Who is behind Wikileaks?

[Andy9o8 2]

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Of course, you and I know what his real crime is, right?

Littering.



..and, creating a disturbance.

And possession of stolen property.

It may be initially charged, but US Federal courts are generally reluctant let that charge proceed to trial against media outlets or their principals if they are mere recipients.

[kelpdiver 2]

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Holy hell.

It would appear the Assange sympathizers are quite willing to do anything to defend his release of information.

holy hell, indeed, if you don't find the treatment of him and this affair to be quite chilling. This is the closest to a world wide conspiracy I've ever seen.

At the crux of it, he's releasing embarrassing information. Perhaps compromising information. There's a lot of grey there.

However, there's nothing grey about our notion of the 1st Amendment. Free press. Yet, what have these governments done in response?

1- the portrayal of him as a violent criminal - a multiple offending rapist. It's patently obvious that at worst he's a jerk, like millions of men at bar. It could be actual entrapment/fraud, if you find the relationship of one member to the CIA a bit too suspect. This action is an embarrassment for Sweden, and to a lesser degree England for playing along.

2- the freezing of all money/technology - Amazon and Paypal didn't do this on their own. This is effectively the freezing of the printing press.

3- And comically, look at the way to counter DDoS attacks were described in the media last week. "Hackers strike BACK...it's a war!" Reality being that Mastercard and others were dealt an annoyance, no more. It was far less effective than the DDoS attacks on Wikileaks itself...the difference between a few hippies with computers, and the CIA/NSA armies.

You may hate this guy and the information he's releasing. Or maybe you see that he's only airing America's dirty laundry and leaving most others off the hook. But what you are seeing here is a demonstration on how effective the internet actually is at free expression if the major nations don't want it to be.

[feuergnom 29]

DING!

we have a winner

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle

dudeist skydiver # 666

[Andy9o8 2]

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This is the closest to a world wide conspiracy I've ever seen.

And it's not even a vast, right-wing conspiracy. It's just vast.

[popsjumper 2]

I'm sorry but I can't help from posting this from Nov 2006:

FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9101


Summary: On September 21 Embassy Dushanbe, together with our Russian diplomatic and military colleagues, commemorated the 1992 evacuation of American diplomats from Dushanbe at the start of the Tajik civil war. The Russian 201st Motorized Rifle Division resident in Dushanbe was instrumental in assisting the evacuation, and as usual our commemoration included a wreath-laying ceremony at the 201st headquarters. The Ambassador also hosted a dinner for ranking Russian diplomats and military commanders. The Embassy initiated these events, as we have in the past, in order to emphasize to our Russian counterparts the value of cooperation on issues of mutual concern. The morning event at the 201st was collegial and even festive, replete with heartfelt vodka toasts. The Russians used the American hosted dinner however as an opportunity to send a clear message that cooperation will not extend beyond a shared shot of vodka (or two, or a dozen). End summary.

Who says the State Department has no sense of humor?

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239