Assange's Lawyer Tells The BBC WikiLeaks' Insurance Secrets Are Equal To A "Thermo-Nuclear Device"

[Turborama]

Wikileaks' Julian Assange to fight Swedish allegations

December 05 2010 Last updated at 13:12 GMT

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will fight attempts to take him to Sweden to face rape allegations, his lawyer said.

Mark Stephens told the BBC that legal moves against his client seem(ed) to be a "political stunt" by a state that allowed US rendition flights.

He warned Wikileaks could release more secrets in a bid to protect itself.

=snip=

Mr Stephens warned that the organisation held further secret material which it regarded as a "thermo-nuclear device" to be released if it needs to protect itself.

Full article (including short clip of the interview): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11921080

[struggle4progress]

1. What an unfortunate description

[tekisui]

24. I think it was just a metaphor.

I hope it is as big as is being touted. I know the elite war-gamers are sweating bullets. It really is a beautiful thing to witness.

[struggle4progress]

26. Well, you can bet computers all over the word are trying to crack the "insurance file"

to see if there are any thermonuclear secrets there, literal or figurative

[the redcoat]

2. Fox News tomorrow: "Julian Assange has WMDs" nt

[backscatter712]

5. Meh, it it wasn't this, it'd be something else.

FOX News is gonna find some angle to make vicious attacks - might as well give them a reason since they're going to attack anyways.

[jaxx]

3. This goes to show it's all about Assange.

He isn't in it to do anything but promote himself. If he were there would be no 'insurance secrets'. Whatever those may be would be leaked en masse to the public like the Iraq dumps were. But no, now he orchestrates the dumps, categorizes them. And keeps what he wants for himself as insurance. Playing politics with the world, an egotists wildest dream come true.

The man is a fraud.

[snagglepuss]

6. Bullshit. Assange is not an inconvenient idiot. He and the Wikileaks

staff understood from the getgo what they would be up against. You may want to reflect on the fact that ancient Greeks considered cleverness was associated with the heroic. Ancient Greeks lauded those who used cleverness to outwit enemies.

[jaxx]

7. The ancient Greeks are dead, the egotistical Aussie has emerged

as the hero of the moment. He's a charlatan.

[snagglepuss]

14. Hilary is that you?

[jaxx]

16. No, but if I was the left would be begging me to primary Obama.

:rofl:

[WildEyedLiberal]

36. Touche

;)

[TheKentuckian]

42. The "Left" is no more interested in Clinton than they are in Obama.

Obama is President because "the left" rejected Hillary otherwise she is having McShame over for drinks and kickin it with The Family at the Whitehouse.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

48. Clinton? Isn't she the one with her ass hanging out because of Assange?

[NorthCarolina]

56. Not this lefty. I would'nt vote for another DLC'er if they were the only one on the ballot. nt

[WhiteTara]

66. no we wouldn't. n/t

[WillyT]

70. Wow... You Are Soooo... 2008

Things have changed, haven't you heard?

:evilgrin:

[lunatica]

57. Here's something to help you stay ignorant of whatever truths you fear

[krabigirl]

65. lol, sad.

[laylah]

13. What you said,

Snagglepuss! Why folks would diminish, demean what he has done, is beyond me. This man has put himself, his mother, his son, in danger by his actions! He needs to be heard and the US government needs to back the fuck off...IMVHO!

Jenn

[snagglepuss]

67. I am baffled by the same thing. That pols, kings and prices worldwide are exposed

as greedy ignorant crooks and thugs is something we all should celebrate.

[Diclotican]

74. snagglepuss

snagglepuss

The ancient Greeks also was talking about something called Hybris.. If you climb to high, you migh be burn by the sun as you was over your head

I hope mr Assage are not over his head on this, even tho I fear he might be couth by the same thing that the anciens greeks warned against, time, and time again. Hybris

Diclotican

[eShirl]

8. The only people making it about Assange are those engaged in personal attacks upon him.

[jaxx]

9. No, his own lawyer made it perfectly clear...it is about Assange.

[eShirl]

10. and he needed a lawyer because...?

[jaxx]

11. Playing politics with the world is dirty business.

Keeping back 'insurance secrets' isn't transparent. It's playing games. The hero has feet of clay.

[Luminous Animal]

18. Wikileaks has said all along that they were not interested in releasing documents

that would compromise national security or put a human's life in danger.

So far, each of these cables, before release, have been reviewed by journalists from 6 news organizations (NY Times, Le Monde, The Guardian, El Pais, Der Spiegal, and Wikileaks). In some cases, names have been Xed out and text removed.

Wikileaks is threatening to release everything, without review, if their news organization is shut down and/or their editor in chief loses his liberty or life.

[jaxx]

20. Then your post just made a liar out of him.

First saying not interested in compromising national security.

Second saying they are threatening to release everything.

The more people try to protect him, the more his game is put out there.

[Luminous Animal]

21. It is called defense. The U.S. government is currently attacking Wikileaks and if it

harms them, Wikileaks will retaliate.

[jaxx]

23. You can try to protect his motives all you want.

I disagree.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

33. You mean like our truth-telling State Department does?

It appears that the ones fighting "transparency" are found in the State Department, the White House, and congress...not in the places that Assange frequents.

[EFerrari]

68. Gee, why would a lawyer defend his client. Oh, wait, that's his job.

lol

[Catherina]

44. +1 n/t

[Bluerthanblue]

60. sadly, he's doing a pretty good job of ensuring it's all about him-

He could put an end to the drama any time he wanted. If wikileaks isn't "him" then those who are doing the work would continue to do their work, and go about their business.

If the organization can't operate without him, then doesn't that make 'him' wikileaks?- you can't have it both ways.

:shrug:

[TorchTheWitch]

72. no, the people here most happy about what Wikileaks is doing

are the ones who keep using the name "Assange" instead of "Wikileaks" as if Wikileaks IS Assange. I'm starting to get perturbed that these people so thrilled about what the PEOPLE OF Wikileaks are doing has suddenly become what ASSANGE is doing as if it's all about HIM. HE's the hero, not all the other people that are part of Wikileaks. He's said himself that he's just the spokesperson yet over and over the biggest fans of Wikileaks are inserting HIS name and calling what Wikileaks is doing HIS doing and pointedly not even mentioning all the other people of Wikileaks or even Manning who got the documents in the first place.

The biggest supporters here of Wikileaks have themselves made it all about HIM.

[Enthusiast]

76. I agree completely. nt

[yodermon]

12. right, he's either a full-on martyr or a full-on fraud

no middle ground
got it.

[Matariki]

15. He's being VERY smart. The best protection is to be in the public as much as possible

and as often as possible.

[Hissyspit]

17. More ad hominem nonsense.

[Octafish]

19. You bring up an excellent point, jaxx.

The guy should release everything -- at once. Playing games with the material makes the information -- the truth -- into a bargaining chip.

It isn't about him, per se. It is about his -- and our -- right to know and to communicate.

He's being smart, for personal protection. And, from a public relations POV, it makes perfect sense to let things out one at a time.

[jaxx]

22. PR has nothing to do with it.

He is playing the world, threatening security. I don't care what motive he tries to use, it's his 15 minutes and he's making the most of it. I can't believe how people are being taken in by such a ruse. His 'insurance secrets' threat has completely outed him.

[tekisui]

27. There is no security threat.

The insurance secret, and the world's reaction to it expose them for what they are. They are each thinking of how dirty their hands are. They are remember the blood on their decisions, the lies, the dead. They don't know what the next leak could hold, but they know there is plenty of shit on every one of them and that scares the absolute hell out of them.

He is playing the world leaders perfectly. I am much impressed with his tactics.

[jaxx]

30. Then you've read the insurance secret?

Interesting.

[tekisui]

31. You allege he is threatening the security of the world without any evidence.

The burden is on you to show there is a security threat.

[jaxx]

32. No, it isn't. His lawyer said it all.

I hate it when people try to play word games.

[tekisui]

34. His lawyer said it is a 'thermonuclear device'.

You don't think that there is an actual thermonuclear device in the insurance file do you? How would that even work. Obviously, the lawyer is saying it is something big and should make world leaders nervous.

That is not the same thing as a world security threat.

[backscatter712]

37. Security threat? Not to us. To the criminals in government, it's a threat to their security.

Totally different from national security which never has been seriously threatened.

[malaise]

51. Bwaaaaaaah Ding Ding

The shit is about to hit the fan. Men are scared shitless.
Can you imagine the top dogs - what is he about to release about us?

The robber barons at BOA must be terrified. I can't wait.

[Luminous Animal]

29. The reason why this release is slow is because each cable is being reviewed

by journalists from 6 news organizations. Information that would put a person or persons in harms way is removed.

Here is a description of the process from El Pais (sorry for the poor Google translation).

"A daunting task

The material to be reviewed requires a daunting task. Cables are 250,000, , many of them lengthy reports that must pass the filter of a newspaper edition in order not to endanger human life. The information is stored in plain text CSV (comma-separated English values), a lot of files stored in rows separated by commas that make the text more closely resemble an Excel file with tables, a text legible. It is essential the work of the technicians who make them analyzable documents for journalists.

With the material chosen Wikileaks newspapers to publish. No financial transactions of any kind. The media report the White House that the information is in their power and expect the objections put Obama administration if it considers that in some cases put at risk the lives of people. Where appropriate, take into account their recommendations. In most cases, are ignored."

[Kaleko]

54. The fools around here either willfully ignore this point or they're too lazy to read.

The Guardian UK said that it had to employ more than 50 extra people with expertise in vetting the Wikileaks documents for the last 2 months before they published some of the material.

And yes, in increments. That was their choice.

Similar precautions were taken by Der Spiegel, NYT and all others who were contacted by Wikileaks.

[tekisui]

25. He knows how to maintain a frame and keep a story going for more than

one news cycle. The leaders of the free world are pissed that he is better at their game than they are.

I love watching the people at the top get so worked up over this. The are sweating the flow of information. They are losing their shit because they cannot stop it. BEAUTIFUL!!

[Poboy]

63. Yes it is. -nt

[TorchTheWitch]

73. so the game is more important than the truth?

I thought Wikileaks was revealing these government secrets because it was important for the public to know the truth? So why is it that the most important and most devistating truths are the ones chosen to keep away from the public as Assange's personal "insurance"? Seems to me that Assange is more interested in himself than revealing important and devistating truths by doing this.

Does it not bother anyone that the most important and most devistating truths that the public should know is not likely to ever be seen by the public because it's locked up in Assange's personal "insurance" file?

[girl gone mad]

49. Do you honestly believe it woud make a difference in terms of his self-promotion..

whether Wikileaks dumped all of the documents at once or continued to release them in a controlled fashion?

Either way, these documents, and Assange by proxy, will be a part of the collective conscience well into the future because new details and points of interest will emerge over time. The spotlight of intense public interest is unlikely to diminish as the story evolves, and it will evolve, regardless of how the data is disseminated.

You simply haven't made a coherent argument to back up this worn-out smear on Assange.

What has really put him at the top of the news for the last few days is the reaction of world leaders, including our own President and SOS. By personally attacking Assange and threatening to pursue charges against him, they are increasing his notoriety and engendering much public sympathy for him.

The real fraud I see in this story is from politicians who speak out of both sides of their mouths, claiming the leaks are insignificant and irrelevant, then moments later citing grave threats to national security to demand brutal revenge against this most public face of the leaks.

[Subdivisions]

69. Jesus. I really enjoyed our discussions re: the BP oil gusher. But this time you're wrong...

Pathetically wrong.

Sigh.

[Ghost in the Machine]

75. Do you have any proof that he "keeps what he wants for himself as insurance"??

There are 251,287 cables. If they were uploaded/released in one minute intervals, 24 hours a day/7 days a week, it would take 176 days to release them.

"But no, now he orchestrates the dumps, categorizes them."

And this is a problem...why? It sure makes it easier to search through them. Maybe they figured out that a mass dump hindered them in some way the last time...

Furthermore, from what I have read, the cables are all vetted for accuracy/authenticity before their release, just like everything else wikileaks has released. This takes time, too...

If it was gonna take me a while to release it all, I would have some "insurance" somewhere too..

Maybe the plan was to start out with the small stuff and build from there. Starting out with the small stuff also builds the credibilty of what's being released. Part of this plan may also be to see what kind of reaction there is around the world. If some of this lesser information resulted in investigations and/or prosecutions of guilty parties, wikileaks might not release all their files. In light of the current reaction, with Assagne now being smeared and hunted down, it seems he had a sound strategy, IMHO.

"The man is a fraud."

You couldn't be more wrong, but that's just my opinion too. Since you think he is, could you explain, in detail, how he is a "fraud"?

Thanks in advance

[backscatter712]

4. If I were him, I'd do the same thing.

He's got powerful enemies, he's pissed them off so completely that a lot of people have openly suggested killing him.

I can't say I blame him. When the stakes are high, and you're the underdog, fight dirty.

[Kablooie]

28. His "insurance" file has been distributed on PirateBay.

There are probably millions of copies on home computers all over the world.

All they have to do is release the decryption code and there's no way to prevent the whole package from being revealed.

The trigger has been cocked and the gun is pointing directly at the heads of world governments.

It sounds a little dangerous.
I hope the decryption code is safe.

[tekisui]

35. Thanks for guiding me to Pirate Bay.

I am among those millions now. :toast:

[Kaleva]

38. Why doesn't Wikileaks release all the documents to the public?

Does anyone think it odd that a select few are deciding what the public should or should not know?

Nothing changes. Everything stays the same.

[Luminous Animal]

40. Personally, I find protecting a human's life pretty important.

That is the type of information that is being withheld.

Also, the cables are not in the format that is being published. El Pais explains:

"Here is a description of the process from El Pais (sorry for the poor Google translation).

"A daunting task

The material to be reviewed requires a daunting task. Cables are 250,000, , many of them lengthy reports that must pass the filter of a newspaper edition in order not to endanger human life. The information is stored in plain text CSV (comma-separated English values), a lot of files stored in rows separated by commas that make the text more closely resemble an Excel file with tables, a text legible. It is essential the work of the technicians who make them analyzable documents for journalists.

With the material chosen Wikileaks newspapers to publish. No financial transactions of any kind. The media report the White House that the information is in their power and expect the objections put Obama administration if it considers that in some cases put at risk the lives of people. Where appropriate, take into account their recommendations. In most cases, are ignored."

[tekisui]

45. It would be a one day story and swept into the dustbin of history.

Another reason is because of the ham handed reaction of the governments. They are revealing to all of us that they have much to hide. Their hands are dirty, by holding back on a full document dump, key players worry and slip up. That is a big story in its own right.

[MattBaggins]

39. So wikileaks isn't about open Government?

They will use info as a tool for leverage? Why don't they just release the info they have and stop playing games with it.

[Luminous Animal]

41. Because they do not want to be responsible for people being killed.

There is a difference between exposing government secrets and putting someone's life in jeopardy.

And, as I have explained in this thread. The documents are not in a readability format.

[PBS Poll-435]

43. Not at all

IMHO Assange is deliberately trying to destabilize international diplomacy.


And fuck him for giving out false hope to victims regarding BP and Bank of America.

[tekisui]

47. You think he has nothing on BP or BOA?

So far, he has delivered on his previous hints.

[EFerrari]

71. He's already outed banks and oilmen in other places.

Again, they’re a four-year-old organization. And they have led to all sorts of important reforms. I mean, in Iceland, WikiLeaks was basically the single-handed cause of a new law that is designed to protect whistleblowing and whistleblowing sites like WikiLeaks beyond anything else that exists in the world. Their exposure of corruption on the part of a Iceland’s biggest banks, that led to the financial meltdown, led to investigations and prosecutions. The same thing happened to exposure of injustices and corruption on the part of oil magnates in Peru. They exposed the Australian government’s efforts to target websites to be shut down under a program designed to target child pornography, when in reality the sites that were targeted were political sites. And in Spain this week, the headlines are dominated by documents that WikiLeaks released that you, Amy, covered two days ago with Harper’s Scott Horton about the fact of the Spanish government’s succumb to pressure by the American State Department not to investigate the torture of its own citizens and the death of a Spanish photojournalist in Iraq, because WikiLeaks exposed that. And so you see all over the world, in just a short history of four years, immense amounts of reforms and greater awareness of what political and financial elites are doing around the world.

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/3/is_wikileaks_julian_assange_a_hero

[tekisui]

46. The games expose the players, their fears and the extent they will go to

to protect their dark, deadly secrets. It is a brilliant strategy.

[keepfreespeechalive]

53. Dripping out the information guarantees months of media coverage

As they have previously discussed, no one pays attention when they just dump all of the information. They have released less than 1,000 out of 250,000 cables. This story is going to continue to play out for a few more months. And when they're done with the cables, they'll start on the banks. It's an ingenious strategy.

[northernlights]

58. they're starting the banks sooner than that

they aren't waiting for all the cables to be done. The bank information starts early next year...January is my guess.

[girl gone mad]

50. They are releasing what they have..

just doing it in a manner which will allow for more effective information processing and prophylactic redaction.

The insurance file is the leverage they are using for protection against government or rogue-entity inflicted harm, similar to the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction.

[Iterate]

52. If nothing else, it takes a few days to research

and write each story. Try it, as I'm sure the press has missed some stories and some nuance. It's open government if you want it. I'm sure no one will mind.

[knotwurstforware]

55. Kicked and recommended

I would bet money what he has is related to sept 11, which would make it very interesting. This guy has stuff on many countries and I bet it would show inconveinent things in relation to Saudi Arabia.

[cutlassmama]

61. no doubt. K&R

[JackRiddler]

59. The insurance file works because the censors can imagine 1,001 things that might be in it...

that are real. They have no idea what's in it, but they know what they fear.

[Swamp Rat]

64. hee hee!

:evilgrin:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

62. Bank of America

Experts at three field crop rotation.

:rofl:

I stole that line from Jon Stewart's book EARTH!