Monthly Archives: July 2014

NSA spying hurting journalism, law in US

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A Human Rights Watch and American Civil Liberties Union report suggests NSA snooping prevents sources talking to journalists and compromises the relationships between defense attorneys and their clients.

Widespread surveillance in the US by the National Security Agency (NSA) has damaged the fabric of democracy by limiting the ability of journalists and lawyers to communicate confidentially with their sources and their clients, according to a report from two rights advocacy groups.

NSAs spying on the electronic communications of Americans is preventing news-gatherers and attorneys to do their jobs properly because they cant keep information private from the government, a report issued Monday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) suggests.

The report is based on interviews with 46 journalists and 42 lawyers working in the areas of national security and intelligence. Five current or former senior government officials were also interviewed.

Those lawyers and journalists say the NSAs surveillance on Americans, revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, has resulted in substantial erosion of their ability to do their constitutionally-protected jobs.

If the US fails to address these concerns promptly and effectively, it could do serious, long-term damage to the fabric of democracy in the country, writes report author Alex Sinha, a fellow at HRW and ACLU.

Sources are worried that being connected to journalists through some sort of electronic record will be seen as suspicious and that they will be punished as a result, Sinha wrote. As a result sources are less willing to talk to the press about anything, including unclassified matters that could be of significant public concern.

McClatchy Newspapers reporter Jonathan Landay who covers national security and intelligence issues, told HRW that some sources have grown reluctant to talk to him about anything, even something like, Please explain the rationale for this foreign policy. Thats not even dealing with classified material; thats just educating readers.

Major Jason Wright, an Army Judge Advocate General representing Guantanamo detainees, raised a troubling concern: We are fearful that our communications with witnesses abroad are monitored, and that attempts to build their case might put people in harms way, he said in an interview for the survey.

To fix the problems stated in the report, HRW and the ACLU recommended major reforms in US surveillance practices, reducing state secrecy in general and limitations on official contact with journalists, increased protection for whistleblowers and strengthened minimization procedures.

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NSA spying hurting journalism, law in US

LibreOffice makes its case as open source alternative to MS Office

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LibreOffice looks to make more headway against MS Office LibreOffice

After a headline lull, LibreOffice on Wednesday renewed its drive to replace Microsoft Office with the newest version of its open source suite of applications.

The latest update comes as the organization behind LibreOffice says that its products are now being used by some 80 million users around the world. In contrast, only 10 million users had downloaded the software by Sept. 2011.

LibreOffice came about as part of a grass roots response to tech industry consolidation. In 2010, Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems, which was then responsible for an open-source software suite called OpenOffice. However, developers who became unhappy with Oracle's stewardship of the project, subsequently forked the code to create a new office suite called LibreOffice. The OpenOffice project has since been taken up by the Apache Foundation while LibreOffice wound up under the auspices of The Document Foundation.

Executives from The Document Foundation expressed confidence about getting 200 million active users worldwide before the end of the decade. Italo Vignoli, one of the founders of The Document Foundation, also expressed hope that a decision governing the use of open source software by the UK government will prove to be a harbinger of more rapid adoption.

Earlier this week, the United Kingdom finally put in practice a directive that all official office suites must support an open format for documents called ODF. Government officials say the move to standardize around open formats will reduce costs associated with the Office suite and break what they describe as the 'oligopoly' of IT suppliers. (Or at least one supplier in particular. Wink, wink.)

The thrust of the UK announcement will be to let users choose open-source office suites, should they wish. Vignoli is hoping that will help the organization build on earlier successes winning over other European governments. For instance, the French government has already deployed LibreOffice on about a half million computers while Spain's Valencia region has installed the program on 120,000 desktops.

"Our compatibility with legacy Microsoft Office documents and actually Microsoft Office docs is now extremely good," Vignoli said. He added that developers have cleaned up the code base from the first four releases of the product and that only 130 of the 10,000 documents used in compatability testing of the latest incarnation of the product with MS Office broke.

The question is whether that will be enough to reel in MS Office users of long standing. Even though the competition with Microsoft Office reaches back several years, Office continues to have a strong hold with businesses as the competition has moved to the cloud. Part of the challenge is the message -- on in this case, making that message resonate.

"The Open Source community has always had a problem with marketing," Vignoli said. "I think it was a fundamental mistake because if you talk to developers, they'll tell you that if the product is good, then you don't need marketing. But that's the most absurd thing you can say. You need marketing for every product. Even if you don't use marketing, you need a strategy on how to bring the product to market....you must make the user aware that you're product is there."

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LibreOffice makes its case as open source alternative to MS Office

Wikileaks publishes court suppression order on …

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By Aap

Published: 22:41 EST, 29 July 2014 | Updated: 22:41 EST, 29 July 2014

Twitter and Google+ users may face legal action for sharing a Wikileaks publication of a court suppression order relating to an international political corruption case.

The anti-secrecy website published full details of the legal suppression order issued by the Victorian Supreme Court on June 19.

The Wikileaks posting was soon shared by social media subscribers, putting them at risk of being in contempt of the court order, Fairfax news reports.

Wikileaks leader Julian Assange says the Australian public have a right to know the contesnt of the Victorian Supreme Court suppression order his anti-secrecy website has published in full in relation to an international political corruption case. But social media users who have shared the posting on Twitter and Google+ face potential legal action against them for being in contempt of the court order

Exiled Wikileaks leader Julian Assange has come out in defence of the Wikileaks publication, describing the suppression order as one of the worst of its kind 'in living memory'.

Wikileaks published the full text of the June 19 Victorian Supreme Court order, the contents of which which Australian media organisations are legally prevented from publishing.

The court order was reportedly made to prevent damage to Australian international relations.

But Wikileaks claimed the gag order effectively blacked out the largest high-level corruption case in Australia and the region.

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Wikileaks publishes court suppression order on ...

WikiLeaks publishes court suppression order over what …

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UK police are outside the Ecuador embassy where Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been holed up for 56 days seeking asylum

WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange. Picture: AFP Photo/Anthony Devlin Source: AFP

WIKILEAKS co-founder Julian Assange has accused the federal government of blindfolding the Australian public over what it calls an unprecedented case of censorship.

The whistleblower website has published an explosive Victorian Supreme Court suppression order, concerning a corruption case that involves former and current leaders of Asian nations.

With this order, the worst in living memory, the Australian government is not just gagging the Australian press, it is blindfolding the Australian public, Mr Assange said in a statement.

This is not simply a question of the Australian Government failing to give this international corruption case the public scrutiny it is due. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop must explain why she is threatening every Australian with imprisonment in an attempt to cover up an embarrassing corruption scandal involving the Australian Government.

Julian Assange speaks to Meet The Press and News Ltd journalist Charles Miranda inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London. Picture: Ella Pellegrini Source: News Limited

The gag order justifies suppressing the information on the grounds that it would prevent damage to Australias international relations and that it may damage the reputations of the other individuals who are not the subject of charges in the case.

It also says the information may put national security at risk.

The concept of national security is not meant to serve as a blanket phrase to cover up serious corruption allegations involving government officials, in Australia or elsewhere, Mr Assange said.

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WikiLeaks publishes court suppression order over what ...

WikiLeaks court document: Website publishes details of …

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Updated July 30, 2014 11:51:27

The WikiLeaks website has published details of a suppression order granted last month ordering Australian media not to publish any details of a case.

The order prevents publication of any information about the case, including the names of some international figures and some of their relatives.

Fairfax quotes WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange defending the publication of the secret order despite the legal implications.

Mr Assange has told Fairfax it is completely egregious to block the public's right to know and suppress the media, especially in cases of international corruption involving politicians and subsidiaries of a public organisation.

He says WikiLeaks will work to protect Australians' right to know even when the Government tries to block it.

Mr Assange has been holed up in Ecuador's London embassy for more than two years, after fleeing there in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning over sexual assault allegations, which he denies.

He believes the allegations are politically motivated and linked to WikiLeaks' release of thousands of classified US documents.

Mr Assange has not been formally charged with any offences, but Britain has made it clear he will be arrested if he tries to leave the embassy.

He says WikiLeaks does not support one group or political party but rather supports those who act in an open and transparent manner.

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WikiLeaks court document: Website publishes details of ...

WikiLeaks breaks court gag

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Julian Assange: 'The Australian government is not just gagging the press, it is blindfolding the public.' Photo: AFP

EXCLUSIVE

WikiLeaks has struck again, releasing the text of a secret court order that cannot be published in Australia.

The anti-secrecy group has this morning published a Victorian Supreme Court suppression order that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange describes asunprecedented in scope.

The suppression order is itself suppressed. No Australian media organisation can legally publish the document or its contents.

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In a statement provided to Fairfax Media, Assange said it was completely egregious to block the public's right to know and suppress the media in any instance, and especially in cases of international corruption involving politicians and subsidiaries of a public organisation.

Despite the legal implications WikiLeaks publishes this suppression order, as it will others, to uphold our values of freedom of information and transparency of government - the Australian people have a right to know, we work to ensure this right for them, even when their government tries to obstruct it."

WikiLeaks suggests there has not been a comparable blanket suppression order since 1995 when the Australian government sought to suppress publication by Fairfax Media of details of a joint US-Australian espionage operation to bug a new Chinese embassy in Canberra.

Assange argues that the suppression order, together with the Australian government's recent introduction of legislation to criminalise reporting on certain types of intelligence operations, is part of an increasing trend in Australia of suppressing press freedoms for the sake of politics".

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WikiLeaks breaks court gag

WikiLeaks publishes ‘unprecedented’ secret Australian court suppression order

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Julian Assange: 'The Australian government is not just gagging the press, it is blindfolding the public.' Photo: AFP

EXCLUSIVE

WikiLeaks has struck again, releasing the text of a secret court order that cannot be published in Australia.

The anti-secrecy group has this morning published a Victorian Supreme Court suppression order that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange describes asunprecedented in scope.

The suppression order is itself suppressed. No Australian media organisation can legally publish the document or its contents.

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In a statement provided to Fairfax Media, Assange said it was completely egregious to block the public's right to know and suppress the media in any instance, and especially in cases of international corruption involving politicians and subsidiaries of a public organisation.

Despite the legal implications WikiLeaks publishes this suppression order, as it will others, to uphold our values of freedom of information and transparency of government - the Australian people have a right to know, we work to ensure this right for them, even when their government tries to obstruct it."

WikiLeaks suggests there has not been a comparable blanket suppression order since 1995 when the Australian government sought to suppress publication by Fairfax Media of details of a joint US-Australian espionage operation to bug a new Chinese embassy in Canberra.

Assange argues that the suppression order, together with the Australian government's recent introduction of legislation to criminalise reporting on certain types of intelligence operations, is part of an increasing trend in Australia of suppressing press freedoms for the sake of politics".

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WikiLeaks publishes 'unprecedented' secret Australian court suppression order

Court gag ignored by WikiLeaks

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Julian Assange: 'The Australian government is not just gagging the press, it is blindfolding the public.' Photo: AFP

EXCLUSIVE

WikiLeaks has struck again, releasing the text of a secret court order that cannot be published in Australia.

The anti-secrecy group has this morning published a Victorian Supreme Court suppression order that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange describes asunprecedented in scope.

The suppression order is itself suppressed. No Australian media organisation can legally publish the document or its contents.

Advertisement

In a statement provided to Fairfax Media, Assange said it was completely egregious to block the public's right to know and suppress the media in any instance, and especially in cases of international corruption involving politicians and subsidiaries of a public organisation.

Despite the legal implications WikiLeaks publishes this suppression order, as it will others, to uphold our values of freedom of information and transparency of government - the Australian people have a right to know, we work to ensure this right for them, even when their government tries to obstruct it."

WikiLeaks suggests there has not been a comparable blanket suppression order since 1995 when the Australian government sought to suppress publication by Fairfax Media of details of a joint US-Australian espionage operation to bug a new Chinese embassy in Canberra.

Assange argues that the suppression order, together with the Australian government's recent introduction of legislation to criminalise reporting on certain types of intelligence operations, is part of an increasing trend in Australia of suppressing press freedoms for the sake of politics".

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Court gag ignored by WikiLeaks

Court gag broken by WikiLeaks

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Julian Assange: 'The Australian government is not just gagging the press, it is blindfolding the public.' Photo: AFP

EXCLUSIVE

WikiLeaks has struck again, releasing the text of a secret court order that cannot be published in Australia.

The anti-secrecy group has this morning published a Victorian Supreme Court suppression order that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange describes asunprecedented in scope.

The suppression order is itself suppressed. No Australian media organisation can legally publish the document or its contents.

Advertisement

In a statement provided to Fairfax Media, Assange said it was completely egregious to block the public's right to know and suppress the media in any instance, and especially in cases of international corruption involving politicians and subsidiaries of a public organisation.

Despite the legal implications WikiLeaks publishes this suppression order, as it will others, to uphold our values of freedom of information and transparency of government - the Australian people have a right to know, we work to ensure this right for them, even when their government tries to obstruct it."

WikiLeaks suggests there has not been a comparable blanket suppression order since 1995 when the Australian government sought to suppress publication by Fairfax Media of details of a joint US-Australian espionage operation to bug a new Chinese embassy in Canberra.

Assange argues that the suppression order, together with the Australian government's recent introduction of legislation to criminalise reporting on certain types of intelligence operations, is part of an increasing trend in Australia of suppressing press freedoms for the sake of politics".

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Court gag broken by WikiLeaks

Wikileaks exposes Vic court’s gag order

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Wikileaks exposes Vic court's gag order

Wikileaks has exposed a secretive suppression order issued by a Victorian court that relates to an international political corruption case.

The whistleblower website on Wednesday published the full text of the Victorian Supreme Court order made on June 19, with the information shared widely on social networking sites.

Australian media organisations cannot legally publish the contents of the order, which was made to prevent damage to the country's international relations.

Social media users may also land themselves in legal hot water if they share the suppression order and any information detailed in it.

Anyone who tweets a link to the report, posts it on Facebook, or shares it in anyway online could be in breach, legal experts warn.

Wikileaks claims the gag order effectively blacks out the largest high-level corruption case in Australia and the region.

The anti-secrecy group's founder, Julian Assange, called it the worst suppression order in "living memory".

"The Australian government is not just gagging the Australian press it is blindfolding the Australian public," he said in a statement.

"It is in the public interest for the press to be able to report on this case."

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Wikileaks exposes Vic court's gag order