Unlimited Wikileaks Shenanigans

[Prince Glittersnatch III]

Wikileaks is running out of cash because of the financial blockade from Visa, Mastercard and Paypal:

http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/24/wikleaks-is-running-out-of-cash/

Of course they made arrangements to receive donations via different kinds of channels, but being blocked by Visa/Mastercard/Paypal raises the bar for the average person that would otherwise decide on a whim to donate a few bucks, effectively reducing their income to about 5% of what it otherwise would have been.

And they're still doing it!!

How come Visa/Mastercard/Paypal are still allowed to block donations to Wikileaks??

Fun Fact: All of those organizations handle money for the American Nazi Party and the KKK without any objections.

BUT WIKI LEAKS.

[Triple Zero]

That's exactly what this comment on HN is saying about it (majority of HN commenters are a bunch of capitalist/startupper/libertarian right wing morans, bleeting excuses for whatever Facebook privacy-violation du-jour, this guy, however, is of a different cut) :

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3150747

I'm impressed by the amount of comments here that point out some (perceived) hypocrisy in the actions of Wikileaks or Assange. This isn't the point.

I myself don't really know what to think of Wikileaks. I, however, do know that major banks and financial institutions find it perfectly okay for you to send money to all kinds of horrible organisations (say, the Ku Klux Klan, clubs that campaign for underage sex, Westboro Baptist Church, whatever you can come up with, and they probably have a bank account), but not to Wikileaks.

I can't imagine how Wikileaks can be considered a so much more evil organisation than Stormfront (http://www.stormfront.org/forum/announcement.php?a=63, all cards accepted) that the first needs to be blocked and the latter does not.

It can only be that at least this part of what Wikileaks is saying is true: Major banks and businesses, a scarily small number of organisations that control a large part of the world's financial transactions, want to control to who you give your money. This means that they want to control who gets money and what they do with it. This shit is NONE of their business, and the fact that they can do this without serious legal issues scares the shit out of me.

I like to believe that western governments are out to serve their citizens and protect their freedoms, but I cannot explain how that fits with what these banks are doing and how the governments just let it happen. This has absolutely nothing to do with the nature of Wikileaks as an organisation.

Really, this fact alone makes me want to send money in an envelope to Wikileaks, despite how ridiculous I thought Cablegate was.

Edit: If Wikileaks were a terrorist organisation (blowing up buildings and people and whatnot), I'd understand governments to force a ban. Not banks banning them on their own initiatives, but governments forcing it. If you genuinely feel that Wikileaks is as bad as Al Qaeda and Hamas and the alikes, then I'll understand if you disagree with me, although even then I hope you agree that it should've been a government decree, and not banks solo-piloting their sense of morality. In all other cases, really, I can't wrap my mind around it.

Some idiot even characterized Stormfront as an "offensive but peaceful organisation" and assumes they're "all talk".

[Prince Glittersnatch III]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-02/assange-loses-extradition-appeal/3615784

Welp.

[Triple Zero]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-02/assange-loses-extradition-appeal/3615784

Welp.

Well shit.

The next part is that as soon as he sets foot in Sweden he'll disappear to the US, right?

Having thought about the matter for a bit, if he really did what he's being charged for--I have some reservations since the charges are suspiciously conveniently timed--he should of course face charges like anybody else, regardless of whether he is Julian Assange the Heroic International Rock Star Spy Journalist Crusader for Truth and Freedom.

EXCEPT the fact that in Sweden, he's likely going to be extradited to the US where he might face execution (quite a few high-ranking US politicians have called for it and just because they're nutcases doesn't mean they won't get it done), DOES make his case quite unlike anybody else.

In that light I think they could have at least granted his request to be questioned by videolink (he hasn't actually been charged yet, he's just wanted for questioning in Sweden).

Also, couldn't he request political asylum or something in either the UK, Australia or perhaps even Sweden? I mean, that's what a lot of asylum seekers over here get, I believe the fact that they'll get killed if we'd send them back is generally considered a good reason not to do so. Though I'm not sure what the rules are or how these asylum procedures work, I could be mistaken, I should ask some of them some time.

[Placid Dingo]

I think technically he could. But Australia at least hates all asylum seekers generally, but also hate Assange specifically.

[Cain]

He wouldn't be recognised as an asylum seeker.  Not even for political reasons.

You see, you can only seek asylum when fleeing from third world despots, by definition.  Since the USA is not a third world despotism, ipso facto Assange cannot claim asylum from them.

[Precious Moments Zalgo]

Yeah, the USA is still considered first world.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Yeah, the USA is still considered first world.

The lowering tide lowers all boats.

Until now, I have been assuming that Assange would eventually have an accident, or get caught up in some "jailhouse brawl" and be shanked.

But I think instead that the USA will shove him in some fucking hole and torment him for years.

Because that's what we do these days.

[Juana]

And we'll never hear from or about him again, and they'll leave him a shivering wreckage.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

And we'll never hear from or about him again, and they'll leave him a shivering wreckage.

It's the only way to be Safe™.

You can't keep the terrorists away if you let people tell you about the government & banks terrorizing people.  Or the oil companies murdering inconvenient towns.  Or weapon sales.  Or some little shit named Private Bradley Manning, who sold America out for a little Truth.

The Truth is our enemy.  This can only be positive.

[Prince Glittersnatch III]

http://rt.com/news/wikileaks-spyfiles-surveillence-assange-775/

Intelligence agencies, military forces and police authorities are able to silently, and on mass, and secretly intercept calls and take over computers without the help or knowledge of the telecommunication providers ," says the statement on the official WikiLeaks Spy Files sites. "Users' physical location can be tracked if they are carrying a mobile phone, even if it is only on stand by."

­The pieces of software created by surveillance companies are capable of hijacking personal computers and popular mobile phones, including those with Android, iOS, and Blackberry operating systems.

Another branch of the industry is voice recognition tools, which help identify and track down individual by his unique "voiceprint". The CIA is believed to be using those tools for analyzing the voice data collected by Predator drones in the Middle East and identifying the exact location of most wanted individuals.

Fun fun fun.

[Juana]

Oh fuck.

[Triple Zero]

Julian Assange defends release of Santa's 'naughty list' on Wikileaks

Julian Assange has defended the release of a top-secret 'naughty list' on Wikileaks, insisting the contents are in the public interest. Assange claims the list of names is one-half of a master document with details on most of the earth's population, and originates from an eccentric recluse within the Arctic Circle. The very existence of such a document raises serious concerns about data use in the private sector, particularly amongst the under-12s. Speculation about the tin-whistle blower is rife. As a gaunt, elfin-like character with a shock of white hair and a grudge against authority, Julian Assange refused to be drawn on who gave him the list. "The document came to us on a frost-damaged parchment, it's hardly 'present day' technology", claimed Assange. "But whoever compiled it is a master of espionage. They know when you are sleeping, they know when you're awake. And they have some strong opinions about whether you've been good or bad, based on outmoded ideals and capitalist dogma." Naughty List The contents of the list have raised a few eyebrows. There are details of Occupy LSX campaigners who went home at night, and workers in the financial sector are named and shamed. The CIA, Mossad, people who steal cables from railways and the entire population of Greece have also been pencilled in, along with most of the England rugby team. The Murdochs top the list, Ricky Gervais is second and Silvio Berlusconi's name appears no fewer than eight times. But so far, no mention of Bradley Manning has been discovered. "The jury's still out on him", claimed Assange. "Not being classified as 'naughty' isn't a guarantee that he's been listed as nice, but it's all a bit academic to Manning anyway." "There aren't any chimneys in solitary confinement, and the guards have confiscated his stocking." Supporters of Wikileaks have been quick to act. Shadowy hackers 'Anonymous' have vowed to bring down the figure-head of the totalitarian regime at the heart of the list, if he doesn't stray into North Korean airspace first. As a spokesman for the group explained, "We think this list describes plans for a 'denial of service' attack, so we're planning to combat it with a bit of 'misinformation'." "By spreading a rumour that Santa only eats Heston Blumenthal's new prune and fermented herring mince pies, we're directly challenging his constitution. There's a good chance he'll be caught with his pants down."

[Triple Zero]

Bradley Manning nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
http://rt.com/news/manning-nobel-peace-prize-631/

[Cramulus]

I am trying to visualize Obama sharing a stage with Manning. The horrormirth, oh, it is too much.