"If anything happens to us, you know why," WikiLeaks warned on its Twitter feed. "Our Apr 5 film."

[Hissyspit]

http://www.alternet.org/news/146275/intelligence_agencies_allegedly_going_to_extremes_to_suppress_video_confirming_pentagon_massacre_cover-up_

Intelligence Agencies Allegedly Going to Extremes to Suppress Video Confirming Pentagon Massacre Cover-up

Disturbing allegations have surfaced around WikiLeaks' promise to release a video April 5 at the National Press Club confirming a war-time massacre.

April 3, 2010

On April 5, online truth and transparency advocate WikiLeaks.org plans to release at the National Press Club what it alleges is a video confirming a Pentagon cover-up of a wartime massacre of civilians and journalists committed under the leadership of General David Petraeus.

In a recent editorial that was later scrubbed, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claimed WikiLeaks is under fire from American and international intelligence agencies angered by his site's oversharing of the global village's dark political and financial secrets, and that they are responding with harassment, surveillance, unnecessary detention and worse.

"We've become used to the level of security service interest in us and have established procedures to ignore that interest," Assange wrote in the editorial. "But the increase in surveillance activities this last month, in a time when we are barely publishing due to fundraising, are excessive."

As constitutional lawyer and Salon columnist Green Greenwald wrote in a recent column, "A volunteer, a minor, who works with WikiLeaks was detained in Iceland last week and questioned extensively about an incriminating video WikiLeaks possesses relating to the actions of the U.S. military. During the course of the interrogation, the WikiLeaks volunteer was not only asked questions about the video based on non-public knowledge about its contents (i.e., information which only the U.S. military would have), but was also shown surveillance photos of Assange exiting a recent WikiLeaks meeting regarding the imminent posting of documents concerning the Pentagon."

WikiLeaks, administered by the Sunshine Press, an Amnesty International award-winning non-profit comprised of self-described "human rights campaigners, investigative journalists, technologists and the general public," has been whacking the powers-that-be's beehive since going live in 2007, and racking up as many legal challenges and enemies as journalism scoops and truth-seeking loyalists. But with its April 5 video, it evidently has raised the stakes.

"If anything happens to us, you know why," WikiLeaks warned on its Twitter feed. "It is our Apr 5 film. And you know who is responsible."

MORE

[Luminous Animal]

1. Greenwald's column

The War On Wikileaks And Why It Matters
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/03/27/wikileaks

[Mind_your_head]

2. Broken link/Salon appears to be down (for nightly maintenance it says)...

replete w/cute picture of a mop & bucket - never saw THAT one before......

www.salon.com

[Luminous Animal]

3. As much as I hate to link to Lew Rockwell, I believe that site has the article here...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/greenwald/greenwald63.html

[Luminous Animal]

4. Here is the article cached...

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:U4sLRJe_pBUJ:www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/03/27/wikileaks+glenn+greenwald+wikileaks&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

[Ghost Dog]

6. Good. The cache does its job, thanks.

...WikiLeaks editors, including Assagne, have spent substantial time of late in Iceland because there is a pending bill in that country's Parliament that would provide meaningful whistle blower protection for what they do, far greater than exists anywhere else. Why is Iceland a leading candidate to do that? Because, last year, that nation suffered full-scale economic collapse. It was then revealed that numerous nefarious causes (corrupt loans, off-shore transactions, concealed warning signs) were hidden completely from the public and even from policy-makers, preventing detection and avoidance. Worse, most of Iceland's institutions -- from its media to its legislative and regulatory bodies -- completely failed to penetrate this wall of secrecy, allowing this corruption to fester until it brought about full-scale financial ruin. As a result, Iceland has become very receptive to the fact that the type of investigative exposure provided by WikiLeaks is a vital national good, and there is real political will to provide it with substantial protections.

If that doesn't sound familiar to Americans, it should. At exactly the time when U.S. government secrecy is at an all-time high, the institutions ostensibly responsible for investigation, oversight and exposure have failed. The American media are largely co-opted, and their few remaining vestiges of real investigative journalism are crippled by financial constraints. The U.S. Congress is almost entirely impotent at providing meaningful oversight and is, in any event, controlled by the factions that maintain virtually complete secrecy. As I've documented before, some alternative means of investigative journalism have arisen -- such as the ACLU's tenacious FOIA litigations to pry documents showing "War on Terror" abuses and the reams of bloggers who sort through, analyze and publicize them -- but that's no match for the vast secrecy powers of the government and private corporations.

The need for independent leaks and whistle-blowing exposures is particularly acute now because, at exactly the same time that investigative journalism has collapsed, public and private efforts to manipulate public opinion have proliferated. This is exemplified by the type of public opinion management campaign detailed by the above-referenced CIA Report, the Pentagon's TV propaganda program exposed in 2008, and the ways in which private interests covertly pay and control supposedly "independent political commentators" to participate in our public debates and shape public opinion...

/... http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:U4sLRJe_pBUJ:www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/03/27/wikileaks+glenn+greenwald+wikileaks&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

Edit: I now find the article at Salon here: http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/03/27/wikileaks/index.html

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. Time to send Wikileaks a buck or two, I should think.

[ooglymoogly]

24. +50 nt

[dipsydoodle]

7. I hope the UK press are there

They are less likely to bury it.

[joycean]

8. Why didn't they release the video earlier, and without warning? nt

[Luminous Animal]

9. If a tree falls in the forest...

[RollWithIt]

10. If it was so vitally important and dangerous...

It would have already been released.

[Bjorn Against]

27. Not necessarily, they need to be released in a proper manner

The Pentagon Papers did not get released the moment that Daniel Ellsberg decided to release them, he had to go into hiding so the FBI could not imprison him before their release. In order for an act of whistleblowing to be successful it needs to be seen and heard by a lot of people and arrangements often need to be made to ensure that happens.

[truedelphi]

45. And hopefully, since our "Free media" is no longer much about freedom

But about obeyance to its advertising base, then all the "internets" will step forward and promote Wikileanks.

Ellsberg's revelations would not have gotten out to the public if not for the fact that First the NYT's was willing to release some of the report, then over another dozen papers stepped in when the NYT was ordered to stop covering the story. We dpon't have that kind of press out there working on our behalf today.

[liberation]

31. It is insurance for the truth

Just because we don't need it right now, doesn't mean we may not need it in the future.

Had the founding fathers used a similar line of "logic" they could have disregarded the amendments, or the constitution for that matter. Since the British had been kicked, why bother with a piece of paper. They were "free" so why worry, right?

[SpiralHawk]

11. k and r

on general principle

[rhett o rick]

12. k&r

[jberryhill]

13. Are they still running their personal vendetta against Enom employees?

A few years ago, their domain registrar made a mistake interpreting a court order, and they published a ream of personal information about that company's employees, presumably so that others would harass them.

They do some good stuff, but act like teabaggers.

[naaman fletcher]

14. I wish I had the money to fund wikileaks myself. nt.

[pundaint]

15. Yo, ABC, CBS, NBC, NY Times, WA Post, Washington "press" corps: behold journalism.

[autorank]

16. More on this story

http://www.apj.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2894&Itemid=2

[G_j]

17. good find

thanks

[autorank]

40. Glad you liked it! I wrote it.

[Judi Lynn]

20. Thanks for this link. n/t

[sabrina 1]

53. Excellent article, thank you for posting it.

I thought they were just a few bloggers operating alone but it looks like they are an interesting group from various parts of the world. And, it was interesting to read that they are backed by some news organizations, like the Hearst Foundation.

I had not heard of them until I read Glenn Greenwald's article in which he included one of the leaks they published from the CIA about how to handle the EU should they begin to tire of the war in Afghanistan. Fascinating to see how they profile each country and decide how to appeal to each one based on their cultural makeup.

Use Afghan women eg, to get the French to stay involved, was one of their suggestions.

But MOST interesting was how they, the CIA, characterized President Obama. They appear to view him as an excellent salesman to the EU for the War in Afghanistan.

The War on WikiLeaks and Why it Matters

The Report highlights the unique ability of Barack Obama to sell war to European populations (click on images to enlarge):

It's both interesting and revealing that the CIA sees Obama as a valuable asset in putting a pretty face on our wars in the eyes of foreign populations. It is odious – though, of course, completely unsurprising – that the CIA plots ways to manipulate public opinion in foreign countries in order to sustain support for our wars.

So the question is, was Obama hired because of that ability and if so, did he know it? He did start selling that war during the campaign, dropping hints about how he would 'get the job done'. And, his loyal operatives never fail to remind people of that. Of course, the public was unaware of what the real intentions were.

More and more it becomes clear that someone chooses the candidates based on how willing they are to work for the best interests of the Empire. No one who is really free and independent will ever be president of this country unless the people wake up en masse and start reversing this system that is now in place.

Who can we trust? It looks like we were taken for as much of a ride this time as Republicans were with George Bush.

If WikiLeaks is the real thing, a totally independent organization, there is nothing we need more. The media, as the article said, is completely compromised.

[The Backlash Cometh]

18. Why would they give so much lead time on something like this?

[unc70]

21. Maybe in hopes of getting some press coverage, more than Sibel Edmonds

I agree about the need for urgency with such matters in general. But I have to assume that anything digital has many copies in many countries and that many of these have been sent in ways that do not use any networking.

They had to reserve the NPC and notify press and others. Would not want it before Easter. Easter Monday has lower probability of Obama or Congress dominating the other news. Might be able to get C-Span coverage. Just my guesses. Don't really know. Might also have an eyewitness.

[dorkulon]

25. My thought too. Just release it now. It's not Avatar for Pete's sake.

"If anything happens to us..." really?

[Drops_not_Dope]

42. Really?

that naive?

[dorkulon]

43. Please enlighten me. Why wait? nt

[Luminous Animal]

46. Because they took the time to garner press attention...

both corporate and independent. They are trying to reach the widest probable audience.

[Dystopian]

19. KandR

peace~

[lib2DaBone]

22. Is anyone taking bets that this video will reach daylight on April 5th?

.. if I was the folks at WIKIpedia.. I would lock myself in a bullet proof vault until then. (and don't open any mail with white powder in it).

Of course if the video does go public.. they will claim it came from Al Queida and anyone who watches it is a "conspiracy" nut. Fox News, Beck and Limbaugh will beat it to death and that will be the end of it..

Example: Fox News video of George Bush having sex with a sheep in the barnyard ... Headline reads....."White House promotes knowledge of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry".

[omega minimo]

23. Hey this is America, buddy! Yuo better watch what you say!!

or at least wear pink clown clothes!!

[Uncle Joe]

26. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Hissyspit.

[Christa]

28. K & R nt

[Cartoonist]

29. A Ken Burns documentary . . . not

a video confirming a Pentagon cover-up of a wartime massacre of civilians and journalists committed under the leadership of General David Petraeus.
-
Yeah, sure. I can't even imagine what the video would look like other than a bunch of edits of misc. footage proving nothing.

[chill_wind]

30. K & R. We'll soon know how this ends.

[Better Believe It]

32. Tell President Obama to leave them alone!

[Monako]

35. ;)

http://screamnews.com/boehner-obama-administrations-decision-keeps-vast-majority-of-americas-offshore-energy-resources-off-limits/">Boehner: Obama Administration's Decision Keeps Vast Majority of America's Offshore Energy Resources Off Limits

[Kurovski]

33. K&R. (nt)

[bertman]

34. If something happens to Wikileaks on April 5, the only thing we'll KNOW is that Oswald didn't do it.

[SpiralHawk]

48. "Heh heh." - George H.W. Skull & Boner Bush (R)

[DireStrike]

36. God I hope this isn't a publicity stunt. -nt-

[snot]

37. k&r'd

[HCE SuiGeneris]

38. Intelligence agencies = fascist employed executors?

Methinks, yes.

[snot]

39. Um, can we pls publish whatever it was they wanted suppressed HUGELY, NOW?

[jeff47]

41. Tip for all those who have 'explosive' information the bad guys don't want released

Release it. Now.

They don't "Come after you" after it's already public. The damage is done and your mysterious disappearance would make your report more reputable.

Sure, there'll be all sorts of cover up and character assassination, but it won't be literal assassination.

[ThomWV]

49. They don't "Come after you" after it's already public" Really? How did it go for Dan Rather?

Remember the "forged" letter?

[jeff47]

50. You'll note Dan isn't dead

Which is my point. If you're worried about someone killing or imprisoning you for what you know, releasing the information to the public will protect you against those fates.

[laughingliberal]

44. Rec nt

[Delphinus]

47. More things coming to light.

I had no knowledge of this - thanks for sharing. I'll go read now.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

51. Kick.

[readmoreoften]

52. K&R

[trungpa ricochet]

54. What a surprise

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/05/world/asia/05afghan.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

:mad:

[Greyhound]

55. Oooo, at least 16 new "terrorists" made in just one action. Way to go guys!

Making them over there so we can fight them everywhere.

You would think that a Jedi Grand Chess Master might see some problem with this strategy...:think:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

56. Kick.