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February 16 2012
Obama’s Crackdown On Military Whistleblowers
When it comes to abuses, the government is using severe punishment of high-profile whistleblowers as a method of encouraging silence, TomDispatch writes:
On January 23rd, the Obama administration charged former CIA officer John Kiriakou under the Espionage Act for disclosing classified information to journalists about the waterboarding of al-Qaeda suspects. His is just the latest prosecution in an unprecedented assault on government whistleblowers and leakers of every sort.
The Obama administration has already charged more people—six—under the Espionage Act for alleged mishandling of classified information than all past presidencies combined. (Prior to Obama, there were only three such cases in American history.)
By now, there can be little doubt that government retaliation against whistleblowers is not an isolated event, nor even an agency-by-agency practice. The number of cases in play suggests an organized strategy to deprive Americans of knowledge of the more disreputable things that their government does. How it plays out in court and elsewhere will significantly affect our democracy.
Kiriakou, in particular, is accused of giving information about the CIA’s torture programs to reporters two years ago. Like the other five whistleblowers, he has been charged under the draconian World War I-era Espionage Act.
That Act has a sordid history, having once been used against the government’s political opponents. Targets included labor leaders and radicals like Eugene V. Debs, Bill Haywood, Philip Randolph, Victor Berger, John Reed, Max Eastman, and Emma Goldman. Debs, a union leader and socialist candidate for the presidency, was, in fact, sentenced to 10 years in jail for a speech attacking the Espionage Act itself. The Nixon administration infamously (and unsuccessfully) invoked the Act to bar the New York Times from continuing to publish the classified Pentagon Papers.
Read the rest at TomDispatch
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February 15 2012
Documentary Channel Announces the Acquisition of 2012 Academy Award® Nominated Film "Incident in New Baghdad" (PR News Wire)
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Documentary Channel (DOC) is proud to announce the acquisition of 2012 Academy Award® nominee "Incident in New Baghdad." A film by James Spione, "Incident in New Baghdad" is an eye-opening look into the WikiLeaks video that...
Source : PR News Wire
Explore : Business, Crises and conflicts, Entertainment
sigalonleaksPetition to allow the UN to visit Bradley Manning
#Wikileaks #whistleblower #petition #advoc #advocacy
02mydafsoup-01David House on WikiLeaks Grand Jury and US Surveillance of Bradley Manning Supporters 1 of 4 (Virginia Podcasting Network)
DemocracyNow.org – On the eve of the extradition hearing for WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange in London, we spend an exclusive hour with David House, who co-founded the Bradley Manning Support Network after US Army Private Manning was arrested for allegedly releasing classified US military documents to WikiLeaks. House refused to testify last month in Alexandria, [...]
Source : Virginia Podcasting Network
Explore : Crises and conflicts, International Personalities, Julian Assange, US Army, World
sigalonleaks“—ARTE Doku: WikiLeaks - Geheimnisse und LügenSehenswerte 80 minütige Doku über WikiLeaks, die ab sofort in der ARTE Mediathek temporär verfügbar ist:”
Filmemacher Patrick Forbes präsentiert die Geschichte von WikiLeaks, indem er die Aussagen der unmittelbar beteiligten Akteure auf beiden Seiten der spektakulären Enthüllungen, Befürworter und Beschuldigte, ineinander verwebt. Dabei geht es um Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der digitalen Technologie und des Journalismus. Erzählt wird aber auch die Geschichte menschlicher Gefühle, die mit der Eigendynamik des Internets kollidieren.
http://videos.arte.tv/de/videos/wikileaks_geheimnisse_und_luegen-6388410.html
#wikileaks #manning #journalismus #medien
02mydafsoup-01February 09 2012
We have the great honor of nominating Private First Class Bradley Manning for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. Manning is a soldier in the United States army who stands accused of releasing hundreds of thousands of documents to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The leaked documents pointed to a long history of corruption, war crimes, and imperialism by the United States government in international dealings. These revelations have fueled democratic uprising around the world, including a democratic revolution in Tunisia. According to journalists, his alleged actions helped motivate the democratic Arab Spring movements, shed light on secret corporate influence on our foreign policies, and most recently contributed to the Obama Administration agreeing to withdraw all U.S.troops from the occupation in Iraq.
Bradley Manning has been incarcerated for well over a year by the U.S. government without a trial. He spent over ten months of that time period in solitary confinement, conditions which experts worldwide have criticized as torturous. Juan Mendez, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, has repeatedly requested and been denied a private meeting with Manning to assess his conditions.
The documents made public by WikiLeaks should never have been kept from public scrutiny. The revelations – including video documentation of an incident in which American soldiers gunned down Reuters journalists in Iraq - have helped to fuel a worldwide discussion about America’s overseas engagements, civilian casualties of war, imperialistic manipulations, and rules of engagement. Citizens worldwide owe a great debt to the WikiLeaks whistleblower for shedding light on these issues, and so I urge the Committee to award this prestigious prize to accused whistleblower Bradley Manning.
sofias
olblueyeWikiLeaks Bradley Manning Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by Member of Icelandic Parliament (The Blaze)
After taking a long hard look at some of its nominees and recipients , the famed Nobel Peace Prize has become, in certain circles, the brunt of many a joke. Now, disgraced WikiLeaks source Bradley Mannin g could be added to that controversial list. On Saturday, Icelandic member of parliament Birgitta Jónsdóttir posted a nomination letter on her blog on behalf of the three-member...
Source : The Blaze
Explore : Asia, Baghdad, Crises and conflicts, Iraq, World
sigalonleaks via 02mydafsoup-01February 07 2012
February 05 2012
The Assange case means we are all suspects now
This week's Supreme Court hearing in the Julian Assange case has profound meaning for the preservation of basic freedoms in western democracies.
This is Assange's final appeal against his extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual misconduct that were originally dismissed by the chief prosecutor in Stockholm and constitute no crime in Britain.
The consequences, if he loses, lie not in Sweden but in the shadows cast by America's descent into totalitarianism. In Sweden, he is at risk of being "temporarily surrendered" to the US where his life has been threatened and he is accused of "aiding the enemy" with Bradley Manning, the young soldier accused of leaking evidence of US war crimes to WikiLeaks.
The connections between Manning and Assange have been concocted by a secret grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, which allowed no defence counsel or witnesses, and by a system of plea-bargaining that ensures a 90 per cent conviction. It is reminiscent of a Soviet show trial.
The determination of the Obama administration to crush Assange and the unfettered journalism represented by WikiLeaks is revealed in secret Australian Government documents released under freedom of information which describe the US pursuit of WikiLeaks as "an unprecedented investigation". It is unprecedented because it subverts the First Amendment of the US constitution that explicitly protects truth-tellers. In 2008 Barack Obama said, "Government whistleblowers are part of a healthy democracy and must be protected from reprisal". Obama has since prosecuted twice as many whistleblowers as all previous US presidents.
With American courts demanding to see the worldwide accounts of Twitter, Google and Yahoo, the threat to Assange - an Australian - extends to any internet-user anywhere. Washington's enemy is not "terrorism" but the principle of free speech and voices of conscience within its militarist state and those journalists brave enough to tell their stories.
"How do you prosecute Julian Assange and not the New York Times?" a former administration official told Reuters. The threat is well understood by the New York Times, which in 2010 published a selection of the WikiLeaks cables. The editor at the time, Bill Keller, boasted that he had sent the cables to the State Department for vetting. His obeisance extended to his denial that WikiLeaks was a "partner" - which it was - and to personal attacks on Assange. The message to all journalists was clear: do your job as it should be done and you are traitors; do your job as we say you should and you are journalists.
Much of the media's depiction of Bradley Manning illuminates this. The world's pre-eminent prisoner of conscience, Manning remained true to the Nuremberg principle that every soldier has the right to a "moral choice". But according to the New York Times, he is weird or mad, a "geek". In an "exclusive investigation", the Guardian reported him as an "unstable" gay man, who got "out of control" and "wet himself" when he was "picked on". Psycho-hearsay such as this serves to suppress the truth of the outrage Manning felt at the wanton killing in Iraq, his moral heroism and the criminal complicity of his military superiors. "I prefer a painful truth over any blissful fantasy," he reportedly said.
The treatment handed out to Assange is well-documented, though not the duplicitous and cowardly behaviour of his own government. Australia remains a colony in all but name. Australian intelligence agencies are, in effect, branches of the main office in Washington. The Australian military has played a regular role as US mercenary. When prime minister Gough Whitlam tried to change this in 1975 and secure Australia's partial independence, he was dismissed by a governor-general using archaic "reserve powers" who was revealed to have intelligence connections.
WikiLeaks has given Australians a rare glimpse of how their country is run. In 2010, leaked US cables disclosed that key government figures in the Labor Party coup that brought Julia Gillard to power were "protected" sources of the US embassy: what the CIA calls "assets". Kevin Rudd, the prime minister she ousted, had displeased Washington by being disobedient, even suggesting that Australian troops withdraw from Afghanistan.
In the wake of her portentous rise ascent to power, Gillard attacked WikiLeaks as "illegal" and her attorney-general threatened to withdraw Assange's passport. Yet the Australian Federal Police reported that Assange and WikiLeaks had broken no law. Freedom of information files have since revealed that Australian diplomats have colluded with the US in its pursuit of Assange. This is not unusual. The government of John Howard ignored the rule of law and conspired with the US to keep David Hicks, an Australian citizen, in Guantanamo Bay, where he was tortured. Australia's principal intelligence organisation, ASIO, is allowed to imprison refugees indefinitely without explanation, prosecution or appeal.
Every Australian citizen in grave difficulty overseas is said to have the right to diplomatic support. The denial of this to Assange, bar the perfunctory, is an unreported scandal. Last September, Assange's London lawyer, Gareth Peirce, wrote to the Australian Government, warning that Assange's "personal safety and security has become at risk in circumstances that have become highly politically charged". Only when the Melbourne Age reported that she had received no response did a dissembling official letter turn up. Last November, Peirce and I briefed the Australian Consul-General in London, Ken Pascoe. One of Britain's most experienced human rights lawyers, Peirce told him she feared a unique miscarriage of justice if Assange was extradited and his own government remained silent. The silence remains.
Bradley Manning Nobel Peace Prize Nomination 2012
February 1st 2012 the entire parliamentary group of The Movement of the Icelandic Parliament nominated Private Bradley Manning for the Nobel Peace Prize. Following is the reasoning we sent to the committee explaining why we felt compelled to nominate Private Bradley Manning for this important recognition of an individual effort to have an impact for peace in our world. Our letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee: We have the great honor of nominating Private First Class Bradley Manning for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. Manning is a soldier in the United States army who stands accused of releasing hundreds of thousands of documents to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The leaked documents pointed to a long history of corruption, war crimes, and imperialism by the United States government in international dealings. These revelations have fueled democratic uprising around the world, including a democratic revolution in Tunisia. [...]
via Evernote
02mysoup-aa via 02mydafsoup-01February 04 2012
WikiLeaks-Veröffentlichung: USA stellen Manning vors Kriegsgericht
Ihm wird der größte Geheimnisverrat in der Geschichte der USA vorgeworfen. Dafür muss sich Bradley Manning jetzt vor einem Militärgericht verantworten. Dem mutmaßlichen WikiLeaks-Informanten droht eine lebenslange Haftstrafe.
Washington - Es zeichnete sich bereits ab, nun steht fest: Der mutmaßliche WikiLeaks-Informant Bradley Manning muss sich vor einem Militärgericht verantworten. Wie die US-Armee am Freitagabend mitteilte, billigte sie eine entsprechende Empfehlung der Justiz. Alle 22 von der Staatsanwaltschaft vorgebrachten Anklagepunkte würden an das Militärgericht verwiesen, hieß es.
Dem 24-jährigen Manning wird der größte Geheimnisverrat in der US-Geschichte vorgeworfen. Er soll 700.000 größtenteils geheime Dokumente an die Internet-Plattform WikiLeaks weitergegeben haben. Zu den 22 Anklagepunkten gehört unter anderem Unterstützung des Feindes. Dafür könnte Manning zu einer lebenslangen Haftstrafe verurteilt werden.
Die Anklagebehörde sprach bei einer Anhörung vor einigen Wochen von erdrückenden Beweisen dafür, dass Manning "konstant, bewusst und methodisch" interne Dokumente aus Computern gezogen habe, um sie dann WikiLeaks zuzuspielen. Die Verteidigung rief zur Milde auf: Durch die Enthüllungen sei kein Schaden entstanden. Daher wären 30 Jahre Haft für den Obergefreiten angemessen.
Die Entscheidung, das Verfahren an ein Militärgericht zu verweisen, traf der Kommandeur des Militärbezirks Washington, Generalmajor Michael Linnington. Als nächster Schritt wird nun ein Militärrichter ernannt. Dieser werde die Daten für die Verlesung der Anklage, den Beginn der Anhörungen sowie des eigentlichen Prozesses festsetzen, erklärte die US-Armee weiter.
WikiLeaks hatte die Unterlagen zwischen Juli 2010 und September 2011 massenhaft ins Internet gestellt. Die Veröffentlichung sorgte weltweit für Wirbel. Unter den Daten waren zahlreiche geheime US-Militärdokumente zu den Kriegen im Irak und Afghanistan sowie rund 260.000 vertrauliche Depeschen des US-Außenministeriums. Für die USA war die Veröffentlichung eine Blamage.
Der Obergefreite Manning soll die geheimen Daten während seiner Stationierung im Irak von Militärrechnern heruntergeladen haben. Im Mai 2010 wurde der Obergefreite auf seinem Stützpunkt nahe Bagdad festgenommen. Laut den Ermittlern wurden auf Mannings Computern Kontaktdaten für WikiLeaks-Mitgründer Julian Assange und zahlreiche militärische Dokumente gefunden.
February 02 2012
WikiLeaks May Move Servers to International Waters to Avoid Shutdown (ReadWriteWeb)
It's been awhile since we've heard much from WikiLeaks. New leaked data continues to trickle out here and there and Julian Assange is even talking to the press , but major bombshells like the Iraq War Logs or Cablegate haven't been dropped since late 2010. Part of the relative silence has to do with the fact that Assange is currently under house arrest in the U.K. and...
Source : ReadWriteWeb
Explore : Crises and conflicts, Internet, Technology, Web 2, World
sigalonleaksSwedish prosecutors to present Assange case (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Swedish prosecutors to present Assange case LONDON (AP) — Swedish prosecutors will press Britain's Supreme Court to send WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to Sweden to face questioning on sex charges. Assange denies wrongdoing and has fought the extraditon demand across the British court system, saying he fears he won't receive a fair trial if he's sent to Sweden.
Source : Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Explore : Crises and conflicts, Europe, International Personalities, WikiLeaks, World
sigalonleaksAssange’s extradition battle at its final stage (IrishExaminer.com)
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, took his extradition battle to Britain’s Supreme Court yesterday, arguing that sending him to Sweden would violate a fundamental legal principle.
Source : IrishExaminer.com
Explore : Crises and conflicts, International Personalities, Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, World
sigalonleaksAssange appeal significant, barrister says (Sydney Morning Herald )
The outcome of Julian Assange's final appeal against a Swedish extradition attempt will have widespread ramifications on human rights, a legal expert says.
Source : Sydney Morning Herald
Explore : Australia, Human Rights, International Personalities, Oceania, World
sigalonleaksAssange Tells British Court His Extradition Would Be Illegal (The Business Insider)
This post originally appeared in Global Post . WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared before Britain’s Supreme Court this afternoon, arguing through his lawyers that a Swedish warrant for his arrest on allegations of sex crimes was invalid, according to Reuters . Today was the first of two days of hearings scheduled for an appeal against a decision by a lower court of February...
Source : The Business Insider
Explore : Crises and conflicts, International Personalities, Sex Crime, WikiLeaks, World
sigalonleaksFebruary 01 2012
2012-02-01 The Assange Extradition Hearing: Day 1 (WL Central)
Tweet At Day 1 of the Julian Assange extradition hearing On the night before the hearing began, one dedicated Assange supporter in London told me that she planned to arrive at Court by 6 a.m., ahead of the throngs that she expected based on the turnout at Assange's hearing last November. No doubt the freezing February temperatures kept large crowds at home this...
Source : WL Central
Explore : Crises and conflicts, International Personalities, Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, World
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