Wikileaks - Journalistic Hero or International Terrorist?

[ironguardian]

Thought I might try to start a little topical argument here. For those who have been living under a rock the past week, WikiLeaks has released thousands of US diplomatic cables which essentially display how America views the rest of the world, as well as a few other itneresting little 'secrets'. For a very brief summary on some of those things take a quick look at this. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11914040

The main problem for the US is simply how embarassing some of the leaked information is, and understandably they've gone into knee-jerk damage control, talking about charging WikiLeaks founded, Australian Julian Assange with epionage, which if tried and convicted, would lead to his execution. Some are even calling for his assasination, and the labeling of WikiLeaks as a terrorist organisation. Julia Gillard has come out and denounced the leaks, and has thrown her theoretical support behind any legal procedings taken against Assange.

So far the leaked information has only been revealed to be embarassing and damaging, but has not been proven to have placed anyone in any increased risk. So why all the fuss? What makes WikiLeaks and different from any other jouralist who risks theirs life to uncover and expose corruption around the world? Is it simply because the US's pristine image has been blemished? Would the West be so up in arms if the leaked secrets had been Iranian or North Koreans, instead of American?

Thoughts? Does anyone care?

[schist]

America, "ya blew it".

[goat]

Who the fuck knows whats going on anymore with anything?

How can you tell when anything you hear these days from the media is 100, 75 or 25% contrived dogshit or not?
I would think if you were getting 30% fabricated yarn, you'd be getting a closer to the truth. But how would you know?

I do feel that there is some major shit going on under the surface internationally right now and has been for quite a few years. Its like there's a race to find something or info or do something before a due date.
Maybe its about to come to pass?

I only feel comfortable saying this,
I dont think America make unintentional mistakes. At least not the ones we know about.

[Mago_Haydz]

either way, he's a dead man.

[Ingasm]

Best thing to come out of townsville

[nihilist]

To answer your question:

Neither.

He is a rapist. This Wikileaks thing is just a ruse.

[MalignantlyGrotesque]

I can't wait to see how they eventually end up killing him.

[Damo]

I cant understand why more people aren't behind this guy, particularly the conspiracy theorists.

As far as I'm concerned, any person that exposes the government and the shady bullshit they try to keep from us, deserves a medal in my book.
If the governments want to 'assassinate' this guy, one only wonders what other secrets they are petrified will get out over this.

[ChuckBilly]

If its an assassination they want then Julia Gillard will be right for the job! lulz

[nihilist]

I find most of what they've released very, very boring. It's like the kind of stuff you'd overhear a friend saying about you who didn't know you were in the room. The best one so far is Kevin Rudd saying if China doesn't fall into line we should take "action". Isn't this the dude a bunch of stupid Australians voted in because he whipped out the Mandarin and had smug grin? If I'd known he wanted to bomb China, maybe even I would have voted for him!

The rapist part is much more interesting! Weren't the ladies Swedish? Julian, you sly dog.

[ironguardian]

If the governments want to 'assassinate' this guy, one only wonders what other secrets they are petrified will get out over this.

It all reeks of damage control, especially the claims that he's put our troops at increased risk. Despite that being a favorite argument to use against him, there is no proven link between the increase in troop deaths in the last year, and the documents released.

Assange has claimed that he still has the "thermeo-nuclear-weapon" equivalent of documents he's keeping up his sleeve in case things go really sour for him. Would be interesting ot see what that is.

[Damo]

I seriously believe that these documents could change EVERYTHING regarding Homeland Security, the US and terrorism in general.
Either the document leaks are going to make personal rights a thing of the past or governments much much more accountable.

This has the potential to be one of the biggest stories with one of the biggest effects on peoples thinking in decades.

[Ingasm]

I'm hopeful he's got some James Bond style shit going on, like a deadman's switch directly linked to his heartbeat.

Should an assassination attempt be successful, the signal from the switch would trigger the simultaneous release of every classified document he has from hundreds of undisclosed private servers ready for mass public consumption. That would be the most awesome thing ever!

[nihilist]

If you were sleepy anyway.

[Damo]

Should an assassination attempt be successful, the signal from the switch would trigger the simultaneous release of every classified document he has from hundreds of undisclosed private servers ready for mass public consumption. That would be the most awesome thing ever!

Not nearly as dramatic, but he has already said that he has accomplices who have copies of the documents, and who will release it en-masse should anything happen to him.

Your move, govt.

[Mago_Haydz]

CHECK!

[ironguardian]

I'm glad to hear that Australia will be offering Assange consular assistance.

[Melkor]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/wikileaks/dont-shoot-messenger-for-revealing-uncomfortable-truths/story-fn775xjq-1225967241332

Letter from assange attempting to justify his actions, he writes well.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/sex-claim-women-in-julian-assange-case-say-this-is-nothing-to-do-with-the-pentagon/story-e6frg6so-1225967447142

the rape story, seems a little fishy though. Both women had sex with him consensually, he acts like a a bit of an arse, so they accuse him of rape. It will be interesting to see how the trial goes.

On wikileaks itself, I think I have to support it. The leaking of evidence exposing corrupt governance is something we need. Evidence of hushed up war crimes committed by coalition troops, illegal data collection by US ambassadors, ties between the Russian government and organized crime, etc, these things should be exposed so they hopefully will happen less. Can't support the releasing of informants names though (if any names were actually released), information like that will cost people their heads.

Also if he is assassinated his organization will remain and even if wikileaks is permanently shut down another website will appear in it's place, the technology is there, can't put the genie back in the bottle. Plus killing him will make him a martyr and get even more support for wikileaks. Though if he keeps on pissing off the powerful sooner or later someone far more ruthless than the americans will want to take him out. Mossad has been carving a bloody trail across the middle east, and everyone here can remember the photos of that former Russian spy dying in his hospital bed in London right? The Americans are dumb though, by being the loudest to call for his death they will get the blame for his assassination now no matter who pulls the trigger.

[nihilist]

The "rapes" are based on the fact he didn't wear a condom.

But no one replied to my earlier quips so the joke never got set up.

[Boeijen]

Is it just my internet connection or is there a reason I cant get on to wikileaks right now

[Nosaj]

I can't get onto it either.

[nihilist]

Try one of the 500 odd mirrors.

[chantian_deanie]

I can't decide. I think he's probably being persecuted unfairly at the moment, not that he doesn't deserve some legal ramifications for what he has done, but these rape charges seem slightly dodgy. Most of the information he's released is fine but some of it could seriously put people at risk. I think he needs a independent organization reviewing his releases to make sure he's only releasing embarrassing information and not information that endangers peoples, particularly troops, lives. Either that or he needs to be held personally responsible for any deaths that occur as a result of the information he's released, although in many cases this would be hard to prove. Also the leak in the us military should go to military prison for like 30 years.

[EvilElvis]

Just as 9/11 was used by 'them' in order to have 'the war on terror' (TWOT) to secure the Iraqi oilfields and cultivate the heroin in Afghanistan, this Wikileaks saga is being used by 'the globalists' to finally take over full control of the Internet and it's censorship. Heard of 'Internet/Web 2.0' yet...?

The move to shut down and regulate the Internet under a new state-controlled system has accelerated into high gear with the announcement that the government's cybersecurity strategy is about to issue Internet users with ID tokens without which they will not be able to visit websites, the latest salvo against web freedom, combined with Senator Joe Lieberman's 'kill switch' bill, will serve to eviscerate free Internet as we know it.
   Under the guise of 'cyber security', the government moves to discredit and close down existing Internet infrastructure in the hunt for a new, centralized, regulated the World Wide Web. It is important to emphasize that 'cybersecurity' has nothing to do with protecting the infrastructure in the U.S. and everything to do with taking over the Internet. Cyber Security is about to attack non-compliant Internet users, not defend against hackers.
   Violations equivalent using the Internet as a political tool to dissent against the policies of the U.S. government. Have already tried and failed in flood the internet with paid disinformation agents, the government is now turning to his only way out, hyped or directly exploit cyberattacks staged as an excuse by deploying an Internet-2-system controlled and regulated solely by the authorities.

http://www.infowars.com/

Why does the media concentrate on the messenger? The most important issues are the documents and info.

As employers of the politicians and assorted cocksuckers in power, we have every right to know what they are hiding so therefore:
FUCK THE GOVERNMENT BEFORE THEY FUCK YOU.

[DamoESP]

I can't get onto it either.

Go here: http://www.wikileaks.ch/