2012-07-18 WikiLeaks News Update: WikiLeaks opens credit card donations; Bradley Manning's pre-trial hearings resume

WikiLeaks has been financially blockaded without process for 592 days.
Julian Assange has been detained without charge for 589 days.
- 29 days at the Ecuadorian Embassy.
Bradley Manning has been imprisoned without trial for 786 days.
A secret Grand Jury has been active in the U.S. without transparency for 672 days.

WikiLeaks News (General):

• WikiLeaks announced that it is opening up credit card donations after nearly two years of a financial blockade. They will be processing the donations through French company Carte Bleue. WikiLeaks asks supporters to act fast before VISA and MasterCard attempt to shut this avenue down. In order to effectively continue its mission, WikiLeaks hopes to raise a minimum of EUR 1M.
  

• Video of the HOPE Number 9 panel on "WikiLeaks, Whistleblowers, and the War on the First Amendment" is now on YouTube. The panelists were ACLU lawyers Ben Wizner, Catherine Crump, and John Reinstein. Much of the discussion focused on the WikiLeaks Grand Jury.

• David House published his notes from his testimony before the WikiLeaks Grand Jury, June 2011.

• The U.S. Government's expense on secrecy has increased nearly 30% in the past three years. Lt. Col. Jim Gregory, a Pentagon spokesman, said while WikiLeaks' releases may have played a role in the increase, it was not "the largest piece".

• The Australian Prime Minister's department declared Julia Gillard's signature on official documents to be "irrelevant" in an effort to conceal information about her handling of sensitive briefings on WikiLeaks.

• U.S. Congress is considering prosecuting journalists who write articles based on leaked information. Firedoglake's Kevin Gosztola wrote about this initiative.

• An article at Historiographic Anarchy looks into whether the CIA is censoring WikiLeaks records.

• Costa Rica passed a new law which modified espionage to computer-related information transfer, which seems to be an attempt to prevent whistleblowing and WikiLeaks-type disclosures.

• Green Left Weekly posted transcripts of speeches given during the July 15 rally for WikiLeaks and Julian Assange in Sydney. The speeches are from human rights lawyer Kellie Tranter, activist Cassie Findlay, Maritime Union of Australia Sydney branch secretary Paul McAleer, and activist Gail Malone. Videos from the rally are available as well.

• Noseweek published an in-depth article on WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, covering both the past and present, with excerpts from an interview with lawyer Jennifer Robinson.

• Global Post interviewed Frontline Club owner Vaughan Smith about WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and journalism.

• John Pilger spoke at the London's South Bank Literary Festival on WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and the crisis in journalism.

• The final season of 'Damages' is centered on a WikiLeaks and Julian Assange-esque plot.

WikiLeaks News (Releases):

• Using data from WikiLeaks' Afghan War Logs, researchers were able to accurately predict future conflicts, something the Department of Defense was unable to do itself.

• WikiLeaks released more Syria Files, bringing the total to 161.
  • Syrian security received comms from the West.
  • Asma al-Assad went on a £270,000 online shopping spree as violence was escalating in Syria.
  • A Syrian doctor's pleas for asylum fell on deaf ears.
  • George Galloway wrote to Bashar al-Assad calling his government the "last castle of Arab dignity".
  • A series of emails details the relationship between the Syrian Communist Party and Italian and Spanish communists.
  • Young Spanish Communists do not trust the Spanish media and are asking their Syrian comrades for the truth.
  • A Qatari royal and founder of the Qatar International Islamic Bank, Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah al-Thani, began rapidly selling off Syrian International Islamic Bank shares in the final weeks of July 2011.
  • Skepticism over notorious business tycoon and cousin of President Bashar al-Assad Rami Makhlouf's sudden metamorphosis into a do-gooder was not unwarranted.
  • Emails seem to confirm The Guardian's prior claims that emails from "Sam" are from Bashar al-Assad. Al Akhbar went into the details and contents of these emails.
  • U.S. firm Brown Lloyd James encouraged 'fist and open hand' in Syria.
  • Emails show Bashar al-Assad being very critical toward the English language.

• An article in The Sunday Leader looked at WikiLeaks cables and what they say about Sri Lankan politician and businessman Milinda Moragoda.

• The Ecuadorian Government offers a guide on how to read WikiLeaks cables.

Julian Assange News:

• The British Prosecution invited two Swedish prosecutors to attend Julian Assange's extradition hearings under the guise of law students.

• Swedish journalist and feminist Helene Bergman wrote on her first meeting with Julian Assange.

• Law Report host Anita Barraud was on ABC Breakfast discussing Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks Grand Jury, and the possibility of U.S. extradition.

• Author Oscar Swartz was on Agenda discussing what might happen to Julian Assange if he is extradited to Sweden. The full episode is available online.

• Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa stated that his government would not be affected by pressure from other countries regarding the decision on Julian Assange's asylum.

• Just Foreign Policy started a new petition which calls for Sweden to promise it will not extradite Julian Assange to the U.S. Their previous petition urging President Correa to accept Mr Assange into asylum currently has over 7,000 signatures and was hand-delivered to the Ecuadorian Embassy.

• The Australian Greens posted videos of Senator Scott Ludlam asking a question about Stratfor and Julian Assange and then making a statement regarding the vacant and ambiguous response.

• James Johnson CHR posted the script of a speech about Julian Assange, discussing the injustices he has faced and calling on people to support him.

• Asian Correspondent posted a new interview with Christine Assange where she discusses Julian's asylum bid, his current status, and the issues with Sweden's handling of the allegations. Global Ethix also published the first part of an in-depth interview with Christine Assange.

• The new villain in "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2" is "Raul Menendez, described as the “idolized Messiah of the 99%”—a Julian Assange-like character".

• Chilean newspaper El Mostrador has put out a series of ads depicting famous dead people burying the living with the phrase "News changes fast", including one featuring Steve Jobs burying Julian Assange.

Bradley Manning News:

• Bradley Manning has motion hearings all this week.
  • Nathan Fuller wrote a preview of what to expect over the entire week. All the defence motions are available to read.
  • Kevin Gosztola is running daily live blogs and Alexa O'Brien is posting live video updates of this week's hearings.
  • Bradley's lawyer argued that it would be difficult to find jurors who are unaware of the case.
  • Bradley's defence compared the government's effort to prevent the reference of information in damage reports to the case of NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake.
  • Chase Madar was on RT discussing Bradley's hearings and Obama becoming the number one enemy of whistleblowers.
  • Antiwar.com interviewed Nathan Fuller of the Bradley Manning Support Network about this week's motion hearings.
  • Judge Lind allowed prosecutors to proceed with the "aiding the enemy" charged, but warned them that they would have to prove Bradley leaked the documents with that effect in mind.
  • David Coombs argued that Bradley was authorized to read secret U.S. cables and should not be charged with electronically "breaking-in" to the records.
  • The defence argued that President Barack Obama's comments may have damaged the possibility of a fair trail.

• Bradley Manning documentary "The Forgotten Man" is available to watch on YouTube.

• An article at Historiographic Anarchy compared the pretrial confinements of Bradley Manning and an alleged infant rapist.

• Supporters of Bradley Manning held a three day occupation of the Federal Court House in Los Angeles.

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Upcoming Dates & Events:

July 18 - 20: Bradley Manning pre-trial hearings.

August 27 - 31: Bradley Manning pre-trial hearings.

September 19 - 20: Bradley Manning pre-trial hearings.

November 2012 ~ January 2013: Estimated time frame for Bradley Manning's court martial.