Just a couple of weeks ago, Julian Assange held an interview from within the walls of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, meeting with a Russia Today correspondent to discuss the co-authoring of his new book, The WikiLeaks Files. Assange and supporters hope the book will set the record straight on both the documentation released by WikiLeaks, and the historical and socio-political implications that these events have had as well. In an incredibly poignant discussion, Assange seems to leave out no detail while setting the record straight, and as always it remains hard to keep an objective take on the Aussie; most are divided between their love and hate of Assange and this interview will most likely leave its viewers with a similar impression.
Although a bit brash and crass, this is ultimately the appeal of the man behind WikiLeaks. While he still seems to be understanding the mechanisms of his cultural device as a hacker icon, Assange looks to be ever-comfortable in his own skin, and boast his brain attributes accordingly. Truly a mind well ahead of his time, Assange remains one of the best geo-political analysts on the planet, and the wealth of information in his brain is a goldmine for those interested in an informed and updated state of world affairs. The upcoming novel, The WikiLeaks Files, is sure to leave its readers realizing this for themselves. Unfortunately still stuck in political limbo, there does not seem to be any embassy escape for him in the near future; going on nearly 1100 days without charge at the time of the novel’s production. Sending the best of luck to him, it is a nice sentiment to know that Assange is still alive and well behind the embassy walls, and still doing what he does best.
The full interview can be seen below:
[accordion title=”More About The WikiLeaks Files” close=”1″]The WikiLeaks Files: The World According to US Empire
by WikiLeaks
Introduction by Julian Assange
Published in collaboration with WikiLeaks: What Cablegate tells us about US foreign policy
WikiLeaks came to prominence in 2010 with the release of 251,287 top-secret State Department cables, which revealed to the world what the US government really thinks about national leaders, friendly dictators, and supposed allies. It brought to the surface the dark truths of crimes committed in our name: human rights violations, covert operations, and cover-ups.
The WikiLeaks Files presents expert analysis on the most important cables and outlines their historical importance. In a series of chapters dedicated to the various regions of the world, the book explores the machinations of the United States as it imposes its agenda on other nations: a new form of imperialism founded on varied tactics from torture to military action, to trade deals and “soft power,” in the perpetual pursuit of expanding influence. It illustrates the close relationship between government and big business in promoting US trade.
An introduction by Julian Assange—writing on the subject for the first time—exposes the ongoing debates about freedom of information, international surveillance, and justice.
With contributions by Dan Beeton, Phyllis Bennis, Michael Busch, Peter Certo, Conn Hallinan, Sarah Harrison, Richard Heydarian, Dahr Jamail, Jake Johnston, Alexander Main, Robert Naiman, Francis Njubi Nesbitt, Linda Pearson, Gareth Porter, Tim Shorrock, Russ Wellen, and Stephen Zunes
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