Wikileaks Releases Tens Of Thousands More Us Cables

On Wikileaks' Twitter feed Thursday (presumed to be manned by Julian Assange): "We will have released over 100,000 US embassy cables from around the world by the end of today." The latest round appear to be from the massive cache of more than 250,000 US State Department diplomatic cables, which Wikileaks began releasing in smaller batches in 2010.

From Reuters:

Several news organizations around the world, including Reuters, have had complete sets of the cables for months. But for the most part, media outlets have only cited or published cables when publishing specific news or investigative stories based on them.

By late afternoon Thursday, the WikiLeaks website said it had published 97,115 of the 251,287 cables it possesses. It did not specify its motives for releasing such a large amount of material at once.

A person in contact with Assange's inner circle told Reuters the rationale behind the mass release of documents was dismay among WikiLeaks activists that media organizations had lost interest in publishing stories based on the material.

The source described Assange and his associates as "frustrated" at the lack of media interest.

WikiLeaks releases tens of thousands more US cables

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Ex-wikileaker Domscheit-berg Disputes Claims Of Deleted Files; Wikileaks Dumps Thousands Of New Leaks

Kim Zetter at Wired News spoke to Daniel Domscheit-Berg, the former WikiLeaks spokesman reported to have recently destroyed thousands of unpublished documents submitted to Wikileaks last year.

"[He] says WikiLeaks is publicly exaggerating the contents of the deleted files, in an increasingly ugly dispute playing out over Twitter and in the press."

More: Former WikiLeaks Spokesman Disputes Claims About Destroyed Files

And related today, Wikileaks published thousands of new releases on Wikileaks.org.

• Report: Domscheit-Berg deletes cache of unreleased leaks
• WikiLeaks to sue defector who wrote tell-all book
• Openleaks’ Daniel Domscheit-Berg at 27c3
• Frontline on Wikileaks
• “Wikiwars,” CNN documentary on Wikileaks, debuts

Ex-WikiLeaker Domscheit-Berg disputes claims of deleted files; Wikileaks dumps thousands of new leaks

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/i6kmmwYvjd4/ex-wikileaks-spokesman-domscheit-berg-disputes-assange-claims-of-deleted-files.html

Wikileaks Releases New Batch Of Diplomatic Cables

Wikileaks is to release 35,000 U.S. diplomatic cables today. Contents are said to include evidence of multi-billion dollar contracts issued as political rewards, the likely details of John McCain's interesting conversation with the interesting man in charge of Libya, and more. Check out the Twitter hashtag #wlfind for crowdsourced finds.

Cables released Aug. 23, 2011 [Wikileaks]

Wikileaks releases new batch of diplomatic cables

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/jXI2IG1wp1Q/wikileaks-releases-new-batch-of-diplomatic-cables.html

Vanity Fair profiles Julian Assange: Wikileaks threatened to sue Guardian over leaked cables

VF's feature on Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is now available online

Vanity Fair profiles Julian Assange: Wikileaks threatened to sue Guardian over leaked cables

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/fylW1Az-anc/vanity-fair-profiles.html

Facing WikiLeaks Threat, Bank Plays Defense

Since WikiLeaks threatened to “take down” a major American bank, officials at Bank of America have been hunting for any sign that its systems have been compromised.

Facing WikiLeaks Threat, Bank Plays Defense

Backlink: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=fa317d57230057766ffb0caf4b7d3521

Facing a New Type of Threat From WikiLeaks, a Bank Plays Defense

Since WikiLeaks threatened to “take down” a major American bank, officials at Bank of America have been hunting for any sign that its systems have been compromised.

Facing a New Type of Threat From WikiLeaks, a Bank Plays Defense

Backlink: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=fa317d57230057766ffb0caf4b7d3521

Wired.com: Lamo/Manning Wikileaks chat logs contain no unpublished references to Assange or private servers

Above, a screenshot of an exchange I had over Twitter today with Wired Senior Editor Kevin Poulsen. If you find the last 72 hours of Wikileaks/Wired/Greenwald/Poulsen back-and-forth confusing, you aren't alone. Both sides have published lengthy attacks on the other which, while presumably intending to answer questions, have left many bystanders scratching their heads. Rob Beschizza summed up a lot of it earlier today, but here's my short summary:

Wired.com: Lamo/Manning Wikileaks chat logs contain no unpublished references to Assange or private servers

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/1AHO7UlnHxE/lamomanning-wikileak.html

WikiLeaks Founder Signs Book Deal

Julian Assange told a British newspaper that publishing deals for his autobiography may be worth $1.7 million.

WikiLeaks Founder Signs Book Deal

Backlink: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=a53b275a0650185590d06904ca32789d

NYT on Banks and Wikileaks: "a troubling prospect"

A New York Times editorial today on the recent actions of Bank America, Visa, PayPal, and Mastercard to block payments to Wikileaks says the moves raise "troubling questions," given the fact that Wikileaks has not been charged or convicted of any crime: What would happen if a clutch of big banks decided that a particularly irksome blogger or other organization was "too risky"? What if they decided -- one by one -- to shut down financial access to a newspaper that was about to reveal irksome truths about their operations? This decision should not be left solely up to business-as-usual among the banks. Banks and Wikileaks (NYT)...

NYT on Banks and Wikileaks: "a troubling prospect"

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/IyuHOGAJgmw/nyt-on-banks-and-wik.html

WSJ obtains Wikileaks financial data: spending up, donations down

[photograph: Ukrainian activists hold a rally in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in front of the Swedish embassy to Ukraine in Kiev. REUTERS] The Wall Street Journal has a report out today with details on Wikileaks' financial inner workings, from the foundation in Germany that pays the organization's bills. Odd that this long-sought information would come out on Christmas Eve, but here's the short version of the story: spending is up, because they're paying salaries now (including $86K/year to Julian Assange), and they're "facing potential legal issues" (understatement of the millenium). Snip: Wau Holland Foundation says it has collected about €1 million ($1.3 million) in donations in 2010, the year in which WikiLeaks exploded into public prominence thanks to its release of thousands of classified U.S. documents. WikiLeaks said in August that it had raised about €765,000 until that point in the year. The data from the foundation, which is a major but not the sole conduit of funding for the website, suggest donations to WikiLeaks have tampered off some since the organization landed in the headlines. The Wau Holland Foundation provides key back-office services for WikiLeaks' operations by collecting donations and paying its bills. Last summer, WikiLeaks said it operated on about €150,000 a year. Now, however, the foundation says it has paid about €380,000 in WikiLeaks expenses, with some invoices for the year still unprocessed. Some of that total is for hardware, Internet access and travel, Wau Holland spokesman Hendrik Fulda said. But a big factor in the leap is a recent decision to begin paying salaries to staff. The primary beneficiary of that decision--which has been hotly debated within WikiLeaks--is Mr. Assange, the controversial founder and public face of WikiLeaks who is currently under house arrest in the U.K., where he faces possible extradition to Sweden to WikiLeaks is said to have committed to paying half of the estimated $100K that Bradley Manning's legal defense is expected to cost, but a spokesman recently said the organization will now only donate around $20K. They have not yet contributed these funds. The WSJ reports that Wau Holland is said to be waiting for legal advice on whether such a donation is permitted under German law. WikiLeaks Spending Ballooned, Data Show (WSJ, paid subscription required) WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Now Making $86k/year (CBS News)...

WSJ obtains Wikileaks financial data: spending up, donations down

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/lVW0gqL8-ko/wsj-obtains-wikileak.html

Holocaust-denying creep works for WITH Wikileaks, originated CIA-rape-honeypot rumor

Update: Despite earlier remarks from both Shamir and Wikileaks spokespeople in the Swedish media, now both Shamir and Wikileaks disclaim any formal association between Shamir and WL. ("Israel Shamir is NOR a member, NEITHER an employee of Wikileaks: he is a free lance writer accredited with Wikileaks.") A Swedish-domiciled Russian guy who calls himself "Israel Shamir," apparently serves as the official Wikileaks "content aggregator" for Russia (see update, above) -- he's also apparently a Holocaust-denying creepy nutjob who told a journalist that Auschwitz was merely an internment camp, Jews are a "virus in human form," the Protocols of the Elders of Zion are real and "it's every Muslim and Christian's duty to deny the Holocaust" (according to his own site). What's more, he's the author of the article that asserted that one of Assange's rape-accusers was working for the CIA. According to reports in the Swedish and Russian media, the broad strokes of which have been confirmed by a WikiLeaks spokesman, Shamir serves as the group's content aggregator in Russia, the man who "selects and distributes" the cables to Russian news organizations, according to an investigation by Swedish public radio. In the newspaper Expressen, Magnus Ljunggren, an emeritus professor of Russian literature at Gothenburg University, outlined Shamir's close ties to WikiLeaks and his position "spreading the documents in Russia." (The article is illustrated with a picture of Assange and Shamir in an unidentified office.) Assange's Extremist Employees (Thanks, James, via Submitterator)  Rape case re-opened in Sweden against Wikileaks founder Assange ... Details of rape, sexual assault allegations against Wikileaks ... NYT debunks allegations of Pentagon "dirty tricks" behind ......

Holocaust-denying creep works for WITH Wikileaks, originated CIA-rape-honeypot rumor

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/O_AQriNbItY/holocaust-denying-cr.html

Holocaust-denying creep works for Wikileaks, originated CIA-rape-honeypot rumor

A Swedish-domiciled Russian guy who calls himself "Israel Shamir," apparently serves as the official Wikileaks "content aggregator" for Russia -- he's also apparently a Holocaust-denying creepy nutjob who told a journalist that Auschwitz was merely an internment camp, Jews are a "virus in human form," the Protocols of the Elders of Zion are real and "it's every Muslim and Christian's duty to deny the Holocaust" (according to his own site).

Holocaust-denying creep works for Wikileaks, originated CIA-rape-honeypot rumor

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/O_AQriNbItY/holocaust-denying-cr.html

Assange: US pushing "Digital McCarthyism" in assault on Wikileaks

Assange: US pushing "Digital McCarthyism" in assault on Wikileaks - Boing Boing

Assange: US pushing "Digital McCarthyism" in assault on Wikileaks

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/J-bHve9oIkk/assange-us-pushing-d.html

CIA launches the Wikileaks Task Force, or "WTF" for short

Via our pals at Danger Room: "The CIA has a Wikileaks Task Force. That's right: a WTF." More at the Washington Post. "Wonder if they ride around in ROFLcopters," asks BB reader @henchling.

CIA launches the Wikileaks Task Force, or "WTF" for short

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/dcZas4PWpC8/cia-launches-the-wik.html

Michael Moore on Wikileaks on Maddow

Filmmaker Michael Moore was a guest on The Rachel Maddow Show this evening, and the topic at hand: Wikileaks. Moore discussed the confusion around a leaked State Department Cable relating to his film Sicko—the Guardian reported the cable stating Sicko been banned in Cuba. I reblogged that here on Boing Boing. The content of the cable was not true, said Moore tonight (he'd published a detailed explanation earlier on his blog). The Guardian updated their coverage here, and I'd updated Boing Boing's here. Moore (and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann) came under much fire last week for comments on the Julian Assange rape allegations. Count me among the thousands of pissed off women who found those comments objectionable and inaccurate. Tonight, Moore addressed this in a manner that struck me as very respectful for all parties involved (including Assange). Moore seems like a sincere and reasonable person whose heart is in the right place. I'll update the post with video once MSNBC makes it available. Perhaps the most interesting element of their chat related to a newly leaked cable (I can't find it online yet) that apparently documents the U.S. attempting to shut down a screening of Moore's film Fahrenheit 911 in New Zealand, of all places. Update: Video links for The Rachel Maddow Show segments with Moore— 1) Moore on his support for Assange, and on the "Sicko was Banned" cable 2) Moore on the need for transparency, and whether governments should be allowed to keep secrets....

Michael Moore on Wikileaks on Maddow

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/wEeNc3EWv3Y/michael-moore-on-wik.html

Why did Apple remove a Wikileaks app from its store?

Over the weekend, I noticed that a Wikileaks app became available in the Apple store for $1.99 a pop. Wonder how long that's gonna last, I thought. Not long! Three days. Miguel Helft in the NYT:

Apple on Tuesday confirmed that it had removed from its online store an iPhone and iPad app that let users view the content on the WikiLeaks site and follow the WikiLeaks Twitter account.

Trudy Muller, an Apple spokeswoman, said the company had removed the app “because it violated our developer guidelines.” Ms. Muller added: “Apps must comply with all local laws and may not put an individual or group in harm’s way.”

The $1.99 WikiLeaks App was taken down on Monday after being available for just three days.

Why did Apple remove a Wikileaks app from its store?

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/Gt-Ly9iOscY/why-did-apple-remove.html

Wikileaks: Manning's attorney on the laws he'll use to fight inhumane treatment

David E. Coombs, the attorney representing Bradley Manning, discusses the laws that apply for attempting to secure more humane treatment for the young man in the Marine brig in Quantico:

The defense has raised the conditions of PFC Bradley Manning's confinement conditions on multiple occasions with the Quantico confinement facility and the Army Staff Judge Advocate's (SJA) Office assigned to handle this case. Our efforts, unfortunately, have not resulted any in positive results. To its credit, the SJA office is attempting to correct this situation. However, given the fact that Quantico is a Marine Corps facility, it has similarly had no success.

PFC Bradley Manning, unlike his civilian counterpart, is afforded no civil remedy for illegal restraint under either the Federal Civil Rights Act or the Federal Tort Claims Act. Similarly, the protection from cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment and Article 55 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) does not generally apply prior to a court-martial. Thus, the only judicial recourse that is available is under Article 13 of the UCMJ. Article 13 safeguards against unlawful pretrial punishment and embodies the precept that an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Article 13 provides that:

No person, while being held for trial, may be subjected to punishment or penalty other than arrest or confinement upon the charges pending against him, nor shall the arrest or confinement imposed upon him be any more rigorous than the circumstances required to insure his presence, but he may be subjected to minor punishment during that period for infractions of discipline.

Wikileaks: Manning's attorney on the laws he'll use to fight inhumane treatment

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/F6VxxL86WU8/wikielaks-mannings-a.html

DealBook: WikiLeaks Poses Problems for Federal Regulators

WikiLeaks has said it has damaging information about a bank, which may be nerve-wracking for regulators.

DealBook: WikiLeaks Poses Problems for Federal Regulators

Backlink: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=56445eab4d28eb461b55d811f55c5c07

Cablegate game gives points for summarizing, tagging Wikileaks cables

"Cablegate: The Game" gameifies the job of sorting through the #cablegate leaks, awarding points for reading, tagging and summarizing the enormous heap of Wikileaks plunder. (via /.)...

Cablegate game gives points for summarizing, tagging Wikileaks cables

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/gHUBVfrNHnY/cablegate-game-gives.html

National Security Archive director on "Wikimania," and the dangers of demonizing WikiLeaks

Thomas Blanton, executive director of the National Security Archive, was among those who testified today before the House Judiciary Committee on the aftermath of "Cablegate" and Wikileaks. Blanton believes efforts to tighten secrecy and crack down on leakers and press will be "fundamentally self-defeating."

"There is more heat than light," Blanton stated, citing calls for broadening the Espionage Act and assassinating Wikileaks leader, Julian Assange. Hasty punitive reactions, he predicted, "will actually produce more leaks, more crackdowns, less accountable government, and diminished security."

"History shows we end up doing more damage from the overreaction than from the original leak."

More on his statements here. (via Submitterator, thanks jennybean42)

National Security Archive director on "Wikimania," and the dangers of demonizing WikiLeaks

Backlink: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/aGo0E-JThhQ/national-security-ar.html