Are VISA and PAYPAL Targets of Retaliation By WikiLeaks Supporters?

Some major companies who suspended services to WikiLeaks in the wake of its publication of secret diplomatic cables includes Visa, MasterCard, Paypal and Amazon, according to the article below. These companies are now facing vigilante online retaliation from WikiLeaks supporters and hackers who are flooding and sometimes overwhelming Visa.com, Mastercard.com and PayPal.com’s servers with traffic. Oh My! That's technology!
     . . . June

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Key Lawmakers Up Pressure on WikiLeaks and Defend Visa and Mastercard
Threat Level | Wired.com:

Senator Joe Lieberman, who was instrumental in persuading Amazon.com to kick WikiLeaks off its webhosting service, came to the defense Thursday of companies denying services to the secret-spilling site, saying they are “doing the right thing as good corporate citizens.”

The list of companies that have suspended services to WikiLeaks in the wake of its publication of secret, and politically embarrassing, U.S. diplomatic cables includes Visa, MasterCard, Paypal and Amazon. The cables were allegedly leaked to the organization by a disgruntled military intelligence analyst.

Lieberman said these companies “deserve the support of the American people.” He issued the statement as the companies are facing vigilante online retaliation from WikiLeaks supporters who are staging virtual sit-ins by flooding and sometimes overwhelming Visa.com, Mastercard.com and PayPal.com’s servers with traffic. However, the attacks have had little effect on the company’s payment operations.

“The WikiLeaks data dump has jeopardized U.S. national interests and the lives of intelligence sources around the world,” Lieberman said, though there is no proof or even detailed allegations that the release has endangered any intelligence source.

“This is no time for business as usual,” continued the Senator (I-Connecticut), who currently heads the Senate Homeland Security committee. “While corporate entities make decisions based on their obligations to their shareholders, sometimes full consideration of those obligations requires them to act as responsible citizens. We offer our admiration and support to those companies exhibiting courage and patriotism as they face down intimidation from hackers sympathetic to WikiLeaks’ philosophy of irresponsible information dumps for the sake of damaging global relationships.

Lieberman has also called for the Justice Department to look into whether the New York Times should be charged with a crime for its reporting and re-publishing of some of the cables.

Separately, the incoming head of the House Homeland Security Committee Pete King (R-New York) introduced Thursday an anti-WikiLeaks measure that would make it illegal to publish the names of military or intelligence community informants.

“WikiLeaks presents a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States, and Julian Assange, an enemy of the U.S, should be prosecuted under the Espionage Act,” Shields said in a press release. “This legislation will give the Attorney General additional tools to do just that.”




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Julian Assange of WikiLeaks Under Arrest!

Julian Assange of WikiLeaks has been arrested on a Swedish warrant, according to the article from Bloomberg.com below. This arrest has nothing to do with the previous release of massive numbers of classified U.S. Military and State Department documents, but rather about rape allegations from August 2010. Many people appear to be very happy to see Assange out of commission, which makes one wonder whether there are ulterior motives behind this arrest.
    . . . June.

WikiLeaks’ Founder Assange Appears in U.K. Court on Rape Charge
Bloomberg: By James Lumley and Erik Larson - Dec 7, 2010 9:13 AM ET

Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website that leaked thousands of classified U.S. military and State Department documents, appeared in a London court after being arrested on a Swedish warrant.

Assange, 39, appeared at City of Westminster Magistrate’s Court today before Judge Howard Riddle. Assange was arrested “by appointment” today at 9:30 a.m. after Swedish police requested the Australian’s detention.

WikiLeaks, created in 2006, has been the subject of a U.S. criminal probe since it posted thousands of classified documents on its website, including U.S. embassy communications and a military video of a July 2007 helicopter attack in Iraq that killed a Reuters television cameraman and his driver.

The arrest follows a European warrant on one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape allegedly committed in August 2010, the police’s extradition unit said today in an e-mailed statement. Mark Stephens, Assange’s U.K. lawyer, has said his client had consensual sex with the women.
The alleged crimes took place in Stockholm and Enkoeping while Assange was in Sweden lecturing about publishing classified U.S. military documents related to the war in Afghanistan.
Stephens, of the firm Finers Stephens Innocent LLP in London, who regularly represents several media organizations including Bloomberg News, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment on the arrest.
WikiLeaks receives confidential material and posts the information on the Internet “so readers and historians alike can see evidence of the truth,” the organization says on its website.



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Massive New Document Release Promised By WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks,  the whistleblower organization, indicated that it is preparing to release a new batch of previously classified U.S. military documents, according to the article below. In October, WikiLeaks released nearly 400,000 U.S. military reports about operations in Iraq. In July, it released more than 70,000 reports from the war in Afghanistan and this next release promises to be much, much larger. If I were WikiLeaks, I'd get out of the country!
     ....June

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Wikileaks promises massive new document release
CNN.com: Bythe CNN Wire Staff November 22, 2010 12:50 p.m. EST

(CNN) -- The whistleblower organization WikiLeaks indicated Monday that it is preparing to release a new batch of previously classified U.S. military documents.

'Next release is 7x the size of the Iraq War Logs,' the group stated via Twitter. 'Intense pressure over it for months. Keep us strong.'

In October, WikiLeaks released nearly 400,000 U.S. military reports about operations in Iraq. In July, it released more than 70,000 reports from the war in Afghanistan.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said last month that the Defense Department has been bracing for the release of more secrets by WikiLeaks. Lapan said WikiLeaks has more Pentagon material beyond what the group's founder, Julian Assange, has admitted publicly to possessing.

The military has charged Pfc. Bradley Manning with leaking video to WikiLeaks, as well as downloading documents from military computers while he served as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. Among the documents he is alleged to have taken are 150,000 diplomatic cables. WikiLeaks has denied being in possession of those cables.

Manning is currently being held at a military jail in Quantico, Virginia.

The Stockholm Criminal Court recently issued an international arrest warrant for Assange, saying he is suspected of rape, sexual molestation and illegal use of force.

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Should those US Classified documents remain classified for the safety of the American Forces overseas?  Or do you believe that it was right to be a whistleblower with reference to those documents. Which side are you on? Leave a comment

June

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'LEAKING' CONFESSION by WikiLeaks Boss Julian Assange?

 WikiLeaks CEO Julian Assange has told of the despair caused by his constant urge to leak all over the internet, according to the tongue-in-cheek article below. Although the piece is very entertaining, it probably contains some nuggets of truth. Julian Assange has opened some large Pandora's Boxes and has been targeted by some pretty scary people. Be careful Julian!
     . . . June


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"How The Internet Ruined My Life" by WikiLeaks Boss:

by Rimbaud Bawdy  November 10th, 2010

REYKJAVIK - Iceland - The head of the WikiLeaks website, Julian Assange, has told of the despair caused by his constant urge to leak all over the internet.


'I have this irresistible urge to leak all over the World Wide Web. Sometimes, I have to be locked away from an internet connection. Please, I need help, my leaking is getting out of hand,' Mr Assange told Wired magazine.


The WikiLeaks boss is so dedicated to leaking that he is permanently glued to the internet via a special internet goggles headset. He is so engrossed in his leaking activities that he sometimes does not even have time to eat or pass bodily functions for days at a time.

His long suffering girlfriend, Matilda Huberstinka, speaks about Assange's ailing condition: "Julian doesn't sleep but leaks all through the night, then if he hears something from a military or CIA source, his leaking gets more pronounced. Sometimes I try to feed him Twinkies or M&M's through a makeshift tube linked to his quivering mouth, sometimes I put a few shrimps on the barbie and he eats those. I get to change his nappies three or four times a day because his constant leaking means he doesn't do conventional bathroom breaks. We also have to keep moving, from motel to motel, which can be a problem too. If the American government gets wind of where we're staying, then we soon get these sinister looking assholes in grey suits turning up. You ever tried to change a grown man's nappy whilst being pursued by crazed secret servicemen on a mission to bust you for leaking the truth.

No doubt, Mr Assange's brave leaking is a breath of fresh air in a world where the media is so tightly controlled by governments worldwide, so in this respect, Mr Assange should be commended for his dutiful role as the world's foremost leaker extraordinaire..

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I still think that Julian Assange is a very brave person to take on the US Government as well as lots of other high profile organizations - or is that just being foolhardy?  Leave a comment.


June


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Julian Assange, WikiLeaks Founder Considers Asylum in Switzerland

 Julian Assange, Founder of WikiLeaks is considering applying for asylum in Switzerland, according to the article below. He certainly has ruffled a lot of feathers with the leaked documents about US Military secrets and he's threatening releases of other US documents as well as some from other "repressive" regimes. No wonder he needs asylum. Watch your back Julian!
    . . . June


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WikiLeaks founder mulls asylum in Switzerland:
The Associated Press
GENEVA (AP) — The founder of WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowers' Web site, said Friday he may apply for asylum in Switzerland, claiming he and his group have come under increasing pressure since releasing hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. military documents.

Julian Assange told reporters he was 'still looking into the process' of requesting asylum, but was considering the Alpine country because 'the Swiss have a history of fierce independence.'

In October, Sweden denied Assange's application for a residence permit. The 39-year-old Australian had sought to establish a base for WikiLeaks in Sweden to take advantage of its laws protecting whistle-blowers.

Prosecutors in the Scandinavian country are still investigating rape and sexual molestation allegations against Assange by two Swedish women. Assange has denied the allegations.

Assange was speaking Friday at the United Nations in Geneva after a meeting organized by the Iranian Elite Research Center, a U.N.-accredited group based in Tehran.

He has urged U.S. authorities to probe possible rights abuses by American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq following the publication by his group of almost 500,000 secret U.S. documents about the wars there.

U.S. State Department legal adviser Harold Koh dismissed the call Friday, saying information in the leaked files was already known to U.S. authorities and hundreds of investigations into suspected abuses in Afghanistan and Iraq had taken place.

Assange, a veteran computer hacker, established WikiLeaks in 2006 and it has obtained secret documents, stored them outside the reach of governments, then released them globally.

That has included 391,832 secret documents on the Iraqi war and some 77,000 classified Pentagon documents on the Afghan conflict.


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Is WikiLeaks Planning To LEAK SECRETS About Russia the China?

 If I were Julian Assange, I think it might be time to back off. Russia and China could be rather dangerous enemies. According to the following article, Assange told the global media that new leaks will expose more secrets not only about the U.S. military but about other 'repressive regimes,' such as Russia and China. Be careful what feathers you ruffle!
    . . . June

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WikiLeaks: Is Russia the Next Target?
TIME:  By Simon Shuster / Moscow Monday, Nov. 01, 2010

Say what you will about Julian Assange, founder of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, but his work has shown him to be pretty fearless. After his site published the biggest cache of secret files in U.S. history on Oct. 22, detailing some of the ugly truths about the war in Iraq, he continued to travel around Europe despite U.S. reprimands and warnings. He even told the global media that new leaks will expose more secrets not only about the U.S. military but about other 'repressive regimes,' such as Russia and China.

The signals coming from Moscow, however, suggest that the Russian reaction will not be as reserved as America's. So is WikiLeaks really ready to take on the world's more callous states?

It's certainly talking the talk. In an interview published on Tuesday in Russia's leading daily newspaper Kommersant, WikiKeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said that "Russian readers will learn a lot about their country" after one of the site's upcoming document dumps. "We want to tell people the truth about the actions of their governments."






So far Russia has had no official response. But on Wednesday, an official at the Center for Information Security of the FSB, Russia's secret police, gave a warning to WikiLeaks that showed none of the tact of the U.S. reply to the Iraq revelations. "It's essential to remember that given the will and the relevant orders, [WikiLeaks] can be made inaccessible forever," the anonymous official told the independent Russian news website LifeNews.


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