What I’m hearing constantly from the squishy left is that Assange and Wikileaks are irresponsible and blah, blah, blah. “Someone might die” because they didn’t perfectly redact everyone’s names. Yes, yes, someone might. Of course, if the leaks end the war one day early……, someone might live, eh? If the islanders shoved of their islands for a US base get their islands back, many might live, etc…
More to the point, only a risk taker like Assange would do something like this. The dutiful drudges crossing their t’s and dotting their i’s, who would never have sex with a groupie or fail to perfectly redact everything, would never do what Assange has done. Ever. It will either be done as someone like Assange does it, or it won’t be done at all.
spartacus
Big list of Wikileaks mirrors:
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/79s9r1
For updates, search Twitter with #imwikileaks
http://twitter.com/search?q=imwikileaks
Z
Assange is the world’s bravest and fiercest advocate for the truth during a time of loud lies.
Z
anon2525
The dutiful drudges crossing their t’s and dotting their i’s, who would never have sex with a groupie or fail to perfectly redact eveyrthing [sic], would never do what Assange has done.
The drudges are doing it, but they won’t be done for several more years, say, 2023. Then, like the Nixon rehabilitators, they’ll be telling us how we’ve misunderstood and misjudged Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Obama…
Seriously, the BoA files that WL has is about five gigabytes. How does any organization (let alone a small, young one like WL) digest that amount of information quickly, cheaply, and well?
Here are some numbers from Der Spiegel on the diplomatic files:
A Superpower’s View of the World
anon2525
It should be said that WL has had the BoA files for over a year now:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9139180/Wikileaks_plans_to_make_the_Web_a_leakier_place
If I recall correctly, when Assange appeared on The Colbert Report, he explained that one of the reasons that files are not released immediately or soon after WL acquires them is to provide some distance in time for the leaker so that there is less chance that they can be identified as the leaker.
peter cowan
what blogs best represent the squishy left? i don’t think i’ve made my way around that part of the web.
BlizzardOfOz
You guys have it all wrong, Assange really is a rapist … reputation rape, that is. Hillary’s, that is. http://anglachelg.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-did-you-think-was-going-to-happen.html
David Parsons
I must say that’s a pretty good example of the sort of “censorship is bad, unless it’s *our* ox being gored” nonsense that an all-too-large section of the American left subscribes to.
If there was any doubt that the USA had gone fascist I think this whole “it’s okay to publish videos showing US soldiers cold-bloodedly murdering civilians, but if you publish documents that might embarrass the ruling class anything we do to you is completely justified” episode should bury those doubts.
Roman Berry
BlizzardOfOz, that diary was about the most clueless thing I have read in quite a while and likely in the top ten worst posts I have read anywhere concerning Assange and Wikileaks. It was juvenile and without thought. I was embarrassed for the writer.
Jonathan Versen
I feel like I’m stating the obvious, but isn’t it incumbent on Assange’s critics to prove that anybody has had their life endangered by Wikileaks?
sona
BlizzardofOz
don’t know which planet you come from but terrestrial civilisation deems that people are innocent until found guilty in a court of law – as a matter of fact, assange has not yet been charged so that interpol warrant notwithstanding, scotland yard is not interested in arresting him since extradition is out of order when there is no charge to answer to
sona
BlizzardofOz
don’t know which planet you come from but terrestrial civilisation deems that people are innocent until found guilty in a court of law – as a matter of fact, assange has not yet been charged so that interpol warrant notwithstanding, scotland yard is not interested in arresting him since extradition is out of order when there is no charge to answer to
anon2525
I feel like I’m stating the obvious, but isn’t it incumbent on Assange’s critics to prove that anybody has had their life endangered by Wikileaks?
I thought the whole Libby trial was about proving to everyone that it’s OK to endanger Americans who put their lives at risk on behalf of the gov’t. No one has to go to prison for that. Oh, wait. It’s OK, so long as you have some power, such as V.P. Never mind. Let’s look forward, not back.
Celsius 233
I agree 100% with the OP on this. Assange is operating in a far more dangerous atmosphere than Ellsberg (not taking anything from Daniel) and he has taken steps to ensure his survival and that of his website; to whit, a “doomsday” file that will be released automatically is he is detained or worse. The military has had these files for months and can’t crack them because of 256k encryption coding; no key, no way!
Assange rules for the moment; but I do not, for one moment, underestimate the lengths my government will go to get what it wants. Our recent history is ample evidence of it’s ruthlessness. Scary times folks.
Celsius 233
This may be a seminal moment in the direction of our future survival as a “free” society. On the razor’s edge we are.
BlizzardOfOz
Sorry for linking to that without comment. I was mostly just stunned to see that kind of commentary from her. Also by the reaction of the Hillary supporters generally.. all those leaks exposing the empire, but somehow the story to them is that Hillary might have been embarrassed?
senecal
Official reaction to Assange can be seen as “I’m shocked, shocked!” , “we strongly disapprove” kind of stuff. Maybe they’ll let it drop after making the required gestures of outrage. Or, possibly, the state will feel it has to go all the way and jail the evil-doer so as not to appear weak in the face of a puny citizen. However, Assange has made a powerful statement of disrespect for government authority (civil disobediance if you prefer), and that could be inspirational for others.
JohnnyG
BlizzardOfOz, the PUMA sites can be enjoyable to read for the undiluted Obama-hate, but it quickly becomes apparently they are merely the mirror image of Obamabots. It’s just another pathetic cult of personality where liberal principles are abandoned wherever they interfere with the blind worship of their idol.
anon2525
Official reaction to Assange can be seen as “I’m shocked, shocked!” , “we strongly disapprove” kind of stuff. Maybe they’ll let it drop after making the required gestures of outrage. Or, possibly, the state will feel it has to go all the way and jail the evil-doer so as not to appear weak in the face of a puny citizen. However, Assange has made a powerful statement of disrespect for government authority (civil disobediance if you prefer), and that could be inspirational for others.
Assange and WL are not subject to U.S. law. The closest offense that the organization could be charged with is espionage. But they did not spy on the U.S. Someone else gave them the documents. They made them public. The only way that the u.s. gov’t. could detain him is unlawfully.
He and WL have not “made a powerful statement of disrespect for government authority” because WL is not subject to the u.s. gov’t.’s authority. An appropriate description of what WL has done is to act to promote the transparency of the u.s. government and other gov’ts. (despite the myopia of u.s. corporate media outlets and citizens, WL has disclosed documents from other countries as well).
As the U.S. Declaration of Independence asserts, all legitimate gov’ts. derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. The governed (“We, the People”) cannot give their consent if they do not know what is being done by the gov’t.
Unfortunately, the likely result of this disclosure is not going to be to reform and improve the u.s. gov’t.’s foreign policy, but to improve the secrecy procedures, making future disclosures more difficult.
Cloud
Unfortunately, the likely result of this disclosure is not going to be to reform and improve the u.s. gov’t.’s foreign policy, but to improve the secrecy procedures, making future disclosures more difficult.
Provoking reform isn’t the point — the Empire won’t reform. The point is to make the Brain paranoid of itself, slowing down its processing speed and impairing its ability to think, and hence to act. Best analysis of Assange’s strategy that I’ve seen, can’t remember whether it was posted here: http://zunguzungu.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/julian-assange-and-the-computer-conspiracy-“to-destroy-this-invisible-government”
Notorious P.A.T.
I’d like to think I’m the kind of person who’d sleep with a groupie. . . but that’s never come up. *sigh*
“The dutiful drudges crossing their t’s and dotting their i’s”
They want our government to give up its undeserved power voluntarily. Good luck with that.
beowulf
“I’d like to think I’m the kind of person who’d sleep with a groupie. . . but that’s never come up. *sigh*”
Well I think it was Charlie Sheen who had the best take on groupies. When asked why he’d pay Heidi Fleiss to send girls over, he responded, “I’m not paying them to come over, I’m paying them to leave”. :o)
Celsius 233
Assange has been arrested by British authorities on the Swedish warrant. This was reported moments ago. Stay clear of fans.
anon2525
Assange has been arrested by British authorities on the Swedish warrant. This was reported moments ago.
Yes, I saw that, too.
1. The silver lining is that this might lessen the chance that he is assassinated, although I suppose that we can’t say that for sure (that the chances have been lessened).
2. What are the worst-case sentences that he could get for consensual sex without a condom? He hasn’t been charged with a capital crime, so he can continue once this “cloud” has been lifted from over his head, whether he is convicted (and serves time) or not.
3. What is to stop WL from continuing with other members accepting leaks?
4. It would be good if WL were to disclose the BoA documents now or soon to demonstrate that they are still a viable organization, not a one-man crusade.
The gov’t. of Australia should be speaking out demanding that he be treated well.
Stay clear of fans.
Would you explain that?
anon2525
4. It would be good if WL were to disclose the BoA documents now or soon to demonstrate that they are still a viable organization, not a one-man crusade.
I found the answer to this open question at The Guardian
So, WL will continue releasing documents and The Guardian will continue publishing them. Will the new york times (it has shrunk itself many times over) continue censoring them?