Wikileaks spilled

The first big leak has come out of Wikileaks- of the archive of their internal mailing list. Ranging from journalist queries to plans to bilk the CIA budget, it makes for interesting and paranoid reading. Is Wikileaks a CIA front? Is it an attack on the Chinese government, or merely seeking to bilk George Soros as one? Does it actually matter? 27b doesn't know.

John Young, the cypherpunk behind Cryptome released and is hosting the documents. (Presumably only because Wikileaks itself hasn't launched yet!) Cryptome is a the spiritual precursor to any site like Wikileaks, and has hosted controversial files for years, including a list of MI6 agents, and photos of Guantanamo Bay along with lists of detainees. They are available as big webpages here and here. As this message conveys, the leak happened after he became disillusioned with Wikileak's ideology.

From the Cryptome site:

Perhaps. So far nothing but PR. The PR seems aimed at more PR
and gullible investors. Nothing in the way of a credible product
except one doc which is probably phony. To be sure, phony leaks
can be big business, as venal spies and "dissidents" amply
demonstrate.

And a couple excepts:

We've noticed at least one blog saying that we appear to be a
stalking horse for Soros. This is excellent and part of our strategy
for division and support. When the media blitz hits next week, we'd
like to make concurrent initial requests to many funding bodies.
Additionally, we have a Davos leak with personal contact details for
all attendees.

And:

Advice noted. We'll polish up our sheers for cutting fleeces golden.

> Addendum:
>
> The CIA would be the most likely $5M funder. Soros is suspected
> of being a conduit for black money to dissident groups racketeering
> for such payola.
>
> Now it may be that that is the intention of WL because its behavior
> so far fits the pattern.
>
> If fleecing the CIA is the purpose, I urge setting a much higher
> funding goal, in the $100M range and up. The US intel agencies
> are awash in funds they cannot spend fast enough to keep the
> Congressional spigot wide open. Academics, dissidents, companies,
> spy contractors, other nation's spy agencies, whole countries, are
> falling over themselves to tap into this bountiful flood. But
> competition
> is fierce, and accusations of deception are raging even as the
> fleecers work in concert.
>
> Chinese dissidents -- a brand name among many -- are already
> reaping huge benefits from covert funding from the US and from
> the PRC, along with others in the former Soviets, in Africa and
> South America, inside the US, UK and Europe, in the Middle East
> and the Koreas, who know how to double-cross ditzy-rich Dads
> and Moms.
>
> In solidarity to fuck em all.

Interestingly, the Wikileaks leak suffers from one of the basic problems of Wikileaks-
we don't know for sure it's accurate and complete. Without context we also don't know what are jokes and what is wild plotting. Whatever
Wikileaks is, it's off to a rough start.

photo: glindsay65