United States

Image from WikiLeaks

• WikiLeaks, partnered with over 25 media organizations, began the release of "The Global Intelligence Files," a collection of over 5 million emails from the Texas-based intelligence company Stratfor. So far 167 files have been released. Here are some ways to follow the releases:
  • Offcial hashtag #gifiles on Twitter
  • WikiLeaks' official Twitter feed
  • WikiLeaks Press' Twitter feed
  • Greg Mitchell's live-blog at The Nation
  • Kevin Gosztola's live-blog at Firedoglake

On the 27th of February 2012, Wikileaks released the following statement:

"LONDON—Today, Monday 27 February, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files – more than five million emails from the Texas-headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The emails date from between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal’s Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defense Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor’s web of informers, pay-off structure, payment-laundering techniques and psychological methods, for example:

"[Y]ou have to take control of him. Control means financial, sexual or psychological control... This is intended to start our conversation on your next phase" – CEO George Friedman to Stratfor analyst Reva Bhalla on 6 December 2011, on how to exploit an Israeli intelligence informant providing information on the medical condition of the President of Venezuala, Hugo Chavez.

• Bradley Manning had his arraignment on February 23, which lasted 45 minutes. Some key developments are as follows:
  • Bradley deferred both his plea as well as his decision to be tried by judge or panel.
  • The prosecution requested a trial date of August 3rd, which would have Bradley at over 800 days of pre-trial confinement.
  • The next court session is scheduled for March 15.

  For in-depth coverage of the arraignment, see Alexa O'Brien's transcript and Kevin Gosztola's live-blog.
  (Links for further coverage available at the end of this update.)

This transcript was taken by hand at Bradley Manning's arraignment on February 23, 2012 at 1:00 p.m., Fort Meade, MD.

Please send corrections to carwinb@hushmail.com.

Bradley Manning's arraignment was held in same court room as his Article 32 Pretrial Hearing. You can read transcripts from the first three days of that proceeding.

The courtroom for Bradley Manning's arraignment is lit dramatically with incandescent parabolic reflectors, and not fluorescent lights as was his Article 32 Pretrial Hearing.

Military personnel are dressed in full armed service uniforms. They had worn camos during the Article 32 Pretrial Hearing.

Many of the same individuals from the Article 32 Pretrial Hearing, like Lt. Hughes, are guarding the arraignment proceeding.

I went as a member of the public, even though WL Central was considered a credential media organization by the Pentagon "for this hearing." I did so, because I wanted to be in the courtroom.

Captain John Haberland, a spokesman for the Military District of Washington (MDW), sat behind me taking notes and coughing. He had also been at the Article 32 Pretrial Hearing. (I would have brought a hearing aid, but, alas, they don't allow electronic devices in courtroom.)

Military judge Col. Denise R. Lind is presiding. She is middle aged, with blondish coiffed hair, spectacles, and a long black robe.

Prosecution is Captain Ashden Fein, Captain Joe Morrow and Captain Angel Overgaard.

Defense is Mr. David Coombs, Major Matthew Kemkes and Captain Paul Bouchard.

• WikiLeaks has released a torrent for its insurance file, which is 64.3 GB.




• Swedish tabloid Expressen published an article which said WikiLeaks is planning a "massive smear campaign" against Sweden and its Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. They say they received an "internal WikiLeaks memo" which discusses cables that reveal Bildt as a US informer. WikiLeaks tweeted multiple responses to the article including:
  
  

  Expressen's WikiLeaks' "memo" on Carl Bildt: Rolling Stone magazine from January rollingstone.com/politics/news/… #svpol

• UNESCO held a 2-day conference entitled, “The Media World after WikiLeaks and News of the World.” It sparked controversy after WikiLeaks issued a press statement denouncing UNESCO for blocking all speakers from WikiLeaks. There is a live-blog and chirpstory of the first day, as well as a chirpstory covering the full conference and events leading up to it.

By Nikolas Kozloff

As the presidential election nears, Republicans are relying on their usual fear-mongering tactics by playing on supposed external threats such as Iran. Already it seems such a strategy seems to have moved Obama to the right with the president going out of his way to issue stern warnings toward the Islamic Republic during his State of the Union address. What is more, in a worrying development the Republicans are doing their utmost to link Iran with the Latin American populist left and Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, which could have undesirable and unforeseen consequences on U.S. foreign policy.

According to secret U.S. State Department cables recently released by whistle-blowing outfit WikiLeaks, American diplomats from Hillary Clinton on down have little evidence of a significant military alliance between Iran and Venezuela, yet that didn't stop surging Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum from exaggerating the threat from this quarter in a recent debate. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Chair of the House Foreign Relations Committee, has meanwhile been holding hearings on the supposed Iranian-Latin American threat to the U.S.

Hopefully the Democrats will not seek to echo the Chávez-Ahmadinejad military angle which will only serve to further inflame the tattered state of U.S.-Venezuelan relations, yet it's no secret that the Obama administration, like its predecessor, would like to rid itself of the populist left current in Latin America. Such combative posturing is not only regrettable but counter-productive. Indeed, further cables released by WikiLeaks suggest that, with a little bit of effort, Washington might be able to mend fences with Chávez. Whatever the Venezuelan leader may say in public about the U.S. and its wider objectives throughout the region, in private Chávez has been more than happy to search for common ground and extend an olive branch.

WikiLeak's rise to prominence as the world's first stateless media organization has carried it into the center of a massive storm of controversy. On one hand WikiLeaks and Julian Assange have widespread global support and have won numerous journalism awards. On the other hand, the US government portrayed them as a criminal entity, as a sort of spy organization and certainly not a member of the press protected by the First Amendment. Some top US officials called Assange a high-tech terrorist and should be prosecuted under the Espionage Act of 1917.

With inflamed rhetoric, many in the mainstream media have negatively framed the narrative of this new journalistic force and tried to distance themselves from it. By doing so, they attempted to deflect perception of WikiLeaks from the appearance of legitimacy associated with the word 'journalism'. One tactic was sensational personal attacks, with classic tabloid character assassination of Assange to distract the public from asking questions about the real actions of WikiLeaks. The other was sophisticated intellectual persuasion, where the corporate media criticized the organization, particularly questioning its journalistic status.

The RP-US Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA), a 10-year old military pact that requires the Philippines to service the logistics needs of the US military when they are in the country, is set to expire by November 2012. The MLSA, along with the VFA and MDT, is a vital cog in the permanent and continuing US military presence in the country. Its expiry this year occurs at a time when the US and Philippine governments are in negotiations for additional US troop presence in the country in line with the new US defense strategy of “re-balancing” towards Asia.

Not as well known as the Visiting Forces Agreement, the MLSA is an executive agreement entered into by the Arroyo regime in 2002 and was in effect for five years. It was renewed in November 21, 2007 after a review that was not disclosed to the public. It is set to expire on November 21, 2012.

The MLSA allows the US military to access Philippine facilities for a wide array of services such as refueling, re-supply, billeting of troops, transportation and so on. It practically allows the US to avail of the services that are typical of US bases, so long as these are during “approved activities”.

Under the MLSA, the Philippine government provides supplies such as food, water, petroleum, oils, lubricants, clothing, ammunition, spare parts and components.

Support and services include billeting, transportation (including airlift), communication services, medical services, operations support (and construction and use of temporary structures incident to operations support), training services, repair and maintenance services, calibration services, storage services, and port services. Storage units and ports shall at all times remain under the control and supervision of the host state

At Day 1 of the Julian Assange extradition hearing

On the night before the hearing began, one dedicated Assange supporter in London told me that she planned to arrive at Court by 6 a.m., ahead of the throngs that she expected based on the turnout at Assange's hearing last November. No doubt the freezing February temperatures kept large crowds at home this morning; instead of the masses anticipated, there were only a few orderly lines segregated into cameramen, sign-wielding protesters, and the courtroom audience -- a mix of media representatives, Assange faithfuls, and the curious. I was in the latter line, which was also peppered with a few Occupy London luminaries. During the next hour of collective shivering, I met journalists from all over Europe and the U.S., who now braved frigid weather to witness this historic proceeding. Arriving at around 8:30, one hour before the Court opened to the public, I witnessed the expectant crowd devolve into a chorus of complaints as the early-morning, late-winter wind chill robbed our fingers of almost all feeling.

But, mercifully, 9:30 at last arrived -- as did Assange, soon after. The white-haired WikiLeaks founder offered a spirited hello to the crowd and preceded us into the Court.

At the entry, Court staff had handed out a media briefing, which included the following details:
"Issue: Whether a European Arrest Warrant ('EAW') issued by a public prosecutor is a valid Part I EAW issued by a 'judicial authority' for the purpose and within the meaning of sections 2 and 66 of the Extradition Act 2003.

News

• The activation of WikiLeaks’ social network Friends of WikiLeaks is to happen very soon.

• A US Embassy cable published by WikiLeaks shows Sri Lankan politician Basil Rajapkasa acknowledged the military shelling of a safe zone during meetings with a Norwegian Ambassador.

• RT will be one of the broadcasters of Julian Assange’s upcoming television show, it was announced today. It is important to note, however, that the series is independently produced under Julian Assange’s supervision.
  According to RT, Julian Assange will film the first episode this week, just a few days before his Supreme Court extradition hearing, and the series will be called ‘The World Tomorrow’. It is expected to premiere in March.
  To enquire about licensing the show for a large audience please email: contact@quickrollproductions.com

• In a segment of the The Alyona Show, Alyona Minkovsi responds to mainstream media criticism of Julian Assange and of the licensing of his series by RT.
  
  

News

• WikiLeaks issued a Press Release announcing the launch of a global television series in mid-March, hosted by Julian Assange, who will hold “in-depth conversations with key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries from around the world”, under the theme ‘The World Tomorrow’.
  The series will be aired in 10 weekly half-hour episodes and its projected viewership is 600 million viewers. It will be available online as well. To enquire about licensing the series: contact@quickrollproductions.com

• The UK Supreme Court released the following details regarding public attendance of Julian Assange’s extradition hearing (February 1 and 2):

  - Predicting a large number of visitors, the Supreme Court has arranged for an extra courtroom, where a feed of the proceedings will be shown;
  - The hearing will live streamed online as well, by Sky News;
  - Seats will be distributed according to arrival order.

• Christine Assange, Julian Assange’s mother, has created a blog to inform the public of the true facts surrounding Julian's extradition case, due to lack of accurate media coverage.

This is a chronological list of charges against Bradley Manning alleged by the US government. They are derived from the July 5, 2010 original charge sheet and the March 1, 2011 charge sheet.

The charges from the original charge sheet are below in italics, and grouped beneath corresponding charges from the latest March 1, 2010 charge sheet.

News

• In a message published today at jaraparilla.blogspot.com (the blog of WikiLeaks supporter @jaraparilla), Julian Assange’s mother Christine Assange offers useful tips on how to support Julian on January 26 - Australia Day.
  No matter what your location is, feel free to follow and share the suggestions below in order to raise awareness about Julian Assange’s legal battle against unjust extradition.
  
  
  "AUSTRALIA DAY this Thursday January 26th will be just 5 days before Julian Assange's UK Supreme Court hearing!

  PROTEST the Australian Government's abandonment of a fellow Aussie, Walkley award winning journalist, and Editor in Chief of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange!

  SHOW YOUR SUPPORT for Julian ahead of the hearing by flying a photo of Julian and a message of support along with your Aussie flag or other merchandise!

  GET CREATIVE!!!

  DISCOUNT/DOLLAR SHOPS have a huge range of cheap Aussie flags/fun merchandise for you to use!

  HANG a large Aussie flag from your balcony or veranda with "Free Assange "on it! Fix a photo of Julian to both sides of a flag & WAVE proudly!

  MAKE an Australia Day sarong or a simple top, a bandana, headband, armband, or simple doggie coat and affix a photo or message of support!

News

• ACLU and EFF, on behalf of Birgitta Jonsdottir, have filed an appeal requesting secret court dockets and secret orders pertaining to the Twitter/WikiLeaks case be unsealed. The appeal was filed jointly with two other twitter users who also had their private data subpoenaed as a result of an investigation on WikiLeaks – Jacob Appelbaum and Rop Gonggrijp. The decision requiring Twitter to turn over their records is not being challenged.

• Important developments took place recently regarding Bradley Manning’s case:

  - A second recommendation to court-martial Bradley was sent to Maj. Gen. Michael S. Linnington, commander of the Military District of Washington, who will make the final decision;

  - The US Government again refused to allow the production of key defense witnesses;

Lt. Col. Paul Almanza, the Investigating Officer at Manning's Article 32 Pretrial Hearing is an "impartial fact finder".

Please disregard the rumor that he is a career prosecutor at the Department of Justice (since 2002, the year he received his license); or that the Department of Justice has an ongoing criminal investigation into WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.

Any "reasonable person given the facts would never doubt Almanza's impartiality" given that his work address as Chief of Staff for the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice is publicly listed as US Dept. Of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave., Nw Washington, DC 20530; or that he sent correspondence to Manning's counsel using his DOJ email.

Manning's defense lawyer, David Coombs reports that Colonel Carl R. Coffman Jr., the Commander of Joint Base Myer and the Special Court Martial Convening Authority, [*pictured to the left] denied the defense's request to conduct oral depositions of nine essential witnesses including former Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, and current Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

Coffman determined that the "difficulty, expense, and/or effect on military operations outweighed the significance of the expected testimony," despite the possibility of the death penalty for Manning.

These same witnesses were requested by the defense for Manning's Article 32 Pretrial Hearing, and were denied by Lt. Col. Paul Almanza, a civilian career prosecutor at the Department of Justice. Almanza deemed that the "significance [of their testimony] does not outweigh military and governmental operations," and the witnesss were "not reasonably available given the importance of their respective position."

David Coombs responded to Coffman's denial on his blog yesterday. Coffman's decision, he said, "is yet another example of the government improperly impeding the defense's access to essential witnesses."

Ucityreview.com says "Paul David Adkins grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He attended Mercer and Washington University. He lives in New York." 

Borderlinepoetry.com says, "Paul David Adkins grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He entered the Army in 1991 and has served in Iraq three times and Afghanistan once since 2002. He has poems published or pending in Crab Creek Review, Rattle, Artful Dodge and Chattahoochee Review, among others." The unclassified defense witnesses list calls him, "▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓", but you can find him on twitter @pdadkins29, where he describes himself as, "Husband dad *poet* conneisseur [sic] of Mountain Dew"

Indeed, "2nd BCT intelligence noncommissioned officer in charge Master Sgt. Paul David Adkins, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla." was the highest ranking officer and responsible for data security in Bradley Manning's TSCIF.  According to a report in Politico, Adkins "was reduced to a sergeant first class recently due to 'being derelict in his duties,' according to a defense filing. Coombs suggested that Adkins is appealing that reduction."

This is a "WikiLeaks News Update", a daily news update of stories relating directly to WikiLeaks and also freedom of information, transparency, cybersecurity, and freedom of expression.

News

• Information about media coverage of Julian Assange’s Supreme Court extradition appeal, on February 1 and 2, was shared today.
  According to Jerome Taylor, reporter for The Independent, the Supreme Court itself indicated that the hearing will be broadcast live, by Sky News, on this page.
  And that due to "considerable public interest", the Supreme Court is enforcing accreditation for the hearing, with priority given to press from the UK, Sweden and Australia.
  Judgement is likely to be reserved for a few weeks, Jerome also tweeted.

  (Two support demonstrations are planned on this date: one at the Supreme Court in London, from 8:30AM, and other at Sydney's Town Hall, 5:30PM.
  More details under Upcoming WikiLeaks Dates.)

• It has been determined that one of the witnesses Bradley Manning’s defense is attempting to question prior to his trial is Hillary Clinton, despite her name being blacked out in the document filed by his lawyer. Clinton is one of the many witnesses that Bradley Manning’s defense originally intended to call to testify but was denied.

This is a "WikiLeaks News Update", a daily news update of stories relating directly to WikiLeaks and also freedom of information, transparency, cybersecurity, and freedom of expression.

News

• Suggestions made to the US House of Representatives for Julian Assange and WikiLeaks to be tried in a military court, under a style of law similar to the National Defense Authorization Act 2012 (NDAA), pre-date the NDAA by approximately one year.
  On the 30th November 2010, Representatives Franks, Lamborn and King urged the creation of new legislation in order to prosecute Julian Assange as a terrorist, and hinted at his detention in Guantanamo Bay:

  "I wish and I hope that there’s a way that we can find a way to prosecute a man like that, that we can protect ourselves. And if we fail to do that, or even if we’re successful in that and it exposes some other vulnerabilities, I suggest, Mr. Speaker, that this Congress take a look at some new legislation, a new structure of law, that’s really not brought about because of the actions of Mr. Assange but brought about because of the actions of our enemies, our terrorist enemies.", a transcript of their speeches reads.