AN HOUR OF…..THE FALL (2)
2 hours ago
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
WikiLeaks Mirrors (Updated)
JPBarlow RT @juliandibbell Be the cloud or be clouded, yall. "How to: Setting up a Wikileaks mirror." http://is.gd/ihvqehttp://wikileaks.ch/mirrors.html
Swiss Post closes Assange's bank account
The Swiss Post Office bank closed an account set up by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, saying he gave "false information" after claiming to have lost 100,000 euros in a financial clampdown this week.
The bank, PostFinance, said in a statement that it had "ended its business relationship with WikiLeaks founder Julian Paul Assange."
"The Australian citizen provided false information regarding his place of residence during the account-opening process."
Assange had given an address in the Swiss city of Geneva as his residence, it added.
Wikileaks retorted in a Twitter message that the Swiss bank had frozen 31,000 euros ($41,700) of "Julian Assange's defence fund and personal assets."
"The technicality used to seize the defence fund was that Mr Assange, as a homeless refugee attempting to gain residency in Switzerland, had used his lawyer's address in Geneva for the bank's correspondence," it added.
WikiLeaks advertised the PostFinance account details online to "donate directly to the Julian Assange and other WikiLeaks Staff Defence Fund," giving an account name of "Assange Julian Paul, Geneve."
The closure marked a new setback for the WikiLeaks frontman, amid intense pressure to close the whistleblowing website since it began releasing highly sensitive US state department cables.
US-based online payment service PayPal on Friday, blocked financial transfers to WikiLeaks after governments around the world initiated legal action against the website.
That froze 60,000 euros, according to the site.
"WikiLeaks and Julian have lost 100,000 euros in assets this week," it claimed.
PostFinance spokesman Alex Josty declined to say whether there was money in the Swiss account, but he underlined that it would belong to the Australian.
"He would have a right to that money and we would ask him where to transfer it," Mr Josty said.
PostFinance revealed over the weekend that it was in the process of carrying out checks after it failed to find Assange's name registered in Geneva.
"Assange entered Geneva as his domicile. Upon inspection, this information was found to be incorrect," it concluded on Monday.
"Assange cannot provide proof of residence in Switzerland and thus does not meet the criteria for a customer relationship with PostFinance. For this reason, PostFinance is entitled to close his account."
The bank had said that checks would normally involve correspondence with Mr Assange, who is currently in hiding and faces an international arrest warrant issued by Swedish prosecutors on sex assault allegations.
However, his case turned out to be more difficult.
"We haven't had contact with him and we don't know where he is," Mr Josty explained.
PostFinance said accounts are normally granted to Swiss residents or foreigners from areas nearby.
But for people from more distant countries, like Australia or the United States, they must have some kind of relationship with Switzerland, such as business ties or a house.
Despite Swiss banking secrecy, under money-laundering laws and due diligence requirements for banks, clients must give their real domicile.
PostFinance has said the checks were made because of Mr Assange's growing media exposure, making him a high-profile client under due diligence requirements.
WikiLeaks cables: Burma general considered Manchester United buyout
The leader of Burma's military junta considered making a $1bn (£634m) bid to buy Manchester United football club around the time it was facing rising anger from the United Nations over its "unacceptably slow" response to cyclone Nargis.Than Shwe, commander in chief of the armed forces and a fan of United, was urged to mount a takeover bid by his grandson, according to a cable from the US embassy in Rangoon. It details how the regime was thought to be using football to distract its population from ongoing political and economic problems.
The proposal was made prior to January 2009; only months earlier, in May 2008, the Burmese junta had been accused of blocking vital international aid supplies after Nargis struck, killing 140,000 people.
Than Shwe reportedly concluded that making a bid for United might "look bad" at the time, but the revelation that the proposal was even considered is likely to fuel criticism of the regime's cruelty. The senior general instead ordered the creation of a new multimillion dollar national football league at the same time as aid agencies were reporting that one year on, many survivors of the cyclone still lacked permanent housing, access to clean water, and tools for fishing and agriculture.
The mooted price tag for Manchester United was exactly the same as the aid bill to cover the most urgent food, agriculture and housing for the three years after the cyclone, as estimated by international agencies including the UN. The proposal revealed that the regime, which is increasingly exploiting its oil and gas reserves, felt confident of finding such a sum. According to Forbes magazine's valuation of the club at the time, $1bn would have been enough to acquire a 56% controlling stake.
READ MORE HERE
The Law of Unintended Consequences
Recent outrage by American right wingers over Wikileaks begs the question, where was the anger when Cheney exposed and endangered CIA agent, Valerie Plame?
Read more about these double standards
Monday, 6 December 2010
wikileaks UAE bans WikiLeaks. China bans WikiLeaks. US megacorps ban WikiLeaks. A new axis of intolerance? http://is.gd/ihzpe
DrSamuelJohnson Jeremy HUNT (n.) Minister of the Crown or, according to Mister NAUGHTIE, a Lady's Frontispiece http://bit.ly/hTCUNw
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