April, 24 2014, 11:07am EDT
WikiLeaks Releases the Carter Cables
Today WikiLeaks releases the Carter Cables, 367,174 US diplomatic cables and associated records coinciding with the first year of President Jimmy Carter's administration and the appointment of Secretary of State Cyrus Roberts Vance in 1977. They expand the WikiLeaks Public Library of US Diplomacy (PlusD) to 2,325,961 documents. WikiLeaks PlusD continues to be the largest searchable body of US diplomatic archives available.
WASHINGTON
Today WikiLeaks releases the Carter Cables, 367,174 US diplomatic cables and associated records coinciding with the first year of President Jimmy Carter's administration and the appointment of Secretary of State Cyrus Roberts Vance in 1977. They expand the WikiLeaks Public Library of US Diplomacy (PlusD) to 2,325,961 documents. WikiLeaks PlusD continues to be the largest searchable body of US diplomatic archives available.
The Carter Cables cover most US international involvements and interests during 1977 from the world's reaction to the US invention of the neutron bomb to Egyptian President Muhammad Anwar El Sadat's visit to Israel.
The private political activities of many still-influential figures are documented -- from the current Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt to President Carter himself -- making the Carter Cables a substantial resource for journalists and reseachers.
This release includes 1,073 extremely sensitive "NODIS CHEROKEE" (Secretary of State only) coded cables, 12,927 highly sensitive "EYES ONLY" or "NODIS" (No Distribution) records, 16,197 sensitive "EXDIS" (EXclusive DIStribution) or "STADIS" (STAte Department DIStibution only) records, and 86,210 classified records marked as SECRET or CONFIDENTIAL.
The Carter Cables were obtained by WikiLeaks through the process described here after formal declassification by the US National Archives and Records Administration earlier this year.
To search the Carter Cables use WikiLeaks PlusD Search.
WikiLeaks is a not-for-profit media organisation. Our goal is to bring important news and information to the public. We provide an innovative, secure and anonymous way for sources to leak information to our journalists (our electronic drop box). One of our most important activities is to publish original source material alongside our news stories so readers and historians alike can see evidence of the truth. We are a young organization that has grown very quickly, relying on a network of dedicated volunteers around the globe. Since 2007, when the organization was officially launched, WikiLeaks has worked to report on and publish important information. We also develop and adapt technologies to support these activities.
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Warning of 'Unprecedented Risks,' Scientists Say Mirror Bacteria 'Should Not Be Created'
"Our analysis suggests that mirror bacteria could broadly evade many immune defenses of humans, animals, and plants," according to a group of 38 scientists, including multiple Nobel Prize winners.
Dec 13, 2024
Dozens of scientists are calling in no uncertain terms for a halt on research to create "mirror life," particularly "mirror bacteria" that could "pose ecological risks" and possibly cause "pervasive lethal infections in a substantial fraction of the plant and animal species, including humans."
The group of 38 scientists, who include Nobel laureates and other experts, addressed research into "mirror life"—mirror-image biological molecules—in a piece of commentary published in the journal Science published Friday, which accompanied a technical report that was released earlier in December.
One of the scientists, synthetic biologist Kate Adamala at the University of Minnesota, was working on creating a mirror cell but "changed track last year" after studying the risks, according to the Guardian.
"We should not be making mirror life," she told the outlet. "We have time for the conversation. And that's what we were trying to do with this paper, to start a global conversation."
To that end, the authors of the commentary plan to convene discussions on the risks of mirror life and related topics in 2025, with the hope that "society at large will take a responsible approach to managing a technology that might pose unprecedented risks."
The ability to create mirror life is likely over a decade away and would require sizable investment and technical progress, meaning the world has the opportunity to "preempt risks before they are realized," according to the scientists.
When broken down into simple terms, mirror life sounds like something out of science fiction. All the biomolecules that constitute life have a "handedness" to them—"right-handed" nucleotides make up DNA and RNA, and proteins are formed from "left-handed" amino acids.
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Some scientists like Kay are interested in the medical possibilities of mirror-image therapeutics—which Kay says holds potential for treating chronic illness in a more cost-effective way—but both he and the authors of the recently published commentary are concerned about the potential threats posed by mirror bacteria.
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While publicly pledging to cooperate with reform efforts, Witty has defended his company's care denials in private and urged his employees not to engage with media outlets in the aftermath of Thompson's murder.
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At least 90 billionaires have passed away over the last decade, leaving their beneficiaries $455 billion in collective wealth.
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