Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Assange’s premiere: Credit protest, Twitter trends & M.I.A.'s theme


A still frame shows Julian Assange as he is interviewing Hezbollah leader Sayyid Nasrallah as broadcast by RT on April 17, 2012

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/news/assange-show-response-credits-mia-media-282/

Julian Assange’s interview with Hezbollah leader Sayyid Nasrallah sparked a wave of media reaction and saw Twitter trends set as Assange’s crew blacked out show credits in a controversial protest.

Watch the full show on RT's video page

Assange’s team told RT "Many of the people who were credited in the Collateral Murder video [exposing US troops killing Iraqi civilians in 2007] are now wrapped up with the US Grand Jury against us as a result. The 1st Amendment in the US and its protection of journalists is under assault by the US government and we have redacted the names of the crew in protest."

Credits black-out?

The decision by Assange’s production crew to blur the show’s credits to protect themselves from possible threats by security agencies was “…a nice touch but there may also be serious political and legal reasons for this,” according to RT’s Crosstalk host Peter Lavelle.

“The US, Israel, Canada and The Netherlands deem Hezbollah a “terrorist group,” while the UK and Australia deem Hezbollah’s military wing a terrorist group, and there may be laws against contact with this political party”, explained Lavelle.

“In a recent US Supreme Court decision (Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, June 21, 2010) the Court upheld material support provisions that prohibit otherwise protected free speech. The Court said that Congress could prohibit conflict resolution, humanitarian aid and other groups from providing training or expert advice to terrorist groups, even when that assistance is aimed at preventing violence.”

See the blanked-out credits in the video below



The long anticipated premiere saw tweeters take #ExpectAssange and #TheWorldTomorrow to global trend status on Tuesday. The Mainstream media’s response, foreseen by RT and the Wikileaks co-founder, runs the gamut from “hats off” to the more predictable “that’s off.”

“Interviewing Hassan Nasrallah [is a] clever move by Assange. He's a perfectly legitimate Lebanese power player to i/v and will generate headlines,” tweeted Jerome Taylor, a reporter with The Independent newspaper.

“How fitting: Julian Assange's first guest is Hassan Nasrallah, both in dire need of some good PR after creating messes, for being obnoxious,” remarks Emile Hokayem, a Mid-East analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, via her Twitter account.



A collection of Twitter responses to the premier of "The World Tomorrow" show

Business Insider International was impressed. “While watching Julian Assange's new [RT] talk show, "The World Tomorrow", is not going to convince anyone that the embattled Wikileaks founder isn't a megalomaniac, we have to say we were pleasantly surprised by the relatively tasteful show.”

“Assange show less-than-gripping. Were questions agreed in advance? And how much is Kremlin paying Julian?” was the response from The Guardian’s Luke Harding, a former Moscow correspondent who fell out with Assange after publishing a book on the Wikileaks cables affair.

Before the premiere, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan had suggested some might call for RT to be censured over the highly controversial subject of Assange’s first interview. A truthful voice to many, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah and his Lebanese Hezbollah party are branded terrorists in six countries and he himself has not made a Western media appearance in a decade.

M.I.A. doubles Assange effect

Artistic support for Assange’s cause (he’s been under UK house arrest without charge for 500 days) was audible in the “The World Tomorrow” theme tune – coming from none other than M.I.A. herself.

The Sri Lankan hip-hop star says she met Assange in London prior to the show’s launch. M.I.A. has been an outspoken supporter of Wikileaks since the website’s early days, even dedicating an album to the online whistleblower. In turn, Wikileaks referred to M.I.A. (real name Maya Arulpragasam) as the “the Julian Assange of pop music.”

Despite the multi-media storm over Assange’s first guest, and the stance taken by his crew against what they perceive as threats to their wellbeing, The World Tomorrow guest list remains tightly under wraps.

Expect the unexpected.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for commenting on this post. Please consider sharing it on Facebook or Twitter for a wider discussion.

Russian / Ukraine War - (Mar 08th, 2024)

How the Ukraine War Changed the World - (Mar 01st, 2024)

Redacted - Egypt's betrayal of Palestine - Vanessa Beeley

CrossTalk | Magical thinking - (Feb 28th, 2024)

Hillary Clinton Interrupted & Called Out in Berlin

We don’t want war with Israel, but if they impose it on us, we are ready – Hezbollah

ICJ delivers ruling in favour of South Africa

ICJ ruling | Court stops short of ordering Gaza ceasefire, demands that Israel prevent genocide

South Africa's Closing Argument Against Israel for Genocide at the ICJ

Wider Middle East war. US, UK strike Yemen

U.S., UK Start Another Unwinnable War In Yemen

Geopolitical Storm Brewing from Palestine to Ukraine

How the US Global Order is Challenged - With Pepe Escobar (Nov 20, 2023)

Shahid Bolsen - Message to the Israeli people

Roger Waters - To Whom It May Concern: Please Stop.

US policy slowing down China's economy w/ Jeffrey Sachs

Max Blumenthal s destroys RFKJr's outrageous Israelí Propaganda

Totalitarianism, Censorship and Syria with Peter Lavelle, Vanessa Beeley & Kevork Almassian

Putin shows treaty on Ukraine’s neutrality, signed by Kiev but dumped under Western pressure

Assad's speech at the Arab League Summit - what it means for the future of the region

Assad returns to Arab League

HUGE China brokered deal, Iran & Saudi Arabia restore diplomatic ties

Nord Stream pipeline & sabotaging peace w/Jeffrey Sachs

The Tragedy of Ukraine

Historical Events that Led to the Start of the Ukraine Conflict

Your Wars Will Destroy the Planet - Roger Waters

Healthy Athletes suffer Heart Problems After Getting the Jab