| A new batch of diplomatic traffic released by Wikileaks reads like source notes from a Bob Woodward tome1. |  |
Res:
UPDATED 08/02/2012 ProPublica, Washington’s War on Leaks, Explained
It's unclear how the currently proposed Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 §503-512 will addresses any fundamental issues related to our dysfunctional and baleful system for classification of information (e.g. erosion of credibility, integrity, transparency, and democratic governance etc.).
In fact many of the proposed sections may have the fortunate, but unintended effect of increasing leaks as our dysfunctional and baleful system for classification continues eroding credibility, integrity, transparency and democratic governance.
Some of the sections border on the comic and absurd, like requiring those responsible for our dysfunctional and baleful system for classification to provide:
"...(3) a description of actions that could be taken to address improper classification of material."Senator Feinstein likely means well...she may think she's the first to make this request or attempt to reform our completely dysfunctional and baleful system of classification?
Perhaps §503-512 can be replaced with a single section reading:
"Not later than 365 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National Information Declassification shall declassify all classified information held by the United States of America and publicly publish same on Wikileaks-like or equivalent platforms."Our newly created National Information Declassification Agency can oversea our speedy transition (no reason to take two decades and untold leak prosecutions) to transparent democratic governance, plus address the bazillion pleas of "this cannot possibly be declassified because [fill in the most harrowing story you can imagine]".
UPDATED 02/12/2012 CRS, Congressional Lawmaking: A Perspective On Secrecy and Transparency (pdf courtesy FAS, Secrecy Blog)
"...To conclude, representative government requires transparency. It is a paramount value in democratic systems if there is to be government of, by, and for the people. As the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States declares, it is “We the People” who constitute the nation’s ultimate sovereign authority...."--A Perspective On Secrecy--Those equating national security with secrecy diminish our constitution at best and subvert it at worst.
Therefore, we must reject efforts to substitute government national security with secrecy for transparency and demand that our government continuously transition toward total transparent governance, with all diligent speed.
Thereafter, our debate can focus on solving the problems and concerns, which impede or slow the transition—not on whether transparent governance can generate existential threats.
UPDATED 02/11/2012 NIU, Who Watches the Watchmen? The Conflict Between National Security and Freedom of the Press (pdf)
National Intelligence University, Who Watches the Watchmen? is a Wikileaks white paper of sorts. Who Watches the Watchmen (W3) explores the plethora of past leaks to advance a thesis that rational choice theory may be useful in reducing the perceived harm resulting from an assumed conflict between national security and freedom of the press.
Unfortunately, W3 suffers from failing to first address the fundamental question of whether secrecy or transparency is a superior method for sustaining orderly, responsible, stable, secure and modern civil societies. W3 simply asserts axiomatically the superiority of secrecy, assigns some perceived harm to the leak(s) and then proceeds to apply rational choice theory to mitigate that harm.
W3 is neither original nor rigorous and suffers from drinking its own Kool-Aid. That said, the nascent efforts of our National Intelligence University to rigorously study secrecy, transparency and national security is urgently needed and most welcomed.
When examined rigorously national security, freedom of the press and transparency may be synonymous. If so, Wikileaks platforms are an optimal solution for every orderly, responsible, stable, secure and modern civil society.
UPDATED 04/25/2011 Wikileaks,
The Guantanamo Files.
Official dossiers for 700+ Guantanamo
detainees between the period of 2002 and 2008—separate multimedia
document presentations have been provided by a joint NYT-NPR
project and Guardian.
UPDATED
12/16/2010 House
Judiciary Committee, Hearing on the Espionage Act and the Legal and
Constitutional Issues Raised by WikiLeaks
Witness
List: Abbe D. Lowell, Kenneth L. Wainstein, Geoffrey R. Stone,
Gabriel Schoenfeld, Thomas S. Blanton, Stephen I. Vladeck, and Ralph
Nader
"...And during the Cold War, as Americans were whipped up to frenzy of fear of the “Red Menace,” loyalty programs, political infiltration, blacklisting, legislative investigations, and criminal prosecutions of supposed Communist “subversives” and sympathizers swept the nation. Over time, we have come to understand that these episodes from our past were grievous errors in judgment in which we allowed fear and anxiety to override our good judgment and our essential commitment to individual liberty and democratic self-governance. Over time, we have come to understand that, in order to maintain a robust system of democratic self-governance, our government cannot constitutionally be empowered to punish speakers, even in the name of “national security” without a compelling justification."--Statement of Geoffrey R. Stone-- (footnotes excluded)
UPDATED
11/29/2010 State
Department, [Secretary Clinton's] Remarks to the Press on the Release
of Confidential Documents.
Our
talented and capable Secretary of State significantly overstates the
case against transparency—transparency "attacks"
nothing...
Our
Secretary sets the bar too low when implying that transparency is
only necessary to expose [government] wrongdoings or misdeeds.
Transparency
is necessary to ensure responsible government—when coupled with an
accurately informed and engaged citizenry it then becomes sufficient
for ensuring responsible government.
As
transparency becomes our default for all responsible governments,
including diplomatic functions, expressions of "great concern",
such as that expressed by our Secretary will apply to opaqueness
instead of transparency2.
Twitter:
UPDATED
12/16/2010 Wikileaks,
Hash #Wikileaks
UPDATED
12/07/2010 Wikileaks
YouTube:
UPDATED 10/24/2011 Wikileaks focuses on raising funds with a spoof and description of its very important and next generation mission:
Our government's opaque logic is difficult to understand. Is our government asserting individuals cannot be transparently governed? Or that it is incapable of transparent governance? Or that individuals must be transparent with respect to their government instead of their government transparent with respect to those individuals?
UPDATED 04/12/2011
UPDATED 10/24/2011 Wikileaks focuses on raising funds with a spoof and description of its very important and next generation mission:
Our government's opaque logic is difficult to understand. Is our government asserting individuals cannot be transparently governed? Or that it is incapable of transparent governance? Or that individuals must be transparent with respect to their government instead of their government transparent with respect to those individuals?
UPDATED 04/12/2011
"...Today something has changed, reality is no longer what governments and their echoes in the media say it is. Of all the spectacular revolts across the world, the most exciting and hopeful is the insurrection of knowledge. Much of it sparked by Wikileaks...."--John Pilger, Sydney Peace Foundation Forum--It's not without significance that our own nation has "leaked" from its very beginning. John Jay, our first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice returned with the newly negotiated treaty of peace with England, known as the Jay Treaty
The treaty caused no small controversy between the Federalist and Republican factions of our nascent nation. President Washington sought to keep the Jay Treaty secret while his Federalist faction obtained senate ratification.
The Jay Treaty was leaked to the media and promptly printed. Treaty proponents (Federalists) hurled allegations of anti-patriotism at opponents calling for the revocation of their American citizenship and deportation. Treaty opponents (Republicans) hurled charges of counter-revolution and secret monarchist cabals at proponents.
UPDATED
12/09/2010 Democracy
Now's
Amy Goodman and Glenn Greenwald discuss the strange Swedish sex saga
and Interpol's atypical use of its most wanted list to aid Swedish
questioning of Assange; some are speculating that the
Swedish-Interpol sex saga is nothing more than a political prelude to
fig leaf rendition and Guantánmozation of press, speech, and
dissent.
Democracy Now, from December 07, 2010 Transcript, Glenn Greenwald6 (9:04):
Democracy Now, from December 07, 2010 Transcript, Glenn Greenwald6 (9:04):
"...Well, I just want to
underscore how alarming everything is that you just described, both
in that report and in your earlier one, which is, whatever you think
of WikiLeaks, they’ve never been charged with a crime, let alone
indicted or convicted. And yet, look at what has happened to them.
They’ve been essentially removed from the internet, not just through a denial of service attacks that are very sophisticated, but through political pressure applied to numerous countries. Their funds have been frozen, including funds donated by people around the world for his—for Julian Assange’s defense fund and for WikiLeaks’s defense fund. They’ve had their access to all kinds of accounts cut off. Leading politicians and media figures have called for their assassination, their murder, to be labeled a terrorist organization. What’s really going on here is a war over control of the internet and whether or not the internet can actually serve what a lot of people hoped its ultimate purpose was, which was to allow citizens to band together and democratize the checks on the world’s most powerful factions. That’s what this really is about. It’s why you see Western government, totally lawlessly, waging what can only be described as a war on WikiLeaks and Julian Assange outside the bounds of any constraints, because that’s what really is at stake here. If they want to prosecute them, they should go to court and do it through legal means. But this extralegal persecution ought to be very alarming to every citizen in every one of these countries, because it essentially is pure authoritarianism and is designed to prevent the internet from being used as its ultimate promise, which is providing a check on unconstrained political power...."--Glenn Greenwald--
They’ve been essentially removed from the internet, not just through a denial of service attacks that are very sophisticated, but through political pressure applied to numerous countries. Their funds have been frozen, including funds donated by people around the world for his—for Julian Assange’s defense fund and for WikiLeaks’s defense fund. They’ve had their access to all kinds of accounts cut off. Leading politicians and media figures have called for their assassination, their murder, to be labeled a terrorist organization. What’s really going on here is a war over control of the internet and whether or not the internet can actually serve what a lot of people hoped its ultimate purpose was, which was to allow citizens to band together and democratize the checks on the world’s most powerful factions. That’s what this really is about. It’s why you see Western government, totally lawlessly, waging what can only be described as a war on WikiLeaks and Julian Assange outside the bounds of any constraints, because that’s what really is at stake here. If they want to prosecute them, they should go to court and do it through legal means. But this extralegal persecution ought to be very alarming to every citizen in every one of these countries, because it essentially is pure authoritarianism and is designed to prevent the internet from being used as its ultimate promise, which is providing a check on unconstrained political power...."--Glenn Greenwald--
UPDATED 12/07/2010
UPDATED 12/07/2010
Blog:
UPDATED 08/19/2012 NYT Lede, Video of Assange’s Speech at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London
Includes video and link to text link of Assange comments and video of Baltasar Garzón comments.
UPDATED 02/12/2012 FAS Secrecy, Leaks, National Security, and Freedom of the Press Aftergood post on Gary Ross's Who Watches the Watchman.
UPDATED 12/09/2011 FAS Secrecy, When Does Public Disclosure Make Secrecy Moot?
UPDATED 08/19/2012 NYT Lede, Video of Assange’s Speech at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London
Includes video and link to text link of Assange comments and video of Baltasar Garzón comments.
UPDATED 02/12/2012 FAS Secrecy, Leaks, National Security, and Freedom of the Press Aftergood post on Gary Ross's Who Watches the Watchman.
UPDATED 12/09/2011 FAS Secrecy, When Does Public Disclosure Make Secrecy Moot?
Aftergood makes the obvious point that neither Afshar nor Fitzgibbon is applicable when the public domain document is a mirror image of the document the government seeks to withhold—stated differently the document is self-authenticating, without government involvement.
Additionally, neither Afshar nor Fitzgibbon seem robust enough for today's cyber environment. For example suppose Iran intercepts an RQ-170 Sentinel drone and posts a video of the drone to the Internet, does the drone's reduced angles shape remain classified? How about if the talented Iranians reverse engineer the drone and publish the detailed drawings? How about when China downloads the Iranian's drone drawings, builds, and offers for sale the "personal RQ-170p drone kit"? How about when an American buys a personal RQ-170p drone kit and uses it to track the authorities?; publish online traffic reports?; produce surveillance reports? etc.
UPDATED
06/19/2011 FAS
Secrecy, Govt Opposes Attorneys’ Free Use of WikiLeaks Documents.
Publicly leaked classified documents are not authentic until we say
they are, so says our government. The most disappointing aspect of
the above assertion is not the lack of objective evidence supporting
its accuracy—the impacts of leaked documents are often independent
of any government authenticity or inauthenticity acknowledgement or
even awareness. More disappointing is the implicit premise underlying
our government's assertion—continued opaque governance10.
UPDATED
04/29/2011 FAS
Secrecy, Grand Jury May Be Investigating WikiLeaks and FAS
Secrecy, Attorney Challenges “Gag Order” on WikiLeaks
Docs and FAS
Secrecy, Restrictions on Use of WikiLeaks Hamper CRS
UPDATED
04/12/2011 PBS
MediaShift, WikiLeaks' Julian Assange, NY Times Feud at Logan
Symposium How
long before our government routinely cautions its spokespersons to
read Wikileaks before conducting their media briefings?
UPDATED
02/16/2011 Salon,
The powerful law firm at the center of the WikiLeaks
plot andComputerWorld,
HBGary Federal quits RSA over Anonymous WikiLeaks email and
(background; ComputerWorld,
Bank of America using three intelligence firms to attack WikiLeaks)
.
UPDATED
02/07/2011 FAS
Secrecy Blog, Accessing WikiLeaks Violates Espionage Act, USAF Says9.
United States Air Force Materials Materiel
Command offers shocking, if prematurely preemptive "guidance"
on Wikileaks, via their official website:
UPDATED
12/16/2010 NPR
Two-Way, WikiLeaks' Assange Released From Jail.
Includes a short Assange audio statement. Also, NYT Lede, Video of Julian Assange’s Statement After His Release on Bail
Includes a short Assange audio statement. Also, NYT Lede, Video of Julian Assange’s Statement After His Release on Bail
UPDATED
12/15/2010 Columbia
Journalism Review, Columbia J-School Speaks Out Against WikiLeaks
Prosecution.
Includes a link to the full text of the letter.
"As a historical matter,
government overreaction to publication of leaked material in the
press has always been more damaging to American democracy than the
leaks themselves."--Columbia University Graduate School of
Journalism faculty members and officers signing letter--
It's unclear why our leadership is so
eager to surrender our nation's strategic, comparative, and
competitive advantage in the transparent press, speech, association,
and dissent space. Transparent press, speech, association, and
dissent space are vital for the future stability and growth of all
nations. We must use the current Wikileaks disclosures and any
future disclosures to teach (by example) other nations how to govern
with maximum government transparency. Leak prosecutions are
inconsistent with this objective or maximum government transparency.
UPDATED
12/14/2010 Michael
Moore, Why I'm Posting Bail Money for Julian Assange.
Said only as American Michael Moore can say it—fortunately, courage
is as contagious as kowtowing:
"You [our government] simply
can't be trusted"--Michael Moore--
"5. I support Julian, whom I see
as a pioneer of free speech, transparent government and the digital
revolution in journalism...."--Court Statement of Michael
Moore--
UPDATED
12/14/2010 Guardian
Blog, Julian Assange granted bail: live updates.
Blogger Twittering Live from inside the courtroom.
UPDATED 10/28/2013 VoiceOfRussia , Free Snowden: JSPDF Launches Website to Fund Whistleblower’s Defense Campaign
Our government's unmeasured and unconstrained psychotic pursuit of secret surveillance initiatives undermines and threatens both our democracy and its foundational First Amendment.
Only after the intervention of a courageous young whistleblower, competitive China and cantankerous Russia has some of our government's representatives begun to acknowledge that our government's secret surveillance initiatives require constraints.
Our government representative's acknowledgement that our its secret surveillance initiatives require constraints is a good beginning. However, the required constraints must be coupled with government transparency, but that will require the intervention of our increasingly concerned citizenry.
UPDATED 10/26/2013 USAToday, Anti-NSA rally attracts thousands to march in Washington and Reuters, Protesters march in Washington against NSA spying
UPDATED 08/01/2013 WP, WikiLeaks full statement on Snowden’s being granted asylum by Russia
UPDATED 06/23/2013 NYT, WikiLeaks Says It Is Working to Negotiate Asylum in Iceland for Snowden
UPDATED 05/06/2013 SacBee, Secrecy shrouds pretrial hearing in WikiLeaks case
It's unclear if the court is simply perpetuating the illogical and absurd fiction of shielding documents (and related testimony) that are already in the public domain?
UPDATED 04/11/2013 UPI, Bin Laden Strike Team Member May Testify At Court Martial
It's speculative and highly prejudicial for the court to permit the prosecutor to associate information on a Bin Laden compound computer, the leaker (defendant), and an assumed Wikileaks source—it seems more indicative of a cheap ploy to imply guilt by association.
On the positive side the required association implies a "harm requirement", which may presage an impossibly high bar for the prosecutor to surmount requiring the dropping or acquittal of the (over|mis)charges.
UPDATED 03/01/2013 NYT, Soldier Admits Providing Files to WikiLeaks
Manning admits leaking logs describing our decade long war debacles and dissociates his leak decision from Wikileaks.
So, our government should credit custodial time, apologize for custodial mistreatment (some might say degrading and inhumane treatment, assuming sleep deprivation and isolation fell short of torture), drop the remaining (over|mis)charges and release Manning.
Unfortunately our leakers must sometimes await history to confound the "harm" (some might say harmful) pronouncements of our secrecy proponents and prognosticators—in the meantime it will be helpful for our government to ceases its prosecution of leakers and move with all diligent speed to totally transparent governance.
UPDATED 09/28/2012 Reuters, Assange mocks Obama via video at U.N. event and BBC, Julian Assange: Amnesty calls for Swedish assurances
UPDATED 08/24/2012 SMH, UK lays out police tactics over Assange How apropos that the document is confidential.
UPDATED 08/17/2012 FP, How WikiLeaks Blew It
The article is not particularly insightful and certainly not the quality one expects and often reads in Foreign Policy.
All articles on Wikileaks can assume or stipulated: that Wikileaks has focused on our government; that our government is not currently appreciative of Wikileaks or Assange's efforts; that other governments often are not appreciative of some actions taken by our government; that most governments will typically prefer to push back rather than publicly explain its private activity; and that Wikileaks and Wikileaks-like platforms can always improve their publishing functions.
OK, now begin your article here. An individual with the capacity and courage to resist and endure the onslaught of government push back is rare and by definition interesting, whether you agree with or support that individual.
Our democracy, government transparency and speech rights will not improve by chanting condemnation of those working to improve all three.
UPDATED 08/17/2012 UPI, World Court appeal if Assange exit blocked
It's easy to forget that all the extraordinary governmental hysteria, maneuvering and hyperbole is about asking an individual some questions related to his sexual activity.
It's as if our Secret Service instead of flying down and talking to the Colombian prostitutes about their activity with those responsible for guarding President Obama, which they wisely did, instead: called Interpol for a "Red Alert" on the prostitutes; requested Columbia to hold and extradite the prostitutes; took to the media to denounce the prostitutes and prostitution as threats to our national security; forbid all their agents from reading press accounts of the scandal; and inquired of DOJ about charging the prostitutes with espionage!
UPDATED 08/16/2012 NYT, Ecuador Grants Asylum to Assange, Defying Britain
UPDATED 08/16/2012 Reuters, Britain says Assange asylum wouldn't change a thing
UPDATED 08/07/2012 ThomsonReuters, U.S. appeals ruling against military detention law
Interesting recall of the judge's query over the scope of provision she enjoined, §1021, National Defense Authorization Act.
"In issuing her ruling, the judge said she was worried by the government's reluctance at a March hearing to say whether examples of the plaintiffs' activities - such as aiding the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks in the case of Birgitta Jonsdottir, a member of parliament in Iceland - would fall under the scope of the provision."UPDATED 07/30/2012 Reuters, Assange's mother says WikiLeaks founder under stress and Ecuador says WikiLeaks' Assange hires Spanish jurist Garzon
UPDATED 07/23/2012 UPI, Assange explains [Ecuadorean] embassy move
UPDATED 07/05/2012 AuHeraldSun, WikiLeaks publishing Syria emails as Ecuador says Assange charges ‘hilarious'
It seems beyond dispute that transparency increases the convergence rate for dispute resolutions—if so, one then wonders why governments must be dragged kicking and screaming toward transparency?
UPDATED 06/19/2012 BBC, Wikileaks' Julian Assange seeks asylum in Ecuador embassy
UPDATED 05/30/2012 British Supreme Court, Julian Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority British Supreme Court has ruled that Assange can be extradited to Sweden but has stayed the extradition authority for 14 days pending any request for reopening the case.
Whatever the interpretation given to the phrase "judicial authority" in international treaties it must not moot due process by equating or conflating "judicial authority" with "prosecutorial authority".
Hopefully, any rehearing on reopening will ensure judicial and prosecutorial authority are not conflated or equated.
UPDATED 04/06/2012 SF Examiner, Wikileaks: Secrets and Lies [Documentary Review] Below is a short SXSW video interview with the documentary's director:
UPDATED 04/06/2012 Rolling Stone, Julian Assange: The Rolling Stone Interview
UPDATED 02/03/2012 EPIC, EPIC Files Suit for Documents Detailing Surveillance of WikiLeaks Supporters
UPDATED 02/02/2012 UPI, Assange extradition hearing concludes
UPDATED 12/07/2011 EFF, Cablegate One Year Later: How WikiLeaks Has Influenced Foreign Policy, Journalism, and the First Amendment
UPDATED 12/03/2011 WP, WikiLeaks founder Assange appealing for UK’s highest court to halt extradition to Sweden
UPDATED 11/05/2011 TTBook, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange
Anne Strainchamps conducts a telephone interview with Assange about Wikileaks--raising some interesting questions and responses with implications for our democracy.
UPDATED 11/02/2011 NYT, WikiLeaks Founder Can Be Extradited to Sweden in Sex Abuse Case
UPDATED 10/24/2011 Reuters, WikiLeaks says "blockade" threatens its existence
UPDATED
07/09/2011 Reuters,
Exclusive: WikiLeaks loses Icelandic financial lifeline.
WoW that was fast! The basis for this potentially harmful corporate coordination denying access to international financial clearing entities remains unclear?
The corporate coordination becomes baleful if it's discovered that our government is directly or indirectly or officially or unofficially extra judicially involved in trying to extinguish that which criticizes or decries it.
Often the coordination is the result of subtle government actions: a private phone call; lunch discussion; a question about the value of government contracts; patriotic appeal; contract cancellation or award to competitor; declining an interview; denying access; arrest and perp walk; press conference explicitly or implicitly communicating government displeasure; etc.
WoW that was fast! The basis for this potentially harmful corporate coordination denying access to international financial clearing entities remains unclear?
The corporate coordination becomes baleful if it's discovered that our government is directly or indirectly or officially or unofficially extra judicially involved in trying to extinguish that which criticizes or decries it.
Often the coordination is the result of subtle government actions: a private phone call; lunch discussion; a question about the value of government contracts; patriotic appeal; contract cancellation or award to competitor; declining an interview; denying access; arrest and perp walk; press conference explicitly or implicitly communicating government displeasure; etc.
UPDATED
06/16/2011 ACLU,
ACLU Sues State Department to Declassify Diplomatic Cables Already
Revealed by WikiLeaks.
UPDATED
02/29/2011 NYT,
Detainees’ Lawyers Can’t Click on Leaked Documents.
Wonder if a detainees' lawyers can enjoy a cup of coffee while listening to an uncleanuncleared lawyer read the leaked documents aloud?
One wonders how effective any lawyer is if our government has the ability to proscribe access to information, any information?
Shouldn't our government's responsibility be to ensure access to information? Presumably the "cleared" detainees' defense lawyers could be "read in" to the relevant programs governing the documents our government is pretending are still classified?
In any event our government's decision to pretend that leaked Wikileaks documents are still classified may provide more comic entertainment than the recently replaced color coded threat level system.
Wonder if a detainees' lawyers can enjoy a cup of coffee while listening to an uncleanuncleared lawyer read the leaked documents aloud?
One wonders how effective any lawyer is if our government has the ability to proscribe access to information, any information?
Shouldn't our government's responsibility be to ensure access to information? Presumably the "cleared" detainees' defense lawyers could be "read in" to the relevant programs governing the documents our government is pretending are still classified?
In any event our government's decision to pretend that leaked Wikileaks documents are still classified may provide more comic entertainment than the recently replaced color coded threat level system.
UPDATED
02/07/2011 NPR,
Professors Differ On Ethics Of Using WikiLeaks Cables.
It seems short sighted and illogical for a professor of the diplomatic arts to deprive our future Georgetown University diplomatic students of any benefit from the Wikileaks cables because of a personal belief that a diplomatic cable is stolen.
Let's assume for the sake of argument that a stolen diplomatic cable should not be used, as Georgetown University Professor Marc Grossman asserts.
Such an assertion significantly blinds our nation's talented diplomats (as demonstrated by some Wikileaks cables) and by extension our policymakers, both of whom routinely consume stolen diplomatic cable traffic.
It seems short sighted and illogical for a professor of the diplomatic arts to deprive our future Georgetown University diplomatic students of any benefit from the Wikileaks cables because of a personal belief that a diplomatic cable is stolen.
Let's assume for the sake of argument that a stolen diplomatic cable should not be used, as Georgetown University Professor Marc Grossman asserts.
Such an assertion significantly blinds our nation's talented diplomats (as demonstrated by some Wikileaks cables) and by extension our policymakers, both of whom routinely consume stolen diplomatic cable traffic.
UPDATED
01/28/2011 Globe
and Mail, U.S. officials backed rebels planning Egyptian uprising in
2008: WikiLeaks.
UPDATED
01/26/2011 CSM,
WikiLeaks, the Egyptian military and Gamal Mubarak's chances to
succeed his father.
UPDATED
01/16/2011 Aftenposten,
Iran in secret pursuit of nuclear bomb.
Aftenposten (Norwegian) has culled some of the Wikileaks cables to report that Iran has been on a shopping spree to acquire the technology, equipment and raw materials needed to develop a nuclear bomb.
Unfortunately, some companies in various nations have witting and unwitting filled purchase orders: South Korea, China, Spain, Japan, Namibia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, North Korean, Taiwan, Brazil, Spain, Sweden8, Switzerland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, India, Turkey, Germany, Ecuador, Canada, Netherlands, USA, United Kingdom, Austria, Malaysia, Russia8, Pakistan8, Syria8, France8, Italy8, Macedonia8, Armenia8 and the Emirates8.
Aftenposten (Norwegian) has culled some of the Wikileaks cables to report that Iran has been on a shopping spree to acquire the technology, equipment and raw materials needed to develop a nuclear bomb.
Unfortunately, some companies in various nations have witting and unwitting filled purchase orders: South Korea, China, Spain, Japan, Namibia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, North Korean, Taiwan, Brazil, Spain, Sweden8, Switzerland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, India, Turkey, Germany, Ecuador, Canada, Netherlands, USA, United Kingdom, Austria, Malaysia, Russia8, Pakistan8, Syria8, France8, Italy8, Macedonia8, Armenia8 and the Emirates8.
UPDATED
01/14/2011 Mail,
'First Wikileaks Revolution': Tunisia riots blamed on cables which
revealed country's corruption and About,
Wikileaks Cable: Tunisian Corruption and President Zine el-Abidine
Ben Ali and NYT,
Chaos in Tunisia as President Flees.
Perhaps our government can assist the Tunisians with recovery of all or a portion of the estimated $5 billion dollars reportedly looted by the former president.
Perhaps our government can assist the Tunisians with recovery of all or a portion of the estimated $5 billion dollars reportedly looted by the former president.
UPDATED
01/09/2011 Guardian,
Iceland summons US envoy over demand for MP's Twitter details.
In addition to First Amendment speech and press rights the subpoena
implicates association rights with nothing more than a simple
government assertion that relevant information is sought. Social
networking sites like Twitter®, Facebook®, and Google®
collect comprehensive time-series link data, which reveal
associations when analyzed with modern software tools.
UPDATED
01/09/2011 NYT,
U.S. Subpoenas* Twitter Over WikiLeaks Supporters
"Internet freedom 'has always
coexisted with the rule of law' and 'does not mean that the Internet
can be used to harm others,'”--NYT quoting State Department
spokesperson P.J. Crowley--
It's not unusual for authoritarian
regimes or democratic governments behaving in an authoritarian
manner to conflate or commingle "rule-of-law" with
"rule-by-law". It's often the case that those attempting
to apply rule-by-law will use disjointed and non-sequitur logic
like:
"X has always coexisted with the
rule-of-law;that does not mean you can do Y."
Of
course, all attempts to commingle or conflate rule-of-law with
rule-by-law must be subjected to heightened scrutiny. This is
particularly so when such commingling or conflation occurs in the
context of the conduct of war where rule-of-law is most in jeopardy.
[* Thesubpoena (courtesy
of Salon) was issued by Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria
Division and required only a simple assertion that relevant
information was sought. In the absence of traditional judicial
oversight under the heightened probable cause standard the need for
transparency is great. It does not speak well of our government that
when the need for transparency is great it seeks greater
opaqueness.]
UPDATED
01/08/2011 Guardian,
WikiLeaks demands Google and Facebook unseal US subpoenas and BBC,
US wants Twitter details of Wikileaks activists.
Shifting governments away from their opaque ways will require more that Wikileaks or Twitter, but all substantive shifts or changes begin with just one individual.
The substantive shifts or changes will always generate strong push back in proportion to its substance—no push back, no change of substance. We are fortunate that there are individuals capable of enduring the push back—without them shifts and changes would be much slower or not occur.
How wonderful that it's our modern social networks leading the substantive shift to government transparency.
Shifting governments away from their opaque ways will require more that Wikileaks or Twitter, but all substantive shifts or changes begin with just one individual.
The substantive shifts or changes will always generate strong push back in proportion to its substance—no push back, no change of substance. We are fortunate that there are individuals capable of enduring the push back—without them shifts and changes would be much slower or not occur.
How wonderful that it's our modern social networks leading the substantive shift to government transparency.
UPDATED
12/20/2010 Walkleys
Foundation, Australian Media's Finest Defend Wikileaks.
Open letter (pdf) to Prime Minister Julia Gillard:
Open letter (pdf) to Prime Minister Julia Gillard:
"...The volume of the leaks is
unprecedented, yet the leaking and publication of diplomatic
correspondence is not new. We, as editors and news directors of
major media organisations, believe the reaction of the US and
Australian governments to date has been deeply troubling. We will
strongly resist any attempts to make the publication of these or
similar documents illegal. Any such action would impact not only on
WikiLeaks, but every media organisation in the world that aims to
inform the public about decisions made on their behalf. WikiLeaks,
just four years old, is part of the media and deserves our support.
...It is the media’s duty to responsibly report such material if
it comes into their possession. To aggressively attempt to shut
WikiLeaks down, to threaten to prosecute those who publish official
leaks, and to pressure companies to cease doing commercial business
with WikiLeaks, is a serious threat to democracy, which relies on a
free and fearless press."--Signers Walkley Foundation Open
Letter Re: Wikileaks--
UPDATED
12/16/2010 Guardian,
Julian Assange bail decision made by UK authorities, not
Sweden
Interestingly, the CPS [Crown Prosecution Services] appealed the Assange bail grant.
Swedish authorities have indicated they have no involvement in the bail appeal and take no view on bail. The statement by Swedish authorities was confirmed by CPS.
Interestingly, the CPS [Crown Prosecution Services] appealed the Assange bail grant.
Swedish authorities have indicated they have no involvement in the bail appeal and take no view on bail. The statement by Swedish authorities was confirmed by CPS.
UPDATED
12/14/2010 VOA,
WikiLeaks Founder Assange Granted Bail and
releases a jail
statement via his mother Christine Assange.
"My
convictions are unfaltering. I remain true to the ideals I have
expressed. This circumstance shall not shake them....If anything
this process has increased my determination that they are true and
correct....We now know that Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and others are
instruments of US foreign policy,....It's not something we knew
before....I am calling for the world to protect my work and my
people from these illegal and immoral attacks....As a mother, I'm
asking the world to stand up for my brave son."--Australia's
7News and Sunshine
Coast Daily quoting
Ms. Assange quoting her son's statement from a British jail and her
reaction to his statement--
UPDATED
12/11/2010 NPR,
WikiLeaks' Payment Processor To Sue Card Companies.
It's of course shocking and of concern when any private corporation
interferes with citizens' press, speech, or association rights based
on government hysteria (has the hysteria driven Iraq and Afghanistan
War debacles taught us nothing).
Our private corporations should not be able to do on behalf of our government7 what our government cannot do itself, assertions of State Secrets notwithstanding. Perhaps a lawsuit can explore whether Visa®, MasterCard®, et al's actions can or should be imputed to our government, then seek class status on behalf of those whose constitutional rights have been trampled in the hysteria?
Our private corporations should not be able to do on behalf of our government7 what our government cannot do itself, assertions of State Secrets notwithstanding. Perhaps a lawsuit can explore whether Visa®, MasterCard®, et al's actions can or should be imputed to our government, then seek class status on behalf of those whose constitutional rights have been trampled in the hysteria?
UPDATED
12/09/2010 Sydney
Morning Herald, Geoffrey Robertson to defend Assange.
Additionally, Australia Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has said Assange will be provided citizen consular support. Australia has been previously criticized for its lack of support for Assange, an Australian citizen.
Additionally, Australia Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has said Assange will be provided citizen consular support. Australia has been previously criticized for its lack of support for Assange, an Australian citizen.
UPDATED
12/07/2010 Reuters,
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested in Britain andGuardian,
Julian Assange denied bail over sexual assault
allegations and Reuters,
WikiLeaks founder Assange refused bail by UK court.
"WikiLeaks is operational. We are
continuing on the same track as laid out before. Any development
with regards to Julian Assange will not change the plans we have
with regards to the releases today and in the coming
days."--Guardian quoting WikiLeaks spokesman, Kristinn
Hrafnsson--
"I make no judgment of Julian
Assange as an individual as I have never met him. I am offering my
support to him as I believe in the universal right to freedom of
information and our right to be told the truth."--Guardian
quoting Socialite and Charity Fundraiser Jemima Khan--
"I think the work he has done has
been a public service. I think we are entitled to know the dealings
of those that govern us."--Guardian quoting film-maker Ken
Loach--
UPDATED
12/03/2010 VOA,
Sweden Issues Second Arrest Warrant for WikiLeaks' Assange.
Swedish prosecutors' strange sex saga gets stranger...Interpol Red Alert for a person whose whereabouts is known; whose attorney is contacting prosecutors and consenting to questioning; who's not charged with a crime; whose extradition is not sought; whose arrest warrant was issued, withdrawn, reissued, and re-reissued; whose condom reportedly broke during consensual sex;...prompting one popular American talk show host to ask "is this intercourse or Interpol"?
Swedish prosecutors' strange sex saga gets stranger...Interpol Red Alert for a person whose whereabouts is known; whose attorney is contacting prosecutors and consenting to questioning; who's not charged with a crime; whose extradition is not sought; whose arrest warrant was issued, withdrawn, reissued, and re-reissued; whose condom reportedly broke during consensual sex;...prompting one popular American talk show host to ask "is this intercourse or Interpol"?
Instead of apologizing to corrupt
governments, issuing "Red Alerts", and calling for leak
prosecutions3 our leadership must further increase
(maximize) our own government's transparency and persuade other
governments to follow our lead.
UPDATED
12/04/2010 CSM,
For Europe, WikiLeaks offers cyberdrama with Julian Assange as main
character.
To date, disclosures of the diplomatic traffic indicates minimal or no effort to balance secrecy in the democratic space (this of course is no secret for our secrecy system specialists—they've been arguing our democracy is drowning in secrecy for years).
Moreover, the diplomatic traffic indicates a wide margin from any supposed Hannah Arendt imbalance, should such exist. Finally, that the current diplomatic traffic transparency is perceived as "radical"4 is also an indicator of how wide the imbalance margin is!
To date, disclosures of the diplomatic traffic indicates minimal or no effort to balance secrecy in the democratic space (this of course is no secret for our secrecy system specialists—they've been arguing our democracy is drowning in secrecy for years).
Moreover, the diplomatic traffic indicates a wide margin from any supposed Hannah Arendt imbalance, should such exist. Finally, that the current diplomatic traffic transparency is perceived as "radical"4 is also an indicator of how wide the imbalance margin is!
UPDATED
12/05/2010 NYT,
Series of Articles based on Leaked Diplomatic Documents
-----notes-----
1.
A person-citizen with access to Bob Woodward's new book, Obama's
Wars has
the opportunity to inform themselves with respect to our leader's
motivations, frustrations, and decisions concerning the Afghanistan
War debacle. Is such an informed person-citizen more or less of a
benefit to our nation? Does your answer change because Woodward's
book contains information marked "SECRET/NOFORN" or
transparency embarrasses opaqueness?
2.
Hopefully the French Budget Minister Francois Baroin will provide
the logic and reasoning, which supports his personal assertion that
"a transparent society would be a totalitarian society"
(refer to NPR,
Clinton: WikiLeaks 'Tear At Fabric' Of Government).
4. Encouragingly,
those reporting or following current events tend to view the
disclosed diplomatic traffic as little more than confirmation of
what has already been suspected or known. Some have even suggested
updating the "Batman and Robin" metaphor with a more
imaginative metaphor. ...And who knew that the Kadafi
voluptuous-blond-nurse traffic would be the most popular traffic or
that some of our leaders would make the routine prediction of lack
of future candidness?
5.
UPDATED 12/04/2010 The Washington Times's motivation for publishing
an extremist's editorial calling
for the assassination of Julian Assange is unclear. Many Americans
expect the debate over government transparency to be intense; most
do not expect an American newspaper to print fatwas.
6.
Democracy Now also hosted an informative
discussion between
Glenn Greenwald and Steven Aftergood on transparency.
7.
UPDATED 12/11/2010 Reuters is
reporting that
Attorney General Holder, during a San Francisco fraud conference,
stated "We have not pressured anybody to do anything,"
with respect to Wikileaks.
8.
Aftenposten is
also reporting that
between 2007 and 2009 the Swedish company ÅF Colenco secretly
helped Iran design a 360 MW light water reactor. This activity may
have violated UN sanctions. The design and support help has since
stopped. According to Aftenposten companies from Russia, Pakistan,
Syria, France, Italy, Macedonia, Armenia and the Emirates may have
engaged in activity that violated UN sanction, too.
9. FAS Secrecy
Blog has updated its original post to state that the AFMC Wikileaks
"guidance" has been withdrawn.
10.
It's hazardous to draw conclusions about governance from argument(s)
made in legal cases—particularly cases asserting the buzz words
"national security". However, over the years our
government has erected a complex opaque behemoth that it uses to
govern—voluntarily or involuntarily dismantling this complex
opaque behemoth will not be easy, speedy, or without benefits and
burdens. Nevertheless, as data leaks from the closed to open set of
books even the most uninformed citizen understands that meaningful
participation in our democracy requires one set of transparent
books. Fortunately, there are some data to suggest that our
government (and others) understand their transparent future, if not
the bulk transition pace of Wikileaks.
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