Julian Assange

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Letter to Bradley Manning

Bradley,

We hope that this letter finds you healthy and strong. You have already seen adversity that most people do not bear in a lifetime, and we are sadly aware of the hardships you face. We are sending this letter to you in the hopes that our feelings of support may help you to bear these days. We want you to know that we, people all over the world, are fighting for you. We can gladly say that we are many.

Your case has become a great symbol to all of us. It has bound us together in an awareness of our shared interests, shared responsibilities, and shared fate. There is much that we do not know, but irrespective of the truths of your particular case, your flag has become the standard of an indefatigable civil movement, straddling generations and borders, striving inexorably against the great injustices of our time, for which the injustices you suffer are the tragic emblem. Your tenure in that small prison cell has reached across the world, moving many people, ushering a generation to awareness and action. Your name is on all our lips, and your face, for us, is an icon of moral courage.

You stand accused of upholding justice when her bearers let her banner fall. You are accused of actions that no law should rightly prohibit while remaining law. When the law is turned against conscience and courage, it is turned against itself. Our society has lost its way.

Your prosecution under this ruse of justice is already written into history as a persecution, not of one man, but of us all. It is not a single injustice, but an injustice to end the pretense of justice. It is unique and urgent. It is wrong that you suffer, while those who committed the crimes that were exposed, who started a horrific and unjustifiable war based on lies, are excused. Whether you did what you are accused of or not, what you have gone through since your arrest would be unimaginable for most of us. You are a hero among us. We cannot, and will not, turn away from supporting you.

We are keenly aware of your sacrifice. Be strong for us, Bradley, because we know that you suffer as one of us, for us. We will be relentless in our efforts to see justice done by you. Accept our fellowship, and know this: you are forever ours now and we salute you, and forever thank you.

We hold you in our hearts. We stand with you.

We are all Bradley Manning.
Your brothers, sisters, friends,

You can sign the letter too

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Assange fights extradition ruling

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has begun his appeal against extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations.

The 40-year-old Australian appeared at the High Court in London seeking to overturn a lower court's rejection in February of defence arguments that he would have an unfair trial in Sweden.

He is accused of molestation, and what Sweden describes as "minor rape".

Mr Assange's lawyers have criticised Sweden's bid to extradite him over rape allegations as legally flawed.

Lawyer Ben Emmerson has described the extradition bid as somewhat of a fishing expedition - Sweden's grab at a chance to question Mr Assange - and not for the purpose of prosecution.

He said the conduct described in the European arrest warrant issued by Sweden "fails to provide a fair, proper and accurate description of what is alleged against the appellant".

After the ruling against him in February, Mr Assange blasted the decision as "a result of the European Arrest Warrant system run amok".

Mr Emmerson also argued that Mr Assange was a victim of a "philosophical and judicial mismatch" between English and Swedish law, saying some of the allegations levelled against him would not amount to sex crimes in Britain.

Swedish authorities want to question Mr Assange over the sex assault claims made by two women - allegations he denies - although he has not been formally charged.

He has claimed the allegations are politically motivated and linked to his whistleblower website's releases of huge caches of leaked US government documents, which have infuriated Washington.

Source: ABC News

Visa & Mastercard Board of Directors

Who owns Mastercard and Visa I was asked the other day.

Here is a list of the Board of Directors of both Visa and mastercard. These are the guys that decide policy, strategy and such matters as who is blocked from via and mastercard.

Visa Board of Directors:

Joseph W. Saunders (Chairman)
Chairman and CEO
Visa Inc.

Gary Coughlan
Former Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Finance
Abbott Laboratories

Mary B. Cranston
Firm Senior Partner
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Francisco Javier Fernandez-Carbajal
Former Chief Executive Officer, Corporate Development Division
Grupo Financiero BBVA Bancomer

Suzanne Nora Johnson
Former Vice Chairman
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Robert W. Matschullat
Former Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer
Seagram Company Limited

Cathy E. Minehan
Former President and Chief Executive Officer
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

David J. Pang
Former Chief Executive Officer
Airport Authority of Hong Kong

William Shanahan
Former President
Colgate Palmolive Company

John A. Swainson (Lead Independent Director)
Former Chief Executive Officer
CA, Inc.

Source: Visa BOD

Mastercard Management and Board of Directors

Key executives include:

Ajay Banga: President and Chief Executive Officer
Robert Reeg: President - Global Technology & Operations
Alfredo Gangotena: Chief Marketing Officer - Global Marketing
Gary Flood: President - Products & Services
Noah Hanft: General Counsel, Chief Franchise Officer and Corporate President - International Markets

Chris McWilton: President - US Markets
Michael Michl: Chief Administration Officer
Wendy Murdock: Chief Franchise Officer
Javier Perez: President - Region Head MasterCard Europe
Vicky Bindra: President - Region Head Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa
Christopher Thom: Chief Risk Officer - Risk Management
Stephanie Voquer: Chief Human Resources Officer

As of December 2004, the following banks are represented on MasterCard's board of directors:

Europay España, S.A.
HSBC
Clarima Banca
Capital One
Banamex (Citigroup's Mexican division)
Citigroup
Royal Bank of Scotland
MBNA America (now Bank of America)
Westpac Banking Corporation

Southern Bank Berhad
Bank of Montreal
Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel
Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband
Orient Corporation
Bank AL Habib
Banco Mercantil
Banesco

Friday, July 8, 2011

Wikileaks banking blocked still

It seems Visa and Mastercard are not their own masters but can be pressured by 'other agencies', just like eBay's Paypal.

Visa and mastercard are apparently happy to provide services to the notorious Klu Klux Klan but not to Wikileaks.

Here are some links of interest:

usatoday

Banking Blockade

Social Times