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WikiLeaks: Amazon U.K. sells parts of diplomatic cables in e-book

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Amazon may no longer be hosting WikiLeaks or its trove of sensitive diplomatic documents, but it is selling excerpts of the cables as a Kindle e-book on its U.K. website.

The cables were self-published by an author listed as Heinz Duthel, according to the Associated Press. It is available for $5.27 to people who are registered to purchase Amazon’s Kindle books in the U.K. It is the latest in an ongoing saga between the two firms.

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Last week, Amazon issued a scathing statement about WikiLeaks and said it kicked the company off its servers because it put innocent people in jeopardy.

Amazon is best known as an online bookseller, but the company also has an Internet hosting service, called Amazon Web Services, which enables institutions and individuals to make their websites accessible online.

The Associated Press said the e-book contains excerpts of WikiLeaks material rather than the entire cables. Amazon added a disclaimer on the the book’s page saying:

‘This book contains commentary and analysis regarding recent WikiLeaks disclosures, not the original material disclosed via the WikiLeaks website.’

Amazon drew fire last month for selling a self-published Kindle e-book that lent advice to pedophiles. After 3,000 comments, customer outrage and threats of boycotts, Amazon.com removed ‘The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure’ from its listings.

The controversy has raised questions about Amazon’s book vetting process and about whether companies such as Amazon -- which traditionally have been thought of simply as tech companies -- should exclude the sale of such books.

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-- W.J. Hennigan

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