WikiLeaks threatens to release 'Digital Thermonuclear Device' - International Mass Media

WikiLeaks threatens to release 'Digital Thermonuclear Device'
by Doug Saunders via stan - The Globe and Mail Sunday, Dec 5 2010, 7:06pm
international / mass media / other press

Politically motivated attacks on Free Speech and Press Freedoms could have Dire Consequences

At the centre of a tightening web of death threats, sex-crime accusations and high-level demands for a treason trial, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange threatened to unleash a “thermonuclear device” of completely unexpurgated government files if he is forced to appear before authorities.

Mr. Assange, the 39-year-old Australian Internet activist whose online document-leaking service has embarrassed the United States and other countries by publishing hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic and military documents, has referred to the huge, unfiltered document as his “insurance policy.”

The 1.3-gigabyte file, distributed through file-sharing services this summer and protected with an unbreakable 256-bit encryption key, contains full versions of all the U.S. documents received by WikiLeaks to date – including those that have been withheld from publication or have had names and details removed in order to protect the lives of spies, sources and soldiers.

Silent for the better part of a week as WikiLeaks made daily headlines around the globe, Mr. Assange has been increasingly vocal in recent days, defending his actions, decrying his critics and defying world leaders.

Mr. Assange’s lawyer Mark Stephens warned that if Mr. Assange were to be brought to trial on rape accusations he faces in Sweden, or for treason charges that have been suggested by U.S. politicians, he would release the encryption key. The tens of thousands of people who have downloaded the file would instantly have access to the names, addresses and details contained in the file.

WikiLeaks, Mr. Stephens said, has “been subject to cyberattacks and censorship around the world and they need to protect themselves ... This is what they believe to be a thermonuclear device in the information age.”

He uttered that threat as his client was believed to be in hiding in Britain, with prominent U.S. and Saudi officials calling for Mr. Assange’s arrest or death, justice officials attempting to shut down his websites in many countries, and the Swedish justice system seeking him for questioning on the sexual-crime allegations.

Mr. Assange has denied the accusation, made by two women who hosted a party for him in Stockholm in August. He has acknowledged having had consensual sex with the complainants. Reports say the sex became non-consensual over disagreements about condom use.

This weekend he refused to respond to a European arrest warrant issued by Sweden, and an Interpol alert related to the accusation. His lawyers argued that the accusations amount to a smear campaign and suggested that U.S. officials might be behind them.

The Swedish prosecutor took the unusual step of going before the news media to say she has received no pressure or communication of any sort from international or political authorities and that the charges are unrelated to the leaks scandal.

“This investigation has proceeded perfectly normally without any political pressure of any kind,” prosecutor Marianne Ny told the Agence France-Presse wire service. “It is completely independent.”

A number of high-profile U.S. figures, including Republicans Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich, have called for the prosecution of Mr. Assange.

“Julian Assange is engaged in warfare,” Mr. Gingrich said, echoing similar words spoken by Ms. Palin and others last week. “Information terrorism, which leads to people getting killed, is terrorism. And Julian Assange is engaged in terrorism. He should be treated as an enemy combatant and WikiLeaks should be closed down permanently and decisively.”

However, U.S. charges against Mr. Assange are unlikely: He is not a U.S. citizen and, because he did not steal the documents himself, but only participated in their publication, he would likely be protected under the U.S. Constitution’s free-speech provisions.

The documents were reportedly stolen from a U.S. military installation by Bradley Manning, a former private in the U.S. Army who copied years of secret Pentagon and State Department communiqués and passed them to Mr. Assange, who in turn brokered deals with worldwide media outlets to publish details from them. Those details, despite some censorship by Mr. Assange and the publishers, have shaken relations between the United States and Gulf countries, Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Mr. Manning is already being held in solitary confinement, and will likely face treason and espionage charges. This has not stopped a growing chorus of U.S. and foreign figures from pushing for punishment for Mr. Assange.

U.S. newspapers reported that a team of Justice Department and Pentagon investigators is looking into the possibility of charges against Mr. Assange under the Espionage Act. Attorney-General Eric Holder said “this is not sabre-rattling” when asked by reporters about the possibility of charges. Justice officials in Australia, where Mr. Assange was born, are reportedly also looking into a prosecution.

That did not stop more figures from suggesting that Mr. Assange should be harmed or killed – a circle that includes Canadian Tom Flanagan, a former campaign manager to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who told a TV interviewer last week that Mr. Assange should be assassinated (he later apologized for the remark).

In an online interview with the Guardian newspaper, Mr. Assange said Mr. Flanagan “should be charged with incitement to commit murder.”

He also told reporters Barack Obama and his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, should resign if they are shown to have authorized an operation to spy on United Nations top officials – one of the many secrets revealed in the leaked State Department cables.

“Obama must answer what he knew about this illegal order and when. If he refuses to answer or there is evidence he approved of these actions, he must resign,” the WikiLeaks founder told the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

He suggested, not for the first time, that he believes his document service has had a profound effect on world history: “I believe geopolitics will be separated into pre- and post-Cablegate phases.”

© 2010 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc

"i think i'm turning japanese .."

Notice the deafening SILENCE of Christian leaders and 'Christians' on the issue.

Assange is exposing more than he imagined. I for one support him and am proud of the fact. i am taking every opportunity to shove the hard hypocritical REALITY down every 'Christian' throat i encounter -- what a bunch of despicable NOTHINGS!

Hard to Top
by Mendaxia L'Orange - BastardCrushersAllForOne Monday, Dec 6 2010, 2:18am
address: Ultima Thule

There's not much to say that hasn't already been said. Nevertheless, here goes!
Bring the noise Jules! Your eloquence is the Slayer! Long may you run! We love You! The bastards will be crushed and whatever happens, Wikileaks has done it's job. Long live the Mendax.
We're not gonna take it!
Fight for your right to party (with people who aren't CIA bitches).
Thank You Julian Assange Thank You

Saturday the 4th of December. 6.41 pm. Julian Assange seats in front of his computer for a chat interview with EL PAÍS. Interpol is looking for him. His website is under constant attacks. The 39 year old Australian, and Wikileaks founder, says he has a terrible headache. The last 24 hours were tough.

Q. I read you are taking steps to protect yourselves (you and other people from Wikileaks) after receiving many death threats. Where are those death threats coming from?

A. We have hundreds of specific death threats from US military militants. That is not unusual, and we have become practiced from past experiences at ignoring such threats from Islamic extremists, African kleptocrats and so on. Recently the situation has changed with these threats now extending out our lawyers and my children. However it is the specific calls from the elites of US society for our assassination, kidnapping and execution that is more concerning. These range from a US senate bill by John Ensign which seeks to declare us a "transnational threat" to assassination calls from former Bush speech writers such as Marc Thessian in The Washington Post and Bill O'Reilly of Fox news.

Q. Your children, how were they threatened?

A. I believe it is better to not encourage these ideas too much by talking about them. However some right wing sites also called for attacking me via my children. I predicted this might happen since April, so since that time I have had to stay away from my family. Wait a moment. I get you some evidence.

Assange sends a document with a list of all the threats the organization has endured these days. http://filebin.ca/jzzfz/ListPeople_AssangeCriminalized.pdf. There are more. That is some one of our lawyers found.

Q. I guess this one must have been one of the toughest weeks for Wikileaks. How is the organization doing, how many people are helping you with the DDos (electronic attacks). Do you feel well surrounded to keep strong?

A. The organisation is strong. We have a lot of support, however we also have many attacks of different forms. From ongoing mass DDOS attacks to smears and the legal issues.

Q. How many people help you deal with the DDOS attacks?

A. We have dozens helping and setting up mirror sites but it takes a lot of time for us to manage the process. We are automating that process and will soon have hundreds. If there is a battle between the US military and the preservation of History, we have insured, History will win.

Q. Is this the biggest leak ever, or the most relevant, or was it Ellsberg's with the Pentagon papers?

A. This is the biggest, at over 265 million words and the most relevant - it covers every serious issue in every country-. It is more significant than the Pentagon Papers.

Q. What will be the consequences of this megaleak?

A. It is too early to say yet. The ripples are just starting to flow throughout the world. But I believe geopolitics will be separated into pre and post Cablegate phases. Two more questions. I have to go soon I'm afraid...

Q. Speaking to Time magazine you said that Clinton should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering US diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations. Should that be the case, shouldn't it be Obama the one who should resign?

A. The whole chain of command who was aware of this order, and approved it, must resign if the US is to be seen to be a credible nation that obeys the rule of law. The order is so serious it may well have been put to the president for approval.

Q. So, should Obama resign, then? And please, allow just five minutes for a couple of questions, if you can, please.

A. Obama must answer what he knew about this illegal order and when. If he refuses to answer or there is evidence he approved of these actions, he must resign.

Q. Is it right that Scotland Yard knows where you are and that you have made yourself available to speak with Swedish authorities, including the prosecutor handling the case?

A...

Q. Hello! Still there?

A. ...

Q. Is it over?

A. Sorry. Internet disconnected momentarily

Q. Will I be able to ask just two extra questions?

A. Ok. make them quick :)

Q. Well, first, the one I asked, is it right that you made yourself available to speak with Swedish authorities? What are you going to do about the case after the Swedish Supreme court' s denial of your appeal?

A. We will fight them and expose them, naturally. That there is something "wrong" with this case is now obvious to everyone.

Q. Do you plan to stay in a hidden place or are you willing to have your say with the Swedish Justice?

A. Ok. I have to go now.

Q. Please, answer if you intend to stay in a hidden place, if you can.

[The chat is over. Julian's assistant writes: He's gone. Sorry!]

© EDICIONES EL PAÍS S.L.

Britain has received a European arrest warrant from Sweden for the Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange.

The warrant is being processed by the Serious Organised Crime Agency and will be sent to the Metropolitan Police as he is thought to be in the London area.

Mr Assange is wanted in Sweden to face sex allegations which he denies.

It comes as Downing Street issued strong criticism of Wikileaks for publishing secret diplomatic cables identifying important facilities.

The list includes sites and factories in Britain which the US says are vital to its security.

Security officials say the sites could now become terrorist targets and Foreign Secretary William Hague says the release of the information could have put lives at risk.

The list includes pipelines, communication and transport hubs.

Several UK sites are listed, from Cornwall to Scotland, including key satellite communications sites and the places where trans-Atlantic cables make landfall.
Security review

A number of BAE Systems plants involved in joint weapons programmes with the Americans are listed, along with a marine engineering firm in Edinburgh which is said to be "critical" for nuclear-powered submarines.

Meanwhile the Home Secretary, Theresa May, says all government departments have been told to carry out a security review following the publication of the secret US diplomatic cables on the Wikileaks website.

She told MPs that the prime minister's security adviser, Sir Peter Ricketts, had written "to all departments to ask them to look again at their information security and to provide him with an assurance about the level of that information security".

The Swiss post office bank, PostFinance, has also frozen Mr Assange's bank accounts.

© MMX BBC

All you need to know about Julian Assange’s value as a crusading journalist is that The New York Times and most of the world’s other leading newspapers have led daily with important news stories based on his WikiLeaks releases. All you need to know about the collapse of traditional support for the constitutional protection of a free press is that Dianne Feinstein, the centrist Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, has called for Assange “to be vigorously prosecuted for espionage.”

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Feinstein, who strongly supported the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, has the audacity to call for the imprisonment of the man who, more than any other individual, has allowed the public to learn the truth about those disastrous imperial adventures—facts long known to Feinstein as head of the Intelligence Committee but never shared with the public she claims to represent.

Feinstein represents precisely the government that Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he said, in defense of unfettered freedom of the press, “[W]ere it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

In the 1787 letter in which he wrote those words, Jefferson was reflecting the deep wisdom of a political leader who often had been excoriated by a vicious press that would make the anarchist-inflected comments of an Assange seem mild in comparison. More than 35 years later, after having suffered many more vitriolic press attacks, Jefferson reiterated his belief in a free press, in all its vagaries, as the foundation of a democracy. In an 1823 letter to Lafayette, Jefferson warned: “The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted to be freely expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure.”

It is precisely that agitation that so alarms Feinstein, for the inconvenient truths she has concealed in her Senate role would have indeed shocked many of those who voted for her. She knew in real time that Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attack, yet she voted to send young Americans to kill and be killed based on what she knew to be lies. It is her duplicity, along with the leaders of both political parties, that now stands exposed by the WikiLeaks documents.

That is why U.S. governmental leaders will now employ the massive power of the state to discredit and destroy Assange, who dared let the public in on the depths of official deceit—a deceit that they hide behind in making their claims of protecting national security. Claims mocked by released cables that show that our puppets in Iraq and Afghanistan are deeply corrupt and anti-democratic, and that al-Qaida continues to find its base of support not in those countries but rather in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, the very nations we arm and protect. The notion that the official tissue of lies enhances our security is rejected by the growing strength of radical Islam in the region, as evidenced by the success of Iran, the main benefactor of our invasion of Iraq, as the leaked cables make clear.

The pretend patriots who use the national security argument to gut what remains of our most important security asset—our constitutional guarantees of a truly free press—are just what President George Washington feared when in his farewell address he warned “against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the Impostures of pretended patriotism. …”

The pretended patriotism of Feinstein, the first Democrat to co-sponsor the bill extending the U.S. Patriot Act, represents the death of the Democratic Party as a protector of our freedoms. As a California resident, I will not vote for her again, no matter how dastardly a right-wing Republican opponent she might face. There is no lesser evil to be found in one who would so cavalierly imprison practitioners of a free press.

That is the issue here, pure and simple. It is unconscionable to target Assange for publishing documents on the Internet that mainstream media outlets have attested had legitimate news value. As in the historic case in which Daniel Ellsberg gave The New York Times the Pentagon Papers exposé of the official lies justifying the Vietnam War, Assange is acting as the reporter here, and thus his activities must be shielded by the First Amendment’s guarantee of journalistic freedom.

Actually Ellsberg’s position, as morally strong as it was, was weaker than that of Assange, in that the former Marine and top Pentagon adviser was working at the government-funded Rand Corp., where he had agreed to rules about the handling of classified information, including the Pentagon Papers. Assange operates under no such restraints and is an even clearer example of the journalist who ferrets out news and attempts to report it. He had no special clearance that provided him access, and what he did was no different from what the editors of The New York Times did in publishing news that was fit to print.

It is outrageous for any journalist, or respecter of what every American president has claimed is our inalienable, God-given right to a free press, not to join in Assange’s defense on this issue, as distinct from what increasingly appear to be trumped-up charges that led to his voluntary arrest on Tuesday in London in a case involving his personal behavior. Abandon Assange and you abandon the bedrock of our republic: the public’s right to know.

© 2010 Truthdig, L.L.C.

You should be ashamed. The information he is releasing, and or threatening to release could put ALOT of lives at risk, and for what? For his own personal agenda. He isn't better than people hiding the truth and when it comes to information that could get someone killed. It SHOULD NOT be released.

He is a pathetic excuse for a human and I fully stand behind his arrest and removal.

where have u been for the past decade, jonas? WikiLeaks has done nothing more or less than reveal American war CRIMES and LIES -- wake up or do some research, cracker!

a radio poll in Oz, asking if Assange is 'hero or villain,' is being conducted as i write, so far the vote is 83% HERO, you divorced from reality, moron!

Jail the war criminals and bankers and freda people, NOW!

How could you possibly turn this in to an Anti-Christian message. How does one's faith play into this at all?!? You are looking for any reason to "down" Christianity. I will pray for you, Philistine.

Jail the bankers?!? Do you really think that banker are our enemy? The enemy are the people like Assange who would release the names of undercover operatives and put the lives of human beings at risk. You are obviously radically anti-American. YOU are the real threat...

Religion ?? but no matter - by any chance, r u related to Sarah Palin??

Gawd they make 'em dumb over there!

as for me being a threat, it seems u r also paranoid, as well as stupid -- can u not see the crimes America has committed and continues to commit serving Corporate masters and profit --evil money, u bible-bashing clown? look up the whore of Babylon in revelation if u r a christian.

b4 continuing this lame thread at least prove to me that u can think -- what of AMERICAN WAR CRIMES of which the entire world is AWARE??

answer that for the world to assess, if u r able?

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