WikiLeaks (IV) Toward a Life of One's Own, and a Real Revolution, by Arthur Silber
http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2010/08/on-wikileaks-iv-world-witho...
"Leaking is inherently an anti-authoritarian act. It is inherently an anarchist act." - Julian Assange
well, not quite. The state (e.g., for the purpose of preparing to unleash the atrocity of war without "officially" doing so, etc.) makes use of leaks all the time. Perhaps the issue is one of monopoly; the state wishes to MONOPOLIZE, like a dominant capitalist, all leaks.
WikiLeaks and War Crimes - by Jeremy Scahill
http://www.thenation.com/article/154000/wikileaks-and-war-crimes
"the March 'Red Cell Special Memorandum' was a call to arms for a propaganda war to influence public opinion in allied nations. The CIA report describes a crisis in European support for the Afghanistan war, noting that 80 percent of German and French citizens are against increasing their countries' military involvment. The report suggests that 'Afghan women could serve as ideal messengers in humanizing the (International Security Assistance Force) role in combatting the Taliban..."
It's a triumph for democracy. We don't need transparent and accountable government. And we don't need glasnost because surely our governments are not as corrupt as the FSU. Thank god for wikileaks, because people will know now what the left and the right knew all along - that this phony war in Central Asia was hopeless from the start. Of course, the warfiteers and politicians knew it, too.
Here's another take on the leak by William Engdahl:
Something Stinks About WikiLeaks Release of 'Secret' Documents
http://www.voltairenet.org/article166711.html
"The evidence suggests that far from an honest leak, it is calculated disinformation to the gain of the US and perhaps Israeli and Indian intelligence and a coverup of the US and Western role in drug trafficking out of Afghanistan..."
Here's another take on the leak by William Engdahl:
Something Stinks About WikiLeaks Release of 'Secret' Documents
http://www.voltairenet.org/article166711.html
"The evidence suggests that far from an honest leak, it is calculated disinformation to the gain of the US and perhaps Israeli and Indian intelligence and a coverup of the US and Western role in drug trafficking out of Afghanistan..."
Drug trafficking? The CIA? Get atta town?? So what Malalai Joya said about an Afghan Government report describing US aviators flying 80% of the drugs out of Afghanistan is looking truer all the time. And Hamid Gul turning on his cold war helpers like that. tsk tsk It almost looks like they're on the outs.
As well, in a UPI interview on September 26, 2001, two weeks after the 9-11 attacks, Gul stated, in reply to the question who did Black Sept. 11?, "Mossad and its accomplices. The US spends $40 billion a year on its 11 intelligence agencies. That's $400 billion in 10 years. Yet the Bush Administration says it was taken by surprise. I don't believe it. Within 10 minutes of the second twin tower being hit in the World Trade Center CNN said Osama bin Laden had done it. That was a planned piece of disinformation by the real perpetrators..." Gul is clearly not well liked in Washington. He claims his request for travel visas to the UK and to the USA have repeatedly been denied. Making Gul into the arch enemy would suit some in Washington nicely
I think CNN also reported lickity-split after the coup in '02 that there had been a "change in government" in Venezuela. Fascist bastards.
Here's another take on the leak by William Engdahl:
Something Stinks About WikiLeaks Release of 'Secret' Documents
http://www.voltairenet.org/article166711.html
"The evidence suggests that far from an honest leak, it is calculated disinformation to the gain of the US and perhaps Israeli and Indian intelligence and a coverup of the US and Western role in drug trafficking out of Afghanistan..."
Forgive my language, but that is misleading crap. WikiLeaks doesn't "report" anything or "name" anybody. They publish primary documents. If a claim is made, it's made by the Americans who wrote those documents. Just as an eg, Engdahl says that WikiLeaks "reports" that bin Laden is alive, but he conveniently omits to mention that one of the docs in, I believe, 2006 states that. WikiLeaks doesn't say that; an American officer wrote that, and he wrote it in 2006.
A site called [URL=http://www.diarydig.org/]Diary Dig[/URL] has been set up -- I think partly by WikiLeaks, in collaboration with grad students at the U of [Minnesota? must check that] -- to make the docs more easily searchable.
For his part, General Gul claims that US intelligence orchestrated the Wikileaks on Afghanistan to find a scapegoat, Gul, to blame. Conveniently, as if on cue, British Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, on a state visit to India, lashed out at the alleged role of Pakistan in supporting Taliban in Afghanistan, conveniently lending further credibility to the Wikileaks story.
And David Cameron, too! What I think is absurd is that they should blame their cold warriors in Pakistan for the US-led NATO forces losing "the war" in Afghanistan. I don't like the Taliban either, but to say that there are no progressive secular socialist forces left in Afghanistan(because the CIA and ISI wiped them out and scattered the Afghan left to the four winds after 1992) would be to take an ultra-sectarian view point of the whole mess over there after 30 years' worth of US meddling in Afganistan. The Taliban, right or wrong, are made up of Afghans who are said to be more Pashtun and nationalist than they are represetative of the Taliban. They have a right to kick foreign invaders out of their lands if they choose to. It is beyond the limited cold war imaginations of the Obamacrats and Bushites in Washington that they could be losing the war in Afghanistan - not because Pakistan is aiding and abetting the Taliban - but because it is the Afghan people's will.
This US thing with destabilizing Pakistan, a country of 180 million people, so that it can contain and control a country of 40 million makes no sense. And I believe the Americans know that it makes no sense. And yet they do it. Why? It's because the US economy is broken and US projection of economic power around the world is on the wane. This is a vicious and dangerous empire in various stages of collapse. And this quote by Hamid Gul certainly sounds good to me:
The world needs a post-modern state system. Right now, the nation-state and round the clock satellite TV lead people to imitate America's way of life. Which is mathematically impossible. You have 4 percent of the world's population consuming 32 percent of the world's resources. [color=red][u]The creator through Prophet Mohammed said equal distribution.[/u][/color] Capitalism is the negation of the creator's will. It leads to imperialism and unilateralism.
Is Hamid Gul a socialist-Islamist? For a number of reasons, I don't think so. I think this could be pure bullshit mouthed by one of the most rabid anticommunists in recent history. And-or, this could be the very reason why US hawks are at war with Islam.
Gee, Fidel, I wish you'd look at the sources instead of the gossip.
Interesting, isn't it, that the one aspect of the WikiLeaks dump that the NYT and the White House and the UK actually did find useful is one of the few things that doesn't actually seem to interest WikiLeaks (or the Guardian or Der Spiegel) very much? Leverage with/against Pakistan is a very imperialist interest, so that's what you're hearing there.
At the same time, there are few more political people in the world than Gul, so take that under advisement. He's the former head of the ISI, for pity's sake.
It is beyond the limited cold war imaginations of the Obamacrats and Bushites in Washington that they could be losing the war in Afghanistan - not because Pakistan is aiding and abetting the Taliban - but because it is the Afghan people's will.
Couldn't agree more. Neither could WL. Their position is that all U.S. military docs are part of the history of the people of Afghanistan, and it is owed to the people of Afghanistan that they be made public. And that's what they're doing.
I don't know and you're probably right, Skdadl. $40 billion a year for 11 intelligence agencies is a lot of money though. It seems to me that neofascism is about controlling information, which means propaganda as well as the regularly leaked newz.
Tariq Ali says they've been talking with the Taliban behind closed doors for half a dozen years. The only sticking point in these secretive talks seems to be the Taliban's insistence on withdrawal of foreign troops. That makes the Taliban appear to be a legitimate opposition to the US-led occupation, and I think Tariq Ali believes so, too. Iows, you, Unionist, too, I believe, and Tariq Ali are of the same general opinion about what's happening in Central Asia.
I am not so sure about it. Why should I believe Gul when he mocks the US by questioning how a retired 71 year-old ISI castoff could be single-handedly undermining the USA's attempted colonization of Afghanistan? Does the ISI in general still exert some control over the Afghan Taliban or not? Tariq Ali says the whole country of Pakistan is as corrupt as the day is long. The elites in his country are at one with the neoliberal elites of the west. If we can be sure of one thing, it's that the elites in all of these countries want to prevent an outbreak of democracy anywhere and regardless. Meanwhile warfiteering and destabilization of both Pakistan and Afghanistan continues merrily.
For his part, General Gul claims that US intelligence orchestrated the Wikileaks on Afghanistan to find a scapegoat, Gul, to blame. Conveniently, as if on cue, British Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, on a state visit to India, lashed out at the alleged role of Pakistan in supporting Taliban in Afghanistan, conveniently lending further credibility to the Wikileaks story. The real story of Wikileaks has clearly not yet been told.
The thing is you have to take the reports for their face value; there's no real way to be sure some of those documents weren't tampered with or are in fact plants. In the end it all comes down to what you want to believe.
I think the LCD for me is that the US economy is largely based on war. And what is the situation in Central Asia today? It's war, profitable war, and US Military presence which they are sometimes trying to justify to surrounding SCO countries. And sometimes not. They are not trying to convince any of us that the occupation is legit and that they have a real enemy on their hands. It's China and Russia and several other countries that need to be convinced. They want China to float the Yuan and do this and that, And Russia isn't convinced. Meanwhile the leaders of SCO countries simply believe that the US is as lawless as it is dangerous with financial scandals emanating from America and Britain and undermining western economies, to the wanton mlitary aggression since 1999-2001. I think this is a crisis of capitalism like no other. I think the fascist bastards know they are a declining economic power and are simply lining themselves up in Central Asia to possibly take a cheap shot at Iran and its alleged nuclear weapons plants and even daring China and Russia to step in at some point. I think CHina and Russia have basically laid down to the possibility of this happening wrt NSC votes. I think it could be a reverse trap for the Yanks even, like they pulled with Kuwait and Iraq. Who knows really. I think these are very dangerous times.
[URL=http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/eric_margolis/2010/08/13/15... Margolis's final column for the Toronto Sun[/URL] (after the squidgy new neocon bastards squeezed him out).
I like Eric Margolis. No matter how embroiled in corruption and military aggression the Yanks happen to be, he always makes sure to mention the Soviets. We can at least know that things haven't gotten that bad.
Uh huh. You'd think the Pentagon/CIA/State Department could come up with something just a teensy bit less obvious as they begin the dirty-tricks campaign, eh?
Because the U.S. government and Pentagon are legally after Mr. Assange's ass, Mr. Assange is very mindful of his legal ease when it comes to releasing and discussing the information that has been leaked to wikileaks.
This comes at a strange time:
[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11047025]Wikileaks founder Julian Assange accused of rape[/url]
Swedish authorities say they have issued an arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, on accusations of rape and molestation. [...]Wikileaks, criticised for leaking Afghan war documents, quoted him saying the charges were "without basis".
The message, which appeared on Twitter and was attributed directly to Mr Assange, said the appearance of the allegations "at this moment is deeply disturbing".
In a series of other messages posted on the Wikileaks Twitter feed, the whistle-blowing website said: "No-one here has been contacted by Swedish police", and that it had been warned to expect "dirty tricks".
Here is the [url=http://twitter.com/wikileaks]Wikileaks Twitter feed[/url].
Uh huh. You'd think the Pentagon/CIA/State Department could come up with something just a teensy bit less obvious as they begin the dirty-tricks campaign, eh?
Mm, yeah, I can't believe they're THAT obvious. Let's see how long these charges hold up.
Very brief notice picked up from Twitter: [URL=http://www.aklagare.se/In-English/]Assange no longer wanted.[/URL]
Actually, I think that is a very funny headline. As if, eh? ;)
Heh, that was fast:
[url=http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/08/21/wikileaks-founder-arrest-report... drops arrest warrant[/url]
Swedish prosecutors withdrew an arrest warrant for the founder of WikiLeaks on Saturday, saying less than a day after the document was issued that it was based on an unfounded accusation of rape. [...]"I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape," chief prosecutor Eva Finne said in announcing the withdrawal of the warrant. She did not address the status of the molestation case, a less serious charge that would not lead to an arrest warrant.
They did the same thing to Scott Ritter before the rape of Iraq. If you can't shut up a critic, accuse them of a sex crime.
Well I'm convinced of Assange's lefty cred now. Was it ever in doubt?
[url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/296308]9/11 skeptics say Julian Assange being manipulated by the CIA[/url]
ReOpen911 claims that the CIA and other intelligence agencies are trying to discredit Assange by persuading him unconsciously to publish relatively worthless “leaked” documents in order that his future ‘scoops’ not be taken seriously. A second alleged benefit for the CIA is that the Wikileaks issue is deflecting attention from large-scale government-organised drug trafficking out of Afghanistan. The editorial also claims that [color=red]Daniel Ellsberg, the CIA analyst at the origin of the ‘Pentagon Papers’ scandal in the 1970’s, has a list of confidential documents relative to 9/11, and which are purported to contain evidence of governments being aware of the imminence of the attacks,[/color] which he would like Wikipedia to publish, but they haven’t.
CIA=biggest dope delivery service in the world in addition to having created Al-CIA'da and the Taliban
Thierry Meyssan is a French conspiracist who was declared persona non-grata in the United States after writing a book in which he claimed that 9/11 was orchestrated by George Bush, and he too has denounced Assange as being part of an American government “political diversion.”
Persona non grata? What's that? Apparently they don't appreciate Thierry Meyssan very much at all.
Daniel Ellsberg is actually a CIA plant who is trying to duvert attention from the real story, which is as yet unknown to anyone but the top six members of the secret cabal whose identities are as yet also unknown.
Well, but the CIA had to do that because they're having this private war with the Pentagon, for whom Assange actually works, or is that Sy Hersh? Maybe Assange is really State. Time will tell.
Daniel Ellsberg is actually a CIA plant who is trying to duvert attention from the real story, which is as yet unknown to anyone but the top six members of the secret cabal whose identities are as yet also unknown.
And so is [url=http://www.breakfornews.com/Sibel-Edmonds1.htm]Sibel Edmonds[/url] a CIA plant. It's why she's referred to as the most censored woman in US history.
[url=http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=20402]Ellsberg's modest wish list for Wikileaks[/url] Aug 1
Numero quatro is a good one. Modest but still very good. And there is still much mystery surrounding the financing of 9/11 and involvement of the CIAs pals in Pakistan's army intelligence agency, the ISI.
Yes, but who are the "six', any inside information on that? And what is the big secret that they are hiding so well that we don't even know what it is?
"Was", but you are not now? I always wondered how it was that you always seemed to have such good information. Now I know.
I am not now nor have I ever been a supporter of US imperialism regardless of which of the two parties of warmongering plutocrats is elected to cosmetic government.
If you read what real US whistleblowers have to say, then bipartisan participation in and ultimate guilt for 9/11 becomes more evident.
It's more difficult to defend Muslims under attack in desperately poor US client states if we agree with US hawks as to who perpetrated 9/11 based on no legally admissible evidence whatsoever. Their premise for waging phony war today is based on 9/11 lies and cover-ups.
The 9/11 Commission Cover-up is an official diversion of world public attention away from Uncle Sam's 30 year-long meddling in Central Asia and Middle Eastern affairs.
[url=http://www.corbettreport.com/articles/20100305_911_whistleblowers.htm]A Video Guide to the [i]REAL[/i] Whistleblowers Blowing Whistles on Bipartisan Treason & Corruption in US Government[/url]
Al-Qa'eda = Al-CIA'duh
Well as dubya once said, you're either with or against them. I have always been against them.
The current double issue of The Nation (August 16/23) covers this topic well, in it's editorial.
[url=http://news.intelwire.com/2010/07/wikileaks-document-says-bin-laden-died... Document: Afghan Intelligence Said In June 2007 That Osama Bin Laden Died In Peshawar Hospital[/url]
Amen! Can we hope this finally puts an end to the CIA-scumbag press' Find Osama bin Waldo puzzles in pages of their recycled newz rags? Elvis bin Laden has gone up to that great underground bunker in the sky where all sinister and diabolical schemers and plotters for the invisible army of darkness go eventually.
That's an interesting link, Fidel -- interesting for the stats that outline what the U.S. military did or didn't know about. But that one report really tells us nothing about bin Laden for sure. WL verifies the authenticity of the documents -- ie, their provenance -- but it doesn't confirm the contents. One story is much the same as another, contradictory one until you have proof.
Hey, Fidel, last year you quoted an article saying [url=http://rabble.ca/babble/humanities-science/psychics-hired-find-bin-laden... had been killed at Tora Bora[/url].
If they've killed the guy twice, and he keeps coming back, why not carry on the hunt?
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPeAGZt2BCA]ROSIE O'DONNELL 9/11 TRUTH VIDEO SIEZED IN TORA BORA CAVE[/url]
Rosie v O'Reilly is a total laff-riot. Notice how Bill O'Reilly motions with his pen in a circular motion as if self-evident truth that America's enemies are now spread out across the globe. It's the 1950s in America all over again.
"You'll be known as the hypnotized generation. An entire population mind-fucked by an invisible enemy." - Name that woman
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJb_V4zm-4Y&NR=1]BBC Explains U.S. Created the Terrorist Network[/url] (YouTube) Jamal Ahmad al-Fadl helped them create a legal-US definition for al-Qaeda, a terrorist organization with structure and far reaching anti-US tentacles which simply does not exist.
[url=http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=762]Al Qaeda, U.S. Oil Companies, and Central Asia[/url] Peter Dale Scott
This story is becoming outrageous. I've read the trash press that seems to have got hold of the two women's statements, and I just cannot believe there is a case to pursue here. I've also been following comments from Swedes (men and a few women) on an English blog, and while I'm running into some predictable anti-feminist crap, they have me semi-convinced that entrapment is something of a sport in Sweden these days. One of the women involved sounds like a stalker to me -- I write as a woman who has been stalked by a woman -- yes, that's possible. Anyway, I think the Swedish prosecutors have behaved bizarrely, and of course this latest switch raises again the question of political pressure.
No biggie if he walks from this: most predators (like he's accused of being) can't stop; so if he is one he'll eventually get caught beyond a doubt. He'll only be able to claim conspiracy so many times before it becomes obvious one way or the other.
If he isn't one then he needs to be careful who he hangs out with as now that he's famous he is obviously a target for certain stalkers as was pointed out above.
Time will tell... it always does in cases like this.
Michael Moore and Daniel Ellsberg, among others, are organizing four days of action, beginning today, in support of Bradley Manning, accused of leaking at least the Collateral Murder video and maybe other docs to WikiLeaks (none of that confirmed by WL, as it never will be).
See this good post from [URL=http://wmtc.blogspot.com/2010/09/days-of-action-to-support-bradley.html]... at We Move to Canada[/URL] for other sources. I knew already about Moore and Ellsberg's plans, but this is where I first learned about the whistles as a symbol of resistance. (NB: the video on this site will start automatically, so turn your sound down at first because the opening is loud.)
There will be a demo in Toronto this Sunday, 19 September, at (or across from?) the U.S. consulate on University Avenue at noon. Get a whistle, and bring it!
Corporal Bradly Manning looks like an innocent young kid to me. I think the Pentagon is using him as their Judas goat.
Just a reminder to everyone in Toronto: There's a protest in front of (across from?) the U.S. consulate on University Ave at 12.00, in support of Bradley Manning and whistleblowers everywhere. If you've got a whistle, please bring it.
