Assange loses his final appeal … bar one

THE WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has lost his final appeal in a British court and faces extradition to Sweden where he is accused of rape and sexual assault.

But the Supreme Court gave Mr Assange a stay of 14 days on the extradition order so his lawyer, Dinah Rose, QC, could apply to have the proceedings reopened. She said the judgment was partly based on a legal question that had not been raised during the hearing and which she had not had a chance to argue. She said this related to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

Mr Assange did not appear in court. Supporters later said he had been stuck in traffic.

In a majority decision of five to two, the judges decided that the European Arrest Warrant issued by Sweden asking for Mr Assange’s extradition was legal and should be enforced.

If the court does not allow its proceedings to be re-opened, his only other legal avenue would be the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. If that court should agree to take his case, he would be allowed to remain in Britain until the hearing.

via smh.com.au

Wikileaks Partners With Anonymous, Releases Security Firm’s Emails

Even with founder Julian Assange under house arrest in Britain, WikiLeaks’s engines are set to “full steam ahead.” And the whistleblowing organization has a new partner: Anonymous.

WikiLeaks’s new and apparently effective relationship with Anonymous, the international group of hackers and “hacktivists,” was announced with the posting of more than 5 million classified emails on Monday. The documents were allegedly obtained by Anonymous from Stratfor, a global security firm based in Texas.

The emails date from June 2004 to December 2011 and have been dubbed the “Global Intelligence Files.” According to WikiLeaks, the emails give a look at the “inner workings” of Stratfor, which serves as a sort of intelligence network for private corporations.

The emails detail the company’s role as intelligence provider to major corporations, including Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and various U.S. government agencies. The emails purportedly show that Stratfor pays global “government and diplomatic sources” for advance knowledge of world events, and that Stratfor “cultivates close ties” with U.S. government agencies by working with and hiring former employees of said agencies.

Assange, still editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, commented on the leak in a press conference Monday morning.

“One thing that has saved the world is that incompetence prevails in the dark,” said Assange, who is appealing extradition from Britain to Sweden in order to stand trial for accusations of sexual misconduct.

One batch of emails details how Stratfor carefully watched the “Yes Men,” a group of activists, on behalf of Dow Chemical. The Yes Men want Dow held responsible for a 1984 environmental disaster in India, which killed thousands of people and injured many more.

Four thousand of the intercepted emails were relevant to the “U.S. attacks against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks” and Stratfor’s mission to “subvert” the organization. Those conversations also indicate that Stratfor was interested in tapping into the “‘leak-focused’ gravy train” after WikiLeaks released classified information about the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

WikiLeaks will be working with media organizations throughout the world to dissect and share information in the massive email collection, as it has done with prior dumps. In the U.S., WikiLeaks has partnered with McClatchy and Rolling Stone instead of The New York Times and The Washington Post, with which the organization has previously worked.

In a press release, Stratfor said it was “not affiliated with any government,” that the emails are “private property” and were taken by “thieves.” Stratfor also said it would decline any questioning on the release.

The dump was announced on WikiLeaks’ official Twitter feed, prefaced by teaser messages about “extraordinary news” and a countdown to the press release.

Everyone should follow the WikiLeaks twitter feed closely. Extraordinary news sometime in the next 96 hours.

WikiLeaks and Anonymous, despite having somewhat compatible goals, have never worked together with such transparency. WikiLeaks’ press release did not directly reference Anonymous, but Anon-related Twitter accounts claimed responsibility for getting the Stratfor emails and sending them to WikiLeaks.

Why’d give the Stratfor to WikiLeaks? Transparency, whether forced or voluntary, is necessary to understanding our world

Anonymous doesn’t appear to be calling it a day, either. Soon after the Stratfor dump, an Anon twitter account said to be on the lookout for “something huge.”

What a day. First WikiLeaks begins publishing 5.5 million emails from Stratfor. Up next? announces the start of something huge.

WikiLeaks’s press conference on the Global Intelligence Files can be viewed below:

Video streaming by Ustream

Images courtesy of Flickr, acidpolly

via mashable.com

Untitled

For over than two weeks, the steadfast Baba Amro neighborhood in Homs has been under barbaric siege and shelling. Hundreds of its citizens are martyred. Children, women, and elderly are injured in addition to total destruction of dozens of buildings and the neighborhood’s infrastructure which d

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eprives the citizens from the most basic and simple life requirements.

In Baba Amro Neighborhood, there is no place to bury dozens of martyred individuals. There is no way of treating or medicating hundreds of wounded and sick people since the regime prevents any attempt that aims to get medical and humanitarian aid to the neighborhood.

People there are waiting for the inevitable fate.

With leaked information from several sources, the regime is intending to break into Baba Amro and destroy the neighborhood entirely, after the later has proved it’s legendary steadfastness. So we appeal to our brothers in all Syrian districts to continue the revolution escalation march with all available means in order to exert pressure on this criminal regime. We also uphold the historical responsibility of both the Arab and International communities, as we ask them to do the maximum effort they can to establish humanitarian corridors for this neighborhood and other regions as well.

Baba Amro is officially a distressed region. We also demand the SNC to intensify their communications and lead a diplomatic and political escalation campaign that keeps up the uprising in order to accomplish the same demands,

Damascus, February 17, 2012.

The General Commission for the Syrian Revolution.

HAMA REPORT FROM EYEWITNESS: CRISIS SITUATION

Brief Updates from #Syria including video of the pipeline burning out of control at #BabaAmr

Update on the attack on Masayfrah, #Daraa, last weekend. #Syria

Destruction of towns in #Syria

Town of #Tasil, #Daraa under full invasion. #Syria

Tasil, Daraa: security and shabiha are conducting an invasion campaign and burning some shops and private property of citizens in the town.

  • Military aircraft are doing low-altitude flights above the town.
  • Security forces have launched and carried out the security operation in the town since last Wednesday up until today.
  • They launched a detention campaign where more than 50 men got arrested; one of them was Dr. Arshad Al-Qaddah.
  • A house-to-house raiding campaign of all the homes and public places in the town was launched. The pharmacies, clinics, commercial shops and private properties were subotaged amid sporadic gunfire and extensive deployment of fully-equipped security members and thugs.
  • Snipers were deployed on the rooftops all around the town.

My friend made this video. It contains some of the worst images of recent violence within Syria. This is the truth of what the Syrian people are enduring at the hands of the Assad regime and with the help of Putin. There are many, far, far too many children, and there is one head injury that is so horrific that I am still numb with shock from seeing it, especially because the young man suffering it is not dead. How on earth will he get any treatment as even the hospitals are targeted by Assad’s military? So be warned. I have seen plenty of horrific things but in this video is almost the worst.

PLS RT!! Secure emergency communications lines for #Syria

في حال انقطاع خدمة الانترنت في سوريا يمكنكم استخدام اﻷرقام التالية للوصول إلى الشبكة:

+4618700800 user:flashback pw: flashback
+3908251872424 any user/password
+3909241962424 any user/password
+16033715050 any user/password
+431962962 user: selfnet password: selfnet
+492317299993 user: telecomix password: telecomix
+33 1 72 89 01 50. login: toto password: toto by FDN

SOS from the people of QALA’AT AL MADIQ last night #Syria #Ghab

We call on all free people in the Ghab area including doctors and relief and emergency committees.Our people in Madeeq Citadel have been subject over the past few days to barbaric attacks by the Assad forces. The injuries among residents are on the rise and they lack the capacity to provide treatment due to severe lack of emergency medical supplies and medical staff. Hence, we call on anyone capable of extending help to do so particularly that we have received confirmed reports a short while ago that there are several critical injuries (in the head and neck) which require immediate medical attention. Do extend help to your distressed brothers and sisters and do not allow this savage regime to take us down one town after another.