Apple Removes Unofficial WikiLeaks Application From App Store [Updated]

[res1233]

I stand somewhat corrected. It would be nice if you had provided that in your initial post. That you didn't still implies to me that you had not read through the thread. In any case, if that is their reasoning than it still has nothing to do with wikileaks and that it is top secret documents. It just shows that wikileaks made an ethical mistake and other companies, with the law behind them, are not joining in.

If Wikileaks had synthesized the data down to just the illegal government acts, and taken the time to hold in reserve information that could cause another person harm or death until a trial was in place, than Apple would have nothing to stand behind. Instead wikileaks, in a grand case of not giving a frack, spammed everything in its entirety.

I wasn't the one who initially posted friend. Was just trying to help out.

 

[Doctor Q]

In case it hasn't been mentioned before, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor has been issuing letters to federal contractors with warnings about "unauthorized disclosures" (details). I assume Apple got one of those letters and has had to assess where it stands legally based on its sales to the government.

 

[Dmac77]

Just for your information... I was accepted into the Air Force Academy in 1999. Shortly after that my grandmother (who I lived with) was diagnosed with Dimentia. I made the choice to ensure her final 3 years were comfortable instead of in a cold nursing home. My family comes from a long line of soldiers. From WWII, to Korea, Vietnam, etc. When my family came here from Korea they knew what a real tyranny was. When the Japanese came and massacred half of my family they came to America taunted and hated, called Japs, and told to go home. Instead they enlisted to protect a country they thanked for giving them a chance to finally be free.

Thanks for your venerable story, but fyi it doesn't shake me at all.

You were accepted into the Airforce Academy, but never actually went to it (the reason why is irrelevant). Therefore you can not claim to be anything more than another keyboard soldier; had you actually joined the military, it would be a different story. Being accepted into a military college, does not make you some patriot soldier.

My family has also been involved in various military and resistance organizations going back generations.

-My Great-Grandfather Father fought for the French in WWI
-My other Great-Grandfather, along with my grandfather, were part of the German Resistance in WWII. Because of their involvement, my Great-Grandfather died in Auschwitz.
-My Grandfather (upon immigrating to the US) joined the Army and fought in Korea
-My Grandmother was an active participant in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, for her involvement she had a pleasant stay at the ÁVH's headquarters known as "The House of Terror." She was then sent to a Russian labor camp for 4 years, before she was released and managed to immigrate to the US
-One of my cousins joined the Marines in 2004, he was then sent to Iraq 3 times before he left the Marines in 2008. (By the way, my grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer a week before he enlisted; she is in remission now).
-One of my other cousins Joined the Army in 2005, was sent to Iraq three times, and just returned from Afghanistan a few months ago, he's set to be redeployed to Afghanistan in February.

So please don't try to throw your "I come from a family of freedom fighters and patriots" story at me, because I can throw mine right back at you.

-Don

 

[BornAgainMac]

I expect much worst secrets are yet to be common knowledge. Let the Android Marketplace have this App. This information seems to be too extreme for people to handle. Apple did the right thing to take it offline for now until the dust settles.

 

[imwoblin]

They have put down hundreds of hours into trying to protect civilians, unlike those U.S. soldiers who couldn't wait 20 seconds for a civilian to cross the street before they blew up a building containing three suspected terrorists, killing an innocent bystander.

When such things happen, it is the duty of every honest man to report it so that people can be held responsible.

Don't believe everything you read or hear. As a former combat veteran Force Recon Marine who has been in the sh_t more times than I can remember, I can assure you that every possible variable is taken into account when a raid is conducted. We consider ourselves quiet professionals and would use discretion as required, especially when the bullets start flying by your head. It's amazing that people can buy into this drivel.

 

[rmwebs]

I guess if we want anything off the Appstore we should buy tonight then as I would be willing to bet it ends up being targeted by those hacker folk now.

I find it funny how everyone suddenly becomes a political expert when something like this strikes..I blame the idiotic US media hype...I'm looking at YOU Fox News.

Relax everyone...its Christmas and theres bugger all you or I can do about WikiWhoops.

 

[takao]

I agree. There is a point at which they've gone too far. The media in general doesn't seem to even remember the days when they would limit themselves to what was RIGHT to report, as opposed to what they CAN report. Nowadays, they'll do anything for a story, regardless of who they hurt, and that is unethical.

i also know history enough to know what happens when governments and parties start influencing the free press to report "what is right"

 

[Earendil]

Thanks for your venerable story, but fyi it doesn't shake me at all.

My family has also been involved in various military and resistance organizations going back generations.

No one cares. No one excused you of being a keyboard soldier.

So please don't try to throw your "I come from a family of freedom fighters and patriots" story at me, because I can throw mine right back at you.

Brilliant. Slander the guy and than when he tries to defend himself reject it as stupid because your family fought too. Big whoop.

 

[Earendil]

Not one soldier or person as been killed by the information wikileaks has released. All you hear from big brother is a script that's released anytime anything is leaked. Oh, wait. I guess Hilary Clinton was embarrassed by it…

And you know that to be a fact, how? While you have your crystal ball there, could you let us know if anyone will be killed in the future because of it?

 

[MacbookSwitcher]

The right decision

This was a very responsible move by Apple.

The illegal obtaining and publicizing of classified information, the release of which endangers US diplomats and other US government employees, and reduces trust between partners in strategic alliances responsible for the safety and stability of the world system, is neither "democracy" nor journalism. It is a crime and is profoundly negative.

This whole incident is simply the juvenile expression of an egomaniac anarchist whose only interest is in embarrassing the US in any way he can, while making a name for his own selfish purposes. (Oh, and he's also a prolific womanizer and rapist if that means anything to you. Even the most liberal country in the world, Sweden, thinks so!)

Neither Apple nor any other company should enable this nonsense.

Good on Apple!

 

[Sol]

Apple are cowards for this. What next; forbidding access to newspapers that publish stories about leaked documents?

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

No one cares. No one excused you of being a keyboard soldier.




Brilliant. Slander the guy and than when he tries to defend himself reject it as stupid because your family fought too. Big whoop.

He fits the wikileaks demographic perfectly.

 

[yg17]

Reported your signature to get the Wikileaks support link removed.

You better report me too.


Don I hope you don't mind me stealing your sig, it's for a good cause

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

You better report me too.


Don I hope you don't mind me stealing your sig, it's for a good cause

I hope you don't mind being the pawn in a Chess Match.

 

[maelstromr]

I didnt know how facist the USA was until wikileaks opened my eyes!

God Bless Assange

Sorry, are you familiar with anything that was leaked? Which document pointed to "facist" behavior?

I actually found the NYT reporting on the diplomatic leaks (have not accessed the documents themselves) to convince me that we have careful, intelligent and thoughtful diplomats trying desperately to work with stupid, corrupt and/or inept foreign powers.

EDIT: Unless my sarcasm meter is broken...(sorry if so)

 

[champ01]

This was a very responsible move by Apple.

The illegal obtaining and publicizing of classified information, the release of which endangers US diplomats and other US government employees, and reduces trust between partners in strategic alliances responsible for the safety and stability of the world system, is neither "democracy" nor journalism. It is a crime and is profoundly negative.

blablabla

Not one person got killed after the release of the documents but we did get a closer look into the corruption that takes place by governments and million dollar corporations all around the globe.

US en European troops murdered thousands of innocent people and more get killed every day (60 EVERY FREAKING DAY!!!) so get your facts straight with your propaganda bullshiz.

This whole incident is simply the juvenile expression of an egomaniac anarchist whose only interest is in embarrassing the US in any way he can, while making a name for his own selfish purposes. (Oh, and he's also a prolific womanizer and rapist if that means anything to you. Even the most liberal country in the world of Sweden thinks so!)

Neither Apple nor any other company should enable this nonsense.

Good on Apple!

You are completely brainwashed.

Julian Assange was in Sweden for 5 weeks after the allegations started against him about rape. (the allegations were dropped and later on reopened.)
Jullian Assange left Sweden but asked for permission to leave the country.
Rape in Sweden is totally different then in most countries.
And how about not guilty until proven otherwise?

So one again get the facts straight and don't call someone a rapist or anarchist until you know for sure.

 

[JAT]

It would be so much easier to accept the "importance" of this discussion if people could spell accurately.

 

[maelstromr]

The freedom to know what your government - which operates FOR YOU and WITH YOUR PERMISSION (as a member of the voting public) is doing ON YOUR BEHALF.

Consider it an audit by the public.

I don't think that having the public know the truth can ever set things back.

Much has happened in regard to freedom over the past 50 years or so, much of which I would never have expected. When I was a kid, I never expected that the Berlin Wall would come down, or that the former Soviet satellite nations would be freed.

Nor did I expect that George Orwell's predictions in 1984 (a book we studied in High School) would actually come true. What was a Science Fiction fantasy in 1970 is reality in England today. I was surprised that Orwell got the country right (of course, might have just been luck, as he was English and wrote of what he knew). I assumed that if it happened, it would be in the U.S., but then we experienced a surge of personal freedom in the U.S. while somewhere along the line the English apparently stopped caring so much about personal freedom.

So your reply is simply that "you don't think" disclosing every detail of our diplomatic correspondence and reporting on every other nation, including incredibly sensitive regimes in Afghanistan, etc, could set anything back? "You don't think" this is going to force various politicians across the globe to react against US politicy and diplomacy to save face? "You don't think" these leaks are going to give anyone reason to hurt anyone helping NATO or the Americans fight terrorists or corrupt officials?

Whatever helps you and your wikileaks friends sleep at night.

 

[Ironduke]

Quiet......

Assange has something to say against The USA.








'Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!"

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

quiet......

Assange has something to say against the usa.








'freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!"

roooofffiiiieeeeee!!!!

 

[jtara]

"We removed WikiLeaks because it violated developer guidelines. An app must comply with all local laws. It may not put an individual or target group in harms way."

Well, that sucks, then. Apple is just plain wrong. WikiLeaks hasn't been proven to have broken any laws. There's been no legal case brought, let alone a conviction.

And, IMO, there will be no case brought, because of the horrendous twisting of the U.S. constitution that would be needed. While the public is split, I doubt as a whole that we are prepared to give up our freedom of speech or to trash guilty-till-proven-innocent.

Apple isn't - or in any case, shouldn't be - prosecutor, judge, and jury.

As a reminder to international readers, one of the fundamental differences between U.S. law and English law (observed by much of the rest of the world) is that in the U.S. the accused is innocent until proven guilty. (In the English system, one is guilty until proven innocent.)

It seems that the press and private enterprise is being forced through coercion into following the English law, which doesn't apply here. The government doesn't have the ability to convict Asange or even charge him, so, IMO, they are manipulating behind the scenes to bring about the same effect through the actions of the press, the banking industry, and now through telecommunications and technology companies.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

Well, that sucks, then. Apple is just plain wrong. WikiLeaks hasn't been proven to have broken any laws. There's been no legal case brought, let alone a conviction.

And, IMO, there will be no case brought, because of the horrendous twisting of the U.S. constitution that would be needed. While the public is split, I doubt as a whole that we are prepared to give up our freedom of speech or to trash guilty-till-proven-innocent.

Apple isn't - or in any case, shouldn't be - prosecutor, judge, and jury.

As a reminder to international readers, one of the fundamental differences between U.S. law and English law (observed by much of the rest of the world) is that in the U.S. the accused is innocent until proven guilty. (In the English system, one is guilty until proven innocent.)

It seems that the press and private enterprise is being forced through coercion into following the English law, which doesn't apply here.

Re-Distribution of Classified Material is illegal.

 

[MacbookSwitcher]

As a reminder to international readers, one of the fundamental differences between U.S. law and English law (observed by much of the rest of the world) is that in the U.S. the accused is innocent until proven guilty. (In the English system, one is guilty until proven innocent.)

It seems that the press and private enterprise is being forced through coercion into following the English law, which doesn't apply here.

Actually, you have no evidence that Apple has been coerced into anything. It is more likely they simply acted in good judgment by not condoning this nonsense.

Also, the US government is preparing charges against Ass-ange as we speak. Even so, it doesn't matter if what he did turns out not to be prosecutable; it was still a treacherous thing to do and no company of good conscience should be doing business with Wikileaks.

 

[maelstromr]

Well, that sucks, then. Apple is just plain wrong. WikiLeaks hasn't been proven to have broken any laws. There's been no legal case brought, let alone a conviction.

And, IMO, there will be no case brought, because of the horrendous twisting of the U.S. constitution that would be needed. While the public is split, I doubt as a whole that we are prepared to give up our freedom of speech or to trash guilty-till-proven-innocent.

Apple isn't - or in any case, shouldn't be - prosecutor, judge, and jury.

As a reminder to international readers, one of the fundamental differences between U.S. law and English law (observed by much of the rest of the world) is that in the U.S. the accused is innocent until proven guilty. (In the English system, one is guilty until proven innocent.)

It seems that the press and private enterprise is being forced through coercion into following the English law, which doesn't apply here. The government doesn't have the ability to convict Asange or even charge him, so, IMO, they are manipulating behind the scenes to bring about the same effect through the actions of the press, the banking industry, and now through telecommunications and technology companies.

Luckily for corporations/news agencies/tech companies, they have the same right to not participate in these idiots' forum as you do to participate in it.

 

[robbieduncan]

Reported your signature to get the Wikileaks support link removed.

And by doing so caused me to add it to mine. Whatever your personal opinions about supporting wikileaks trying to prevent others stating their opinions is against free speech and free thought.