An Interview With WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange

Admire him or revile him, WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange is the prophet of a coming age of involuntary transparency, the leader of an organization devoted to divulging the world’s secrets using technology unimagined a generation ago. Over the last year his information insurgency has dumped 76,000 secret Afghan war documents and another trove of 392,000 files from the Iraq war into the public domain–the largest classified military security breaches in history. Sunday, WikiLeaks made the first of 250,000 classified U.S. State Department cables public, offering an unprecedented view of how America’s top diplomats view enemies and friends alike.

But, as Assange explained to me earlier this month, the Pentagon and State Department leaks are just the start.

For our cover story on Assange and the coming age of leaks, click here.

In a rare, two-hour interview conducted in London on November 11, Assange said that he’s still sitting on a trove of secret documents, about half of which relate to the private sector. And WikiLeaks’ next target will be a major American bank. “It will give a true and representative insight into how banks behave at the executive level in a way that will stimulate investigations and reforms, I presume,” he said, adding: “For this, there’s only one similar example. It’s like the Enron emails.”

Full Story

Students stage day of protests over tuition fee rises

Police have dispersed the final student demonstrators in central London after a day of protests against higher

tuition fees and university cuts.

Police said 17 people were injured, including two officers as protesters were contained on Whitehall.

There have also been occupations in at least 12 universities, including Oxford University's Bodleian Library.

School pupils walked out of lessons to join university and college students on local protest marches across the UK.

As darkness fell, fires were started, graffiti sprayed and windows broken in Whitehall by demonstrators who were being contained by police.

Hundreds of remaining protesters were gradually released by police throughout the evening.

Earlier a police van was attacked and barricades thrown as protesters tried to break through police lines.
Buses attacked

There were 32 arrests - mainly for public order offences and criminal damage, according to the Metropolitan Police.

Among the 17 people injured, the two officers and 11 members of the public were treated in hospital for minor injuries. No-one was seriously injured.

Transport for London (TfL) also reported that protesters had thrown missiles at buses in central London, smashing windows and causing many routes to be diverted away from the Whitehall and Trafalgar Square area.

Broken windows were reported on two routes, although no injuries were sustained.

A spokeswoman for TfL said: "We're still trying to assess the full extent of the damage from today's demonstrations.

"We know that bus shelters and ticket machines along Whitehall have been severely damaged and we're checking to see what other damage has been caused. As the protest moved on during the day we had to put in place rolling diversions to keep buses away from it."

The prime minister's spokesman said: "People have a right to engage in lawful and peaceful protest, but there is no place for violence or intimidation."

Full Article