Julian Assange

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Bank of America and Wikileaks

Even without issuing anything about the Bank of America (BOA), Wikileaks has succeeeded in changing the BOA share price just by the merest of hints.

Not only that but the Bank of America is moving into high gear with a"War Room' created to try and undercut potential threats to the bank.

this war room startede by initiating the buying up of hundreds of derogatory internat domain names, such as BankofAmericaSucks.com and BrianMoynihanblows.com (BofA's CEO)for example as a way of limiting potential damage.

The bank already has a battery of law suits to contend with. According to Truthout:

"BofA is already under the gun, defending itself from multiple lawsuits from private investors as well as Fannie and Freddie demanding that the bank buy back billions worth of toxic mortgages-backed securities. The firm stopped issuing subprime mortgages in 2001, but it kept underwriting subprime mortgage-backed securities for many years. In September 2009, for example, BofA underwrote $239 million worth of securities backed by subprime loans. BofA has reserved $4.4 billion for these "put back" lawsuits. If Assange has emails showing that top executives at BofA knew they were peddling toxic dreck to investors, it would rock the firm and give tremendous ammunition to the army of lawyers already knocking on BofA's door."

And then there is the reckless and illegal foreclosures issue.

"BofA is at the heart of the robo-signing scandal and has wrongfully foreclosed on countless American families. One poor woman returned to a vacation home to find it locked, all her possessions gone -- including the ashes of her late husband. How could such a mistake be made? A BofA employee deposed in February 2010 said that she signed as many as 8,000 foreclosure documents a month without reviewing them, in violation of the law. Mounting questions about the fraudulent and illegal foreclosure practices at the big banks and mortgage service companies prompted BofA to temporarily halt foreclosures nationwide in October 2010. If Wikileaks can document that top BofA officials have a callous disregard for legal processes and constitutionally protected property rights, BofA's mounting legal liability may not be sustainable."

The list goes on. And this is only what is public knowledge. It brings into question the governances practices of the Board of Directors and CEO Brian Moynihan whos income for 2009 was $800,000.00 with Restricted stock awards of $5,200,000.00
and other bits and pieces beringing his Total Compensation to $6,511,468.00.

Actually not a lot compared to many banks. Even bank CEOs in Australia earn (I say earn, I mean get paid) much more than that.

But whatever wikileaks has on the bank, if anything,it is sure to be a dozy.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

No Link Between Bradley Manning and Assange

NBC news Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski reports that the Pentagon acknowledges that its investigators “have been unable to make any direct connection between” Manning’s alleged leaking of the documents in question, and Assange. If this is true it will likely present serious obstacles to US-based criminal proceedings against Assange.

According to The Registar, NBC news, citing unnamed investigating officials, state US authorities have been unable to find conclusive proof that Wikileaks' vast stashes of secret material – the Baghdad attack-copter videos, Afghanistan and Iraq "war logs" and now the endless mountains of US diplomatic cables being drip-fed by the site – were passed to it by Private Bradley Manning, incarcerated for over 260 days in a US Marine Corps brig (jail) in Virginia.

Meanwhile, Manning, has been subjected to sleep deprivation, barred from exercising in the slightest, and recently, improperly placed by the Quantico base commander on suicide watch - meaning his clothing and his reading glasses were removed. This was "punishment" for "disobeying" the orders of the guards. However, after news of this order got out and the resultant publicity over it, the commander rescinded the order, even being upbraded by the Pentagon for allegedly overstepping his authority. A useful indication that public pressure in this case can help.

The blatant aim of this abuse, now being investigated by a UN human rights investigator, has been to crush his spirit, in hopes of getting him to agree to implicate Julian Assange into inducing him to leak the hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, visual tapes of Iraq and Afghan war reports, as well as the helicopter murder, now known as the "Collateral Murder" video, and US State Department cables, all of which have been undermining the US war effort and the US diplomatic agenda.

They are failing, it seems, because Manning has more ethics than those that have incarcerated him without a trial for half a year.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Nothing to Hide, Nothing to Fear

The catch cry of Homeland security is, 'If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear.'

Of course, this does apply to the US Government, an alledged democracy who attacks Wikileaks because "they released some embarressing information about the crooked politicians and diplomats." The politicians, on the one hand, tell the little people, "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear." Yet are so afraid of 'being found out' themselves. instead the call is now for gun laws to be tightened up to restruict the use of illegal guns.

Don't make me laugh. Illegal guns are not restricted by laws anymore than criminals are. If they were we would have no criminals, yet, there they are. The definition of a criminal is soneone that breaks the law. Enacting more laws simply provide more laws to break.

Attacking Wikileaks for embarrasing law breakers is a wrong target.

How about cleaning up the crooked politicians. Or is it too much to ask getting some ethics and real honest justice applied. Unless of course it is the crooked politicians making the decisions?

Nothing to hide, nothing to fear? Perhaps The US government should look to clean up its own act first.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

InhumaneTreatment of Manning.

The US government has a lot to answer for.

i read where they upbrade China on their lack of human rights while at the same time violating ghuman rights themsevles, and when their human rights violations are exposed promptly institute further human rights violations as a response.

Nothing like being hypercritical and accusing others of the very same crimes they pursue themselves.

Take Bradley Manning for example. Kept in solitary confirment under inhummane conditions for almost 300 days, not allowed to sleep or exercise between 5 am and 8 pm.

"From the beginning of his detention, Manning has been held in intensive solitary confinement. For 23 out of 24 hours every day -- for seven straight months and counting -- he sits completely alone in his cell. Even inside his cell, his activities are heavily restricted; he's barred even from exercising and is under constant surveillance to enforce those restrictions. For reasons that appear completely punitive, he's being denied many of the most basic attributes of civilized imprisonment, including even a pillow or sheets for his bed (he is not and never has been on suicide watch). For the one hour per day when he is freed from this isolation, he is barred from accessing any news or current events programs. Lt. Villiard protested that the conditions are not "like jail movies where someone gets thrown into the hole," but confirmed that he is in solitary confinement, entirely alone in his cell except for the one hour per day he is taken out."

AND he is only charged and there has been no trial. Convicted prisoners are treated better than this. Justice is a joke as far as the US government is concerned. A case of do what we say or want, not what we profess.

Torturing people in the name of freedom makes a mockery of the term freedom and makes it quite apparent that freedom is NOT the purpose of the torture.

Read more here.

The inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning's detention

Bradley Manning deserves to be free


Wake up President Obama, no one believes you anymore!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Cashing in on Wiklileaks

It not just book offers, now it is movie scripts.

A scramble for multimillion-pound windfalls in the shape of two feature films is now on the table.

Mr Assange has confirmed he is in discussions with a studio on the possibilty of a feature film based on his autobiography, which is expected to be published in April.

Meanwhile back at the hollywood ranch, rival Hollywood studios Josephson Entertainment and Michelle Krumm Productions have jointly bought the rights to a biopic based on Australian journalist Andrew Fowler's biography of the internet campaigner, The Most Dangerous Man in the World, which has yet to be published.

Mr Assange set up the whistleblowing website in 2006. But was largely ignored until it published embarrasing extracts of US military documents alledgedly obtained by whistleblower Bradley Manning.

Last month, Mr Assange negotiated a book deal worth more than one million pounds. "WikiLeaks Versus the World: My Story" is published in the UK and at least another 12 countries on 7 April. Other books also claiming to give the "inside story" are being rushed into print. The cashing in race is on!

Public relations consultant Mark Borkowski, who was approached to handle publicity for the website after Mr Manning's revelations, said, with no apparent irony: "It's the most compelling story of our time. It's like Bourne Identity, 24 and James Bond all coming together. The face of Julian Assange will soon replace the Che Guevara image."

Mark Stephens, Mr Assange's London-based solicitor, has confirmed his client is now in talks with Hollywood while dismissing rival projects. "We refer to [them] as the biographies of the blind. Assange has been approached by a proper studio to make one, as opposed to a film of the blind." He added that any biopic that did not involve the man himself would have difficulty navigating libel law.

The saga continues.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Wikileaks to release Swiss Bank Account Details

Rudolf Elmer, a former Swiss banker, has handed over sensitive details of the accounts of 2,000 prominent people to Julian Assange.

Wikileaks has yet to publish the data on its website, with Assange promised full disclosure once the data had been vetted.

"Once we have looked at the data... there will be full revelation," said Assange, who is currently out on bail and confined to the UK due to an extradition request from Sweden.

Elmer, who faces a trial in Switzerland for having compromised bank secrecy laws, was dismissed from Swiss bank Julius Baer as chief operating officer at Cayman Islands in 2002.

Der Sonntag, a Swiss newspaper, reported that the data includes account details of multinational companies, financial firms and wealthy individuals, including politicians, from around the world and covers the years 1990-2009.

Assange noted that some information on the discs would probably be handed over to certain British authorities, including the UK's Serious Fraud Office.

At a press conference in London, Elmer defended his decision to release the data by stating: "I'm against the system. I know how the system works. I've been there. I've done the job. I know what is the day-to-day business."

I am sure the various Tax Authorities will not complain!

Source: International Business Times

Latest WikiLeaks News

Wikileaks Latest News Real-Time Updates


Below is the latest news about Wikileaks updated in real-time by RSS feeds.


wikileaks – Google News


Secrets out long before WikiLeaks – Sydney Morning Herald



Sydney Morning Herald

Secrets out long before WikiLeaks
Sydney Morning Herald
The release of classified documents by WikiLeaks began soon after: an unprecedented spill of secret military reports on the war in Afghanistan and Iraq was

and more »



Posted on 17 January 2011 | 7:28 pm


Assange: The Dutch need Wikileaks right now – Radio Netherlands



Assange: The Dutch need Wikileaks right now
Radio Netherlands
Dutch newspapers and television have for days been snowed under by Wikileaks revelations about the Netherlands. Wikileaks boss Julian Assange says it's no
Wikileaks: US pressured Labour leader over AfghanistanDutchNews.nl
Timing of Dutch Wikileaks cables not a coincidence, says AssangeDutchNews.nl
Assange: Wikileaks timing "no coincidence"Radio Netherlands
allvoices
all 12 news articles »



Posted on 17 January 2011 | 7:20 pm


Wikileaks given data on Swiss bank accounts – BBC News



CTV.ca

Wikileaks given data on Swiss bank accounts
BBC News
A former Swiss banker has passed on data containing account details of 2000 prominent people to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
WikiLeaks to Publish Data From Ex-Julius Baer BankerBloomberg
Accounts dossier given to WikiLeaksThe Press Association
WikiLeaks: the latest developmentsThe Guardian (blog)
AFP -Channel 4 News -MarketWatch
all 980 news articles »



Posted on 17 January 2011 | 6:58 pm


The Lede: Qaddafi Sees WikiLeaks Plot in Tunisia – New York Times (blog)



CTV.ca

The Lede: Qaddafi Sees WikiLeaks Plot in Tunisia
New York Times (blog)
As some American observers have pointed out, WikiLeaks did indeed release cables describing the elaborate corruption of the Ben Ali regime,
WikiLeaked: Qaddafi mourns Tunisian dictator, rips WikiLeaksForeign Policy
Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy blames WikiLeaks, ambassadors for uprising in New York Daily News
Tunisia Uprising called first Wikileaks revolutionScotsman
MidEastPosts -The State Column (blog) -Sify
all 8,007 news articles »



Posted on 17 January 2011 | 5:47 pm


Zimbabwe AG probing Tsvangirai over WikiLeaks disclosures – CNN International



The South African Star

Zimbabwe AG probing Tsvangirai over WikiLeaks disclosures
CNN International
WikiLeaks published US cables last week saying Tsvangirai and his party leadership were planning with US diplomats for Washington to contribute to a fund to
Zim Attorney General sets up WikiLeaks probe panelMail & Guardian Online
Confusion over WikiLeaks probe panelSW Radio Africa
Attorney General sets up WikiLeaks probe panelThe Zimbabwe Guardian
NewsDay -Times LIVE
all 24 news articles »



Posted on 17 January 2011 | 5:05 pm


STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Julius Baer lower; WikiLeaks weighs – Reuters



STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Julius Baer lower; WikiLeaks weighs
Reuters
VX) fall 3.7 percent as a former executive at the private bank hands over data on 2000 offshore bank account holders to online whistleblowing site WikiLeaks

and more »


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 4:16 pm



Bank of America: Outage not related to Wikileaks – CIO UK



Computerworld New Zealand

Bank of America: Outage not related to Wikileaks
CIO UK
“This has nothing to do with malware, Wikileaks or any type of attack,” a spokesperson for the bank told Dow Jones Newswires. BofA has reportedly assembled
BofA online banking knocked out; no WikiLeaks link.Finextra
What Does WikiLeaks Have on Bank of America?Center for Research on Globalization
Supporters Wikleaks Plan Attack on American Banking Systemallvoices

all 11 news articles »



Posted on 17 January 2011 | 3:47 pm


Turkey allowed US ‘extraordinary rendition’: WikiLeaks – Economic Times



Hurriyet Daily News

Turkey allowed US 'extraordinary rendition': WikiLeaks
Economic Times
WikiLeaks has obtained some 250000 US diplomatic cables and handed them to five major news organisations: the New York Times, Der Spiegel, the Guardian,
The WikiLeaks News & Views Blog for Monday, Day 51The Nation. (blog)

all 10 news articles »



Posted on 17 January 2011 | 2:05 pm


WikiLeaks data gives fresh impetus to Pat Finucane inquiry campaign – The Guardian



The Guardian

WikiLeaks data gives fresh impetus to Pat Finucane inquiry campaign
The Guardian
"But all WikiLeaks is doing is filling the vacuum created by governments unnecessarily." Readers who know the Finucane name will understand the significance

and more »



Posted on 17 January 2011 | 12:21 pm


WikiLeaks turned the tables on governments, but the power relationship has not … – The Guardian



The Guardian

WikiLeaks turned the tables on governments, but the power relationship has not
The Guardian
WikiLeaks "changes everything". So says Christian Caryl in the latest New York Review of Books, as the media, technology and foreign policy worlds ponder
Applying US principles on Internet freedomSalon

all 6 news articles »



Posted on 17 January 2011 | 7:00 am


wikileaks – Yahoo! Search Results


WikiLeaks handed secret Swiss banking data


A Swiss banker, due to go on trial for breaking bank secrecy laws, has handed over account details of 2,000 multinationals, financial firms and wealthy individuals to WikiLeaks.


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 7:03 pm


Wikileaks given Swiss bank data


A former Swiss banker has passed on data containing account details of 2,000 prominent people to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 6:17 pm


What WikiLeaks Needs – A Strong Graphic



“From its founding in 2006, WikiLeaks has been engaged not simply in the distribution of information but also in competition within a marketplace of ideas, reputation, perception. Part of what matters in this competition is WikiLeaks’s image: reckless, arrogant outlaws?


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 4:58 pm


WikiLeaks: Julian Assange could start publishing leaked details of Swiss bank tax accounts in two weeks


The details of thousands of wealthy bank clients who have avoided tax using offshore accounts are set to be exposed by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 4:03 pm


WikiLeaks to publish Swiss offshore bank documents


A former Swiss private banker hands over data on hundreds of offshore bank account holders from around the world to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 2:13 pm


Wikileaks to target wealthy individuals



Wealthy individuals who have avoided tax by storing their cash in offshore bank accounts are in the sights of WikiLeaks after the website’s founder Julian Assange was given a disc reportedly containing confidential bank account details.


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 1:48 pm


Accounts dossier given to WikiLeaks


WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has taken delivery of a disc reportedly containing confidential bank account details of 2,000 rich and famous individuals and corporations. Related Stories Lebanese government talks on hold Dewani murder accused could return Protestant is appointed Vatican science chief Barak quits Israeli Labour Party New government unveiled in Tunisia


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 1:33 pm


Banks dossier handed to Wikileaks


WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange today took delivery of a disc reportedly containing confidential bank account details of 2,000 rich and famous individuals and corporations.


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 12:40 pm


Wikileaks to get Swiss bank data



A former Swiss banker is set to hand over data to Wikileaks that he says contains offshore account details of 2,000 prominent people.


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 11:44 am


WikiLeaks: Julian Assange ‘happy’ after extradition hearing


Judge releases website founder on bail as he vows to keep publishing US diplomatic cables in tandem with newspapers Julian Assange today expressed his satisfaction after a procedural hearing on his extradition to Sweden and vowed that WikiLeaks would continue its work. After the hearing at Belmarsh magistrates court, Assange said he was “happy about today’s outcome” and said the skeleton …


Posted on 15 January 2011 | 9:27 pm


wikileaks – Bing News


Rudolf Elmer, whistleblower or bitter ex-banker – Sydney Morning Herald


Rudolf Elmer, the former senior Swiss bank executive who handed over secret banking data to Wikileaks on Monday, says he is a whistleblower out to expose a system of offshore tax evasion. However, Swiss private bank Julius Baer portrays Elmer as a …


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 8:20 pm



WikiLeaks Gets Handed Secrets on Thousands of Swiss Bank Accounts – Nymag.com


In a press conference today, WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange accepted two computer disks from former Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer. Stored on the disks are details on thousands of offshore bank accounts, which Elmer claims include evidence of tax evasion and …


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 8:20 pm


Wife of deposed Tunisian leader despised by many – msnbc.com


The president did lots of good, but the family did lots of harm to Tunisia,” Gaddahi said. U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks appear to shore up that conclusion. A June 2008 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tunis describes a report by anti …


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 8:20 pm


2011 Miss America Pageant: Ratings increase 47% for ABC telecast – Las Vegas Sun


Teresa’s a fantastic Miss America.” Teresa won her first applause for answering a tricky question during the pageant about the recent release of classified government files on Wikileaks. She said it was an issue of national security and not about free speech.


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 8:20 pm



Tunisians hail fall of ex-leader’s corrupt family – The Guardian


The president did lots of good, but the family did lots of harm to Tunisia,” Gaddahi said. U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks appear to shore up that conclusion. A June 2008 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tunis describes a report by anti …


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 8:13 pm


First Amendment Remedies – DAILY KOS


The Tunisian government led by President Ben Ali has shown an outrageous level of censorship, not only blocking the websites of dissident bloggers but also sites like Flickr and any website or news source mentioning Wikileaks. In a show of blatant …


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 8:13 pm


AAP Markets Report – ninemsn


LONDON – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he will publish secret details of offshore accounts, after a Swiss banking whistleblower handed over data on 2,000 purportedly tax-dodging individuals and firms. GENEVA – Rudolf Elmer, the former senior Swiss …


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 8:13 pm



Swiss banker hands secrets over to Wikileaks – msnbc.com


LONDON — A former Swiss private banker handed over data on hundreds of offshore bank account holders to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Monday, saying he wanted to draw attention to financial abuses. Rudolf Elmer, 55, headed the office of Julius …


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 8:13 pm


Excitement over our Miss America – Omaha World-Herald


Scanlan won Saturday night after strutting in a black bikini and a white evening gown, playing “White Water Chopped Sticks” on piano and telling the audience that when it comes to the website Wikileaks, security should come before public access to …


Posted on 17 January 2011 | 8:13 pm


Whistleblower hands Assange offshore bank secrets – YAHOO!


WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange vowed to publish secret details of offshore accounts after a Swiss banking whistleblower handed over data Monday on 2,000 purportedly tax-dodging individuals and firms. Former Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer, who worked for eight …



Posted on 17 January 2011 | 8:06 pm