Does anyone know the verification process Wikileaks uses? Ie, if I anonymously send them some "cables", how do they know I'm not trolling them with disinfo?
The modern cables are from a single source, and that source is in a military prison.
link?
Wikileaks release "PlusD": Database of 1.7 million diplomatic cables
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Re: Wikileaks release "PlusD": Database of 1.7 million diplomatic cables
#32Does anyone know the verification process Wikileaks uses? Ie, if I anonymously send them some "cables", how do they know I'm not trolling them with disinfo?
The modern cables are from a single source, and that source is in a military prison.
Bradley Manning Admits to Being Wikileaks Source (
http://mashable.com/2013/02/28/bradley-manning-reveals-how-a...)
Re: Wikileaks release "PlusD": Database of 1.7 million diplomatic cables
#33Am I the only one genuinely afraid of clicking any of cables with keyword SECRET ?
Are you self-censoring yourself? As far as I know once secret stuff is leaked into the public, it becomes public domain.
> As far as I know
http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-free-speech/gover...
And if you're working for the US government then you had better play along or you might end up causing your career harm.
Common sense is at odds with the law here (and in many other places as well), so 'what you know' and what some judge will decide may very well be in contradiction with each other.
Re: Wikileaks release "PlusD": Database of 1.7 million diplomatic cables
#34Am I the only one genuinely afraid of clicking any of cables with keyword SECRET ?
If you have a clearance you should absolutely not be clicking on it (if you are also paranoid and don't want to possibly fail your polygraph test -- "have you accessed or downloaded classified documents on your personal computer...?" er...oops). Otherwise if you don't hold a clearance, I don't think they can do anything to you (however, I am not a lawyer so don't take this as a legal advice etc etc...)
Do we have any story of people being harassed for simply reading leaked documents (genuine question) ?
I remember reading people with clearance were not allowed to access wikileaks, but I can remember any follow up "X got fired|trialed because accessing wikileaks". Not that I think it can't happen if we didn't know about it, of course.
Re: Wikileaks release "PlusD": Database of 1.7 million diplomatic cables
#35This stuff is fun: Commercial Opportunities in Iraq Oil Sector: https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973BAGHDA00111_b.htm... Earliest record for Megabyte https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973OECDP12963_b.html Opening up a 50 kilobit connection in moscow: https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976MOSCOW16762_b.htm... US shipping a Graphical Display Unit to the USSR in 1973 https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cab…
"The original series, which ran from 1971 to 1977, was so popular in Romania it was broadcast there twice a week. When ``Columbo`` stopped production in the U.S., suspicious Romanians thought their government had canceled the show because of import quotas. Fearing riots, the Romanian government begged the U.S. State Department to have the show`s star, Peter Falk, make a public-service announcement explaining the real…
That's hilarious. Columbo was my grandfather's favorite show on Hungarian TV back in the day. Every episode was absolutely perfectly lip synced - you couldn't even tell that Hungarian wasn't the original language.
Re: Wikileaks release "PlusD": Database of 1.7 million diplomatic cables
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Usually when the United States federal government releases anything it defaults into the public domain.
Was this released through official channels or leaked? I'm assuming it makes a difference, but I wouldn't know...
"The collection published today has not been leaked. Assange said WikiLeaks had been working for the past year to analyse and assess a vast amount of data held at the U.S. national archives before releasing it in a searchable form."
http://leaksource.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/wikileaks-plusd-p...
So it is legal
Re: Wikileaks release "PlusD": Database of 1.7 million diplomatic cables
#37Usual disclaimer applies for those with a clearance: by accessing classified documents on your home computers you could get yourself in serious trouble (in theory). In light of this particular situation I don't know if anyone has ever been punished but you should be careful.
Perhaps only if you are a citizen and residing in the country that classfied them. Pretty sure it wouldn't be an offence to read documents classified by Zimbabwe in the USA, or vice versa.
Re: Wikileaks release "PlusD": Database of 1.7 million diplomatic cables
#38Am I the only one genuinely afraid of clicking any of cables with keyword SECRET ?
If you have a clearance you should absolutely not be clicking on it (if you are also paranoid and don't want to possibly fail your polygraph test -- "have you accessed or downloaded classified documents on your personal computer...?" er...oops). Otherwise if you don't hold a clearance, I don't think they can do anything to you (however, I am not a lawyer so don't take this as a legal advice etc etc...)
Makes sense. If you have contractually agreed to preserve state secrets then just avoid this stuff.
Re: Wikileaks release "PlusD": Database of 1.7 million diplomatic cables
#39Re: Wikileaks release "PlusD": Database of 1.7 million diplomatic cables
#40I have an American friend (we met when we were both living overseas) who has been all over the world because he works for the international travel industry. He hasn't lived in the United States for at least a decade. If I remember correctly, he hasn't even visited the United States for at least four years. He and I have both long been skeptics about the United States Department of State and especially the Foreign Ser…
It's funny you mention this when a lot of these cables show how the US government was pressuring the Spanish government to join NATO and more recently to legislate in favor of the American media lobby. Obviously it's both parties fault, but I don't particularly like when my country and the people who are supposed to be my representatives are constantly subject to American wishes.
They are definitely polite, but their requests and intentions are as selfish as it can be.