Julian Assange and paradise lost (E415)

Julian Assange, journalist and publisher, lies stricken this weekend in a Belmarsh Prison cell. It has been revealed that he has suffered a stroke on top of all the psychological and physical health attrition that has occurred over the 11 years of his incarceration. First in the Ecuadorian embassy and the last two years in a maximum security prison usually reserved for mass murderers and terrorists. Julian Assange has actually been convicted of nothing, but he is being kept in conditions that are attracting the attention of human rights organizations all over the world. The British and American states are subjecting themselves to quite severe collateral damage to their reputation by this relentless pursuit of this journalist. So, we invited Annie Machon, a former MI5 officer, to ask what it is that makes them conclude the damage and detriment to their reputation is worth it. 

Hawaii would have been in the news this week anyway as the island remembered the 80th anniversary of the controversial bombing of the Pacific fleet in Pearl Harbor, an act which brought America into the Second World War. But Island activists are creating waves about two current controversies; The Red Hill Petrol leak is attracting attention from all over the world as jet oil from World War II tanks is now leaking and contaminating the water. Coupled with this, the siting of a telescope on sacred land on the dormant volcano of Mauna Kea has seen arrests of 33 Native Hawaiian elders for peacefully blocking construction resulting in an emergency order giving more authority to the law to remove demonstrators. Kaniela Ing is a politician, community organizer, and activist, so we invited him aboard Sputnik to tell us more about the 50th State of America which is more than just sand, sea, and surfing.

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Podcast https://soundcloud.com/rttv/sets/sputnik-orbiting-the-world-1