The following press release is from the Oxford Union:
The Oxford Union will be hosting the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence award presentation on 23 January 2013. The ceremony will feature several individuals well known in intelligence and related fields, including, via video-stream, remarks by Julian Assange, winner of the Sam Adams award in 2010.
The annual award presentation provides a rare occasion for accolades to “whistleblowers” — conscience-driven women and men willing to take risks to honor the public’s need to know.
This year’s Sam Adams recipient is Professor Thomas Fingar, who is now teaching at Stanford University. Dr. Fingar served from 2005 to 2008 as Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis and Chairman of the National Intelligence Council.
In that role, Dr. Fingar oversaw preparation of the landmark 2007 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran, in which all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies concluded with “high confidence” that Iran had halted its nuclear weapon design and weaponization work in 2003. The Estimate’s key judgments were declassified and made public, and have been revalidated every year since.
Those pressing for an attack on Iran in 2008 found themselves fighting uphill. This time, thanks largely to Dr. Fingar and the professional intelligence analysts he led in 2007, intelligence analysis on Iran was fearlessly honest. A consummate intelligence professional, Fingar would not allow the NIE to be “fixed around the policy,” the damning phrase used in the famous “Downing St. Memo” of July 23, 2002 to describe the unconscionable process that served up fraudulent intelligence to “justify” war with Iraq.
We are delighted to be welcoming several previous Sam Adams awardees, including Coleen Rowley, Katharine Gun, Craig Murray, Thomas Drake, and Julian Assange (by video-stream) — as well as other Sam Adams associates from both sides of the Atlantic, including Ray McGovern, Brady Kiesling, Davdi McMichael, Elizabeth Murray, Todd Pierce and Ann Wright.
We feel that the Oxford Union, dedicated to upholding freedom of speech and providing a platform for all points of view, is a fitting venue. The traditional acceptance speech by Dr. Fingar will be followed by briefer remarks by a few previous Sam Adams awardees. They will be followed by Julian Assange who will speak for 20 minutes immediately before the Q&A, during which the audience will be invited to put questions on any topic to any of the presenters.
Assange is clearly a figure who generates controversy for reasons ranging from the allegations made against him in Sweden, to the perceived recklessness of some WikiLeaks activities. We would therefore encourage those who disagree with him, or with any of our other speakers, to participate in the Q&A session.
Last but not least, we are happy to note that Dr. Fingar, will be with us for the entire term. Professor Fingar has just begun teaching a course at the University of Oxford on global trends and transnational issues, as part of Stanford’s Bing Overseas Studies Program. He will also give guest lectures and public talks while here at Oxford (January-March 2013).
Professor Fingar holds a PhD in political science from Stanford. His most recent book is Reducing Uncertainty: Intelligence Analysis and National Security (Stanford University Press, 2011).
Hear William Hague’s latest pronouncement on why Britain refuses to honour Ecuador’s offer of asylum to Assange. Interview with ABC Australia (relevant section starts at around the 7.30-minute mark but rest of interview re Afghanistan, Libya, Syria a corker too):
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3671713.htm
Shhh, nobody mention Pinochet! It’s disgraceful that the interviewer didn’t call him on that. (I was yelling “Pinochet” at the screen :))
Also listened to part of the Ed Miliband interview of the BBC this morning. He would be laughable if he weren’t so pathetic. No, acftually, I’ll rephrase that : Ed Miliban is laughably pathetic. NuLabour attacks the coalition’s policies, but when asked if they would – for instance – do the opposite, or repeal a particular peice of legislation, it launches into a hurricane of words designed to camouflage that it’s not answering the question.
Oh dear.
“You believe that is the truth? ”
Compared to the idea that the 26 victims were faked, provided with fake pathology and fake funerals and that dozens of actors were hired to play the part of bereaved parents, relatives, officials and friends all with the connivance of local police, teachers, funeral directors, doctors, national media etc etc. Well, yes.
“I noticed that Kempe hasn’t bothered to explain to his numerous admirers how the proposed anti-Assange rally is “telling”. ”
What I was referring to was the way support for Assange has declined. Compare the size of the demonstrations of support when he first arrived with those that have taken place outside the Ecuadorean embassy.
Kempe, 12.20pm
“What I was referring to was the way support for Assange has declined.”
I’d say it was growing, actually. This is, of course, taking an overview – how Swedish commentators are reporting public opinion about the case in Sweden; how US media outlets are talking about Assange now that the US government has confirmed in the Bradley Manning trial that they’d prosecute exactly the same had Manning leaked to them instead of Wikileaks; rough count of supporters vs trolls in Guardian and Independent articles, etc.
Not everybody has the time to spend standing around on a street protest about something, particularly not something as long and drawn out as an embassy standoff. Besides, didn’t you hear? Assange sent them all hom. Told the protesters they didn’t need to stay as he “felt safe” and he was worried about their health. I think it’s a testament to how much support he does have that some people are still maintaining a daily vigil.
Hey Kempe, since you’re now responding to questions ….
What was the name of the book that you claim (earlier in this thread) is the real motive behind Tony Farrel’s fall out with S. Yorkshire police, or was that just an unfounded smear?
Thanks for that, Kempe.
Pace Arbed, I suppose it’s like everything else – the caravan moves on, new stories hit the headlines, etc. So measuring the size of demonstrations isn’t perhaps completely indicative of (more submerged, if you will)support levels.
As a general comment, I do admire your style (or approach, if you prefer). When you do choose to attempt to rebut (and not attempting to do so is also a good tactic sometimes), you don’t fall for the provocation but always stay scrupulously polite and calm. Thus, in your reply, you ignored my jibe about being paid by the line. Chapeau! 🙂
Thanks for that Mary, the short version does not have Robinsons jibe on the ‘Train-spotting element of Europe’ in it, had to listen to the long version which was available in an adjustable format earlier.
He was using the term to describe no Labours inability to foresee what the Tory’s might do sitting on the non-committal fence over Europe, but it marks the whole information deficit that exists.
Giving a politically inept public a vote on Europe in a referendum, is as much noLabour as it is Tory policy, no difference there. It doomed to failure, because the media will not be able to give impartial information, as they are in bed and dependent on the franchise of fickle politicians who can’t see over the rim of their teacups.
Ed would also like to give his brotherly love to David, who sees nothing wrong with covering up torture, even a job in his cabinet is not out of the question.
Anyone been following the Live Mail Art project? A Swiss artists’ collective, !Mediengruppe Bitnik, posted a package yesterday at noon addressed to Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy. It contained a camera and a GPS tracker which has been uploading pictures every 10 seconds to the Bitnik website. Assange was alerted it was on its way:
Delivery for Mr Assange: http://cryptome.org/2013/01/assange-delivery.htm
The website keeps going down, presumably due to heavy traffic, but the Twitter account is fun:
https://twitter.com/bitnk/
(PS. Yes, it did go via Vauxhall.)
This judge needs some corrective re-training. The three thugs should have gone to prison. On sorry, they are ‘heroes’.
http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/2127231_soldiers_spared_jail_after_guildford_assault
“You believe that is the truth?”
I don’t know, I would have to look into it in detail, I wouldn’t want to be going off half cocked on such a sensitive matter.
It is reminiscent of the time the BBC announced the collapse of WTC7 half an hour in advance, on 9/11 I have always been in the LIHOP camp.
Forbidden topic, read and destroy afterwards, but …
@Fred
I’m MIHOP.
To quote Rumsfeld Cheney Wolfowitz, et al 12 months before 911:
Clark; earlier we discussed the Assange link to Aaron Swartz, and I mistakenly referred to an
assange interview.
It was actually Aaron being interviewed expressing sympathy for Wikileaks….
http://inagist.com/all/290630762703753216/
O/T
It has just started to snow again here in Norfolk, the birds are in haste, feeding. Just gave them some fresh water.
we already have 3-4 inches on the ground and pedestrian path have turned into polished ice rinks. But then, they are not paying road taxes so they can go and get….
In some countries it is the law to clear the path in front of your house and grit what is cleared, not here. My missus fell on her backside carrying two shopping bags yesterday and there was nowt she could do about it.
During the last 72 hrs. the reoccurring limitations of the existing set up has been laid bare and some angry messages have been received by Freemason Cllr. Plant, in charge of planning and transportation here.
Ben Franklin, I forwarded the link you posted to Richard Stallman, who re-published it:
http://www.stallman.org/archives/2012-nov-feb.html#17_January_2013_(Secret_Service_was_involved_in_investigating_Aaron_Swartz)
You wrote “This was not [Secret Service’s] jurisdiction”. Too right. All it was was an infringement of JSTOR’s terms of service, a purely commercial matter until the authorities took the initiative of persecution upon themselves. Swartz downloaded academic articles, the complete opposite of secret or classified information, and he didn’t use any “hacking” or cracking techniques in the process. There is no way that Swartz’s actions could have threatened national security.
Oops! Bit of a slip up by the Met here.
Police account of Mark Duggan’s injuries ‘differs’ from pathologist Mark Duggan was shot dead by police in Tottenham, north London, on 4 August 2011
Mark Duggan’s injuries did not appear to be consistent with a police account of the fatal shooting, a Home Office pathologist has told a court.
/..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21060194
Mr Albanese’s run at Rio Tinto has come to a grinding halt.
Rio Tinto boss Tom Albanese resigns over $14bn write-down
Tom Albanese became chief executive of Rio Tinto in 2007
Rio Tinto targets $5bn cost cuts
Weak prices hit Rio Tinto profits
Rio Tinto reports record output
The chief executive of mining giant Rio Tinto has resigned after the company announced a $14bn (£8.7bn) write-down.
The write-down relates to the company’s aluminium and coal-mining businesses.
/..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21056203
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Albanese
LOL
After listening to a papal address in several languages, Panetta and three of his military aides lined up, along with dozens of other Catholics, to meet Benedict and receive his blessing.
Afterward, Panetta said the pontiff told him, “Thank you for helping to keep the world safe.”
The Pentagon chief said he replied, “Pray for me.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/panetta-in-italy-tells-pope-benedict-pray-for-me/2013/01/16/5999f07e-5fd7-11e2-a389-ee565c81c565_story.html
Mary, thank you for highlighting that meeting of The Top Dogs.
LOL indeed. What an unenlightened world we live in.
“You believe that is the truth?”
Same question to you Lemon Puffs, iro this;
http://forward.com/articles/168277/noah-pozners-family-remembers-and-mourns/?p=all#ixzz2GHg1tBjJ
A Catholic is standing on a mountain and looks down into the beauty of the valley. Suddenly he slips and falls down the cliff and is barely able to hold on to the branch of a tree that is growing there. Below him is an abyss of a thousand feet. He doesn’t know what to do, so he prays, ‘Please, Lord, help me. Save me from death.’ And a voice comes out of the sky and says, ‘Have faith, let go! And the man looks up and calls out, ‘Is there anybody else up there?”
More at this link
http://www.messagefrommasters.com/Mystic_Musings/Jiddu%20krishnamurthy/Jokes_by_KrishnaJi.htm
No 4 is my favourite, i was first reminded of with the Panetta-Pope news item above
I decided to put that one out too:
The Pope dies and goes up to the Pearly Gates where he meets St. Peter. He says to him, ‘You must be St. Peter.’ St. Peter answers, ‘And who are you?’ The pope is taken aback, ‘You don’t recognize me? I’m the Pope.’ St. Peter picks up his list and goes over the names, ‘Pope, Pope—I’m sorry, there is nobody here by that name. I’m sorry, but you can’t enter heaven.’
The Pope is shocked. ‘There must be some mistake. It’s impossible—I must be on that list. Please, look again: I’m the Pope!’ St. Peter gets impatient and tells him to buzz off. By now the Pope is in tears and begs him, ‘Please, St. Peter, I’m your successor and the representative of Jesus on earth. I’m the head of the Holy Roman Church. I have a right to enter heaven.’ St. Peter is getting annoyed and says, I’ve never heard of anything so foolish. If you don’t immediately buzz off, I’ll call the angels with the flaming swords.’ The Pope is in utter despair. ‘No, please don’t, I beg of you. Can’t you ask somebody, who knows me? Maybe Jesus or one of the saints will vouch for me.’
St. Peter gives in and says to the chap, ‘All right, I’ll go and ask inside. You stay here. And don’t touch anything.’ So he goes inside, and there are Jesus, his mother Mary, the apostles and several angels and saints. ‘Excuse me, Lord,’ says St. Peter, ‘there is a chap by the name of Pope wanting to enter heaven. He claims to have been your representative on earth.’ Jesus laughs, ‘My representative on earth? That’s absurd, isn’t it? And I’ve never heard of anyone named Pope?’ No one seems to know the Pope, until suddenly the Virgin Mary speaks up, ‘Wait a minute. Pope—isn’t he the one who spread all the rumors about me and the Holy Ghost?’”
The World has enough ‘Fingarman’ or Fingermen (Hat tip to ‘V’)
“A pardon for Swartz, however qualified, would undercut the case for severe punishment (including, possibly, the death penalty) of Bradley Manning and others. It would amount to an acceptance that Swartz’ motivation in seeking the free distribution of information was a noble one, and that his offences should have been judged in that light. Perhaps some people would see it as exonerating the state, but I think more would see it as a signal of a new direction, and a precedent to be followed.
A refusal or evasion would serve the same function as the Czar’s orders to his Cossacks in 1905. Those who still believe Obama’s pledge to run the most transparent administration in history would see the reality, and might be moved to protest a bit more.”
http://crookedtimber.org/2013/01/15/obama-should-pardon-aaron-swartz/
Grazia Ben and also for the link earlier to the radio interview with Assange.
One has to acknowledge what a bold man he is.
An extract from that interview is below, as an example:
“Strainchamps: I’m curious, what about democracy in America? I mean is there, is their information out there that if made public, would have the potential to transform the balance of power in this country?
Assange: I think it’s quite difficult. I’ve wondered what that information would be, and look like. When we released, we’re still in the process of releasing Cablegate. But when we entered into the Cablegate publication phase we saw a reaction by Washington and it’s friends that was cartoonish. That was, it had a sort of, produced a sort of Mccarthy-ist fervor for around two months, and very startling and unusual. But it reminded everyone of what was happening under the Soviets. And, so, that’s an example where information at that level, and at such quantities, can produce significant reform effects, and produce a back reaction by people in power. What other, sort of, information would be like that, given the extraordinary fiscalization in the United States? Perhaps, all emails of the New York Times going back 10 years. Maybe, maybe that would produce a similar understanding of the interplays between these big power and patrons groups in the U.S.? Perhaps staying to the finance industry. Although, within finance, matters tend to be quite complicated. Maybe all the emails of the U.S. Congress, if you had them all going back a few years. Perhaps that would produce a similar level of reaction. But I think it, because of the strong fiscalization which results in a de-politicization of basic power structures in the country, it is going to take something at that level. But of course the National Security Agency intercepts, estimates all telephone traffic coming in and out of the United States, and others have suggested domestically in places in the United States as well. If that material was released you might see a desire to reform the Intelligence sector.
Strainchamps: So is that your wish list? [laughing] In a sense?
Assange: Well, I have a long wish list, but I assume for the United States that wouldn’t be a bad start.”
—
I think one way out of the Assange deadlock is for him to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, given to Obama at the start of his presidency. Would they have given it to him if he weren’t a black man? Ironically all the Nobel Prizes are awarded in Sweden, except for the Peace prize, in Norway.
Is the Committee delighted with their decision to award Obama? They can correct it now.
Btw a month to go for the Ecuadorian elections…
Agent Cameron’s ‘compassion’. I see the current situation in Algeria as blowback from his and Hague’s ‘intervention’ in Libya and his assistance to Monsewer Hollande. At 11 am this morning he will rise from the green bench and give us a sob story, using nearly as many of those neuro linguistic skills that Bliar used, although not as skillfully.
Bastard.
I see twerp Hague is scuttling back from Australia. Such a shame for him to leave the sun and warmth.
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/thread/1358497049.html
I bet the anti EU Tory rightwing are peeved that they are not getting his speech today thuis depriving them of a stage to voice their propaganda.
Felicity Arbuthnot on the start of Desert Storm and what followed it.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/iraq-a-twenty-two-year-genocide/5319441
Apart from her clearly demonstrated care and love for the Iraqi people over these past years, she did have her own personal tragedy. Margaret Hassan’s was her good friend and since she was killed, her body was never found.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/thinking-the-unthinkable-was-margaret-hassan-sacrificed-by-the-british-government/2625
s/be Margaret Hassan without the apostrophe etc.
More about her on Democracy Now.
http://www.democracynow.org/2004/10/25/kidnapped_british_aid_worker_ask_mr
AQM The acronym of the moment in use by Cameron this morning in the HoC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda_Organization_in_the_Islamic_Maghreb
PS Very few troughers in the House to hear him. All pushed off home I suppose in case they get stuck on their journeys in the snow. Most front bench.
Still no real news from Cameron. ‘Moving situation’… ‘sympathies to families’ Of course DC. etc.
Somewhere in Amsterdam Mark Urban and Nick Robinson are waiting patiently for the arrival of their favourite PM.
‘Eh, Nick me old pal, we’ve done our preps and this is a cool place, just watch the swirling colours on that snow’
‘yeah man, sorry, mark, giggle) its everywhere, but why is it blue?, or is it me? what were these little brownies we just tried with our coffee, they were gorgeously yummy, shall we have some more, or shall we go for a round of pancakes next?’
Nah man, I’ve to sit this one out, feels almost like that Pink Floyd concert I watched during the seventies, Hahhaha, all gooey schmoozy colours, oops I’ve just seen a rabbit flop through the snow, its striped and looks like a slimmed down Eric Pickles, Hahahaha
‘D’you recon we ever get out of here with so many yummy cookies everywhere? Ah well who cares, cause DC is not cummin’ he’s chickened out hahaha, Cameron is a chicken hahahah, what a bummer, jabs on about it for weeks and then? haha, he turns into a blue floppy rabbit that can’t move…’ Mark, were are you?’
‘Sorry Nick, just dripped off the table, feel like letting it all hang out, All Shabbbabi’s or not, hahaha, whatever next. get me a tank or two I wanna trash Mac whatsits, you know that horsey burger chain, hahaha, with the yellow arches puissing all, over it, hahaha.
God am I stoned.
Phone rings
‘Hi Mark, Allegra here, looks like Cameron can’t get there, they are still hammering away at the speech and Mali is looming larger and bigger than ever’
‘Oyioui, Alegra, Alegra Alegra, what is there to say hahaha, no show eh, chickenshit all over again, gosh I fancy you now…’
‘Mark? are you OK? speak later…… hangs up.
snoring sounds….
And here it is, the school that never closes and its in Craigs birthplace of Sherigham. What a bunch of H&S freaks are running our schools.
http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/education/revealed_the_norfolk_school_that_never_closes_for_snow_1_1798657