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WIKILEAKS HAS BEGUN publishing what it says are five million emails obtained from a private intelligence firm which claim to reveal massive corruption and bribery in the industry.
The emails, which are being released gradually over the coming days, appear to have been obtained from the affected firm – the Texan-based company Stratfor – in a hacking attack shortly before Christmas.
If this is true, the project marks a new departure for WikiLeaks – the first time it would have worked so closely with the Anonymous ‘hacktivist’ movement, which took credit for the breach before Christmas.
WikiLeaks says the emails in question span a seven-year window and, in total, make up five gigabytes of data.
One person affiliated to Anonymous told Wired.com that the data had been deliberately handed over to WikiLeaks because of its record of analysing and spreading large tranches of information.
“WikiLeaks has great means to publish and disclose,” the person told Wired’s Quinn Norton. “Also, they work together with media in a way we don’t. Basically, WL is the ideal partner for such stuff.”
Though WikiLeaks has once again partnered with a number of news agencies to distribute the content, it has shunned the mainstream partners it has used for previous leaks including The New York Times, The Guardian and Der Spiegel.
Instead, it has opted for a broader geographical range of outlets including Rolling Stone magazine, German public broadcaster NRD, the McClatchy group of newspapers in the United States, and The Yes Men – the ‘culture jammers’ who raise awareness of social issues.
The initial batch of documents contains only a few references to any Irish content, with only small references to Moody’s downgrade of the Irish credit rating in October 2010, and a media update on confirmation that Ireland would receive the Olympic torch this summer.
WikiLeaks itself says that the emails expose “Stratfor’s web of informers, pay-off structure, payment-laundering techniques and psychological methods, for example”.
Stratfor itself said it was not going to “validate” the content of the emails or explain the thinking behind them, but said the mails were unlikely to contain any “scandalous” material.
He’s a spoofer Bill
@Eoin Fitzgerald: he believes the world is only 7000 years old,you could promice that lad anything.
@Gerry Campbell:
Heresy! He reckons it’s 6,000.
@Cosmological: nonsense, Mr poots and every other sane and reasonable person believes the world is only 4000 years old and what’s more only took 7 days to be completed
@Cosmological: apologies it it is 6000 who knew the earth was that old
@Eoin Fitzgerald: YES he is but I think he was also talking with another spoofer Frosty!
@Gerry Campbell: funny I thought they believed the world started on July 1 1690
He just set up Mr Donaldson for a downfall. Oh the irony of it. And very democratic of our unionst friends who share this island.
@Brian Shea: Good point
When the concessions don’t happen, (and they won’t, because it is not the uk’s decision) then it it Donaldson’s fault for dropping the ball that that Poot’s so generously gave him
July would happily coincide with the sectarian hate fest that is the 12 July.
Speaking of sausages, Edwin is telling porkies.
I wonder did he get anything in writing?
@Peter B: — Having things in writing from Westminster isn’t worth squat, and the only way that Johnson wouldn’t change his mind is if his Johnson was connected to the mains via an on/off switch.
@E.J. Murray: state of his hair would suggest he’s connected to the mains full time
@E.J. Murray: I reckon Johnson signs things in that disappearing ink you could buy in joke shops years ago
Poor Edwin, still believes everything that come out of Johnsons mouth.
Democracy pootsy? All nationalists 40% plus?….Most Alliance supporters (currently at 18% in polls) and a chunk of Unionists support/want the protocol….so if it’s the democratic wishes you’re so worried about Edwin….
@Austin Shields: yup – “nowhere in the world are laws being written by 25 or 26 countries for another country that has no say” – except of course in the UK where England and Wales passed Brexit laws which went against the explicit wishes of Scotland and NI. WTO also springs to mind where big countries make rules and smaller countries have little choice by to comply. NATO another example. When you make laws (like Brexit) which contravene existing international law (like the GFA) you need to compromise – which of course is a four letter word according to the DUP.
I don’t think too many will believe that
Our unionist neighbours really aren’t the brightest are they.westminister feeding them a spoon of lies again
Not sure this smells right. If he had been given these “assurances” about significant changes to the protocol then he would have used this to defend himself within his own party against being ousted by his own party last week. He would have shared this info with his DUP colleagues to say “stick with me I am getting things done”. Maybe his own party are not even convinced by these so called “assurances”
@Diaspora’d: good point
I’d get that in writing if I was you.
The only promise he got is that Christmas day is 25 December this year again hes a spoofer
Rather ominously when these changes to the protocol fall far short of their expectations it happens to coincide with the marching season. So the question must be asked – did he really get assurances of a specific kind or is he just stirring things up.
@Dara Mac Craith: He’s definitely stirring the poot, sorry pot!!
EDWIN, Certainly wasn’t a Starr………….
@Peter Bell: Edwin Starr? There’s a blast from the past!
My, my hes great, did that in a week!
This chap should just keep his mouth shut and pretend the last 6000 years were all just a bad dream.
BJ and his government agreed on the deal with Europe, now they won’t to reneges on it because the old dinosaur in northern Ireland have to have all goods searched?
Would you accept the word of BJ not likely. Remember when he visited the DUP conference a few years ago? Told a barefaced lie to them then – he is only interested in his own survival and he is under no threat at the moment. So he can sit on his hands and bide his time as PM and more or less tell the DUP to sod off.
A tory promise isn’t work the paper it’s written on
Only thing I can think of is Johnson invoking Article 16 citing Societal damage at the peak of the marching season. I genuinely wouldn’t put it past the disgusting chancer.
@Gary G: You know, that’s a very good point. Very sneaky way of doing it. If it goes that way I’ll claim I was saying that all along.
Stirring the pot for marching season. Nothing else. The Brexit Deal is how the British government will be judged on as truthful or not. We will break international law but not a lot says a minister in parliament. They mess this up and their international reputation is in pieces and it is already suffered a lot from Bojo and his troupe of performing seals.
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