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
News
Request to keep WikiLeaks backers' private Twitter data from US Prosecutors denied
‘War on The Internet’, panel with Jacob Appelbaum
UPDATE 18th March 2012 AEST 14.48: Due to gross misrepresentations by the main stream media since Wikileaks announced on 16/17 March 2012 Julian Assange's candidacy for the next Australian Senate elections, it has to be noted that the article below was one written completely and independently of Wikileaks, was written and posted at WL Central as a result only of a general tweet from Wikileaks seeking information. The article represents the independent legal opinion/recitation of Australian law and following, the independent political opinion of the writer in relation to a candidacy of Julian Assange for the Australian Senate.
The writer and WLC simply request that the main stream media cease and desist from those gross misrepresentations (and grasp one essential fact by the way: WLC is not WL). Link to the miscreant msm:
http://wlcentral.org/node/2508
On Christmas day 2011 @Wikileaks posted a most intriguing question on twitter.
Lawyers traditionally, rarely give free legal advice off the cuff in unfamiliar areas without 'due diligence' research. One case of that was the wrong investment advice given at a social function and a lawsuit that followed - moral, that's why you should never ask a lawyer at a party for free advice, you might have to sue - however, on this occasion the question was so intriguing, a quick check of the Commonwealth's Electoral Act section 163 and section 42/43 of the constitution revealed some relatively simple law:
‘“Mosaic theory” describes a basic precept of intelligence gathering: Disparate items of information, though individually of limited or no utility to their possessor, can take on added significance when combined with other items of information.’ [1]
Mosaic theory was what caused intelligence organisations like Australia’s ASIO (Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation) in the mid 20th century to record what seemed like incredibly mundane activities and communications of what were then called ‘persons of interest’. For example, continuous surveillance of the doorway to Sydney’s Communist party headquarters - for decades. What was recorded now tells us more about the changing state of fashion than it ever told us about the (hardly dangerous) activities of those who came and went. But for ASIO, the game was to gather as much as they possibly could. Not only to attempt to build a bigger picture in line with mosaic theory, but more prosaically, to keep themselves in work in the relatively unexciting backwater - in espionage terms - that Australia was in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
As we can see now from the ASIO archives, these surveillance activities produced mammoth quantities of records - in the form of telephone conversation recordings and transcripts, photographs, film and copies of press clippings. These were carefully gathered, collated and filed. And then, for the most part, the information sat unloved in the files unless some alert intelligence officer happened to think of some way to link a new discovery to something previously recorded. They simply did not have the tools to analyse the information they had.
"WikiLeaks is building a state-of-the-art secure submission system. Constructing the system is very complex. Due to the deteriorating state of internet security which directly impacts the ability of sources to communicate with journalists and human rights activists securely, WikiLeaks has decided to postpone the launch initially scheduled for Monday 28th 2011 in the interest of source protection. WikiLeaks' new public electronic drop box is substantially more advanced than its predecessor.
WikiLeaks Truck is still missing after it was taken from its owner by the NYPD at Occupy Wall Street. Artist Clark Stoeckley, the owner and driver, was pulled over and subsequently arrested, possibly unlawfully, for ‘obstructing government administration’.
Clark refused to consent to a search [video here] and the truck was towed by the NYPD. He was released from jail on November 18 but the truck, containing his personal belongings, is still in an unknown location. Although Police assured Clark Stoeckley the WikiLeaks Truck was to be found in an impound lot in Brooklyn, the truck never made it to said impound lot.
Protesters gathered in Canberra this morning for a rally in support of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange and Bradley Manning. The protest happened as U.S. President Barack Obama was visiting Canberra to announce the expansion of U.S. military presence in Australia.
Outside the Australian Parliament House, chants of Assange and Manning, let them go - Let us have our right to know were heard.
Christine Assange spoke against the extradition of her son Julian to the United States, declaring: “my son could be extradited to Sweden and then the U.S. in four weeks” where he could face “U.S. style justice”. She then referred to the appalling treatment of alleged whistleblower Bradley Manning - who has been under pre-trial detention in a military prison for 563 days - and the Australian government’s refusal to intervene for Julian Assange’s protection, saying: “The Australian government has done nothing for Julian.” She condemned the attitude of Australian leaders whom she described as ‘star-struck’ by Obama’s presence.
This is a "WikiLeaks News Update", a news update of stories relating directly to WikiLeaks and also freedom of information, transparency, cybersecurity, and freedom of expression.
Upcoming Appeal Hearing for WikiLeaks whistleblower Rudolf Elmer
On November 17, whistleblower Rudolf Elmer's appeal hearing will take place. Prosecution requests 'convicted on all charges' verdict and increased sentence:
"Prosecution Office Winterthur/Unterland wants to make the case that Swiss Bank Secrecy protects the data in the Cayman Islands and that based on a former employment agreement Swiss Bank Secrecy applies also to Rudolf Elmer working in the Cayman Islands.
Prosecution Office wants to make the case that Swiss industrial secrecy laws also apply to the Cayman Islands in the case of Rudolf Elmer and accuses him of disclosing Julius Baer’s secrets on how it uses the operation in the Cayman Islands providing Trust & Company, Mutual and Hedge Fund services as well as the administering of Special Purpose Vehicles e.g. offshore companies of Carlyle, Washington D.C. within the Julius Baer Cayman office.
I have the greatest respect both for Jennifer Robinson and Julian Assange, both stalwarts in the field of human rights, the former in her capacity of legal representation and advocacy, and the latter as arguably the greatest whistleblower on abuses of human rights, of all times.
Their joint recent article at the Sydney Morning Herald I found to be well argued but I am not yet wholly convinced that the law is wrong on the issue of free speech, (the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 - "RDA" - being the subject of contention here) which they both oppose in law and disagree with the particular decision in Eatock v Bolt [2011] FCA 1103, (Federal Court of Australia.)
It's not that I necessarily oppose the abolition of the RDA, simply I advance the proposition that minorities still need some kind of protection from personal vilification and personal defamation, and that the debate needs more people to become politically involved. On the other hand that cannot or should not extend to the creation of a special category of 'religious defamation' that Islamic nations have recently tried to get up at the UN.
Responding belatedly to my letter of 2011/07/21, the Attorney General Robert McClelland (and therefore the Australian government) have made it clear (yet again) that the David Hicks matter and torture allegations is something to make pious platitudes about but otherwise, they have no desire to do anything else.
Here is the letter:
Note the following six points in summary form, made by McClelland's office:
Ever since John Howard successfully wedged the Australian Labor Party (ALP) over the Tampa incident refusing permission for the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa, carrying 438 rescued Afghans from a distressed fishing vessel in international waters, to enter Australian waters...trigger(ing) an Australian political controversy in the lead up to a federal election, and a diplomatic dispute between Australia and Norway.; the ALP under former Prime Minister Rudd and current PM Gillard have consistently refused to do anything but pander to the Islamophobic element in the Australian polity.
Notwithstanding around some permanent 50,000 illegal overstayers on visitor visas (who not coincidently happen to be predominantly Caucasian), the ALP tries valiantly to outdo the even more obnoxious Liberal National Party coalition whose "dog whistling" on "boat people" who happen to be almost exclusively (of the last decade) Muslims - is legendary.
We will decide who comes to this country and the manner in which they come said John Howard before the November 2001 election. With that, the Convention on Refugees went out the window, and ever since, the ALP instead of using its overwhelming 2007 mandate to educate, has continued to pander to Islamophobic voters.
With the "Malaysian Solution" PM Gillard has followed the LNP suit excepting now, a big slap down from the High Court.
Update 1: Malalai Joya's Australian Schedule
Adelaide
Tuesday, August 30, 7pm Australian Education Union (SA), Main Hall.
Organised by Left Unity, entry by donation.
Ph Gemma 0437 714 786 or gweedall@gmail.com
Armidale
Monday, September 5, 7pm Armidale Town Hall, entry $5/$10/$20
Ph Bea Bleile 0458 752 680 or bbleile@bigpond.net.au or
New England Writers Centre 6772 7210 or newc44@dodo.com.au
Hobart
Thursday, September 1, time and location TBA. Visit sawa-australia.org.
Melbourne
Melbourne Writers Festival, September 3 & 4
Ten years after 9/11: Pakistan Afghanistan & the struggle for democracy, Saturday, September 3, 6:30pm
The pity of war: Afghanistan & Iraq, Sunday, September 4, 2:30pm.
Visit mwf.com.au.
Sydney
Friday, September 9, 5:30pm Marrickville Town Hall (cnr Marrickville & Petersham rds)
Organised by Stop the War Coalition Sydney, entry $15/$10.
Visit stopwarcoalition.org.
Sydney West
Tuesday, September 6, 3:30pm University of Western Sydney, Bankstown Campus
Organised by Stop the War Coalition Sydney, entry $15/$10.
Visit stopwarcoalition.org.
Malalai Joya – the woman Time Magazine listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world - is travelling to Armidale [NSW Australia] to present her talk Afghanistan – 10 years on on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the US and the coalition invasion of Afghanistan. Described as the bravest and most famous woman in Afghanistan she is a writer, feminist and anti-war activist and it is an honour to have the chance to hear her talk after her appearance as a guest speaker at the Melbourne Writer’s festival. Her first visit to Australia was in 2009, when she was promoting her autobiographical book Raising My Voice and she continues to be a voice for her own people and for peace everywhere.
Ms Joya’s teenage years were spent in refugee camps in Pakistan; she later worked as a teacher/activist smuggling books to clandestine schools beneath her burqa.
On Wednesday, August 3rd at 8:30am a protest will be held at New South Wales Supreme Court, 184 Phillip St, Sydney Sydney, Australia. For more information see http://thejusticecampaign.org/.
Important Telephone Numbers:
Brandon Neely, has been a vocal critic of both Guantanamo Bay, and the war in Iraq. And he speaks from experience, since he was both a guard at Guantanamo during the the first six months the camp was open, and served in Iraq during the US invasion. In the course of his advocacy, he has offered testimony to the Center for Human Rights in the Americas, and appeared in numerous articles and on television programs, including a BBC program that recounts how he contacted two of his former prisoners on Facebook to express remorse for what he did. You can also find him on twitter, @BrandonTXNeely. He knew David Hicks while Hicks was incarcerated at GTMO.
To read WL Central's interview with Brandon Neely go here.
On Wednesday July 27, 2011 five members of the Monash Refugee Action Collective (MRAC) gained access to the roof of the campus centre at the Clayton campus as part of a protest against the Gillard government’s treatment of asylum seekers. These students hung several banners over the side of the building including statements of their support for asylum seekers and their stance against both mandatory detention and the ‘Malaysian solution’.
The activists were joined by supporters on the ground that handed out leaflets and made speeches to other students. Their protest was made in conjunction with that of a group of about 20 asylum seekers who climbed on the roof of the Northern Immigration Detention Centre in Darwin on Sunday. MRAC spokesperson Declan Murphy claims that the protesting students were not officially requested to come down by campus staff until 3 pm.
The students requested they be given a means to come down safely from the rooftop, which the administration readily agreed to; however, their request to not be made to face disciplinary action was refused. The students later requested to face action as a group; Terry Hogan, Director of Client Services, spoke on behalf of campus administration, telling the students that they would face disciplinary hearings as individuals, as has been the precedent. Eventually, the students agreed to come down, and were received by their peers to a round of applause.
Mr Hogan, stated that his primary concern was getting the students down safely.
Attorney General of Australia
The Honourable Robert McClelland
Dear Sir
It is with much dismay and revulsion that many Australians, inclusive of legal practitioners, observe the ongoing persecution of David Hicks, under the guise of mounting an action to confiscate his book royalties under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. After five and a half years of incarceration in the legal black hole of Guantanamo Bay, subjected to torture and numerous other breaches of his human rights including an unfair trial, application of retrospective law, abandonment by the then government of Australia (and active cooperation by it in his abuse): it is an act that reiterates, condones or inherently approves of - and raises yet again, the question of accessorial liability for - the internationally recognised, egregious and illegal acts of the US administration at that time.
The facts of the matter are that David Hicks, to end his unjust ordeal, under extreme duress and coercion, pleaded to a charge of providing material aid to a terrorist organisation: that US law being retrospectively applied contrary to the ICCPR and under a flawed Military Commission Act disowned by the current president . The Australian government aided and abetted that plea, knowing of the abuse, and with domestic legislation cooperated with the US to see to it that David Hicks served out the remainder of his sentence in an Australian jail, prohibited from speaking out under a further Control Order, which was at that time, not just, but such a politically convenient result for John Howard, prior to the 2007 election.
Authored by Slackbastard
Introduction
On November 28, 2010 WikiLeaks—in conjunction with other major media organisations—began publishing classified United States diplomatic cables, detailing correspondence between the US State Department and its diplomatic missions around the world.
The publication of these cables has had an enormous impact upon world affairs. In its 2011 Annual Report, the human rights organisation ‘Amnesty International’ nominated the publication as a major catalyst in a series of uprisings against repressive regimes in the Middle East and North Africa—the so-called ‘Arab Spring’.
Not everyone has welcomed the revelations contained in the WikiLeaks publications quite so warmly, however, and governments around the world have begun to implement measures designed to stifle such activity.
In Australia, these measures are being implemented by way of a series of amendments to laws governing the operations of the state’s intelligence and security apparatus.
NB: See end of story for updates, now including an official reply by The National Library of Australia & the US Library of Congress. Additional contact details for National Library and Archives Canada as well as the US Library of Congress have been added.
Submitted by @nyxpersephone.
This article would not have been possible without the help of many Twitter users, most notably @Asher_Wolf, @carwinb, @CassPF, @dexter_doggie, @issylvia, @jaraparilla, @JLLLOW, @m_cetera, @NOH8ER.
A Cataloguing-in-Publication (CiP) record is what you usually see on the second page of a book, right after the title page. It is similar to the catalogue record of a book in a library and contains basic information on the book, such as the author's name and the title of the book. It also contains "keywords" ("subject headers") that may be used by librarians and other information professionals to classify the book in their collections.
CiP records are usually provided upon request by national libraries and/or national bibliographic databases, such as the National Library of Australia (NLA) and the Library of Congress (LOC). So the CiP is a useful thing, albeit rather boring and usually only of interest to librarians and information professionals.
However, in the case of WikiLeaks and Andrew Fowler's book "The Most Dangerous Man in the World", the CiP makes for an interesting story. Examining the keyword section headers of the CiP-record on Fowler's book, one cannot help but notice the last one: "Extremist web sites".
On July 10 and 11, WL Central's Alexa O'Brien moderated a conversation between Göran Rudling, former witness for the defense at the February extradition hearing for Julian Assange, and Peter Kemp, WL Central legal commentator and Australian solicitor.
Göran Rudling is a Swedish citizen and author of, "Sex, lies, no videotape and more lies. False accusations in the Assange case" in which he deconstructs the case against Julian Assange. Mr. Kemp has translated and made commentary on Mr. Rudling's article from its original Swedish.
Mr. Rudling has also recently written "Weird accusation or proof of lies? More about the Assange case", which covers some of the contents of our 2 hour discussion.
Total running time is about 2 hours. There is image degradation the first 30 seconds of Part 2 and 3. Sound quality is of lesser quality comparatively on Parts 2, 3, and 4 only.
Next time you see a negative media report on Julian Assange or Wikileaks, have a think about who is writing it, and why. Behind every character-assassinating "newsy" hit-piece you will discover a writer or a publisher (usually both) with an agenda. And you don't have to look too far to find it.
I was reminded of this after I complained about a particularly nasty article on a Hollywood news site. The author couldn't seem to distinguish Wikileaks' legal activities from illegal hacking by groups like Anonymous and LulzSec. Worse yet, he insisted that Assange and all these hackers were terrorists on a par with Al Qaeda and deserved to be punished accordingly. A little investigation revealed that the writer was heavily involved in the Blu Ray DVD industry - to him, and to Hollywood in general, pirate hackers represent a serious threat to profitability. What's Wikileaks got to do with that? Well, who cares? Just get your hands off our Intellectual Property!
You might expect a more level-headed approach from former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans, a last-minute replacement on a recent Wikileaks public forum. Evans said he was against attempts to “persecute or prosecute” Assange, but nevertheless labelled him an “anarchically-minded autocrat”. He calmly argued that leaks of secret government information “won’t contribute to better government” but would “inhibit internal communication within government” and lead to worse government decision-making.
Evans then wrote an article expounding his views in more detail. He neatly categorised leaks into three categories. While conceding that some leaks genuinely serve the public interest (never mind how or by whom that is defined), he warned that "some leaks are indefensible".
Timothy Lawson & Riccardo Armillei
Three Tamil asylum seekers from Sri Lanka detained in Maribyrnong detention centre have agreed to share their experiences inside Maribyrnong. They are terrified that talking to journalists may cause their applications for refugee status to be impeded or denied. Due to this fear, these three men have agreed to share their experiences on the condition of anonymity.
The asylum seekers, “clients” as they are called by the Serco personnel, came to Australia to escape persecution, harassment, torture and violence. They had hoped for asylum and what have they found instead? A prison.
They refer to themselves as “clients” as well, which is clearly a euphemism for prisoners.
Many spend months and even years in these detention facilities, moving from centre to centre, often divided from their families in the process.
They wait for any information relating to their destiny. They are largely kept in the dark about information relating to the timeframe in which they can expect their claim to be processed.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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