19 ms·

Wikileaks release "PlusD": Database of 1.7 million diplomatic cables

217 points by derrida 14y ago

derrida 14y ago
There is a Google trends style search tool for the database here: http://wikileaks.org/plusd/graph http://wikileaks.org/plusd/graph
- a_bonobo 14y ago
  One minor caveat is: >This tool only searches the Kissinger Cables (1973-1976) dataset Would have loved to play around with Iraq-related terms... But maybe that's still to come.
  - RoboTeddy 14y ago
    Check out "Document sets to search" at the top of the search tool. It looks like you select "The Kissinger Cables" (1,707,500 diplomatic documents from 1973 to 1976) and/or "Cablegate" (251,287 diplomatic cables, nearly all from 2003 to 2010)
joering2 14y ago
Am I the only one genuinely afraid of clicking any of cables with keyword SECRET ?
- rrrhys 14y ago
  No.
- derrida 14y ago
  It's public domain now, but if you don't trust the law to let you read and write freely, use Tor https://www.torproject.org/ https://www.torproject.org/
  - mpyne 14y ago
    Do you mean public domain as in "unclassified", or public domain as in "publically accessible"? Because those are far different.
    - acebarry 14y ago
      Usually when the United States federal government releases anything it defaults into the public domain.
      - ewbuoi 14y ago
        Was this released through official channels or leaked? I'm assuming it makes a difference, but I wouldn't know...
        justincormack 14y ago
        "The collection published today has not been leaked. Assange said WikiLeaks had been working for the past year to analyse and assess a vast amount of data held at the U.S. national archives before releasing it in a searchable form." http://leaksource.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/wikileaks-plusd-public-library-of-us-diplomacy-the-kissinger-cables/ http://leaksource.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/wikileaks-plusd-p... So it is legal
        sigzero 14y ago
        Legal in what sense? Wikileaks cannot de-classify materials regardless of how much they "analyze and assess" it.
        mpyne 14y ago
        If the materials were properly declassified and held for public browsing by the NARA then what Wikileaks is doing is fine. It would be the same as Google wrapping a much nicer search interface across an old dataset. If the materials were still classified-but-leaked then I won't go near it until it is declassified. But I can't tell from this side of the window what's going on.
- sthatipamala 14y ago
  I have the same problem with these "cybercrime" laws. With most other laws, I can rely on intuition to guide my judgment ("if I hit this guy, I'll probably get in trouble"). But I have no way of knowing what kind of data is illegal to access, have in my possession, or release to the public.
- jasonkolb 14y ago
  You need to check out the Tails project (https://tails.boum.org/ https://tails.boum.org/) which is a version of Debian I believe tailored to be completely anonymous. The browser uses TOR by default, I don't even know if you can disable it. Lots of other goodies too, including making browser fingerprints pretty meaningless. Also, I know it's technically kind of bad form but if one wanted to run Tails easily you can use VirtualBox (https://www.virtualbox.org/ https://www.virtualbox.org/) to easily fire up a throwaway instance of Tails quickly and easily.
  - ewbuoi 14y ago
    When I tried Tails it had the noScript plugin disabled by default (actually in blacklist mode, I think, which allows javascript on 99% of websites). Even the plugin itself warns users not to leave it disabled. I wouldn't trust something with that big of a security hole. If anonymity was so important that I couldn't trust my own machine, I wouldn't trust a linux distro made for anonymity either.
    - drivebyacct2 14y ago
      Probably because Javascript has no magical ability to leak your identity, especially inside of Tails.
- rdtsc 14y ago
  If you have a clearance you should absolutely not be clicking on it (if you are also paranoid and don't want to possibly fail your polygraph test -- "have you accessed or downloaded classified documents on your personal computer...?" er...oops). Otherwise if you don't hold a clearance, I don't think they can do anything to you (however, I am not a lawyer so don't take this as a legal advice etc etc...)
  - oelmekki 14y ago
    Do we have any story of people being harassed for simply reading leaked documents (genuine question) ? I remember reading people with clearance were not allowed to access wikileaks, but I can remember any follow up "X got fired|trialed because accessing wikileaks". Not that I think it can't happen if we didn't know about it, of course.
  - iand 14y ago
    Makes sense. If you have contractually agreed to preserve state secrets then just avoid this stuff.
    - olifante 14y ago
      Welcome to the future of intelligence agencies. Their employees are legally required to know less than the general public.
  - singular 14y ago
    Actually don't worry too much about the polygraph, it's complete pseudoscience. http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Polygraph http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Polygraph
    - tikwidd 14y ago
      and yet, still used
      - Udo 14y ago
        They're using the idea of the polygraph, the actual measurements could mean anything. It's the "conversation" during and after the test that counts. Of course it's also a great medium to screw someone over, but that's a whole other thing.
- xradionut 14y ago
  Due to past obligations and future opportunities, I can't/won't touch any of these documents directly.
  - count 14y ago
    ITT: Folks with clearances on HN outing themselves....;)
- mtgx 14y ago
  Are you self-censoring yourself? As far as I know once secret stuff is leaked into the public, it becomes public domain.
  - jacquesm 14y ago
    > As far as I know http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-free-speech/government-wins-right-pretend-cables-released-wikileaks-are-still http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-free-speech/gover... And if you're working for the US government then you had better play along or you might end up causing your career harm. Common sense is at odds with the law here (and in many other places as well), so 'what you know' and what some judge will decide may very well be in contradiction with each other.
columbo 14y ago
This stuff is fun: Commercial Opportunities in Iraq Oil Sector: https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973BAGHDA00111_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973BAGHDA00111_b.htm... Earliest record for Megabyte https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973OECDP12963_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973OECDP12963_b.html Opening up a 50 kilobit connection in moscow: https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976MOSCOW16762_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976MOSCOW16762_b.htm... US shipping a Graphical Display Unit to the USSR in 1973 https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973STATE229113_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973STATE229113_b.htm... Romanians love Columbo: https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR01611_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR01611_b.htm... https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR01912_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR01912_b.htm... https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR01936_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR01936_b.htm... https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR02356_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR02356_b.htm...
- jmcgough 14y ago
  "The original series, which ran from 1971 to 1977, was so popular in Romania it was broadcast there twice a week. When ``Columbo`` stopped production in the U.S., suspicious Romanians thought their government had canceled the show because of import quotas. Fearing riots, the Romanian government begged the U.S. State Department to have the show`s star, Peter Falk, make a public-service announcement explaining the real reason for the demise of ``Columbo.`` Falk obliged and taped a TV spot, which he read phonetically in Romanian." http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-04-02/features/8903310956_1_peter-falk-bodyguards-gideon-oliver http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-04-02/features/89033...
  - starik36 14y ago
    That's hilarious. Columbo was my grandfather's favorite show on Hungarian TV back in the day. Every episode was absolutely perfectly lip synced - you couldn't even tell that Hungarian wasn't the original language.
jasonkolb 14y ago
I love how they thoughtfully go ahead and provide a headline-ready name for the data set now. "Cablegate." At this point the Watergate should just assign rooms scandal names ending in -Gate instead of room numbers.
- jdotjdot 14y ago
  Actually, I think that would be a huge selling point for the hotel. That would be hilarious. "Ooh, what controversy is YOUR room?! I have [Antennagate!][1]" [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antennagate#Antenna http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antennagate#Antenna
- Korvin 14y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scandals_with_%22-gate%22_suffix http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scandals_with_%22-gate%...
- bvdbijl 14y ago
  There's a nice British comedy sketch about naming everything -gate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB9JgxhXW5w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB9JgxhXW5w
  - oakesm9 14y ago
    The advert I got for that YouTbue video started with a Lionsgate logo...
- sold 14y ago
  That name was already used in 2010. I don't know who made it up.
- mcphilip 14y ago
  "Cablegate" has been used for at least the last 2.5 years. It's unclear after a good 15 minutes of googling who first started calling the leaked cables Cablegate, but here's an example from pbs back in Nov, 2010: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/11/digging-into-wikileaks-cablegate.html http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/11/digging-into-wik...
rdtsc 14y ago
Usual disclaimer applies for those with a clearance: by accessing classified documents on your home computers you could get yourself in serious trouble (in theory). In light of this particular situation I don't know if anyone has ever been punished but you should be careful.
- mpyne 14y ago
  It's the reason I've never actually seen anything WikiLeaks has published since Manning hit the airwaves. :-/
- iand 14y ago
  Perhaps only if you are a citizen and residing in the country that classfied them. Pretty sure it wouldn't be an offence to read documents classified by Zimbabwe in the USA, or vice versa.
  - count 14y ago
    Depends on the country and your clearance. If you have a security clearance through the US DOD, you're expected to honor/treat allied (specifically NATO, although I think it applies across the board) classification of documents. That is sort of fuzzy if you're in Intelligence though.
  - rdtsc 14y ago
    Not sure. In USA it is only an issue if you have clearance or plan on getting it. Otherwise, as far as I am concerned (and I am not a lawyer) there is nothing they can do. I have heard them trying to bully people into signing NDA and other such things if they have been accidentally exposed to classified info. But don't have any first hand knowledge how often that happens and how effective it is.
- scotty79 14y ago
  Is it still classified if it's public? Doesn't a thing stop being secret automatically when it leaks out? If it does not then I wonder why they even called it "classified" or "secret". They should call it "blargh" and avoid the confusion.
l33tbro 14y ago
Does anyone know the verification process Wikileaks uses? Ie, if I anonymously send them some "cables", how do they know I'm not trolling them with disinfo?
- patdennis 14y ago
  The modern cables are from a single source, and that source is in a military prison.
  - espeed 14y ago
    Bradley Manning Admits to Being Wikileaks Source ( http://mashable.com/2013/02/28/bradley-manning-reveals-how-and-why-he-leaked-secret-documents/ http://mashable.com/2013/02/28/bradley-manning-reveals-how-a...)
    - rimantas 14y ago
      He was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize. Can someone explain the logic behind this? In Nobel's will it is said: > one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best > work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction > of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace > congresses If Manning/Wikileaks did anything of this nature, I missed it a big way :(
      - dagw 14y ago
        Can someone explain the logic behind this The nomination process is very open and hundreds of nominations are sent in every year, most of them by people who want to make some political point. There are no formal requirements that nominees actually have to have done anything to deserve the prize.
      - kriro 14y ago
        One could argue that a removal of secrecy and a trend towards transparency are major forces on the road towards a more peaceful world. One could of course also argue the opposite point. Either way he took a major personal risk and stepped up for what he thought was the right thing to do. Even if you don't agree with what that thing is it is already a pretty good indicator to get by the "first round" imo It's basically a PR price for political gamesmanship anyways (imo)
tokenadult 14y ago
I have an American friend (we met when we were both living overseas) who has been all over the world because he works for the international travel industry. He hasn't lived in the United States for at least a decade. If I remember correctly, he hasn't even visited the United States for at least four years. He and I have both long been skeptics about the United States Department of State and especially the Foreign Service. But after the Wikileaks release of many United States diplomatic cables, he told me that his respect for the United States Foreign Service had increased enormously. The members of the Foreign Service are actually quite astute about what a clash in values is involved in maintaining peaceful, normal diplomatic relations between their free, democratic country and many other countries around the world. Diplomatic business has to go on day by day even while countries are painfully slow in their evolution to civil liberties and representative governments.
- eLobato 14y ago
  It's funny you mention this when a lot of these cables show how the US government was pressuring the Spanish government to join NATO and more recently to legislate in favor of the American media lobby. Obviously it's both parties fault, but I don't particularly like when my country and the people who are supposed to be my representatives are constantly subject to American wishes. They are definitely polite, but their requests and intentions are as selfish as it can be.
  - robryan 14y ago
    They are operating in their own interests. I would expect Spain to also being doing this, obviously some countries hold more sway than others.
    - skrebbel 14y ago
      This is a common argument, that I've seen at lot here on HN as well. It boils down to "every country should act in only its own direct best interest, and assume that every other country will or should the same". If I'm not mistaken, that's called classical realism[1] by political scientists. Now, why do things have to be this way? Are you certain that, even while we the people are perfectly capable of being nice to each other, the countries that represent us must act like immorally self-centered egoists? Why is that a justification for crap behavior? Despite all its flaws, the EU has shown that it does not have to be this way. Countries can cooperate and look beyond their own immediate interests. I'm not saying that that's the only right way, and I'm very much not saying that the EU is doing it right, but classical realism isn't the only approach to international relations out there. Saying that something must be so "because countries should act in their own interests only" is a sloppy argument. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realism_in_international_relations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realism_in_international_relati...
wyck 14y ago
This one is interesting: 30 day mandate for computers sold in China to install filtering software called "Green Dam - Escort of the Youth Flowers" , besides the great name it even comes with a backdoor. https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09BEIJING1520_a.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09BEIJING1520_a.html
olefoo 14y ago
I am mildly disappointed that there is not a torrent seed of the whole dataset... It might be interesting to see what sort of correlates could be inferred by a crowdsourced analysis.
- huskyr 14y ago
  It's not the whole dataset, but the cables from 2003-2010 are downloadable here: http://cryptome.org/z/z.7z http://cryptome.org/z/z.7z
  - olefoo 14y ago
    Thanks.
teoruiz 14y ago
They seem to be using CloudFlare. That's good PR!
runn1ng 14y ago
Is this the same thing as the cables from about 2 years before, or something new? edit: oh OK, those are cablegate + some new cables from seventies. Well.... all right, I guess.
patrickgzill 14y ago
Weird prediction: some 22 year old is reading a bunch of these now. He/she will enter the foreign service of his/her respective country and become a great career diplomat as a result.

217 points by derrida 14y ago

There is a Google trends style search tool for the database here: http://wikileaks.org/plusd/graph http://wikileaks.org/plusd/graph

a_bonobo 14y ago
One minor caveat is: >This tool only searches the Kissinger Cables (1973-1976) dataset Would have loved to play around with Iraq-related terms... But maybe that's still to come.
- RoboTeddy 14y ago
  Check out "Document sets to search" at the top of the search tool. It looks like you select "The Kissinger Cables" (1,707,500 diplomatic documents from 1973 to 1976) and/or "Cablegate" (251,287 diplomatic cables, nearly all from 2003 to 2010)

joering2 14y ago

Am I the only one genuinely afraid of clicking any of cables with keyword SECRET ?

rrrhys 14y ago
No.
derrida 14y ago
It's public domain now, but if you don't trust the law to let you read and write freely, use Tor https://www.torproject.org/ https://www.torproject.org/
- mpyne 14y ago
  Do you mean public domain as in "unclassified", or public domain as in "publically accessible"? Because those are far different.
  - acebarry 14y ago
    Usually when the United States federal government releases anything it defaults into the public domain.
    - ewbuoi 14y ago
      Was this released through official channels or leaked? I'm assuming it makes a difference, but I wouldn't know...
      - justincormack 14y ago
        "The collection published today has not been leaked. Assange said WikiLeaks had been working for the past year to analyse and assess a vast amount of data held at the U.S. national archives before releasing it in a searchable form." http://leaksource.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/wikileaks-plusd-public-library-of-us-diplomacy-the-kissinger-cables/ http://leaksource.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/wikileaks-plusd-p... So it is legal
        sigzero 14y ago
        Legal in what sense? Wikileaks cannot de-classify materials regardless of how much they "analyze and assess" it.
        mpyne 14y ago
        If the materials were properly declassified and held for public browsing by the NARA then what Wikileaks is doing is fine. It would be the same as Google wrapping a much nicer search interface across an old dataset. If the materials were still classified-but-leaked then I won't go near it until it is declassified. But I can't tell from this side of the window what's going on.
sthatipamala 14y ago
I have the same problem with these "cybercrime" laws. With most other laws, I can rely on intuition to guide my judgment ("if I hit this guy, I'll probably get in trouble"). But I have no way of knowing what kind of data is illegal to access, have in my possession, or release to the public.
jasonkolb 14y ago
You need to check out the Tails project (https://tails.boum.org/ https://tails.boum.org/) which is a version of Debian I believe tailored to be completely anonymous. The browser uses TOR by default, I don't even know if you can disable it. Lots of other goodies too, including making browser fingerprints pretty meaningless. Also, I know it's technically kind of bad form but if one wanted to run Tails easily you can use VirtualBox (https://www.virtualbox.org/ https://www.virtualbox.org/) to easily fire up a throwaway instance of Tails quickly and easily.
- ewbuoi 14y ago
  When I tried Tails it had the noScript plugin disabled by default (actually in blacklist mode, I think, which allows javascript on 99% of websites). Even the plugin itself warns users not to leave it disabled. I wouldn't trust something with that big of a security hole. If anonymity was so important that I couldn't trust my own machine, I wouldn't trust a linux distro made for anonymity either.
  - drivebyacct2 14y ago
    Probably because Javascript has no magical ability to leak your identity, especially inside of Tails.
rdtsc 14y ago
If you have a clearance you should absolutely not be clicking on it (if you are also paranoid and don't want to possibly fail your polygraph test -- "have you accessed or downloaded classified documents on your personal computer...?" er...oops). Otherwise if you don't hold a clearance, I don't think they can do anything to you (however, I am not a lawyer so don't take this as a legal advice etc etc...)
- oelmekki 14y ago
  Do we have any story of people being harassed for simply reading leaked documents (genuine question) ? I remember reading people with clearance were not allowed to access wikileaks, but I can remember any follow up "X got fired|trialed because accessing wikileaks". Not that I think it can't happen if we didn't know about it, of course.
- iand 14y ago
  Makes sense. If you have contractually agreed to preserve state secrets then just avoid this stuff.
  - olifante 14y ago
    Welcome to the future of intelligence agencies. Their employees are legally required to know less than the general public.
- singular 14y ago
  Actually don't worry too much about the polygraph, it's complete pseudoscience. http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Polygraph http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Polygraph
  - tikwidd 14y ago
    and yet, still used
    - Udo 14y ago
      They're using the idea of the polygraph, the actual measurements could mean anything. It's the "conversation" during and after the test that counts. Of course it's also a great medium to screw someone over, but that's a whole other thing.
xradionut 14y ago
Due to past obligations and future opportunities, I can't/won't touch any of these documents directly.
- count 14y ago
  ITT: Folks with clearances on HN outing themselves....;)
mtgx 14y ago
Are you self-censoring yourself? As far as I know once secret stuff is leaked into the public, it becomes public domain.
- jacquesm 14y ago
  > As far as I know http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-free-speech/government-wins-right-pretend-cables-released-wikileaks-are-still http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-free-speech/gover... And if you're working for the US government then you had better play along or you might end up causing your career harm. Common sense is at odds with the law here (and in many other places as well), so 'what you know' and what some judge will decide may very well be in contradiction with each other.

columbo 14y ago

This stuff is fun: Commercial Opportunities in Iraq Oil Sector: https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973BAGHDA00111_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973BAGHDA00111_b.htm... Earliest record for Megabyte https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973OECDP12963_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973OECDP12963_b.html Opening up a 50 kilobit connection in moscow: https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976MOSCOW16762_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976MOSCOW16762_b.htm... US shipping a Graphical Display Unit to the USSR in 1973 https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973STATE229113_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973STATE229113_b.htm... Romanians love Columbo: https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR01611_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR01611_b.htm... https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR01912_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR01912_b.htm... https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR01936_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR01936_b.htm... https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR02356_b.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974BUCHAR02356_b.htm...

jmcgough 14y ago
"The original series, which ran from 1971 to 1977, was so popular in Romania it was broadcast there twice a week. When ``Columbo`` stopped production in the U.S., suspicious Romanians thought their government had canceled the show because of import quotas. Fearing riots, the Romanian government begged the U.S. State Department to have the show`s star, Peter Falk, make a public-service announcement explaining the real reason for the demise of ``Columbo.`` Falk obliged and taped a TV spot, which he read phonetically in Romanian." http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-04-02/features/8903310956_1_peter-falk-bodyguards-gideon-oliver http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-04-02/features/89033...
- starik36 14y ago
  That's hilarious. Columbo was my grandfather's favorite show on Hungarian TV back in the day. Every episode was absolutely perfectly lip synced - you couldn't even tell that Hungarian wasn't the original language.

jasonkolb 14y ago

I love how they thoughtfully go ahead and provide a headline-ready name for the data set now. "Cablegate." At this point the Watergate should just assign rooms scandal names ending in -Gate instead of room numbers.

jdotjdot 14y ago
Actually, I think that would be a huge selling point for the hotel. That would be hilarious. "Ooh, what controversy is YOUR room?! I have [Antennagate!][1]" [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antennagate#Antenna http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antennagate#Antenna
Korvin 14y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scandals_with_%22-gate%22_suffix http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scandals_with_%22-gate%...
bvdbijl 14y ago
There's a nice British comedy sketch about naming everything -gate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB9JgxhXW5w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB9JgxhXW5w
- oakesm9 14y ago
  The advert I got for that YouTbue video started with a Lionsgate logo...
sold 14y ago
That name was already used in 2010. I don't know who made it up.
mcphilip 14y ago
"Cablegate" has been used for at least the last 2.5 years. It's unclear after a good 15 minutes of googling who first started calling the leaked cables Cablegate, but here's an example from pbs back in Nov, 2010: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/11/digging-into-wikileaks-cablegate.html http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/11/digging-into-wik...

rdtsc 14y ago

Usual disclaimer applies for those with a clearance: by accessing classified documents on your home computers you could get yourself in serious trouble (in theory). In light of this particular situation I don't know if anyone has ever been punished but you should be careful.

mpyne 14y ago
It's the reason I've never actually seen anything WikiLeaks has published since Manning hit the airwaves. :-/
iand 14y ago
Perhaps only if you are a citizen and residing in the country that classfied them. Pretty sure it wouldn't be an offence to read documents classified by Zimbabwe in the USA, or vice versa.
- count 14y ago
  Depends on the country and your clearance. If you have a security clearance through the US DOD, you're expected to honor/treat allied (specifically NATO, although I think it applies across the board) classification of documents. That is sort of fuzzy if you're in Intelligence though.
- rdtsc 14y ago
  Not sure. In USA it is only an issue if you have clearance or plan on getting it. Otherwise, as far as I am concerned (and I am not a lawyer) there is nothing they can do. I have heard them trying to bully people into signing NDA and other such things if they have been accidentally exposed to classified info. But don't have any first hand knowledge how often that happens and how effective it is.
scotty79 14y ago
Is it still classified if it's public? Doesn't a thing stop being secret automatically when it leaks out? If it does not then I wonder why they even called it "classified" or "secret". They should call it "blargh" and avoid the confusion.

l33tbro 14y ago

Does anyone know the verification process Wikileaks uses? Ie, if I anonymously send them some "cables", how do they know I'm not trolling them with disinfo?

patdennis 14y ago
The modern cables are from a single source, and that source is in a military prison.
- espeed 14y ago
  Bradley Manning Admits to Being Wikileaks Source ( http://mashable.com/2013/02/28/bradley-manning-reveals-how-and-why-he-leaked-secret-documents/ http://mashable.com/2013/02/28/bradley-manning-reveals-how-a...)
  - rimantas 14y ago
    He was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize. Can someone explain the logic behind this? In Nobel's will it is said: > one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best > work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction > of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace > congresses If Manning/Wikileaks did anything of this nature, I missed it a big way :(
    - dagw 14y ago
      Can someone explain the logic behind this The nomination process is very open and hundreds of nominations are sent in every year, most of them by people who want to make some political point. There are no formal requirements that nominees actually have to have done anything to deserve the prize.
    - kriro 14y ago
      One could argue that a removal of secrecy and a trend towards transparency are major forces on the road towards a more peaceful world. One could of course also argue the opposite point. Either way he took a major personal risk and stepped up for what he thought was the right thing to do. Even if you don't agree with what that thing is it is already a pretty good indicator to get by the "first round" imo It's basically a PR price for political gamesmanship anyways (imo)

tokenadult 14y ago

I have an American friend (we met when we were both living overseas) who has been all over the world because he works for the international travel industry. He hasn't lived in the United States for at least a decade. If I remember correctly, he hasn't even visited the United States for at least four years. He and I have both long been skeptics about the United States Department of State and especially the Foreign Service. But after the Wikileaks release of many United States diplomatic cables, he told me that his respect for the United States Foreign Service had increased enormously. The members of the Foreign Service are actually quite astute about what a clash in values is involved in maintaining peaceful, normal diplomatic relations between their free, democratic country and many other countries around the world. Diplomatic business has to go on day by day even while countries are painfully slow in their evolution to civil liberties and representative governments.

eLobato 14y ago
It's funny you mention this when a lot of these cables show how the US government was pressuring the Spanish government to join NATO and more recently to legislate in favor of the American media lobby. Obviously it's both parties fault, but I don't particularly like when my country and the people who are supposed to be my representatives are constantly subject to American wishes. They are definitely polite, but their requests and intentions are as selfish as it can be.
- robryan 14y ago
  They are operating in their own interests. I would expect Spain to also being doing this, obviously some countries hold more sway than others.
  - skrebbel 14y ago
    This is a common argument, that I've seen at lot here on HN as well. It boils down to "every country should act in only its own direct best interest, and assume that every other country will or should the same". If I'm not mistaken, that's called classical realism[1] by political scientists. Now, why do things have to be this way? Are you certain that, even while we the people are perfectly capable of being nice to each other, the countries that represent us must act like immorally self-centered egoists? Why is that a justification for crap behavior? Despite all its flaws, the EU has shown that it does not have to be this way. Countries can cooperate and look beyond their own immediate interests. I'm not saying that that's the only right way, and I'm very much not saying that the EU is doing it right, but classical realism isn't the only approach to international relations out there. Saying that something must be so "because countries should act in their own interests only" is a sloppy argument. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realism_in_international_relations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realism_in_international_relati...

wyck 14y ago

This one is interesting: 30 day mandate for computers sold in China to install filtering software called "Green Dam - Escort of the Youth Flowers" , besides the great name it even comes with a backdoor. https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09BEIJING1520_a.html https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09BEIJING1520_a.html

olefoo 14y ago

I am mildly disappointed that there is not a torrent seed of the whole dataset... It might be interesting to see what sort of correlates could be inferred by a crowdsourced analysis.

huskyr 14y ago
It's not the whole dataset, but the cables from 2003-2010 are downloadable here: http://cryptome.org/z/z.7z http://cryptome.org/z/z.7z
- olefoo 14y ago
  Thanks.

teoruiz 14y ago

They seem to be using CloudFlare. That's good PR!

runn1ng 14y ago

Is this the same thing as the cables from about 2 years before, or something new? edit: oh OK, those are cablegate + some new cables from seventies. Well.... all right, I guess.

patrickgzill 14y ago

Weird prediction: some 22 year old is reading a bunch of these now. He/she will enter the foreign service of his/her respective country and become a great career diplomat as a result.