Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
|
|
http://wlcentral.org/
2010-12-05: Cablegate: News from the infowar front [Update 1]
Submitted by admin on Sun, 12/05/2010 - 16:02
"The first serious infowar is now engaged. The field of battle is WikiLeaks. You are the troops," wrote John Perry Barlow on Twitter.
The censorship vs. free speech battle is escalating. This week has seen Amazon, Tableau, EveryDNS and PayPal dropping WikiLeaks services in quick succession, DDoS attacks that caused the site to go offline multiple times, and mounting political pressure from the US (2), Australian and French governments.
The US government went so far as to warn Switzerland against granting Julian Assange political asylum, reports 20 Minuten. In an open letter in Der Sonntag, the US ambassador to Switzerland, Donald Beyer, wrote that "Switzerland will have to consider very carefully whether to provide shelter to someone who is a fugitive from justice." However Swiss politicians including Cédric Wermuth, president of the Young Socialist Party, Bastien Girod, president of the Greens National Council, and the Swiss Pirate Party have reiterated their support for Assange and willingness to grant him asylum.
The onslaught is creating growing resistance. "American pressure to dissuade companies in the US from supporting the WikiLeaks website has led to an online backlash in which individuals are redirecting parts of their own sites to its Swedish internet host," writes The Guardian. "At the same time, scores of sites "mirroring" WikiLeaks have sprung up – by lunchtime today, the list was 74-strong and contained sites that have the same content as WikiLeaks and – crucially – link to the downloads of its leaks of 250,000 US diplomatic cables." The mirror list counts now hundreds of domains.
WikiLeaks' Swiss host, Switch, said that there was "no reason" why the site should be forced offline, despite demands from France and the US, in a statement released by the Swiss Pirate Party. French host OVH declared that it was up to judges, and "not up to the politicians or OVH to request or decide the closure of the site," in a response to the French government.
John Karlung, the CEO of WikiLeaks's Swedish host, Bahnhof, told The Daily Beast that "The service is provided in Sweden — where Swedish law applies. We are not subject to American law, Chinese laws or Iranian laws either, for that matter. WikiLeaks is just a normal business client. We do not treat them any different than any other client." He said that the US had not contacted the company to ask it to cancel hosting for WikiLeaks, and when asked whether Bahnhof would comply if such a request were made, he answered "Of course not."
Evgeny Morozov has cautioned in The Financial Times that the US backlash against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange may have unintended consequences: "WikiLeaks could be transformed from a handful of volunteers to a global movement of politicised geeks clamouring for revenge. Today’s WikiLeaks talks the language of transparency, but it could quickly develop a new code of explicit anti-Americanism, anti-imperialism and anti-globalisation.[...] An aggressive attempt to go after WikiLeaks – by blocking its web access, for instance, or by harassing its members – could install Mr Assange (or whoever succeeds him) at the helm of a powerful new global movement able to paralyse the work of governments and corporations around the world."
|
|
Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
|
|
i still think wikileaks is cointelpro and wouldn't trust it as far as i could throw it.
here's one i got the other day, a great example of layered disinformation:
http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=20849
klimmer, wikileaks wasn't around on 9/11. wake up and understand why. the information coming out of it is yesterday's news. it has a whole bunch of people diving into worthless speculation. and it got you to forget about that missile out of the california bight. when sh#t happens, think about the last sh#t that happened. then you'll be looking at what they want you to forget.
does anyone remember what came fast on the heels of 9/11? nice little anthrax scare, everyone forgot about the attacks. years later, picking up on what's left of the evidence, conspiracy nuts get to argue about all the anomalies. then they find the anthrax came from strains traceable to u.s. military labs, but by then it was all about WMDs in the middle east. keep one step ahead of public attention and you can get away with murder, murder, murder.
assuage assange!
|
|
Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
|
|
Tony,
For a very brief moment I thought that Wikileaks could be COINTELPRO.
But the way it is all going, and the support here in the US and around the World that Julian Assange and Wikileaks is getting I do not think so.
Wikileaks has a back-up insurance plan, massive leaks guarded by an unbreakable encryted code, that will automatically be given out if anything happens to Julian Assange or Wikileaks. And then there will be 100,000 copies around the world that can be instantly opened, of truly, truly embarrasiing crimes and corruption.
I truly think that our US Government is worried. We the US citizens are not. We didn't do these crimes. But we and the World do want to know about them that is for sure. Looks like judgement day came early for the US and in a very public way. This could be a very good thing. Stop the crime and corruption. Change for the better. Do your public service jobs honorably. What do they not get and understand about that? And when you don't you are going to get exposed.
Julian Asssange and Wikileaks is about exposing corruption and crimes at the highest levels.
Always do the right thing. Abide by the Laws of the land. Have good morals and ethics, and there shouldn't be a worry. Treat others with respect. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."
Julian Assange. The Whistleblower. Traitor or Hero? [Kindle Edition]
Heinz Duthel (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/Julian-Assange-Whistleblower-Traitor-ebook/dp/B003XNT9R6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291537771&sr=1-1
I'm reading it on Kindle. I say HERO.
|
|
TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
|
|
Al Globus
Fair Game, the movie. Just saw it. Go. It's important to remember that the the highest officials in a supposedly patriotic conservative government deliberately leaked the identity of a covert CIA agent in the middle of numerous operations. They committed this treason to hurt her husband because he demanded that our President tell us the truth when leading us into war.
|
|
Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
|
|
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a disclosure of some of the most sensitive information revealed by WikiLeaks so far, the website has released a secret cable listing sites worldwide that the U.S. considers critical to its national security.
The locations cited in the diplomatic cable from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton range from undersea communications lines to suppliers of food, medicine and manufacturing materials.
The Pentagon declined to comment Monday on the details of what it called "stolen" documents containing classified information. But a spokesman, Col. David Lapan, called the disclosure "damaging" and said it gives valuable information to terrorists.
|
|
Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
|
|
Wikileaks has a back-up insurance plan, massive leaks guarded by an unbreakable encryted code, that will automatically be given out if anything happens to Julian Assange or Wikileaks. And then there will be 100,000 copies around the world that can be instantly opened, of truly, truly embarrasiing crimes and corruption.
I see, so you are saying that he is a simple blackmailer and extortionist?
Julian Asssange and Wikileaks is about exposing corruption and crimes at the highest levels.
Wait a minute! I thought you just said that he was holding it back! So is he exposing it, or keeping it back? Where is this "truly, truly, embarrasiing crimes and corruption"???
I truly think that our US Government is worried. We the US citizens are not.
Make VERY sure that you understand that you do NOT, in any way, speak for the citizens of the US. You are certainly not the elected representatives of the US, as is the US Gov't.
|
|
Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
|
|
From the Rolling Stone article:
"By the time Appelbaum returned to America 12 days later and was detained at Newark, newspapers were reporting that the war documents identified dozens of Afghan informants and potential defectors who were cooperating with American troops. (When asked why Wikileaks didn't redact these documents before releasing them, a spokesman for the organization blamed the sheer volume of information: "I just can't imagine that someone could go through 76,000 documents.")"
|
|
Shaun_the_Conqueror
Trad climber
Arcata, CA
|
|
Attorney: Assange Offered to Meet with Prosecutors
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is said to remain in a secret location in Britain amidst an international warrant for his arrest. Assange is wanted for questioning on allegations of inappropriate sexual contact in Sweden. Reports have emerged in the last week that Assange’s two accusers bragged about their separate encounters with him and that prosecutors are targeting him for having consensual sex without a condom. One of the accusers has also been described as having ties to a right-wing Cuban exile group linked to the CIA. Assange meanwhile says he’s received hundreds of death threats, including some directed at his children. Assange’s attorney, Mark Stephens, said Swedish prosecutors had yet to make contact with Assange or his legal representatives.
Mark Stephens: "Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny] knows how to do that, so the question you have to ask yourself is 'Why would she run away from the opportunity to interview Julian in Stockholm, an opportunity to meet him at a Swedish embassy, or indeed to do it by video conference, where she records the evidence in Sweden, so Swedish evidence?' All of those are perfectly normal and proper approaches, yet she has thrown them out of the window. This doesn’t seem to be about an attempt to get at truth or justice; it seems to be a persecution, not a prosecution."
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/6/headlines
|
|
Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
|
|
Also from Rolling Stone:
"In distributing Tor, Appelbaum doesn't distinguish between good guys and bad guys. "I don't know the difference between one theocracy or another in Iran," he says. "What's important to me is that people have communication free from surveillance. Tor shouldn't be thought of as subversive. It should be thought of as a necessity. Everyone everywhere should be able to speak and read and form their own beliefs without being monitored. It should get to a point where Tor is not a threat but is relied upon by all levels of society. When that happens, we win.""
I think this is the real weakness. For these folks, they pray at the altar of their technology, and they consider it their God. There have been any number of examples of technical people through the ages who have made these mistakes, who pursued technology with a blind eye to what would be done with it, believing that the technology is absolutely neutral. The absolute example is "guns don't kill people, people kill people". But when guns are introduced to indiginous societies, the slaughter begins.
I'm reminded of Oppenheimer, the mind behind the A-bomb, who later had great reservations, and opposed the development of the H-bomb, later to have his security clearance revoked. Increasingly concerned about the potential danger to humanity arising from scientific discoveries, Oppenheimer joined with Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Joseph Rotblat, and other eminent scientists and academics to establish what would eventually become the World Academy of Art and Science in 1960.
These Wiki guys don't care about the damage they create. They are true believers in their tool.
|
|
k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
|
|
Wait a minute! I thought you just said that he was holding it back! So is he exposing it, or keeping it back? Where is this "truly, truly, embarrasiing crimes and corruption"???
Ken, are you trying to convince us your yourself of your ignorance?
PS. Assange is not blacking mailing anybody because he is not extorting any payment, he is merely protecting himself using a threat of disclosure.
|
|
the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
|
|
There's defineatly some hypocrisy with the wikileaks folks. They say they want privacy from the govt. but then they release secret govt. files?
I think it's good that someone is out there willing to be a whistleblower and expose illegal acts. But they are not being selective with what they release and exposing secrets to our enemies that have nothing to do with anything illegal or wrong. So the govt. will think up ways to get them and/or shut them down and they'll deserve it because they are crossing a line.
|
|
Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
|
|
From what I have read Wikileaks offered to the DoD/Pentagon an opportunity to go through and redact sensitive information. The DoD/Pentagon declined.
Wikileaks worked with 5 large international news agencies to do so, prior to releasing the cables.
The fact is, if you break the law domestically or internationally and do criminal acts, and then try to hide them under the guise of State Secrets, you run the risk of being outed by government workers who have a good moral conscience and actually love this Country and do not want to see it do wrong. And they are willing to do so, to take the risks to tell the truth. They are not criminals but the conscience of our Nation. We need them. They are unsung heroes.
Wikileaks and other organizations like this are perfect public venues to hold elected officials to account.
Because as we have seen they won't do it themselves, and the MSM is corporate owned so they are no longer going to do it. Whistle-blowers and Wikileaks is a necessary way of holding them to account.
Expose them publicly and embarrass them and perhaps they will change for the better and begin to do their jobs morally and ethically. Assume everything you do will get exposed publicly and do your job accordingly.
I have said it before and I will say it again. Everyone will have a Wikileaks moment on Judgement Day. Judgement Day for the USA came a little earlier than expected.
Change for the better. Stop the lies. Stop the fraud. Stop the killing. Stop the wars. Stop the corruption.
Be moral and ethical. Do your elected or government job with honor.
It's that simple.
|
|
Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
|
|
Rojox, it appears that you believe in the Superhero complex: If you had superpowers, then it would be peachy, because you are perfect and do everything perfectly, and with your absolute power, you would make for peace and justice in the world, for everyone.
But wait a minute. In a later post, you advocate using the superpower of the US to Nuke a million innocent N Korean slaves to make yourself feel better and take out one man you don't like.
What do I believe in? I believe in a society and culture of law. There are many things about it I don't like. However, history shows us that the alternative is chaos.
You find absolute power seductive. Everyone always does. And what does history teach? Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts, absolutely.
And before you know it, all those "collateral damage" people who you dismiss as meaningless, become a huge mass.
|
|
k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
|
|
So Ken, fattrad; do you think it was wrong for Wikileaks to post the video of the US military
shooting innocent civilians?
I've been told of US citizens being held for over four weeks, without charge, for trying to take
pictures of the Gulf oil spill. These guys have since been released, still without charge (and without their cameras).
Hey, I thought that was illegal!
Well, I guess you forgot that Bush shredded the Bill of Rights.
Do you think it's a great country that does that to its citizens?
This video is very telling, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now with Daniel Ellsberg:
http://213.251.145.96/video.html
|
|
k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
|
|
It's going to be interesting to see how this thing unfolds.
As of now, WikiLeaks has "Currently released so far: 913 / 251,287" cable documents.
They have released less than 1,000 cables.
There are over 250,000 cables yet to be released.
Before you can talk intelligently about this subject, you must read what Wikileaks itself says about these cable leaks.
Joe Bob sez Check It Out:
http://213.251.145.96/cablegate.html
|
|
Rökjox
Trad climber
Boys I'dunno
|
|
Tor is an interesting idea, but I seem to be missing something.
is it just for anonymizing yourself from the curious website you visit? RJ, cool RollingStone piece. Power to the pipple!
Using Tor a user can bypass most firewalls, unless you are at a corporation with very tightly locked down internet access. you can reconnect with Tor and try from a different location. Tor is a routing tool, which mixes up its routes between Tor servers across the globe. run Tor and check whatsmyip.com - it will tell you where you are coming in from at the "endpoint". or look at google and if its in a foreign language you can tell. Tor gives users a random path across an ever shifting network of Tor servers. It helps good guys and bad guys.
Tor has had its hazards. if you think it is so "free to roam", be careful. MITM can b.
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/12/maninthemiddle.html
if you have a file that needs to be secret, use encryption. just because you are able to mix up your path on the internet does not make what you are sending "invisible". if you want to make the content unreadable, you need to use encryption. at least the NSA or whoever will have to spend a lot of computing power, if someone intercepts your email, and is determined to read it.
Tor makes one a floating bee across the multiverse :^P
addition... RJ - http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/09/anonymity_and_t_1.html
Tor anonymizes, nothing more.
Dan Egerstad is a Swedish security researcher; he ran five Tor nodes. Last month, he posted a list of 100 e-mail credentials -- server IP addresses, e-mail accounts and the corresponding passwords -- for
embassies and government ministries around the globe, all obtained by sniffing exit traffic for usernames and passwords of e-mail servers.
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11486
|
|
Klimmer
Mountain climber
San Diego
|
|
Julain Assange has been arrested.
This is far from over.
Anything happens to him. Bam. More very embarrassing disclosures.
It will also spawn countless people willing to work for Wikileaks and then also other organizations willing to do the same as Wikileaks.
As far as I know he has done no crime.
Yet the Bush/NeoCon War Crime Syndicate walks free.
Up is down. Black is White.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!