update from the land of the blind, one-eyed hypocrites .....by John Richardson
We are entering an age where the complicity of internet companies in censorship is becoming clear to many. We have allowed them to become too powerful and now they can act like this. By the way, so much for the Obama administration being any different to the Bushies over human rights, secrets and intimidation:
WikiLeaks said on Saturday the Twitter accounts of four supporters have been subpoenaed in connection with an espionage investigation into the whistleblowing website led by a secret US grand jury.
"Today, the existence of a secret US government grand jury espionage investigation into Wikileaks was confirmed for the first time as a subpoena was brought into the public domain," WikiLeaks said in a statement.
WikiLeaks said legal action taken by micro-blogging website Twitter "revealed that the US State Department has requested the private messages, contact information, IP addresses, and personal details of Julian Assange and three other individuals associated with Wikileaks, in addition to Wikileaks? own account, which has 634,071 followers."
It did not name the three other people, but Icelandic lawmaker Birgitta Jonsdottir tweeted overnight: "just got this: Twitter has received legal process requesting information regarding your Twitter account in (relation to wikileaks)".
She later posted "usa government wants to know about all my tweets and more since november 1st 2009. do they realize I am a member of parliament in iceland?"
In another message she said "just got the request via twitter from a court in the usa".
WikiLeaks said it also had "reason to believe Facebook and Google, among other organisations, have received similar court orders, and calls on them to unseal any subpoenas they have received".
"WikiLeaks is opposing the subpoena order and is currently taking action to instruct US lawyers," it said, urging Twitter to protect its users' private information.
Here's the hypocrisy. If Iran demanded Twitter release direct messages of a user, the US government would be outraged. But of course double-standards are the name of the game here:
A member of parliament in Iceland who is also a former WikiLeaks volunteer says the US justice department has ordered Twitter to hand over her private messages.
Birgitta Jonsdottir, an MP for the Movement in Iceland, said last night on Twitter that the "USA government wants to know about all my tweets and more since november 1st 2009. Do they realize I am a member of parliament in Iceland?"
She said she was starting a legal fight to stop the US getting hold of her messages, after being told by Twitter that a subpoena had been issued. She wrote: "department of justice are requesting twitter to provide the info - I got 10 days to stop it via legal process before twitter hands it over."
She said the justice department was "just sending a message and of course they are asking for a lot more than just my tweets."
Jonsdottir said she was demanding a meeting with the US ambassador to Iceland. "The justice department has gone completely over the top." She added that the US authorities had requested personal information from Twitter as well as her private messages and that she was now assessing her legal position.
"It's not just about my information. It's a warning for anyone who had anything to do with WikiLeaks. It is completely unacceptable for the US justice department to flex its muscles like this. I am lucky, I'm a representative in parliament. But what of other people? It's my duty to do whatever I can to stop this abuse."
Twitter would not comment on the case. In a statement, the company said: "We're not going to comment on specific requests, but, to help users protect their rights, it's our policy to notify users about law enforcement and governmental requests for their information, unless we are prevented by law from doing so."
Most of Twitter's messages are public, but users can also send private messages on the service.
Marc Rotenberg, president of the online watchdog the Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC) in Washington, said it appeared the US justice department was looking at building a case against WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, over its publication of secret US documents.
Of course, Washington doesn't care much a bout certain leaks .....
So I presume Donald Rumsfeld will be prosecuted for releasing classified documents
Details of Donald Rumsfeld's forthcoming book tour are out, as the former defense secretary plans to sit for a series of interviews with ABC News in early February, the network announced Thursday.
Rumsfeld - who served as defense secretary in two administrations - will make his first TV appearance since his November 2006 resignation on "World News with Diane Sawyer" on Feb. 7. "Good Morning America" anchor George Stephanopoulos will conduct a live chat with him Feb. 8, ABC said.
Rumsfeld's book, " Known and Unknown," is set for release the same week. It is set to draw upon hundreds of never-before-seen government documents, guaranteeing that the 832-page tome will make news. He reportedly bypassed traditional FOIA channels to secure access to many of the documents.
lessons in diplomacy .....
The American ambassador to Reykjavik has been summoned to explain why U.S. investigators are trying to access the private details of an Icelandic lawmaker's online activity as they try to build a criminal case against WikiLeaks.
Revelations that the U.S. Justice Department obtained a court order to examine data held by Twitter Inc. on Birgitta Jonsdottir, an Icelandic parliamentarian who sits on the country's Foreign Affairs Committee, immediately caused consternation in the tiny North Atlantic nation.
"(It is) very serious that a foreign state, the United States, demands such personal information of an Icelandic person, an elected official," Interior Minister Ogmundur Jonasson told Icelandic broadcaster RUV.
"This is even more serious when put (in) perspective and concerns freedom of speech and people's freedom in general," he added.
Jonsdottir is a one-time WikiLeaks collaborator also known for her work on Iceland's media initiative, which aims to turn the island nation into a free speech haven.
Jonsdottir told The Associated Press she was too overwhelmed to comment Sunday, but in a recent post to Twitter, she said she was talking with American lawyers about how to beat the order - and was drumming up support in Iceland as well.
Iceland summons US envoy over WikiLeaks probe
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