Julian Assange

This intervention contributes to recent work in urban geography that integrates the conceptual frameworks of assemblages and actor-network theory by highlighting two additional directions that require a more rigorous and detailed theorization. The first direction concerns the relationship between contingency and necessity in urban assemblages and actor-networks and this paper delineates four specific propositions as a starting point for further reflection. The second direction suggests that urban assemblages and actor-networks require a more explicit vocabulary for thinking about competition and cooperation within and between cities. To this end, the paper introduces a new concept – delayed asymmetric counterforces – that can foster a better understanding of competition-induced urban change and destabilization. The novel concept is developed in conjunction with a typology of delays in competitive urban dynamics, which helps illuminate how delayed asymmetric counterforces are both a cause and an effect of the complexity inherent in the urban realm.

In 2013, Edward Snowden made headlines when he leaked thousands of NSA documents, revealing an extensive surveillance program in what has been called the most important moment of whistleblowing since the Pentagon Papers. Months earlier, hacker and activist Aaron Swartz was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment after being arrested for illegally downloading files from JSTOR. Each engaged in forms of digital civil disobedience, using technology to call for change, and fit under the greater umbrella concept of hacktivism. However, both fell victim to the long-lasting media bias against hacktivists, who are often not taken seriously because their actions take place online or pigeonholed into hacker communities historically tied to selfishness, criminality, or illegitimacy. In this paper, I will analyze the relationship between hacktivists and the media, and consider how both rely on and combat one another. I will evaluate several examples of media coverage of Snowden's and Swartz's stories in and around 2013, and place them in the greater context of media coverage of hacktivism. Ultimately, I argue that a focus on Snowden and Swartz as individuals, rather than on the issues they advocate for, as well as the use of biased, politicized language negatively impacted them and led to a lack of public awareness or policy change.

US and British spy agencies routinely try to gain access to personal data from Angry Birds and other mobile applications, a report says. A National Security Agency (NSA) document shows location, websites visited and contacts are among the data targeted from mobile applications. 1

This essay updates (to early 2019) earlier work on the WikiLeaks story in order to consider what more recent developments reveal about the theoretical promise that Assange articulated at the time of the website’s emergence. Assange has characterized secrecy as both a form and symptom of corruption, and ultimately as the foundation of a “conspiracy” of governance that states like the U.S. inflict on their subjects and the world. He advocates a non-political, vigilante form of transparency in which WikiLeaks serves as a neutral entity that will save the public and free the world with information. He predicted that corrupt political orders would fall as the threat of exposure forces the collapse of their conspiratorial communication networks. But WikiLeaks has failed not only to save the world but to save itself from politics—and in the process has itself become a bit player in the larger geo-political drama that it had hoped to disrupt. Assange’s theory of information disclosure, as well as his assumptions about the state and governing institutions, have proven far too descriptively and normatively simple. More prominent, less radical theories of transparency should take note of these failures to the extent that they share many of his assumptions.

Fiction and reality. Here is the twosome that Edward Snowden has perhaps the most sustainably shaken. Some alerts had already been raised with the revelation of the Echelon system at the end of the last century; the ever-growing number of terrorism laws, the progressively more oligopolistic Internet ecosystem during the 2000s… But, by revealing - that is materialising - the surveillance mechanisms that control every aspect of our lives, en masse and with no criteria, Edward Snowden has turned the anxiety of the future into a terror of the present.

Thus fiction and reality, but also, perhaps especially, fiction and (im)materiality. Because if no one could have imagined, nor anticipated the art and the scope of the surveillance we are submitted to, it is due to that immateriality of surveillance that we should question. How can Cinema or Literature capture what from now on goes without a body: that circulation of bits that cannot be controlled? How to narrate those lives that each day stray away from the physical world we know. What links can we find between the activists’ technical resistance to rebuild our autonomy and sovereignty and the new narratives taking control over the digital universe? Have we returned to the starting point, when Ivan Illich and a few critical thinkers described computers as a vehicle for a society of surveillance and control, and when Michel Foucault described the deeply securitarian nature of modern States? Is it necessary to repress the enthusiasm with which individuals take control of the digital world to communicate, to express or invent themselves in a new space?

Though our relationship with the world seemed defined, the invisible and the monstrous suddenly appeared to remind us of the siege that the powers put us under. How do we respond to that? Do we need to use figuration to denunciate more efficiently – exposing those interdependent bodies mutated into cyborgs – rather than the suggestion of this impalpable influence that surrounds us, dominates us and threatens us with all its weight?

In the end, it’s the relationship between art and resistance that this case questions. Because if there’s any lesson to take from the continuous discoveries about the massive surveillance we’re under, it’s that the simple fact of showing is a resistance act per se. Showing those who want to see everything on the condition of not being seen themselves. Showing, as well, how we can build our own narratives, conceiving a different digital universe, independently or in response to their vigilance.

At the time of faceless powers, how to structure this resistance? On whom will we henceforth rest to defend our freedoms in the future, besides whistleblowers? Are artists, eternal image revealers, shouldn’t they have their saying on this endless struggle? Isn’t creation itself threatened by this flood of bits, algorithms and automatic restriction devices, which obsession is to erase unpredictability, risk and anomaly? Those are the questions we will seek to answer by gathering some of the advocates of the virtual struggle (Julian Assange, Jérémie Zimmermann, Jennifer Robinson…) and some of the creators and thinkers invited to the festival. Because, in the end, though the fight of the invisibles has begun, what is better than a festival made of images and image creators to open the debate?

Wikileaks was launched in 2006 and has shortly become a controversial non-profit media organization aiming to leak information from censored or restricted documents by using anonymous sources. Soon after it was launched, Wikileaks developed partnerships with international media outlets such as New York Times, The Guardian, and Der Spiegel, so that the leaks would be republished. This phenomenon raises questions concerning the credibility of the source and the double gatekeeping process (through Wikileaks in the first instance and then through the international media publications named above). The existing theoretical body of knowledge and its concepts (Westley & MacLean, 1957; Shoemaker, & Reese, 1996) seem to be unable to explain the Wikileaks phenomenon. Thus, this paper aims to merge the Westley and MacLean model (1957), the credibility theory (Gass & Seiter, 1999; Perloff, 1993; Whitehead, 1968), the news sociology concepts (Shoemaker & Reese, 1996) in order to create a new gatekeeping model.

El sábado 12 de junio de 1971, la hija del ex presidente estadounidense Richard Nixon, Patricia, celebraba nupcias con su prometido Edward Finch Cox. Todo apuntaba a que el siguiente día, 13 de junio, la prensa dedicaría un amplio espacio en sus primeras planas a los recién casados. Y así lo hicieron grandes medios de Estados Unidos como el Washington Post o el Chicago Tribune.

Pero el diario The New York Times rompió con el guión. La boda Nixon-Finch quedó opacada por la publicación de la primera parte de una serie de documentos “top secret” del gobierno estadounidense, y que serían conocidos como los “Papeles del Pentágono”. La publicación corresponde a un estudio titulado oficialmente Relaciones de Estados Unidos-Vietnam, 1945.1967: Un Estudio Preparado por el Departamento de Defensa, que contiene un análisis sobre la participación política y militar de aquel país en el conflicto de Indochina. El estudio fue comisionado en 1967 por el entonces Secretario de Defensa, Robert McNamara, y supervisado por por el director de Planificación de Control de la Política de Seguridad Internacional en el Pentágono, Leslie Gelb. La investigación duró un año.

El contenido fue filtrados en primer lugar al diario estadounidense The New York Times y posteriormente al Washington Post, por el ex analista del Departamento de Estado, Daniel Ellsberg. En ellos se reveló que el gobierno de Estados Unidos aumentó su actuación militar en la Guerra de Vietnam a costa de engañar al Congreso y a la opinión pública. La publicación de los “Papeles del Pentágono” marcaron en su época una victoria Judicial a favor de la Libertad de Expresión en Estados Unidos y en contra de los intereses del gobierno, así como un avance para los informantes que buscan equilibrar los abusos de poder en los que pueden caer los Estados bajo el cobijo de la secrecía.

A 45 años de la publicación de los “Papeles del Pentágono”, el escenario ha cambiado. Las tecnologías han permitido la emergencia de plataformas como Wikileaks para filtrar anónimamente documentos clasificados que revelen una actuación ilegal de algún gobierno, o que atente contra la democracia y la soberanía de los países. Esto significa una simplificación en la logística desde que Ellsberg y su colega Anthony Russo fotocopiaron más de 7,000 páginas del informe que fue entregado en secreto al periodista Neil Sheehan. Los canales digitales encriptados también han permitido que medios de comunicación y plataformas como Wikileaks puedan recibir directamente información de los whistleblowers.

Peter Ludlow, profesor de Filosofía en la Universidad del Noroeste de Estados Unidos, observa ya una emergencia de la “Generación W”, una generación de informantes que actúan en la era Wikileaks. Figuras como Julian Assange, Chelsea (Bradley) Manning y Edward Snowden se han convertido representantes de esta generación, quienes han denunciado políticas y decisiones secretas del gobierno estadounidense que contravienen con los principios democráticos, de respeto a la soberanía y autodeterminación de los Estados, así como los derechos humanos. Estas figuras son la evidencia de que la herencia de Daniel Ellsberg y los “Papeles del Pentágono” aún sigue viva.

Pero Estados Unidos y sus países aliados han orquestado una continua persecución y acoso en contra de los mensajeros (medios de comunicación, plataformas de divulgación de información y periodistas) mientras que los informantes son objeto de persecución judicial bajo una Ley de Espionaje que data de la Primera Guerra Mundial. En este escenario, los whistleblowers se han convertido en actores no estatales que han generado tensión al interior de los Estados y en sus relaciones internacionales ya que las filtraciones de estos tres actores han tenido alcance tanto local como global; y por la persecución estatal de la que son objeto. Los whistleblowers son acusados de espías y por divulgar información que compromete la seguridad nacional cobijada en la secrecía.

A lo largo de este trabajo se analizará la herencia de Daniel Ellsberg y la publicación de los “Papeles del Pentágono”, y su influencia sobre el actuar de los principales representantes de la “Generación W” de informantes. A partir de este análisis se buscará dar explicación a una realidad: lo que alguna vez la sociedad estadounidense vio como una victoria para la libertad de expresión hace 45 años se tradujo en el desprestigio y la criminalización de actores que suponen un equilibrio entre la protección de la seguridad nacional y los abusos del poder.

Abstract:  WikiLeaks is a controversial organisation that attracts polarised responses. This is not unexpected given its key objective of exposing the secrets and social control ambitions of the powerful. While its supporters laud its pursuit of an informational commons, its detractors condemn its antisocial character, its megalomania—and its anarchism. It is the latter that particularly interests us here. This paper treats the “charge” of anarchism seriously, however, giving it the analytical attention it warrants. It does this by first identifying those characteristics of the organisation that would render it anarchist, and then to conceptualise what this anarchism means. It highlights two important elements of the WikiLeaks story: the anarchical character of the technologies it utilises to foment its dissent; and the anarchical ethos of the organisation's radical politics. We conclude by also considering the tensions and contradictions in WikiLeaks that temper both its anarchism and its social change objectives.

whose door was always open for any questions I might have had. I also thank Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Kaya of the Law Faculty at the University of İstanbul for his advice and encouragement. I would also like to acknowledge the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Turkey. They granted me the scholarship that made it possible for me to study and complete my Master's degree in Germany. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my family, who have provided me with endless support.

Subtítulo: Un estudio sobre las posibilidades de expansión de la red y la corporalidad.

El ensayo analiza brevemente algunos futuros posibles de Internet y las TICs a través de algunas fuentes relevantes: analistas y empresas del sector, defensores de la libertad en Internet, la divulgación científica y el ciberactivismo. Explora las posibilidades de modificación del cuerpo que la tecnología puede desarrollar desde la cibercultura, analizando el problema del dualismo desde un enfoque filosófico y destacando el papel del mito ciborg en la cultura contemporánea.

This paper briefly discusses some possible future Internet and ICTs through some relevant sources: analysts and companies, defenders of Internet freedom, popular science and cyber-activists. We explore the possibilities of body modification that technology can develop from cyberculture, analyzing the problem of dualism from a philosophical approach and emphasizing the role of myth in contemporary culture cyborg.

Media freedom is indispensable to a democracy. The perception is that independent news media will enable free and fair elections and shine a spotlight on corruption, thereby functioning as the fourth estate. Yet political leaders often defend restricting media autonomy arguing that irresponsible news coverage will incite political violence-theoretically destabilizing the government and in effect acting as a 'fifth column.' Edmund Burke, a British parliamentarian and an 18th century British political philosopher, imbedded the concept of the 'Fourth Estate' saying, "there were Three Estates in Parliament (an inheritable crown; inheritable peerage; and a House of Commons) but, in the Reporters' Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all." 1 It would be two years before the drafting of the First Amendment and that makes it possible that the framers were familiar with the 'Fourth Estate' metaphor. Evidence exists that they recognized the main press as having the assets of a Fourth Estate. 2

El caso de Julian Assange es paradigmático y contemporáneo a nuestros días producto del escándalo político que ocasionó el actuar de Wikileaks.
Tomando como actor a Assange, proponemos un estudio de su caso a la luz del derecho internacional público considerando tres vectores rectores: primero, el asilo diplomático; segundo, la acreditación como miembro de la misión diplomática y el otorgamiento de la nacionalidad ecuatoriana; tercero, el cese de la protección y el consecuente pedido de extradición estadounidense.
Para ello, analizaremos parte de la legislación y jurisprudencia interna de cada Estado para posteriormente realizar un análisis de los instrumentos que nos brinda el derecho internacional público: tratados que regulen las materias, jurisprudencia de distintos tribunales y opinión calificada de autores.

WikiLeaks' massive leak of United States Department of State diplomatic cables was met with a wide range of journalistic and audience reactions in post-Soviet Central Asia. These tended to be informed by dynamics unique to the region as well as media conditions specific to each of the five republics. In general, initial curiosity and goodwill has given way to more toned-down feelings, including scepticism and cynicism. In Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in particular, it appears to have accomplished one goal – putting corrupt and secretive regimes on alert – while undermining another – helping journalists, civil society activists, and human rights defenders. Since the leak is still on going, it is impossible to make a definitive statement about WikiLeaks’ ultimate effect upon the region. Nevertheless, it does appear that so far the organisation has had the paradoxical result of reinforcing Central Asia's marginalisation in global media consciousness yet giving Central Asians, both journalists and audiences, an opportunity to get a real sense of how the world perceives them.

Once dubbed "the Bonnie and Clyde of graffiti", the globe-trotting, train-painting duo of Utah and Ether occupy a central place in contemporary graffiti folklore. Having both served time in the US for graffiti offences, the couple skipped parole and embarked on a long term "probation vacation", painting subway networks across Europe and Asia. Their exploits were carefully documented through photographs and web videos, including a collaboration with The Grifters, a ground-breaking-video series. In 2016, Ether was again arrested and jailed while placing stickers on a Melbourne street. This paper considers the implications of Utah and Ether's graffiti practice. Using ficto-critical techniques, it attempts to fill in the gaps of Utah and Ether's fantasy life on the run and think through its implications for cultural heritage and graffiti research in a late capitalist world.

Drawing on major leaks from Assange, Manning, and especially Snowden, this piece focuses on two major issues in the ethics of information: (1) the tension between the ends of national security and the principles of transparent, open governance in a democracy, and (2) the emergence of a networked public sphere as a fourth estate check on abuses of power, highlighting: (a) just what the competing ends and meanings in discussions of freedom, democracy, and power, are, especially as seen in the Information Wants To Be Free trope, clarifying the often very different normative ends at work in the rhetoric; and, in conclusion, (b) the ironies throughout the discourse of information ethics, democratic futures, and human freedoms.

Myth is a meta-language that shapes our cultures and the way we individually and collectively make sense of reality. This paper presents the methodologies of French anthropologist and sociologist Gilbert Durand as a way to unveil how ancient myths contribute to the symbolic construction of societal leaders in times of crisis. To do so, it analyses the controversy of the selection of Time magazine’s Person of the Year, which confronted the figures of Julien Assange and Mark Zuckerberg. The myth analysis of their Wikipedia biographies will show that despite the fact these two personalities are considered almost opposites, the structure of the collective shared narratives about each of them follow the structure of the myth of Hermes, one shaping the grand narrative of the postmodern era. Realizing why and how the myth of Hermes promotes our contemporary leaders, sometimes apparent antagonists, contributes to better understanding of the unconscious drives of their symbolic construction, and enabling critical engagement with the rationales of their emergence.

Watergate – Ein Zauberwort der amerikanischen Kultur. Zeitungsreporter, allen voran Bob Woodward und Carl Bernstein von der Washington Post deckten 1973 auf, dass die Einbrüche im Hauptquartier der Demokratischen Partei, bei denen Dokumente fotografiert und Abhörwanzen installiert werden sollten, letztlich auf das Konto von Präsident Nixon gingen. Eine Lawine von Ermittlungen der amerikanischen Presse folgte und die Verstrickung oder die direkte Urheberschaft der US Regierung in vielfältige Verbrechen und Korruptionsskandale wurde bekannt. Schließlich begann ein Amtsenthebungsverfahren gegen den US Präsidenten Richard Nixon, der am 9. August 1974 zurücktreten musste.

Der Skandal zeigte auf vielfältige Weise, wozu die Regierungskaste der USA fähig war. Eine Erkenntnis, die in den 70er Jahren in den USA unausweichlich war. Der Vietnamkrieg bewies es tagtäglich, aber auch die Ermittlungsergebnisse des Church Committees aus dem Jahr 1975, eines Untersuchungsausschusses, der unter anderem aufdeckte, dass die CIA z.B. Mordanschläge gegen unliebsame fremde Machthaber durchführte, wie Patrice Lumumba, Fidel Castro oder auch den chilenischen General Rene Schneider, der loyal zu Allende war, dass die CIA unter dem Decknamen MKUltra geheime Menschenexperimente mit Todesfolge unternahm, um Bewusstseinskontrolle zu erproben und das FBI die illegale Überwachung, Diskreditierung und aktive Manipulation verschiedener Bürgerrechtsgruppen und linker Aktivisten praktizierte.

What happens to domestic life when the state turns a troublesome sub-ject's home into a prison, when an outlaw evading custody turns an extraterritorial space, such as an embassy, into a home? How is a foreign sovereign transformed into an imperial citizen-subject through exile, house arrest, and return? Exile and forced domesticity have long linked sovereignty to the power to determine intimate life. Centuries-old practices of house arrest and diplomatic asylum have taken on new forms in recent decades in the wake of emerging surveillance technologies and changing relationships between information, territory, and sovereignty. This article examines two quite distinct, high-prole celebrity instances of what we call dissident domesticity. In the rst case, Prempeh I, the last sovereign king of Asante, is exiled by the British from his capital of Kumasi, in what is now Ghana, and placed under house arrest in the Seychelles to end a war of British imperial conquest. In the second case, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the twenty-rst century's iconic dissident, seeks asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid arrest and extradition. Prempeh's exile on the edge of empire and Assange's connement at its center show how the ght over the control of information, and those who circulate it, converges with the struggle for the control of territory, and those who police it, transverse it, and are trapped by it. We draw on ethnographic, archival, and artistic work at both these sites of incarceration to understand how information and surveillance, resistance and coercion are created in the interplay between center and

The unfurling of violent rhetoric and the show of force that has lead to the arrest, imprisonment, and impending extradition of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, serve as an exemplary moment in demonstrating state-sanctioned violence. Since the cables began leaking in November 2010, the violent reaction to WikiLeaks evidenced by numerous political pundits calling for Assange's assassination or execution, and the movement within the US to have WikiLeaks designated a ‘foreign terrorist organization’, amount to a profound showing of authoritarianism. The ‘Wikigate’ scandal thus represents an important occasion to take stock and think critically about what this case tells us about the nature of sovereign power, freedom of information, the limits of democracy, and importantly, the violence of the state when it attempts to manage these considerations. This forum explores a series of challenges inspired by WikiLeaks, which we hope will prompt further debate and reflection within critical geopolitics.

Wikileaks, par la voix de son fondateur, Julian Assange a annoncé que le site allait révéler la palette d'armes utilisées par la CIA pour espionner les entreprises. Le but est que certaines d'entres elles soient utilisées par le grand public. Franck Decloquement Franck DeCloquement est expert en intelligence stratégique (IES) pour le groupe Ker-Meur, et ancien de l'Ecole de guerre économique de Paris (EGE). Membre fondateur de la FFPC (French Federation of Psycho-Forensics), il est en outre professeur à l'Iris (Institut de Relations internationales et stratégiques) en "Géo-économie et intelligence stratégique", et enseigne également la "Géopolitique des médias" en Master 2 recherche "Médias et Mondialisation", à l'IFP (Institut français de presse) de l'université de Paris II Panthéon-Assas. Franck DeCloquement est aussi conférencier sur les menaces émergentes liées aux actions d'espionnage et les déstabilisations de nature informationnelle et humaine. Il est en outre intervenu pour la Scia (Swiss Competitive Intelligence Association) à Genève, aux assises de la Fncds (Fédération nationale des cadres dirigeants et supérieurs), et au colloque inaugural de la FFPC au Sénat, en octobre 2016, sur "La perception du fait religieux".

El asilo diplomático se basa en la inviolabilidad de que
gozan las legaciones diplomáticas, y puede definirse como la
protección que el Estado otorga temporalmente, en los locales
de la misión diplomática, a personas –de otras naciones-, que
acuden a ellos en situaciones de urgencia, al ser perseguidos por
motivos políticos o ideológicos; de modo que pese a la barbarie
y fanática sinrazón que hacen aún en nuestros días tabula rasa detoda clase de acuerdos y convenciones internacionales -cuya universal observancia constituye insustituible garantía de la paz y seguridad y del orden público y jurídico-, las embajadas y aún a veces los consulados han constituido a menudo lugar de amparo de personas de toda clase y
condición, fugitivas por ser perseguidas o expuestas a factibles matanzas.
Las embajadas y demás locales diplomáticos de los diferentes Estados e inclusive, en situaciones a menudo dramáticas, también sus buques de guerra o aeronaves militares, se convierten así en el último aliento de esperanza. Miles de personas de toda edad, sexo, condición y afinidad ideológica, deben su vida e integridad personal y familiar al momentáneo pero trascendental refugio encontrado, al amparo de su inmunidad de jurisdicción y a su inviolabilidad formal y material, generalmente aceptadas, en insólitas circunstancias y en situaciones límite que dan lugar a reiterados y bien conocidos contenciosos, suscitados en torno a la controvertida pero a la vez eficaz institución conocida como asilo diplomático, o a sus modalidades asimiladas
de asilo naval o aéreo.
Pese a que la institución del asilo, al amparo de singulares recintos privilegiados, hunde sus raíces en la noche de los tiempos, el asilo extraterritorial goza todavía de buena salud, bien sea bajo la figura convencional de específico ámbito territorial iberoamericano, conocida como asilo diplomático, o aún mediante aquella mera práctica de raíz consuetudinario-humanitaria, entendida como refugio temporal en los locales diplomáticos, al amparo del principio convencional de la
absoluta inviolabilidad de las representaciones diplomáticas, ante el Estado donde se produzca la persecución de personas o grupos cuya vida, libertad o integridad se encuentren grave e injustificadamente amenazadas.

Julian Assanges Rückzugsort in der ecuadorianischen Botschaft in London hat sich in einen Ort des Schreckens verwandelt. Seit sieben Monaten ist er weitgehend von der Kommunikation mit der Außenwelt abgeschnitten. Die ecuadorianische Staatsbürgerschaft, die ihm als Asylbewerber verliehen wurde, wird gerade widerrufen. Sein Gesundheitszustand verschlechtert sich zunehmend. Ärztliche Hilfe wird ihm verweigert. Seine Bemühungen um Entschädigung werden durch einen Maulkorberlass behindert, einschließlich der Anordnung Ecuadors, dass er seine Lebensbedingungen in der Botschaft und seinen Kampf gegen den Widerruf der ecuadorianischen Staatsbürgerschaft nicht öffentlich machen darf. Von Chris Hedges. Aus dem Englischen von Josefa Zimmermann.

Before Julian Assange became the infamous figure we know today, he authored a series of philosophical essays in which he made the case for a culture of leaking secrets. Those papers take the reader on a journey through some abstract concepts in the theory of networks and introduce unfamiliar ideas like emergent conspiracies and cognitive taxes. In my view, Assange’s philosophical journey is well worth taking.

While the journey may be worth taking, it is not an easy journey to take. The argument developed in his papers is nothing if not enthymematic–meaning that Assange leaves it to readers to connect the dots. What follows is my attempt to connect those dots.

On the Road to Darkness: Thoughts on the Fascist Disease Infecting Western Society
Author: Fareed Khan
Date: Mar. 24, 2014
http://theviewfromhere-fareedkhan.blogspot.ca/2014/03/on-road-to-darkness-thoughts-on-fascist.html

Civil Liberties, Participatory Democracy, Democratic Decay, Edward Snowden, Electoral Reform, Fascism, Government Surveillance, Human Rights, Julian Assange, Neo-Fascism, Political Revolution, Social Justice, Voter Suppression, Western Democracy"

Research Interests:
Social Justice, Social Justice and Human rights, Political Revolution, Julian Assange, Human Rights and Social Justice, Human Rights, Government Surveillance, Fascism, Neo-Fascism, Electoral Reform, Edward Snowden, Democratic Decay, Participatory Democracy, Civil Society and Human Rights, and Human Rights and Civil Liberties

Cet autre visage de Wikileaks qu'ont dévoilé les étranges échanges, entre les chevaliers BLANCS de la transparence, et Donald Trump Jr. Des échanges entre Donald Trump Jr. et le site de Julien Assange, Wikileaks, ont été révélés par le magazine The Atlantic, puis confirmés par le fils du président américain. Existe-t-il un projet politique qui se cache derrière l'idéologie de la transparence du célèbre site de fuites d'informations confidentielles ?

Este ensayo analiza y reflexiona desde una perspectiva sociológica el fenómeno de Wikileaks, a partir de las implicancias que la información por éste filtrada podría tener sobre la institución del Estado moderno racional. La relación entre el medio de comunicación y el Estado nacional se problematiza a partir de una selección de material documental haciendo del fenómeno social (interpretación periodística) un fenómeno sociológico (interpretación hermenéutica). Se formulan dos tesis, a saber; a) que Wikileaks representa una amenaza para la estabilidad del Estado racional moderno en el sentido que Weber le presta a éste y b) que Julian Assange, su cara más visible, se aproxima a un tipo de líder carismático más que tradicional o legal.

This paper analizes the phenomena of Wikileaks from a sociological focus taking into account the impact of its publications on the rational modern national state. A varied range of pieces of information is considered to develop the problematization of the relation among Wikileaks' actions and the weberian institution of modern national state. This means to turn the nature of this relation from the social phenomena (journalistic interpretation) into the sociological one (hermeneutic approach). Two theses lead the reflection, namely: a) Wikileaks is a threat to the weberian rational modern state and b) Julian Assange, its spokesperson, is closer to be a kind of charismatic leader than a traditional or legal one.

The glimpse of Julian Assange being dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London is an emblem of the times. Might against right. Muscle against the law. Indecency against courage. Six policemen manhandled a sick journalist, his eyes wincing against his first natural light in  almost seven years.

Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS):
Extradition of Julian Assange Threatens Us All,
in: Consortium News, 30.04.2019

https://consortiumnews.com/2019/04/30/vips-extradition-of-julian-assange-threatens-us-all/


Retaliation against Julian Assange over the past decade plus replicates a pattern of ruthless political retaliation against whistleblowers, in particular those who reveal truths hidden by illegal secrecy, VIPS says.

special to Consortium News, February 10, 2020

https://consortiumnews.com/2020/02/10/julian-assange-wins-2020-gary-webb-freedom-of-the-press-award/

Imprisoned WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange has been awarded Consortium News’ 2020 Gary Webb Freedom of the Press Award for courage in the face of an unprecedented attack on press freedom.

Working directly with Ecuador’s corrupt government, the U.S. government abandoned all sense of legality and moral decency by spying on Assange twenty-four hours a day via an illegal livestream surveillance operation set up by a private security firm and approved by Ecuador’s president.

MintPressNews, September 30, 2019

https://www.mintpressnews.com/us-complicit-julian-assange-surveillance-operation-ecuadorian-embassy/262131/

6 Şubat 2018’de verdiği ilk kararında, her ne kadar İsveç savcısı soruşturmaya devam etmemeye karar vermişse de Hakim Arbuthnot Assange hakkında İngiltere mahkemelerince verilen tutuklama emrinin geçerli olduğu kararını vermiştir (par 1). 13 Şubat 2018’de verdiği bu yeni kararında savunmanın tutuklama emrinin orantılılık ve kamu yararı üzerinden incelenmesi talebini değerlendirmiştir.

published in:

World Socialist Web Site, 25 January 2020

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/25/yell-j25.html

Today, hundreds of “yellow vests” from France and protesters from other countries across Europe, including Belgium and Britain, are protesting outside Belmarsh maximum security prison in London to demand the freeing of WikiLeaks founder and journalist Julian Assange.
A principled and courageous journalist whose revelations exposed imperialist crimes against humanity and encouraged working class protests around the world, Assange is the target of a relentless state campaign to destroy him. He is locked up in Belmarsh, subjected to torture according to testimony from doctors and UN experts, and faces extradition to America. There, he faces a life sentence in prison under the US Espionage Act, for publishing material such as the “Collateral Murder” video of US troops illegally gunning down civilians in US-occupied Iraq.

Küresel piyasalarda, Dolar ve Euro'ya alternatif olarak lanse edilen ve belli algoritmalara sahip olan yeni çağın sanal para birimi. " Bitcoin " Kısa adı BTC. Fütürüstlere göre algoritmaların kendi başına işlem yapabilecekleri meselesiyle beraber kaotik bir düzen içinde yeni bir düzeni getirmesi beklenen bitcoin şimdilerde paranın tarihini yeniden yazıyor. Her ne kadar uzman ve fütüristler geleceğin meslekleri arasında adını anmasalar da şayet tutunur ve rüştünü ispetlarsa " Bitcoin madenciliğinin-mining " de endüstri 4.0 sonrası yeni meslekler arasında yer alacağı öngörülebilir. Burada kullanılan peer to peer (P2P) sistemli teknolojiler açısından; kısaca Bitcoin sisteminde yapılan ödemelerin doğrulanmasına yarayan açık anahtarlı şifreleme (asimetrik şifreleme), noktadan-noktaya ağ bağlantısı ve proof-of-work gibi teknolojilerden sözedebiliriz. Ödemeyi yapan adresten alıcı adrese şifrelenmiş olarak imzalanarak gönderilen Bitcoin mekanizmadaki işleyişe bakıldığında her işlemin ağa duyurulumunun yapılması ve blok zincirinde yerini alması sayesinde eklenen bitcoinlerin birden fazla kere kullanılmasını engeller. Bu bağlamda Bitcoin bu gibi teknolojileri kullanarak, herkes için hızlı ve son derece güvenilir bir ödeme ağı sağlama potansiyeline de sahip olduğu görüşü yaygın. Her ne kadar böyle lanse edilse de kimi uzmanlar geçmişteki argümanları devam ettirerek buna katılmıyor ve hileye açık zaafiyetleri olduğunu ileri sürmekteler i. Yine de belli başlı protokollere tabi olması ve protokoller çerçevesince yapılan her işlemin şifrelenip kayıt hafızasına sahip olması hasebiyle cüzdanının şifresini çaldırmak, bilgisayarın hacklenmesi gibi kullanıcı hatası ya da ihmali neticesinde hasıl olan durumlar haricinde sistemin güvenlik sorunu bulunmadığını savunanlar çoğunlukta. Enflasyon riski düşüklüğü, çökme riski olmaması, çiple taşınması sayesinde kolay çalınmaya karşı nispeten daha korunaklılığı gibi avantajları bulunan Bitcoin adeta bir fenomen halne geldi. ilk başta teknoloji tarafında hayatımıza girdiğinde uyusturucu kartellerinin para aklamada kullandığı para birimi algısı ile " notorious-kötü nam salmış " bir algı yaratan, hem aşağı hem de yukarı yönlü riskleri bünyesinde barındıran Bitcoin bugün yatırımcıların iştahını giderek daha da kabartan bir dijital para birimi haline geldi. İçinde bulunduğumuz sene dünya genelinde patlak veren Ransomware-" Wanna Cry " virusü ile birlikte internet suçlarında ödeme yollarının başında gelmesi nedeniyle pek çok kez adından bahsettiren, daha bu sene Nisan ayının son çeyreğinde 1250 Amerikan dolarını test eden, Haziran ortalarında 2500 ler seviyesine gelen Bitcoin değerini her geçen gün arttırmaya devam ediyor. Bununla da kalmayıp Altın fiyatlarının Bicoin'deki sert yükselişe etkisi ve aralarındaki pozitif korelasyon giderek daha da görünür hale geldi. Geçtiğimiz hafta sonunundan sonra süksesinden adeta yanına yanaşılmıyor. 1 Bitcoin

Resumen. Se trata de la sinopsis de dos coloquios sobre la libertad de prensa, WikiLeaks y el proceso contra su fundador, Julian Assange, con diez expertos y expertas en periodismo de investigación, filtradores y filtradoras, y personas cercanas a este. Las ideas que surgieron del debate se centran en el impacto de WikiLeaks, que inauguró un modelo pionero de periodismo y puso encima de la mesa nuevos debates sobre la libertad de expresión y la protección de los filtradores que arriesgan sus vidas para exponer crímenes y manipulación. Asimismo, se habló de la relevancia del 'caso Assange' para el periodismo. Tres asuntos preocupan a los y las expertas reunidas en estos coloquios: el acceso a los datos de forma directa y sin adulterar por parte de la ciudadanía, la posibilidad de ejercer el periodismo de investigación sin impedimentos y el amparo del derecho a filtrar datos relevantes. Palabras clave: denunciantes; filtraciones; Julian Assange; periodismo de investigación.

Cast of characters in speaking truth to power: key role of women?
Tricoteuses -- relishing the repression of truth?
Fake news -- "let them eat cake"?
Show trials, mock trials and regicides in a period of farce?
Passion for truth as highlighted by a play
Ambiguities regarding the justice of a trial
Kangaroo court -- for the trial of an Australian?
Paradox of folk heroism?
Secretive security services constraining Assange?
Appropriate symbolic alternative to crucifixion for Assange?

Nachdenkseiten, 3. Juli 2019
https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=52967

Worum geht es im Fall des Wikileaks-Gründers Julian Assange? Es geht nicht um die Person Assange, "es geht um die Institution Wikileaks, es geht um die unabhängige Publikation von Informationen, es geht um die Wahrheit über Kriegsverbrechen, Korruption und Kriminalität der Herrschenden." Das sagt der Autor Mathias Bröckers im NachDenkSeiten-Interview. Bröckers ist der Auffassung, dass Wikileaks "eine neue Dimension für investigativen Journalismus eröffnet" hat und Assange selbstverständlich als Journalist zu betrachten ist. Von den mehr als 1,5 Millionen Dokumenten, die Wikileaks veröffentlicht habe, sei nicht eins eine Fälschung gewesen. "Das spricht im Zeitalter von Fake-News für die herausragende Qualität dieser publizistischen Institution." Von Marcus Klöckner. Zwischenbemerkung von Moritz Müller: Heute begeht Julian Assange seinen 48. Geburtstag im Londoner Belmarsh Gefängnis. Wir wissen nicht wirklich, wie er dies tun wird, da er dort im Land der Magna Carta, und des am längsten amtierenden Staatsoberhauptes weiterhin quasi in Isolationshaft gehalten wird, inmitten von Schwerverbrechern. Man kann nur hoffen, dass die für heute geplante Anwesenheit zahlreicher Unterstützer vor dem Gefängnis zu ihm durchdringt und ihn in seiner zermürbenden Situation nährt. Die NachDenkSeiten wünschen Julian Assange am heutigen Tag alles Gute und hoffen, dass er seinen nächsten Geburtstag, anders als die letzten neun, in Freiheit, und im Kreise seiner Familie verbringen wird!

https://peds-ansichten.de/2019/11/julian-assange-und-ein-mord-auf-raten/


Was den Begründer der Enthüllungs-Plattform Wikileaks betrifft, findet an ihm derzeit ein-von den Massenmedien weitestgehend verschwiegener-Mord auf Raten statt. Ja, die Meinungsführerschaft erkenne ich sogar als Mittäter. Füllt sie doch eine Funktion innerhalb dieses Verbrechens aus: die des Totschweigens. Anerkennenswerte Ausnahmen können dieses schlimme Bild leider nicht wirksam aufhellen. Nun ist es keinesfalls so, dass die Zerstörung des Julian Assange als Information nicht zugänglich sei. Sie beschäftigt sogar den UN-Menschenrechtsrat, welcher als direkte Unterorganisation der UN-Generalversammlung (auch UN-Vollversammlung genannt) seinen Sitz im schweizerischen Genf hat. Wiederum zur Rolle der Organisation in der jüngsten Vergangenheit und Gegenwart sind-vor Befassung mit dem, was man Assange antut-ein paar klärende Anmerkungen erforderlich.

As Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, is kidnapped by British authorities at the order of the United States government, it might be timely to revisit his discussion on new techniques of surveillance and control and means of resisting against them, launched in his 2013 book, CYPHERPUNKS: FREEDOM AND THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET. Here is chapter 6 of the book which appeared in my translation from Metis in 2013.