Sept 2015 – Ecuadorian Embassy London

Julian Talks to Teddy by Teddy Kronthaler

We Talked: Silicon Valley

Julian – the world’s third-best hacker, according to an expert source known to the author, who hacked into Pentagon, NASA and Lockheed Martin while still at school – is concerned about Silicon Valley’s growing influence.  1.4 billion Facebook users, Google 1 billion, Twitter and Instagram 300 million!
What happens next? … Where do we go!

Conformity, No Resistance, Efficiency!

There is a supposed way how to present oneself. Adopt “the ought to be”! I achieve, look at my friends, aren’t they awesome! me on holidays, at a dinner party! Always with the cool crowd!

The others? Oh god, they think too much, they are too concerned! –  they exploit the web to tell the truth, the in-convenient, the secrets; dangerous whistle-blowers who need to be locked up!

…… and always check your likes! The more conformed the more liked, the more efficient! Facebook a persuader – be like us, be like Silicon Valley! Gramsci has written about it in the 1920s, hegemony by persuasion – his writings are more valid today than ever!

We Talked: Visa Tactics

A nearly 3 year blockade against WikiLeaks started on Dec 2010 by VISA, MasterCard, PayPal, the Bank of America and Western Union. They are all giants, US financial giants! The blockade was unlawful. WikiLeaks protested but only MasterCard backed down and reversed its position.

On April 24, 2013 Wikileaks won a lawsuit and the Icelandic Supreme Court (WikiLeaks main data processor based there) ordered the Icelandic partner of VISA, Valitor, to recommence processing donations. Valitor complied and donations by MasterCard and VISA were fully re-instated as of July 1, 2013. The Supreme Court decisions did not include damages – deemed a separate issue!

PayPal, Western Union, Bank of America and other financial institutions, intimidated by US governmental agencies, are still holding on to their illegal blockade.

Extremely valuable information given to me by Julian:

To file a lawsuit you need a lawyer. If you want to file a lawsuit against VISA things become tricky. VISA has to deal with a good many lawsuits against them, many of them rather minor for a giant. VISA does not work with one law firm, no! a good many law-suits mean a good many law-firms becoming your client and thus dependent. If one needs a lawyer against VISA, difficult to find one! WikiLeaks did, well done Julian!