2011-07-06 WikiLeaks Notes: Latest News on #Cablegate Releases & #WikiLeaks

This is a "WikiLeaks News Update," constantly updated throughout each day. The blog tracks stories that are obviously related to WikiLeaks but also follows stories related to freedom of information, transparency, cybersecurity, and freedom of expression. All the times are GMT.

10:10 PM Senator Youri Latortue threatens to file lawsuit against newspaper Haiti Liberté for its reports on a diplomatic cable, where he is described as a mafia boss, a drug dealer and a poster-boy for political corruption.

09:55 PM According to The Guardian, Julian Assange's autobiography deal has collapsed in its original form, after Julian told publishers that his book could 'give ammunition to US prosecutors'. Story is yet to be confirmed, in fact a Canongate spokeswoman stated the contract is 'very much alive'.

09:25 PM New York Magazine has published the unredacted chat logs that were used in their feature Bradley Manning’s Army of One .

08:55 PM Crisis in Pakistan’s energy sector had been anticipated in a series of diplomatic cables dating from 2008, where U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson notes ‘a lack of coordination and absence of any clear line of authority’ on the basis of unefficient policymaking in the sector :

Further complicating Pakistan’s maze of government organizations with responsibility over energy, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources and its 16 subordinate agencies, determine the natural gas, oil, mineral and coal policies for a country which desperately needs energy to support industrial expansion and population growth.

05:55 PM Nominations for the TED Prize are open, they are seeking ‘an exceptional individual who is making a difference in the world’. Take a few moments to nominate Julian Assange by clicking here (very little information is actually required). The prize is worth $100,000.

05:30 PM On July 12, a protest against Julian Assange’s extradition will take place at the British Embassy in Dublin. More details
here.

05:20 PM Wikileaks’ inspired LocalLeaks and HackerLeaks are seeking legal assistance to fight internet censorship.

05:15 PM Digital archivist Cassie Findlay interviews member of American Library Association Tom Twiss on the three resolutions aiming to protect Wikileaks, Bradley Manning and freedom of information, that were recently voted down :

Within ALA we have taken strong positions in the past in support of free speech, free press, and the openness and accountability of government as crucial for a democratic society (…) One of my concerns is that the struggle for these principles may be set back here and abroad for years or even decades if Manning is convicted and/or if the U.S. successfully prosecutes WikiLeaks.

05:05 PM Update( ?) on Julian Assange’s legal team:

Announcement of Mark Stephens’ participation in a conference in Dubai describes him as "counsel to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange".

05:00 PM A piece by Amy Goodman, moderator of the Frontline Club discussion between Julian Assange and Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, on latest Wikileaks developments and the event itself, titled The world owes a debt to WikiLeaks' whistleblowing was just published in The Guardian :

…The extradition proceedings hold a deeper threat to Assange: he fears Sweden could then extradite him to the US. Given the treatment of Pfc Bradley Manning, accused of leaking many of the documents to WikiLeaks, Assange has good reason to be afraid. Manning has been kept in solitary confinement for close to a year, under conditions many say are tantamount to torture.

At the London event, support for WikiLeaks ran high. Afterwards, Julian Assange couldn't linger to talk. He had just enough time to get back to Norfolk to continue his house arrest. No matter what happens to Assange, WikiLeaks has changed the world forever.