The message below from ABC broadcaster and journalist Phillip Adams was read out at the January 15 Defend Wikileaks rally in Sydney.
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First right-wing bloggers called for Julian Assange's assasination. Now voices in Washington want “the death penalty on the table” if they can get him into a US court. I'm proposing we put him up for sainthood — but after Wikileaks’ leaks on the Vatican that may be out of the question.
Thirteen years ago we decided that [the ABC radio program] Late Night Live (heard around Australia and the world) needed a “cyberspace” correspondent to tell us what was going on in that parallel universe. So the well-informed Suellete Dreyfus came on board as a regular commentator.
That year she introduced me to a young hacker called, yes, Julian Assange — a leading member of what she described as “the underground”.
Now, that's a term with very proud associations — particularly with those in France who bravely fought the Nazi occupiers — and it seemed a bit of a stretch between blowing up railway tracks and hacking into computers.
Nonetheless, even I could see the potential of this new era of subversion — to fight the mighty powers and monoliths in politics, finance, media and even religion.
So when Julian contacted me a few years back — to outline his ideas for Wikileaks — I was delighted to join his advisory board. As I've been pointing out to the CIA (and others in the spook trade) while Julian hasn't been asking me for advice I'm happy to maintain my unswerving support for what he and Wikileaks have done to embarrass our masters.
The big game has been changed forever — the mighty will always be looking over their shoulders and find it harder to lie. Or at least find new ways to do it. Democracy is being democratised, tyrannies exposed and millions who've been fed bullshit for generations are now able to confirm their suspicions.
Any attempt to hand over Assange to the US — or any other country seeking to silence WikiLeaks — must be resisted. Australian governmental attacks on WikiLeaks? A disgrace.
Congratulations to the organisers of this event.