I know there have been a lot of threads about WikiLeaks, and all have led to see pretty controversial discussion from both sides. I figured i'd open a poll and we'll see what WF thinks of the situation.
Where does WF stand on WikiLeaks?
- Thread starter redwings0921
- Start date
I've been there, but you really dont need to have been there to understand that situation.
500th post
500th post
Yes, looking forward to...
"It is worth noting that in yet-to-be-published parts of the cablegate archive there are indeed references to UFOs."
"It is worth noting that in yet-to-be-published parts of the cablegate archive there are indeed references to UFOs."
im suprised by the results. in the other threads it seemed that most people were against wikileaks.
Freedom of speech is great until it puts peoples lives at risk. After that, it's pretty dumb and loses the intention of why we have freedom of speech.
Some would say that the morality of that depends on the information itself, and that thinking otherwise is surrendering your own internal concept of morality to some bureaucrat classifying documents.
The people that shoot hot air about "open government" and "freedom of speech" and "boo censorship" are not living in reality.
In the real world there are secrets. People communicate with each other in private for a reason. There is information about plans and other people that are not meant to be shared. Governments... ALL governments do covert things to protect their interest and their allies interest. They do it with the assumption that it will not be exposed. Like someone said earlier - peoples lives are at risks. There will always be spies. It is one of the things that keeps you warm at night.
If you think that everything should be out in the open then I challenge you to release every DM you've ever sent on this board. Or dump your email inbox into a text file and upload it so we can see all of the communications and backdoor deals you have made with others to further your personal gain and that of your company and partners. Don't tell me there is a difference between your person communication and a gov't that should be free and open. I'd rather the government protect their secrets over mine any day of the week.
Jack Nicholson comes to mind for the occasion: Memorable Movie Quotes: A Few Good Men at Good Quotes, famous quotes, famous sayings, funny quotes, memorable quotes, inspirational quotes
In the real world there are secrets. People communicate with each other in private for a reason. There is information about plans and other people that are not meant to be shared. Governments... ALL governments do covert things to protect their interest and their allies interest. They do it with the assumption that it will not be exposed. Like someone said earlier - peoples lives are at risks. There will always be spies. It is one of the things that keeps you warm at night.
If you think that everything should be out in the open then I challenge you to release every DM you've ever sent on this board. Or dump your email inbox into a text file and upload it so we can see all of the communications and backdoor deals you have made with others to further your personal gain and that of your company and partners. Don't tell me there is a difference between your person communication and a gov't that should be free and open. I'd rather the government protect their secrets over mine any day of the week.
Jack Nicholson comes to mind for the occasion: Memorable Movie Quotes: A Few Good Men at Good Quotes, famous quotes, famous sayings, funny quotes, memorable quotes, inspirational quotes
I understand your point and it's all fine and dandy however there doesn't exist a system of impartiality and confidentiality that can intervene as the judge of said information to deem it truly classified or not. In fact, such a system is as prone to corruption as one where a bureaucrat has control so your point is moot.
The fact that I 'surrender' my own internal concept of morality stems from the notion that I really do not know the content of the classified information and thus am not adversely affected by such content. Why must I have to know what's contained in classified documents if they directly don't pertain to me.
Assange is not the white knight of disclosure everyone in the media is making him out to be. His actions and undertones reek of a strong hate for our country and he is obviously on a mission of destruction. Not one of freedom as his sheeple portray him as.
My hope is soon I'll read of the CIA placing a bullet between his ears. Of course those same 'bureaucrats' will claim it was some North Korean spy or an Afghan fighter with an axe to grind - either way, we'll all be better off without him.
Which is why no one's advocating a government with no secrets. Just one in which the leaker is punished if need be, but the press is not. Exactly as it has been. That way the press is still a control on the government, but the government has ways to protect most documents most of the time. I think we can agree that the press cannot be functional while they're afraid of being prosecuted for doing their job, and that there would be tremendous abuses that would arise from giving the government the ability to white/blacklist information.
That's a great reason for not leaking yourself or not reading it yourself, but not a great reason for trying to suppress the freedom of the press, and certainly not a reason to advocate the execution of someone.
You don't have to: don't read.
The media is not his friend. Even the papers that cooperated with him run numerous articles against him. Nearly every article about him also mentions 'rape' allegations, and rarely addresses the reality of the accusations in depth. They also consistantly insinuate that he "has blood on his hands" and is responsible for deaths in Afghanistan, despite the Pentagon themselves saying otherwise.
I see it the opposite; his actions and undertones are one that are a strong endorsement of freedom, and the actions of the our country ultimately are expressing a profound hatred of the freedoms we once prided ourselves on.
America ignores most of his leaks about other countries, but that doesn't mean they're not there. Russia is apparently one of the coming attractions as well.
Then our transformation into the USSR will be complete. We will officially have forsaken the rule of law, including our own court rulings(which yes, do say foreigners get 1st amendment protection), and in utter ignorance of our own history(the Pentagon papers and the resulting NYTimes lawsuit). There is no time in recent history that America's authoritarian/fascist streak has shown as brightly as the past week.