2012-01-05 #WikiLeaks News and Updated Events

News

Request to keep WikiLeaks backers' private Twitter data from US Prosecutors denied

• Yesterday, WikiLeaks backers Jacob Appelbaum, Rop Gonggrijp and Birgitta Jonsdottir lost a bid to keep their private Twitter data from being handed over to US prosecutors, in the context of a Grand Jury criminal investigation on Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.
  According to American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Aden Fine, Birgitta Jonsdottir’s representative, his client may consider asking the appeals court to delay turning over the data.

‘War on The Internet’, panel with Jacob Appelbaum

• The panel will take place in Melbourne, on January 21 (Trades Hall Melbourne cnr Victoria & Lygon, at 3PM).
  Journalist Bernard Keane (@BernardKeane), Greens Senator Scott Ludlam (@SenatorLudlam) and author and researcher on whistleblowing Suelette Dreyfus (@sueletteD) are also listed as speakers in the brochure for this event, described as follows:

  Jacob Appelbaum is a core member of the Tor project for online anonymity. Based at the University of Washington, he has been repeatedly targeted by US law enforcement, who sought a court order for access to his Twitter account and have detained him multiple times for his work and his association with WikiLeaks.
  He's in Australia for a short time only - come along and hear from someone who has a lot to say about sane alternatives to war on the internet.

  The response of governments and corporations to WikiLeaks, Anonymous, the Occupy movement and the Arab Spring has been defensive and warlike. The internet and social media were declared tools of agitation. Behaviour that sought peaceful democratic reform was characterised as treasonous or even terrorist.
  Governments asserted the right to flick the internet off-switch. And law enforcement, Internet Service Providers, telcos and the judiciary were enlisted to harass activists via subpoenas, takedown notices, mercenary denial of services attacks, and direct denial of services based on unexplained breaches of hard to find user licences. It also involved the ritual harassment of activists in the far corners of international airports, dark places reserved for unlawful arrivals and criminal suspects.
  It doesn't have to be like this. Come and hear from an activist, journalist, researcher and legislator challenging the gatekeepers and proposing alternatives to the weaponisation of cyberspace. Come and add your voice to the global conversation.

WikiLeaks cables prove the US forced Spain to adopt SOPA-Style Law

• The United States threatened to place Spain on a trade blacklist if a law similar to the Stop Online Piracy Act wasn’t approved, cables released by WikiLeaks show. The law, known as SEL (or Sinde), was recently enacted by the Spanish government and it allows for websites suspected of copyright infringement to be shut within 10 days after a complaint is filed.

Analysis: US Classification of documents suffers abrupt increase

• Bradley Manning Support Network has published an analysis, by Nathan Fuller, on the Overclassification of information in the US. The article establishes that Government officials are well aware of the problem and a graphic depicting US government classification over time shows an alarming sudden increase in classification activity since 2008, under the Obama administration.
  

  Nathan Fuller concludes by stating: “If the Obama Administration wants to show it’s serious about addressing overclassification and to regain some credibility regarding its ability to protect whistle-blowers, it needs to acknowledge David Coombs’ closing argument explaining why PFC Manning is being unfairly and arbitrarily overcharged.
  In his closing words, Coombs implored the military to “give the government a reality check,” and to live up to its own professed standards of openness and accountability.”

Collection of courtroom sketches from Bradley Manning’s Pretrial Hearing

• This sketch shows Daniel Ellsberg being restrained by MPs after he tried to speak with Bradley Manning during a recess. Click here for a full collection.

Julian Assange’s 400th day under house arrest approaches

• Death and Taxes Mag published an article on the 400th day of Julian Assange’s detainment without charge (January 11). His house arrest has functioned, the article states, “as a de facto political detainment”:
  “Assange is thus a political detainee, and the lengthy process has largely been successful at tightening a logistical and financial vice grip around WikiLeaks’ free information journalism.”

A Statement about the path and political contributions of Julian Assange

• A website campaigning for Julian Assange’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize 2012 - assangefornobel.com – published a statement “from an old friend” on Julian Assange’s path and achievements.
  Part of it reads:

  “As a citizen of multiple countries, fortunate enough to travel widely and observe societies in various states of freedom, revolution and redefinition, I motion that there is no other individual within the world who has fought against the realities of our time to work so hard and so selflessly for positive change through nonviolent means on a global scale.”

  Assange for Nobel asks readers to write their own Statement on why Julian deserves to win a Nobel Peace Prize in 2012, then send it to: contact@assangefornobel.com

January 7: Edmonton (Canada) - Peaceful Protest To Close Guantanamo & Bring Omar Khadr Home.

January 11: Day of Action Against Guantanamo: A rally will take place in Washington DC, with the presence of Guantanamo historian and WikiLeaks media partner Andy Worthington who will also be attending other rallies across the country.
Similar protests are planned in Canada (Ottawa and Toronto).

January 11: Julian Assange will have been under house arrest without charge for 400 days. Please visit Justice4Assange.com for more information on the extradition case.

January 14: Bradley Manning will have been in prison for 600 days.

January 16: A recommendation on whether Bradley Manning faces court-martial is expected. Final decision has no date set.

January 21: “War on the Internet” panel in Melbourne with Jacob Appelbaum, Bernard Keane, Senator Scott Ludlam and Suelette Dreyfus. More information here.

February 2: Julian Assange’s extradition appeal will be heard by the Supreme Court. Hearing will likely last 2 days. A support demonstration is planned outside of the Supreme Court, starting at 9AM.

April 25-29: WikiLeaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson and Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi, who has worked on several WikiLeaks releases, will speak at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia (Italy).

May 23: Julian Assange will speak at the Enterprise Information Management Congress 2012 (Netherlands).

• Join wlfriends.org today.

Julian Assange
395 days under house arrest without charge.

• Show your support for Julian Assange at the Supreme Court of London, February 1st, at 9 AM.

• Nominate Julian Assange and WikiLeaks for the Nobel Peace Prize 2012: campaign website.

• Contribute to the Julian Assange Defense Fund.

• Send at least one of the several call to action draft letters addressed to European organizations and Members of the European Parliament requesting action over the unjust treatment of Julian Assange.

Bradley Manning
592 days detained in military jail.

• I am Bradley Manning campaign website with photos of supporters from around the world. Submit your own!

• A challenge proposed by the Bradley Manning Support Network: Stand with Bradley until his trial is over - pledge a monthly donation for the length of the trial. For more details see bradleymanning.org

Rudolf Elmer

• Liberté Info started a campaign to make whistleblower Rudolf Elmer’s trial an international issue. The campaign page is constantly updated with new developments on his case. Readers are encouraged to share.