Podcast appearances and mentions of Katharine Gun

Katharine Gun tells Charles Malet about the extraordinary and timeless events surrounding her arrest under the Official Secrets Act whilst a highly dubious case was made for war with Iraq. Read the write-up at: https://www.ukcolumn.org/video/a-defence-of-necessity-breaching-the-official-secrets-act-with-katharine-gun

From the archives, Episode #15 of MOATS as broadcast on 29 September 2019.Featuring: Lee Camp, Katharine Gun, Matthew Goodwin and Adam GarrieOriginal livestream: https://youtu.be/MWFX-3xCg8E Get bonus content on Patreon Become a MOATS Graduate at https://plus.acast.com/s/moatswithgorgegalloway. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a special series of the Whistleblowing Now and Then podcast, called: The Public Interest and National Security Whistleblowing: Looking Back, Thinking Forward.This 3-part series is a collaboration between Whistleblowing International Network and Kaeten Mistry, Associate Professor of History at the University of East Anglia, and co-author of the book Whistleblowing Nation: The History of National Security Disclosures and Cult of State Secrecy.The podcasts will consider how secrecy and liberty, and security and openness became competing concepts within democratic societies. We'll examine these questions within and across national and regional boundaries, looking at Europe, North America, and South America. We'll delve into issues relating to the United States, UK, Spain, France, Argentina, and Chile, among others.Today's episode is entitled, “Secrets: A Very British Affair.” We speak to Martin Bright, Editor-at-Large at Index on Censorship, and Maurice Frankel, Director at Campaign for Freedom of Information, about public interest whistleblowing, government transparency, and state secrecy in the United Kingdom.Additional Reading:In addition to the podcast series, we share resources supporting those working on issues relating to whistleblowing, the public interest, and strengthening civil society organisations.Below are some resources related to Episode 1.Briefing on the National Security Bill - ProtectThis briefing (2022) outlines the concerns of Protect, the UK's whistleblowing organisation and legal advice centre, about new offences in the new National Security Bill that may criminalise whistleblowing where it involves disclosures to foreign regulators and journalists.Introducing a public interest disclosure defence - Matrix and Mishcon de Reya LLPThis briefing paper by lawyers from Matrix and Mishcon de Reya, sets out the basis for the introduction of a public interest disclosure defence for breaches of the Official Secrets Acts (“OSAs”) or any replacement Espionage Act.When We Speak (2022)'When We Speak', directed by Tas Brooker, follows 3 whistleblowers: Katherine Gunn, Rose McGowan, and Helen Evans. By cutting between these stories, Brooker highlights their common threads, abuses of power, and exploited vulnerabilities. Crises of conscience, painful examinations of where one's loyalties lie. We hear the motivation behind the decision to blow the whistle, and we see its dramatic fallout.  The film offers a human perspective, on what can often be quite an abstract discussion. You can listen back to the Whistleblowing Now and Then episode with Director Tas Brooker here.Official Secrets (2019)Official Secrets is a film based on the case of whistleblower Katharine Gun who worked as a linguist at the UK's government communication headquarters (GCHQ). In 2003, she intercepted an email from the US National Security Agency - an email asking GCHQ to assist the US in their efforts to legitimise a war on Iraq. She made a copy of the memo – given anonymously to a journalist at the Observer – as she believed revealing the proposed bugging and blackmail tacticSupport the Show.

You may remember the video that went viral in 2021 of Rose Ayling-Ellis and her Strictly Come Dancing partner Giovanni dancing in complete silence during their Couple's Choice dance. Rose is deaf and uses British Sign Language to help her communicate. They wanted to use their dance to show what it is like for the deaf community on a daily basis. She went on to win the show and won a BAFTA after the dance was voted by the public as the Must-See TV Moment that year. Now she's back on stage in Soho Place theatre's production of Shakespeare's romantic comedy As You Like It. She joins Anita Rani to talk about her West End debut in the show and the work she's doing to make theatre more accessible for deaf audiences. A new documentary about whistleblowers has just been released. 'When We Speak' follows the stories of three women, Helen Evans a former Oxfam employee who spoke out about sexual exploitation and abuse at Oxfam GB, British intelligence employee Katharine Gun who leaked a memo from GCHQ in the run up to the Iraq war and Rose McGowan who spoke out about sexual abuse in Hollywood. The documentary shares the motivations, experiences and fallout of each of their cases. Joining Anita Rani is one of these whistleblowers, Helen Evans, who until 2015 was global head of Safeguarding at Oxfam. An estimated 17,000 children are impacted by maternal imprisonment every year but their needs are rarely considered when their mum is arrested, sentenced or sent to prison. So today The Prison Reform Trust has issued an urgent call for action for better support for those who are among the most vulnerable children in society. As part of this call for action, the charity has published a new toolkit to help practitioners, who are involved with these children, ensure they are properly supported, listened to and their needs identified and met. We hear from Layla, one of six children, whose mother was first imprisoned when she was seven, and associate of the Prison Reform Trust, Sarah Beresford project lead for the toolkit. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty Starkey Interviewed Guest: Rose Ayling-Ellis Interviewed Guest: Helen Evans Interviewed Guest: Sarah Beresford

Katharine Gun, nel 2003, è stata al centro di un caso mediatico per aver rivelato segreti di Stato. • Vienimi a trovare su www.simonerepetto.com • Per conoscermi meglio o contribuire al progetto, fatti un giro fra questi link: https://linktr.ee/simonerepetto • Scrivendo a simone.repetto@gmail.com invece puoi contattarmi per ideare insieme un format (podcast e non solo) per la tua azienda o il tuo prodotto. • il brano royalty free usato per questo episodio podcast è: "Criminal elements" di Global Genius Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This special episode features Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. About a year ago, on Groundhog Day 2021, Ellsberg came my peace studies class. He was prepared to answer questions from students, which he did, but only after being surprised by a number of luminaries who had previously agreed to join us. The surprise guests included James Galbraith, Peter Kuznick, Katharine Gun, and Peter Dale Scott. The class—Peace Studies of the American Century—is one that I developed in collaboration with American University history professor Peter Kuznick and filmmaker Oliver Stone.  Daniel Ellsberg is the author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers, and The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. His life story is the subject of The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, the Oscar-nominated documentary that Edward Snowden credited for inspiring his own act of whistleblowing. Lastly, we are joined by former CIA officer John Kiriakou, the heroic individual who went to jail for blowing the whistle on CIA torture. He was kind enough to offer his own very memorable tribute to Daniel Ellsberg. Special thanks to Mickey Huff and Anthony Fest of Project Censored, Casey Moore for the episode art, and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!   Music: "End of the World" by Mock Orange

Women Rock!What's the unofficial theme running through this show? Strong women, from the female assassins of "Gunpowder Milkshake" to real-life punk rock designer Vivienne Westwood to the rocking sisters of Larkin Poe.  We discuss:Streaming:"Gunpowder Milkshake," with Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Carla Gugino and more as women you don't want to make mad"Official Secrets," with Keira Knightley as real-life whistleblower Katharine Gun, who leaked a memo exposing an illegal spying operation by American and British intelligence services "Midnight Mass," with Kate Siegel among those dealing with miracles and monsters on a remote island community"Westwood: Punk. Icon. Activist," a documentary about Westwood's colorful lifeMusic:Larkin Poe, a blues rock group led by sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell Tyler Bryant, Rebecca's husband who rocks solo or with the ShakedownPopahallics #55 PlaylistWomen rule our playlist— Larkin Poe, Kelly Clarkson, Gloria Gaynor, and more. But Tyler Bryant managed to sneak onto it. Listen. 

Sometimes speaking up comes at a cost. But can the negatives be outweighed when acting on behalf of the greater good? In this episode we're going to be hearing the story of Katharine Gun, a former linguist at GCHQ. Katharine is widely regarded as an exceptionally brave and selfless whistleblower who put her own life in jeopardy to help others. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

E se figuras históricas ou da cultura pop tivessem ido à Hogwarts? A qual casa elas pertenceriam? Essa é a proposta do Café Seletor. No 141º episódio selecionamos Katharine Gun. O Café Seletor possui um sistema de financiamento coletivo, se curte nosso trabalho nos apoie em https://apoia.se/cafeseletor Fale conosco: twitter: @CafeSeletor Instagram: @cafeseletor Twitch: twitch.tv/cafeseletor Email: cafeseletor@gmail.com link Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xlp4Xk Nossas patronas são: Lady Marques de Souza Gleizy Gomes Elizabeth Rosendo Santos Larissa Cardoso Julio Leote Mariangela Juliano Viriato Cristiane Viriato Ana Luiza de Jesus Alves Fernando SGR Angela Raquel Marina Katia Cilene

Wer ist Katharine Gun, die Whistleblowerin, die die Lügen der britischen Regierung rund um den Irak-Krieg aufgedeckt und fast Tony Blair zu Fall gebracht hättet? Welche Tipps hat ein todkranker Professor für das Leben? Wer ist das einzig wahre "Karate Kid"? Und wie besiegt man korrupte Superhelden? Diesen und vielen weiteren Fragen widmen sich Hausmeister Ronny Rüsch und Axel Max in "Oscars & Himbeeren - ntv" - dem neuen Podcast rund um Streaming-Dienste wie Netflix, TVNOW, Amazon Prime & Co.Unsere allgemeinen Datenschutzrichtlinien finden Sie unter https://art19.com/privacy. Die Datenschutzrichtlinien für Kalifornien sind unter https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info abrufbar. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Official Secrets is the name of a film released at the end of last year, which tells the true story of Katharine Gun, a GCHQ whistleblower who leaked information to the Observer newspaper about a dirty tricks campaign by US and UK intelligence agencies as they tried to justify invading Iraq. On this episode, we speak with Yvonne Ridley, the journalist who received those secret documents. The J-Lab podcast is produced by the Civic Journalism Lab, a forum for professional, student and community journalists in the north east of England to meet, learn and collaborate. It’s supported by Newcastle University and can be found on Twitter at twitter.com/CivicJLab

TESTO DELL'ARTICOLO ➜http://www.bastabugie.it/it/articoli.php?id=5996UCCISO SADDAM, LE ARMI DI DISTRUZIONE DI MASSA NON FURONO MAI TROVATE di Rino CammilleriC'è di buono che c'è sempre qualcuno che prima o poi ci fa un film. Ricordate le famose armi di distruzione di massa di Saddam? Dopo che quest'ultimo era stato praticamente solleticato a prendersi il Kuwait, e dopo che l'Iraq si era svenato per dieci anni in una guerra contro l'Iran, la mossa gli scatenò contro la più grande coalizione militare della storia ai tempi di Bush senior nel 1991.Poi, nel 2003, c'era da finire il lavoro e il segretario di stato Powell si presentò all'Onu con la storia delle armi di distruzione di massa. E il lavoro fu finito. Però, sul campo tali armi non vennero mai trovate e solo nel 2010 un film Green zone, del regista Paul Greengrass, con Matt Damon, insinuò che forse non c'erano mai state. Ma ormai le cose erano fatte. Peccato che non siano mai finite, da quelle parti. Senza la dittatura di Saddam l'Iraq è finito nel caos, così come la Libia senza la dittatura di Gheddafi. Stesso servizio doveva essere fatto con la Siria, ma qui le cose si sono rivelate più complicate.IL CONSIGLIO DI SICUREZZA DELL'ONUComunque, un fatto poco noto riguarda l'Inghilterra di Tony Blair, nel 2003 alleato di ferro degli Usa di Bush jr. In quell'anno una traduttrice inglese, Katharine Gun, lavorava all'ente governativo di comunicazioni per i servizi segreti GCHQ (Government Communications HeadQuarters, con sede a Cheltenham). La giovane donna intercettò un messaggio di tal Frank Koza, dell'NSA (National Security Agency) americano. In esso si raccomandava, ovviamente in via top secret, di far pressioni sui membri non permanenti del Consiglio di Sicurezza dell'Onu perché autorizzassero l'intervento anglo-americano in Iraq. Il fatto era che il governo inglese aveva qualche difficoltà a far digerire la guerra sia al popolo che allo stesso apparato.Infatti, il procuratore generale, lord Goldsmith, aveva dato parere negativo: senza mandato Onu, la Gran Bretagna non aveva alcun diritto di attaccare l'Iraq. Goldsmith, però, viaggiò a Washington e al ritorno aveva cambiato misteriosamente idea. Ora, la traduttrice Katharine Gun era sposata con un curdo. Così, pensò bene di far pervenire quel che aveva scoperto alla redazione dell'Observer, quotidiano fin lì favorevole alla guerra. Da questa storia è stato tratto un film non ancora uscito in Italia, Official Secrets, del regista Gavin Hood, con Keyra Knightley nei panni della Gun e Ralph Fiennes in quelli dell'avvocato che l'assistette.1 MILIONE DI IRAKENI UCCISISì, perché la Gun fu scoperta e processata per tradimento. Ma poi, a ridosso delle elezioni, le accuse a suo carico vennero ritirate per non dare ulteriore pubblicità alla faccenda. Il film è tratto da un libro, The Spy who tried to stop a War, di Marcia e Thomas Mitchell. L'unica variante è che la vera Gun è bionda, mentre nel film è mora. Intervistata sul perché avesse deciso di tradire il suo Paese rivelando quel che sapeva alla stampa (e rischiando, oltre al carcere, l'espulsione del marito), disse che non aveva tradito il Paese, bensì i suoi governanti del momento e che quella guerra non era solo a Saddam ma anche a 30 milioni di irakeni.In effetti, di questi ne morirono circa un milione, pare. Più, 4600 inglesi e americani. Il film non risparmia nemmeno i particolari grotteschi che la vicenda a un certo punto assunse. Per esempio, la stampa filogovernativa, per sostenere che si trattava di un falso, puntò i riflettori su certe parole del messaggio trafugato, parole che gli americani scrivono in modo leggermente diverso dagli inglesi, come recognise anziché recognize. Ebbene, venne fuori che la redattrice dell'Observer, nel batterle al computer, aveva fatto ricorso, meccanicamente, al correttore automatico.

On this episode of The Deep Cut, host John Rocha welcomes director Gavin Hood to talk about his latest film, Official Secrets and what he learned as a direct from his experience on X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Official Secrets stars Keira Knightley in the true story of GCHQ translator Katharine Gun. In 2003, as politicians in Britain and the US angle to invade Iraq, Gun leaked a classified e-mail that urged spying on members of the UN Security Council to force through the resolution to go to war in Iraq. Charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act, and facing imprisonment, Katharine and her lawyers set out to defend her actions. With her life, liberty and marriage threatened, she must stand up for what she believes in. Rocha and Hood discuss how he came to direct the project, what inspired him to take the project on and what lessons he hopes viewers of the film take from the movie. Rocha also talks with Hood about his career and focuses on what he learned from the experience of directing X-Men Origins: Wolverine and how it has shaped the projects he has chosen to pursue ever since. It’s a wide open, fun and in-depth conversation with another accomplished and talented guest on The Deep Cut. Remember to Like and Share the episode and Subscribe to the Collider Conversations feed for more episodes of The Deep Cut.Official Secrets is out now on DVD, click here to order it: https://amzn.to/2QTkuwsFollow John Rocha: https://twitter.com/TheRochaSaysFollow Gavin Hood: https://twitter.com/gavin_hood1

* Ray McGovern on Ukraine and Trump impeachment process * Daniel Ellsberg meets Iraq War GCHQ whistleblower and subject of the film 'Official Secrets', Katharine Gun. * Follow-up live interview with former UN Weapons inspector during Iraq War, Scott Ritter. * Our UK correspondent, John Wight, on Brexit and the British political crisis. Hosted by Elizabeth Vos and Joe Lauria. Executive Producer: Cathy Vogan

Keira Knightley plays Katharine Gun, a translator for British intelligence who leaked an email exposing corruption by the forces seeking…

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What makes a whistleblower? What prompts someone to break ranks, maybe break the law, in order to expose a secret, often at great cost? Stephen Sackur interviews Katharine Gun. In 2003, she worked at the UK’s signals intelligence agency GCHQ. She leaked potentially explosive information about America’s covert effort to sway UN diplomats to support the Iraq war. She risked everything, including prison, in an act that changed her life. Now her story has been made into a movie; but, 16 years on, has her perspective changed? Image: Katharine Gun (Credit: Lia Toby/Getty Images for BFI)

Jack Goldsmith, former Head of the U.S. Office of Legal Counsel, joined Christiane Amanpour to discuss how his step-father became the prime suspect in the disappearance of labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa, which is now the topic of new film "The Irishman." He delves into this as well as what he sees as executive overreach in The White House, past and present. Katharine Gun, the Iraq War whistleblower, reflects on leaking memos that exposed a plot by U.S. security officials to secure votes for the invasion. Our Walter Isaacson sat down with Robbie Robertson, musician in "The Band", to look back on his rock career and his more recent work on "The Irishman" music score.

16 years ago a woman in her twenties, who was a translator at GCHQ, leaked an official and confidential email. It instructed Katharine Gun and her colleagues to share any information they might come across concerning a clutch of nations belonging to the UN Security Council. The information could then be used to persuade them to vote for the invasion of Iraq. Her email became an Observer article and she lost her job, nearly lost her marriage and was in fear of going to prison. Now her story is told in a new film ‘Official Secrets’. She joins Jenni to remember that time in 2003 and explain what happened next. How much are we squeezing play out of our children’s days, our institutions and spaces? Michael Rosen, author of ‘Book of Play’ joins Jenni to talk about why play matters to both children and adults – and to share tips on how we can get more of it in our lives. When Sally Challen was recently interviewed on Woman’s Hour she talked about the Freedom Programme she attended, once she was in prison. She described how it helped her understand the coercive control and domestic abuse she had suffered for years from her husband Richard. We speak to Clare Walker, a group facilitator and a trainer for the programme, Pat Craven who founded it and Louise, a listener, who wrote in to say how attending for the last year had changed her life. We speak to Grammy-award nominated blues singer Beth Hart about finally feeling able to be herself with her new album, War In My Mind. Presenter: Jenni Murray Producer: Kirsty Starkey Interviewed Guest: Katharine Gun Interviewed Guest: Michael Rosen Interviewed Guest: Pat Craven Interviewed Guest: Clare Walker Interviewed Guest: Beth Hart

Bright and Gun are the real journalist and whistle-blower depicted in the film by Gavin Hood. The post Katharine Gun, Martin Bright – Official Secrets #ZFF2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Bright and Gun are the real journalist and whistle-blower depicted in the film by Gavin Hood. The post Katharine Gun, Martin Bright – Official Secrets #ZFF2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Bright and Gun are the real journalist and whistle-blower depicted in the film by Gavin Hood. The post Katharine Gun, Martin Bright – Official Secrets #ZFF2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Bright and Gun are the real journalist and whistle-blower depicted in the film by Gavin Hood. The post Katharine Gun, Martin Bright – Official Secrets #ZFF2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Bright and Gun are the real journalist and whistle-blower depicted in the film by Gavin Hood. The post Katharine Gun, Martin Bright – Official Secrets #ZFF2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Bright and Gun are the real journalist and whistle-blower depicted in the film by Gavin Hood. The post Katharine Gun, Martin Bright – Official Secrets #ZFF2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Rose discusses current topics including Hurricane Dorian, the Amazon rainforest crisis, deadliest attack on Yemen this year and No New Jails. We speak with Yifat Susskin about small scale solutions by taking local action and institutionalizing what does work on a larger scale. She shares the import work being done in the Middle East, which is led by grassroots, women led organizations. She recommends the first Indigenous American Poet Laurete’s new collection of poetry, An American Sunrise. Lastly, Yifat gives us an outlook on where international aids really go. Rose and Jodie explain the new CODEPINK MoMa and BlackRock campaign. Rose encourages NYC listeners to get involved with their city! Daniel Ellsberg discusses the importance of the new blockbuster about the female whistleblower Katharine Gun, Official Secrets, starring Kiera Knightly. Guests: Yifat Susskin, MADRE partners with women's human rights activists to create programs in their communities that meet urgent needs and create lasting change. - Daniel Ellsberg, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers

In the weeks leading up to the war in Iraq, Katharine Gun exposed a US plot to spy on the UN in leaks published in the Observer. She joins former Observer journalist Martin Bright to tell their story ahead of a forthcoming Hollywood adaptation. Plus the BBC’s Carrie Gracie on how she fought for equal pay. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

Director Gavin Hood discusses his film, Official Secrets, with fellow director Phillip Noyce. The film tells the true story of Katharine Gun, a British intelligence specialist who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation designed to collect compromising information on UN members and blackmail them into sanctioning 2003 invasion of Iraq. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Oct2019/GavinHoodDiscussesOfficialSecrets_QnA_0919.aspx

This bonus Out Now with Aaron and Abe (https://www.facebook.com/outnowpodcast) episode is a spiritual sequel to a show from 2016. Aaron is joined by Professor Mike Dillon to go over Official Secrets, a new film from director Gavin Hood, who piqued our interests with his 2016 drone-thriller Eye in the Sky. His latest film focused on a true story about British whistleblower Katharine Gun. For this episode, the guys dissect the film, as well as the career of Gavin Hood thus far, and the recurring themes that have emerged. So now, if you've got an hour or so to kill... Get yourself a free audiobook and help out the show at AudibleTrial.com/OutNowPodcast (http://www.audibletrial.com/outnowpodcast) ! Follow all of us on Twitter: @Outnow_Podcast (http://www.twitter.com/outnow_podcast) , @AaronsPS (http://www.twitter.com/aaronsps4) 4, @WalrusMoose (http://www.twitter.com/walrusmoose) Check out all of our sites and blogs:  TheCodeIsZeek.com (http://www.thecodeiszeek.com) , Why So Blu? (http://www.whysoblu.com) , We Live Entertainment (http://www.weliveentertainment.com) Official Secrets Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t64H3S7r4wo) Eye in the Sky Episode (http://www.thecodeiszeek.com/2016/03/out-now-bonus-droning-on-about-eye-in.html) Next Episode: It Chapter Two (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhJ5P7Up3jA) #OfficialSecrets #GavinHood #Podcast #FilmReview #Movie #Entertainment #OutNow #OutNowWithAaronAndAbe #KeiraKnightley #MattSmith #MatthewGoode #RalphFiennes #KatharineGun #EyeInTheSky

In the run-up to the Iraq War, Katharine Gun, the subject of the film “Official Secrets,” nearly changed the course of history with one corageous decision.

Katharine Gun's revelations showed before the invasion that people on the inside, whose livelihood depends on following the party line, were willing to risk jail time to expose the lies and threats.

Sneak Peek: Official SecretsOne day in 2003, in the lead up to the Iraq War, British intelligence specialist Katharine Gun receives a memo from the NSA with a shocking directive: the United States is enlisting Britain's help in collecting compromising information on U.N. Security Council members to blackmail them into voting in favor of an invasion of Iraq. Unable to stand by and watch the world be rushed into war, Gun makes the gut-wrenching decision to defy her government and leak the memo to the press.Director: Gavin HoodProduced by: Ged Doherty, Elizabeth Fowler, Melissa Shiyu ZuoCast: Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Ralph FiennesDistributor: Entertainment One, IFC FilmsRelease Date: August 30, 2019Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutesGenre: Biography, Drama, RomanceRSneak Peek: Don’t Let GoDetective Jack Radcliff gets a shocking phone call from his recently murdered niece Ashley. Working together across time, they race to solve the crime before it can happen.Director: Jacob Aaron EstesProduced by: Jason Blum, David Oyelowo, Bobby CohenCast: David Oyelowo, Storm Reid, Byron Mann, Mykelti WilliamsonDistributor: OTL Releasing, BH TiltRelease Date: August 30, 2019Runtime: 1 hour 43 minutesGenre: Drama, Fantasy, HorrorR See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Journalism has been called 'the first draft of history', and as a first draft it may be written over, forgotten, ignored.  In this podcast, journalist Martin Bright (@martinbright) considers one tiny strand of the story of the Iraq war. It illustrates truth and fake news, things that are very much on our minds at the moment.  It is taken from a lecture Martin gave for IF, the free university in London, in its series 'Thinking Without Borders'  in 2017. Martin Bright:  Let's begin with the rules of journalism - never befriend a politician, never befriend a PR, never betray a source and never use PowerPoint (though that one I am ignoring....) I'm going to look at one story that plays its part in the history of the lead up to the Iraq war which you may or may not have heard about. It is a story in which I as a journalist felt I was writing the first draft of history. It's a story I wrote while working on The Observer [a UK Sunday newspaper] in early 2003. It is a story left out of the reports on the Iraq war (it was not in either the Chilcot or the Hutton reports).  It is just a footnote in history, maybe less than a footnote. It is the story of Katharine Gun, who,in 2003, was working at GCHQ. GCHQ is the third arm of British Intelligence - there is MI6 (foreign intelligence), MI5 (domestic intelligence) and GCHQ (surveillance). Katharine was born in Taiwan, is a fluent Mandarin speaker, and she spent her days at GCHQ listening to China and deciding what was interesting - Chinese broadcasts, bugged conversations etc.  She enjoyed her job, she considered herself a patriot, she didn't see anything wrong with spying, she felt she was working in the British national interest, for the good of the country. But she became increasingly concerned about the build up to war in Iraq, she was sceptical, she didn't think the British intelligence service should be used to further the war aim of the Government. One day she was working, translating, when she received a memo from the National Security Agency (NSA) in the US.  Subsequently, the NSA and GCHQ have become much more high profile institutions since the Edward Snowden leaks (we know a lot more about what they can tap into) but there has always been a close relationship between the two agencies. In January 2003, we were being told that war was not a forgone conclusion, there were still negotiations going on in the UN and Tony Blair and George Bush were saing that should Saddam Hussein give up his weapons of mass destruction (WMD) there would be no need to go to war.  But it was a period of high tension. There were inspectors in Iraq looking for WMD and having difficulty finding them. Such was the tension within GCHQ itself that on 24 January 2003, a memo was sent to all GCHQ staff reassuring them that they would not be asked to do anything unlawful (which is interesting in itself since you might expect that to be the case anyway!). At the same time what is happening in the US is a continuing hardening up of the documents being fed to the US government as to what is going on in Iraq and the weapons Saddam is supposed to have.  Then, rather inconveniently, on 27 January 2003, Hans Blix (one of the main weapons inspectors) and his team state that Iraq has no nuclear capacity and has been cooperative.  The French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, states that France won't go to war while inspections continue.  So it is getting tricky for those who want to go to war.  We also know that there will be a presentation to the UN by Colin Powell to argue that Iraq is in breach of its international commitments. And while all this is happening, this memo from Frank Koza arrives in Katharine Gun's inbox, just after midnight on January 31st: To: [Recipients withheld] From: FRANK KOZA, Def Chief of Staff (Regional Targets) CIV/NSA Sent on Jan 31 2003 0:16 Subject: Reflections of Iraq Debate/Votes at UN-RT Actions + Potential for Related Contributions

May 31 Talk Nation Radio: Sam Husseini on Greatness of Katharine Gun, How to Vote, and Hillary v. Muslims Written by davidswanson Tag: Peace and War, Talk Nation Radio     https://soundcloud.com/davidcnswanson/talk-nation-radio-sam-husseini-on-greatness-of-katharine-gun-how-to-vote-and-hillary-v-muslims Sam Husseini is the Communications director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, whom I have to thank for having found and promoted many of my previous guests on this show. Husseini wrote an article titled "Katharine Gun’s Risky Truth-telling" about a British official who crucially leaked evidence of NSA spying against UN officials during the buildup to the Iraq invasion. The Intercept has now published copies of the NSA's internal newsletter that fit into that story. See: http://www.accuracy.orghttp://www.votepact.org Total run time: 29:00 Host: David Swanson.Producer: David Swanson.Music by Duke Ellington. Download from LetsTryDemocracy or Archive.Pacifica stations can also download from Audioport. Syndicated by Pacifica Network. Please encourage your local radio stations to carry this program every week!

Sam Husseini is the Communications director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, whom I have to thank for having found and promoted many of my previous guests on this show. Husseini wrote an article titled "Katharine Gun's Risky Truth-telling" about a British official who crucially leaked evidence of NSA spying against UN officials during the buildup to the Iraq invasion. The Intercept has now published copies of the NSA's internal newsletter that fit into that story. See: http://www.accuracy.org http://www.votepact.org

Eric Boehlert on Dean coverage & Norman Solomon on Katharine Gun. The post Counterspin – January 23, 2004 appeared first on KPFA.