Wikileaks Released!!

[Admin]

WikiLeaks Released!

WikiLeaks just published hundreds of thousands classified State Department cables that could drastically alter U.S. relations with top allies and reveal embarrassing secrets about U.S. foreign policy. U.S. diplomats have been frantically reaching out to their counterparts around the world as intelligence officials pleaded with WikiLeaks.
While this is the third time this year WikiLeaks has released a batch of documents related to U.S. foreign policy, officials told McClatchy this current wikileak release will is far more damaging than the first two combined.

[Admin]

OK, I read more of the Wikileaks documents/reports !! WOW! so many things, very interesting to read and understand how the world leaders and diplomats really think and operate behind the scene, I have to say most of the things are what maybe most of us are thinking about the situation, Iran and some of the world leaders, but to assume is one thing and to KNOW is another thing! 

http://wikileaks.org/

[den Buut]

Wikileaks is down all the time, can't read anything but I'm very curious. Think the most documents are just a confirmation of what we already know, but our governments thought we didn't.

[Admin]

WikiLeaks' Assange arrested in London on Swedish warrant
Published: 7/12/2010 at 11:40 PM
Bangkok Post: Online news: World

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was remanded in custody until December 14 by a London court on Tuesday after saying he would fight his extradition to Sweden on suspicion of rape and molestation.

London's Metropolitan Police said that officers from its extradition unit had arrested Assange on a European arrest warrant "by appointment at a London police station" at 0930 GMT - 4:30pm Thailand time.

"He is accused by the Swedish authorities of one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape, all alleged to have been committed in August 2010," the police statement said.


The former hacker denies the Swedish claims. He says they stem from a dispute over consensual, unprotected sex with two women and that the accusations may be politically motivated.

Assange was remanded in custody until next Tuesday (Dec 14) by a London court after saying he would fight his extradition to Sweden on suspicion of rape and molestation.

Filmmaker Ken Loach, socialite Jemima Khan, and campaigning journalist John Pilger each offered 20,000 pounds (23,600 euros, 31,400 dollars) for Assange's bail, but it was refused on the grounds that he might try to flee Britain.

"These are extremely serious allegations," district judge Howard Riddle said at City of Westminster magistrates court, adding that Assange faced alleged sexual offences against two women.

"I am satisfied that there are substantial grounds to believe that if granted bail he would fail to surrender," the judge added.

The judge said Assange had "comparatively weak community ties in this country" and had the "means and ability to abscond if he wants to."

Assange appeared calm in court, an AFP reporter said. Wearing a navy blue suit and a white shirt without a tie, he spoke to confirm his name and address, giving an Australian PO box address.

When pressed by the judge he gave another address in Victoria, Australia.

WikiLeaks vowed that the detention of its founder would not stop it releasing more of the confidential US cables.

"Today's actions against our editor-in-chief Julian Assange won't affect our operations: we will release more cables tonight as normal," it said in a statement on Twitter.

James Ball, a WikiLeaks journalist in London, told AFP that staff were working "on schedule, all that stuff will keep rolling out as ever".

In a sign of Washington's satisfaction at the arrest, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who was visiting Afghanistan on Tuesday, said it "sounds like good news."

The arrest of Assange comes as a fresh blow to WikiLeaks, which has been chased around the globe since it started to release a cache of 250,000 US diplomatic memos on November 28.

The website has hopped from server to server as various countries tried to close it down, even as its supporters have responded by setting up hundreds of "mirror" sites to keep it online.

WikiLeaks is also coming under increased financial pressure, with Visa following in the footsteps of MasterCard and PayPal Tuesday by announcing that it was suspending all payments to WikiLeaks.

Swiss authorities shut down one of Assange's bank accounts on Monday, while a major WikiLeaks donor is in trouble in Germany for not filing its accounts on time.

WikiLeaks has already been expelled from the United States where the US Attorney General Eric Holder has said authorities were pursuing an "active, ongoing investigation that is criminal in nature," into the leaks.

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[isanbirder]

In Sweden he might even get a fair trial;  in USA I strongly doubt it.  Not that I think the US justice system is worse than those of the Eurozone, just that the US Govt, is so hopping mad over this that they'd fix it against Assange somehow.

[boloa]

Its funny how things change,only a few years ago Wikileaks won Amnesty Internationals UK Media Award (in the category "New Media"),2008 Economist magazine New Media  Award and  In May this year  the New York Daily News listed WikiLeaks first in a ranking of "websites that could totally change the news".Now they all seem to be son's of the devil
In April 2010, WikiLeaks posted video from a 2007 incident in which Iraqi civilians and journalists were killed by U.S. forces, on a website called Collateral Murder and since then they have released other  documents about the War in Afghanistan not previously available for public review. Very damaging for the propaganda machine called the USA.
As den Buuthas already said "most documents are just a confirmation of what we already know, but our governments thought we didn't". I would have to agree!!

[isanbirder]

I sometimes wonder if it wouldn't be better in the long run if we openly called the Chinese leaders "appalling old waxworks", Kim Jong Il "a paranoid megalomaniac", and so on.  I think too much gets covered up under the guise of diplomatic secrets in order to bolster the egos of world leaders like the US President (whichever), Putin, Sarkozy, Ahmedinajab and the like.

[boloa]

BTW ..Here's Wikileaks Collateral Murder  for those' that haven't seem it.

http://www.collateralmurder.com/

[PBarnfeather]

I have so many thoughts on this subject that I won't even try to write about all  of them but, just think, if all the secrets of all the world leaders were released how different (better) the world would be if they had to deal with each other honestly.

[boloa]

MasterCard DOWN: MasterCard.com, Swiss Bank, Lawyer's Site Hacked By WikiLeaks Supporters With DDOS Attack

LONDON — Hackers rushed to the defense of WikiLeaks on Wednesday, launching attacks on MasterCard, Visa, Swedish prosecutors, a Swiss bank, Sarah Palin and others who have acted against the site and its jailed founder Julian Assange.

Internet "hacktivists" operating under the label "Operation Payback" claimed responsibility in a Twitter message for causing severe technological problems at the website for MasterCard, which pulled the plug on its relationship with WikiLeaks a day ago.

MasterCard acknowledged "a service disruption" involving its Secure Code system for verifying online payments, but spokesman James Issokson said consumers could still use their credit cards for secure transactions. Later Wednesday, Visa's website was inaccessible.

The online attacks are part of a wave of support for WikiLeaks that is sweeping the Internet. Twitter was choked with messages of solidarity for the group, while the site's Facebook page hit 1 million fans.

Late Wednesday, Operation Payback itself appeared to run into problems, as many of its sites went down. It was unclear who was behind the counterattack.

MasterCard is the latest in a string of U.S.-based Internet companies – including Visa, Amazon.com, PayPal Inc. and EveryDNS – to cut ties to WikiLeaks in recent days amid intense U.S. government pressure. PayPal was not having problems Wednesday but the company said it faced "a dedicated denial-of-service attack" on Monday.

Meanwhile, a website tied to former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin came under cyberattack, she said. In a posting on the social networking site Facebook last week, Palin called Assange "an anti-American operative with blood on his hands." An aide said staff moved quickly to secure the website and no data was compromised.

WikiLeaks' extensive releases of secret U.S. diplomatic cables have embarrassed U.S. allies, angered rivals, and reopened old wounds across the world. U.S. officials in Washington say other countries have curtailed their dealings with the U.S. government because of WikiLeaks' actions.

PayPal Vice President Osama Bedier said the company froze WikiLeaks' account after seeing a letter from the U.S. State Department to WikiLeaks saying that the group's activities "were deemed illegal in the United States."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/08/mastercard-down-hacked-wikileaks-ddos_n_793625.html
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Palin called Assange "an anti-American operative with blood on his hands."   

She hasn't seem Collateral Murder then   

[PBarnfeather]

"Go Hackers"

[den Buut]

Guess Palin is the only one with real blood on her hands.

[boloa]

Guess Palin is the only one with real blood on her hands.

The Hunter says to Mrs Palin....."don't worry the Deer isn't going anywhere "( we've nailed its hooves to the floor  )

[boloa]

US plays up Russian gangs in Thailand
By Richard Ehrlich

BANGKOK - America's Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies were investigating "Russian organized crime networks" who were murdering and stealing in Thailand's most popular tourist beach resorts, according to a US Embassy cable released by WikiLeaks.

Thailand, a modernizing, Buddhist-majority Southeast Asian nation, has attracted criminals from all over the world who exploit its friendly ambiance, low-cost workers, often corrupt officials and sophisticated forgery and sex industry networks.

The "confidential" US cable was headlined: "RUSSIA LOOKS TO REINVIGORATE BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH THAILAND, AGAIN," dated December 4, 2009, and classified by the embassy's deputy chief of mission, James Entwistle. It was also signed off by ambassador Eric John, who noted "this cable was coordinated with [the US] Embassy [in] Moscow".

At the time, the US Embassy was also concerned about the ongoing extradition trial of alleged Russian weapons smuggler Viktor Bout - who was sent from Bangkok nearly one year after the cable was written to stand trial in New York for allegedly trying to sell weapons to be used to kill Americans in Colombia. A previous leaked document by WikiLeaks revealed the US Embassy had created a "Bout team" of diplomats to ensure his extradition.

"Thailand enjoys a rapid expansion of Russian tourists visiting Thailand, but has to deal with an unwanted side effect - the presence of Russian organized crime networks around the popular beach destinations of Pattaya and Phuket," warned the cable, focusing the hedonistic destinations that appear in tourist brochures and advertisements throughout the world.

"Russian organized crime circles established a presence in Thailand in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union," the US Embassy said.

"A number of US law-enforcement agencies are involved in investigating or monitoring cases involving Russian organized crime in Thailand, in cooperation with Thai partners, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"These law-enforcement agencies report that criminal networks composed of mostly Russian nationals operating in Pattaya and Phuket are responsible for the commission of numerous crimes, including extortion, money laundering, narcotics trafficking, real estate fraud, financial fraud, human smuggling, pandering, counterfeiting, document fraud, cybercrime, and illegal importation of cars" and killings.

"While much of the Russian organized criminal activity in Thailand has occurred quietly, three specific cases generated public awareness of the phenomenon. In April 1998, Russian restaurant owner Konstantine Povoltski was found shot dead in a car near one of his two restaurants in southern Pattaya.

"In August 2003, police apprehended three Russian bank robbers when their speedboat ran out of fuel, after they held up the Bank of Ayudhya in South Pattaya, stole 2.4 million baht [US$80,000] and killed a Thai police officer in the process. Rinat Koudaiarov was sentenced to death for the shooting.

"In February 2007, two Russian women were found murdered on the beach of Jomtien 10 km [six miles] from Pattaya, amidst speculation that it had been a Russian OC [organized crime] ordered hit."

The US Embassy cable also scrutinized Moscow's influence on Bangkok's economy, diplomacy and culture.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "highlighted Russia's eastern territories as holding natural resources - such as oil, gas and coal - that could become the means to further engage with countries like Thailand," during Lavrov's July 2009 visit to Bangkok, the cable said.

"Lavrov announced Russia's interest in developing a regional facility in Thailand for storing, processing and trading Russian oil and gas," the US Embassy said.

During Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Sobyanin's November 2009 visit to Bangkok where he met with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, "Sobyanin looked to increase trade and investment, signaled Russia's willingness to cooperate with Thailand in research and development in the oil and natural gas sector, and underscored Russia's desire to cooperate with Thailand on security and culture issues."

United States diplomats questioned prominent Thais to find out how Moscow's intentions, strengths and motives fit with Bangkok's needs. The cable reveals who Washington considers its trusted contacts on Russo-Thai ties.

An official from Thailand's Foreign Affairs Department of European Affairs, Wacharin Vongvivatachaya, told the US Embassy "trade and tourism were the most important elements to the Thai-Russia bilateral relationship. For Russia, Thailand was its number one trading partner in Southeast Asia with trade accounting for over $1 billion annually," compared to US-Thai trade which exceeds $30 billion a year.

"Wacharin stated that Russia's main exports to Thailand were rolled steel, scrap metal, fertilizers, unprocessed minerals, synthetic rubber, diamonds, pulp, and paper. Thailand's main exports to Russia were sugar, rice, gems, clothes, shoes, canned food, and furniture.

"Thailand's premier multinational, the CP Group, had invested in Russia by establishing an animal food producing factory in Moscow's suburbs, Wacharin added, though there has been little Russian investment in Thailand, mainly in small businesses," it said.

"The opinions of non-official Thais we talked to about the Russian diplomatic push was in general rather dismissive. Professor Rom Phiramontri, Director for the Center of Russian Studies at Chulalongkorn University, commented that in general Russia has had very little influence in Asia, particularly in Thailand.

"In his opinion, Russia was attempting to gain more influence with Thailand, geographically in the center of ASEAN, in an attempt to expand influence throughout the region, especially economically," the cable said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that includes Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.

Professor Kantassa Thunjitt from Thammasat University's Russian Studies Program "told us that Russia was trying to play a larger role in Southeast Asia, noting it has attempted to raise its status in the region by offering itself as an alternative to the US and China".

Thailand's US-trained military staged a coup in September 2006 and toppled a popularly elected prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who had ruled for five years and is currently in self-exile dodging a two-year prison sentence for corruption.

"Bangkok Post Senior Reporter Achara Ashayagachat told us recently that Thaksin had looked to Russia to expand market opportunities. Achara also believed that Thaksin sought to balance Thailand's relationships with both the US and China through engaging Russia, while simultaneously looking at ways to maximize profits.


http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LL10Ae01.html

[boloa]

Cartoon of the Day.....