Wikileaks is just a waterfall of info lately

[Dr. L]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101128/ts_nm/us_wikileaks_usa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – State Department documents released by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks provided candid views of foreign leaders and sensitive information on terrorism and nuclear proliferation, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

The documents show Saudi donors remain chief financiers of militant groups like al Qaeda and that Chinese government operatives have waged a coordinated campaign of computer sabotage targeting the United States and its allies, according to a review of the WikiLeaks documents published in the Times.

The WikiLeaks documents also show Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes any military strike on Iran would only delay its pursuit of a nuclear weapon by one to three years, the Times reported on its website on Sunday.

The cables also showed that Iran has obtained sophisticated missiles from North Korea capable of hitting western Europe and the United States was concerned that Iran was using those rockets as "building blocks" to build longer-range missiles, the Times said.

The advanced missiles are much more powerful than anything U.S. officials have publicly acknowledged that Iran has in its arsenal, the newspaper said.

The Pentagon immediately condemned WikiLeaks' "reckless" dump of classified State Department documents and said it was taking steps to bolster security of U.S. military networks.

"The (Defense) Department has undertaken a series of actions to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

The White House said the leak of the diplomatic cables could compromise private discussions with foreign governments and opposition leaders and may put at risk the lives of named individuals living "under oppressive regimes."

The U.S. government, which was informed in advance of the contents, has contacted governments around the world, including in Russia, Europe and the Middle East, to try to limit any damage. Sources familiar with the documents say they include corruption allegations against foreign leaders and governments.

WikiLeaks had reported earlier on Sunday that its website was under attack, but said later that media outlets would publish some of the classified documents it had released even if the group's website crashed.

"El Pais, Le Monde, Speigel, Guardian & NYT will publish many U.S. embassy cables tonight, even if WikiLeaks goes down," the website said in a Twitter posting an hour after it tweeted that its site was under attack.

The State Department had warned WikiLeaks that the expected release would endanger countless lives, jeopardize American military operations and hurt international cooperation on global security issues.

The department's top lawyer urged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in a letter on Saturday to keep classified documents off the website, remove records of them from its database and return any material to the U.S. government.

(Reporting by Ross Colvin, Phil Stewart and Doina Chiacu; editing by Mohammad Zargham and Philip Barbara)

Well, this info is pretty much public now. I'm sure there's more. What is to make of not only the information released, but of Wikileaks itself and how the governments are handling them?

[Grunthos]

Why is Julian Assange still breathing?

[Stuffsonic]

I still fail to see how this is all that bad.

[S Carver Orne]

Why is Julian Assange still breathing?

This. Also,

The documents show... that Chinese government operatives have waged a coordinated campaign of computer sabotage targeting the United States and its allies

Documents from the US Department of 'Duh'.

[Tonus]

What's interesting is that none of the stuff being revealed is particularly surprising. For all of the wild claims and conspiracy theories and movies about how governments do all kinds of underhanded and evil stuff when they think no one is looking, there are no smoking guns so far. Either Assange has something really juicy that he's saving for last, or he has nothing and is leaking stuff slowly out of a hope of extending his 15 minutes.

[Dr. L]

Looks like a lot of mildly hurt feelings and gossip so far, minus the unidentified man who said Khomeini was terminally ill and hoped to succeed him and annul Ahmadinejad's presidency.

Wikipedia was kind enough to provide a condensed version:

Issues related to Israel and Iran

* Strong Arab distrust for Iran, and encouragement from Arab leaders for a military strike on the nuclear facilities in Iran.[32][33][34] Saudi King Abdullah has repeatedly urged the United States to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.[35]
* US intelligence has assessed that Iran obtained from North Korea advanced missiles (derived from a Soviet design) that are more powerful than publicly admitted by the United States to be in Iran's possession.[36] These missiles, designated the BM-25, have a range of up to 2,000 miles (3,200 km).[36]
* An unidentified ally of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani stated that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has terminal leukemia and is expected to die in months, and Rafsanjani's unwillingness to act after the disputed Presidential election in 2009 comes from his wish to succeed Khamenei and annul Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election afterwards.[37]
* Reports that the Iranian Red Crescent was actively controlled by the government and was involved in illicit arms smuggling and intelligence gathering on behalf of Iran.[38][39]
* Israel was ready to attack a nuclear-armed Iran, and saw 2010 as a pivotal year.[40]
* In August 2007, Israeli Mossad chief Meir Dagan suggested to the U.S. to make use of local fringe groups to try and topple the Iranian regime.[33]
* Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak consulted with Fatah of the Palestinian Authority and asked if they could take over control of Gaza Strip after expected Israeli victory during Operation Cast Lead, but met with refusal.[41]
* Increased Syrian arms shipments to Hezbollah despite their claims that new shipments have ceased.[42]

[edit] Other Middle Eastern issues

* Criticism of the UK's military operations in Afghanistan.[43]
* According to a cable from the American Embassy in Kabul, Ahmad Zia Massoud, Vice President of Afghanistan, was found carrying $52 million in cash that he “was ultimately allowed to keep without revealing the money’s origin or destination.” The discovery was made in the United Arab Emirates by local authorites working with the Drug Enforcement Agency.[44]
* Grave fears in the United States and Britain over the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.[43]Since 2007, the United States has mounted a highly secret effort, so far unsuccessful, to remove from a Pakistani research reactor highly enriched uranium that American officials fear could be diverted for use in an illicit nuclear device.[45]
* Saudi King Abdullah called President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan the greatest obstacle to the country's progress. "When the head is rotten," he said, "it affects the whole body."[46]
* Turkey deliberately did not invite India for meeting on Afghanistan to appease Pakistan. Reflecting Islamabad’s insistence at every international fora that New Delhi be kept out of any meeting on Afghanistan, a top Turkish diplomat told U.S. officials early this year that India was kept out to address the concerns of Pakistan.[47][48]
* Former Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, during a meeting with Turkish Foreign ministry undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu, promised to shut down the controversial Danish based Kurdish tv-station ROJ-TV, in order to prevent Turkish obstruction to his appointment as Secretary General of NATO.[49]
* Saudi donors remain chief financiers of militant groups like Al-Qaeda.[42][50]
* Yemen deputy Prime Minister admits lying to Parliament on U.S. involvement of bombings.[51]
* UAE's crown prince Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan referred to as MBZ in the cables was supporting the US decision to sell F-16 aircrafts to Pakistan to keep a balance of strength between India and Pakistan. [52]

[edit] Issues related to world leaders

* Harsh criticism by U.S. embassy staff of their host governments, including comparing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Adolf Hitler, calling Vladimir Putin an "alpha-dog", and describing Hamid Karzai as being "driven by paranoia". [43]
* Benjamin Netanyahu is "elegant and charming", according to a cable apparently penned by an official at the U.S. embassy in Egypt, "but never keeps his promises."[53]
* Much about Libyan leader Muammar al-Qadhafi was revealed in the documents. For example, he has a fear of flying over water and he no longer relies on his all female bodyguard force, only taking one to the UN during 2010. He is accompanied everywhere by a Ukrainian nurse with whom some claim he is romantically linked. When her visa was not approved in time for Qadhafi’s trip to the UN, he had her privately flown to him afterward.[54]
* Silvio Berlusconi, Italian prime minister, was defined by the U.S. Embassy in Rome as "feckless, vain, and ineffective as a modern European leader".[43] US diplomatic officials also said that because of his constant partying he is never well rested. His extraordinary closeness to Mr Putin led US diplomats to consider him Mr Putin's spokesman within Europe.[55]
* Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, was described by US diplomatic officials as "thin-skinned", "authoritarian" and an "emperor with no clothes".[56]
* Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish prime minister, was described by US diplomats as having "little understanding of politics beyond Ankara" and as surrounding himself with an "iron ring of sycophantic (but contemptuous) advisors."[57]
* German chancelor Angela Merkel is called Angela 'Teflon' Merkel and it is said that she avoids risk and is uncreative.[58]

[edit] Issues related to the United States

* The United States apparently used bargaining to move prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to other countries. In one case, the United States officials allegedly offered to Slovenia a meeting with Barack Obama, if the country accepts one of the Guantanamo Bay detainees.[59][60] On 29 November 2010, the Government of Slovenia denied any conditioning with the acceptance of Guantanamo detainees or having any knowledge of the cable.[61] Offers to other countries include economic incentives or a visit from Obama.[62]
* Secret U.S. military missions flown from a UK base, which Britain alleged could involve torture.[43]
* A directive from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered U.S. diplomats to gather biometric information on the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, and top UN officials, including passwords and personal encryption keys used in private and commercial networks for official communications.[63]
* American officials sharply warned Germany in 2007 not to enforce arrest warrants for CIA officers involved in a bungled operation in which an innocent German citizen with the same name as a suspected militant was mistakenly kidnapped and held for months in Afghanistan.[42]

[edit] Issues related to the People's Republic of China

* A Chinese contact told the U.S. Embassy in Beijing that the Politburo of the Communist Party of China was responsible for instigating the January 2010 Google hacking incident[44] which was part of a wider "coordinated campaign of computer sabotage carried out by government operatives, private security experts and Internet outlaws recruited by the Chinese government."[44]
* Allegation that Chinese government operatives have waged a coordinated campaign of computer sabotage targeting the United States and its Western allies.[50]

[edit] Issues related to Germany

* A number of cables from the Berlin embassy reveal the U.S. concern on Germany’s position in the SWIFT-, TFTP- and the bilateral US-Germany data sharing agreement. A revealing cable from December 2009 (09BERLIN1528) describes how German Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière overruled Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and abstained from voting at the November 30 COREPER vote in Brussels on an interim U.S.-EU agreement to continue the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (TFTP).[64]
* US embassy personnel were very critical of German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle. He is regarded as incompetent and one cable ends with the comment "he's no Genscher".[58]
* It is revealed that the US had an informant in the coalition talks between the CDU and FDP for Cabinet Merkel II.[58]

[edit] Other issues

* A cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras characterizes the June 2009 ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya as "an illegal and unconstitutional coup".[65] Secretary of State Clinton was reluctant to use such terminology in public statements and it is seemingly at odds with moves by the United States, the IMF, and the World Bank to restore normal relations with Honduras.[66][67]
* Alleged links between the Russian government and organised crime.[43]
* Inappropriate statements made by British prince, Andrew, Duke of York.[43]
* A rogue shipment of enriched uranium during 2009 apparently was nearly the cause of an environmental disaster.[68]
* The United States and South Korea are planning to reunite the two Koreas, should the North ultimately collapse.[69]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_diplomatic_cables_leak

There are a few things worrisome in there, but really nothing earth-shattering. Again, prolly lots of hurt feelings, and King Abdullah will probably never tell us anything again.

Also notable that none of the big fish are really on here. It may be possible, indeed, highly likely there's some blackmailing going on. Assange and his friends personally leaf through the documents and decide which ones they wish to distribute. Also notable how popular Assange is now, if he's killed everyone will immediately suspect and raise hell on their governments. The U.S. of course would be at the top of the list to blame, even with all these other regimes he may be pissing off by spilling their shit. If anything, the U.S. in particular has more incentive to protect him for now, at least until they can find a way to trash his reputation and discredit him. I'm sure he has a lot more dirt than this.

[Grunthos]

Death is the time- and law-honored penalty for espionage by a foreigner in time of war, you know.

For treason as well, which is what that Alfred E. Newman-faced Army boy who leaked these docs to Assange (Manning) may well stand trial for now.

[Speckta]

On the plus side, WikiLeaks doesn't discriminate in its leaks because it leaks any and all documents it gets its hands on without censure.

On the down side, WikiLeaks doesn't discriminate in its leaks...

So, we end up drowned in fuckin' useless information that nobody really wants to thread through. No, really.

Can't wait to hear all about Obama's luncheon receipts saved for tax purposes...

[Dr. L]

Death is the time- and law-honored penalty for espionage by a foreigner in time of war, you know.

For treason as well, which is what that Alfred E. Newman-faced Army boy who leaked these docs to Assange (Manning) may well stand trial for now.


It's supposed to be. Now the comeuppance is fame. For Assange, at least. Manning... he did this crime as a soldier, one who is supposed to help secure this information, no matter how mundane it may seem. If it's confidential, it's confidential. We'll see what happens now.

[Tonus]

On the plus side, WikiLeaks doesn't discriminate in its leaks because it leaks any and all documents it gets its hands on without censure.
How do we know that they're leaking everything they get, and not filtering it in any way?

[Speckta]

Isn't that like, their slogan?

[Tonus]

"How do we know we can trust you?"

"Dude, our slogan is 'trust us.' What more do you need?"

:mellow:

[Edmaster]

If they really didn't discriminate, they would have released everything at once, so that the public would be able to immediately make use of said information (isn't that what they "claim" this is all about, anyway?). Instead they seem to be quite clearly timing their releases in order to shape public opinion to achieve a particular end.

[Dr. L]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailybeast/11208_moscowsbidtoblowupwikileaksrussiansplaybydif ferentrules;_ylt=AhGmZuhsbT5_WDVkRHxUu7Ks0NUE;_ylu =X3oDMTU2dGh0bWgwBGFzc2V0A2RhaWx5YmVhc3QvMjAxMDExM zAvMTEyMDhfbW9zY293c2JpZHRvYmxvd3Vwd2lraWxlYWtzcnV zc2lhbnNwbGF5YnlkaWZmZXJlbnRydWxlcwRjY29kZQNtb3N0c G9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzMEcG9zAzEwBHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWM DeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawNtb3Njb3dzYmlkdG8-

Sounds like he has Russia after him now.

[Edmaster]

Tragic boating accident in the near future?

[Da Big W]

if they're seizing pirating sites cant they seize this domain as well?

[Tonus]

if they're seizing pirating sites cant they seize this domain as well?
Won't do much good, he usually releases the information to media outlets prior to posting it on his site. The slow release of documents is not a bad idea from his point of view: it provides him with a very powerful bargaining chip, one that might indeed keep him alive. It keeps media interest sharp. If he has truly damaging stuff, he might be leading up to it.

[Shady]

I listen to some syndicated conservative talk show on the radio during the drive home (for lack of anything better, they moved Beck's time slot to earlier in the day which was usually good for a couple of laughs before I reached the house); some guy named Schnitt out of Florida.

He has placed a $50K bounty for anyone who divulges Assange's location if it leads to his arrest. The local FOX owned affiliate has asked Schnitt to appear the 10pm news cast. He's hoping it will go international to try to get someone to leak info on Assange.

I imagine there will be more offers like this.

[Speckta]

What do they care, this stuff is mostly damaging to the Dems, atm...

[Tonus]

One reason I think he may be holding on to the most sensational stuff is that Obama has shown a willingness to 'take one on the chin for America.' He's stepped up efforts at being the humble and apologetic leader, so it's not as if he'd have to make an about-face over this stuff. In fact, for this one task he's Johnny on the spot, and I think the effect will be blunted. If George Bush or another Republican was in the White House right now, they'd be spitting coals and the media would be all over it.

By putting this stuff out with Obama in the WH, he's guaranteed that it will have far less impact and media attention than it would otherwise. So either he's getting impatient, or he figures he's got enough material left (they've only released around 220 of something like 251,000 documents) that he can save the really nasty stuff for President Palin. :DDD:

[Speckta]

Did Tonus just compliment Obama?

[Edmaster]

If you can call a media love affair a compliment, sure.

[Nyarlathotep]

It is about time! First Charline Rangel now this —

Julian Assange Fired From IT Job At Pentagon

December 1, 2010 | ISSUE 46•48


ARLINGTON, VA—With officials describing his publication of sensitive U.S. State Department documents as "the last straw," Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was asked to resign from his position as the Pentagon's IT coordinator Monday. "We gave him his first warning after the whole Iraq and Afghanistan war diaries thing, and strike two was when he forwarded that video montage of Nicolas Cage yelling to the entire staff," Defense Department human resources director Curtis Shannon said. "But we just can't overlook this latest offense. Even if he's the only one who knows where the spare USB cables are." At press time, Assange had already been invited to interview for an IT position at the Central Intelligence Agency.


linked (http://www.theonion.com/articles/julian-assange-fired-from-it-job-at-pentagon,18572/?mobile=false)



( oh wait, is this the serious thread?? )

[Speckta]

It's also Charlie Rangel...

[Nyarlathotep]

doh!

Am sure the Republicans will make a girl outta him. :DDD:

[Grunthos]

The thing that amazes me is the leftards who are treating this guy as some kind of Robin Hood-esqe hero.

They claim he's making the government more accountable to the people by eliminating elected government's ability to control what the people get to see for government's own benefit.

Yet he's put himself in charge of deciding what people get to see. He's doing so strictly on his own judgement, driven by his own benefit, and claims he's accountable to no one.

Such people clearly have no sense of irony.

[Dr. L]

To call him a good dresser is one thing, to call him a hero is another. It doesn't help that the Russians are after him, which tends to give someone auto-hero points.

Speaking of the Russians:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_britain_russia_spy

I just love this. Every time we have a lofty speech or parade about all the countries of the world working together, smiling, and hopping towards the future to leave our past behind... we then find Russian spies. Sometimes I think they're laughing at us. Sometimes.

[Grunthos]

Everybody spies; any government that claims to trust another government is run by idiots.

Even friendly governments spy on each other.

But can still choose to kill 'em when you catch 'em.

[Dr. L]

Or give them to the tabloids, Russian spy is the sexy new look!

[Da Big W]

To call him a good dresser is one thing, to call him a hero is another. It doesn't help that the Russians are after him, which tends to give someone auto-hero points.

Speaking of the Russians:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_britain_russia_spy

I just love this. Every time we have a lofty speech or parade about all the countries of the world working together, smiling, and hopping towards the future to leave our past behind... we then find Russian spies. Sometimes I think they're laughing at us. Sometimes.

Anyone remember this? (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/world/europe/29spy.html) It was all over my local news.

[Nyarlathotep]

Speaking again of our Russian friends —

--- snip ---
Leave it to the Russians?

But when it comes to whacking obnoxious journalist types, the US has nothing on Russia, where the death of inconvenient journalists has become something of a cottage industry over the last decade. With WikiLeaks hinting that revelations about Russia are forthcoming, it's certainly possible that the most brutal attempts to shut down Assange and WikiLeaks could come from Moscow.

As one US law enforcement official put it when speaking to The Daily Beast, "the Russians will be ruthless in stopping WikiLeaks" if the site digs into Russian corruption. A hit on Assange might raise concerns in the West, but one British professor believes the real risk would be to informants inside Russia.

"I doubt that they would consider assassination against Westerners who are involved in WikiLeaks, but as for informants in Russia, they would be in very serious danger," Anatol Lieven told The Daily Beast.

WikiLeaks has often been charged with putting people's lives in danger, and some of its publications certainly seem reckless. But to date there has been no documented case of US sources in Afghanistan or Iraq being killed due to the leaks, Assange remains free, and Manning is still alive. But between the confidential sources named in leaked documents and the increasing calls for blood, it looks merely like a matter of time before the WikiLeaks cyber-experiment results in some all-too-physical killing.



from,
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/12/meet-the-people-who-want-julian-assange-whacked.ars

[TheDudeOfOz]

Has this (http://sowhyiswikileaksagoodthingagain.com) been posted yet?

[Speckta]

No.

But neither has this:

Assange arrested in London on Swedish warrant

London (CNN) -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested Tuesday on a Swedish warrant, London's Metropolitan Police said.
Assange was arrested at a London police station at 9:30 a.m. and will appear at the City of Westminster Magistrate's Court at 2 p.m., police said.
Swedish authorities had issued the warrant for Assange so they can talk to him about sex-crime allegations unrelated to WikiLeaks' recent disclosure of secret U.S. documents.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/12/07/uk.wikileaks.investigation/index.html?hpt=T1

[Nyarlathotep]

Getting him on “sex crime allegations” is as weak as getting Al Capone on “tax evasion”.

Show the character of international law enforcement and the politicos which hide behind it.

Lame.

[Edmaster]

Aaaaaand bail denied.

[S Carver Orne]

Has this (http://sowhyiswikileaksagoodthingagain.com) been posted yet?

Willing to bet the domain is owned by the same person who does whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com

[Tonus]

Getting him on “sex crime allegations” is as weak as getting Al Capone on “tax evasion”.

Show the character of international law enforcement and the politicos which hide behind it.

Lame.
Playing with fire, and all of that jazz. Interesting that it is the Swedes who are after him. In any case, they may wind up being the least of his problems. (http://hotair.com/archives/2010/12/07/assange-surrenders-visa-cuts-off-payments-swiss-close-bank-account/)

Assange surrenders; Visa cuts off payments, Swiss close bank account; Update: No bail


This doesn’t really count as breaking news (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/07/AR2010120700721.html?hpid=topnews), since Julian Assange’s lawyers more or less pledged that the Wikileaks founder would present himself to British authorities after a court upheld an arrest warrant. Assange surrendered as promised, but will request bail at a hearing later today:Julian Assange (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2010/07/28/DI2010072802189.html), the founder of the WikiLeaks Web site whose release of sensitive U.S. documents (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/28/AR2010112802395.html) on the Internet has generated outrage and embarrassment in official circles, was arrested by British police Tuesday morning on a Swedish warrant and was set to appear before a magistrate for a bail hearing later in the day.

Assange turned himself in at a London police station at 9:30 a.m. local time and was immediately taken into custody, police officials said. Later Tuesday, his lawyers planned to request that he be freed on bail pending the result of the extradition proceedings, which could take weeks. Assange intends to fight extradition to Sweden, where he is being sought for questioning related to allegations of sexual assault against two women.
He may need to work that bail as low as possible. Today, the credit-card giant Visa announced that they would suspend payments to Wikileaks (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/wikileaks;_ylt=AtOBEE56q7AA4RkLu9lfzDes0NUE;_ylu=X 3oDMTM5OHBja3JoBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAxMjA3L3dpa2lsZWF rcwRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzIEcG9zAzcEcHQDa G9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA3dpa2lsZWF rc2ZvdQ--) as authorities attempt to starve it out of existence. That comes as a huge blow, especially after Switzerland shut down their bank account:Visa says it has suspended all payments to WikiLeaks pending an investigation of the organization’s business.
Visa’s decision is a powerful blow to the loosely knit organization, which relies on online donations to fund its operations.

Popular online payment company PayPal, Inc. has already severed its links with WikiLeaks. Visa’s decision to pull the plug on WikiLeaks leaves the website with one fewer source of revenue.

Swiss authorities closed Assange’s new Swiss bank account Monday.
Meanwhile, the FBI closed a potential new source of information (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/06/AR2010120607109.html) yesterday as well:A Navy intelligence specialist at the Joint Special Operations Command has been accused of taking top secret documents from military networks and offering to sell them to an investigator posing as a foreign agent.

Petty Officer Bryan Minkyu Martin was arrested last week by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, after a sting operation in which he passed classified documents to an FBI undercover agent claiming to be an intelligence officer of a foreign country, according to the affidavit for a search warrant filed last week in a federal court in North Carolina.

Martin, who enlisted in 2007 and was assigned to the Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, has not been charged. An attorney for Martin could not be contacted Tuesday night.
Maybe Martin should have been more suspicious. The “foreign agent” only brought $500 to their meeting, and wound up paying just $3500 for the entire package of documents. It’s a tough economy, but come on, man.

Getting back to Assange, it seems as though the US has begun treating him like a terrorist in one way — by attacking his financial support. Without money and without allies, Wikileaks will eventually grind to a halt, whether or not the US gets its hands on Assange.

Update: Well, Assange won’t have to worry about paying for his three hots and a cot in the next few days: (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/wikileaks;_ylt=AugLanNZfzPlqRb2hSXaPkCs0NUE;_ylu=X 3oDMTM5c29lOTcxBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAxMjA3L3dpa2lsZWF rcwRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEcHQDa G9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA3dpa2lsZWF rc2Fzcw--)A British judge has denied ball for WikiLeaks founderJulian Assange (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/wikileaks;_ylt=AugLanNZfzPlqRb2hSXaPkCs0NUE;_ylu=X 3oDMTM5c29lOTcxBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAxMjA3L3dpa2lsZWF rcwRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEcHQDa G9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA3dpa2lsZWF rc2Fzcw--#), who told a London court he intends to fight his extradition to Sweden (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/wikileaks;_ylt=AugLanNZfzPlqRb2hSXaPkCs0NUE;_ylu=X 3oDMTM5c29lOTcxBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAxMjA3L3dpa2lsZWF rcwRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEcHQDa G9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA3dpa2lsZWF rc2Fzcw--#) on sex crime allegations.

Judge Howard Riddle told Assange that he had “substantial grounds” to believe the 39-year-old Australian wouldn’t turn up for subsequent proceedings. He then put Assange into U.K. custody ahead of an extradition hearing.
“Substantial grounds”? You mean, like going into hiding and then using extortion to keep authorities from pursuing him? You don’t say.

[Da Big W]

Has this (http://sowhyiswikileaksagoodthingagain.com) been posted yet?

WikiLeaks exposed 217 cases of UN peace-keepers being accused of sexually abusing and impregnating girls in eastern Congo.

I'll admit that made me happy.

Also, the statuatory rape thing is old news, not his first offense, I'm betting on a conviction.

@Tonus: I don't think its the Swedes per se going after him but rather them acting in the interests of not only themselves but many more powerful countries by detaining Assange on this charge until the other countries charge him with things based on the leak.

Even if those other countries don't charge him on their own, at least they'll get to see him jailed.

[Grunthos]

The rape case has been pending, on, then off, then on again, from before Assange's first big leak. First charges filed 20 August.

The chronology argues against it being politcal payback for the diplomatic cables leak. It's even possible that the whole "going public" drive at this time was intended to buy cover for Assange.

[Dr. L]

Perhaps he allowed himself to get arrested in Britain to be protected from Russia.

[Grunthos]

Escaping into a Swedish prison may not sound like such a bad idea as opposed to dying of radiation poisoning... or a ricin-laced umbrella tip.

Then again, Bjorn and Olaf might feel inclined to introduce him to rape from the receiving end, as it were.

[Da Big W]

The fact that this isn't the first time statutory rape allegations have been brought before him and that these charges are already a year old leads me to believe Julian might like them a bit too young.

[Tonus]

I guess if we are considering the legitimacy of Assange or Wikileaks, this article (http://climateaudit.org/2010/11/30/assange-on-climategate/) should prove relevant. Or as Grunthos said earlier in the thread...
Yet he's put himself in charge of deciding what people get to see. He's doing so strictly on his own judgement, driven by his own benefit, and claims he's accountable to no one.
And now, it appears as if he is willing to lie in order to inflate his importance and gain some additional cachet amongst those who are cheering him on.

[Grunthos]

He's a liberal fighting in the name of the greater good (as he alone is fit to define it), Tonus... of course lying is allowed!

[Tonus]

And in today's "shoe on the other foot" segment: Assange's lawyers complain about... leaked documents. (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/lawyers-cry-foul-over-leak-of-julian-assange-sex-case-papers/story-e6frg6so-1225973548657)

Lawyers cry foul over leak of Julian Assange sex-case papers

LAWYERS for Julian Assange have expressed anger about an alleged smear campaign against the Australian WikiLeaks founder.

Incriminating police files were published in the British newspaper that has used him as its source for hundreds of leaked US embassy cables.

In a move that surprised many of Mr Assange's closest supporters on Saturday, The Guardian newspaper published previously unseen police documents that accused Mr Assange in graphic detail of sexually assaulting two Swedish women. One witness is said to have stated: "Not only had it been the world's worst screw, it had also been violent."

Bjorn Hurtig, Mr Assange's Swedish lawyer, said he would lodge a formal complaint to the authorities and ask them to investigate how such sensitive police material leaked into the public domain. "It is with great concern that I hear about this because it puts Julian and his defence in a bad position," he told a colleague.

"I do not like the idea that Julian may be forced into a trial in the media. And I feel especially concerned that he will be presented with the evidence in his own language for the first time when reading the newspaper. I do not know who has given these documents to the media, but the purpose can only be one thing - trying to make Julian look bad."

Mr Assange is facing criminal allegations in Sweden over claims by two women that he sexually assaulted them while he was in the country earlier this year.

Another supporter close to the WikiLeaks founder said the leak appeared designed by the authorities in Sweden to jeopardise Mr Assange's defence. "There has been a selective smear through the disclosure of material. That material, in Swedish, was passed to a journalist at The Guardian," a source said. "The timing appears to have been cynically calculated to have the material published in the middle of the bail application and the appeal."

Mr Assange, 39, was arrested and held in custody at Wandsworth prison in south London after Sweden issued an extradition request. He was released on bail last week after a High Court judge dismissed an appeal by the British authorities, on behalf of the Swedes, to overturn an earlier decision to free him.

The Australian was told that he could walk free on a surety of £275,000 ($432,305). The money came from nine celebrity backers including Jemima Khan and Bianca Jagger.

In an editorial, The Guardian defended its decision to report on the incriminating police files. It said having been given access to the official papers, it had a duty to present a "brief summary" of the sex allegations against Mr Assange, together with his response.

Others were less enthused by The Guardian's treatment of its top source, pointing out that this is someone whom the newspaper has elevated into hero status as a campaigner for freedom of information. Some commentators point to the apparent hypocrisy of some of Mr Assange's supporters, such as the journalist John Pilger, bemoaning the Swedish police leaks, given their campaign for a man whose life is devoted to publishing confidential material. "Hoist by his own petard," said one observer.

Ever since the sex assault claims surfaced, Mr Assange has claimed that they are part of a conspiracy by the Swedes and the Americans to punish him for having masterminded the leak of the US cables. His lawyers, including Mark Stephens, are confident they can stop Mr Assange's extradition on both legal and human rights grounds. They point out that the offence of "minor rape", with which he may be charged, has no equivalent in British law because the accused can be guilty even if a woman consents.

A spokesman for The Guardian said: "Julian is not a confidential source. The argument that the papers involved with the WikiLeaks cables should not report criticism of him is one all journalists would find ridiculous."

[Speckta]

:facepalm: , tbch

edit: no :facepalm: smiley, wtf?

[Grunthos]

No "apparent hypocrisy" here at all. What we have here, is blatant and obvious hypocrisy.

What a putz.

The authories, when asked to investigate this, should just stare at the requester for about 5 seconds, and then fall to the floor laughing. And keep laughing until said worthy goes away.

[Tonus]

The gossip site Gawker gets in on the act, displaying emails and other details of an attempt by Assange to woo a girl 14 years his junior. (http://gawker.com/5714043/the-creepy-lovesick-emails-of-julian-assange?skyline=true&s=i) I don't think that Gawker is doing this as any sort of public service; it's just that unrepentant smut peddling is their gig. Again, some will experience a sense of schadenfreude as they consider the irony of Assange being hurt because other people are leaking private information about him.

[Tonus]

And just to make things a bit more surreal and absurb, the CIA has started a Wikileaks Task Force (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/21/AR2010122104599.html). Yes, that is the name. And yes, the official acronym for it is the CIA WTF. You can't make this stuff up.

[Dr. L]

He has quite a way with words, doesn't he?

[Speckta]

And just to make things a bit more surreal and absurb, the CIA has started a Wikileaks Task Force (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/21/AR2010122104599.html). Yes, that is the name. And yes, the official acronym for it is the CIA WTF. You can't make this stuff up.

:roflmao:

[Grunthos]

I notice that Julian has started referring to himself in the third person.

[S Carver Orne]

I notice that Julian has started referring to himself in the third person.

S Carver Orne fails to see what is wrong with this. :DDD: