The Official Wikileaks Megathread: All Wikileaks news will be posted here! - Polidicks

The Official Wikileaks Megathread: All Wikileaks news will be posted here!

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[release]:siren:[b]IF YOU WANT TO ADD INFORMATION TO THE OP, PM ME THE SOURCE AND ARTICLE AND I WILL ADD IT TO THE OP UNDER YOUR NAME AS YOUR CONTRIBUTION! IN NO WAY AM I SAYING DO NOT CONTINUE TO MAKE THREADS, I HAVE NO MODERATOR APPROVAL FOR THAT ANYWAY[/b]:siren:[/release] This thread is going to be used to reduce the mass influx of Wikileaks related articles into one place, so people don't miss all the action. [b]Pope refused to cooperate in sex abuse investigation[/b] - OP: Xen Tricks - Source: [url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40616870...s_in_security/[/url] [quote]Pope Benedict refused to allow Vatican officials to testify in an investigation by an Irish commission into alleged child sex abuse by priests, according to U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, The Guardian newspaper reported. Benedict was also reportedly furious when Vatican officials were called upon in Rome, The Guardian reported Saturday. The Murphy Commission of Inquiry into sexual and physical abuse "offended many in the Vatican," according to a cable dated February 26, 2010. "The Vatican believes the Irish government failed to respect and protect Vatican sovereignty during the investigations," it said. On Saturday, the Vatican press office declined to comment on the content of the cables but decried the leaks as a matter of "extreme gravity." The U.S. ambassador to the Holy See also condemned the leaks and said the Vatican and America cooperate in promoting universal values. Other latest revelations include that Britain's Vatican ambassador feared anti-Catholic violence in Britain after Benedict offered to accept traditionalist Anglicans into the Roman Catholic Church. Catholic-Anglican relations faced their worst crisis in 150 years because of the offer, which undercut the authority of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the cable quoted Ambassador Francis Campbell as saying after the offer last year. Five Anglican bishops in Britain announced last month that they would join the Catholic Church early next year, in response to the offer made in October 2009 to Anglican clergy opposed to the ordination of women bishops in the Church of England. The cable, dated November 30, 2009 and published by The Guardian, reflected concerns that have since eased. Tensions that it predicted for the pope's visit to Britain in September this year did not materialize. Immunity granted to Vatican officials According to the cable detailing the Vatican's refusal to cooperate in the abuse investigation, the Vatican believed opposition politicians in Ireland were publicly putting pressure on the government to vilify the Vatican just to make "political hay". The Irish government, meanwhile, wanted "to be seen as co-operating with the investigation" because its churches and education department were also involved in the scandal. The Irish ambassador's deputy, Helena Keleher, told U.S. diplomats that her government eventually acquiesced to the Vatican and granted their officials immunity from testifying, the Guardian reported. "Foreign ambassadors are not required or expected to appear before national commissions," the cable said. Still, the Irish commission was able to gather enough evidence and testimony to conclude that some bishops had put the Catholic church before the victims by covering up claims of abuse, the Guardian reported. In the cable describing the British fears over anti-Catholic violence, U.S. ambassador to the Vatican Miguel Diaz said British ambassador Campbell noted that England's Catholics were a minority and mostly of Irish origin. "There is still latent anti-Catholicism in some parts of England and it may not take much to set it off," it said, paraphrasing his words. "The outcome could be discrimination or in isolated cases even violence against this minority." Speaking after the two churchmen met at the Vatican last month, Campbell said the pope had "put Williams in an impossible situation" and the archbishop's cautious reaction — meant to avoid harming relations with Rome — angered some Anglicans. Diaz ended the cable asking "whether the damage to inter-Christian relations was worth it — especially since the number of disaffected Anglicans that will convert is likely to be a trickle rather than a wave." Another cable dated November 9, 2009 said Campbell told Diaz that the Catholic Church would face "unforeseen obstacles" if many traditionalist Anglicans took up Benedict's offer. "A large transition of Anglican converts could overwhelm the financial resources of many dioceses," it cited him as saying. No consideration for Church of England The Anglicans most likely to make the switch were the most conservative, he said. "In uniting traditionalist Anglicans with the Catholic Church, the pope is bringing together two groups strongly committed to defending Europe's Christian heritage — a theme he strongly champions," it added. The cable cited an unnamed source as saying Williams was probably informed about the offer only a day before it was announced. When he expressed concern about it, he was told the Vatican had made its decision and was going ahead. According to the November 30 cable, Campbell felt the Vatican had acted without considering what its move would mean for the Church of England, mother church for the world's 80 million Anglicans, or their spiritual leader Williams. "The Vatican decision seems to have been aimed primarily at Anglicans in the U.S. and Australia, with little thought given to how it would affect the center of Anglicanism, England, or the Archbishop of Canterbury," it said in relating his view. The Vatican announced last month that its first so-called ordinariate for Anglican converts would be established in Britain. Bishops and priests would join the Church in the first half of the year, followed by lay people wanting to switch. Reuters, The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.[/quote] [b]America is set to bring spying charges against jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, claims his lawyer.[/b] - OP: Talkbox - Source: [url]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz17jcQ22Zc[/url] [quote]US prosecutors are said to be finalising their case against the 39-year-old Australian behind the publication of more than 250,000 secret diplomatic messages. Mr Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson said she understands US charges are ‘imminent’. He is likely to be prosecuted under the Espionage Act, which makes it a crime to receive national defence information if it is known to have been obtained illegally and could be used ‘to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation.’ US Justice Department officials refused to make any comment last night. But Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed earlier this week that he had ordered a criminal probe and claimed the leaks had put America at risk. ‘We have a very serious, active, ongoing investigation that is criminal in nature. I authorised just last week a number of things to be done so that we can hopefully get to the bottom of this and hold people accountable, as they should be,’ he said. Mr Assange is still behind bars in London awaiting an extradition hearing on charges that he raped two women in Sweden. Depending on the outcome of the hearing, the US would then have to launch another extradition bid either in Sweden or the UK. Mr Assange was arrested in London and is currently awaiting an extradition hearing on charges that he raped two women in Sweden Mr Assange was arrested in London and is currently awaiting an extradition hearing on charges that he raped two women in Sweden Although America has extradition treaties with both countries, the process is often lengthy and is likely to take months. The US has never used the law to charge a recipient who has published classified information. But a senior legal aide said the government might argue that WikiLeaks is functioning as a kind of storehouse, gathering and maintaining the classified material rather than acting as a traditional media outlet. Legal experts in Washington claimed an alternative would be to charge Mr Assange with theft of government property. The law makes it a crime for anyone who receives property known to have been stolen with intent to ‘convert to his own use or gain.’ It was used in 1984 to prosecute a US naval intelligence analyst who was jailed for leaking photos of a Soviet aircraft carrier to Britain’s Jane’s Defence Weekly magazine. Ms Robinson said the WikiLeaks boss is being held in solitary confinement with restricted access to his lawyers. ‘This means he is under significant surveillance but also means he has more restrictive conditions than other prisoners. Considering the circumstances, he was incredibly positive and upbeat,’ she said yesterday. The latest development emerged as another website claimed it was launching on Monday as a rival to WikiLeaks. Former WikiLeaks employee Daniel Domschelt-Berg said the new German-based site, called OpenLeaks, would also help anonymous sources publish sensitive material online. [/quote] [b]Wikileaks Reveals U.S. Tax Dollars Fund Child Sex Slavery in Afghanistan[/b] - OP: Wii60 - Source: [url]http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/wikileaks_reveals_us_tax_dollars_fund_child_sex_slavery_in_afghanistan[/url] [quote]The now infamous Wikileaks recently released a cable from Afghanistan revealing U.S. government contractor DynCorp threw a party for Afghan security recruits featuring trafficked boys as the entertainment. Bacha bazi is the Afghan tradition of "boy play" where young boys are dressed up in women's clothing, forced to dance for leering men, and then sold for sex to the highest bidder. Apparently this is the sort of "entertainment" funded by your tax dollars when DynCorp is in charge of security in Afghanistan. DynCorp is a government contractor which has been providing training for Afghan security and police forces for several years. Though the company is about as transparent as a lead-coated rock, most reports claim over 95% of their budget comes from U.S. taxpayers. That's the same budget that DynCorp used to pay for a party in Kunduz Province for some Afghan police trainees. The entertainment for the evening was bacha bazi boys, whose pimps were paid so the boys would sing and dance for the recruits and then be raped by them afterward. That's your tax dollars at work -- fighting terrorism and extremism in Afghnistan by trafficking little boys for sex with cops-in-training. In fact, the evidence linking DynCorp to bacha bazi was so damning, Afghan Minister of the Interior Hanif Atmar tried to quash the story. Upon hearing a journalist was investigating DynCorp and the U.S. government's funding of the sex trafficking of young boys in Afghanistan, Atmar warned any publication of the story would "endanger lives," and requested the U.S. suppress the story. Atmar admitted he had arrested eleven Afghans nationals as "facilitators" of the bacha bazi party. But he was only charging them with "purchasing a service from a child," which is illegal under Sharia law and the civil code. And in this case "services" is not used as a euphemism for sex; so far, no one is being held accountable for the young boys whose rapes were paid for by the U.S. taxpayers. As if this story couldn't get any more outrageous, Atmar went on to say that if news of the incident got out, he was "worried about the image of foreign mentors". In other words, why should something as piddling as the humiliation, objectification, sale, and rape of some children tarnish the good name of DynCorp and all the work (read: money) they're doing in Afghanistan? After all, bacha bazi is growing in popularity in Afghanistan, especially in areas like Kunduz. Why shouldn't U.S. government contractors be able to win local favor by pimping young boys? Of course, this isn't the first time DynCorp has used U.S. tax dollars to support sex trafficking. In Bosnia in 1999, Kathryn Bolkovac was fired from the company after blowing the whistle on DynCorp's staffers pimping out girls as young as 12 from Eastern European countries. DynCorp settled a lawsuit involving Bolkovac, and her story was recently featured in The Whistleblower, where she was portrayed by Rachel Weiss. It's a happy ending for one DynCorp whistle blower, but will there be a Bolkovac in Afghanistan? It's time American taxpayers demanded a zero tolerance policy on our money being used to support child sex trafficking overseas. Tell the UN Mission to Afghanistan the time has come to crack down on those who buy and sell boys in bacha bazi, whether they're Afghans or U.S. government contractors, security personnel or citizens. No one should be able to traffic children so sex and get away with it, and that includes repeat offender DynCorp. We have a right to demand our tax dollars go to fight trafficking, not support it. And we have a right to demand the U.S. government and their contractors be held accountable for exploiting the boys of Afghanistan.[/quote] LiamBrown [b][url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/09/wikileaks-cables-pfizer-nigeria]New Cable: Pfizer used dirty tricks to avoid clinical trial payout[/url][/b] [b]Cables say drug giant hired investigators to find evidence of corruption on Nigerian attorney general to persuade him to drop legal action[/b] [quote] The world's biggest pharmaceutical company hired investigators to unearth evidence of corruption against the Nigerian attorney general in order to persuade him to drop legal action over a controversial drug trial involving children with meningitis, according to a leaked US embassy cable. Pfizer was sued by the Nigerian state and federal authorities, who claimed that children were harmed by a new antibiotic, Trovan, during the trial, which took place in the middle of a meningitis epidemic of unprecedented scale in Kano in the north of Nigeria in 1996. Last year, the company came to a tentative settlement with the Kano state government which was to cost it $75m. But the cable suggests that the US drug giant did not want to pay out to settle the two cases – one civil and one criminal – brought by the Nigerian federal government. The cable reports a meeting between Pfizer's country manager, Enrico Liggeri, and US officials at the Abuja embassy on 9 April 2009. It states: "According to Liggeri, Pfizer had hired investigators to uncover corruption links to federal attorney general Michael Aondoakaa to expose him and put pressure on him to drop the federal cases. He said Pfizer's investigators were passing this information to local media." The cable, classified confidential by economic counsellor Robert Tansey, continues: "A series of damaging articles detailing Aondoakaa's 'alleged' corruption ties were published in February and March. Liggeri contended that Pfizer had much more damaging information on Aondoakaa and that Aondoakaa's cronies were pressuring him to drop the suit for fear of further negative articles." While many thousands fell ill during the Kano epidemic, Pfizer's doctors treated 200 children, half with Trovan and half with the best meningitis drug used in the US at the time, ceftriaxone. Five children died on Trovan and six on ceftriaxone, which for the company was a good result. But later it was claimed Pfizer did not have proper consent from parents to use an experimental drug on their children and there were questions over the documentation of the trial. Trovan was licensed for adults in Europe, but later withdrawn because of fears of liver toxicity. The cable claims that Liggeri said Pfizer, which maintains the trial was well-conducted and any deaths were the direct result of the meningitis itself, was not happy about settling the Kano state cases, "but had come to the conclusion that the $75m figure was reasonable because the suits had been ongoing for many years costing Pfizer more than $15m a year in legal and investigative fees". In an earlier meeting on 2 April between two Pfizer lawyers, Joe Petrosinelli and Atiba Adams, Liggeri, the US ambassador and the economic section, it had been suggested that Pfizer owed the favourable outcome of the federal cases to former Nigerian head of state Yakubu Gowon. He had interceded on Pfizer's behalf with the Kano state governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau – who directed that the state's settlement demand should be reduced from $150m to $75m – and with the Nigerian president. "Adams reported that Gowon met with President Yar'Adua and convinced him to drop the two federal high court cases against Pfizer," the cable says. But five days later Liggeri, without the lawyers present, enlarged on the covert operation against Aondoakaa. The cable says Liggeri went on to suggest that the lawsuits against Pfizer "were wholly political in nature". ... [b][url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/09/wikileaks-cables-pfizer-nigeria]Full Article[/url][/b] [/quote] Source: [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/09/wikileaks-cables-pfizer-nigeria]The Guardian[/url] [b][url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/09/wikileaks-cables-burma-nuclear-weapons]More Cables: WikiLeaks cables suggest Burma is building secret nuclear sites[/url][/b] [b]Fears of bomb plan as witnesses tell US embassy that North Koreans are involved with underground facility in jungle[/b] [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/09/wikileaks-cables-burma-nuclear-weapons][b]Full Article[/b][/url] Source: [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/09/wikileaks-cables-pfizer-nigeria]The Guardian[/url] [b]Caving to pressure from supporters, PayPal releases WikiLeaks’ funds[/b] - OP: DarkSpider - Source: [url]http://thenextweb.com/media/2010/12/...kileaks-funds/[/url] [quote] In a reversal of course, PayPal has released funds remaining in an account associated with WikiLeaks according to a post on PayPal’s blog. Last week, a statement from PayPal indicated, the company had suspended the account following claims by the U.S. that the activities of WikiLeaks violated the law. According to the report, PayPal acted of their own volition, without being contacted by any government agency. Further, the spokesman for PayPal indicated that the company had “permanently restricted the account used by WikiLeaks due to a violation of the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy, which states that our payment service cannot be used for any activities that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity.” Now it appears attacks from the supporters of WikiLeaks have caused PayPal to re-think their position.[/quote] [b]U.S. & China collaborated so the Copenhagen Climate Summit would fail[/b] - OP: Max of S2D - Sources: [url]http://www.spiegel.de/international/...733630,00.html[/url] | [url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...climate-accord[/url] [quote][B]Last year's climate summit in Copenhagen was a political disaster. Leaked US diplomatic cables now show why the summit failed so spectacularly. The dispatches reveal that the US and China, the world's top two polluters, joined forces to stymie every attempt by European nations to reach agreement.[/B] In May 2009 the Chinese leaders received a very welcome guest. John Kerry, the powerful chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, met with Deputy Prime Minister Li Keqiang in Beijing. Kerry told his hosts that Washington could understand "China's resistance to accepting mandatory targets at the United Nations Climate Conference, which will take place in Copenhagen." According to a cable from the US embassy in the Chinese capital, Kerry outlined "a new basis for 'major cooperation' between the United States and China on climate change." At that time, many Europeans were hoping the delegates at the Copenhagen summit would agree climate-change measures that could save the planet from the cumulative effects of global warming. But that dream died pitifully in mid-December 2009, and the world leaders went their separate ways again without any concrete achievements. Confidential US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks now show just how closely the world's biggest polluters -- the United States and China -- colluded in the months leading up to the conference. And they give weight to those who have long suspected that the two countries secretly formed an alliance. The cooperation began under the last US president, George W. Bush. In 2007 Bush's senior climate negotiator, Harlan Watson, organized a 10-year framework agreement with China on cooperation on energy and the environment. The two countries also agreed to hold a "Strategic and Economic Dialogue" -- backroom talks that neither the Americans nor the Chinese were willing to admit to at first. [B]China and the US Continue Polluting[/B] Bush's successor, President Barack Obama, and the new Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, continued this dialogue. During Clinton's inaugural visit to China, Beijing agreed to the formation of a "new partnership on energy and climate change," according to a US embassy dispatch dated May 15, 2009. Here too the aim was to ensure the outcome of the climate talks in Copenhagen would be favorable to Washington and Beijing. But was it really favorable for the two countries? Both had previously managed to avoid committing to serious reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol, signed at the climate summit that preceded Copenhagen in 1997, distinguished between industrialized nations, which were to reduce their emissions, and developing countries -- including economic powerhouse China -- which could basically continue releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere without restrictions. "Joint, but differentiated responsibility," was the principle upon which the Kyoto Protocol was based. Although the US signed the protocol, it never ratified it. As such, the Chinese and the Americans can continue polluting at will. Meanwhile European nations will have to cut their energy consumption. They, therefore, fought for a new agreement in Copenhagen, one that would tie the United States, China and newly-industrialized nations India and Brazil to specific emission-reduction targets. [B]'Working Hard at Cutting Emissions'[/B] During his visit to China, Senator Kerry, a former presidential candidate for the Democrats, told the Beijing leadership that the Europeans were determined to push through their goal for agreement on concrete cuts in emissions for the US and other industrialized countries. However, nothing would change for China. Together with the other "developing countries" the Chinese would merely have to say they would "work hard to reduce emissions." A "scenesetter" drawn up for Kerry by American embassy officials estimated China would invest "$175 billion in environmental protection in the next five years" and that US companies were well positioned to benefit handsomely from this investment. "Westinghouse, for example, estimates that several thousand US-based jobs are retained every time China orders another nuclear reactor from them," the paper claimed. A note from the US ambassador in Canberra, Australia, showed that the Europeans were well aware of the close relationship between China and the United States. The memo summarizes a conversation between an embassy employee and an Australian climate negotiator, who reported on a preparatory meeting for the G-8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy. He said the other delegations "including the EU" had noticed the "visibly more comfortable" interaction between the US and China. The Australian said the Europeans' observations led them to doubt whether they could get their climate-change measures approved. [B]The Germans Complained[/B] In September 2009 the US State Department ordered its European embassies to launch a kind of PR campaign. This was to be targeted primarily at governments, but also to "the press, NGOs … and other opinion leaders." The diplomats were to explain that "Obama is taking the United States in a new direction in the fight against climate change" and that he wanted a decisive 17-percent cut in greenhouse gases. However, the Europeans suspected that Washington was playing with numbers by using the year 2005 as their baseline rather than 1990, which European figures were based on. Nevertheless embassy staff tried to convince the skeptical Europeans that the US government's targets "are consistent with keeping the increase in global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius." When the leaders and representatives of 192 countries gathered in Copenhagen last December, everyone was talking about an agreement. However, at the decisive moment Europe's politicians were forced to stand by helplessly while China, India, South Africa and Brazil met in a hotel room and took matters into their own hands. They took the draft Copenhagen agreement and struck off all binding obligations. Later on the plotters were joined by Barack Obama. The outcome of this paring-down is now known as the "Copenhagen Accord." In international negotiations, this vague draft resolution now stands alongside the specific plan demanded by the Europeans. A month after the Copenhagen debacle, German negotiators complained bitterly to the Americans. They said the "Europeans were unhappy that they had not been included in important negotiations between the US and China." [B]US Dangled Carrot in Front of Developing Nations[/B] In contrast to the apathy that befell the Europeans after the summit, US climate negotiator, Jonathan Pershing, went to great lengths to shore up his country's advantage. He and his emissaries offered carrots in the form of development aid to poorer nations in particular to get them to agree to the "Copenhagen Accord." For example, Pershing more-or-less forced an ambassador from the Maldives to take millions of dollars in assistance. He said the ambassador should simply state exactly how much his Indian Ocean archipelago needed. This, Pershing claimed, would increase "the likelihood" that Congress would quickly approve the funds. "Other nations would then come to realize that there are advantages to be gained by compliance," a US memo noted. To help convey the message to developing nations, the Maldivian ambassador suggested President Obama come to the islands to give a speech on the issue. After all, the ambassador reasoned, the Maldives would form "a dramatic backdrop" against which to talk about environmental challenges.[/quote] [b]16 Year old Dutch boy arrested for WikiLeaks DDoS attacks on Mastercard and PayPal[/b] - OP darth-veger Source: [url]http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2010/12/09/dutch-boy-arrested-for-wikileaks-related-ddos-attacks-on-mastercard-and-paypal/[/url] [quote]According to Dutch news reports, a 16-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the distributed denial-of-service attacks that have been launched against a number of websites this week, including MasterCard and PayPal. The attacks, which have made the headlines in the last couple of days, have seemingly been in support of the controversial WikiLeaks whistle-blowing site and its high profile founder Julian Assange. Details are very sketchy, but it is reported that the unnamed youth - who was arrested in The Hague - is in police custody and is being interrogated by detectives from the Dutch National High-Tech Crime Team. Computers have also been seized, and it appears that the authorities are not ruling out further arrests. Last night, Dutch broadcasters reported that the police visited the offices of LeaseWeb and EvoSwitch - two firms, believed to be providing internet services to the Anonymous group who have co-ordinated the attacks. Of course, it is highly unlikely that the attacks are coming from just one part of the world. As I said just earlier today, denial-of-service attacks are illegal - and you would be very foolish to participate in them, as the penalties can include lengthy jail sentences.[/quote] Sarah Palin's Website Hit by Cyber Attack: OP- Faze [url]http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/08/palins-website-hit-by-cyber-attack/?hpt=T2[/url] [quote](CNN) - Sarah Palin is blaming supporters of WikiLeaks for a cyber-attack that briefly brought down her her political action committee web site this week. Beginning Tuesday, an anonymous network of hackers sympathetic to WikiLeaks launched a series of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against against companies and political leaders critical of the whistle-blowing website, which has released thousands of previously-classified U.S. government documents. The loose network of so-called "hacktivists" is calling itself "Operation Payback." A Twitter handle for the group took responsibility this week for attacks against Visa and Mastercard, which recently stopped accepting payments for WikiLeaks. Palin last week accused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of having "blood on his hands" and called on the U.S. government to hunt him "with the same urgency we pursue al Qaeda and Taliban leaders." SarahPAC.com was listed as an Operation Payback target and was brought down multiple times Tuesday for a period totaling 25 minutes, according to web chatter captured by the online security firm Panda Labs. The site was functioning normally as of late Wednesday. "Governor Palin spoke out about Wikileaks because it has no regard for law or human life," SarahPAC adviser Andy Davis told CNN. "Today we learned their supporters have attacked the Palin family's personal information. Wikileaks remains a threat to every freedom-loving citizen across the globe. The world should not be intimidated. Governor Palin isn't." The Palin adviser said Sarah and Todd Palin's personal credit card information was compromised Wednesday, but there was no immediate confirmation that the credit card problem was related to the cyberattacks. The cyber-attack was first reported by ABC News. The website of Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Connecticut, was also attacked this week, Lieberman's office confirmed to CNN. – CNN's Dugald McConnell contributed to this report[/quote] [b]Shell's Grip on Nigerian State Revealed[/b] OP - LiamBrown - Source(s) The Guardian: [url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-cables-shell-nigeria-spying[/url] CBS News: [url]http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20025080-503543.html?tag=stack[/url] [quote]The Guardian The oil giant Shell claimed it has inserted its staff into all key ministries of the Nigerian government, giving it access to politicians' every move in the oil-rich Niger Delta, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable. The company's top executive in Nigeria told US diplomats that Shell had seconded employees to every relevant department and so knew "everything that was being done in those ministries". She boasted that the Nigerian government had "forgotten" about the extent of Shell's infiltration and were unaware of how much the company knew about its deliberations. The cache of secret dispatches from Washington's embassies in Africa also revealed that the Anglo-Dutch oil firm swapped intelligence with the US, in one case providing US diplomats with the names of Nigerian politicians it suspected of supporting militant activity and requesting information from the US on whether the militants had acquired anti-aircraft missiles. ... Campaigners tonight said the revelation about Shell in Nigeria demonstrate the tangled links between the oil firm and politicians in the country where, despite billions of dollars in oil revenue, 70% of people live below the poverty line. Cables from Nigeria show how Ann Pickard, then Shell's vice-president for sub-Saharan Africa, sought to share intelligence with the US government on militant activity and business competition in the contested Niger Delta – and how, with some prescience, she seemed reluctant to open up because of a suspicion the US government was "leaky". But that did not prevent Pickard disclosing the company's reach into the Nigerian government when she met US ambassador Robin Renee Sanders, recorded in a confidential memo from the US embassy in Abuja on 20 October 2009. At the meeting Pickard related how the company had obtained a letter showing that the Nigerian government had invited bids for oil concessions from China. She said the minister of state for petroleum resources Odein Ajumogobia had denied the letter had been sent but Shell knew similar correspondence had taken place with China and Russia. The ambassador reported: "She said the GON [government of Nigeria] had forgotten that Shell had seconded people to all the relevant ministries and that Shell consequently had access to everything that was being done in those ministries." ... The WikiLeaks disclosure was today seized on by campaigners as evidence of Shell's vice-like grip on the country's oil wealth. "Shell and the government of Nigeria are two sides of the same coin," said Celestine AkpoBari, programme officer for Social Action Nigeria. "Shell is everywhere. They have an eye and an ear in every ministry of Nigeria. They have people on the payroll in every community, which is why they get away with everything. They are more powerful than the Nigerian government." The criticism was echoed by Ben Amunwa of the London-based oil watchdog Platform. "Shell claims to have nothing to do with Nigerian politics," he said. "In reality, Shell works deep inside the system, and has long exploited political channels in Nigeria to its own advantage." Nigeria tonight strenuously denied the claim. Levi Ajuonoma, a spokesman for the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, said: "Shell does not control the government of Nigeria and has never controlled the government of Nigeria. This cable is the mere interpretation of one individual. It is absolutely untrue, an absolute falsehood and utterly misleading. It is an attempt to demean the government and we will not stand for that. I don't think anybody will lose sleep over it." ... The cable concludes with the observation that the oil executive had tended to be guarded in discussion with US officials. "Pickard has repeatedly told us she does not like to talk to USG [US government] officials because the USG is 'leaky'." She may be concerned that...bad news about Shell's Nigerian operations will leak out."[/quote] [quote]CBS News A high-ranking executive for the international Shell oil company once bragged to U.S. diplomats that the company's employees had so well infiltrated the Nigerian government that officials had "forgotten" the level of the company's access. Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, could access Nigerian politicians' every movement from the employees it placed in the government, the Guardian newspaper of London reported on its website Wednesday evening. The disclosure comes from the trove of secret State Department cables released to a number of news outlets by the document-dumping website WikiLeaks. Royal Dutch Shell, which owns more than half of the stock in the Houston-based Shell Oil Co., inserted so many employees into the Nigerian government because of the country's access to the oil rich Niger Delta, the Guardian reported. Nigeria ranks as No. 8 on the list of oil exporting countries and produces the most oil among African nations, the Guardian reported. Shell has been blamed for extensive pollution and damaging the environment in the delta, the Guardian reported. Although the country's oil reserves earn billions in oil revenue, 70 percent of the country's populations lives below the poverty line, the Guardian reported. The oil company infiltrated the government so well that it swapped intelligence with U.S. diplomats, the Guardian reported. Shell provided names of Nigerian officials who allegedly supported militant actions and asked if militants were armed with anti-aircraft missiles.[/quote] [b]WikiLeaks cyberattacks now involve Visa, Facebook, Twitter, MasterCard[/b] OP - deathslayer95 - Source: [url]http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2010/1208/WikiLeaks-cyberattacks-now-involve-Visa-Facebook-Twitter-MasterCard[/url] [quote]The cyberattacks against corporations that move against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appear to be escalating. MasterCard website goes down. Payback from WikiLeaks supporters? Why did PayPal ditch WikiLeaks? The State Department asked it to. Cyberattacks persist as MasterCard slogs through WikiLeaks protest WikiLeaks ditched by MasterCard, Visa. Who's next? After bringing down his Swiss bank's website last week, and MasterCard's site Wednesday, a loose coalition of hackers calling themselves Operation Payback brought down Visa's website Wednesday afternoon. Companies are fighting back. In the latest salvo, Facebook and Twitter both pulled Operation Payback's websites Wednesday afternoon, cutting key lines of communication with the "troops" in this cyber-battle. What damage remains is hard to assess, as MasterCard and Visa continue to try to re-establish full functioning of their websites. If nothing else, Operation Payback has drawn attention to the vulnerability of many companies to this sort of cyberattack. As President Obama said in May 2009, "This cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation.... This status quo is no longer acceptable – not when there's so much at stake. We can and we must do better." For the attackers, the real benefit may be attracting attention to their cause. Where did these so-called cyberwars begin? Last week, WikiLeaks announced the planned release of thousands of classified government cables. Its website was quickly knocked out, presumably by those who didn't want the material released, but WikiLeaks shored up its digital defenses and proceeded. Governments, media, and others reacted with shock to the leaked cables, and responded by accusing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of assorted crimes, closing his accounts, and calling for his extradition. Private companies got involved as well: Amazon.com stopped hosting WikiLeaks, PayPal stopped allowing money transfers to him at the urging of the State Department, and this week MasterCard and Visa followed suit. Angry supporters of WikiLeaks saw these moves as attempted censorship, and announced that they would "fight for freedom." A group of hackers collectively called "Anonymous," photographed only in Guy Fawkes masks, stepped into the fray. "Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, Amazon all betray America by betraying Free Speech," wrote "Guy Fawkes" on the Operation Payback Facebook page, early Wednesday morning. "You will all be dealt with. Anonymous is on your case. WikiLeaks cannot be silenced!" Anonymous responded to Assange's real-world challenges with cybersphere assaults against the various organizations. Anonymous's offensive division, known as Operation Payback, controlled a digital "cannon" that could blast websites of their choosing through distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Operation Payback had previously targeted groups that tried to prevent the illegal download of movies, music, and games, as well as the Church of Scientology (no relation to The First Church of Christ, Scientist, that publishes The Christian Science Monitor) and KISS performer Gene Simmons.[/quote] [b]Assange Denied Bail[/b] - OP JoeSkylynx - source: [url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40544697/ns/us_news-wikileaks_in_security[/url] [quote] LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was refused bail and jailed for a week by a British court Tuesday, pending an extradition hearing over alleged sex offenses in Sweden. Assange surrendered to U.K. police earlier in the day in the latest blow to his WikiLeaks organization, which faces legal, financial and technological challenges after releasing hundreds of secret U.S. diplomatic cables. Swedish prosecutors had issued an arrest warrant for the 39-year-old Australian, who is accused of sexual misconduct with two different women. Assange surrendered at 9:30 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m. ET) Tuesday. The U.K.'s Guardian newspaper reported that Assange later arrived at a London court accompanied by British lawyers Mark Stephens and Jennifer Robinson. During his court appearance, Assange said he would fight extradition to Sweden and he provided the court with an Australian address. Britain's Sky News reported that Assange was receiving consular assistance from officials at the Australian High Commission. The next court hearing is scheduled to take place December 14, and Assange will remain in custody until then because he was deemed to be a flight risk. Judge Howard Riddle told Assange that he had "substantial grounds" to believe he wouldn't turn up for subsequent proceedings. English socialite Jemima Khan offered in court to stand as surety for Assange if he was released, the U.K. Press Association reported. Gemma Lindfield, acting for Swedish authorities, laid out the four allegations against Assange in court. According to the Press Association report, they were as follows: * The first complainant, Miss A, was alleged to be victim of "unlawful coercion" on the night of Aug. 14 in Stockholm. Assange was accused of using his body weight to hold her down in a sexual manner. * Assange was accused of having "sexually molested" Miss A by having sex without a condom despite her "express wish" that one should be used. * He was also alleged to have "deliberately molested" Miss A on Aug. 18 "in a way designed to violate her sexual integrity." * Assange had sex with the second complainant, Miss W, on Aug. 17 without a condom while she was asleep at her Stockholm home. In response to the decision to refuse bail, WikiLeaks tweeted: "Let down by the UK justice system's bizarre decision to refuse bail to Julian Assange. But #cablegatereleases continue as planned." 'Go viral' Speaking after the hearing, Stephens said it had been difficult to mount an argument for bail because he had not been able to see any of the evidence against Assange. He said "many people believe this prosecution is politically motivated," but added that he was "sure the British judicial system is robust enough not to be interfered with by politicians." He said he hoped he would be able to say the same for the Swedish system. Stephens said the judge appeared to have made a "close call" on whether to release Assange on bail. He said the judge had asked to see the evidence, which Stephens believed was "very thin indeed," against Assange. Several supporters gathered outside the court holding placards reading "Gagging the truth" and "Protect free speech," NBC News said. "This is going to go viral," Stephens said. "Many people will come forward to stand as an asurety to Mr. Assange." He said he had been told WikiLeaks would continue to exist in Assange's absence. "They have many thousands of journalists in a virtual journalistic community around the world." Stephens said. In Sweden, prosecutor Marianne Ny told a news conference that the sexual misconduct case was a personal matter for Assange and not connected with his work releasing secret U.S. diplomatic cables, according to newspaper Aftonbladet. "We have nothing which indicates that this is a plot," she said. Assange had been hiding out at an undisclosed location in Britain since WikiLeaks began publishing hundreds of U.S. diplomatic cables online last month. The legal troubles for Assange stem from allegations leveled against him by two women he met while in Sweden over the summer. The arrest warrant under which he was detained by British police arrived on Monday this week. Assange denies the allegations, which his lawyer Stephens says stem from a "dispute over consensual but unprotected sex." Assange and Stephens have suggested that the prosecution is being manipulated for political reasons. 'He is not violent' One of the women involved in the sexual abuse allegations told the Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet that she had had voluntary relations with him and had never wanted him to be charged with rape, the Guardian said. "He is not violent and I do not feel threatened by him," she said — anonymously — according to the paper. A spokesman for WikiLeaks called Assange's arrest an attack on media freedom and said it won't prevent the organization from releasing more secret documents. "This will not change our operation," Kristinn Hrafnsson told The Associated Press. Also on Tuesday, The Australian newspaper published an op-ed by Assange in which he says WikiLeaks is "fearlessly publishing facts that need to be made public." 'Poison pill' British police have been caught in the middle of the legal dispute over WikiLeaks and Assange's rape accusations, a former assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police told msnbc.com Tuesday. "This is a set of circumstances that the Metropolitan Police will not want to get folded into," Andy Hayman said. "They got drawn into it.Ultimately it's between his lawyers, the Swedish authorities and possibly the Americans." Hayman added that it was now up to Sweden to prove to the U.K. that there were grounds to extradite Assange. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, visiting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. troops in Afghanistan, was pleased by the arrest. "That sounds like good news to me," he said. Meanwhile, the Guardian reported that WikiLeaks had no current plans to issue the code for an encrypted version of the rest of its documents — which has been called a "poison pill" — that would enable them to be published instantly, as it had threatened to do if its staff were arrested. The organization's room to maneuver has been narrowing by the day. It has been battered by Web attacks, cut off by Internet service providers and is the subject of a criminal investigation in the United States, where officials say the release jeopardized national security and diplomatic efforts around the world. But amid Assange's personal legal troubles, his website continued to reveal state secrets. According to the latest diplomatic cables — reported by the Guardian — NATO has drawn up secret plans to defend the Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and Poland against any Russian threat. Nine NATO divisions were identified for combat operations in the event of Russian aggression and countries were grouped together in a new regional defense scheme codenamed Eagle Guardian, the cables said. And in one of its most sensitive disclosures yet, WikiLeaks released on Sunday a secret 2009 diplomatic cable listing sites around the world that the U.S. considers critical to its security . Such revelations have prompted the U.S. to consider prosecuting Assange, but the rape allegation presents a more immediate issue. 'Dangerous' Pentagon spokesman Col. David Lapan called the WikiLeaks' disclosure "dangerous" and said it gives valuable information to the nation's enemies. NBC News reported that jihadists with connections to al-Qaida have started communicating online about the release. "We want to exploit this document," one reportedly wrote. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday the Obama administration was considering using laws in addition to the U.S. Espionage Act to possibly prosecute the release of government information by WikiLeaks. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard told a news conference Tuesday that it is "grossly irresponsible" for WikiLeaks to publish items like critical infrastructure lists. But she backed away from her comment made last week that posting classified U.S. government documents on the WikiLeaks website was an "illegal" act. She said police were still investigating whether Assange had broken any Australian laws. For days, WikiLeaks has been forced by governments, hackers and companies to move from one website to another. It is now relying on a Swedish host. But WikiLeaks' Swedish servers were crippled after coming under suspected attack again Monday, the latest in a series of such assaults. It was not clear who was organizing the attacks. WikiLeaks has blamed previous ones on intelligence forces in the U.S. and elsewhere. WikiLeaks' huge online following of tech-savvy young people has pitched in, setting up more than 500 mirrors. Meanwhile, the Swiss postal system's financial arm, Postfinance, shut down a bank account set up by Assange to receive donations after the agency determined that he provided false information regarding his place of residence in opening the account. Assange had listed his lawyer's address in Geneva. "He will get his money back," Postfinance spokesman Alex Josty said. "We just close the account." Assange's lawyers said the account contained about $41,000. Over the weekend, the online payment service PayPal cut off WikiLeaks and, according to Assange's lawyers, froze $80,000 of the organization's money. Visa also said Tuesday that it had suspended all payments to WikiLeaks pending an investigation of the organization's business. The group is left with only a few options for raising money now — through a Swiss-Icelandic credit card processing center and accounts in Iceland and Germany.[/quote] [b]Julian Assange Arrested[/b] - OP Jsm - Source: [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11937110[/url] [quote]The founder of the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has been arrested by the Metropolitan Police. The 39-year-old Australian denies allegations he sexually assaulted two women in Sweden. Scotland Yard said Mr Assange was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant by appointment at a London police station at 0930 GMT. He is due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court later. Mr Assange is accused by the Swedish authorities of one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape, all alleged to have been committed in August 2010.[/quote] Current Story that connects to the above article: [quote]Wikileaks founder Julian Assange refused bail Julian Assange (left) in court Julian Assange (left) appeared in court with John Pilger and others offering sureties Continue reading the main story Wikileaks Revelations * Wikileaks' struggle to stay online * Cables at a glance * Spotlight cast on 'sensitive' sites * Britain still a useful US ally? The founder of whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has been refused bail by a court in London but vowed to fight extradition to Sweden. Mr Assange denies sexually assaulting two women in Sweden. He was remanded in custody pending a hearing next week. A judge at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court refused bail because of the risk of the 39-year-old fleeing. A Wikileaks spokesman said the arrest was an attack on media freedom and pledged to continue publishing. After the court appearance Mr Assange's lawyer Mark Stephens said he would be applying again for bail. He claimed the charges were "politically motivated" and said the judge was keen to see the evidence against Mr Assange, an Australian citizen. Mr Stephens said Wikileaks would continue to publish material and added: "We are on cable 301 and there are 250,000 secret cables." A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Assange's arrest was "a matter for the police" and there had been no ministerial involvement. Mark Stephens: "Many believe prosecution is politically motivated" Prosecutors in Sweden have insisted the extradition request is a matter of criminal law and they "have not been put under any kind of pressure, political or otherwise". Five people, including journalist John Pilger, film director Ken Loach and Jemima Khan, the sister of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, offered to put up sureties. But district judge Howard Riddle refused bail for Mr Assange and he was remanded in custody until 14 December. Judge Riddle said he believed Mr Assange might flee and he also feared he "may be at risk from unstable persons". Gemma Lindfield, for the Swedish authorities, gave details of the allegations against Mr Assange. Continue reading the main story The charges * Used his body weight to hold down Miss A in a sexual manner. * Had unprotected sex with Miss A when she had insisted on him using a condom. * Molested Miss A "in a way designed to violate her sexual integrity". * Had unprotected sex with Miss W while she was asleep. * Profile: Julian Assange One of the charges is that he had unprotected sex with a woman, identified only as Miss A, when she insisted he use a condom. Another is that he had unprotected sex with another woman, Miss W, while she was asleep. Mr Assange, who was accompanied by Australian consular officials, initially refused to say where he lived but eventually gave an address in Australia. Afterwards Ms Khan explained why she was willing to put up a surety: "I offered my support as I believe that this is about the universal right of freedom of information and our right to be told the truth." Continue reading the main story Analysis Clive Coleman BBC News legal affairs analyst At a full hearing, which is not likely to take place for some weeks, Mr Assange will be able to raise his arguments against extradition. The "fast-track" European arrest warrant system is based on the concept that all the participating countries have legal systems which meet similar standards, and fully respect human rights. If Julian Assange is to avoid extradition he would need to show the warrant is politically motivated. This has been argued successfully in the past by Russian oligarchs, though Sweden has a better judicial record than Russia. Or he would need to use technical arguments - arguing the warrant does not show specifically what law has been broken. But most technical mistakes could be resolved eventually and the warrant reissued. Wikileaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said it would not stop the release of more secret files and told Reuters on Tuesday: "Wikileaks is operational. We are continuing on the same track as laid out before. "Any development with regards to Julian Assange will not change the plans we have with regards to the releases today and in the coming days." Secret locations He said Wikileaks was being operated by a group in London and other secret locations. US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said it was possible the US would make an extradition request for Mr Assange but he said it was premature as the criminal investigation into Wikileaks was still ongoing. Mr Assange was arrested by appointment at a London police station at 0930 GMT. Continue reading the main story Game of cat and mouse * 28 Nov: First secret US diplomatic cables released on Wikileaks website * 29 Nov: US brands cable leaks an "attack on the international community" and says criminal investigation ongoing * 29 Nov: Former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin calls for Mr Assange to be "pursued with the same urgency we pursue al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders" * 3 Dec: Wikileaks forced to change web address after coming under cyber attack * 6 Dec: Sweden issues European arrest warrant and passes it to police in UK * 7 Dec: Mr Assange is arrested in London, appears in court and is remanded in custody * Wikileaks' struggle to stay online Police contacted Mr Stephens on Monday night after receiving a European arrest warrant from the Swedish authorities. An earlier warrant, issued last month, had not been filled in correctly. Mr Assange has come in for criticism in the past week for the revelations made on Wikileaks. Foreign Secretary William Hague has criticised the website for publishing details of sensitive sites, including some in the UK, saying they could be targeted by terrorists. But, in an article for The Australian newspaper, Mr Assange denied he had put lives at risk and said Wikileaks deserved to be protected. Mr Crowley said: "The (US) constitution enshrines the freedom of the press and we respect that, even if we have concerns about how that is exercised". Gerard Batten, a UKIP MEP, said the Assange case highlighted the dangers of the European arrest warrant. Police vehicle brings Julian Assange to City of Westminster Magistrates' Court for the hearing Julian Assange surrendered himself to police in London He said: "I don't know of the quality of the evidence in Mr Assange's case but it does seem that he is involved in political turmoil and intrigue and there are a lot of people keen to shut him up and there is nothing a court in the UK can do to look at the evidence before they extradite him." Mr Assange's supporters have written an open letter to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, asking her to protect him. Mr Pilger, who appeared in court to support Mr Assange, said Ms Gillard's threat to remove his passport smacked of "totalitarianism".[/quote] [b]Wikileaks Founder Threatens to Release 'Doomsday' File[/b] OP - Sokrates - Sources: [url]http://www.examiner.com/news-in-nati...-doomsday-file[/url] | [url]http://visiontoamerica.org/story/wik...e-blocked.html[/url] | [url]http://bigjournalism.com/dloesch/201...e-if-punished/[/url] [quote]Julian Assange, creator of the WikiLeaks website responsible for releasing classified government cables and documents online, announced over the weekend that he has a “poison pill” insurance file that will be released if he is arrested, killed or if his website is taken off the internet. In dialogue that sounds as if it was taken from a summer blockbuster movie, Julian has called these encrypted and uncensored documents his “doomsday files” and warned the public, “We have over a long period of time distributed encrypted backups of material we have yet to release. All we have to do is release the password to that material, and it is instantly available.” According to a New York Post interview with Nigel Smart, professor of cryptology at Bristol University, these files are security protected to such an extent that they are nearly impossible to break into unless you have the “key” to do so. This new warning is not the only noise coming from Assange who is currently hiding from sexual assault charges somewhere in London. Late Friday, the British publication The Guardian had its readers submit questions to Assange, which he then answered online. One question asked if the Australian native wished to return home and what his thoughts are on the fact that he could potentially be arrested. Assange responded: “I am an Australian citizen and I miss my country a great deal. However, during the last weeks the Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, and the attorney general, Robert McClelland, have made it clear that not only is my return is impossible but that they are actively working to assist the United States government in its attacks on myself and our people. This brings into question what does it mean to be an Australian citizen - does that mean anything at all?” This statement prompted Australian Attorney General Robert McClelland over the weekend to publically respond to these allegations with: [Mr. Assange] “is entitled to the same rights as any other Australian citizen. This includes the right to return to Australia and also to receive consular assistance while he is overseas if that is requested." It seems, however, that the controversial WikiLeaks leader is taking precautionary steps by opening up bank accounts in different countries and staying out of sight from authorities. His job has become increasingly difficult as U.S. Internet providers have withdrawn their contracts from the website as public outcry and government pressure have increased. The latest company to cut ties is Pay Pal who stopped working with Assange just within the past few days. Despite all of these new hurdles, cables continue to be leaked. According to Assange the end is nowhere near in sight. WikiLeaks still has documents relating to Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan that killed civilians and documents from a U.S. Bank.[/quote] [b]Visa Suspends Payments from Wikileaks[/b] - OP DarkSpider - Source: [url]http://www.facepunch.com/threads/1035248-Visa-suspends-Wikileaks-payments[/url] [quote]It follows a similar move by rival payments processor Mastercard on Tuesday. Visa's announcement comes after Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange was arrested by police in London. Mr Assange, whose website has published secret documents, is wanted in Sweden on sexual assault allegations. Wikileaks relies on online donations to fund its operations, which will now not be possible using both Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards. A spokeswoman for Visa Europe said its investigation would determine the nature of Wikileaks' business, and "whether it contravenes Visa operating rules". She added that Visa Europe could not suspend payments to Wikileaks immediately, and that the process took a certain amount of time. Mastercard said in its statement that it was "in the process of working to suspend the acceptance of Mastercard cards on Wikileaks until the situation is resolved". Online payment firm PayPal and internet giant Amazon have also cut their links with Wikileaks in recent days.[/quote] [release][highlight][img]http://avatars.fpcontent.net/image.php?u=163726&dateline=1291838149[/img]imadaman's section: All information posted below is courtesy of him, make sure to rate him accordingly![/highlight][img]http://avatars.fpcontent.net/image.php?u=163726&dateline=1291838149[/img][/release] [img_thumb]http://library.aliyev-heritage.org/images/-237753115_logo-bbc.jpg[/img_thumb] [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11883567]Source[/url] [quote]Interpol has issued a "Red Notice" for the founder of the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, Julian Assange. It said the Australian was wanted for questioning in Sweden over an alleged sex offence, which he has denied. The Red Notice does not amount to an arrest warrant. Instead, it asks people to contact the police if they have any information about his whereabouts. Meanwhile, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has said he did not approve an offer of residency made to Mr Assange. On Monday, Deputy Foreign Minister Kintto Lucas praised the 39-year-old's investigative work and said he was welcome to live and lecture in the country "without any conditions". But Mr Correa told reporters that the offer had "not been approved by Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino - or the president". Mr Patino said it would "have to be studied from the legal and diplomatic perspective". Sweden turned down Mr Assange's application for residency in October. The Scandinavian country's laws protect whistle-blowers. Earlier, Mr Assange filed an appeal with Sweden's Supreme Court in an effort to overturn a ruling by the Stockholm district court earlier this month that he be detained for questioning on allegations of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion, stemming from a visit in August. His petition was rejected by the Stockholm appeals court last week. Australia is also investigating whether he has broken any laws there. Mr Assange has dismissed the allegations as part of a smear campaign. On Sunday, Wikileaks began publishing about 250,000 US diplomatic cables in a third major release of classified US documents. The first two concerned the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.[/quote] [url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/panetta-says-cia-will-probe-wikileaks-document-release-106918188.html]Source[/url] [quote] CIA Director Leon Panetta said the agency’s Office of Security will “fully investigate” the WikiLeaks documents released on a public web site. “In some cases, CIA sources and methods have been compromised, harming our mission and endangering lives,” he said. In an internal memo, released to the media Monday, the director said that sharing information “cannot extend beyond the limits set by law and the ‘need to know’ principle. The media, the public, even former colleagues, are not entitled to details of our work.” Panetta added that the leaks had potentially done “incredible damage to our nation’s security and our ability to do our job of protecting the nation. More importantly, it could jeopardize lives. For this reason, such leaks cannot be tolerated.” [/quote] [img]http://www.state.gov/images/2010/usdos-logo-seal.png[/img] [url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2010/11/150428.htm]Source[/url] [quote] QUESTION: WikiLeaks is apparently preparing to release another batch of documents, but they may not be yours. There’s some word that they may be from the UN or something. Do you still have any comment on their plans to do so? MR. CROWLEY: Well, we regret all of the activities that WikiLeaks has done, past, present, and future. [/quote] [img_thumb]http://fryeblog.blog.lib.mcmaster.ca/files/2010/07/Ottawa_Citizen_logo.jpg[/img_thumb] [url=http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Ecuador+offers+WikiLeak+founder+Assange+residency+questions+asked/3902251/story.html]Source[/url] [quote]QUITO - Ecuador on Monday offered Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who has enraged Washingt

Did you clear this with a mod? Not threadshitting, just don't want to see you banned.

Earlier today I was hoping that there would be a thread because it's annoying now that every damn thread in ITN is wikileaks shit. I hope the mods OK this.

I actually don't like this idea.

I support this thread.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;26579863]Did you clear this with a mod? Not threadshitting, just don't want to see you banned.[/QUOTE] You know what, I am being proactive here and I just don't want to see the news section clogged up by dozens of Wikileaks related articles. Gunfox and RavenQ both told me to ask Mr. Gestapo, but he hasn't responded in 36 hours, I'd rather get banned for making a central thread, rather than have this entire forum become a wikileaks subforum.

Need a subfourm

inb4cybermilitary

[QUOTE=Professer Trall;26579884]I actually don't like this idea.[/QUOTE] I don't like Mr. Assange or what he is doing, but I will not let it interfere with how I will update the OP. The OP is a collaboration of other users and their works, they will get credit for the articles, not me.

[QUOTE=BANNED USER;26579903]I don't like Mr. Assange or what he is doing, but I will not let it interfere with how I will update the OP. The OP is a collaboration of other users and their works, they will get credit for the articles, not me.[/QUOTE] I have no reason to believe that you'll be biased in any way, but bias is one of the reasons why I don't think we should have a megathread for this.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;26579863]Did you clear this with a mod? Not threadshitting, just don't want to see you banned.[/QUOTE] I never said don't make more threads, all I am doing right now is making one thread to hold all information pertaining to the current events that Wikileaks release. [QUOTE=Zeke129;26579916]I have no reason to believe that you'll be biased in any way, but bias is one of the reasons why I don't think we should have a megathread for this.[/QUOTE] I'm just doing what I think is right, I believe that we needed a megathread to unclog the news section from the influx of Wikileaks related news.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;26579916]I have no reason to believe that you'll be biased in any way, but bias is one of the reasons why I don't think we should have a megathread for this.[/QUOTE] Well, if he posts things other than articles in the OP we will know, but I don't think he will.

ehh wth If you a biased you should not run the thread ... imo a op should not you

You, sir, are my new bestest friend. Thank you. :buddy:

Julian is just the catalyst, doesn't matter how hard people try you cannot stop wikileaks.

[QUOTE=Orki;26579973]ehh wth If you a biased you should not run the thread ... imo a op should not you[/QUOTE] OPs of other Wikileaks threads are just as likely to be biased.

[QUOTE=5killer;26579946]Well, if he posts things other than articles in the OP we will know, but I don't think he will.[/QUOTE] The OP will [b]ONLY[/b] Be sources and the articles they are connected to, and all credit will be given to those who PM me the details, I in no way will take credit for anything in the OP that isn't mine. [highlight]I will not post my own opinions, or anybody elses, in the OP[/highlight]

Nice, now all of fp won't be filled with these threads anymore.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;26579863]Did you clear this with a mod? Not threadshitting, just don't want to see you banned.[/QUOTE] He's already banned.

[QUOTE=/B/rother;26580004]Nice, now all of fp won't be filled with these threads anymore.[/QUOTE] It's not like there's a thread limit, you can still post other non-WL news. It's a hot story right now, it warrants multiple threads for different things.

[url=http://www.facepunch.com/threads/1031971-Wikileaks-US-embassy-cables-leak-sparks-global-diplomacy-crisis]Here's the thread that I started, but since nothing interesting was happening around that time, I stopped posting info.[/url] Please take any info from it.

[b][i][u]Insurance File*[/u][/i][/b] :eng101: It's not that hard.

[QUOTE=Elizer;26580036][url=http://www.facepunch.com/threads/1031971-Wikileaks-US-embassy-cables-leak-sparks-global-diplomacy-crisis]Here's the thread that I started, but since nothing interesting was happening around that time, I stopped posting info.[/url] Please take any info from it.[/QUOTE] If you want to PM me all the info in your op (so I don't have to go through and requote and bold everything) I will add it to the OP under your own section.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;26580034]It's not like there's a thread limit, you can still post other non-WL news. It's a hot story right now, it warrants multiple threads for different things.[/QUOTE] Until there are NINE topics on the front page. :doh: This is at least a nice spot to have all of the info in one place for the people who want to know about this. It'll clear up ITN for other bits of news that are getting shunned off the page by 3 cyber-attack related threads, 2 or so of actual cable releases, 2-3 threads about Assange's arrest... It goes on.

OP is against wikileaks. Why did he make this thread?

[QUOTE=/B/rother;26580004]Nice, now all of fp won't be filled with these threads anymore.[/QUOTE] And there goes 65% of the ITN threads.

[QUOTE=Dalndox;26580072]Until there are NINE topics on the front page. :doh:[/QUOTE] Isn't there room for like 40 on one page

[QUOTE=rapperkid04;26580082]OP is against wikileaks. Why did he make this thread?[/QUOTE] Do you see him stating that opinion anywhere in the actual OP? It's a story repository, nothing else. He's trying to free up some space in ITN.

[QUOTE=Dalndox;26580072]Until there are NINE topics on the front page. :doh: This is at least a nice spot to have all of the info in one place for the people who want to know about this. It'll clear up ITN for other bits of news that are getting shunned off the page by 3 cyber-attack related threads, 2 or so of actual cable releases, 2-3 threads about Assange's arrest... It goes on.[/QUOTE] Also, a lot of the arguments that are going on in the threads, are the same in each one. This keeps the discussion in one place.

[QUOTE=Orki;26579973]ehh wth If you a biased you should not run the thread ... imo a op should not you[/QUOTE] I can't read this. Anyway, thank you OP, I was fucking sick of all the threads.

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