thenatureofmind

The pursuit of Julian Assange is an assault on freedom and a mockery of journalism

The British government's threat to invade the Ecuadorean embassy in London and seize Julian Assange is of historic significance. David Cameron, the former PR man to a television industry huckster and arms salesman to sheikdoms, is well placed to dishonour international conventions that have protected Britons in places of upheaval. Just as Tony Blair's invasion of Iraq led directly to the acts of terrorismin London on 7 July 2005, so Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague have compromised the safety of British representatives across the world.

The pursuit of Julian Assange is an assault on freedom and a mockery of journalism.

Invisible Americans Get the Silent Treatment

Al Jazeera: Ecuador's foreign minister explains why his country decided to grant Julian Assange asylum.

Synthenomics: Interest on Excess Reserves: An Illustrated Investigation

The Federal Reserve's policy response to the latest financial crisis can be summed up in one word: unconventional. Between interest on excess reserves (IOER), quantitative easing (QE), and purchases of mortgage backed securities (MBS), the Fed has deployed a wide range of instruments to avoid deflation while preserving financial stability. However, although it is clear the Fed has acted in many ways, what is still unclear is how these policies impact the financial sector and the economy at large. Is interest on excess reserves expansionary or contractionary? Are large scale asset purchases expansionary or contractionary? A rapidly growing and evolving shadow banking sector has only worsened this confusion, and this post is an attempt to make some sense of these arguments in an illustrated form.

Synthenomics: Interest on Excess Reserves: An Illustrated Investigation.

Nader: US Media: Examine Thyself

Mintz, never jaded into giving up, wrote an article titled "The Sound You Hear Is Silence," noting that "when the subject is corporate immorality, nary a judgmental word is heard.... it's Fleedom of the Press."

US Media: Examine Thyself.

Don't Lose Sight of Why the US is Out to Get Julian Assange

Considering he made his name with the biggest leak of secret government documents in history, you might imagine there would be at least some residual concern for Julian Assange among those trading in the freedom of information business. But the virulence of British media hostility towards the WikiLeaks founder is now unrelenting.

This is a man, after all, who has yet to be charged, let alone convicted, of anything. But as far as the bulk of the press is concerned, Assange is nothing but a "monstrous narcissist", a bail-jumping "sex pest" and an exhibitionist maniac. After Ecuador granted him political asylum and Assange delivered a "tirade" from its London embassy's balcony, fire was turned on the country's progressive president, Rafael Correa, ludicrously branded a corrupt "dictator" with an "iron grip" on a benighted land.

Don't Lose Sight of Why the US is Out to Get Julian Assange.