2011-06-23 WikiLeaks Notes: Latest News on #Cablegate Releases, #WikiLeaks & More

This is a "WikiLeaks News Update," constantly updated throughout each day. The blog tracks stories that are obviously related to WikiLeaks but also follows stories related to freedom of information, transparency, cybersecurity, freedom of expression, and sometimes the national security establishment of the United States because each issue/topic helps one further understand WikiLeaks and vice versa.

All the times are EST. You can contact me at kgosztola@hotmail.com with any news tips. Twitter username is @kgosztola. Also, if you are looking for some insightful discussion of stories related to WikiLeaks, I encourage you to check out the catalog of podcasts posted here at WL Central from the "This Week in WikiLeaks" show I produce every week.

8:10 PM Cables provide new insight into "international tug of war" over individual on US EPA's list of environmental fugitives

5:00 PM Lt. Dan Choi, now facing federal charges for engaging in a civil disobedience action at the White House fence in protest of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," in video says he is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Bradley Manning.

4:45 PM Op-ed by Dave Shipler in the New York Times on how it was a rough spring for the Fourth Amendment - privacy, warrants, the right of citizens to not be subject to unreasonable searches or seizures.

1:00 PM Part 1 of Andrew MacGregor Marshall's big four-part story on Thailand using WikiLeaks cables. This is the story he couldn't write for Reuters and the story that he contends has already made him a political outlaw in Thailand. (h/t @WLLegal)

12:50 PM To coincide with US President Barack Obama's speech on the Afghanistan War, The Guardian has put together a "death map" using data from the war logs released by WikiLeaks last year. 24,498 deaths took place including over 4,000 civilian deaths.

12:40 PM Here's one way to handle corruption. It's like putting corrupt officials in "time out." Cables show that corrupt top Cameroon government officials being arrested and put in jail until they show remorse.

This practice, while it appears to be good for getting a country on the right track, has not helped Cameroon rise in its ranking on the Transparency International's corruption Index.

12:35 PM WikiLeaks: whistleblowers or terrorists? ZDNet's Zack Whittaker continues to post his dissertation on WikiLeaks.

12:20 PM Cables released detailing politics in the Dominican Republic lead to Dominican politicos admitting to accusations. National District Senator and general secretary of the ruling PLD party Reinaldo Pared Pérez admits to purchasing an apartment from drug-trafficker Luis David Ulloa.

12:00 PM The Australian on Thai king suffering from Parkinson's disease and how scandal plagues the monarchy, from cables released by WikiLeaks

11:50 AM A 22-page affidavit filed by NYT reporter James Risen alleging harassment and violations of privacy by the government.

12:30 AM Why is Guantanamo detainee Saifullah Paracha still being held at Guantanamo? Dawn Media Group looks at cables and his detainee assessment report and find Pakistan officials were under the impression he could be repatriated to Pakistan. However, it appears meetings involving his detention have been meaningless.

The article explicitly notes, "One year after the Pakistani delegation’s visit to Guantanamo, when it became clear that Paracha was not going to be sent home, Amnesty International in October 2007 called for his release unless he was charged and given a fair trial in a non-military court."

12:20 AM US House Oversight Committee perhaps miraculously passes two federal transparency bills. The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) details how this happened.

12:10 AM Thomas Drake was, is and continues to be right about the issues he raised with the NSA. A classified Pentagon report indicates the agency was "misspending millions of dollars on a technically flawed system for sifting through digital communications." Of course, the Obama Justice Department still dogged him until they were embarrassed and their case imploded and they had to find a way to get Drake to accept some sort of a plea bargain.