2011-09-07 WikiLeaks Notes: Latest News on #Cablegate Releases & #WikiLeaks

This is a "WikiLeaks News Update", a daily news update of stories that are obviously related to WikiLeaks and also freedom of information, transparency, cybersecurity, and freedom of expression. All the times are GMT.

10:00 PM Companies working with the Khartoum government enabled the perpetration of atrocities against civilians in Darfur.

09:20 PM A round-up of WikiLeaks news by newspaper The Zimbabwean:

The late army commander General Solomon Mujuru allegedly sent an emissary to the MDC without President Robert Mugabe’s knowledge in 2000 to warn the party about a planned violent crackdown.
Goodson Nguni, a well known Zanu (PF) activist, was named as the emissary. It is alleged that he negotiated a pact with the MDC whereby they agreed to an amnesty for current and past government officials, in return for an open dialogue about the possibility of forming a coalition government.
It has also been revealed that African diplomats have called for President Robert Mugabe’s ‘graceful’ exit from power. Leaders who, in the past, have stood by the octogenarian leader, have, according to Wikileaks, grown impatient with the Zimbabwean situation. (…)

08:50 PM Canadian multiculturalism policies were believed by Canadian officials to have affected the efficacy of anti-terrorism and anti-radicalization efforts.

"Government representatives have commented that they felt people around the world understood what it meant to be 'American,' but that Canada lacked a similar sense of identity, making it more difficult to create a feeling of one unified society in Canada — and hence creating greater susceptibility to radicalization", reads a cable dated June 2008.

08:40 PM The release of cable on Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou’s U.S. green card status by WikiLeaks stirs Taiwan’s tense political climate, prior to the Presidential election.

08:30 PM U.S. cable says Israeli intelligence analysts infiltrate online forums to identify terrorists often claim responsibility for attacks to bolster their credibility. via Computer World

08:00 PM Namibian Police staged uranium theft from a Rio Tinto mine in 2009, purportedly to determine if there is a black market syndicate for uranium oxide. A leaked report written by U.S. Ambassador to Namibia Denise Mathieu in early 2010 reads:

"Namibian police (Nampol) initiated the illicit purchase with the goal of determining if uranium could be smuggled out of the mine. Nampol appears to have targeted Rossing employees (and presumably employees with access to the FPR) and offered them exorbitant amounts of money (several thousands of dollars per kilo) to purchase U3O8."

08:05 PM Reuters Africa reports on another U.S. Embassy cable released by WikiLeaks, revealing profit by Nigeria’s political elite and military ‘from large-scale oil theft in the Niger Delta that may cost the country up to a tenth of its production’.

07:50 PM WikiLeaks exposes skeletons in Nepal’s closet, a piece summarizing various WikiLeaks revelations concerning Nepal.

07:30 PM Daniel Domscheit-Berg, the founder of OpenLeaks and a former WikiLeaks spokesperson, admits to have provided information to Freitag, OpenLeaks’ media partner, on the existence of an encrypted Cablegate file and its password.
(Translation by @HomoCarnula for the translation. The original article, in German, can be read here)

07:15 PM "Guantanamo suicides spur new cries in Australia for David Hicks' release", a cable dated 20th June 2006.

07:00 PM A 2008 diplomatic cable, from the then US ambassador Anne Patterson, to Washington, confirmed news reports that Nato planes had been using Pakistan`s airspace with Islamabad`s consent. via Dawn

06:45 PM Iraqi-American blogger Raed Jarrar discusses the coverup of the execution of an Iraqi family by U.S. troops in 2006, on Russia Today. The murder of 10 civilians, which was recently confirmed in a diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks, was not reported by U.S. media, but it did receive coverage in Iraq at the time.

06:40 PM Upcoming Free Bradley Manning demo in Berlin, on the 10th September (next Saturday), more information at freebradleymanning.de.