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Tag: WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks’ Vault 7, Broadband Privacy With Black Tower Radio
A street medic in a Guy Fawkes mask uses a smartphone to film a protest. August 29, 2011. (Flickr / Daniel Hoherd, CC NC license)
April 5, 2017
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WikiLeaks’ Vault 7, Broadband Privacy With Black Tower Radio

Posted in Act Out!, Audio, Journalism, and Lee Camp

Last week, I made my monthly appearance on Black Tower Radio to discuss recent developments in online privacy. WikiLeaks’ Vault 7 release, which I discussed in a recent Act Out! script, left some people wondering if it’s now impossible to protect yourself from surveillance. In fact, there are still steps we can take to protect ourselves from most online threats.

Of course, a recent vote by Congress to repeal Obama-era FCC online privacy protections not only allows Internet Service Providers to sell our online browsing behavior to advertisers (and others), it shows how our elected representatives answer to their corporate donors, rather than to voters. Interest in Virtual Private Networks has sky-rocketed since the vote, but not all VPNs are created equal.

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Resistance, Self-Care And Threat Modeling After Vault 7 With Katie Klabusich
The open door of a bank vault. (Flickr / ninniane, CC NC license)
April 2, 2017
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Resistance, Self-Care And Threat Modeling After Vault 7 With Katie Klabusich

Posted in Act Out!, Audio, Gonzo Notes, and Journalism

Katie and I talked about the difficulty of building a resistance against odds that can seem insurmountable using “How to survive Hurricane Donald,” the February 10 issue of Gonzo Notes, as a jumping off point. I also mentioned activist Liam Shea, the community activist who inspired me to write both “Hurricane Donald” and the following issue of Gonzo Notes, “Stay and fight fascism where you are.” Shea died tragically and unexpectedly in early February.

Local organizing is a theme I’ve been returning to frequently recently, and will probably keep talking about, because it seems so vital. Until there is another Occupy-style moment of national “rupture” — which, so far, hasn’t materialized via the Trump regime — the best we can do is strengthen our local communities and share the skills we have with each other.

Inspired by my script on “Vault 7” for Act Out! we closed with a discussion of what WikiLeaks’ latest release means for activists, and I explained why threat modeling means we can still fight back even when the government has access to terrifying mass surveillance tools.

Read moreResistance, Self-Care And Threat Modeling After Vault 7 With Katie Klabusich
March 24, 2017
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What Vault 7 Means for You & How to Protect Yourself With Encryption

Posted in Act Out!, Austin, Creative Commons, Journalism, and Video

So, you may have heard: the CIA could be listening to your phone conversations, recording your Skype calls, and even spying on you through your TV.

The latest bombshell from WikiLeaks, code named “Vault 7,” revealed the Central Intelligence Agency’s secret tool box of technological exploits. This leak is terrifying, to be sure, but it also gives tech companies valuable new information about how to protect their users.

And for everyday activists on the Front Lines, there are some vital, and simple steps we can take to protect our allies and our plans from surveillance.

Now, we still don’t know who’s responsible for the Vault 7 leak, although WikiLeaks released a statement saying that the anonymous source, “wishes to initiate a public debate about the security, creation, use, proliferation and democratic control of cyberweapons.”

Much like Snowden hoped to do.

Read moreWhat Vault 7 Means for You & How to Protect Yourself With Encryption
WikiLeaks’ Podesta Emails Reveal Hillary Clinton’s Anti-BDS Strategy
A protest for Palestine in Baltimore on July 30, 2014. (Flickr / Social Justice - Bruce Emmerling)
October 14, 2016
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WikiLeaks’ Podesta Emails Reveal Hillary Clinton’s Anti-BDS Strategy

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Contained within some of WikiLeaks’ latest dumps of John Podesta’s emails are details on Hillary Clinton’s efforts to oppose the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement amid mounting U.S. opposition to Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

Clinton is well known for her opposition to the BDS movement, which seeks to put financial pressure on Israel to end its apartheid policies toward the indigenous Palestinian population. WikiLeaks’ growing archive of emails taken from the Gmail account of Clinton’s campaign chairman show the candidate carrying out a difficult balancing act in order to placate both her pro-Israeli backers and liberal Americans.

“I was talking to HRC today about the idea of having her meet with some Jewish leaders later this week about BDS/delegitimization efforts,” wrote Jake Sullivan, the top foreign policy advisor to the Clinton campaign, in a June 21, 2015 email sent to Stuart Eizenstat, a former U.S. diplomat and a lawyer at the powerful Washington-based law firm Covington & Burling.

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‘Let’s Get Back To The Data’: Relentless Attacks On Assange Distract From Content Of WikiLeaks Releases
Julian Assange at the Norwegian Conference on Investigative Journalism on March 20, 2010. (Flickr / Espen Moe)
September 9, 2016
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‘Let’s Get Back To The Data’: Relentless Attacks On Assange Distract From Content Of WikiLeaks Releases

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Attacks on WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange, including accusations of collusion with foreign governments, are growing more commonplace in the media as Election Day approaches.

As the political establishment pushes back against WikiLeaks’ revelations of U.S. war crimes and corruption, political pundits have even threatened Assange’s life. Meanwhile, despite a total lack of evidence, the Clinton campaign continues to try to tie Assange to Russia, reviving a Cold War “red scare” narrative that the mainstream media seems all too eager to assist.

Mickey Huff, media literacy expert and director of Project Censored, told MintPress News that the media’s focus on Assange distracts from more important stories, including the actual content of the leaks released by WikiLeaks. A professor of social sciences at Diablo Valley College near San Francisco, Huff co-authors an annual report on censorship and propaganda in the media.

“I think we’re losing sight of the information these people are leaking,” he said. “It’s an ultimate distraction, a bait and switch.”

Read more‘Let’s Get Back To The Data’: Relentless Attacks On Assange Distract From Content Of WikiLeaks Releases
Interview With Black Tower Radio: WikiLeaks Vs. The Mainstream Media
Julian Assange and Ecuadorian politician Ricardo Patiño stand in the window of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. June 16, 2013. (Flickr / Cancillería del Ecuador)
September 8, 2016
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Interview With Black Tower Radio: WikiLeaks Vs. The Mainstream Media

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange has spent the last 4 years living on asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, but he’s continued to oversee the release of major leaks, including the release of thousands of Democratic National Committee emails. Attacks on Assange and WikiLeaks’ credibility from politicians and the media have also continued unabated.

Read moreInterview With Black Tower Radio: WikiLeaks Vs. The Mainstream Media