamlin via Flickr

Last December, I stood with supporters of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange in the bitter cold outside the Ecuadorean embassy in London. Candles were lit; the faces were young and old and from all over the world. They were there to demonstrate their human solidarity with someone whose guts they admired. They were in no doubt about the importance of what Assange had revealed and achieved, and the grave dangers he now faced. Absent entirely were the lies, spite, jealousy, opportunism and pathetic animus of a few who claim the right to guard the limits of informed public debate.

Julian Assange on Obama’s Kill List

Image by a.powers-fudyma via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

Note: I did find a partial transcript. http://rt.com/news/assange-drone-killing-leak-813/.

Replaced video; watch while available.

kryptos973281·Feb 8, 2013

Julian Assange to Bill Maher: ‘You Can Be Killed By Someone in White House For Completely Arbitrary Reasons’ and that’s why we need Wikileaks.

Julian Assange: The Push For the War With Iran Is Far From Over

Dandelion Salad

Image by bbwbryant via Flickr

OxfordUnion·Jan 25, 2013

Julian Assange begins his address by saying that in 2007-08 he was looking at what was happening in Iran. He says that a lot of people did good work, especially Thomas Fingar in:

Trying to correct the movement towards war with Iran based on lies.

Julian Assange’s Christmas address from the Ecuador embassy in London

Dandelion Salad

Note: replaced video

Image by hragv via Flickr

RussiaToday·Dec 21, 2012

The man on the frontline of the information battle, Wikileaks editor Julian Assange, has given a Christmas address. He has delivered his speech from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he’s been ensconsed for six months, after being granted political asylum.

Bradley Manning’s Attorney David Coombs Breaks His Silence

Image by hragv via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

Dec 4, 2012 by RTAmerica

The case of Army Private First Class Bradley Manning could be among the most significant military cases in US history; Manning is being accused of releasing sensitive information that has comprised the safety of America to the whistleblowing site WikiLeaks. Although some call him a traitor, others see the Private as a hero. Manning’s attorney David Coombs has remained silent when it came to speaking out about the trial to the media until Monday night.

Michael Ratner: Bradley Manning Testifies About His Torture

Image by hragv via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

Nov 30, 2012 by TheRealNews

Michael Ratner: Manning describes cruel and unusual punishment; offers to plea to lesser charges.

Julian Assange: Human Civilization Has Merged With The Internet

Dandelion Salad

Image by chrisjohnbeckett via Flickr

Nov 29, 2012 by democracynow

In his most extended interview in months, Julian Assange speaks to Democracy Now! from inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he has been holed up for nearly six months. Assange vowed WikiLeaks would persevere despite attacks against it. On Tuesday, the European Commission announced that the credit card company Visa did not break the European Union’s anti-trust rules by blocking donations to WikiLeaks.

Julian Assange Addresses UN On Human Rights: US Is Trying To Build A ‘Regime Of Secrecy’ + Transcript

Dandelion Salad

Updated: Sept. 27, 2012 added transcript

Image by chrisjohnbeckett via Flickr

Sep 26, 2012 by RTAmerica

On Wednesday night, Julian Assange, the creator of Wikileaks, addressed the United Nations General Assembly in an event called “Strengthening Human Rights” from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he has been trapped for several months. The event that was hosted by the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino and gave Assange a platform to draw attention to his case and he emphasized the importance of revealing the truth. Here is that speech.

Why America and Israel Are the Greatest Threats to Peace by Noam Chomsky

Image by Synne Tonidas via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

by Noam Chomsky
www.alternet.org
Sept. 3, 2012

Imagine if Iran — or any other country — did a fraction of what American and Israel do at will.

[...] The war drums are beating ever more loudly over Iran. Imagine the situation to be reversed.

Iran is carrying out a murderous and destructive low-level war against Israel with great-power participation. Its leaders announce that negotiations are going nowhere. Israel refuses to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty and allow inspections, as Iran has done.

The hidden, obvious, peculiar, fatal, omnipresent bias of American mainstream media concerning US foreign policy by William Blum

by William Blum
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
www.killinghope.org
August 31, 2012

Image by Vertigogen via Flickr

“We pledge allegiance to the republic for which America stands and not to its empire for which it is now suffering.” 1

Louis XVI needed a revolution, Napoleon needed two historic military defeats, the Spanish Empire in the New World needed multiple revolutions, the Russian Czar needed a communist revolution, the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires needed World War I, the Third Reich needed World War II, the Land of the Rising Sun needed two atomic bombs, the Portuguese Empire in Africa needed a military coup at home. What will the American Empire need?

The pursuit of Julian Assange is an assault on freedom and a mockery of journalism by John Pilger

Dandelion Salad

by John Pilger
Global Research
www.johnpilger.com
Aug. 23, 2012

Image by a.powers-fudyma via Flickr

The British government’s threat to invade the Ecuadorean embassy in London and seize Julian Assange is of historic significance. David Cameron, the former PR man to a television industry huckster and arms salesman to sheikdoms, is well placed to dishonour international conventions that have protected Britons in places of upheaval. Just as Tony Blair’s invasion of Iraq led directly to the acts of terrorismin London on 7 July 2005, so Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague have compromised the safety of British representatives across the world.