Thread: U.S. Court Order Shuts Down Wikileaks.org (violation of 1st amendment)

http://commons.globalintegrity.org/2...vist-site.html

Incredibly, Wikileaks.org, an organization devoted to exposing corruption, has been muzzled by a U.S. court order (pdf download). Rather than attack a specific finding or document, the court has ordered their DNS registrar to essentially erase the organization's website from the Web. While wikileaks.org is down, their site can be found via IP addess: http://88.80.13.160, which is hosted in Sweden.

I found a good mirror right here. http://www.wikileaks.be/wiki/Wikileaks
If you check it out it is pretty bad ass.

There is an article with pictures of the Tibet uprising. These pictures were censored by the Chinese government.

http://www.wikileaks.be/leak/tibet-p...tos/index.html

The website is basically a collection of government leaked corruption.

http://www.wikileaks.be/wiki/Wikileaks:About

The first ingredient of civil society is the people's right to know, because without such understanding no human being can meaningfully choose to support anything, much less a political party. Knowledge is the driver behind every political process, every constitution, every law and every regulation. The communication of knowledge is without salient analogue. It is living, unique and demands recognition as the founding guide of civilization. Since knowledge is the creator and regulator of all law, its position beyond law commands due respect.

Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and other Enlightenment framers of the US Bill of Rights understood this well when they placed the communication of knowledge firmly outside the grasp of Congress. The 1st Amendment begins its constitutional protections of free speech and of the press not with 'Congress shall make a law..." protecting these rights, but rather with a construct far more sublime: "Congress shall make no law..." abridging them.

Wikileaks is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. Our primary interest is in exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations. We aim for maximum political impact. Our interface is identical to Wikipedia and usable by all types of people. We have received over 1.2 million documents so far from dissident communities and anonymous sources.

We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies. All governments can benefit from increased scrutiny by the world community, as well as their own people. We believe this scrutiny requires information. Historically that information has been costly - in terms of human life and human rights. But with technological advances - the internet, and cryptography - the risks of conveying important information can be lowered.

Wikileaks opens leaked documents up to stronger scrutiny than any media organization or intelligence agency can provide. Wikileaks provides a forum for the entire global community to relentlessly examine any document for its credibility, plausibility, veracity and validity. Communities can interpret leaked documents and explain their relevance to the public. If a document comes from the Chinese government, the entire Chinese dissident community and diaspora can freely scrutinize and discuss it; if a document arrives from Iran, the entire Farsi community can analyze it and put it in context. Sample analyses are available here.

In its landmark ruling on the Pentagon Papers, the US Supreme Court ruled that "only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government." We agree.

We believe that it is not only the people of one country that keep their government honest, but also the people of other countries who are watching that government. That is why the time has come for an anonymous global avenue for disseminating documents the public should see.

Volunteer to help. Almost everyone can be of some assistance.

What do you guys think about the censoring of this website? Did it break the first amendment?