Friday, December 10, 2010

DTN News - BREAKING NEWS: WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Arrest Is Hypocritical, Says Russia

DTN News - BREAKING NEWS: WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Arrest Is Hypocritical, Says Russia
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources NZHerald.co.nz
(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - December 10, 2010: Russia's leaders seized on the arrest of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to accuse the West of hypocrisy when it comes to freedom of speech.

"If it is full democracy, then why have they hidden Mr Assange in prison? That's what, democracy?" asked the Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin. "As they say in the countryside, some people's cows can moo, but yours should keep quiet."

Mr Putin has frequently had to field difficult questions about the alarming frequency with which journalists are pressured and even killed in Russia, and took evident pleasure in the shoe being on the other foot. "I would like to shoot the puck back at our American colleagues," he added.

On Wednesday, a source in the administration of President Dmitry Medvedev made the mischievous suggestion to a Russian news agency that Mr Assange should be nominated for a Nobel prize. "Public and non-governmental organisations should think of how to help him," added the source.

Many of the leaked US diplomatic ommuniquEs paint Russia and its leaders in a bad light, describing it as a "mafia state" with endemic corruption, allegations which the Kremlin has brushed off as not based in fact.

The current tone of Moscow officials, who have portrayed Mr Assange as a crusader for the truth, is rather different from that a couple of months ago, when the WikiLeaks founder suggested he might have documents that compromised the Russian leadership.

WikiLeaks, Assange and the Spartacus effect

The issue: Julian Assange may have turned himself over to British authorities on Tuesday to answer Swedish sexual assault charges, but the debate about WikiLeaks rages on. U.S. politicians have called for him to be prosecuted under American espionage laws. MasterCard, PayPal and Visa have stopped transmitting donations to the organization. But “cyberanarchists” have rallied around WikiLeaks, launching online attacks on the organizations that they deem Assange’s enemies.

Dianne Feinstein, Democratic U.S. senator, Wall Street Journal: “The law Mr. Assange continues to violate is the Espionage Act of 1917. That law makes it a felony for an unauthorized person to possess or transmit ‘information relating to the national defence which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation.’ . . . Mr. Assange claims to be a journalist and would no doubt rely on the First Amendment to defend his actions. But he is no journalist: He is an agitator intent on damaging our government, whose policies he happens to disagree with, regardless of who gets hurt.”

Adam Serwer, The American Prospect: “If WikiLeaks is prosecuted under the Espionage Act as it currently exists, then no journalistic institution or entity is safe. The idea that any time that a journalist obtains a document that has ‘information related to the national defence’ that could be used ‘to the injury of the United States’ they could be subject to prosecution would destroy national security journalism as it currently exists.”

Glenn Greenwald, Salon: “How can it possibly be that WikiLeaks should be prosecuted for espionage, but not The New York Times or The Guardian or any other newspaper that publishes these cables?”

Jack Shafer, Slate: “Assange’s jailing changes the ‘conversation’ from how-dare-he to how-dare-they almost as efficiently as if a deranged vigilante had put a bullet in his brain. Our culture loves to protect and defend ‘victims,’ which is what the legal proceedings are turning him into. Overnight, he’s becoming an albino Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., writing his letter from jail. . . . The decisions by Visa, MasterCard and PayPal to shutter WikiLeaks accounts for reasons similar to those of Amazon will also backfire in Assange’s favour. People who didn’t much care about WikiLeaks last week might became outraged and politicized by the financial overlords’ capricious behaviour . . . The more WikiLeaks leaks while Assange is in jail, the more he’ll become like Spartacus, making him an inspirational figure, not just a controversial one. The mirroring of the WikiLeaks information to hundreds of servers around the globe is one manifestation of the Spartacus effect.”

Anonymous WikiLeaks supporter writing online of the cyber-attacks: “The war is on. And everyone ought to spend some time thinking about it, discussing it with others, preparing yourselves so you know how to act if something compels you to make a decision. Be very careful not to err on the side of inaction.”

E.D. Kain, Ordinary-Gentlemen. com: “If the publisher of a small website dedicated to the dissemination of the state secrets of the Chinese government were operating their publishing outfit out of the United States and published a bunch of leaked Chinese state secrets (both on their website and through various larger media organizations) and the Chinese government declared that a violation of Chinese law, should the U.S. government arrest and detain and possibly extradite that person to China?”

Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo. com: “But there’s one thing that oddly hasn’t gotten that much attention, even though it’s out there in plain site [sic]. That’s the role of Bradley Manning, the Army private who is reportedly (though we have no proof of this) responsible for the Afghanistan, Iraq and State Department leaks. Manning’s role is no secret. Everyone knows about him, even though we don’t have confirmation that he’s the guy. But assuming he is the guy, his role is so central that this is really more the Bradley Manning story than the WikiLeaks story. Maybe Assange will bust out next week with a huge cache of BoA (Bank of America) files, or maybe the same for the Russian government. But at the moment at least it’s not clear that WikiLeaks would have gotten anywhere at all without this one kid giving them all these documents.”

Kevin Drum, Mother Jones: “After all, even a ‘war against terror’ might be unwinnable but still manage to minimize terrorist attacks. But as near as I can tell, we could literally kill every person associated with WikiLeaks, impound every cent of their money, and take down all their servers, and it would have virtually no impact. All the existing documents would still be available, and other groups would pop up almost instantly to take WikiLeaks’ place.”

Ron Paul, Republican congressman, on Twitter: “Re: WikiLeaks — In a free society, we are supposed to know the truth. In a society where truth becomes treason, we are in big trouble.”

A woman looks at the Wikileaks site as a photo of Julian Assange(R) is displayed on a monitor on November 30, 2010 in Schwerin, northeastern Germany.

A woman looks at the Wikileaks site as a photo of Julian Assange(R) is displayed on a monitor on November 30, 2010 in Schwerin, northeastern Germany.

JENS BUTTNER

A look at the controversial whistle-blowing site Wikileaksas they continue to release a cache of secret documents

YESTERDAY

Users outraged Amazon U.K. is selling WikiLeaks eBook

Amazon Inc. is again coming under fire for an eBook published via its self-publishing Kindle book service.

14:41:PM
YESTERDAY

Dutch police arrest 16-year-old in Mastercard, Paypal website attacks

Boy suspected of involvement in digital attacks that made it difficult to access several prominent financial payment websites earlier this week.

13:36:PM
YESTERDAY

Lebanese paper’s website under hacker attack over WikiLeaks, says editor

Al-Akhbar was given copies of U.S. diplomatic documents by WikiLeaks. The paper is close to Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and its allies.

10:10:AM
YESTERDAY

WikiLeaks’ payment processor to sue credit card companies

WikiLeaks’ payment processor said Thursday that it was preparing to sue Visa and MasterCard over their refusal to process donations to the website.

6:39:AM
DEC 8, 2010
MasterCard credit cards are seen in this illustrative photograph taken in London December 8, 2010. Hackers have crashed the website of credit card firm MasterCard in apparent retaliation for its blocking of donations to the Wikileaks website it was reported on Wednesday.

MasterCard site back up; attacks tied to WikiLeaks

The online attacks are part of a wave of online support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange that is sweeping the Internet.

16:48:PM
DEC 8, 2010
“Julian Assange reacted to any criticism with the allegation that I was disobedient to him and disloyal to the project,” says Daniel Domscheit-Berg, who quit as WikiLeaks' spokesman and has complete a tell-all book about his time there.

Ex-WikiLeaks spokesman to publish tell-all book next month

“This one-dimensional confrontation with the U.S.A. is not what we set out to do,” says the author of Inside WikiLeaks.

11:22:AM
DEC 8, 2010

Australia blames U.S. for leaks, says Assange not to blame

Australia’s foreign minister said Wednesday the blame lies with the leaker and the U.S. government’s failure to protect its secrets.

10:13:AM
DEC 7, 2010
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, back to camera, is driven into Westminster Magistrates Court in London Tuesday Dec. 7, 2010 after being arrested on a European Arrest Warrant. Assange is appearing at the court for his extradition hearing for sexual assault allegations in Sweden.

STD fears sparked WikiLeaker sex case

Decision to shut off cellphone helped create problems for Julian Assange

21:02:PM
DEC 7, 2010

Countries seen pulling back from U.S. over Wikileaks

Renewed concerns that would-be informants might not be coming forward out of fear they could be exposed.

15:35:PM
DEC 7, 2010

Yemen used anti-Qaeda aid in northern war: cables

The fight against al Qaeda suffered when Yemen diverted counter-terrorism resources provided by the West.

DEC 7, 2010

WikiLeaks dump has damaged some foreign relations: U.S. official

Department of Defence spokesman Col. Dave Lapan says there are indications of foreign powers “pulling back” from their dealings with the U.S.

12:48:PM
DEC 7, 2010

Famous friends fail to free WikiLeaks’ founder

A socialite, a film director and a veteran journalist took the witness stand in a failed bid to stop Julian Assange from being jailed while he fights extradition.

12:46:PM
DEC 7, 2010

Visa joins PayPal in suspending payments to WikiLeaks

Visa says it has suspended all payments to WikiLeaks pending an investigation of the organization's business.

9:15:AM
DEC 6, 2010
The face of Julian Assange is seen through a a magnifying glass on December 6, 2010 in Paris.

Assange’s lawyer confirms talks with U.K. police

Swiss Post pulls plug on key WikiLeaks bank account

17:30:PM
DEC 6, 2010

Latest WikiLeaks like giving a hit list to terrorists, U.S. officials say

Locations cited in Clinton’s diplomatic cable include undersea communication lines, mines, suppliers of food and manufacturing materials.

17:03:PM
DEC 6, 2010

Wikileaks: The Canadian sites ‘vital’ to American interests

Among the cables released Sunday was a list of critical infrastructure sites outside the U.S. that the Americans regard as vital to their interests.

10:10:AM
DEC 5, 2010

WikiLeaks: U.S. grumbles about Gulf’s commitment to fighting terror

Among the cables released Sunday was a list of critical infrastructure sites in Canada that the Americans regard as vital to their interests.

20:21:PM
DEC 5, 2010

Iran says WikiLeaks is U.S. propaganda ploy

The publication of secret cables was not an embarrassing blow but a deliberate ploy by Washington to improve its image, an Iranian official said.

9:51:AM
DEC 4, 2010

Afghan minister warns WikiLeaks claims will hurt U.S. relations

A leaked diplomatic cable has undermined the U.S. ambassador’s relationships with key Afghan ministers at a time when ties between the two countries are already strained, a top adviser to President Hamid Karzai said Saturday.

20:16:PM
DEC 4, 2010

Columbia students warned away from online discourse on WikiLeaks docs

Columbia University students considering diplomacy careers are being warned to avoid linking to or posting online comments about secret U.S. documents released by the WikiLeaks website.

18:43:PM
DEC 4, 2010

Top Ahmadinejad aide says US fabricated Iran WikiLeaks cables

Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported Saturday that the head of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s office, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, told the newspaper “these documents cannot be authentic.”

16:26:PM
DEC 4, 2010

PayPal cuts off WikiLeaks’ donation stream

The online payment service provider PayPal has cut off the account used by WikiLeaks to collect donations, serving another blow to the organization just as it was struggling to keep its website accessible after an American company stopped directing traffic to it.

11:10:AM
DEC 4, 2010

Libya held its last uranium ‘hostage’ to demand better ties with U.S.

As it dismantled its nuclear weapons program, Libya sparked a tense diplomatic standoff with the United States last year when it refused to hand over its last batch of highly enriched uranium to protest the slowness of improving ties with Washington, leaked U.S. diplomatic memos reveal.

2:03:AM
DEC 3, 2010
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stands in front of Turkey's national flag in this undated handout photo released to Reuters on December 1, 2010. Relations between Turkey and the U.S. have been harmed by the WikiLeaks cables.

WikiLeaks has unsettled everybody

True, some of the 250,000-odd WikiLeaks dispatches that are flooding the media are banal: North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il is a “flabby old chap.” But there’s more, much more.

17:59:PM
DEC 3, 2010

WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange lashes out at former Stephen Harper aide

Speaking from a hiding spot, he said Friday that Tom Flanagan “should be charged with incitement to commit murder” for saying Assange should be assassinated.

11:00:AM
DEC 3, 2010

WikiLeaks switches to Swiss domain after attacks

WikiLeaks’ U.S. domain name system provider, EveryDNS, withdrew service to the wikileaks.org name late Thursday.

10:26:AM
DEC 3, 2010

Release of cables shows collaboration between WikiLeaks, media

Unlike earlier disclosures, Wikileaks is releasing only a trickle of documents at a time after considering advice from five news organizations.

9:56:AM
DEC 3, 2010

WikiLeaks shows bribery, corruption rampant in Afghanistan

U.S. diplomatic cables revealed Friday portray Afghanistan as rife with graft to the highest levels of government.

7:53:AM
DEC 2, 2010
Britain's Prince Andrew smiles during an official launch of HSBC Amanah Malaysia Cheras branch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, May 19, 2010. Included in the WikiLeaks cables: Intrigue, drama, and some unexpected giggles. There's the anti-American rant from Britain's Prince Andrew, who puzzlingly boasts about the U.K.'s superior geography teachers at a lunch with the U.S. ambassador to Kyrgyzstan in the central Asian country. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Lai Seng Sin

Forget policy, some of this WikiLeaks stuff is great to read

Note to Tatiana Gfoeller, U.S. ambassador to Kyrgyzstan: If you ever tire of the Foreign Service, there may a reporting job for you.

17:36:PM
DEC 2, 2010

Leaked U.S. diplomatic cables portray Russia as virtual ‘mafia state’

The documents, part of a vast tranche of purloined communiques released by WikiLeaks, suggest that corruption has metastasized through Russia.

11:26:AM
DEC 2, 2010
In this Oct. 23, 2010 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, speaks during a news conference in London. Media lawyer Mark Stephens says Assange and his attorneys have not been provided with any information beyond what has been reported in the press about the sexual misconduct case against him in Sweden.

Swedish Supreme Court denies Julian Assange’s appeal

Sweden’s Supreme Court upheld a court order to detain WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for questioning over allegations of rape and sexual molestation.

7:52:AM
DEC 1, 2010

Little fallout over cables referring to Canada

American officials are showing signs of relief that at least Canada’s share of the humiliating WikiLeaks disclosures is minor

20:01:PM
DEC 1, 2010

WikiLeaks confirm fear of Iran’s nuclear ambition

Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran.

17:19:PM
DEC 1, 2010

China blocks WikiLeaks website

Attempts to access wikileaks.org and cablegate.wikileaks.org were met with a notice saying the connection had been reset.

11:23:AM
DEC 1, 2010

10 things you don’t know about WikiLeaks mystery man Julian Assange

WikiLeaks' mystery man Julian Assange spent part of his childhood on the run. That’s just one of the interesting facts about his life.

11:05:AM
DEC 1, 2010
A file photo taken on November 4, 2010 shows Wikileaks founder Julian Assange attending a press conference at the Geneva Press Club in Geneva.  Interpol said on December 1, 2010 it had alerted member states to arrest WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange on suspicion of rape on the basis of a Swedish arrest warrant.

Case is ‘persecution and not a prosecution:’ Assange’s lawyer

The lawyer for Julian Assange says that the decision to add the Australian to Interpol’s most wanted list shows that his client is being persecuted.

10:24:AM
DEC 1, 2010

White House rejects WikiLeaks founder’s call for Clinton’s resignation

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that Julian Assange’s statements “are both ridiculous and absurd.”

10:03:AM
DEC 1, 2010

Clinton says cable leaks will not damage U.S. diplomacy

Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she has discussed the revelations published on the WikiLeaks website with her international colleagues.

7:43:AM
DEC 1, 2010
Image

Wikileaks: Harper got special D-Day invite to boost image

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s “political trouble” in Canada was the reason he won an exclusive invitation from France to attend last year’s D-Day commemoration, a secret U.S. diplomatic document reveals.

0:54:AM
NOV 30, 2010

U.S., U.K. feared for safety of Pakistan’s nuclear material

The WikiLeaks site came under renewed cyber attack Tuesday as a fresh batch of secret documents revealed the depth of American and British fears over Pakistan’s nuclear material falling into the wrong hands

21:38:PM
NOV 30, 2010

U.S. cuts access to cables after WikiLeaks embarrassment

By temporarily pulling the plug, the United States significantly reduced the number of government employees who can read important diplomatic messages.

18:46:PM
NOV 30, 2010

Cable: U.S. ambassador praised ex-Gitmo inmate

One of more than 290 cables posted so far by WikiLeaks quotes Ambassador Cynthia Stroum as saying that former Guantanamo prisoner Moazzam Begg was “doing our work for us” by pressing European officials to take in those interned at the controversial prison.

18:25:PM
NOV 30, 2010

Zimbabwe parties dismiss negative WikiLeaks comments

So far, only WikiLeaks cables by U.S. Ambassador Chris Dell, who left Harare in 2007, have included derogatory remarks about Zimbabwe’s political leaders on both sides of the coalition.

14:28:PM
NOV 30, 2010
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, holds a news conference in Geneva, in this Nov. 4, 2010 file photo. A senior defence official says lawyers from across U.S. government agencies are studying whether it might be possible to prosecute Assange under the Espionage Act.

Palin: Hunt Wikileaks director; U.S. explores espionage charge

Sarah Palin wants to hunt down Julian Assange the way we pursue al Qaeda, while pundit Bill O'Reilly proposes execution.

10:38:AM
NOV 30, 2010

WikiLeaks founder again appeals Swedish detention order

Julian Assange has filed another appeal against a court order to detain him in a rape investigation, Swedish officials said Tuesday.

7:53:AM
NOV 29, 2010
People read Monday's U.S. newspapers front pages outside the Newseum in Washington November 29, 2010.

Canada has 'Alice In Wonderland' attitude on terrorism: Wikileaks

Former Canadian spy chief Jim Judd is also quoted as saying that Canadian courts have the security service "tied in knots," hampering their ability to detect and prevent terror attacks inside Canada and beyond.

21:48:PM
NOV 29, 2010
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) shakes hands with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri during a meeting at the foreign ministry in Tehran on November 28, 2010.

Israel feels vindicated by Wikileaks

Hundreds of cables sent by U.S. diplomats reveal that Arab leaders view Iran as the region’s greatest menace, just like Jerusalem.

17:34:PM
NOV 29, 2010

Wikileaks first wave: Embarrassing revelations

Some of the more embarrassing revelations from the first wave of 3 million secret U.S. State Department cables released Sunday by Wikileaks:

6:59:AM
NOV 28, 2010

Potter: Canada condemns WikiLeaks after first wave

The first wave of documents released by Wikileaks show the U.S. as a superpower secretly struggling to maintain its hold on an increasingly chaotic world. So far, Canada has been spared.

22:09:PM

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