As the US establishment, and many in the American media, have begun to build up hysteria against WikiLeaks and virtually calling for the assassination of Julian Assange, I am reminded of the warning by President John F. Kennedy which is so relevant even today (See You Tube). Kennedy warned that there was a “danger to the survival of our nation if our traditions don’t survive.”
Kennedy said: “The very word secrecy is repugnant in a free and open society. Inherently and historically, we as a people are opposed to secret proceedings and concealment.”
The Guardian reports that “The US struck its first blow against WikiLeaks after Amazon.com pulled the plug on hosting the whistle-blowing website in reaction to heavy political pressure.” More here…
A post on Twitter says: “WikiLeaks: For a change, it’s not China but U.S. that is attacking a Web site and pressuring host & domain providers without a formal charge.”
Funny or mad!!!… In this Internet age the US government departments, including the US State Department, tells employees not to read WikiLeaks!!! The US State Department has directed its staff around the world not to surf the WikiLeaks website, according to employees. More here…
US company Tableau Software admits request from Senator Joe Lieberman made it withdraw graphics, while Social Security Agency warns staff viewing cables could be ‘criminal offence’. See here…
Meanwhile WikiLeaks founder Australian Julian Assange’s mother Christine is defending her son as fighting a good fight, saying she gave him a strong grounding in ethics. More here…
A Pakistani court today rejected a petition seeking a ban on WikiLeaks for releasing thousands of secret US diplomatic cables, with the judge saying the people must know the facts. More here…
Governments around the world today stressed that just because they are trying to crush WikiLeaks to death, it does not necessarily mean that you will be next, says a blogger. See here…
I wrote in an earlier post that the real danger to the USA’s security comes not from WikiLeaks or Osama bin Laden but from the private global banks… See here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.