Julian Assange Confirms New Australian WikiLeaks Political Party

Julian Assange says he intends to run for a Senate seat in the next election, with plans for an Australian WikiLeaks party “significantly advanced”. The Australian has been holed up in Ecuador’s London embassy since June in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces questioning over sexual assault allegations.

Mr Assange is concerned that if he goes to Sweden, authorities will allow him to be extradited to the United States to be questioned over WikiLeaks’ release of thousands of US diplomatic cables.

Mr Assange has told Fairfax Media he intends to push ahead with previously-announced plans to run for the Australian Senate. He said he had not yet registered to vote, but told Fairfax he believes he will be able to register in either New South Wales or Victoria as an overseas voter.

Mr Assange said a “strategic decision” would determine which state he would run to represent. He also said “a number of very worthy people admired by the Australian public” have expressed interest in standing for a yet-to-be registered Australian WikiLeaks party :: Read the full article »»»»

Sea Shepherd Skipper Back Onboard

Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson, who is wanted by Interpol, has confirmed he is back onboard a vessel and ready to confront Japanese whalers. The Canadian conservationist’s whereabouts have been a mystery since July when he jumped bail in Germany, where he was arrested on charges stemming from a high-seas confrontation over shark finning in 2002 :: Read the full article »»»»

Iranian Female Students Face EVEN MORE Learning Restrictions

The Islamic state of Iran has inflicted new rules upon it’s already rule laden female population, the latest round of can’t-do’s includes the banning of female university students from studying 77 subjects in Iran have come into effect as the nation’s academic year kicked off on Saturday. The Iranian Government has not given any official reason for the restrictions that apply to more than 30 universities.

Banned courses include Nuclear Physics, Computer Science and English Literature.

US based Human Rights Watch said in a statement that the restrictions extended a creeping “Islamicisation” of Iran’s universities that have been imposed under president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

A much smaller number of courses were also barred to men on some campuses, including studies in history, linguistics, literature, sociology and philosophy. Iran’s President dismissed Western criticism, saying: “The angrier Western media gets, the more we realise we are moving in the right direction.” :: Read the full article »»»»

Yoko Ono Awards Pussy Riot Peace Prize

The eleventh wonder of the world, Yoko Ono has awarded a peace prize to Russian band Pussy Riot at a ceremony attended by the husband and daughter of one of the jailed punk rockers :: Read the full article »»»»

Assange Seeks Reopening of Extradition Case

Our favourite loud-mouth, Julian Assange, has set his lawyers a mammoth task, again.  The WikiLeaks founder has asked the British Supreme Court to reopen the appeal against his extradition to Sweden.

Last month, the court rejected Mr Assange’s last-ditch appeal against extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over sexual assault allegations.

The court, which is Britain’s highest, handed down its decision in the 18-month legal marathon after rejecting Mr Assange’s argument that the Swedish prosecutor who issued the arrest warrant for him was not entitled to do so.

But in a surprise move, Mr Assange’s lawyers have challenged the validity of the decision and, in an unusual move, have asked the top court to reopen the case.

Lawyer Dinah Rose asked for 14 days to consider whether to apply to reopen the case, on the grounds that the judgment referred to material not mentioned during the appeal hearing in February :: Read the full article »»»»

Political Ambition: Julian Assange to Run For Australian Senate

WikiLeaks has announced its founder and leader Julian Assange is planning to run for a seat in the Australian Senate. Julian Assange is in England awaiting possible extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations that he sexually assaulted two women in 2010. He is currently on bail waiting for a British Supreme Court decision on his appeal against the extradition.

But WikiLeaks says despite his legal predicament, Assange is eligible to run for the Upper House. ”We have discovered that it is possible for Julian Assange to run for the Australian Senate while detained,” WikiLeaks said via Twitter. ”Julian has decided to run.”

WikiLeaks said it would also be running a candidate against Prime Minister Julia Gillard in her seat of Lalor. ”The name of the Lalor candidate and the state Julian will run for will be announced at the appropriate time,” it said. Read the full article »»»»