"To demand the censors of public measures to be given up for punishment is to renew the demand of the wolves in the fable, that the sheep should give up their dogs as hostages of the peace and confidence established between them." -Thomas Jefferson, 1794.
*** editor's note: My second favorite website, Wikileaks, is down for a few days with the following message:"To concentrate on raising the funds necessary to keep us alive into 2010, we have very reluctantly suspended all other operations, until Jan 6."Although the timing is a bit unfortunate for me personally, as I am just starting out on a huge undertaking where Wikileaks plays a vital role, perhaps now would be a good time to try and introduce the most powerful weapon against malfeasance and hegemony since the Freedom of Information Act. ***
We've all encountered that venerable source of information, the Wikipedia, the not-for profit web encyclopedia, which is edited by the community who uses it, a vast treasure trove for term papers, trivia, and settling disputes, although the information is sometimes less than one hundred percent reliable [citation needed]. There have been a multitude of wiki sites since Wikipedia's inception, ranging in subjects from car racing to croquet to cryogenics. The founders of Wikipedia believed that free and unfettered information was vital to serving the community as a whole. It is this fertile ground of net neutrality, a lofty concept that information should be easily accessible and presented in an impartial manner, that gave birth to Wiki's most startling prodigy, Wikileaks.org, also known as The Sunshine Press.
So just what is Wikileaks?
It is the sound of a thousand whistle-blowers tea-kettles screaming,
"Full steam ahead, damn the torpedoes".
Wikileaks.org is a veritable Pandora's Box of leaked sensitive documents from organizations, governments, and corporations.
They have uncovered corruption in corporations around the globe including the dumping of toxic waste on the Ivory Coast by the multinational commodities giant Trafigura, which made 108,000 so sick as to need medical attention and the deaths of more than a dozen people.
Wikileaks published the hacked private emails of notable people and organizations (links only go to the google cache until they are back online) such as Aryan Nations, Sarah Palin, the scientists involved the Climategate scandal, and the "Churches" of both Scientology and The Latter Day Saints.
Perhaps more seriously, they have also leaked sensitive or restricted materials such as classified government and military documents from around the world, including rather embarrassingly enough, the 2001 counter-intelligence security manual from the UK's Ministry of Defense, which while not John Le Carre, definitely makes for interesting reading on a cold winter's night.
Sunshine Press also brought to light the details of illegal banking practices worldwide, including the illicit tax evasion haven of Swiss Bank Julius Baer, which tried to have the website shut down in US court...which caused such a public outcry that the judge reversed it's decision (and also brought additional scrutiny to the clients of BJB), and have exposed the details of shady off shore money laundering operations in the Caribbean and elsewhere.
Most recently and audaciously, they published the intercepted pager messages from NYC and DC on 9/11....some 6.4 million words, over 15 thousand pages worth.
Which brings me to my huge project...more on that later.
***
from wikileaks.org:
"...November 25th, 2009,WikiLeaks released half a million US national text pager intercepts. The intercepts cover a 24 hour period surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington. The first message was from 3AM September 11, 2001, five hours before the first attack, and the last, 24 hours later. Text pagers (were) usually carried by persons operating in an official capacity. (it is important to remember this is before texting on phones became widely available -a.m). Messages in the archive range from Pentagon, FBI, FEMA and New York Police Department exchanges, to computers reporting faults at investment banks inside the World Trade Center.
The archive is a completely objective record of the defining moment of our time. We hope that its entrance into the historical record will lead to a nuanced understanding of how this event led to death, opportunism and war."...
(edit: the (the alphanumeric headers, phone #'s and email addresses of some of the highlighted intercepts below have been edited or removed)
(edit: the (the alphanumeric headers, phone #'s and email addresses of some of the highlighted intercepts below have been edited or removed)
| 2001-09-11 13:41:46 Arch [1605106] A ALPHA odard, Cindy"|Hi baby! The hospital is a lockdown so I can't meet for lunch. It s a bit nerve-raking. I love you and hope you are ok XOXOXO | 2001-09-11 12:00:51 ALPHA r nerve gas is located less than 100 miles from Terre Haute. The Terre Haute Mall has been closed. 2001-09-11 11:01:59 I'm going to go meet bruce for Bfast. Call my cell phone if you need me. I feel sick to my stomach, just nerves, but figure I need to eat. 2001-09-11 06:56:47 Arch [0912340] Bomb Scare, ND, 700 W. 40TH Male caller stated a bomb in the bldg, set to go of at 0815. 7811 notified. 2001-09-11 08:30:37 Skytel D ALPHA Y! ||Leo Your neutrality is temporary. Each hour is worth millions. Remain a moving target. Astrology 2001-09-11 08:50:50 Skytel BOMB DETINATED IN WORLD TRADE CTR. PLS GET BACK TO MIKE BRADY W/A QUICK ASSESSMENT OF YOUR AREAS AND CONTACT US IF ANYTHING IS NEEDED AT 212-647-xxx. 2001-09-11 17:54:58 tachan|S, when you hear of death, you appreciate life more. I am thankful that I have you next to me. 2001-09-11 18:51:58 bmull|Dean, I let Jakki off the hook. She told me to let her off the hook or choose death. I chose to let her off. 2001-09-11 16:20:56 DaveMatthews8827@???.com|me casa|hey, come to my house and we will drain blood from our bodies...for Jesus 2001-09-11 10:27:33 "Geoffrey Crann" |hi son|bombing in NYC and Washington-----pray get to the chapel and say a = rosary 2001-09-11 10:27:33 Skytel [005345951] D ALPHA Attn: Per Tom Dolan pls. meet at the 1st Conf. Room , and stay clear of windows. Thanks, Vel J. 2001-09-11 10:27:33 Skytel [005332495] D ALPHA the cell. Kill the bastards! Jim |
***
CBS did a very good article on the 9/11 pager intercepts (link here).
***
The messages are a mixed series of automated strings of numbers and human communications between the dead and the living, cryptic to read sometimes, yet still making a powerfully profound statement of the synergy between us all.
They are a poetic tribute in themselves to the solemn events of that fateful day.
There are a great many talented people going thru these pages right now for historic, journalistic, personal and other reasons, perhaps hoping to uncover some conspiracies or secrets which would try make sense of such an incomprehensible tragedy and the ensuing aftermath of war, loss of liberty,and a deeply divided national psyche. We grasp at needles in straw haystacks and take comfort in patterns and organization, collections and archives, hoping to connect with something greater than ourselves that shines thru like the voices of stars in the night sky...... trying to stave off the darkness of chaos and entropy.
Which again brings me to my project, and what I plan to call it:
"The 9/11 Transmissions: Voices in the Machines"
I will talk more about that in great detail later. There is a lot of work to be done.
.... more coming soon, I promise..
~ a.m.
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The full archive can be still be downloaded as a simple text file:
http://911.wikileaks.org/release/messages.zip
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Brought to today by our friends at The Sunshine Press
WikiLeaks
We rely on you to alert your community and press to the revelations here. Go to it!
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