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by hava1 » Fri Nov 26, 2010 5:36 am
by wintler2 » Fri Nov 26, 2010 7:50 am
seemslikeadream wrote:MacCruiskeen wrote: So I'd feel easier in my mind if Assange had also supplied the stuff to some other publications that are less deeply tainted with a long history of power-worship and service to power.
and I am sure he will, maybe he's grabbing a bit of free publicity to kick off the game
hava1 wrote:Israeli backtalkers pre-view on wikileaks megabomb, the right wing (ultra ultra) is happy with the leak...saying that most of the trashing is personal gossip on "world leaders", perhaps netanyahu included.
"personal" ? meaning "sexual" ? we'll wait and see....
by anothershamus » Fri Nov 26, 2010 11:57 am
Ben D wrote:seemslikeadream wrote:
Assange is playing them, no doubt,....
I still have doubts, there has to be some awfully powerful backing behind Assange if he is really the goods, just to allow the wikileaks operation to function with ongoing sufficient freedom and effectiveness to negotiate deals with media giants and get the stuff out there.
Some big chess moves may be going on with these leaks, but for me it is too soon to discern whether the moves involve real losses, or mere pawns being sacrificed to set up a result down the track.
by hava1 » Fri Nov 26, 2010 12:47 pm
by seemslikeadream » Fri Nov 26, 2010 1:02 pm
anothershamus wrote:On Edit: Here are some recent tweets as of 8:03 Pacific Daylight Time, Friday Nov 26th:
# Israel contacted by US Embassy in Tel Aviv over presumed pending release according to Haaretz 23 minutes ago via web
# Now is a good time to download some "history insurance" https://thepiratebay.org/torrent/572313 ... _insurance about 4 hours ago via web
# Norway briefed by US on WikiLeaks according to NRK (state TV) about 5 hours ago via web
# Denmark briefed by US Ambassador on WikiLeaks according to Danish press about 5 hours ago via web
# Canada briefed by US Ambassador according to CBC about 5 hours ago via web
# Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd briefed by Hillary Clinton on Wikileaks, according to SMH about 5 hours ago via web
# Sky reports US Ambassador visits Downing Street in advance of Wikileaks document release about 5 hours ago via web
# NYT briefed the Whitehouse on Monday over Embassy Files: Now we see every tinpot dictator in the world briefed prior to release. about 5 hours ago via web
# WikiLeaks in today's media http://wlcentral.org/ about 6 hours ago via web
# Should WikiLeaks expose the world's secret diplomatic backroom dealings? Put it to the vote! http://is.gd/hN4Jh about 6 hours ago via web
by anothershamus » Fri Nov 26, 2010 1:22 pm
by seemslikeadream » Fri Nov 26, 2010 8:35 pm
http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Wikileaks-Diplomatic-disaster-zone.6641656.jp
Relations with Turkey could also be damaged.
According to the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat, several documents show that the US has been providing assistance to Turkey's Kurdish separatist movement, the PKK. A report in Israel's Jerusalem Post said the US military documents refer to the PKK as "warriors for freedom and Turkish citizens" and say that the US had set free arrested PKK members in Iraq.
The documents also point out that US forces in Iraq have given weapons to the PKK and ignored the organisation's operations inside Turkey.
One of the documents to be released is also believed to charge Turkey with providing indirect assistance to the terrorist group al-Qaeda by failing to properly control the movement of people across its shared border with Iraq.
by seemslikeadream » Sat Nov 27, 2010 12:39 pm
Wikileaks – Save the World -Save a Child
by HAWK GRAEY on NOVEMBER 26, 2010
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stumbled upon an obscure treatise named, “Mortem Mathematica,” in English, “The Mathematics of Death.”
It is misnamed. Its incorrect sub-title is “How You Can Live Longer Through the Death of Others.”
The original title was, “Ex Liberi Mortem Mathematica” or for the Latin Challenged, “Save a Child – The Mathematics of Saving the World.”
Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld as well as many others have the incorrect tome in their possession.
You’re dying to know just what is in this infamous book. (Pun intended)
Here’s the Executive Summary for those of you who are ADD and want to get to the ending. (Pun intended)
“For every life you take, you will gain one day in your life.”
This is the incorrect translation of this ancient codec. (How many times have you heard that? “Incorrect translation”)
This has been working terrifically well for Cheney and Rumsfeld. The ironic part of this little play is that they didn’t even tell George Bush what they thought this whole thing was about.
Cheney’s heart doesn’t work and Rumsfeld’s mind was gone long ago. (What we don’t know, we don’t know….blah, blah, blah)
Cheney to Rummy, “OK, I scammed my way into the VP slot, God, that old, ‘No one is qualified’ thing worked great with Howdy Doody. His father never would have fallen for that. You’re going to be Secretary of Defense, (howls of laughter and delight, Aarooo!) WE, you and me amigo are going to start several wars. Remember, every time one those stupid kids is killed, we get One More Day of Life! Double Bonus for women, Rummy! (According to the mis-translated book)”
And So It Goes. (Linda Ellerbee I have always loved you)
War, Huh…what is it good for? Absolutely nothing…except making life sucking vampires think they’re getting, “one more day.”
We’re going to take a little side trip here.
With every single “Major Religious Codec” (the Bible, Old, (Talmud) and New (Testament), Koran, Dhamma of Buddhism, Vedas of Hindusim, Bhagavad Gita of Sanskrit, they have all been “interpreted” as best as suits the interpreter. Executive Summary: None of the Holy Books were written in English. It’s some wanker’s idea of what was really written. No one speak those languages today and reading them accurately is, well it’s more ‘art’ than science.
The “Mortem Mathematica,” was “Interpreted” and we add, INCORECTLY.
The Mortem Mathematica says and very clearly, “Human life began in Africa. For the life of every African child you save, who lives, one day will be added to the life of this world. For the life of every child that is taken, one day from this world will be subtracted.”
Some illiterate Catholic Monk in AD 313 mixes up the verb tense and publishes, “For every human life that is taken you will live one more day.”
Cheney and Rumsfeld raid the “Warehouse” with all of those numbered crates we saw at the end of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and get the bastardized copy of The Mortem Mathematica.
The best that can be said at this point is, “Oh crap.”
Told that “thousands of innocent men and women will die if this information is made public,” Julian Assange whipped out his calculator and computed that 1,000 lives gives him 3 more years of life. (Crappy calculator too)
N.B. to Julian, “Publish some ‘Leak’ that saves the life of a child, in Africa or anywhere on this planet, YOU might not get another day added to your personal egg timer, BUT, the World, this Planet gets One More Day. It’s for our grandchildren’s – grandchildren.
by seemslikeadream » Sat Nov 27, 2010 1:42 pm
U.S. warns world leaders that new WikiLeaks revelations will 'expose corruption between allies' and show what America REALLY thinks of its friends
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 5:27 PM on 27th November 2010
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3 million documents set to go online
U.S. diplomats face being kicked out of countries in backlash
Corrupt politicians expected to be named and shamed
Bombshell leak thought to include U.S. assessments of Gordon Brown
Secret talks on return of Lockerbie bomber to Libya may also be leaked
Allegations 'include U.S. backing of Kurdish terrorists'
Blowing the whistle: Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks (pictured earlier this month), is said to be preparing to release more sensitive documents
World leaders were warned last night by America that damaging secrets about their nations were about to be laid bare.
The documents include highly damaging and embarrassing communiques from U.S. embassies around the world, especially from London - revealing the truth behind the so-called 'special relationship' between the U.K. and the U.S.
The U.S. ambassador to London made an unprecedented personal visit to Downing Street to warn that whistleblower website WikiLeaks was about to publish secret assessments of what Washington really thinks of Britain.
The website is on the verge of revealing almost three million documents, including thousands of sensitive diplomatic cables sent to Washington from the American embassy in London.
The bombshell leak is thought to include U.S. assessments of former British prime minister Gordon Brown’s personality and his prospects of winning the General Election, and secret discussions on the return of the Lockerbie bomber to Libya.
Assessments of current Prime Minister David Cameron’s election chances and his private assurances to U.S. officials may also be included, Government sources believe.
They fear they will emerge on Sunday in co-ordinated releases in newspapers in Britain, Germany and America.
The British government is so worried that last night it issued a D-Notice, warning that publishing the secrets could compromise national security.
The website has previously released secret details of allied military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Revelations of American brutality in Iraq and Afghanistan created shockwaves, made WikiLeaks notorious and led to its founder Julian Assange - an Australian-born computer hacker - being vilified by governments around the world. He is now wanted for alleged rape in Sweden.
In total, around 2.7million confidential messages between the U.S. government and its embassies around the world are to be released.
Expose: WikiLeaks' posts on its Twitter page showing how the U.S. government, in anticipation of an imminent expose, is briefing its allies on what to expect
The U.S. State Department warned that the leaks would damage relationships around the world.
Spokesman P J Crowley said: ‘These revelations are harmful to the U.S. and our interests. They are going to create tension in relationships between our diplomats and our friends around the world.’
The U.S. ambassador to Britain, Louis Susman, was seen going into Downing Street and the Foreign Office yesterday to brief officials for what was described as ‘contingency planning’.
‘He came in to explain what they thought we could expect,’ said one Whitehall source.
Defence sources said British national security could be ‘put at risk’ by the release, as they are expected to contain details of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and pull-outs and revelations about secret service practices and intelligence sources.
‘These revelations are harmful to the U.S. and our interests. They are going to create tension in relationships between our diplomats and our friends around the world’
Downing Street is braced for potentially hugely embarrassing disclosures about private U.S. assessments of Britain and its leaders.
There are fears of even the most apparently trivial secrets being hugely damaging.
One British official said they feared that mutual American and British contempt for the French would emerge.
‘Moaning about the French was practically a sport,’ he said.
Mr Cameron’s spokesman declined to discuss the nature of any confidential communications that could be released.
He said: ‘Obviously, the Government has been briefed by U.S. officials, by the ambassador. I don’t want to speculate about precisely what is going to be leaked before it is leaked.’
As well as Britain, the U.S. has warned the governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Israel in advance of the release.
Concern: Bombshell leaks are thought to include a U.S. assessment of Gordon Brown and David Cameron's election chances - and secret talks on the return of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Al Megrahi (right) to Libya
It has been claimed that a backlash by countries upset over the leaks may lead to U.S. diplomats being expelled.
The next release is expected to include thousands of diplomatic cables reporting allegations of corruption against politicians in Russia, Afghanistan and other Central Asian nations.
But there were no specific details as to the nature of the corruption allegations or which governments are involved.
However, according to the UK-based Arabic daily newspaper al-Hayat, the WikiLeaks release includes documents that show Turkey has helped Al Qaeda in Iraq - an extraordinary revelation which could kill off the country’s hopes of joining the EU.
‘HA HA, I HIT THEM'’: THE EXPOSES THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD
Until now WikiLeaks had published two batches of classified files.
The first was about the war in Afghanistan and gave a grim picture of the day-to-day struggle against the Taliban and the frustrations of trying to train the Afghan police.
The second covered the period in the occupation of Iraq between 2004 and 2009 and contained revelations that America failed to investigate hundreds of reports of abuse, rape, torture and murder by Iraqi police and soldiers.
The information also revealed that more than 15,000 civilians died in previously unknown incidents - U.S. and UK officials have insisted that no official record of civilian casualties exists but the logs record 66,081 non-combatant deaths out of a total of 109,000 fatalities.
In addition, the logs claim that in one incident a British rifleman shot dead an eight-year-old Iraqi girl as she played in the streets.
Before the June exposes, the whistleblowing service shocked the world with the publication of a video in April showing American soldiers laughing as a helicopter strike kills around a dozen civilians in Baghdad.
In the 17-minute black-and-white footage, pictured above, from an Apache helicopter gunsight, the crew can be heard discussing the carnage as if they were playing a video war game.
One soldier can even be heard shouting: 'Ha, ha, I hit 'em.' Another says: 'Look at those dead b******s.'
WHO IS JULIAN ASSANGE AND WHAT IS HIS WEBSITE WIKILEAKS ABOUT?
WikiLeaks was set up in 2007 by journalist and computer programmer Julian Assange.
The Australian, whose parents met at a protest against the Vietnam War, says he wanted to allow whistleblowers to publish sensitive materials without fear of being identified.
Mr Assange, pictured below at a press conference in July following his first major expose, says his website's complex set-up is designed to ensure that information sent to it becomes anonymous before it is passed on to the web servers.
Its servers are spread all over the world and do not keep logs, so governments cannot trace where the information is being sent and received from.
Even so, WikiLeaks encourages donors to post the material to them on CDs to its base in Iceland, over encrypted internet connections or from net cafes.
The service, which also runs a network of lawyers to defend its publications and sources, claims that none of its informants have been traced so far.
Adding to this intrigue, Mr Assange's legal team have recently been busy arguing over an international arrest warrant which has been issued for the WikiLeaks boss by Swedish prosecutors over allegations of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.
The allegations, which the 39-year-old has repeatedly denied, relate to two women he met while on a visit to Sweden in August.
Mr Assange’s London lawyer Mark Stephens, has said the claims were 'false and without basis’.
The Washington Post reported that the files will contain allegations that the U.S. has supported the PKK, a Kurdish rebel organization that has been waging a separatist war against Turkey since 1984.
The U.S. says it has known for some time that WikiLeaks held the cables.
No one has been charged with passing them to the website, but suspicion focuses on Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst arrested in Iraq in June and charged over an earlier leak.
A Downing Street spokesman today declined to discuss the nature of any confidential communications which may have been obtained by WikiLeaks.
But he said: 'Obviously, the Government has been briefed by U.S. officials, by the U.S. ambassador, as to the likely content of these leaks.
'I don't want to speculate about precisely what is going to be leaked before it is leaked.'
The U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv warned the country's foreign ministry that some of the cables could concern U.S.-Israel relations, the daily newspaper Haaretz claimed.
WikiLeaks said on its Twitter feed earlier this week that its new release would be seven times larger than the nearly 400,000 Pentagon documents related to the Iraq war which it made public in October.
The U.S. State Department confirmed it has begun notifying foreign governments and it fears serious diplomatic fallout over the expose.
'These revelations are harmful to the United States and our interests,' said a spokesman.
'They are going to create tension in relationships between our diplomats and our friends around the world.'
Senior military staff on both sides of the Atlantic are still furious over that release of 400,000 classified documents, the biggest military leak of all time.
They detailed what WikiLeaks founder Assange called 'compelling evidence of war crimes' by the U.S.-led coalition and the Iraq government and sparked calls for a full inquiry.
Should WikiLeaks go ahead with its promise, it will be the third time it has published such information in the face of opposition from military top brass around the world.
MYSTERY OF ASSANGE ‘LIFE INSURANCE’ TWEET
WikiLeaks is urging the public to download a mysterious ‘insurance’ file said to contain information to be released if Julian Assange is killed.
In a Twitter post today (pictured below) the whistleblowing service published a link to the Pirate Bay file sharing site with the comment: 'Now is a good time to download some ‘history insurance’.
The giant file, nearly 2GB in size, is said to contain thousands of secret U.S. documents aimed at embarrassing the nation’s government, and potentially causing harm to the United States’ relations with allies.
The file has been around since this summer and is heavily encrypted.
In the event of Mr Assange’s death (or some other unspecified reason), the secret key would be released — exposing the documents to all who have downloaded and obtained the key.
It is uncertain why WikiLeaks is now urging users to download the file, but it just may be that they’re planning to release the key soon.
The first batch was about the war in Afghanistan and gave a grim picture of the day-to-day struggle against the Taliban and the frustrations of trying to train the Afghan police.
The second covered the period in the occupation of Iraq between 2004 and 2009 and contained revelations that America failed to investigate hundreds of reports of abuse, rape, torture and murder by Iraqi police and soldiers.
The information also revealed that more than 15,000 civilians died in previously unknown incidents - U.S. and UK officials have insisted that no official record of civilian casualties exists but the logs record 66,081 non-combatant deaths out of a total of 109,000 fatalities.
In addition, the logs claim that in one incident a British rifleman shot dead an eight-year-old Iraqi girl as she played in the streets.
The information will almost certainly have come from the Bradley Manning, the dissident U.S. army intelligence analyst who earlier this year is alleged to have leaked the first tranche, some 90,000 logs chronicling bloody encounters and civilian killings in Afghanistan.
Adding to the controversy is the international arrest warrant which has been issued for Mr Assange by Swedish prosecutors over allegations of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.
The allegations, which the 39-year-old Australian has repeatedly denied, relate to two women he met while on a visit to Sweden in August.
Assange’s London lawyer Mark Stephens, has said the claims were 'false and without basis’.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z16VQFdUci
by JackRiddler » Sat Nov 27, 2010 3:01 pm
US warns allies on WikiLeaks dump
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, calls foreign counterparts about expected content of leaked cables.
Last Modified: 27 Nov 2010 14:21 GMT
The whistle-blowing website run by Julian Assange, pictured, is set to make public its largest tranche of files [EPA]
US allies around the world have been briefed by American diplomats about the expected release of three million potentially embarrasing classified files by the WikiLeaks whistleblowing website.
"Across the state department, senior officials are reaching out to countries and warning them about a possible release of documents," PJ Crowley, the US state department spokesman, said.
He said that Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, had reached out to leaders in China, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, France and Afghanistan regarding WikiLeaks.
"We are all bracing for what may be coming and condemn WikiLeaks for the release of classified material," Crowley said. "It will place lives and interests at risk. It is irresponsible."
The documents, believed to consist largely of diplomatic cables between overseas missions and the state department in Washington, were expected to be released over the weekend, although WikiLeaks has not confirmed the timing.
'Potentially embarrassing'
Steve Field, the UK prime minister's spokesman, had already confirmed that the government had been told of "the likely content of these leaks" by Louis Susman, the US ambassador to London.
Italy's foreign minister, Franco Frattini, also said that he had spoken with the US state department, which told him that there would be documents regarding Italy in the leak, "but the content can't be anticipated."Latest Updates
US Prepares for New WikiLeaks Release
petulantsage Things you should be Googling ahead of #wikileaks release: Office of Military Cooperation-Yemen. Jundallah. Balouchistan. Dagestan.
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"We're talking about thousands and thousands of classified documents that the US will not comment on, as is their custom," Frattini said.
The governments of Canada, Norway, and Denmark also said they had been briefed by US officials.
Israel has also been warned of potential embarrassment from the release, which could include confidential reports from the US embassy in Tel Aviv.
Authorities in Ankara were also contacted, a senior Turkish diplomat told the AFP news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.
According to Turkish media reports, the planned release includes papers suggesting that Turkey helped al-Qaeda fighters in Iraq, and that the US helped Iraq-based separatist Kurdish rebels fighting against Turkey.
The data could also harm Moscow's relations with Washington, the Kommersant newspaper reported Friday.
The confidential cables contain general assessments of the political situation in Russia and "unflattering characteristics" of Russian leaders, the respected business daily reported, citing a source at the whistle-blowing website.
"The documents include recordings of US diplomats' conversations with Russian politicians, assessments of Russia's most notable events, and analyses of what is happening in the country and in its domestic and foreign politics," the newspaper wrote.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that his office has not been officially informed by Washington about the impending file dump, which he blamed on "little thieves running around the internet."
"They steal secret documents there, but we do not get the same thing here - or at least not to the same extent," the Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.
The files are also expected to include thousands of diplomatic cables reporting corruption by politicians in Afghanistan and other Central Asian nations.
Officials in several countries, including the UK, have issued defence advisory notices to contain the spill of data through media organizations covering the release.
"All governments no doubt will be putting pressure on media within their particular countries," Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, said.
Our correspondent also said "intelligence agencies have been conducting a forensics exercise" to determine what sensitive information will be leaked.
Hanna said that the expected data dump could directly impact on current diplomatic engagements.
Timed assault
The Obama administration said earlier this week that it had alerted Congress and begun notifying foreign governments that the website was preparing to release a huge cache of diplomatic cables whose publication could give a behind-the-scenes look at American diplomacy around the world.
"WikiLeaks are an absolutely awful impediment to my business, which is to be able to have discussions in confidence with people"
James Jeffrey, US ambassador to Iraq
WikiLeaks has said the release will be seven times the size of its October leak of 400,000 Iraq war documents, the biggest leak to date in US intelligence history.
The site also published 77,000 classified US files on the Afghan conflict in July.
The US says it has known for some time that WikiLeaks held the diplomatic cables slated for release. Thus far, no one has been charged with passing them to the website, but suspicion focuses on Bradley Manning, a US army intelligence analyst arrested in Iraq in June and charged over an earlier leak.
"WikiLeaks are an absolutely awful impediment to my business, which is to be able to have discussions in confidence with people," James Jeffrey, US ambassador to Iraq, said. "They will not help, they will simply hurt our ability to do our work here."
He said that anyone whose "confidential discussions find their way into the press is going to be very unhappy and very upset".
Admiral Mike Mullen, the most-senior US military commander, has urged WikiLeaks to stop its release of documents, according to a transcript of a CNN interview set to air on Sunday.
"I would hope that those who are responsible for this would, at some point in time, think about the responsibility that they have for lives that they're exposing and the potential that's there and stop leaking this information."
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
by seemslikeadream » Sat Nov 27, 2010 8:23 pm
Embarrassment for Coalition as Wikileaks prepares to release secret US papers
Potentially "embarrassing" comments on the formation of Britain's coalition government are to be revealed this week as millions of leaked US diplomatic documents are made public.
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks whose previous leaks have included hundreds of thousands of secret Iraq war logs Photo: AP
By Patrick Hennessy, Political editor 9:00PM GMT 27 Nov 2010
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The series of revelations on the Wikileaks website – which are expected to begin tonight – will put a fresh strain on the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States.
The leaked diplomatic cables, dating from January 2009 to June 2010, cover a huge range of issues and include "lively commentaries" sent to Washington about a host of world leaders whose numbers are understood to include David Cameron and Gordon Brown.
Another series of leaks is thought to deal with Canada's "inferiority complex".
The revelations about what US diplomats reported back on Gordon Brown's final months in power and the formation of the coalition after May's election are thought to be among the earliest to be made public in Britain.
A coalition source described the leaks as likely to be "embarrassing rather than damaging" for the current government.
However, he added: "The last Labour government has a lot more reason to be nervous."
Mr Brown's rocky relationship with President Barack Obama, which included a notorious visit to New York in September 2009 during which the White House was accused of "snubbing" the former prime minister, is almost certain to be mentioned, as is Britain's troop withdrawal from Iraq.
The Sunday Telegraph understands that frank assessments of the likelihood – or unlikelihood – of the coalition lasting are set to be included.
The source said: "There could be queries on whether the coalition would survive. But they only cover one month of the current administration."
US officials have warned that the latest tranche of documents will be far the most damaging of Wikileaks's output so far because of the potential harm they could do to relations with America's allies.
Previous leaks have included hundreds of thousands of secret Iraq war logs.
Louis Susman, the US Ambassador to London, has briefed senior British ministers on the content of the latest leaks.
The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that the first tranche of documents, to be published in full tomorrow after an initial release tonight, are expected to feature "lively commentaries" by US diplomats on world leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, and Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya.
Coalition sources say Tuesday's haul will deal with North and South Korea, as well as Guantánamo Bay, while Wednesday's tranche will include comments on Pakistan and counter-piracy operations in Djibouti.
Thursday will see attention focus on the Canadians and their "inferiority complex" while corruption allegations in Afghanistan will be under the spotlight on Friday. Saturday will cover Yemen while next Sunday will see the focus shift to China.
P J Crowley, the US State Department spokesman, said "We are all bracing for what may be coming and condemn Wikileaks for the release of classified material It will place lives and interests at risk. It is irresponsible.
"When this confidence is betrayed and ends up on the front pages of newspapers or lead stories on television or radio, it has an impact," he said.
The State Department "has known all along" that Wikileaks possesses classified documents, but it was not possible to predict exactly what information would be made public and what impact it would make, he said.
"We wish this would not happen, but we are obviously prepared for the possibility that it will," he added
WikiLeaks set to reveal what US really thinks of David Cameron
Website to release three million embassy cables, many of them distinctly undiplomatic
By Brian Brady and Matt Chorley
REUTERS
Washington's view of David Cameron could soon be public
David Cameron was bracing himself for the humiliation of public criticism from the Obama administration last night, as whistleblowers prepared to publish millions of classified cables between Washington and US embassies around the world.
Almost three million confidential files detailing the US government's private views on hundreds of allies and rival states are expected to be released by the website WikiLeaks this week. The White House has sent ambassadors on official missions to dozens of allies to prepare them for any damage that the cables could wreak on their relationship with the US.
Louis Susman, the American ambassador to London, met officials in Downing Street on Friday to warn them what to expect when WikiLeaks finally begins publishing details of the communications. He did not speak to Mr Cameron directly.
The Independent on Sunday understands that State Department correspondence between London and Washington covers a catalogue of sensitive diplomatic issues, including the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Britain's contribution to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Conservatives' position on the economy before the election.
Two years ago, it was claimed that President Obama referred to Mr Cameron as a "lightweight" after he had met the then-opposition leader in London.
It is believed that some of the embassy cables echo the criticism of the Tories' stance in opposition, questioning their approach to the credit crunch, including their opposition to Gordon Brown's decision to bail out banks with taxpayers' money.
Government sources confirmed last night that the sensitive cables, covering the 18 months between January 2009 and June this year, also offered candid assessments of Mr Brown, his premiership and his chances of winning the election. Downing Street was confident that the revelations would not damage the Prime Minister's reputation – or the "special relationship" between the UK and the US. One source said the files, which had been expected yesterday, would be "far more embarrassing" to members of the former Labour government. He added: "There are quite a lot of references to Gordon Brown being perceived as weak and unstable."
A number of senior ministers said the Cabinet had not been warned of any damaging revelations expected to emerge in the coming days.
But even a hint of disapproval, particularly over economic policy, would be a dangerous development for a coalition Government still in the process of establishing itself at home and abroad. The Conservatives have condemned Labour over its handling over the economy under Mr Brown, but any criticism from the UK's closest ally would be seized upon by opponents. The Obama administration is understood to have had concerns over Mr Cameron's position on taxation, the Iraq war, and his "neo-conservative" allies.
David Rothkopf, a foreign policy analyst in Washington and critic of Mr Cameron, when asked if it was true that Mr Obama had a low opinion of the Prime Minister, said: "I think you have it about right as far as views go. Initial reaction to Cameron was dubious, although there has been some adjustment of late in a more positive direction. I know the White House is in an absolute swivet over this, as is the State Department. There could be very rough days ahead."
Ambassadors regularly send back observations of political events in their host countries, summarising developments and opinions. However, it is their more candid dispatches, giving their own views of individual figures, organisations and controversies, which present the greatest danger of embarrassment.
The cables between London and Washington are expected to detail views on broad themes including the economic crisis, defence and foreign policy. There will also be "quite interesting commentary" on Nelson Mandela, Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai.
Diplomatic sources said the most damaging comments are likely to come in telegrams sent before meetings, which are likely to include personal remarks on temperament, electoral prospects and personality.
WikiLeaks has said the publication of cables would be seven times the size of its controversial release of 400,000 documents relating to the war in Iraq last month. Washington maintains that it has known for some time that WikiLeaks had the information, but it has not taken action to prevent the publication – or to prosecute anyone for passing the cables to the website.
WikiLeaks Plans to Publish Secret U.S. Cables on Russia
26 November 2010
Reuters
WASHINGTON — Classified U.S. diplomatic cables reporting corruption allegations against foreign governments and leaders, including from Russia, are expected in official documents that WikiLeaks plans to release soon, sources said Wednesday.
The whistle-blowing web site said on its Twitter feed this week that its next release would be seven times larger than the collection of roughly 400,000 Pentagon reports related to the Iraq war that it made public in October.
Three sources familiar with the State Department cables held by WikiLeaks say the corruption allegations in them are major enough to cause serious embarrassment for foreign governments and politicians named in them.
They said the release was expected next week but could come earlier.
The detailed, candid reporting by U.S. diplomats also may create foreign policy complications for the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, the sources said.
Among the countries whose politicians feature in the reports are Russia, Afghanistan and former Soviet republics in Central Asia. But other reports also detail potentially embarrassing allegations reported to Washington from U.S. diplomats in other regions including East Asia and Europe, one of the sources familiar with the WikiLeaks holdings said.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Washington was assessing the implications of what WikiLeaks may reveal and was notifying foreign governments "that a release of documents is possible in the near future."
"We decry what has happened. These revelations are harmful to the United States and our interests. They are going to create tension in our relationships," Crowley said. "We wish that this would not happen, but we are obviously prepared for the possibility that it will."
Sources said three international news organizations that previously published stories based on classified U.S. government documents acquired by WikiLeaks — The New York Times, Britain's Guardian newspaper and the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel — were given access to the documents some time ago by Julian Assange, the Australian-born computer hacker who says he is WikiLeaks' founder and leader.
Two of the sources said Assange has also made the documents available to at least two other European publications — the newspapers El Pais of Spain and Le Monde of France.
Assange did not immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment.
The New York Times, Guardian and Der Spiegel are trying to coordinate when they release their first stories about the material — likely to be next week — but one of the sources said it was unclear whether Le Monde and El Pais would be publishing on the same schedule.
by anothershamus » Sun Nov 28, 2010 1:54 am
by RocketMan » Sun Nov 28, 2010 5:10 am
Larry Sanger wrote:@wikileaks Speaking as Wikipedia's co-founder, I consider you enemies of the U.S.--not just the government, but the people.
by 82_28 » Sun Nov 28, 2010 5:56 am
A double bind is a dilemma in communication in which an individual (or group) receives two or more conflicting messages, with one message negating the other. This creates a situation in which a successful response to one message results in a failed response to the other, so that the person will be automatically wrong regardless of response. The nature of a double bind is that the person cannot confront the inherent dilemma, and therefore cannot resolve it or opt out of the situation.
Double binds are often utilized as a form of control without open coercion--the use of confusion makes them difficult to respond to or resist.
A double bind generally includes different levels of abstraction in orders of messages, and these messages can be stated or implicit within the context of the situation, or conveyed by tone of voice or body language. Further complications arise when frequent double binds are part of an ongoing relationship to which the person or group is committed.[1][2]
Double bind theory is more clearly understood in the context of complex systems and cybernetics because human communication and also the mind itself function in an interactive manner similar to ecosystems. Complex systems theory helps us understand the interdependence of the parts of a message and provides "an ordering of what to the Newtonian looks like chaos."
by hava1 » Sun Nov 28, 2010 10:14 am
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