WikiLeaks strikes again -- U.S. diplomacy stripped naked

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None of this answers the question: What purpose does it serve to release this kind of information? It doesn't expose gov't corruption or dishonesty nor it does it really aid any developed nation or rational human being with power.

Wikileaks needs to publish everything it gets its hands on (after redacting private names of course) to claim true transparency. See, the comment below and see the contrast to your statement.

If anybody cares too, this is my 2 cents on Wikileaks- I think in theory it is not a bad thing, but at the moment, it is acting like a business rather than an proper "organisation" in the international sense. Like others have said, we are getting only the best stuff they have at the moment. If they really want to claim transparency, they should be releasing everything they get as soon as they can screen it to protect identities and current operations (I do think that confidentiality and that in regards to those sorts of things is important). At the moment though, I do think it needs to stop trying to create the "biggest impact" by targeting certain people/nations. Mind you, in my world, goverments would be reuqired to release all communications on closed issues/matters after a certain period of time anyway (i.e 2-5 years). Would make them think more about what they say and do in regards to pulic opinion- we voted them in, we should be the ones they have foremost in their minds.

So my 2 cents on the information that is put out there is the following, most of us here don't read the actual documents, we read it already digested and made user-friendly by a news outlet, so we get only the most interesting bits. I've tried to go through the Iraq leak page-by-page from wikileaks and there's tons and tons of pages of useless stuff, which makes it a tiring exercise. But this is exactly what adds credibility to the leak.

So in the end, it very much depends how deep you want to investigate the information yourself and this possibility should be our right, which is why I am a supporter of these leaks.
 
I don't think that is really there, but it would be fucking cool.

And thanks to Zeall I see that he( Julian Assange) was arrested in London.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/12/07/uk.wikileaks.investigation/index.html?hpt=T1

It should be noted that the police did not bring Assange in, he just walked into the police station to finally clear his name. The rape allegations are silly, and getting this out of the way shouldnt take too long. An english court should dismiss this easily, and hopefully we'll be able to get rid of the corrupt prosecutor back here. I repeat how this has played out: The chief prosecutor in Stockholm dismissed the case long ago. Then, a politically motivated prosecutor, Marianne Ny, in Gotheburg, re-opened the case. How a prosecutor in Gothenburg can singlehandedly re-open a case where the alledged crimes took place in Stockholm, and where the chief prosecutor of Stockholm dismissed the case, I cannot understand. She (important) must outrank him somehow. edit: Yep, she's one notch above chief prosecutor, she's ?ver?klagare (literally upper prosecutor)

Gothenburg is (yes, the entire city) by the way under investigation by the national prosecutors in Stockholm because the city is filled with corruption and bribes. The local prosecutors were deemed unreliable, and the highest national prosecutor (Riks?klagare, reich prosecutor to germans, the Feds to americans) had to step in, the investigation is ongoing. Just a background.


Anyway, The Daily Mail has gone to the bottom (pun intended) of all this
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tands-spark-worldwide-hunt.html#ixzz17QLbFFEj

Here's a snippet from the article:
Daily Mail said:
So what to make of a story in which it?s hard to argue that any of the ?parties emerges with much credit? How reliable are the two female witnesses?

Earlier this year, Sarah is reported to have posted a telling entry on her website, which she has since removed. But a copy has been retrieved and widely circulated on the internet.

Entitled ?7 Steps to Legal Revenge?, it explains how women can use courts to get their own back on unfaithful lovers.

Step 7 says: ?Go to it and keep your goal in sight. Make sure your victim suffers just as you did.? (The highlighting of text is Sarah?s own.)


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tands-spark-worldwide-hunt.html#ixzz17Qen0ZXe

Just to give you an idea of how one-sided the swedish law is on anything related to sex, we have a party led by the former communist leader and MP Gudrun Schyman where leading representatives proclaimed in an interview with a female reporter that "men are animals", as opposed to women who are human. That's the backdrop to our asinine sex laws. We have lots of them, for example according to the law it is illegal for men to buy sex from a prostitute. It is however perfectly legal for a woman to sell sex.

Makes sense to you? No? Not to me either.
 
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It should be noted that the police did not bring Assange in, he just walked into the police station to finally clear his name. The rape allegations are silly, and getting this out of the way shouldnt take too long. An english court should dismiss this easily, and hopefully we'll be able to get rid of the corrupt prosecutor back here. I repeat how this has played out: The chief prosecutor in Stockholm dismissed the case long ago. Then, a politically motivated regular prosecutor, Marianne Ny, in Gotheburg, re-opened the case. How a simple prosecutor in Gothenburg can singlehandedly re-open a case where the alledged crimes took place in Stockholm, and where the chief prosecutor of Stockholm dismissed the case, I cannot understand.

The Daily Mail has gone to the bottom (pun intended) of all this
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tands-spark-worldwide-hunt.html#ixzz17QLbFFEj

That annoys me too. I remember all of this simmering up a while ago and it being dismissed, thanks for clarifying why it was all brought up again. I hope that he can get an impartial judge who will look at the case fairly.

If the case is dismissed in the UK though, could be a bit of a black eye for Sweden unfortunately, general public probably won't distinguish between the whole legal system and one prosecutor. :S
 
You've got a pretty big problem with feminism in Sweden, AiR. Women's lib is alright, but it's been taken too far in Sweden.
 
Yup, from what I can recall names were censored in the release earlier this year (no citation sorry).
The Afghanistan release? They censored many names, no doubt. I think there were 15,000 documents that they didn't release at all due to the names in them. But they were still dealing with over 90,000 documents that they wanted to release quickly. The names of hundreds of Afghans who aided US forces were revealed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7915426/Wikileaks-Afghanistan-Pentagon-says-informants-lives-at-risk.html
Search it. There are plenty of hits on this.

(Again, no citation). Didn't his lawyers ask for times for Assange to go and give an interview on this whole thing and the Swedish prosecutors refuse?
Citation? He's turned himself in at a police station in London, which I'm pretty sure is not in Sweden. ;)

Yes, his lawyer claims that the prosecution refused to speak with him. Even if that's true, why leave the country? It accomplishes nothing. Why not call some news outlets and go sit in a police station or something?

The only way his actions would make any sense is if Britain refuses to send him back.
 
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Don't shoot messenger for revealing uncomfortable truths
December 08, 2010
WIKILEAKS deserves protection, not threats and attacks.

IN 1958 a young Rupert Murdoch, then owner and editor of Adelaide's The News, wrote: "In the race between secrecy and truth, it seems inevitable that truth will always win."

His observation perhaps reflected his father Keith Murdoch's expose that Australian troops were being needlessly sacrificed by incompetent British commanders on the shores of Gallipoli. The British tried to shut him up but Keith Murdoch would not be silenced and his efforts led to the termination of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign.

Nearly a century later, WikiLeaks is also fearlessly publishing facts that need to be made public.

...

WikiLeaks is not the only publisher of the US embassy cables. Other media outlets, including Britain's The Guardian, The New York Times, El Pais in Spain and Der Spiegel in Germany have published the same redacted cables.

Yet it is WikiLeaks, as the co-ordinator of these other groups, that has copped the most vicious attacks and accusations from the US government and its acolytes. I have been accused of treason, even though I am an Australian, not a US, citizen. There have been dozens of serious calls in the US for me to be "taken out" by US special forces. Sarah Palin says I should be "hunted down like Osama bin Laden", a Republican bill sits before the US Senate seeking to have me declared a "transnational threat" and disposed of accordingly. An adviser to the Canadian Prime Minister's office has called on national television for me to be assassinated. An American blogger has called for my 20-year-old son, here in Australia, to be kidnapped and harmed for no other reason than to get at me.

And Australians should observe with no pride the disgraceful pandering to these sentiments by Julia Gillard and her government. The powers of the Australian government appear to be fully at the disposal of the US as to whether to cancel my Australian passport, or to spy on or harass WikiLeaks supporters. The Australian Attorney-General is doing everything he can to help a US investigation clearly directed at framing Australian citizens and shipping them to the US.

Prime Minister Gillard and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have not had a word of criticism for the other media organisations. That is because The Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel are old and large, while WikiLeaks is as yet young and small.

We are the underdogs. The Gillard government is trying to shoot the messenger because it doesn't want the truth revealed, including information about its own diplomatic and political dealings.

Has there been any response from the Australian government to the numerous public threats of violence against me and other WikiLeaks personnel? One might have thought an Australian prime minister would be defending her citizens against such things, but there have only been wholly unsubstantiated claims of illegality. The Prime Minister and especially the Attorney-General are meant to carry out their duties with dignity and above the fray. Rest assured, these two mean to save their own skins. They will not.

Every time WikiLeaks publishes the truth about abuses committed by US agencies, Australian politicians chant a provably false chorus with the State Department: "You'll risk lives! National security! You'll endanger troops!" Then they say there is nothing of importance in what WikiLeaks publishes. It can't be both. Which is it?

It is neither. WikiLeaks has a four-year publishing history. During that time we have changed whole governments, but not a single person, as far as anyone is aware, has been harmed. But the US, with Australian government connivance, has killed thousands in the past few months alone.

US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates admitted in a letter to the US congress that no sensitive intelligence sources or methods had been compromised by the Afghan war logs disclosure. The Pentagon stated there was no evidence the WikiLeaks reports had led to anyone being harmed in Afghanistan. NATO in Kabul told CNN it couldn't find a single person who needed protecting. The Australian Department of Defence said the same. No Australian troops or sources have been hurt by anything we have published.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au
 
I really fail to see how companies distancing themselves from wikileaks is so horrible. By all means I hope they have info on Bank of America, but Amazon and Paypal? What'd they do besides protect their employees and owners best interests?
 
Quick poll for our US friends. If you believe that WikiLeaks should be shut down, raise your right hand.

If you believe the First Amendment should be repealed, you can lower it.

If you still have your arm in the air, well, enjoy your day.
 
The only way his actions would make any sense is if Britain refuses to send him back.

Well that will not happen, European arrest warrant - Europe about the best we can do. ...

Air
On a side issue:

"His observation perhaps reflected his father Keith Murdoch's expose that Australian troops were being needlessly sacrificed by incompetent British commanders on the shores of Gallipoli." It was not exclusively AnZac troops - they needlessly killed British troops as well (Total Allied deaths were around 21,000 British, 10,000 French, 8,700 Australians, 2,700 New Zealanders and 1,370 Indians). Basically, they were equally incompetent to all, it was not a 'racial' thing.

You must remember anyone who knew what they were doing was on the Western Front, only the riff raff senior officers were spared for Gallipoli. BTW The very worst commander was the one in Southern IRAQ (Major-General Charles Townshend, ) - what a goon.
 
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Just a quick thought (though I've expanded on it on my blog) - we laugh at the Great Firewall of China and the North Korea propaganda put out by Kim Jong "Nine holes in one in a round" il, but that is a system of censorship and control. These companies are censoring for free on a voluntary basis and for no reason other than the bottom line.

Say what you like about North Korea, but at least they haven't sold out free speech for cash.
 
I think Assange is a cunt and I see no positive long-term effect on gov't transparency coming from this leak. Quite the opposite, in fact. However, these attempts to "shut down" Wikileaks and the calls for Assange's head are just painful. Not surprising, but still painful.

Joe Lieberman ("Independent" senator from CT, aka Emperor Palpatine) was just on Fox News claiming that the New York Times may have broken some laws and the matter should be investigated by the Justice Dept. Maybe Fox News should be investigated as well, for talking about what was in the leaks?

Cobol74 said:
Well that will not happen, European arrest warrant - Europe about the best we can do. ...
I know. They just denied him bail, and set his next extradition hearing for the 14th.
 
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From the You Couldn't Make It Up Department...

U.S. to Host World Press Freedom Day in 2011

U.S. to Host World Press Freedom Day in 2011

Press Statement
Philip J. Crowley
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs
Washington, DC

December 7, 2010

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The United States is pleased to announce that it will host UNESCO?s World Press Freedom Day event in 2011, from May 1 - May 3 in Washington, D.C. UNESCO is the only UN agency with the mandate to promote freedom of expression and its corollary, freedom of the press.

The theme for next year?s commemoration will be 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers. The United States places technology and innovation at the forefront of its diplomatic and development efforts. New media has empowered citizens around the world to report on their circumstances, express opinions on world events, and exchange information in environments sometimes hostile to such exercises of individuals? right to freedom of expression. At the same time, we are concerned about the determination of some governments to censor and silence individuals, and to restrict the free flow of information. We mark events such as World Press Freedom Day in the context of our enduring commitment to support and expand press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age.

Highlighting the many events surrounding the celebration will be the awarding of the UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize at the National Press Club on May 3rd. This prize, determined by an independent jury of international journalists, honors a person, organization or institution that has notably contributed to the defense and/or promotion of press freedom, especially where risks have been undertaken.

The Newseum will host the first two days of events, which will engage a broad array of media professionals, students, and citizen reporters on themes that address the status of new media and internet freedom, and challenges and opportunities faced by media in our rapidly changing world.

The State Department looks forward to working with UNESCO and the U.S. executive committee spearheaded by the Center for International Media Assistance at the National Endowment for Democracy, IREX, and the United Nations Foundation and the many civil society organizations they have brought together in support of the organization of events unfolding in Washington.

For further information regarding World Press Freedom Day Events for program content, please visit the World Press Freedom Facebook page http://www.connect.connect.facebook.com/WPFD2011
 
What is so surprising? The United States has not gone after the various news organizations that have analyzed and published the leaks.
 
There is a huge difference between freedom of the press and leaking confidential documents.

So the Pentagon Papers should never have been leaked?
 
What even makes a document confidential? The seal from a government? In this case the US government? Why should it be confidential to me?
Think for a second if these documents came from Pakistan... or Iran... or even better, North Korea? You'd all be glad, celebrating, making the National Assange Day and having a parade.
Be objective for once.
 
What even makes a document confidential? The seal from a government? In this case the US government? Why should it be confidential to me?
Think for a second if these documents came from Pakistan... or Iran... or even better, North Korea? You'd all be glad, celebrating, making the National Assange Day and having a parade.
Be objective for once.

Agreed. Far from persecuting Assange, USA should be encouraging him, in the hope of some future leaks on other countries.

Besides, it wasn't him that leaked the leak. He's just the press who reported it. You can hardly claim that he's a pentagon official who stole the documents himself - he just published them.
 
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