Julian Assange turns himself in

[fifi]

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/12/06/wikileaks.investigation/index.html?hpt=T2

Assange making arrangements to meet police, lawyer says

London (CNN) -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is "in the process of making arrangements" to meet with British police regarding a Swedish arrest warrant, his attorney said Monday.

Assange is wanted for questioning by Swedish authorities over sex-crime allegations unrelated to WikiLeaks' recent disclosure of secret U.S. documents. Mark Stephens, his British lawyer, told the BBC no time had been set for the meeting as of Monday evening, but one is likely "in the foreseeable future."

"We are in the process of making arrangements to meet with the police by consent in order to facilitate the taking of that question-and-answer as needed," Stephens said.

Assange, a 39-year-old Australian, has said he has long feared retribution for his website's disclosures and has called the rape allegations against him a smear campaign.

Sweden issued an arrest warrant for Assange in November, saying he is suspected of rape, sexual molestation and illegal use of force. The warrant was followed last week by a "Red Notice" from Interpol, placing Assange on a list of wanted suspects at the request of Sweden's Stockholm Criminal Court.

British police then asked Swedish authorities for additional details not specified in the initial arrest warrant, a possible indication that the location of the elusive Assange is known. CNN has not confirmed that Assange is in the United Kingdom.

Swedish prosecutors said Monday that they had sent additional information the British requested and that the case was being handled in accordance with European laws.

WikiLeaks, which facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information, has been under intense pressure from the United States and its allies since it began posting the first of more than 250,000 U.S. State Department documents November 28. Since then, the site has been hit with denial-of-service attacks, been kicked off servers in the United States and France and found itself cut off from funds in the United States and Switzerland.

The site has rallied supporters to mirror its content "in order to make it impossible to ever fully remove WikiLeaks from the internet," with more than 500 sites responding to the appeal by Monday evening, it said.

In Washington, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said he has authorized "significant" actions related to a criminal investigation of WikiLeaks.

"National security of the United States has been put at risk," Holder said. "The lives of people who work for the American people have been put at risk. The American people themselves have been put at risk by these actions that I believe are arrogant, misguided and ultimately not helpful in any way. We are doing everything that we can."

Holder declined to answer questions about the possibility that the U.S. government could shut down WikiLeaks, saying he does not want to talk about capabilities and techniques at the government's disposal. Nor would he say whether the actions involved search warrants, requests under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which authorizes wiretaps or other means, describing them only as "significant."

"I authorized just last week a number of things to be done so that we can, hopefully, get to the bottom of this and hold people accountable as they should be," he said.

He did, however, note the government is not limited by the Espionage Act of 1917, which prohibits interference with military operations.

"That is not the only tool we have to use in the investigation of this matter," he said. "People would be misimpressioned if they think the only thing we are looking at is the Espionage Act."

In Switzerland, meanwhile, WikiLeaks said in a press release that the bank Swiss PostFinance decided to end "its business relationship" with Assange based on a "technicality." The bank said Assange listed Geneva as his home and "upon inspection, this information was found to be incorrect."

"Assange cannot provide proof of residence in Switzerland and thus does not meet the criteria for a customer relationship with PostFinance," the bank said.

WikiLeaks' statement said Assange used his lawyer's address in Geneva for bank correspondence. The account closure -- coupled with the decision by U.S.-based website PayPal to cut off online donations to WikiLeaks last week -- has resulted in losses of 100,000 euros (U.S. $133,000) in assets, WikiLeaks said.

[Moemers]

Talking with the police =/= turning himself in.

[Bea]

A letter to the Australian Prime Minister re Julian Assange has been posted on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's website:


We wrote the letter below because we believe that Julian Assange is entitled to all the protections enshrined in the rule of law – and that the Australian Government has an obligation to ensure he receives them.
The signatures here have been collected in the course of a day-and-a-half, primarily from people in publishing, law and politics. The signatories hold divergent views about WikiLeaks and its operations. But they are united in a determination to see Mr Assange treated fairly.

We know that many others would have liked to sign. But given the urgency of the situation, we though it expedient to publish now rather than collect more names.

If, however, you agree with the sentiments expressed, we encourage you to leave your name in the comments section.

So far, 1571 comments have been left, most of them supportive of the letter & wishing to add their names to it.

see letter at http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41914.html

[Metaphor]

A swedish newspaper has confirmed Assanges "arrest"
http://www.svd.se/nyheter/utrikes/assange-gripen_5788621.svd

Its in swedish so you wouldnt understand it, but it only says there will be more info and that he is under arrest.

As funny as it seems the swedish newspapers were first on the internet in this matter, here´s a bbc link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11937110

[ponda]

Julian Assange has apparently just been arrested

Here's another link:

http://www.news.com.au/world/assange-arrested-by-uk-police/story-e6frfkyi-1225967232654

[Bea]

I was thinking how it is of interest to take note of the companies who have severed their ties with JA over the past week or so.

I've never liked using paypal, avoid it where I possibly can
In my own small way I will boycott amazon ..darn! bought a book there last week...but will search for alternative next time

[Ilie Pandia]

Julian Assange has apparently just been arrested

So now we should expect the "dead man switch" to activate, right? Meaning that today may be a very important date in the disclosure time line :).

[ponda]

So now we should expect the "dead man switch" to activate, right? Meaning that today may be a very important date in the disclosure time line :).


Well maybe....

It'll probably depend on what the lawyers can glean and work out with whoever they are dealing with.

This scenario would i imagine have been long prepared for so wiki might send out "the key" but they also might hold back a bit longer.

From what i've heard tonight on the news it seems that Assange might be able to stall off a trip to Sweden for a few months with an appeal but he will probably be stuck in prison.

In my opinion what we have here is "the system" or the establishment attempting to block transparency of itself and to dissuade any other potential leakers from putting their information forward.I think it will have the opposite effect.

[Metaphor]

He will probably be released after hearing, his crime is, as it seems, almost on the level of speeding or something. Check this out:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/assange-rape-accuser-cia-ties/

[Leon]

This is not the first time that a person who exposes too much is set up. or just simply disapears... eg. has a car accident or an overdose... sure you can use your imagination...

[astrid]

They dont mess around these website cowboys... new site up for this cause....

http://www.justiceforassange.com/

No surprise , same bank account numbers as on the WIki site

[Elandiel BernElve]

Minute to minute live update on Assange situation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2010/dec/07/wikileaks-us-embassy-cables-live-updates

[Elandiel BernElve]

Don't shoot messenger for revealing uncomfortable truths
Julian Assange From: The Australian December 08, 2010 12:00AM
WIKILEAKS deserves protection, not threats and attacks.

IN 1958 a young Rupert Murdoch, then owner and editor of Adelaide's The News, wrote: "In the race between secrecy and truth, it seems inevitable that truth will always win."

His observation perhaps reflected his father Keith Murdoch's expose that Australian troops were being needlessly sacrificed by incompetent British commanders on the shores of Gallipoli. The British tried to shut him up but Keith Murdoch would not be silenced and his efforts led to the termination of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign.

Nearly a century later, WikiLeaks is also fearlessly publishing facts that need to be made public.

I grew up in a Queensland country town where people spoke their minds bluntly. They distrusted big government as something that could be corrupted if not watched carefully. The dark days of corruption in the Queensland government before the Fitzgerald inquiry are testimony to what happens when the politicians gag the media from reporting the truth.

These things have stayed with me. WikiLeaks was created around these core values. The idea, conceived in Australia, was to use internet technologies in new ways to report the truth.

WikiLeaks coined a new type of journalism: scientific journalism. We work with other media outlets to bring people the news, but also to prove it is true. Scientific journalism allows you to read a news story, then to click online to see the original document it is based on. That way you can judge for yourself: Is the story true? Did the journalist report it accurately?

Democratic societies need a strong media and WikiLeaks is part of that media. The media helps keep government honest. WikiLeaks has revealed some hard truths about the Iraq and Afghan wars, and broken stories about corporate corruption.

People have said I am anti-war: for the record, I am not. Sometimes nations need to go to war, and there are just wars. But there is nothing more wrong than a government lying to its people about those wars, then asking these same citizens to put their lives and their taxes on the line for those lies. If a war is justified, then tell the truth and the people will decide whether to support it.

If you have read any of the Afghan or Iraq war logs, any of the US embassy cables or any of the stories about the things WikiLeaks has reported, consider how important it is for all media to be able to report these things freely.

WikiLeaks is not the only publisher of the US embassy cables. Other media outlets, including Britain's The Guardian, The New York Times, El Pais in Spain and Der Spiegel in Germany have published the same redacted cables.

Yet it is WikiLeaks, as the co-ordinator of these other groups, that has copped the most vicious attacks and accusations from the US government and its acolytes. I have been accused of treason, even though I am an Australian, not a US, citizen. There have been dozens of serious calls in the US for me to be "taken out" by US special forces. Sarah Palin says I should be "hunted down like Osama bin Laden", a Republican bill sits before the US Senate seeking to have me declared a "transnational threat" and disposed of accordingly. An adviser to the Canadian Prime Minister's office has called on national television for me to be assassinated. An American blogger has called for my 20-year-old son, here in Australia, to be kidnapped and harmed for no other reason than to get at me.

And Australians should observe with no pride the disgraceful pandering to these sentiments by Julia Gillard and her government. The powers of the Australian government appear to be fully at the disposal of the US as to whether to cancel my Australian passport, or to spy on or harass WikiLeaks supporters. The Australian Attorney-General is doing everything he can to help a US investigation clearly directed at framing Australian citizens and shipping them to the US.

Prime Minister Gillard and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have not had a word of criticism for the other media organisations. That is because The Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel are old and large, while WikiLeaks is as yet young and small.

We are the underdogs. The Gillard government is trying to shoot the messenger because it doesn't want the truth revealed, including information about its own diplomatic and political dealings.

Has there been any response from the Australian government to the numerous public threats of violence against me and other WikiLeaks personnel? One might have thought an Australian prime minister would be defending her citizens against such things, but there have only been wholly unsubstantiated claims of illegality. The Prime Minister and especially the Attorney-General are meant to carry out their duties with dignity and above the fray. Rest assured, these two mean to save their own skins. They will not.

Every time WikiLeaks publishes the truth about abuses committed by US agencies, Australian politicians chant a provably false chorus with the State Department: "You'll risk lives! National security! You'll endanger troops!" Then they say there is nothing of importance in what WikiLeaks publishes. It can't be both. Which is it?

It is neither. WikiLeaks has a four-year publishing history. During that time we have changed whole governments, but not a single person, as far as anyone is aware, has been harmed. But the US, with Australian government connivance, has killed thousands in the past few months alone.

US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates admitted in a letter to the US congress that no sensitive intelligence sources or methods had been compromised by the Afghan war logs disclosure. The Pentagon stated there was no evidence the WikiLeaks reports had led to anyone being harmed in Afghanistan. NATO in Kabul told CNN it couldn't find a single person who needed protecting. The Australian Department of Defence said the same. No Australian troops or sources have been hurt by anything we have published.

But our publications have been far from unimportant. The US diplomatic cables reveal some startling facts:

► The US asked its diplomats to steal personal human material and information from UN officials and human rights groups, including DNA, fingerprints, iris scans, credit card numbers, internet passwords and ID photos, in violation of international treaties. Presumably Australian UN diplomats may be targeted, too.

► King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia asked the US to attack Iran.

► Officials in Jordan and Bahrain want Iran's nuclear program stopped by any means available.

► Britain's Iraq inquiry was fixed to protect "US interests".

► Sweden is a covert member of NATO and US intelligence sharing is kept from parliament.

► The US is playing hardball to get other countries to take freed detainees from Guantanamo Bay. Barack Obama agreed to meet the Slovenian President only if Slovenia took a prisoner. Our Pacific neighbour Kiribati was offered millions of dollars to accept detainees.

In its landmark ruling in the Pentagon Papers case, the US Supreme Court said "only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government". The swirling storm around WikiLeaks today reinforces the need to defend the right of all media to reveal the truth.

Julian Assange is the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks.

Source: The Australien
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/wikileaks/dont-shoot-messenger-for-revealing-uncomfortable-truths/story-fn775xjq-1225967241332

I have not yet formed an opinion on the whole Wikileaks event. I have posted this to provide as much information as possible.
Until further notice I'll remain neutral in this matter. To me it's unclear whether it's a set up or a genuine attempt at transparancy.

Love & Peace

[jcocks]

Julian assange has been remanded in custody until a further hearing on the 14th of December....

[jcocks]

Here's the associated article with all the details...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/07/julian-assange-refused-bail-over-rape-allegations

[Zook]

Good morning Avalonians, the Earth says hello!

I just PM'd a fellow Avalonian with the following, but I think it needs to be heard by everyone.


I fully expected this. I've been arguing along that JA is an agent sent down by TMastardsTB ... sent into the unwashed, brainwashed, cleanwashed masses as a Pied Piper of Hamlin operative ... to then funnel these masses onto the riverbanks of the Distracting Stream. What better way to give him credibility with the unwashed, brainwashed, cleanwashed mindsets than by attacking him via mainstream media? The rape charges are obviously trumped up and are being drummed out for a reason. I figured that out within the first few days of the Wikileaks caterwauls.

Simple template, really. Send one of your own into the acrimonious crowds; attack your field agent to garner support for him from the crowds; give yourself yet another tool by which to control the crowds. In the case of Wikileaks, the bonus effect is distraction, confusion, information overload ... i.e. chaos. From chaos to order. The NWO is indeed implementing on schedule.

:typing:

ps: It's a sad week for freedom, critical thinking, awareness ... and above all, truth. IMHO.



ps2: His contrived arrest is nothing more than the agent provocateur heading back into the police blanket to be whisked away to the local barracks (e.g. to crack open a barrel of clapping monkeys). He probably has extra pay coming to him for a job well done.

ps3: Humble opinions all around.

[bluestflame]

maybe in the hope that some whistleblower gives him some elusive intelligence they themselves have been unable to get thier hands on directly

[Elandiel BernElve]

Zookumar

Sharp as always

[Heartsong]

With him in jail, he's less likely to be killed. If he is killed while in jail, it will be highly suspect. He is expected to fight extradition which I'm told could take months. Meanwhile he gets three meals and a bed and the rest of the Wikileaks crew carries on. This way the story is perpetuated as well as the leaks. I think we're at the beginning, not at the end.

[jackovesk]

Good morning Avalonians, the Earth says hello!

I just PM'd a fellow Avalonian with the following, but I think it needs to be heard by everyone.


I fully expected this. I've been arguing along that JA is an agent sent down by TMastardsTB ... sent into the unwashed, brainwashed, cleanwashed masses as a Pied Piper of Hamlin operative ... to then funnel these masses onto the riverbanks of the Distracting Stream. What better way to give him credibility with the unwashed, brainwashed, cleanwashed mindsets than by attacking him via mainstream media? The rape charges are obviously trumped up and are being drummed out for a reason. I figured that out within the first few days of the Wikileaks caterwauls.

Simple template, really. Send one of your own into the acrimonious crowds; attack your field agent to garner support for him from the crowds; give yourself yet another tool by which to control the crowds. In the case of Wikileaks, the bonus effect is distraction, confusion, information overload ... i.e. chaos. From chaos to order. The NWO is indeed implementing on schedule.

:typing:

ps: It's a sad week for freedom, critical thinking, awareness ... and above all, truth. IMHO.



ps2: His contrived arrest is nothing more than the agent provocateur heading back into the police blanket to be whisked away to the local barracks (e.g. to crack open a barrel of clapping monkeys). He probably has extra pay coming to him for a job well done.

ps3: Humble opinions all around.

Hi Zook,

This time I respectfully disagree with your view on Assange.

I find it a little hard to believe that a Home Schooled kid brought up in Byron Bay Qld Australia whose parents taught him to never trust Authority or Govt. would be a PTB/CIA Asset. (Byron Bay is a very Laid back Town full of Anti-Govt. Free Thinkers and that is one of the main reasons people want to live there).

Every man and his dog has their own view on Assange, even Webster Griffin Tarpley thinks he has connections to the CIA, but for me I'm not buying it for one second.

Maybe I am wrong, but we shall have to wait and see? I have followed this story for some time and have been studying the body language and reactions of the likes of Australian PM Julia Gillard and Attorney General Robert McClelland especially the Australian Traitor Kevin Rudd! All have been suprised by the developments and are generally concerned/worried of what Dirt is still to come. If anyone in Australian knew if Assange was a CIA Asset it would be UN Globalist Kevin Rudd and he's ****#ing himself because he knows he's got alot of explaining to do when Wikileaks publishes the Bulk of the Dirt on Australia at the end of next month! It could very well bring down the Govt!

What's more is the Fact, in Australia at least the leaks have finally started to Wake Up the Sheeple to the Lies & Deciept of what their Govt. is engaged in. Go onto any Wikileaks/Assange article in an Australian Newspaper and see the comments for yourself.

One thing Australians hate most are Liers! Especially when they have been caught Red Handed!

The Truth is starting to surface and Wikileaks has done a Hell of alot more Good than Harm and seems to have united the Left & Right paridigms that have been at loggerheards with one another over their political views and is starting to bring them together against the Fabian Socialist Labor Govt. and any Lying politician who has been caught out. (To me that's another Good thing).

Regardless of what ultimately transpires the Truth is getting out there and more and more people are asking questions about the Lies & Deciept of the PTB. I personally think you are giving the TMastardsTB way too much credit Zook, they can't win all the time.

I understand your frustration mate, Peace be with you and keep up the Good Work.

Jack

[irishspirit]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JYBbYEzS8Y&feature=player_embedded

[Ahkenaten]

I was thinking how it is of interest to take note of the companies who have severed their ties with JA over the past week or so.

I've never liked using paypal, avoid it where I possibly can
In my own small way I will boycott amazon ..darn! bought a book there last week...but will search for alternative next time



Use cash whenever possible instead of credit cards........................avoid paypal, amazon and e-bay if you want to express your views with your wallet. It is all about withdrawiing consent from the current paradigm - they feed off our money and energy. Why just turn it over to them?

[Victoria Tintagel]

Hey Avalononeans, this is probably a repetition of fifi's :) post, but there may be some extra info on the arrest of Julian Assange here. I just received it in my mailbox and decide to post it anyway.
Blessed be, Dutchess Tint.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/07
Julian Assange Arrested: WikiLeaks Founder Taken Into Custody In London On Swedish Warrant

CASSANDRA VINOGRAD and RAPHAEL G. SATTER | 12/ 7/10 11:59 AM | AP
Julian Assange has been arrested in London. The WikiLeaks founder had a Swedish warrant.

LONDON — A British judge sent Julian Assange to jail on Tuesday, denying bail to the WikiLeaks founder who vowed to fight efforts to extradite him to Sweden in a sex-crimes investigation.
A WikiLeaks spokesman said the flow of secret U.S. diplomatic cables would not be affected by Assange's legal troubles, nor by the group's increasingly rocky finances as both Visa and MasterCard cut off key funding methods. "This will not change our operation," Kristinn Hrafnsson told The Associated Press. As if to underline the point, WikiLeaks released a dozen new diplomatic cables, its first publication in more than 24 hours, including the details of a NATO defense plan for Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania that prompted an indignant response from the Russian envoy to the alliance.

Assange turned himself in to Scotland Yard on Tuesday morning, and was sent to the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in the early afternoon. He showed no reaction as Judge Howard Riddle denied him bail and sent him to jail until his next extradition hearing on Dec. 14.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, visiting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. troops in Afghanistan, was pleased that Assange was behind bars.
"That sounds like good news to me," he said Tuesday. Assange faces rape and sexual molestation allegations in one Swedish case and sexual molestation and unlawful coercion in another. He denies the allegations, which he and his lawyers claim stem from a "dispute over consensual but unprotected sex" dating back to August. Riddle asked the 39-year-old Australian whether he understood that he could consent to be extradited to Sweden. Assange, dressed in a navy blue suit, cleared his throat and said: "I understand that and I do not consent."

Fighting the extradition request could be difficult. Experts say that European arrest warrants like the one issued by Sweden can be tough to beat, barring mental or physical incapacity. Even if the warrant were defeated on a technicality, Sweden could simply issue a new one. Swedish lawyer Bjorn Hurtig said it was difficult to say how long the extradition process in Britain would take – anywhere from a week to two months. He said if Assange is extradited to Sweden, he won't be kept in detention after he's been questioned, "because it's been for the sake of the questioning that he's been detained."

WikiLeaks, meanwhile, came under increasing financial pressure Tuesday as it became increasingly difficult to collect the individual donations that fund most of the operations of the loosely knit group of activists. Visa Inc. said it would "suspend Visa payment acceptance on WikiLeaks' website pending further investigation into the nature of its business and whether it contravenes Visa operating rules." MasterCard said it would suspend payments "until the situation is resolved."

PayPal Inc., a popular online payment service, has already cut its links to the website, while Swiss authorities closed Assange's new Swiss bank account on Monday, freezing tens of thousands of euros, according to his lawyers. WikiLeaks is still soliciting donations through bank transfers to affiliates in Iceland and Germany, as well as by mail to an address at University of Melbourne in Australia. Beginning in July, WikiLeaks angered the U.S. government by releasing tens of thousands of secret U.S. military documents on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Last week, it began a rolling release of what WikiLeaks says are a quarter-million cables from U.S. diplomatic posts around the world. The group provided those documents to five major newspapers, which have been working with WikiLeaks to edit the cables for publication, and has been sharing subsets of the cache with other publications in recent days.

The U.S. government has launched a criminal investigation, saying the group has jeopardized U.S. national security and diplomatic efforts around the world. As WikiLeaks has come under legal, financial and technological attack, an online army of supporters has come to its aid, sending donations, fighting off computer attacks and setting up over 500 mirror sites around the world to make sure that the secret documents are published regardless of what happens to the organization. Hrafnsson, the WikiLeaks spokesman, said the group had no plans yet to carry through on its threat to release the key to a heavily encrypted version of some of the most sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables – an "insurance" file that has been distributed to supporters and news media in case of an emergency.

[Ahkenaten]

One can't help but wonder where Wikileaks drew the line for releasing the key to its insurance policy. Now J.A. has been arrested. Financial pipeline choked. Website under continuous cyber attack. Where is the line in the sand?

[Bluewool]

Ah a trumped up charge involving sex,im surprised they didnt call him a pedophile,i guess even TPTB know they cant stretch the gullibility of the public too far.
I like both Zook and Jacks views,can i agree with both? I do though think the worm has turned for TPTB so i can see everything they attempt to do will result in them shooting themselves in the foot from here on in.Instant Karma anyone?

[Victoria Tintagel]

Hey Avaloneans, thanks for being awake in high spirits :) on this subject, this is the recent update by the Huffington Post
www.huffingtonpost.com Blessed be, Dutchess Tint.

The Daily Brief:
WikiLeaks: The Three Faces of Uncle Sam
Michael Brenner
Senior Fellow, the Center for Transatlantic Relations
Posted: December 7, 2010 10:31 AM

Know thy Enemy is the famed dictum of the renown Chinese military thinker Sun Tzu. He took for granted something even more crucial: know thyself. Yet, Americans routinely ignore that latter counsel -- at our growing peril. That uncomfortable truth becomes abundantly clear when immersing oneself in the dense cable traffic revealed to us by Wikileaks. Their exposure of the mindset and outlook of the country's policy-makers and diplomats is more telling than any of the details. For it reveals who we are, who we think we are, and how that self conception is out of line with both world realities and others' perception of us.

Most striking is the unstated but pervasive belief that the United States is wiser, more skillful and dedicated than anybody else. Therefore, it is natural that America rules the roost. Our serial failures of judgment and action, at home as well as abroad, have left not a trace of modesty on our conduct. That hubris has a number of practical meanings: One is the conviction that Washington should set the policy direction for allies and friends, jerk them back into line when they show a tendency to stray or are unresponsive to American leads, and cultivate a corps of informers and helpmates from among the native elites. Access to antechambers of imperial power and favors magisterially bestowed are the coin in which they are paid. Examples of successful efforts by the United States to maintain order in the ranks include: the incessant pressure to expand troop commitments in Afghanistan; cajoling that borders on coercion to accept Guantanamo alumni whom we've abused for eight years only to be faced with the dilemma of where to safely dispose of these unwanted innocent nobodies; demands that the SWIFT banking clearinghouse hand over legally protected private data; and insistence on the right to overfly and using airport facilities on the sovereign territories of other nations whenever the U.S. deems it necessary as part of some dark mission or other. Washington does not accept 'no' as an answer whether it is made on strategic, ethical or domestic political grounds. The last is the object of frequent disparaging remarks dutifully dispatched to apolitical and guileless superiors back in Washington.

A second manifestation is the disparagement of anyone else's opinion. In the hundred or so cables and excerpts that I've looked at, I have yet to find one instance of a visiting Assistant or Under Secretary of State or resident Ambassador seeking out interpretations or assessments of situations -- much less encouraging their interlocutors to offer policy advice. The sole aim of these meetings seemingly is to test their foreign counterparts' fidelity to the Washington line and to sniff out any dangerous deviations. The outstanding case in point is Turkey from which emanated literally hundreds of cables on the theme that the Erdogan government was showing increasing signs of unreliability and independence (almost synonymous) on matters ranging from Iran to Iraq to Central Asia. The sophisticated, well developed Turkish perspective on the region's intersecting problems was dismissed out of hand as of little interest, despite the country's half millennium domination of, and affinity with the neighborhood they inhabit. And despite our own woeful record there.

Another cardinal feature of the prevailing American attitude, about which we exhibit no self awareness, is the reflex to divide foreigners into the two categories of "pro-American" or "anti-American." This Manichean carry-over from the Cold war days has been given new life by the obsession with the 'war on terror' which overshadows all else just the way the life-and-death struggle against Godless Communism did in the old days. So Mr. Nicholas Sarkozy, while still a minister under Jacques Chirac, is identified as a very eager would-be friend of the United States who could be counted on to shed Gallic ant-American attitudes. His purring around the Americans' ankles is rewarded, and encouraged, with stroking and a tickling of his ears. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, instinctively 'pro-American,' nonetheless is a bit of an irritant because she has the distressing habit of thinking for herself, if only occasionally, on matters like the propriety of the American kidnapping and torture of a German citizen. She also is not assertive enough in instructing her voters why today's historic challenge to FREEDOM comes from Taliban mullahs and their Pashtun peasant followers. Equally vexing was her lack of enthusiasm for the Missile Shield whose military utility was as obscure to her as is its potential to estrange Russia was evident. Hence, Ms Merkel was temporarily located in limbo according to the two cell political map of American strategists.

The aforementioned Mr. Erdogan is repeatedly labeled as a candidate to join the 'anti-American category.' His most grievous sin is the cultivation of commercial and political ties with Tehran. This reprehensible behavior is ascribed to the propensities of the Islamic AKP party which he leads as well as the worrisome fact that he is himself is a believing, practicing Muslim. His religious orientation is more troubling that that of the Saudis et al for two reasons: the former have proven themselves loyal pro-Americans, and Erdogan personifies backsliding from the secular, pro-American elites with whom Washington was accustomed to doing business. There is no self consciousness that America's own leading politicians all seem to 'find Christ' on the eve of the Iowa caucuses and make a show of having a personal communication channel to their Christian Deity. Perhaps even more troubling is what this view of Erdogan says about Washington's ignorance of elementary truths of Turkish domestic politics. For the AKP, the fundamentalist Iranian regime was a distinct electoral liability since it gave a bad name to the mixing of politics and Islam and perpetuated voters' fears about a political party uninhibited about affirming Turkey's predominantly Muslim identity. Religion has been a repellent factor not a magnetic one in the current government's approach to Iran. Whether such ignorance is offset by the acquired knowledge of Erdogan's DNA profile or Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's E-bay password remains to be seen.

A third feature of the American mindset is set in stark relief by the Wikileak cables. It is the identity in our officials' minds of the American national interest with the world's interest. In instance after instance, they declare the cavalier premise that Washington's foreign policy serves the well-being of the international community. Indeed, any other worldview that does not accept this premise is illegitimate -- selfish and dangerous, too. That applies not only to hostile governments like that of Iran, or independent minded countries like Russia. It applies as well to putative partners like the Pakistanis. Our officials are unrelenting in insisting that they have a better sense of what is in Pakistan's interests than do General Kayani and members of the political elite less deferential than the indebted President Zakari. Here is an instance where an uncommonly astute Ambassador, Ann Patterson, writes cogent analyses explaining why the surmise conceit is dead wrong. Indeed, she makes the compelling case that our own self defined goals are less likely to be realized following the current course of Washington's polices in AfPak than if we adjusted them in accordance with Kayani's reading of political realities in his country. Ms Patterson somehow has escaped being placed in the 'anti-American' category -- as far as we know.

There is another singular feature of how the United States sees itself that takes shape as we read these cables. It is the extraordinary sense of entitlement. An entitlement endowed by 9/11. It hallows all those other characteristic American traits with a robe of righteousness. Our unique virtue, our superior wisdom, our mission to save the world, our right to judge and to proclaim, our authority to set new rules or to break old ones -- all is rendered true and just by the calamity that we have endured. America feels that it has found in 9/11 a diplomatic ace that wittingly or not matches the Israelis' use of the Holocaust. It is not at all clear, though, that it serves us well.

[Sabrina]

I was thinking how it is of interest to take note of the companies who have severed their ties with JA over the past week or so.

I've never liked using paypal, avoid it where I possibly can
In my own small way I will boycott amazon ..darn! bought a book there last week...but will search for alternative next time



Yesterday we reported that the Swiss bank PostFinance froze WikiLeaks account which held 31,000 euros for Julian Assange's defense fund.

A few hours later the bank's website crashed as a result of an attack by hackers that go by the name of Anon_Operation on Twitter.

They have been running "Operation: Payback" which they say is an ongoing campaign by [them] against major anti-piracy groups.

The cyber war is now definitely on as PostFinance is back up an running but the hackers' site The AnonOps.net is currently down due to heavy DDoS attacks.

The hackers are also targeting MasterCard and PayPal - both companies have severed their ties with WikiLeaks and frozen their assets.

more here:


http://current.com/news/92849432_hackers-have-waged-war-on-banks-that-target-wikileaks.htm?xid=RSSfeed

[ponda]

Yesterday we reported that the Swiss bank PostFinance froze WikiLeaks account which held 31,000 euros for Julian Assange's defense fund.

A few hours later the bank's website crashed as a result of an attack by hackers that go by the name of Anon_Operation on Twitter.

They have been running "Operation: Payback" which they say is an ongoing campaign by [them] against major anti-piracy groups.

The cyber war is now definitely on as PostFinance is back up an running but the hackers' site The AnonOps.net is currently down due to heavy DDoS attacks.

The hackers are also targeting MasterCard and PayPal - both companies have severed their ties with WikiLeaks and frozen their assets.

more here:


http://current.com/news/92849432_hackers-have-waged-war-on-banks-that-target-wikileaks.htm?xid=RSSfeed


Interesting.It appears that the establishment has upset and motivated the hacking community into action.

Reminds me of the movie The Matrix where the good guys hacked into the matrix to fight against the machines(ptb)

[Zook]

Hi Jacks,


Hi Zook,
This time I respectfully disagree with your view on Assange.


No, no ... I must insist ... it is I who must respectfully disagree with your view on Assange.

Before I proceed, let me get one last joke outta the way.
:jester:

Jacks' thread: ________ Assange: "Don't shoot messenger for revealing uncomfortable truths!"
Zook's rebuttal: _______________________________Can we shoot him for revealing comfortable truths, then? :drum:




I find it a little hard to believe that a Home Schooled kid brought up in Byron Bay Qld Australia whose parents taught him to never trust Authority or Govt. would be a PTB/CIA Asset. (Byron Bay is a very Laid back Town full of Anti-Govt. Free Thinkers and that is one of the main reasons people want to live there).

Every man and his dog has their own view on Assange, even Webster Griffin Tarpley thinks he has connections to the CIA, but for me I'm not buying it for one second.


Whatever you may think of Tarpley and his old Lyndon Larouche association:

http://lyndonlarouchewatch.org/larouche-webster-tarpley.htm

***********************************beginExcerpt****************************
Webster Tarpley to "N," December 2, 2009
My association with organizations in which LaRouche was prominent ended in 1997. Since then I have been attacked in public by him and his remaining supporters several times. Since 1997, I have had no relation whatsoever to LaRouche.
*******************************************end***************************


... there is little doubt that the man is highly cogent in discussing many of the important topics of today. He also has a remarkable feel for the pulse of the realpolitik. Incredible researcher as well.



Maybe I am wrong, but we shall have to wait and see? I have followed this story for some time and have been studying the body language and reactions of the likes of Australian PM Julia Gillard and Attorney General Robert McClelland especially the Australian Traitor Kevin Rudd! All have been suprised by the developments and are generally concerned/worried of what Dirt is still to come. If anyone in Australian knew if Assange was a CIA Asset it would be UN Globalist Kevin Rudd and he's ****#ing himself because he knows he's got alot of explaining to do when Wikileaks publishes the Bulk of the Dirt on Australia at the end of next month! It could very well bring down the Govt!


The lie is different at every level - Richard Hoagland. Translated here: what makes you think that Rudd would have known (e.g. if Assange had CIA connections)? Seems like a quantum leap of faith.




What's more is the Fact, in Australia at least the leaks have finally started to Wake Up the Sheeple to the Lies & Deciept of what their Govt. is engaged in. Go onto any Wikileaks/Assange article in an Australian Newspaper and see the comments for yourself.


I don't respect mainstream newsprint rags (or their public opinion pages) ... they are nothing more than controlled streams of info/disinfo/misinfo. Their ability to report truth had long ago been compromised by monopoly and big money, and usually with monopoly money (e.g. the spoils of the fiat stock game). Mine is an informed disrespect, if you will. I'm surprised you still use the newspapers for anything other than weather and sports, and what's playing at the local Miramax.



One thing Australians hate most are Liers! Especially when they have been caught Red Handed!
The Truth is starting to surface and Wikileaks has done a Hell of alot more Good than Harm and seems to have united the Left & Right paridigms that have been at loggerheards with one another over their political views and is starting to bring them together against the Fabian Socialist Labor Govt. and any Lying politician who has been caught out. (To me that's another Good thing).


If that was actually true, it would be a good thing. But catching one or two measly politicians with their mikes turned on and their mouths going off, is not a good trade off if all the rest is deception. In any event, Jacks, I see no evidence that the Left and Right paradigm have united in any meaningful way. To wit, the enemy of my enemy is not my friend.



Regardless of what ultimately transpires the Truth is getting out there and more and more people are asking questions about the Lies & Deciept of the PTB. I personally think you are giving the TMastardsTB way too much credit Zook, they can't win all the time.
I understand your frustration mate, Peace be with you and keep up the Good Work.
Jack

Thanks, Jacks. And likewise. Overall, you are doing good work, yourself, here on Avalon. We just happen to see the truth through irreconcilable lens on this particular matter. One of us is definitely not using the needed filters; we'll have to let time judge which one. Truth will out. Peace.

:typing:

[Snowbird]

They've put him in solitary. For what reason? Of course he has no computer access, that's a given. Why solitary?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337554/WikiLeaks-founder-Julian-Assange-charged-spying-US.html#ixzz17kCsrFuU

[Rocky_Shorz]

maybe because nothing of importance has been released by the PTB press...

why let him talk to inmates about the important things he wants the world to know?

[Banshee]

They've put him in solitary. For what reason? Of course he has no computer access, that's a given. Why solitary?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337554/WikiLeaks-founder-Julian-Assange-charged-spying-US.html#ixzz17kCsrFuU

One would assume that so he doesn't fall prey to an "inside hit" - for his own protection.