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FBI Whistleblower on Pierre Omidyar and His Campaign to Neuter Wikileaks
FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds asserts Pierre Omidyar decided to create The Intercept to not only take ownership of the Snowden leaks but also to continue his blockade against WikiLeaks and create a "honey trap" for whistleblowers.
WikiLeaks, the transparency organization known for publishing leaked documents that threaten the powerful, finds itself under pressure like never before, as does its editor-in-chief, Julian Assange. Now, the fight to silence Wikileaks is not only being waged by powerful government figures but also by the media, including outlets and organizations that have styled themselves as working to protect whistleblowers.
As this three-part series seeks to show, these outlets and organizations are being stealthily guided by the hands of special interests, not the public interest they claim to serve. Part I focuses on the Freedom of the Press Foundation, The Intercept, and the oligarch who has strongly influenced both organizations in his long-standing fight to silence WikiLeaks.
[...] WikiLeaks, in recent tweets, has suggested that Omidyar's influence was responsible not only for the [Freedom of the Press Foundation's (FPF) decision to terminate processing of WikiLeaks' donations] but also for the unusual attacks that some FPF members have launched against WikiLeaks, particularly Assange, in recent months. The most outspoken of these members has been FPF director Micah Lee, who is employed by the Omidyar-owned publication, The Intercept.
In February of last year, Lee called Assange a "rapist, liar & ally to fascists" in a tweet — despite the fact that Assange was never charged with rape, his alleged accusers have also claimed that Assange had not sexually assaulted them, and there is abundant evidence suggesting that the rape investigation was a means of ensnaring Assange to ensure his extradition to the United States. Based on Lee's other tweets, the "ally to fascists" charge ostensibly refers to Lee's belief that Wikileaks' publications of emails from the DNC and Clinton campaign chair John Podesta was done explicitly, with Assange's blessing, to aid the Trump campaign.
Related: Feds Arrest NSA Contractor in Leak of Top Secret Russia Document
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Thursday January 25 2018, @10:35PM (11 children)
Yes, because "the Zuck of ebay" is so hard to remember.
("now, get off of my lawn" mandatory section) And then, the younglings need to have the info immediately in the context, otherwise - even when "pretty versed in politics and tech" - they may start to search and forget in the process what they were doing. The generational ADHD is so prevalent it became mandatory to cater for news providers and aggregators to cater for it or feel the millennials' wrath
(grin... or maybe not)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday January 25 2018, @10:40PM
Sorry 'bout that.
Too early on a public holiday morning may do this for me. Or maybe it's the age. Or something worth of (self)scorn...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 25 2018, @10:56PM (1 child)
Sorry, I don't study celebrities, you should identify people by more than name.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 25 2018, @11:01PM
TFS says he created The Intercept, and that he's an oligarch.
(Score: 4, Informative) by bob_super on Thursday January 25 2018, @11:22PM (7 children)
> And then, the younglings need to have the info immediately in the context
Actually, Proper Newspapers, from the cold dark days of before being able to google every missing piece of data, had the silly habit of introducing the credentials of the people being talked about or quoted.
One could argue that it's a lot less necessary these days, and providing context and supporting arguments has become a threat towards post character limits.
I can wait two paragraphs, as writers trying to avoid repetitions seem to like to do, to enhance drama/curiosity or something ... But the information, per the traditional rules of journalistic writing, should be in the piece.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday January 26 2018, @12:31AM (4 children)
Speaking of "traditional rules of journalistic writing", inverted pyramid [wikipedia.org] does not guarantee the details are presented in the summary, rather on the contrary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Informative) by bob_super on Friday January 26 2018, @01:03AM (3 children)
From that Wikipedia page: "Most important info: Who? What? ..."
"Rex says: Trump is a moron" changes completely depending on whether his full name is Rex Tillerson, or Rex Shovelson from the club at the end of the street.
At least, we don't have summaries that end mid-sentence, in the despicable tradition of US papers trying to make you turn the page.
(Score: 3, Touché) by c0lo on Friday January 26 2018, @02:41AM (2 children)
What of "Pierre Omidyar decided to create The Intercept" escaped your observation or understanding?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 26 2018, @06:40AM (1 child)
None but it would simply have been better to say eBay billionare Pierre Om ...
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday January 26 2018, @08:15AM
Which is only relevant to the story as the "this is how he got his billions" detail - doesn't add much to the story.
The other "owner of the Intercept" one is more relevant and was mentioned first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Informative) by captain normal on Friday January 26 2018, @02:56AM (1 child)
https://www.minnpost.com/media/2015/11/mystery-mintpress-news [minnpost.com]
Nuf said.
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts"- --Daniel Patrick Moynihan--
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 26 2018, @06:52AM
MintPress might be wonky but apparently so certainly is MinnPost or at least this guy writing for them, Brian Lambert.
If you think it is required of a web site to be "left-of-center" to be interested in the climate, you must be a rabid fascist and nihilist yourself. And to think that politicians (left, center or right) are unable of constantly uttering the stupidest things, a fool.