US government lifts lid on alleged leak to WikiLeaks

 

The US state department has told the BBC it believes an alleged whistle-blower obtained secret diplomatic data despite being at a field base in Iraq.
Serviceman Bradley Manning, 22, faces two charges related to the illegal transfer and transmission of classified information from a US military network.
The US said he was suspected of downloading from SIPR Net.
He reportedly then passed on the data, including army videos and diplomatic messages, to the WikiLeaks website.
WikiLeaks has repeatedly said it does not have the confidential messages and the site itself is not mentioned in the charges against Private First Class (Pfc) Manning.
A former hacker, Adrian Lamo, reported Pfc Manning to the US authorities. He said the intelligence analyst admitted, in a series of online chats, to sending data to the whistle-blowing website.
In the redacted charge sheet detailing the accusations against Pfc Manning, the Army alleges that he transmitted, "to a person not authorised to receive it", a classified US Department of State cable described as "Reykjavik 13".
The US also alleges Pfc Manning obtained 150,000 US diplomatic cables without proper authorisation.

Previous incidents

In February this year, WikiLeaks released a diplomatic cable from 13 January 2010 recording details of a meeting in Iceland between US diplomat Sam Watson, British ambassador Ian Whitting, and members of the Icelandic government.
Now the state department has told BBC News how Bradley Manning, based at the Hammer military field base in Iraq, could have accessed information unrelated to the US mission in that country.
In an e-mail, US state department spokesperson Megan Mattson said: "After the events of 11 September 2001, agencies across the federal government understood that greater information sharing was vital to protecting our national security interests.
"As part of our efforts to make Department of State information available to those who have a legitimate need to know, we established the Net Centric Diplomacy initiative, which allows Department of State information to be shared on the Department of Defence's SIPR (Secret Internet Protocol System) Net system."
Ms Mattson said that access to the system was only permitted to those "civilian and military users with appropriate security clearances".
She said that Bradley Manning was "suspected of violating the trust and confidence given to him".

Pooled resources

Catherine Lotrionte, associate director of the Institute for Law, Science and Global Security, has a background in US intelligence work

She told BBC News that there was "a push after 9/11 that information was going to be shared - and databases connected."

In her view, data-sharing is necessary for effective intelligence work, and the risk that it may make large data breaches easier is simply "the cost of doing business - the downside is that someone may break the rules".
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a retired US General, with extensive military intelligence experience, told BBC News that there were, "layers of clearances designed to protect and restrict access to data."
He said that sharing information was the right thing to do and the military benefits far outweighed the risks.
But Crispin Black, a former intelligence analyst for the UK government, says the content of cables can be very sensitive.
"Diplomatic cables don't usually contain huge secrets but they do contain the unvarnished truth so in a sense they can be even more embarrassing than secrets."
He told the BBC that the possibility that someone in a base in Iraq could potentially access cables about Iceland violated, the principle of "need to know" in intelligence.
According to claims by Adrian Lamo, Pfc Manning told him in online chats that he removed information by burning it onto a CD.
Mr Lamo claims that Pfc Manning told him that he disguised his activities by pretending he was listening to music by Lady Gaga.
According to Lamo, Pfc Manning is alleged to have said in one online-chat that "Hilary Clinton, and several thousand diplomats around the world are going to have a heart attack…"

Top secret

WikiLeaks has consistently denied possessing the thousands of diplomatic cables Mr Lamo alleges were passed to them.
WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange told BBC News on Thursday that he was "disturbed" by the charges against Bradley Manning.
Mr Assange said that it was "clear that some of those charges relate to information that should not have been classified".
While WikiLeaks says that it is technically impossible for it to know if Pfc Manning is indeed its source, it is trying to assist in his defence.
Mr Assange said that contact had not been established with Pfc Manning personally but that he expected that would change shortly.
He said that whoever had leaked the information was a "hero" for exposing wrong-doing by the US military and accused the army of a "double standard" in prosecuting Pfc Manning.

Chris Vallance @'BBC'

Wikileaks Cash Flows In, Drips Out

Tomorrow is the day!

J Spacebubs boy 3

Modded Gristleisms for TG

Gristleisms with LFO pitch modulation and loop auto trigger for Throbbing Gristle.
by A.S.M.O.

(Thanx to Chris Carter!)

The Vienna Declaration

The Vienna Declaration is a statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies. We are inviting scientists, health practitioners and the public to endorse this document in order to bring these issues to the attention of governments and international agencies, and to illustrate that drug policy reform is a matter of urgent international significance. We also welcome organizational endorsements.

This is the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) to be held in Vienna, Austria from July 18th to 23rd. The declaration was drafted by a team of international experts and initiated by several of the world’s leading HIV and drug policy scientific bodies: the International AIDS Society, the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP), and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.  

HERE

Create Art While You Work

There are many ways to measure the productivity of a day's work, but a Moscow-based designer has an artistic approach that produces an infograph out of the work you've done on the computer.
Created by designer Anatoly Zenkov, 'IOGraph'is an app that tracks your computer's mouse movement while you work.
All that needs to be done is to run the app and do your usual stuff on the computer, and while you're at it, the app actually captures the movements of your mouse by drawing them on a blank canvas.
The thin lines represent your mouse movements, the small circles represent the clicks, and the big circles represent a break -- the bigger the circle, the longer the break.
Zenkov initially created the app to brighten up the mundane routine of work. However, an image of the results were uploaded online which gained much interest, coincidentally turning the productivity app into an art-producing one. 

@'Taxi'

JPBarlow In 1994, the Chinese asked for my help to connect to the Internet. DOE didn't want to 'em on. 'Fraid they'd spy with it. about 4 hours ago via web  

There are 384 million Chinese online, 346 million have broadband. http://bit.ly/ChiNet about 4 hours ago via web 

Old Spice: Best use of social media yet?

Smoking # 77 (Smoking Mind Over Smoking Matter)

Nicotine patches and gum are common -- and often ineffective -- ways of fighting cigarette cravings, as most smokers have discovered. Now a new study from Tel Aviv University shows why they're ineffective, and may provide the basis for more successful psychologically-based smoking cessation programs.

In the new study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Dr. Reuven Dar of Tel Aviv University's Department of Psychology found that the intensity of cravings for cigarettes had more to do with the psychosocial element of smoking than with the physiological effects of nicotine as an addictive chemical.

"These findings might not be popular with advocates of the nicotine addiction theory, because they undermine the physiological role of nicotine and emphasize mind over matter when it comes to smoking," Dr. Dar says. He hopes this research will help clinicians and health authorities develop more successful smoking cessation programs than those utilizing expensive nicotine patches or gum.

Up in the air

Dr. Dar and his colleagues' conclusions are based on two landmark studies. In the most recent study, he and his colleagues monitored the smoking behavior and craving levels of in-flight attendants, both women and men, who worked at the Israeli airline El Al. Each participant was monitored during two flights -- a long flight of 10 to 13 hours in duration, from Tel Aviv to New York, for example; and a two-hop shorter trip from Israel to Europe and back, each leg lasting three to five hours. Using a questionnaire, he sampled craving levels of the attendants throughout the duration of their flights.

Dr. Dar and his colleagues found that the duration of the flight had no significant impact on craving levels, which were similar for short and long flights. Moreover, craving levels at the end of each short flight were much higher those at the end of the long flight, demonstrating that cravings increased in anticipation of the flight landing, whatever the flight's total duration. He concluded that the craving effect is produced by psychological cues rather than by the physiological effects of nicotine deprivation.

No smoking on the Sabbath

In an earlier 2005 study, Dr. Dar examined smokers who were religious Jews, forbidden by their religion to smoke on the Sabbath. He asked them about their smoking cravings on three separate days: the Sabbath, a regular weekday, and a weekday on which they'd been asked to abstain. Participants were interviewed at the end of each day about their craving levels during that day.

What Dr. Dar found is that cravings were very low on the morning of the Sabbath, when the smoker knew he would not be able to smoke for at least 10 hours. Craving levels gradually increased at the end of the Sabbath, when participants anticipated the first post-Sabbath cigarette. Craving levels on the weekday on which these people smoked as much as they wanted were just as high as on the day they abstained, showing that craving has little to do with nicotine deprivation.

Dr. Dar's studies conclude that nicotine is not addictive as physiological addictions are usually defined. While nicotine does have a physiological role in increasing cognitive abilities such as attention and memory, it's not an addictive substance like heroin, which creates true systemic and biologically-based withdrawal symptoms in the body of the user, he says.

Dr. Dar believes that people who smoke do so for short-term benefits like oral gratification, sensory pleasure and social camaraderie. Once the habit is established, people continue to smoke in response to cues and in situations that become associated with smoking. Dr. Dar believes that understanding smoking as a habit, not an addiction, will facilitate treatment. Smoking cessation techniques should emphasize the psychological and behavioral aspects of the habit and not the biological aspects, he suggests.

@'Science Daily'

Low, Sage Francis, Mariachi El Bronx and more to play Melbourne Festival

The Melbourne Festival has unveiled its Beck's Festival Bar lineup for 2010 and it's a cracker.

Here's the deal in a nutshell: the Melbourne Festival cajoles world class acts into playing at the best venue in the country, ropes in some of the more interesting locals to tag along and then asks just $20 on the door. If you've any sense about you, by now you will have glanced vaguely at the lineup whizzing down the page on your way to secure tickets. If you don't, read on.

The Melbourne International Arts Festival pulls together some of the globe's most diverse and outstanding talent from the worlds of theatre, dance, visual arts and music. It takes place this year between 8 - 23 October in and around Melbourne, the hub of which is always the Beck's Festival Bar within the Forum Theatre. This is not just due to its tradition of being an excellent late night hang out post citywide events, but because of its own dashing musical program.

Or, here's what they say:

Beck’s Festival Bar transforms Melbourne’s iconic Forum Theatre into a house of worship for a series of performances designed to respond to themes of Shamanism, cult bands and music as religious experience.
Presented over seven nights throughout the Festival, the program reveals an underlying rhythm divine, which links contemporary, alternative music making from around the world. From the omnivorous, free-ranging aural play of Japan’s Boredoms, to the extreme power of Sri Lanka’s preeminent metal band Stigmata and the psychedelic surf rock of Dengue Fever, this series draws out the cathartic experience music provides for makers and lovers alike.

The are of course other musical events amongst the festival's schedule, the least of which being The Knife's collaboration with theatre company Hotel Pro Forma on the "electro-dance opera" Tomorrow In A Year. (Read our lengthy interview about this collaboration with The Knife on TheVine).

Here's your itinerary:

Sat 9 Oct -  Boredoms (Japan), Kes Band (Australia), Bum Creek (Australia)

Thu 14 Oct -  Dead Meadow (USA), Stigmata (Sri Lanka), Blarke Bayer / Black Widow (Australia)

Fri 15 Oct -  Sage Francis with special guest B. Dolan (USA), Dexter (Australia), Horrorshow (Australia)

Sat 16 Oct -  Dengue Fever (Cambodia / USA), The Break (Australia), Johnnie and The Johnnie Johnnies (Australia)

Thu 21Oct -  Low (USA), Pikelet (Australia), Ponzu Island (Australia)

Fri 22 Oct - The Drones (Australia), P.K.14 (China), The Twerps (Australia)

Sat 23 Oct -  Mariachi El Bronx (USA), Eagle & The Worm (Australia), The Ukeladies (Australia)

Venue -  the Forum Theatre, doors 9pm each night

Tickets - All nights $20

Bookings -  1300 723 038 / www.ticketmaster.com.au

Please Note: Entry to the venue is restricted to persons over the age of 18 or persons under the age of 18 who are accompanied by their parent or legal guardian (one guardian per person required).

melbournefestival.com.au/becksbar

Marcus @'The Vine'

Girlz With Gunz # 119 (including Fox News headline of the day!)

Report Says Lesbian Prison Gangs Waiting to Get Hands on Lindsay Lohan

Glenn Greenwald on Bradley Manning

Gaza aid ship 'diverts' to Egypt

♪♫ Flying Lotus - MmmHmm

Blockade: Dockers respond to Israel’s Flotilla Massacre and Gaza Siege

At 5am on Sunday 20th June, 800 trade unionists and Palestine solidarity activists from the San Francisco Bay Area marched to the SSA (Stevedoring Services of America) terminal at Berths 57-58 in the Port of Oakland, where the “Zim Shenzhen” was due. Zim Lines is the main Israeli shipping company, with services connecting Israel to the world. The ship sailed from Haifa, calling at Piraeus, Livorno, Genoa, Tarragona, Halifax, New York, Savannah, Kingston, Panama Canal, Los Angeles before reaching Oakland.

When longshore workers turned up for the day shift a mass demo was in place at four gates chanting “Free, Free Palestine, Don’t You Cross Our Picket Line”. . .“An Injury to One is An Injury to All, Bring Down the Apartheid Wall”. . .“Open the Siege, Close the Gate, Israel is a Terrorist State”. . . As union members spoke to drivers, pickets sat down in front of cars. The San Francisco Labor Council and the Alameda County Labor Council had passed their own resolutions and mobilised hundreds of trade unionists to back the demo called by the Labor Community Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian People. It was an unprecedented show of strength from the local and regional AFL-CIO, affiliated unions and their members side by side with Palestinian and Arab-American activists. The Gaza ships were originally organised by Paul Larudee from San Francisco, and Bay Area residents had sailed with him. Now everyone came together for a united action organised in just two weeks.

Local 10 and Local 34 (clerical) are militant sections of the International Longshore Workers Union. The ILWU organises longshore (dockers) and many other industrial sectors on the US West Coast and Hawaii. With a history stretching back to 1934, the ILWU has faced the employers in countless disputes on the docks, carried out industrial solidarity action with other workers, fought against racism, adopted resolutions which characterize the Israeli oppression of Palestinians as “state-sponsored terrorism”, and on May 1st 2008 shut down every port on the US West Coast against the war in Iraq. Labor laws in the U. S. like the Taft-Hartley Act make it illegal for unions to organize solidarity actions.

The Oakland longshore workers arrived for the day shift and refused to cross the picket line on grounds of “health and safety”. The Pacific Maritime Association, on behalf of the employer SSA, immediately called in the Arbitrator (a joint union-management procedure for first-line response to disputes on the docks) hoping he would order everyone to work. The Arbitrator considered the PMA demand that the police use force to open access through the picket line, to make it “safe” for workers to enter the terminal. The union argued that the Oakland police are a threat to the security of workers and demonstrators. In 2003, as the U. S. attacked Iraq, Oakland police fired so-called “non lethal” weapons at longshore workers and anti-war demonstrators alike, injuring scores and sending many to hospital.

The Arbitrator agreed with the union. As per their contract, the dockers were sent home with pay for standing by, however the employers have refused to abide by the Arbitrator’s decision and have paid out nothing, leaving the issue in dispute.

The “Zim Shenzen” had left Los Angeles around 2:30pm Saturday, and could have could have arrived at the San Francisco pilot station in as little as 18 hours, plus 2 hours to the dock. The ship’s tracking system was removed from the nautical GPS system, leaving the demo guessing when it would arrive. But with several hundred marching at 5:30am swelling to 800 as the morning progressed, the company decided to hold up the docking until 6pm. By then, SSA Terminal realised that the mass picket line would return for the evening shift and the Arbitrator would make the same decision, so they gave up and prudently chose not to call longshoremen to report for work. The ship sat at the quay, untouched. Establishing the mass picket line early and preventing longshoremen and clerks from working the terminal was critical in this victory.

This was the first ever boycott of an Israeli ship by workers in the US, where Zionism has counted on influencing the traditional stance of the mainstream labor movement, as well as elected politicians.

“An Injury to One is An Injury to All” is the slogan of the ILWU. It is also an emblem for South African workers...

Continue reading

@'Labournet'