A great review of the WikiLeaks documentary Mediastan by Nozomi Hayase In an interview with The Guardians editor, Alan Rusbridger, Assange confronts him about the newspapers significant removal and reduced publication of US diplomatic cables. Assange gives examples of cables about Uzbekistan in Tashkent that showed connections between the powerful Karimou family and the mafia, Kazakhstan cables that exposed the corruption of an Italian energy company operating in the country and another one that revealed the Bulgarian mafias penetration of the Bulgarian state. Then Assange asks why The Guardian protects the identity of these organized crime figures which, in effect, serves to conceal and further perpetuate the corruption. Rusbridger describes how the news company fears wealthy power brokers who would use the UKs Libel Court against them, revealing how legal considerations operate in Britain as a form of systemic censorship. In another telling scene toward the end of the film, former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller lounges comfortably in his posh office, talking about the newspapers decision to sit on material that exposed warrantless wiretapping in deference to the Bush Administration. He also reveals the news companys nearly daily conversations with the US government, indicating this influential corporate newspapers cozy relationship with the military and the CIA. This shows the crucial role corporate media plays in sustaining global networks of patronage and power. This film sheds important light on the forces that lay siege to the spirit and law enshrined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Back in 2010, WikiLeaks blazed onto the world stage with the release of the Collateral Murder video that documented war crimes from an Apache helicopter gun-sight. The 18-minute video opened with the words of George Orwell: Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give the appearance of solidity to pure wind. The organization helped lift the curtain of deception by revealing the broken rule of law and the true state of modern imperial warfare. Now three years later, through assisting Edward Snowden and continuing to operate as a major force in the global media, WikiLeaks still fights for the publics right to know what is being done in its name. truth-out.org/opinion/item/19759-wikileaks-mediastan-the-true-fifth-estate-bringing-the-first-amendment-to-the-world
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 14:22:08 +0000
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