Wendy Kaminer Jan 13 2011, 4:15 PM ET
Peter King, Chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, wants WikiLeaks placed on the Treasury Department's blacklist in order to "strangle (its) viability," by threatening, if not strangling, the viability of any person or company that dares to engage in any economic transaction with WikiLeaks or Assange. Conducting business, or providing any economic assistance to a blacklisted entity, even unknowingly, no matter how trivial, is a violation of federal law, for which you too may be blacklisted, losing access to all your property and interests in the U.S.
King is especially incensed that an American publisher, Knopf, has entered into a book deal with Assange (who is reportedly receiving over a million dollars for his memoir); and if he is now blacklisted, you could conceivably break the law merely by buying his book, or contributing to a WikiLeaks defense fund. In other words, King is not simply targeting Assange and Wikileaks; he is targeting all of us -- every American citizen and company. In his view, even a paying consumer of information and ideas from WIkiLeaks or Assange is collaborating in terrorism.
Full Story Here
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Some rally behind soldier accused in WikiLeaks case
By Scott Shane New York Times
Posted: 01/13/2011 06:10:43 PM PST
Updated: 01/13/2011 06:10:43 PM PST
WASHINGTON -- Julian Assange, the flamboyant founder of WikiLeaks, is living on a supporter's 600-acre estate outside London, where he has negotiated $1.7 million in book deals and regularly issues defiant statements about the anti-secrecy group's plans.
Meanwhile, the young soldier accused of leaking the secret documents that brought WikiLeaks and Assange to fame and notoriety is locked in a tiny cell at the Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia. Pfc. Bradley Manning, who turned 23 last month in the military prison, is accused of the biggest leak of classified documents in U.S. history. He awaits trial on charges that could put him in prison for 52 years, according to the Army.
Even as members of Congress denounce both men's actions as criminal, the Justice Department still is looking for a charge it can press against Assange, demanding from Twitter the account records, credit card numbers and bank account information of several of his associates. Legal experts say there are many obstacles to a prosecution of the WikiLeaks founder, but one approach under consideration is to link the two men in a conspiracy to disclose classified material.
Accusations from supporters that Manning is being mistreated, perhaps to pressure him to testify against Assange, have rallied many on the political left to his defense. The assertions have even drawn the attention of the U.S. special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, who said he had submitted a formal inquiry about the soldier's treatment to the State Department.
Full Story Here
Posted: 01/13/2011 06:10:43 PM PST
Updated: 01/13/2011 06:10:43 PM PST
WASHINGTON -- Julian Assange, the flamboyant founder of WikiLeaks, is living on a supporter's 600-acre estate outside London, where he has negotiated $1.7 million in book deals and regularly issues defiant statements about the anti-secrecy group's plans.
Meanwhile, the young soldier accused of leaking the secret documents that brought WikiLeaks and Assange to fame and notoriety is locked in a tiny cell at the Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia. Pfc. Bradley Manning, who turned 23 last month in the military prison, is accused of the biggest leak of classified documents in U.S. history. He awaits trial on charges that could put him in prison for 52 years, according to the Army.
Even as members of Congress denounce both men's actions as criminal, the Justice Department still is looking for a charge it can press against Assange, demanding from Twitter the account records, credit card numbers and bank account information of several of his associates. Legal experts say there are many obstacles to a prosecution of the WikiLeaks founder, but one approach under consideration is to link the two men in a conspiracy to disclose classified material.
Accusations from supporters that Manning is being mistreated, perhaps to pressure him to testify against Assange, have rallied many on the political left to his defense. The assertions have even drawn the attention of the U.S. special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, who said he had submitted a formal inquiry about the soldier's treatment to the State Department.
Full Story Here
I've got secret files on Murdoch as 'insurance', claims Assange
By Ian Burrell, Media Editor Thursday, 13 January 2011
A year that has begun badly for Rupert Murdoch grew a little worse yesterday after the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, claimed to be in possession of secret documents damaging to the media mogul and his News Corp empire.
Mr Assange told John Pilger in the New Statesman he had withheld a cache of confidential US government cables and files relating to Mr Murdoch's business as "insurance". He has claimed that his life is in danger if he is extradited to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault.
He said to Pilger, a fellow Australian and one of his prominent British-based supporters: "If something happens to me or to WikiLeaks, 'insurance' files will be released."
Full Story Here
A year that has begun badly for Rupert Murdoch grew a little worse yesterday after the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, claimed to be in possession of secret documents damaging to the media mogul and his News Corp empire.
Mr Assange told John Pilger in the New Statesman he had withheld a cache of confidential US government cables and files relating to Mr Murdoch's business as "insurance". He has claimed that his life is in danger if he is extradited to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault.
He said to Pilger, a fellow Australian and one of his prominent British-based supporters: "If something happens to me or to WikiLeaks, 'insurance' files will be released."
Full Story Here
Assange Blasts Great Firewall
2011-01-13
WikiLeaks boss finds China's Internet controls 'biggest impediment.'
The founder of the WikiLeaks whistleblowing website, Julian Assange, hit out at Beijing's aggressive censorship of the Internet in a media interview on Thursday.
Assange, an Australian hacker who sparked fury in Washington with the release of a slew of leaked U.S. diplomatic cables, said China is the "technological enemy" of WikiLeaks, because it is so hard to ensure access to the site from behind tight Web controls.
His lawyers say there are moves afoot to ensure Assange, 39, is sent to the United States, where he could face punishment over the leaks.
Full Story Here
WikiLeaks boss finds China's Internet controls 'biggest impediment.'
The founder of the WikiLeaks whistleblowing website, Julian Assange, hit out at Beijing's aggressive censorship of the Internet in a media interview on Thursday.
Assange, an Australian hacker who sparked fury in Washington with the release of a slew of leaked U.S. diplomatic cables, said China is the "technological enemy" of WikiLeaks, because it is so hard to ensure access to the site from behind tight Web controls.
His lawyers say there are moves afoot to ensure Assange, 39, is sent to the United States, where he could face punishment over the leaks.
Full Story Here
WikiLeaks' Assange: China is our real enemy
By Michael Holden Wed Jan 12, 2011 12:22pm EST
* WikiLeaks' Assange: Fighting "running battle with China"
* Website has "insurance" files on Murdoch and News Corp.
* U.S. using jailed Manning to make criminal case--Assange
LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - China is the worst state offender in terms of censorship but WikiLeaks is getting past its attempts to restrict access, the website's founder Julian Assange said in an interview published on Wednesday.
Assange, whose website has angered and embarrassed Washington by releasing confidential U.S. diplomatic cables, said China was the main technological enemy of WikiLeaks, not the United States.
"China has aggressive and sophisticated interception technology that places itself between every reader inside China and every information source outside China," Assange told Britain's New Statesman magazine.
"We've been fighting a running battle to make sure we can get information through and there are now all sorts of ways Chinese readers can get on to our site," he said in extracts of the interview published on the magazine's website.
U.S. officials have been examining whether criminal charges can be brought against Assange since WikiLeaks began publishing the cables. He again denied working with Bradley Manning, a U.S. Army intelligence analyst suspected of leaking the files.
Full Story Here
* WikiLeaks' Assange: Fighting "running battle with China"
* Website has "insurance" files on Murdoch and News Corp.
* U.S. using jailed Manning to make criminal case--Assange
LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - China is the worst state offender in terms of censorship but WikiLeaks is getting past its attempts to restrict access, the website's founder Julian Assange said in an interview published on Wednesday.
Assange, whose website has angered and embarrassed Washington by releasing confidential U.S. diplomatic cables, said China was the main technological enemy of WikiLeaks, not the United States.
"China has aggressive and sophisticated interception technology that places itself between every reader inside China and every information source outside China," Assange told Britain's New Statesman magazine.
"We've been fighting a running battle to make sure we can get information through and there are now all sorts of ways Chinese readers can get on to our site," he said in extracts of the interview published on the magazine's website.
U.S. officials have been examining whether criminal charges can be brought against Assange since WikiLeaks began publishing the cables. He again denied working with Bradley Manning, a U.S. Army intelligence analyst suspected of leaking the files.
Full Story Here
WikiLeaks condemns GOP embargo call
By Gautham Nagesh - 01/13/11 03:08 PM ET
WikiLeaks is denouncing the Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security committee for calling for an embargo on the group.
Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, accused Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the panel's chairman, of seeking an embargo "on the truth" with his call for a ban on WikiLeaks from doing business in the U.S.
"King wants to put a Cuban style trade embargo around the truth—forced on US citizens at the point of a gun," Assange said in a release dated Jan. 12.
Assange called WikiLeaks, which has released thousands of classified U.S. military and diplomatic documents, a "publishing organization" and insisted the site has not hurt anyone with its publications.
Full Story Here
WikiLeaks is denouncing the Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security committee for calling for an embargo on the group.
Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, accused Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the panel's chairman, of seeking an embargo "on the truth" with his call for a ban on WikiLeaks from doing business in the U.S.
"King wants to put a Cuban style trade embargo around the truth—forced on US citizens at the point of a gun," Assange said in a release dated Jan. 12.
Assange called WikiLeaks, which has released thousands of classified U.S. military and diplomatic documents, a "publishing organization" and insisted the site has not hurt anyone with its publications.
Full Story Here
NY Rep. Asks Treasury to Blacklist Wikileaks' Assange
By Kenneth Corbin January 13, 2011
A prominent House lawmaker is ratcheting up pressure on the Obama administration to take action against Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange.
In a letter delivered this week, Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to add Assange to the department's Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons List, or SDN List, a move that would prohibit U.S. businesses and individuals from doing business with the whistleblower site or anyone associated with it.
The SDN List is a registry maintained by Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control that seeks to impose sanctions against individuals and companies associated with targeted foreign countries, or independent entities that have been identified as criminal operations, such as terrorists or drug traffickers.
Full Story Here
A prominent House lawmaker is ratcheting up pressure on the Obama administration to take action against Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange.
In a letter delivered this week, Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to add Assange to the department's Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons List, or SDN List, a move that would prohibit U.S. businesses and individuals from doing business with the whistleblower site or anyone associated with it.
The SDN List is a registry maintained by Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control that seeks to impose sanctions against individuals and companies associated with targeted foreign countries, or independent entities that have been identified as criminal operations, such as terrorists or drug traffickers.
Full Story Here
Assange fears of trial in US justified, says expert
By Kim Sengupta and Jerome Taylor Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Julian Assange's claim in court yesterday that extradition to Sweden is the first step to him facing the death penalty in the US may have seemed like a melodramatic gambit, but there is every indication that moves are under way to bring charges against him in America.
The latest sign of an investigation by the US Justice Department gathering pace has been a subpoena demanding the Twitter account details of Mr Assange and several other people associated with WikiLeaks. The aim, it is believed, is to establish that Mr Assange had conspired with Private First Class Bradley Manning to gather and leak hundreds of thousands of classified US State Department cables.
Full Story Here
Julian Assange's claim in court yesterday that extradition to Sweden is the first step to him facing the death penalty in the US may have seemed like a melodramatic gambit, but there is every indication that moves are under way to bring charges against him in America.
The latest sign of an investigation by the US Justice Department gathering pace has been a subpoena demanding the Twitter account details of Mr Assange and several other people associated with WikiLeaks. The aim, it is believed, is to establish that Mr Assange had conspired with Private First Class Bradley Manning to gather and leak hundreds of thousands of classified US State Department cables.
Full Story Here
WikiLeaks' Assange signs deal to tell life story
(AFP) – 6 days ago
LONDON — Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks website, said Friday he had signed a book deal to tell his life story and expressed hope it would be "one of the unifying documents of our generation".
Edinburgh-based Canongate Books said it had acquired world rights -- apart from North America where the publisher will be Alfred A. Knopf -- to the whistleblower's autobiography.
It will be published in Britain in April.
Assange, who is on bail in Britain facing extradition proceedings to Sweden on charges of sexual assault, has overseen the release of thousands of US diplomatic cables on the WikiLeaks website.
Full Story Here
LONDON — Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks website, said Friday he had signed a book deal to tell his life story and expressed hope it would be "one of the unifying documents of our generation".
Edinburgh-based Canongate Books said it had acquired world rights -- apart from North America where the publisher will be Alfred A. Knopf -- to the whistleblower's autobiography.
It will be published in Britain in April.
Assange, who is on bail in Britain facing extradition proceedings to Sweden on charges of sexual assault, has overseen the release of thousands of US diplomatic cables on the WikiLeaks website.
Full Story Here
Sweden aims to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US - lawyer
AAP January 12, 2011 11:21PM
JULIAN Assange's lawyer in Britain has accused Swedish authorities of secretly planning to extradite the WikiLeaks founder to the United States, in an interview with a German newspaper to appear on Thursday.
Lawyer Mark Stephens told the weekly Die Zeit that he believed Swedish officials were cooperating with US authorities with an eye to extraditing Assange as soon as the Americans have built a criminal case against him.
"We are hearing that the Swedish are prepared to drop the rape charges against Julian as soon as the Americans demand his extradition," he said, citing sources in Washington and Stockholm.
Stephens called the Swedish charges against his client a "holding case" to buy time until the United States can prosecute him themselves over WikiLeaks' mass release of classified US documents.
He said Assange did not believe he would receive a fair trial in Sweden which was why he was fighting his extradition from Britain.
Full Story Here
JULIAN Assange's lawyer in Britain has accused Swedish authorities of secretly planning to extradite the WikiLeaks founder to the United States, in an interview with a German newspaper to appear on Thursday.
Lawyer Mark Stephens told the weekly Die Zeit that he believed Swedish officials were cooperating with US authorities with an eye to extraditing Assange as soon as the Americans have built a criminal case against him.
"We are hearing that the Swedish are prepared to drop the rape charges against Julian as soon as the Americans demand his extradition," he said, citing sources in Washington and Stockholm.
Stephens called the Swedish charges against his client a "holding case" to buy time until the United States can prosecute him themselves over WikiLeaks' mass release of classified US documents.
He said Assange did not believe he would receive a fair trial in Sweden which was why he was fighting his extradition from Britain.
Full Story Here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)