Primary Resources for Cablegate
Wikileaks Official Cablegate Site
Wikileaks' Cablegate site is well laid out and easy to navigate, using the metadata navigation links on the left sidebar. This is the most up to date place to search for Cablegate material.
Drawbacks:
LeakyLinks Mirror Monitor
If the official site is ever down, LeakyLinks keeps an extremely useful list of all of the some 2000 mirrors of Wikileaks site - sites that have signed up for the Wikileaks mass mirroring programme. LeakyLinks monitors each mirror and compares it with the official site to determine which of the mirrors are up to date, and which have fallen behind in their mirroring of all of the cables.
Leakfeed
Leakfeed.com provides a handy assortment of different feeds, in various languages, for those who want to keep as up to date as possible on the cables using a feed system. The feeds include the latest 50 releases, a feed for a specific cable, a feed based on search parameters, or a feed based on filter criteria.
Newsroom Panama reports the Secretary General of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PDR) is calling for the removal Salomon Shama, the country's Minister of Tourism, because of revelations in cable released by Wikileaks, wherein the US Ambassador Barbara Stephenson voiced suspicion Shama had "suspected links with drug traffickers." [Source]
Panama’s main opposition party has called for the removal from office of the head of the country’s tourism authority following Wikileaks revelations that the former U.S. Ambassador suspected links to drug traffickers.
The mood on the day was convivial, despite the heavy police presence and the memory of the December 14th's rally looming large, which saw some clashes between protesters and police as a result of the NSW police's refusal to issue a demonstration permit.
The thousand-strong crowd began their march from Town Hall, stopping by the headquarters of the U.S Consulate General at the MLC Centre for some civilized but impassioned shouting, before descending upon Hyde Park.
Speakers at the event included David Shoebridge, the NSW Greens MP; Wendy Bacon, Director of the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism; Marcus Strom, reporter from the Sydney Morning Herald and member of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance; and Antony Loewenstein, independent journalist.
Unfortunately I didn't take notes of the speeches as I was too busy taking pictures, but some of my recollections are as follows:
Bacon spoke of the need to place increased and continual emphasis on the contents of the cable leaks. Although the legal quandaries of Assange and Manning are of serious and global importance, she said , we should not let our focus slip from the scrutiny of those in power that Cablgegate allow us.
Antony Loewenstein pointed out that the hounding and prosecution of whistleblowers in the United States and Australia has increased exponentially during the Obama and Rudd administrations. Loewenstein also remarked on the hostile reaction to Wikileaks from traditional media quarters, noting that many in established media roles see themselves as 'players' and merely cosy up to power when they could be preventing unjust wars from gaining support instead.
The next rally is scheduled for 1pm Sunday February 6th, at Town Hall. Please see our Global Rallies page for upcoming event details.
Setting up death threats against Julian Assange as domain names is a new fad. Just don't try setting up "killobama.org" or "murderthepresident.com". The site http://vivantleakers.org/ is devoted to tracking these explicit threat domain names. At the moment it lists 6 domains of the "kill Assange" variety.
Here's a summary of coverage:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/14/death-threat-domain-names_n_809174.html
From the above HuffPo item:
Go Daddy, the site which registered both killjulianassange.com and julianassangemustdie.com said there is nothing that can be done about either site while they are contentless. Go Daddy registers a domain name every .8 seconds -- any domain name can be registered and there is no human intervention.
More...
Setting up death threats against Julian Assange in the form of a domain name is the new fad. Just don't try setting up "killobama.org" or "murderthepresident.com". The site http://vivantleakers.org/ is devoted to tracking these explicit threat domain names. At the moment it lists 6 domains of the "kill Assange" variety.
Here's a summary of coverage:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/14/death-threat-domain-names_n_809174.html
From the above HuffPo item:
Go Daddy, the site which registered both killjulianassange.com and julianassangemustdie.com said there is nothing that can be done about either site while they are contentless. Go Daddy registers a domain name every .8 seconds -- any domain name can be registered and there is no human intervention.
More...
Teresa Scanlan of Nebraska, newly crowned Miss America, was asked her opinion of WikiLeaks in the final stages of the competition last night.
You know when it came to that situation it was actually based on espionage, and when it comes to the security of our nation we have to focus on security first, and then people's right to know. Because it's so important that everyone in our borders is safe, and so we can't let things like that happen and they must be handled properly... and I think that was the case.
The Times Live reports that a probe team has been appointed by Zimbabwe's attorney general to determine whether any of the leaked diplomatic cables are in breach of Zimbabwe's security laws.
"I am seeking a professional legal opinion from registered lawyers to see whether there is need to prosecute anyone following revelations by the Wikileaks website," Johannes Tomana, the attorney general told the state-run Sunday Mail.
"People should understand that this is a serious matter...after their recommendations, I will then decide whether there is need to open a docket against anyone.
"This is not a commission of inquiry, but a panel of experts whose recommendations will inform whether to prosecute anyone or not."
Tomana was quoted over the holidays as stating that
[T]he WikiLeaks appear to show a treasonous collusion between local Zimbabweans and the aggressive international world, particularly the United States. With immediate effect, I am going to instruct a team of practising lawyers to look into the issues that arise from the WikiLeaks.
However, he denied having made the statement and insisted that appointing an investigative team was beyond his power:
If you look at the scenarios around the appointment of commissions, it must be of national importance and it is only the president who can appoint a commission. I do not know where all this is coming from"
Rudolf Elmer, the founder of Swiss Whistleblower who we wrote about here is in the news again. He will return to Switzerland to appear in court on January 19, where he will face charges of stealing banking information. Two days earlier he will be at the Frontline Club in London to present Wikileaks with CD's containing the offshore bank account details of 2,000 "high net worth individuals" and corporations.
Elmer told the Observer that the details on the CD's will include information on business people, approximately 40 politicians, people who have made their living in the arts and multinational conglomerates, from US, Britain, Germany, Austria, Asia, and all over.
Elmer, says he is releasing the information "in order to educate society". He is concerned about the wealthy individuals and multinationals who use banking secrecy to hide possibly criminal activities such as tax evasion.
"What I am objecting to is not one particular bank, but a system of structures, I have worked for major banks other than Julius Baer, and the one thing on which I am absolutely clear is that the banks know, and the big boys know, that money is being secreted away for tax-evasion purposes, and other things such as money-laundering – although these cases involve tax evasion."
"I agree with privacy in banking for the person in the street, and legitimate activity, but in these instances privacy is being abused so that big people can get big banking organisations to service them. The normal, hard-working taxpayer is being abused also.
Le Monde: Corruption en Tunisie, "ce qui est à vous est à moi" (Corruption in Tunisia, "What is yours is mine")
"Le Monde publie exceptionnellement une traduction en français d'un télégramme diplomatique américain dévoilé par WikiLeaks et décrivant la corruption au plus haut niveau du régime du président Ben Ali. (Le Monde publishes exceptionally a French translation of an American diplomatic cable unveiled by Wikileaks, which describes the corruption at the highest level of President Ben Ali's regime.)"
We are indebted to Julian Assange who apparently instructed his counsel to make available the "Skeleton Argument" for the extradition hearing proper.
It was expected, per my previous post Extradition Part 3 that the issue of extradition (and arrest) for the purposes of investigation only, would be a highly significant issue for the extradition arguments, and so it was.
One part of that document however that shocked me, that I have discussed with colleagues (likewise shocked) was paragraph 88, the legal implications of which I was unaware. It now seems that some (or indeed all?) of the prospective charges of a sexual nature in Sweden do not have as a required element that the prosecution must prove (for a conviction to be sustained) the element of mens rea, the "guilty mind" otherwise known as the fault element.
Much ink has been spilled in the last 24 hours over the insurance file Julian Assange alluded to in his interview with John Pilger of New Statesman. In the event that something should happen to WikiLeaks or Assange himself, insurance files will be released which contain "504 files on one broadcasting organisation." There are also "cables on Murdoch and News Corp," Assange tells us.
Interesting possibilities for the scope of the leaks are vast and include technology, politics and the media. Each in turn.
Technology
News of the Wikileaks files comes at what might be an inconvenient time for Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of News Corp., who is in the midst of launching his "new baby" in conjunction with Apple founder Steve Jobs. The baby is apparently worth $300M to Murdoch and comes in the form of an iPad-only publication called "The Daily" (Source).
News Corp. has also ventured into the domain of online education technology. In November 2010,
In response to Rep. Peter King, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, who had demanded that WikiLeaks and Julian Assange be placed on a blacklist maintained by the US Treasury Department, a department representative said today, "We do not have evidence at this time as to Julian Assange or Wikileaks meeting criteria under which [Treasury] may designate persons and place them on the [sanctions list]."
GLOBAL
Global: Global Protest
Date and time: Saturday 15 January 2011, 18:00h
Details: http://freewikileaks.eu/en/protests/
Global: Anonymous in defense of WikiLeaks and freedom of expression
Date and time: Saturday 15 January 2011
Details: http://www.whyweprotest.net/en/
Event Information: http://forums.whyweprotest.net/forums/planning.283/
Adelaide: POSTPONED
Location: Victoria Sqaure, Adelaide, Australia
Event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=181160868571449
Brisbane: Saturday, January 15, 20:30h
Location: Brisbane Square, Top of Queen St Mall
Event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=153885131325141
Sydney: Saturday, January 15, 13:00h
Location: Sydney Town Hall
Contact: Patrick on 0422 028 113
Event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=163029660407190
Hobart: Saturday, January 15, TBA
Location: Information Day, at Franklin Square and surrounds
Vancouver: Saturday, January 15, 1400h - 1700h
Location: Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, 350 West Georgia Street
Organizer: Pirate Party of Canada
Organizer website: http://www.pirateparty.ca/
Event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=168626646506827
Calgary: Saturday, January 15, 1400h - 1700h
Location: University of Calgary, outside the social sciences building
Organizer: Pirate Party of Canada
Organizer website: http://www.pirateparty.ca/
Event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=174214409267004
Montreal, Qc:
Date and time: Saturday, January 15, 1400h - 16:00h
Jeff Paterson, speaking for the Bradley Manning Support Network, released this statement today about WikiLeaks' contribution towards the defence of the accused whistleblower.
WikiLeaks fulfills pledge to support accused whistle-blower Bradley Manning
Providence, RI, January 13, 2011 -- On Monday, WikiLeaks fulfilled its pledge to contribute toward the legal defense of accused whistleblower Bradley Manning by transferring $15,100 to the legal trust account of Manning's attorney. WikiLeaks publicly solicited donations specifically for the expenses of Manning's legal defense following his arrest in May 2010.
In light of WikiLeaks' current fiscal challenges -- due in large part to the shameful actions of Visa, MasterCard and PayPal in cutting off services to WikiLeaks at the behest of the US government -- the Bradley Manning Support Network commends WikiLeaks for their contribution at this time. "This donation from WikiLeaks is vital to our efforts to ensure Bradley receives a fair, open trial," says founder and steering committee member Mike Gogulski.
The Support Network does not name donors as a matter of course. However, WikiLeaks' pledge and anticipated contribution have been a matter of public record and ongoing interest.
Early last week, The Guardian published an Op-Ed piece by a James Richardson, which attributed to Wikileaks all of the journalistic responsibility for possible fallout in the Zimbabwean government following from the release of the 09HARARE1004 cable.
I covered the initial James Richardson piece several hours after its publication, here on WL Central, where I pointed out that the Guardian in fact bears as much if not more responsibility for the consequences of the publication of any of the Cablegate cables, because it is in fact the media partners who greenlight and redact (or fail to redact) each of the cables, before they are forwarded to Wikileaks.
Here is my post about the inadequate correction by the Guardian, which was performed on Tuesday, a full week after the original article was published. Glenn Greenwald also covered the issue yesterday, in a comprehensive article on Salon.com. There was also some dispute about a minor detail of the case, which I covered here.
The Guardian's Alan Rusbridger yesterday responded to a tweet by Greenwald to the effect that The Guardian would "reply at greater length" to questions he had raised about the satisfactoriness of The Guardian's correction of its James Richardson piece.
Jacob Appelbaum is a security analyst who works on Tor and Wikileaks, and has been very instrumental in discovering weaknesses in the Haystack system, among other things. He has gained notoriety with the US government through acting as a speaker and advocate of Wikileaks, and became widely known last fall after a Rolling Stone article calling him "The Most Dangerous Man in Cyberspace" and "The American hacker behind Wikileaks". Recently he was one of the subjects of a subpoena from the US DoJ requesting information from Twitter.
While the Twitter story broke he was in Iceland, and he returned to the US on Monday. He has been the subject of repeated harassment at airports this year, and apparently Monday was no exception, despite members of the ACLU meeting him at the airport. He will be headed to Toronto this weekend and will be able to experience the independence (or not) of Canadian customs.
His tweets on his most recent experience arriving in the US:
The BBC report on U.S. government intervention in the sentencing of David Kernell does not include the information that WikiLeaks published the contents of what it called a "pseudo-private" account because then-Governor Sarah Palin appeared to be using that account to avoid Alaska's freedom-of-information laws.
The BBC:
A man who broke into Sarah Palin's e-mail has been imprisoned - despite being told he might be spared jail. David Kernell, 23, was found guilty last year of illegally accessing Mrs Palin's e-mail during the 2008 presidential campaign. At the time, a judge suggested he should serve his year-long sentence in a halfway house. But after intervention from US government officials he is now in federal prison, the BBC has learned.
WikiLeaks responded overnight to a call for sanctions against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks from Rep. Peter T. King, chair of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security.
WikiLeaks condemns US embargo move
WikiLeaks today condemned calls from the chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security to "strangle the viability" of WikiLeaks by placing the publisher and its editor-in-chief, Julian Assange, on a US "enemies list" normally reserved for terrorists and dictators.
Placement on the US "Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons List" would criminalize US companies who deal with WikiLeaks or its editor. "The U.S. government simply cannot continue its ineffective piecemeal approach of responding in the aftermath of Wikileaks’ damage," King wrote in a letter to the Secretary of the US Treasury, Geithner. "The U.S. government should be making every effort to strangle the viability of Assange’s organization."
’The Homeland Security Committee chair Peter T. King wants to put a Cuban style trade embargo around the truth—forced on US citizens at the point of a gun,’ said Julian Assange.
Peter King, the Republican who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security and whose hypocritical zeal in persecuting Wikileaks was explored in an article on December 7, 2010 by our own x7o, continues his campaign. According to an article in Nasdaq he has asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Wednesday to prohibit people and companies within the U.S. from doing business with Wikileaks or Julian Assange. He would like both to be placed on the Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons List, which the Treasury Department can use to bar companies and individuals subject to U.S. jurisdiction from conducting business with a given entity.
King noted that some U.S. companies had voluntarily cut off ties to Wikileaks, but that a New York publisher had recently agreed to pay Assange for an autobiography. Assange has said the book fees would help "keep Wikileaks afloat."
"The U.S. government simply cannot continue its ineffective piecemeal approach of responding in the aftermath of Wikileaks' damage," King wrote in a letter to Geithner. "The U.S. government should be making every effort to strangle the viability of Assange's organization."
On Tuesday, after his bail hearing, Julian Assange made a comment about how Wikileaks would soon recommence the release of Wikileaks cables, after having fallen behind the media partners somewhat.
"We are stepping up our publishing for matters related to Cablegate and other materials," Assange said. "Those will shortly be occurring through our newspaper partners around the world -- big and small newspapers and some human rights organizations."
Up until approx. 60 minutes ago, the last released cables Wikileaks had uploaded to its site had been uploaded on the 5th of January.
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