Library of Congress Blocks Access To Wikileaks

[Joanne98]

The Library of Congress has blocked access to the Wikileaks site on its staff computers and on the wireless network that visitors use, two sources tell TPM.

The error message reportedly reads:

Ad or Website blocked by LC DNSBH. Advertisements or websites that may be malicious are blocked.
If this message appears in lieu of an advertisement (i.e., on part of the page), the advertisement site may be malicious. However the website is safe to use.

If this message appears on a page by itself, the website is blocked due to potential malicious content.

More information - LC IT Security

A spokesman for the library could not immediately comment, but expects to have a statement shortly.

The library is a governmental institution and serves as the research arm for Congress. It was established in 1800 and, when it was burned down by the British in 1814, Thomas Jefferson donated his own personal library to replace it. (Not for free, though; Congress paid $23,950 for the books.) It has grown ever since and, according to the library, it has "more than 144 million items including more than 33 million cataloged books and other print materials in 460 languages; more than 63 million manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America; and the world's largest collection of legal materials, films, maps, sheet music and sound recordings."

The State and Commerce departments haves also reportedly told their employees not to look at the Wikileaks cables, while the Department of Education reportedly blocked it entirely.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/library_of_congress_blocks_access_to_wikileaks.php

[villager]

1. Wow, the Empire is in full panic over these "nothing to see here" leaks....

n/t

[EFerrari]

2. It sure is. They are outing themselves. n/t

[smiley]

29. yet there are still many people...

which claim Assange is only doing this for the notoriety. Our government is shaking in it's boots over this. This has to do with a lot more than Assange's "notoriety"

[marylanddem]

3. Wow.

unfreakingbelievable

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. Its like the Stasi and KBG in the old days of Eastern Europe

trying to control the masses.

[girl gone mad]

26. The Commissar Vanishes.

Bet they wish they could just airbrush Assange out of existence.

[laughingliberal]

50. No kidding. Pravda called us out for our lack of free press.

:rofl:

[jaxx]

4. Makes sense. Those files were classified and stolen.

[villager]

5. Sure - "makes sense" from the point of view of Empire, and its defenders

n/t

[treestar]

7. Do you believe there should be no classified documents?

[villager]

10. Do you believe there should be no checks and balances on what gets "classified,"

...and who does the classifying?

[jaxx]

16. Do you think you're up on all that and can make that distinction?

[villager]

17. I think I no longer trust our "dear leaders" to make those choices

Given the obvious failure of their track record.

Which, I gather, is one you actually applaud?

[jaxx]

22. Did you ever trust them?

[villager]

23. Evidently, not to the completely uncritical extent you did

n/t

[jaxx]

27. LOL so you didn't. Just say so.

I don't give a crap about what you think of me so maybe you're just entertaining the others.

[villager]

28. LOL. so you believe anything anyone in authority tells you. Just say so.

n/t

[jaxx]

34. I know I don't believe a word you, or the others, have to say.

What I see is one untruth after another. Doesn't matter what the subject is, the object is to make 'what if's' truths. It doesn't work that way and they appear to be just plain old complainers with not a shred of fact to back them up.

[villager]

well, no. We're not wearing uniforms or lying to you.

in your experience, you wouldn't know how to believe that.

[laughingliberal]

44. Second best thing about Wikileaks...watching authoritarian heads explode.

Huh?

[truedelphi]

63. How true that is.

Oops! There goes another one!

[laughingliberal]

43. Not since Reagan, no. At least now we're seeing the shadow government we knew was there. nt

[treestar]

61. Then you don't believe someone should have security clearances

to determine that?

Classified information is consistent with checks and balances. We've always had some of it.

We can't let the government release everything. It would be available to foreign powers too. And terrorists.

Ridiculous.

[Better Believe It]

55. Not the documents that are being released by WikiLeaks!

[EFerrari]

9. Classified to protect the guilty. And your government is in full

CYA mode. USA!

[jaxx]

13. How telling....my government.

Obviously it isn't yours. I'll take it, I like this country. Those who think it's smart to constantly put it down.....not so much.

[EFerrari]

18. Yes, protecting torturers, supporting coups, bombing women and children,

lying to the public, attacking unions and social programs, transferring wealth constantly upwards, I see why there's so much for you to admire and defend.

[jaxx]

21. I'm no socialist and their talking points are ridiculous.

You're damned right I'll defend this country. I'm an American. A Democratic American.

[smiley]

32. -1

[intheflow]

35. Rahm Emanuel, is this you?

:shrug:

[Forkboy]

36. "I'm no socialist"

More's the pity.

[jaxx]

37. Awwww this isn't a socialist country, or an empire.

But some people seem to be hell bent on trying to turn it into either one. Too bad, they lose. For those who are so disappointed in the USA....why are they still here?




Note: I am now going to bed, I work all night. I am not running from the bees, they make me laugh, but I'm tired. So long.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

40. "Love it or leave it"?

[laughingliberal]

58. Nice Nixonian talking points around here these days, huh? nt

[EFerrari]

47. That's great news! We can shut down our 600+ bases all over the world.

:woohoo:

[EFerrari]

42. So, facts you don't like are socialist talking points?

Holy cow.

[laughingliberal]

48. Well, of course, E Ferrari. Glen Beck tells people that every night. nt

[laughingliberal]

46. Why do you hate America? Did you ever in your wildest expect to hear that on a Democratic site? nt

[EFerrari]

49. I can't ever figure out how defending the trampling of American law

gets to be "American" and objecting to anti-democratic scoff laws is "socialist".

lol

[QC]

51. Did you ever imagine that you would see organized labor trashed 24/7

on a Democratic site?

Or ed privatization cheered? Or LGBT people compared to selfish children demanding unreasonable presents? Or reproductive choice dismissed as a "purity test"?

And so on.

We certainly live in an age of miracles and wonders, don't we?

[laughingliberal]

53. Indeed. nt

[Better Believe It]

57. President Obama is not the county anymore than George W. Bush was the country.

We are the country .... the onces being deceived and lied to!

No one individual is the nation. That only happens in dictatorships.

"Your" government? Well, why does "your" government refuse to do much of anything about the economic crisis afflicting working people and why did "your" government set up a special commission to plan ways of cutting government deficits on the backs of the elderly and working people?

[laughingliberal]

52. Ooooh! Booga, booga! Classified and stolen! Kinda like the Pentagon papers, huh? nt

[Better Believe It]

54. They classify every fricken thing to cover their tracks!

[krispos42]

66. And under the law, we did not torture.

Blindly following the law is something we negatively attribute to the authoritarian right.


Regarding classification, the law has been abused to the point of meaningless. If everything is classified, then the system is being abused and is effectively broken. It must be changed and the abuses corrected.

[Swamp Rat]

8. Now we can be sure the U.S. Government is covering up horrendous crimes.

[EFerrari]

12. Freedom Silence!

Do you think if I put up a FB Page: "I read Wikileaks", people would respond to it? Nothing else, just that statement. It sucks to just watch.

[mmonk]

11. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

Maybe it will all just go away.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. Well, we wouldn't want the proles to find out the masters are doing.

It's dangerous because the people might object...like they do in democracies.

[Amonester]

15. 1984

China

Take a pick.

[glinda]

19. We The Peeps own the Library of Congress. These people we hired do not!

[truedelphi]

64. Very good point.

And with your namesake being who it is, have you checked out the DU topic yet on "Toto not being a terrorist?"

[glinda]

68. Saw it but didn't read it. Maybe I will go check it out. I already knew that though!

[glinda]

69. Very witty!

[meow mix]

20. yay, now we can be just like china

we need a ministry of information.

[NightWatcher]

24. the truth is now "Malicious Content"?

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. Orwell.

[hunter]

25. The torrent is everywhere and they can't know all the keyholders.

Gotta be a very uncomfortable to be in for the State Department and a whole bunch of agencies that operate in the dark.

[mikelgb]

30. the Minitru presses are on fire. Miniluv desperately seeking Assange.

[katnapped]

31. Time to shut down the internets, it seems

Ve cannot has any dissent!

[DJ13]

33. Democracy is officially over when the Library of Congress begins censorship

[Angry Dragon]

38. The next time I am accused of any crime

I am going to declare National Security.

That should just about cover anything.

[EFerrari]

45. That's pretty much what it has always been for. n/t

[mmonk]

62. +1

[PBS Poll-435]

39. Hasn't DinkyWinks been on like 10 different IP addys in the last week? nt

[Lucinda]

41. Seems silly to tell people in the govt not to read them too

The cat is out of the bag...there is no point in telling people in the government they aren't classified to read them since they are available to everyone now. I hadn't really thought about LOC blocking access to them...I'm curious to hear what they have to say...

[Fgiriun]

56. You know this country is fucked up beyond repair...

when we actually 'debate' whether or not the existence of WikiLeaks is a good thing on a liberal/progressive discussion board.
I mean fucking seriously? We should all be supporting WikiLeaks 100%! Some people here seem too brainwashed in party rhetoric that they forget to actually observe the facts which depict what this country has become or has always been, a plutocratic pseudo-republic. It is no different than acting like a fucking conservative.

[truedelphi]

65. Amen to that. And a warm welcome to DU. n/t

[ProSense]

59. LOC statement

Talking Points Memo

<...>

Late update: The Library of Congress has confirmed that it is blocking Wikileaks. From a statement:

The Library decided to block Wikileaks because applicable law obligates federal agencies to protect classified information. Unauthorized disclosures of classified documents do not alter the documents' classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents.

The Committee on House Administration, which oversees the Joint Committee on the Library, also released a statement: "The Library made a decision to block access to Wikileaks because of applicable law obligating federal agencies to protect classified information."

[Greyhound]

60. It's both sad & frustrating to be constantly vindicated by the actions of this rouge government.

It is also pretty funny how completely clueless TPTB are about the technology Djinn they let out of the bottle.
:kick: & R

[laylah]

67. My message to

the Library of Congress blog:

How DARE you block ANYTHING from the American people! Classified? You mean ugly, illegal, nefarious, covert acts against WE, the People, and innocents around the world? Shame on you!

Daniel Ellsburg was a "dissident", "traitor", before he was a hero. This is NOT what our Founding Fathers had in mind. Screw the Banks, the Corporations, and the politicians that do not care about this country. There IS a Hell, and may you all enjoy it!

XXXXXX and so forth

(If I don't check in within two weeks, please come look for me! :rofl: (kinda)

Jenn