If there were ever a doubt about whether the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, is a journalist, recent events erase all those doubts and put him at the forefront of a movement to democratize journalism and empower people.

The U.S. Department of Justice is still trying to find a way to prosecute Assange and others associated with WikiLeaks. A key to their prosecution is claiming he is not a journalist, but that weak premise has been made laughable by recent events.

The list of WikiLeaks revelations has become astounding. During the North African and Middle East revolts WikiLeaks published documents that provided people with critical information. The traditional media has relied on WikiLeaks publications and is now also emulating WikiLeaks.

WikiLeaks has been credited by many with helping to spark the Tunisian Revolution because they provided information about the widespread corruption of the 23 year rule of the Ben Ali regime. PBS pointed to ten cables dating from 2006 to 2009 published by WikiLeaks in November that were translated and shared widely in Tunisia detailing the corruption and authoritarian rule of Ben Ali who lived in opulent luxury while Tunisians struggled. Foreign Policy reported that “the candor of the cables released by WikiLeaks did more for Arab democracy than decades of backstage U.S. diplomacy.”

In Egypt, WikiLeaks publications provided democracy activists with the information needed to spark protests, provided background that explained the Egyptian uprising, described the suppression of opinions critical of the regime by arrest and harassment of journalists, bloggers and a poet; showed the common use of police brutality and torture; the abuse of the 1967 emergency law to arrest and indefinitely detain journalists, activists, labor leaders and members of the Muslim Brotherhood; as well as how rivals were removed to ensure Gamal Mubarak succeeded his father. Traditional media publications like the New York Times relied on WikiLeaks to analyze the causes of the uprising.

Another set of documents described how Israel and the U.S. wanted Omar Suleiman to replace Mubarak. Suleiman, a military intelligence officer for three decades, was described by Secretary of State Clinton, as the preferred successor. WikiLeaks wrote an article describing Suleiman’s close relationship with the United States. Suleimen described Egypt as “a partner” with the U.S. and the U.S. described him as “the most successful element of the relationship” with Egypt. The long history of Suleiman working with Israel to suppress democracy in Gaza, keeping the people of Gaza hungry and being in constant contact with Israel through a hotline was revealed. WikiLeaks also showed that Suleiman shared U.S. and Israeli concern over Iran, and was disdainful of Muslims in politics as well as the Muslim Brotherhood. All of this made Suleiman very popular with Israel and the U.S., but unacceptable to democracy advocates.

The United States used some WikiLeaks publications to show that it had been critical of Egypt and exerted private pressure, as well as support for democracy activists like Mohammad ElBaradei. Despite what has been portrayed in the traditional media, WikiLeaks published materials with an agenda for transparency and an informed public, not an intent to harm the U.S.

WikiLeaks informed the Bahrain public about their government’s cozy relationship with the U.S. It described a $5 billion joint-venture with Occidental Petroleum, and $300 million in U.S. military sales. ABC reported on WikiLeaks documents that described the close relationship between U.S. and Bahrain intelligence agencies and how the U.S. Navy is the foundation of Bahrain’s national security. This was emphasized to General Patraeus along with their common opposition to Iran, Al Qaeda in Iraq and their desire for U.S. troops to stay in Iraq.

WikiLeaks has been criticized by U.S. enemies. Iranian President, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, described WikiLeaks as U.S. “intelligence warfare” saying: “These documents are prepared and released by the U.S. government in a planned manner and in pursuance of a goal.” WikiLeaks was criticized by Libya’s Ghaddafi who shut down Facebook in Tripoli and sporadically shut off the Internet to prevent Libyan’s from knowing the truth. No doubt WikiLeaks publications embarrassed Ghaddafi adding fuel to internal opposition to his regime.

WikiLeaks is filling a void with traditional media as the level of distrust of the mass media is now at record highs. A recent Gallup Poll found 57% of Americans do not trust the media and a Pew Poll found a record low 29% trust the media. There is good reason for distrust. The New York Times helped start the Iraq War by publishing the false weapons of mass destruction story. It recently misled the public about a Blackwater employee arrested in Pakistan by hiding the fact that he worked for the CIA, while reporting that Obama said he was a diplomat. Even the way the Times and Washington Post reported on WikiLeaks documents showed reason for distrust. WikiLeaks described Iranian long-range missiles that could hit European cities but also reported that Russian intelligence refuted the claim. The Times and Post evidently made a decision to exaggerate Iranian capability and mislead readers by excluding the Russian intelligence report. The Times admits it provides WikiLeaks documents to the government in advance and excludes material at the request of the government.

There has been a steady decline in readers and viewers of newspapers and television news since 1980. The decline began before the existence of the Internet. The decline in younger readers has been particularly noticeable – 30 years ago 60% of people under 36 read a newspaper daily, now it is 30%. The Internet has seen a steady rise in viewers and news outlets.

Even though some in the traditional media are threatened by WikiLeaks, more and more outlets are acknowledging their journalism. Reporters Without Borders hosts a mirror site of WikiLeaks as “a gesture of support for WikiLeaks’ right to publish information without being obstructed.” Similarly, a mainstream French newspaper Liberation announced a “mirror-WikiLeaks” site on its website

Jeff Jarviz of the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism writes: “We in journalism must recognize that WikiLeaks is an element of a new ecosystem of news. It is a new form of the press. So we must defend its rights as media. If we do not, we could find our own rights curtailed. Asking whether WikiLeaks should be stopped is exactly like asking whether this newspaper should be stopped when it reveals what government does not want the public to know. We have been there before; let us never return.”

The Guardian, a WikiLeaks partner wrote in an editorial: “There is a need as never before for an internet that remains a free and universal form of communication. WikiLeaks’ chief crime has been to speak truth to power. What is at stake is nothing less than the freedom of the internet.”

Jay Rosen of the New York University journalism school describes WikiLeaks as the first “stateless news agency.” The actions of WikiLeaks, he noted, show our news organizations how “statist they really are” and leakers going to WikiLeaks rather than the traditional media, shows how distrustful people are of the corporate media. This all shows that the “watchdog press has died” and WikiLeaks is filling the void.

The void will exist – and be filled – whether or not the Department of Justice prosecutes Julian Assange. The Economist writes: “With or without WikiLeaks, the technology exists to allow whistleblowers to leak data and documents while maintaining anonymity. With or without WikiLeaks, the personnel, technical know-how, and ideological will exists to enable anonymous leaking and to make this information available to the public. Jailing Thomas Edison in 1890 would not have darkened the night.”

The traditional media is emulating WikiLeaks. Al Jazeera has created a “transparency unit” that launched in January 2011 and has published the Palestine Papers, which describe the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, based on leaked documents. The New York Times is now talking about creating its own version of WikiLeaks. Students at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism designed LocaLeaks, allowing anonymous encrypted leaks to over 1,400 U.S. newspapers. Government employees and business insiders can now report illegal or unethical practices without being identified.

The journalism democracy door has been opened, power to report is being redistributed, government employees and corporate whistleblowers are being empowered and greater transparency is becoming a reality. The United States would be better off accepting these realities than prosecuting the news organization that showed the way. Prosecution will highlight the utter hypocrisy of the U.S. government, showing the world it does not mean what it says when it claims that freedom of the speech and press are cornerstones of democratic government.

Kevin Zeese is executive director of Voters For Peace, and serves on the steering committees of WikiLeaksIsDemocracy.org and the Bradley Manning Support Network.

The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ)
www.cmmnj.org

Following the prosecutor’s recommendation a judge has dismissed minor marijuana possession charges against a resident waiting to register for the medical cannabis program. David Barnes has his doctor’s support in explaining to law enforcement that his cannabis use was for legitimate medical purposes. Authorities agreed to put the case on hold nearly one year ago so that Barnes could register.

But the special ID cards have not been issued because of continued delays in implementing the compassionate use law. In September 2010 Barnes attended a town hall meeting with Governor Chris Christie to try to find out when he could resolve his case.

Barnes: “I come here today to make a request of you…it’s an either/or request: either A) Require the Department of Health and Senior Services to issue the patient registry cards on October 1st or October 15th, which is the end of the delay that the Legislature gave them 3 months ago. Or barring that I’d like to see an Executive Order come out of your office barring the prosecution of people like me; when I leave my house I carry letters from my doctors attesting to the fact that I am a qualified patient under the NJ compassionate use law.”

Governor Christie’s reply: “Thank you first of all really for the cogent and respectful way you presented the issue. Um, fact is that in October I think we’re going to be ready to do what you’re talking about.”

Christie went on to explain the delays already holding up the program last fall but then added: “I said during the campaign that I favored people being able to use marijuana for a legitimate medical purpose …and that’s what I want to make sure is available…that the compassionate use is really a compassionate use. So I think you can tell the judge when you see him that you’ll have your card in October. So give us the deference we need for the statutes and you should be able to get those charges dismissed…and lastly I wish you the best in terms of your health because that’s what all this is about.”

NJN captured the entire exchange between David Barnes and Chris Christie, the video can be seen on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k2V2HOoGbY ;

As of Feb 28, 2011 not a single patient has been registered for the medical marijuana program in New Jersey.

Barnes reported to the Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) that his charges were dismissed last week.

“Justice was truly served by the prosecutor and the judge, who agreed that it did not serve the interests of the State or the ends of justice to continue prosecuting a qualified patient, while policy suffers delay at the hands of politics in Trenton,” Barnes said in an email yesterday.

Allan Marain Esq. of New Brunswick, attorney for Mr. Barnes, issued this statement today.

“I lament that David had to be arrested and endure this legal nightmare. During his gubernatorial campaign Chris Christie stated that he supported medical marijuana. It was that statement of support that helped him become governor. Now, comfortably in office, he turns a deaf ear to the sick and the dying while hypocritically continuing to mouth his support.”

From USA TODAY:

Nearly a decade ago, responding to a raft of financial scandals at Enron, WorldCom and other companies, the Justice Department sent dozens of executives to prison and even put a major accounting firm out of business.

Now, after a far larger economic meltdown, it looks increasingly likely that no big name will be criminally prosecuted. This month, according to theLos Angeles Times, the Justice Department decided not to charge Angelo Mozilo, the former CEO of the former company known as Countrywide Financial Corp., someone long thought of as a prime potential target.

Should Americans be outraged that the meltdown moguls aren’t headed for the slammer? Perhaps. But, nearly three years after the financial crisis hit, a better way to look at the lack of high-level indictments is as an indictment of the entire financial system — a system that was rife with avarice, ignorance and double-dealing. How do prosecutors find the bad apples in a putrid landfill?

Click here to read the full article.

From the PATRIOT-NEWS:

An idea such as the one allowing district judges to also hear driving-under-the-influence cases from Cumberland County court makes sense for three reasons.

First, it streamlines due process, cuts costs and reduces paperwork for first-time offenders who opt in. As many as 500 cases could be heard in Cumberland County each year under this system.

Why not move these folks quickly through a system that aims to aid them and protect the public by keeping them from doing it again? Tapping the additional resource of district judges in a central location with easier access to a district attorney and a public defender aims to improve judicial efficiency…

Click here to read the full article.

From the INQUIRER:

The political movement spearheaded by the increasingly in-the-news billionaire Koch brothers – libertarians who spend vast amounts fighting against unions, government regulation, global warming and other liberal causes – is stepping up its efforts here in Pennsylvania.

Last week, the president of a tea-party-linked political group heavily funded by the Koch oil-and-gas fortune – Tim Phillips of Americans for Prosperity – told reporters covering the labor unrest in Wisconsin that Pennsylvania is one of three states, along with Ohio and Indiana, where the group plans a push to curb union benefits and power.

Americans for Prosperity, or AFP – the national budget for which has soared to $40 million in the past two years with support from the Koch brothers and like-minded wealthy conservatives – sent another strong signal last week when it announced that former Reading-area lawmaker Sam Rohrer, who was backed by many tea-party groups when he ran for governor in the 2010 GOP primary, will serve as the group’s state executive director…

Click here to read the full article.

From the CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates teaches a political science class on homeland security and defense at the US Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., Friday, Feb. 25. In a speech to cadets, Gates warned against sending a big American land army into Asia, the Middle East, or Africa…

“Any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should ‘have his head examined,’ as General [Douglas] MacArthur so delicately put it.”

In referring to Iraq and Afghanistan, as he did elsewhere in his speech to cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point Friday, Defense Secretary Gates was not directly critical of the man he replaced – Donald Rumsfeld – or of the Bush administration’s leading an invasion of Iraq now generally acknowledged to have been based on faulty reasoning, insufficient preparation, and – initially, at least – poor execution…

Click here to read the full article.

From CNN –

British Prime Minister David Cameron says a military-led rescue mission into the Libyan desert was “the right thing to do,” despite the fact that U.K. planes didn’t have permission to enter Libyan airspace.

Three Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft successfully evacuated some 150 civilians of multiple nationalities from eastern Libya, according to a statement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The civilians were retrieved from multiple locations in the desert south of Benghazi, said Liam Fox, the secretary of state for defense. Another 150 civilians were flown out by British forces in similar missions mounted Saturday, according to previous statements from the FCO.

One plane was hit by small arms fire when it tried to land at an airstrip, according to a press officer with the Ministry of Defence, but the damage was superficial and the plane was able to continue. All three aircraft have arrived in Malta, the officer said…

Click here to read the full article.

From USA TODAY:

The doctrine of nullification has deep roots in U.S. history. Thomas Jefferson in 1798 first outlined the notion that states have the right to void federal laws that they perceive run contrary to the U.S. Constitution when he argued against Congress’ passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

The Idaho Senate State Affairs Committee took up the patient bill on Friday. The GOP controls the Senate, 27-8. Idaho Republican Gov. Butch Otter has indicated he would sign the bill if it passes, according to Republican Rep. Vito Barbieri, the bill’s sponsor in the House.

Political scholar Larry Sabato, author of the book A More Perfect Constitution, said nullification bills are “interesting concepts,” but they won’t get very far. “The U.S. Department of Justice or other interested groups are going to file a federal lawsuit and sooner or later the courts are going to overturn these laws,” he said…

Click here to read the full article.

WIKIPEDIA:

Nullification and the related doctrine of interposition resurfaced in the 1950s in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which decided that segregated schools were illegal. At least ten southern states passed various measures preserving segregated schools and refusing to follow the Brown decision. The advocates of these measures argued that the Brown decision was unconstitutional and that the states had the inherent power to prevent that decision from being enforced within their borders. However, the Supreme Court rejected this idea in the case of Cooper v. Aaron, finding that the state governments had no power to nullify the Brown decision. The Supreme Court held that the Brown decision and its implementation “can neither be nullified openly and directly by state legislators or state executive or judicial officers nor nullified indirectly by them through evasive schemes for segregation.” Thus, Cooper v. Aaron held that state attempts to nullify federal court rulings are ineffective.

From the FINANCIAL TIMES:

The head of one of the US’s biggest industrial groups has launched a scathing attack on Barack Obama’s attempts to repair relations with companies, dubbing him “anti-business”.

Manufacturers could shift production out of the US to Canada or Mexico as a result, warned George Buckley, chief executive and chairman of 3M.

Mr Buckley, who has run the diversified manufacturer since 2005, said: “There is a sense among companies that this is a difficult place to do business. It is about regulation, taxation, seemingly anti-business policies in Washington, attitudes towards science.”, things will slip away. We’ve got a real choice between manufacturing in Canada and Mexico – w hich tend to be pro-business – or America.”

Click here to read the full article.

Although Harry Anslinger isn’t as well known to Americans as he once was, his place in history seems secure: he was the federal bureaucrat behind the clumsy “Reefer Madness” campaign that added the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 to the Harrison Act of 1914, thus compounding the modern drug war’s burden of credibility and testing our contemporary powers of denial. In a world where a sovereign head of state can deny the Holocaust and various assorted autocrats can get away with murdering there own people under color of “sovereignty,” the drug war may seem a minor embarrassment, but its mistaken precepts have ruined countless individual lives and its continued primacy as a favored policy is an indictment of America’s intellectual honesty to anyone with an understanding of clinical Medicine and a modicum of that quality.

Anslinger, by declaring, without credible evidence, that cannabis was a menace to youth, unwittingly set the stage for a youthful drug culture that exploded without warning after millions of Baby Boomers discovered the anxiolytic properties of inhaled “weed,” and the expansion of consciousness enabled by psychedelics in the Sixties. Unfortunately, the American President best positioned to respond to that youthful outburst was the insecure and vindictive Richard Nixon. His administration quickly came up with the CSA, an almost perfect legislative folly which, through an ironic twist of fate had already been promulgated as a UN treaty by none other than the indomitable Mr. Anslinger (thus possession of a small amount of herbal cannabis has been grounds for arrest in every global port of entry since 1964).

Most distressing is that modern variants of the Anslinger-Nixon whopper are still lavishly supported, not only by NIDA, but by other medical agencies of the US federal government. The first example of such gratuitous “mission creep” was the FDA’s 2006 statement that just happened to coincide with the NORML convention in April 2006, a coincidence our lap-dog press pretended not to notice.

An unexpected bonus of searching for further FDA malfeasance is evidence confirming both drug warriors and reformers have remained unaware of the difference between inhaled pot and edibles since well before Nixon. A recent press release revealed that both sides endorse edibles without taking any notice of their inherent difficulties (or benefits).

An obvious question becomes, why is “non-smoked” cannabis better? Is smoking a sin? Also, when will pharmacologists get around to designing studies that explain the clinical differences between a joint and a pot brownie? Finally, when will NIDA and the DEA realize they had missed an important clinical detail from well before the Nixon era? Is it because the whole CSA, especially Schedule 1, was simply an exercise in imagination that was simply tacked on to the false assumptions made in Harrison and the MTA?

Doctor Tom