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30 May 2011 15:13

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Politics: Hackers attack PBS over WikiLeaks documentary

  • WikiSecrets The title of a PBS Frontline documentary, which examines the massive cache of classified materials exposed by WikiLeaks, as well as the detained Bradley Manning. It’s been viewed as unfavorable to the organization.
  • Tupac lives! The fraud story the folks at PBS found splashed on their website, after hackers sympathetic to WikiLeaks and Manning attacked the site. As it turns out, he’s been living with Biggie in a house in New Zealand all this time! source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 16:30

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Politics: Pentagon Press Sec. Morrell mad at working through Easter

  • A little perspective, maybe? Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell has come under some fire over a tweet he posted (and we noted) earlier today: “Thx to Wikileaks we spent Easter weekend dealing w/NYT & other news orgs publishing leaked classified GTMO docs.” The reason this feels wrong and icky, we think, is the extent to which Morrell (and the Defense Department writ large) never earnestly acknowledge the shocking facts that it’s now known they were keeping secret. Even as it’s probably the tact any government we’ve had in modern American history would take, it projects institutional coldness, and further secrecy. Morrell’s tweet also begs the counter: “Thx to Casio I spent last year dealing w/detention and interrogation in GTMO prison.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 13:43

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U.S.: Parsing Wikileaks’ trove of Gitmo detainee files

  • The U.S. has a pretty low threshold for proof when it comes to tossing somebody in Guantanamo Bay, at least that’s what seems true when you read the latest files revealed by Wikileaks. As reported by The Guardian, the U.S. government targeted people wearing a certain type of Casio wristwatch (the F-91W) for detention, because that model of wristwatch was known for its use and distribution by al-Qaeda for training in bomb-making. More than fifty of the released detainee files list the cheap, digital timepiece as a point of interest.
  • No exception for age Two early detainees, an 89-year-old and 70-year-old, sound like they never should’ve been there. U.S. doctors described the former as suffering from major depression, senility and dementia, while the latter authorities internally assessed had no real reason for their detainment at Guantanamo Bay.
  • No exception for youth Naqib Ullah was one of the youngest detainees, at just 14 when he spent a year in confinement. Authorities ultimately decided he was telling the truth when he insisted he’d been kidnapped by the Taliban — his file claims to want to “afford him an opportunity to ‘grow out’ of the radical extremism he has been subject to.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Apr 2011 21:53

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World: Wikileaks: Former Gitmo detainee now key Libyan rebel figure

Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda bin Qumu spent nearly a year in Guantanamo on the belief he had ties to al-Qaeda. Now he’s a leader amongst Libyan rebels. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Apr 2011 14:33

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World: Wikileaks: U.S. has financial hand in Syria’s opposition

  • $6 million in secret U.S. funding to Syrian opposition causes source
  • » Wikileaks strikes again: Cables released by the organization say that after the Bush administration’s severing of diplomatic ties with the Syrian regime in 2005, the U.S. had funnelled money to groups hostile to the Bashar al-Assad government. About $6 million went to a group of Syrian exiles in London with connections to Barada TV, a satellite station that beams into Syria and provides coverage of the protests against Assad. The funding began in 2006, and continued at least until September 2010, meaning the Obama administration’s diplomatic overtures to the Assad regime weren’t very sincere — frankly, this makes us feel a little better about U.S. policy towards them. Be sure to notch another tally for Wikileaks, exposing yet more profoundly relevant, enthralling information about our geopolitical world.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Mar 2011 11:20

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Politics: Leakers unite: Daniel Ellsberg says Bradley Manning just like him

  • I identify with him more than anyone else I’ve seen in the last 40 years.
  • Daniel Ellsberg • Speaking about Bradley Manning this weekend, a weekend which saw him getting arrested twice this weekend while protesting Manning’s imprisonment — once near the White House and once at Quantico brig. Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers, says that Manning’s treatment in solitary confinement is a form of torture. “It’s giving lie to President Obama’s promise to end torture,” he said. “It’s happening right here to an American soldier in an American brig.’’ Ellsberg also gave a big up to P.J. Crowley, who argued against Manning’s treatment before getting forced out by the State Department. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Mar 2011 14:11

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World: Wikileaks sheds light on longtime concern over Japanese nuclear safety

  • Taniguchi has been a weak manager and advocate, particularly with respect to confronting Japan’s own safety practices, and he is a particular disappointment to the United States for his unloved-step-child treatment of the Office of Nuclear Security.
  • A U.S. diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks • On Tomohiro Tanaguchi, the man who was the IAEA’s (International Atomic Energy Agency) Deputy Director General for the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security from 2001 to 2009. While another cable reveals that Tanaguchi urged fellow officials to focus more on nuclear power safety in 2008 (which seems like the sort of thing you shouldn’t need to tell the IAEA), it seems that this plea late in his career was not enough to salvage the opinion of American diplomats, who express a great degree of angst over the state of Japan’s nuclear earthquake preparedness. Tomohiro departed his position in 2009, leaving the position to another Japanese member, Yukiya Amano, who currently holds the post. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

14 Mar 2011 11:30

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Politics: P.J. Crowley’s exit: Obama looks REALLY REALLY bad right now

  • What exactly goes on in Obama’s mind? He’s a smart and supposedly idealistic guy who came of age during the Reagan years, who surely — those first times he dared to dream about the Oval Office — saw himself taking all the obvious hypocrisy. Instead, he is taking presidential hypocrisy to new levels. What switch got turned off, or on, that stops him from ordering a halt to the mistreatment of Bradley Manning?
  • Philadelphia Daily News columnist Will Bunch • Offering a very harsh and sobering viewpoint on the whole Obama/P.J. Crowley/Bradley Manning thing we posted about yesterday. This is what Obama’s going to have to deal with from the left now that his administration forced Crowley out. See, Obama banked his career on being not that guy. And you know what? He’s kinda acting like that guy now. Who twisted his arm so tightly that he no longer seems to be actively pushing that human rights thing he used to push? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Mar 2011 20:07

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U.S.: Obama completely sidesteps Bradley Manning treatment question

  • With respect to Private Manning, I have actually asked the Pentagon whether or not the procedures that have been taken in terms of his confinement are appropriate and are meeting our basic standards. They assure me that they are.
  • President Barack Obama • Saying something so bewildering about the treatment of Bradley Manning that he forced us to post something unrelated to Japan. “I can’t go into details about some of their concerns,” he added, “but some of this has to do with Private Manning’s safety as well.” Wow. He really said this? On the plus side, at least it’s far enough on his radar that he’s actually saying something about it. But it would’ve been nicer had he said something like this: “I don’t like our treatment of Bradley and have asked the Pentagon to adjust.” That’s what our president should’ve said about that naked guy our government is holding in Quantico brig. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Mar 2011 11:17

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U.S.: More people starting to notice Bradley Manning’s crappy treatment

  • The intention is not to cause any sort of humiliation or embarrassment. The intention is to ensure the safety and security of the detainee and make sure he is able to stand trial.
  • 1st Lt. Brian Villiard • Explaining why the folks in the Quantico brig are forcing Bradley Manning to sleep naked. If that explanation doesn’t make much sense to you, you’re not alone. Rep. Dennis Kucinich recently ripped Manning’s treatment as going against the Army’s own field manual. He wants to talk to Manning in the flesh. “My request to visit with Pfc. Manning must not be delayed further,” he said. When a member of Congress gets involved, you know something’s wrong. (On a side note … we think it’s great that Manning’s treatment is getting wider coverage from sources outside of Salon. Glenn Greenwald is great, but when The Washington Post and CBS News are giving it attention, it becomes clear that it’s a major PR problem for the military.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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