Most Swedes want the Wikileaks founder to respond to their country’s legal inquiries but a vocal few feel Sweden’s …
Wikileaks
Defending Assange, Ecuador’s President Kindles a Controversy over Defining Rape
The decision to help keep Assange out of Sweden shines light on Latin America’s problematic attitude toward rape
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Why Is Ecuador Julian Assange’s Choice for Asylum?
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has appealed for asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. It’s a curious choice: under President Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s free speech record has been dismal.
WikiLeaks’ Stratfor E-Mails Reveal Unexpected Talent for Comedy
When WikiLeaks released a trove of diplomatic cables penned by U.S. ambassadors at the end of 2010, it soon became clear the missives weren’t simply a fascinating window onto world affairs. Many of them were also a damn good …
“Maybe what these emails actually reveal is how a Texas-based corporate research firm can get a little carried away in marketing itself as a for-hire CIA and end up fooling some over-eager hackers into believing it's true.”
Reads from Around the World: Tibet, Tsunamis and TV Talk
Tibetan Turmoil – The South China Morning Post reports another Tibetan has been shot dead in escalating protests in the western part of China’s Sichuan province. The death follows similar unrest Monday that left at least one …
Watching Abbas in Ramallah: A People Tired of Waiting
At one end of Ramallah, Israeli riot police line up behind barricades, stubby tear gas rifles leveled at shoulder height toward the few dozen young Palestinian men who reliably emerge from the Qalandia refugee camp when Israeli soldiers emerge from the checkpoint of the same name two blocks away. Camera crews set up between them, …
Will New Evidence of War Crimes Tip the Scales Against the Sri Lankan Government
On June 14, the British television network Channel 4 broadcast a stunning hour-long documentary presenting footage of horrific abuses allegedly committed by Sri Lankan troops during the last months of the country’s war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The images are graphic and profoundly disturbing. They include the …
China Welcomes bin Laden’s Death, but Concerns About U.S. Focus Emerge
The online reactions in China to the death of Osama bin Laden have been diverse, with some celebrating the death of the terrorist, while a few mourned the passing of someone who challenged the global dominance of the U.S. Officially the Chinese government welcomed news that an American military team took out the Qaeda leader in Pakistan …
In France, A Risky Business May Get Riskier
Given French society’s reputation of unbridled sexual attitudes and libertine habits, it’s probably not surprising that a new proposal to combat prostitution is provoking considerable push-back. On the face of it, the initiative appears to be generating heat by sending two pillars of French life clashing in conflict: France’s …
Hugh Grant’s Finest Acting Role: As a Journalist
The actor’s name is associated with many things—English charm (Hugh Grant can “twinkle for Britain,” the screenwriter and director Richard Curtis told me as I researched this piece about Grant’s on- and off-screen rival Colin Firth); a weakness for beautiful women including Elizabeth Hurley and Jemima Khan; and a weakness for less …
Out of Ecuador: Another U.S. Ambassador Bites the WikiDust
Updated: April 7, 2011
Another U.S. Ambassador in Latin America bit the WikiDust this week. This time it was a leftist rather than a conservative government pushing the yanqui envoy out, but the reason was similar – and similarly lame. WikiLeaks recently released a confidential U.S. diplomatic cable from 2009 – which the Spanish …