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Yeah, you are totally right, it is not a cliché, it is a fact : http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity

The Guardian says you Euro guys are fatter than those American guys. Got any other retarded copypasta you wanna spew?

What BS is WikiLeaks exposing?

Illegal espionage against U.N. officials. The U.S. putting pressure on the Spanish government to quash investigations into torture and into the deaths of journalists. War crimes by the U.S. military.

If you don't know what WikiLeak has already exposed, you're disqualified from discussion about the topic. Go read the Guardian's coverage and come back when you're educated.

China is building the largest sustainable energy projects in the world with the fossil fuel energy they have left.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/26/china-invests-solar-power-renewable-energy-environment

Well, I don't imagine China to help out countries where the primary demand is freedom of speech.

Actually, we've had a fairly good idea where Bin Laden is for years and years.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/18/osama-bin-laden-pakistan-nato

The problem is that getting him means rolling into Pakistan. And while the conspiracy nuts love to suggest the US wants to invade every country it can, the US in reality has chosen not to go after Bin Laden because it means rolling into Pakistan.

First of all what you are saying is not true. He offered the State department the chance to redact the documents, which they declined, then worked in conjunction with respectable papers such as the Guardian and New York Times to publish them.

Secondly, the job of a journalist is to find stories in the public interest and publish them. They aren't all caped crusaders. At least Wikileaks is only publishing information that is anonymously sent to them. In the UK journalists are quite happy to break the law, hack into people's private information, and do whatever it takes to get a story. News of The World in the UK hacked into the voicemail of celebrities, politicians and royal family to get stories (list of victims here).

I would trust Julian Assange to be more apolitical than Michael Moore.

Phillip.

Remember Mumbai? 166 killed, and 370 or so wounded? Al Qaeda would like to do the same in Europe. Why hasn't it happened? Active security measures and intelligence.

hate to break it to you (in fact I don't but nvm) but 540 people isn't that dramatic... Even in the small town I grew up in this would barely make a dent in the population graph - let alone in a city with a 13.8m population such as Mumbai.

Statistical analysis shows that the amount of terrorist incidents is actually quite small, but the governments around the world like to exaggerate how many there actually are, to deprive decent hard working people of their freedom and democracy, and pee a lot of money up a wall in the process.

Your sig is, "Take Nobody's Word For It." Very fitting. You don't know what you are talking about.

The list of terrorist attacks in just 2008 isn't short, and doesn't include the many arrests and foiled plots. Wikipedia notes that it is incomplete.

Remember Mumbai? 166 killed, and 370 or so wounded? Al Qaeda would like to do the same in Europe. Why hasn't it happened? Active security measures and intelligence.

Remember 9/11? Why hasn't that occurred? Al Qaeda hasn't lost interest in using aircraft to attack buildings or stadiums. Active security measures and intelligence.

Without proper measures, Iraq's recent history of terrorism could be our future.

Civil Rights Theater seems to be at least as popular as Security Theater.

How about we just stop killing and otherwise pissing off brown-skinned people?

You don't understand what is actually happening. Read Bin Laden's Letter to America. You will see that the actual demand isn't to be "left alone". Bin Laden's first demand is:

(Q2) As for the second question that we want to answer: What are we calling you to, and what do we want from you?

(1) The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam.

Bin Laden demands that we convert to Islam. He follows that up with demands that we ditch the Constitution, implement Islamic Sharia law, and do away with the separation of church and state. Among other things we would have to start killing homosexuals and adulterers, end the charging of interest on bank loans, put an end to drug use, pornography, and alcohol use, amputating the hands of thieves, and many other things. Dressing "immodestly" could get you whipped, which probably means burkas for women. Men would have to grow their beards out, or face a whipping. Crucifixion may be a required punishment for some crimes. Afghanistan under the Taliban was almost ideal to them. If we do not agree to this we can expect that his minions will continue to try to kill us.

It is not especially significant that Bin Laden issued that demand to the United States, in time every country will have to deal with it. Subduing the United States is just one step along their path, and they understand that it could take 500 years. Many countries have been attacked. Stockholm had a suicide bomber this weekend. (Thankfully it appears that one of the Stockholm terrorist's bombs blew prematurely and he couldn't get about five more planted - otherwise it might have been another Madrid, London 7/7, Bali, or similar bombing.)

What Do the Terrorists Want? [A Caliphate]

In nearly all cases, the jihadi terrorists have a patently self-evident ambition: to establish a world dominated by Muslims, Islam, and Islamic law, the Shari'a. Or, again to cite the Daily Telegraph, their "real project is the extension of the Islamic territory across the globe, and the establishment of a worldwide 'caliphate' founded on Shari'a law."

Terrorists openly declare this goal. The Islamists who assassinated Anwar el-Sadat in 1981 decorated their holding cages with banners proclaiming the "caliphate or death." A biography of one of the most influential Islamist thinkers of recent times and an influence on Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam declares that his life "revolved around a single goal, namely the establishment of Allah's Rule on earth" and restoring the caliphate.

Bin Laden himself spoke of ensuring that "the pious caliphate will start from Afghanistan." His chief deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, also dreamed of re-establishing the caliphate, for then, he wrote, "history would make a new turn, God willing, in the opposite direction against the empire of the United States and the world's Jewish government." Another Al-Qaeda leader, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, publishes a magazine that has declared "Due to the blessings of jihad, America's countdown has begun. It will declare defeat soon," to be followed by the creation of a caliphate.

Good background here.

Ignoring them won't make them go away. They have their own goals - nothing we do other than covert to Islam or fight them will dissuade them. Trying to buy them off or deal with them only delays the inevitable. We are in for a long struggle that will be far bloodier for us if we aren't clear about it. Al Qaeda has a f

I am sorry; I was indicating that China is likely to come to North Korea's aid if NK decides to start a war with SK.

Even before the leaked cables, it was pretty obvious that, unless the Chinese government is completely insane, they don't want to let NK declare World War III on their behalf. Lately, the cables have made this rather more explicit.

I knew I recognised that story - but it seemed to miss some fairly interesting points for whatever reason...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Challenge_2002

At this point, the exercise was suspended and Blue's ships were "re-floated" and changes were made to the rules of engagement; later this was justified by General Peter Pace as: "You kill me in the first day and I sit there for the next 13 days doing nothing, or you put me back to life and you get 13 more days' worth of experiment out of me. Which is a better way to do it?" In the new restarted exercise the different sides were ordered to follow predetermined plans of action, leading to allegations that the exercise was scripted and "$250 million was wasted". Due to his concerns about the scripted nature of the new exercise, Van Riper resigned his position in the midst of the war game. Van Riper later expressed concern that the wargame's purpose had shifted to reinforce existing doctrine and notions of infallibility within the U.S. military rather than serve as a learning experience.

The re-floating of blue teams boats was just the start of embarrassing behaviour.

Quite interesting how US media differs from other parts of the world when telling this story - obviously it might look insulting to you guys, but isn't this the sort of shit you would like to know about? - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/sep/06/usa.iraq

Yes, they will die from hunger, poor sanitation, wars (civil or otherwise) all of which are going to be made worse by climate change. The World Health Organization already attributes 150,000 deaths annually to the effects of climate change.

Climate change is widely expected to hit the poorest people hardest.

I think you need to consider the effect of making all those factors worse.

Yes, they will die from hunger, poor sanitation, wars (civil or otherwise) all of which are going to be made worse by climate change. The World Health Organization already attributes 150,000 deaths annually to the effects of climate change.

Climate change is widely expected to hit the poorest people hardest.

I think you need to consider the effect of making all those factors worse.

Baloney. Iran and Saudi may have chilly relations, but they are not Iran's primary foe.

Just because Saudi Arabia isn't the primary foe of Iran doesn't mean that Iran isn't the primary foe of Saudi Arabia. From here:

Al-Jubeir recalled the King's frequent exhortations to the US to attack Iran and so put an end to its nuclear weapons program. "He told you to cut off the head of the snake," he recalled to the Charge', adding that working with the US to roll back Iranian influence in Iraq is a strategic priority for the King and his government.

Having consensual unsafe sex is not rape unless you live in crazy-town.

When the woman withdraws consent the man withdraws his organ, or it is rape.... unless you live in crazy-town.

Assange allegedly didn't follow that rule, he isn't in crazy-town, so therefore it is possibly.....

PS - Anyone heard anything about Hans Reiser lately? (Creator of the Reiser Filesystem so loved in Linux land.)

Julian Assange rape allegations: treatment of women 'unfair and absurd'

The women were "very credible" witnesses, he said. "They have given very detailed stories about what they have been through."

Assange's reputation is less the focus of scrutiny online, but an acquaintance who met him and both women in Stockholm around the time of the alleged assaults told the Guardian he had warned Assange that his behaviour towards women was going to get him into trouble.

"I don't think it was a conspiracy, but this provided a golden opportunity for the enemies of WikiLeaks to use the situation to neutralise him," said the man, who wanted to remain anonymous. "A personality like Assange, who is known throughout the world, in the media every day, has a huge attraction to women. A lot of women invited him to their beds and he took that opportunity too much ... all the time.

"I spoke to him about this. I warned him that it was not a good way to behave ethically and also in terms of his security. ...

"These two women were molested by Mr Julian Assange at two different times, independently of each other," he said. One of the two women, who met Assange at a lecture he gave in Stockholm in August, wanted to contact him after the alleged assault because she wanted him to take a test for sexually transmitted infections. She contacted the second woman, who had helped organise the lecture, to see if she could help her to find him. "When they spoke to each other they realised they had been through something very similar so they went to the police. That's not odd," he said.

"They decided to go to the police, to inform the police of what happened, to ask for advice; also they were interested in whether there was a risk that they could have got HIV. They were not sure whether they should make a police complaint, they wanted to have some advice. But when they told the police officer, she realised that what they were telling her was a crime and she reported that to the public prosecutor, who decided to arrest Assange."

You present this timeline:
Women do not want to press charges (so how does anyone know what happened?)

Woman A said afterwards that she had not wanted to press charges but had gone to support the younger woman, who wanted police advice on how to get Assange to take a medical test.

Overzealous prosecutor "forced the issue." (How? What "Issue" is being forced? How did the prosecutor know?)

Director of public prosecution Marianne Ny decided to reopen the case, saying new information had come in on Tuesday. "We went through all the case material again, including what came in, and that's when I made my decision," [to reopen the case] Ny told The Associated Press by phone. She declined to say what information she had received or whether Assange, who was questioned by investigators on Monday, would be arrested. An arrest warrant issued on 20 August was withdrawn within 24 hours.

Later, a lawyer convinced the women to press charges. (Wait, didn't you JUST claim the prosecutor did that? How did said lawyer know about the case if the women never pressed charges?)

No, the prosecutor reopened the case, regardless of the will of anyone else. It does appear that one woman at least very much wants Assange punished... but only well after the fact. At the time when the alleged sexual assault was occurring she was more than happy to be there and enjoying the Julian Assange Experience.

Here's the timeline as I understand it. "Julian Assange is being harassed for slighting the feelings of two groupies who worshipped him before and after the alleged rapes and he's being hunted for something that's definitely not rape and not even a crime yet." There is plenty of evidence all over the place including multiple admissions from both women, deleted tweets made by one woman gushing about how happy she was about being with Assange which presumably included fucking him, relevant deleted blog posts, et cetera. The only question is whether there is a political motivation behind this, or it was just an opportune time to harm Assange without any concern by these women over the cost to freedom.

Europe and the US profited from the industrial revolution and not caring about the environment for ~200 years, what right do we have to demand that everybody else make up for our accidents? We should do what we can, do what makes sense, and do what's practical. What's practical about shutting down factories in Europe and buying imported Chinese goods? This is unfortunately what's happening.

What's interesting about the industrial revolution is that despite putting the EU/USA through a horrible period of pollution so bad that rivers caught on fire (!), it was actually very good at decarbonizing our energy supply. Before the industrial revolution, we were burning wood. Then we started using coal. Then oil. Now we're increasingly using natural gas. There is a trend here - as time passes, the ratio of (useless) carbon atoms to (combustible) hydrogen atoms decreases. We're at 4:1 now with methane. I think the "first world" will be at 1:1 (pure hydrogen) before too long - we can just use fission reactors to separate hydrogen from water. Or we'll replace combustion processes with electrical ones, or both. The result is inevitable: Bye bye, carbon!

In closing, China should learn from our history and avoid fossil fuels, especially in power plants. Not everything is so simple (you mentioned factories), but I'd hate to see China build any more Coal Death Plants when they can just use fission instead.

It was part of the whole collection. I'd prefer them to release the lot of it rather than pick and choose what to release.

As for evidence of corruption or misbehavior, this may fit that.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/213720

Also corruption evidence for the governments of other countries, such as Italy, Moldovia, lots on Russia, and more.

It was part of the whole collection. I'd prefer them to release the lot of it rather than pick and choose what to release.

As for evidence of corruption or misbehavior, this may fit that.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/213720

Also corruption evidence for the governments of other countries, such as Italy, Moldovia, lots on Russia, and more.

It was part of the whole collection. I'd prefer them to release the lot of it rather than pick and choose what to release.

As for evidence of corruption or misbehavior, this may fit that.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/213720

Also corruption evidence for the governments of other countries, such as Italy, Moldovia, lots on Russia, and more.

What I can't get my head around is al those people that spend their time complaining that Wikileaks is not careful enough in redacting the documents and is putting lives at risk. I mean talking about a skewed world view... Not one death on the whole planet has been directly or indirectly attributed to any of the Wikileaks revelations. Not one!

Assange himself said 1,300 people died in Kenya as a result of wikileaks.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/01/julian-assange-wikileaks-afghanistan

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/213720

Wednesday, 24 June 2009, 11:37
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 001651
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/A, INL, EUR/RPM
STATE PASS TO NSC FOR WOOD
OSD FOR FLOURNOY
CENTCOM FOR CG CJTF-82, POLAD, JICENT
KABUL FOR COS USFOR-A
EO 12958 DECL: 06/23/2019
TAGS PREL, PGOV, MARR, MASS, AF
SUBJECT: 06/23/09 MEETING, ASSISTANT AMB MUSSOMELI AND MOI
MINISTER ATMAR: KUNDUZ DYNCORP PROBLEM, TRANSPORT FOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES AND OTHER TOPICS
REF: KABUL 1480
Classified By: POLMIL COUNSELOR ROBERT CLARKE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND ( D)

1. (C) SUMMARY: Assistant Ambassador Mussomeli discussed a range of issues with Minister of Interior (MoI) Hanif Atmar on June 23. On the Kunduz Regional Training Center (RTC) DynCorp event of April 11 (reftel), Atmar reiterated his insistence that the U.S. try to quash any news article on the incident or circulation of a video connected with it. He continued to predict that publicity would "endanger lives." He disclosed that he has arrested two Afghan police and nine other Afghans as part of an MoI investigation into Afghans who facilitated this crime of "purchasing a service from a child." He pressed for CSTC-A to be given full control over the police training program, including contractors. Mussomeli counseled that an overreaction by the Afghan goverment (GIRoA) would only increase chances for the greater publicity the MoI is trying to forestall.

2. (C) On armored vehicles and air transport for presidential candidates, Atmar pitched strongly to have the GIRoA decide which candidates were under threat and to retain control of allocation of these assets. He agreed with the principle of a level playing field for candidates but argued that "direct support by foreigners" demonstrated a lack of confidence in GIRoA. If GIRoA failed to be fair, international assets and plans in reserve could be used. On another elections-related issue, Atmar claimed that two Helmand would-be provincial candidates (and key Karzai supporters) disqualified under DIAG rules had actually possessed weapons as part of a GIRoA contract to provide security for contractors.

3. (C) Atmar also was enthusiastic about working out arrangements with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) in RC-South to partner with the Afghan Border Police (ABP) on training and joint operations to extend GIRoA governance south. He is considering giving BG">BG Melham, a highly regarded Afghan officer, responsibility for ABP in Nimruz and Helmand provinces. END SUMMARY.

KUNDUZ RTC DYNCORP UPDATE

4. (C) On June 23, Assistant Ambassador Mussomeli met with MOI Minister Hanif Atmar on a number of issues, beginning with the April 11 Kunduz RTC DynCorp investigation. Amb Mussomeli opened that the incident deeply upset us and we took strong steps in response. An investigation is on-going, disciplinary actions were taken against DynCorp leaders in Afghanistan, we are also aware of proposals for new procedures, such as stationing a military officer at RTCs, that have been introduced for consideration. (Note: Placing military officers to oversee contractor operations at RTCs is not legally possible under the currentDynCorp contract.) Beyond remedial actions taken, we still hope the matter will not be blown out of proportion, an outcome which would not be good for either the U.S. or Afghanistan. A widely-anticipated newspaper article on the Kunduz scandal has not appeared but, if there is too much noise that may prompt the journalist to publish.

5. (C) Atmar said he insisted the journalist be told that publication would endanger lives. His request was that the U.S. quash the article and release of the video. Amb Mussomeli responded that going to the journalist would give her the sense that there is a more terrible story to report. Atmar then disclosed the arrest of two Afghan National Police (ANP) an

Haven't you heard the latest news? Assange is a anti-American pedophile that orchestrated 9/11 attacks by hacking into the planes. Oh, he also killed 100,000 Iraqis and almost 10,000 soldiers, not to mention spreading fear through the globe for the last 200 years... Do I have that straight?

Anyway, when will the real media that have access to all these files (including New York Times) start to do their jobs? They are the ones that have the clout and resources to not be steamrolled like Assange has.

No, the pedophiles that sell preteen boys for sex are the US defense contractors. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/213720

He's a massive liability for WikiLeaks and even WikiLeak insiders are starting to realise that ...

"It has nothing whatsoever to do with WikiLeaks or the CIA and I regret very much that Julian Assange does not publicly say that himself."

"I don't think it was a conspiracy, but this provided a golden opportunity for the enemies of WikiLeaks to use the situation"

"I spoke to him (Assange) about this. I warned him that it was not a good way to behave ethically."

"His (Assange) weakness was - is - women. I warned him it would cause him trouble."

I heard the same story on the radio yesterday and it is the papers. Check out the Google search. Here's some articles on it:

Here's The Guardian's article on it, from today. Here's another from The Independent

preparing for $$$TEAM&OBAMA to shut down the Intertubes.

Yours In Electrogorsk,
Kilgore Trout, C.I.O.

>ping www.mastercard.com

Pinging www.mastercard.com [216.119.208.50] with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 216.119.208.50:
        Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

Visa, and Mastercard are not caving in to the government pressure.

You're behind the tymes: PayPal admits US pressure over WikiLeaks account freeze.

Falcon

WikiLeaks were collecting donations using MasterCards and VISA as forms of payment on their website, up until the two giants pulled away because they didn't want to be associated with the website.

Did they not want to be associated with Wikileaks, or where they bpressured by the government? PayPal admits US pressure over WikiLeaks account freeze. US targets groups with ties to website. WikiLeaks cables: US 'lobbied Russia on behalf of Visa and MasterCard'

Falcon

WikiLeaks were collecting donations using MasterCards and VISA as forms of payment on their website, up until the two giants pulled away because they didn't want to be associated with the website.

Did they not want to be associated with Wikileaks, or where they bpressured by the government? PayPal admits US pressure over WikiLeaks account freeze. US targets groups with ties to website. WikiLeaks cables: US 'lobbied Russia on behalf of Visa and MasterCard'

Falcon

Don't target the website, target the servers that do the money-traffic!!!!

Apparently they're doing that already

"But one payment service company told the BBC its customers were experiencing "a complete loss of service" on MasterCard SecureCode. The credit card company later confirmed that loss."

The leak is not going to arrive any sooner just because Wikileaks is pissed

So this was just coincidence that it came out today?
WikiLeaks cables: US 'lobbied Russia on behalf of Visa and MasterCard'

Paypal have said they've been lent on. Why else would Paypal get rid of a client making them money? Leak or not, that'll make no difference. If they were really pissed off about these leaks, they'd block all the newspapers reporting on it too.

Julian Assange!

Except the first amendment only applies to the government. If a company wants to impend your speech they can.

Many people believe feel this denial of service was caused by government. Paypal has admitted it. I don't know if Mastercard and VISA have admitted it yet, but it's not hard to guess. We're not talking about private action.

If I own the printing press which you rent to print things I consider obnoxious, and then I decide I don't want to be associated with your bullshit anymore and stop letting you use my printing press, then you're right, there's nothing to suggest the government has overstepped its constitutional limits.

If I own the printing press which you rent to print things the government considers obnoxious, so they send goons over to point a gun at my head and explain that I will not let you use my printing press anymore, then the government has overstepped its constitutional limits. And that's what happened here, assuming money==speech.

IMHO, companies like PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard are not caving in to the government pressure.

Yes, they did. And they've admitted it.

Note that the latest leaks show that the US Govt put pressure on Russia, to avoid legislation that would level the field for Visa/Mastercard competitors:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-us-russia-visa-mastercard

Mastercard are not the bitches for the US, in some ways it's the opposite. Mastercard and Visa are trying to shut down Wikileaks for the same reason that the US is - because the leaks show it in a negative light.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-us-russia-visa-mastercard?CMP=twt_gu

But remember kids, it's just "diplomatic gossip" like CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC tell you.

As it should be!

Apparently, Paypal has admitted to being coerced into smashing the cookie jar.

And they both have been exposed: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/246424

He "voluntarily" turned himself in after a warrant was issued for his arrest. If he's so innocent, why didn't he "voluntarily" return to Sweden?

Do you think my "HANG ASSANGE FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY!" banner will go down well with the justiceforassange.com mob? :-)

I can answer that:

"But Assange's legal team remains determined to fight his extradition on grounds ranging from the failure of authorities to provide him with details of the warrant issued by Sweden, and human rights grounds – including that the Wikileaks founder may be unfairly deprived of his liberty in Sweden, and that he risks not facing a fair trial.

The media attention surrounding Assange's case is likely to complicate any future criminal proceedings, although the lack of a jury system in Sweden is likely to fuel arguments that he will be protected from public and media interest in the case."

From The Guardian

Well, that didn't take long:

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested at a London police station at 9.30am. He is accused by the Swedish authorities of one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape. He denies the charges. He is due to appear at City of Westminster magistrates at around 2pm. WikiLeaks have condemned the arrest as an attack on media freedom. [...]

You're assuming the pirate spends $60 or whatever in his monthly internet fee, but $0 in his games.

Maybe he actually spends more in games & others apps than in his monthly fee, he just downloads a lot of them, and can't really afford more. Some studies are coherent with this.

Same thing was leveled at student protests in the UK and Twitter were absolutely adamant they were not interfering or being influenced by any authorities.

Phillip.

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11921220
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/05/julian-assange-lawyers-being-watched
• http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/wikileaks-reveals-ugly-truth-about-iran-appeasers/story-fn59niix-1225966020409
• http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_16762752?source=rss&nclick_check=1
• http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/12/must-read-nyt-wikileaks-on-china-and-google/67499/
• http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Wikileaks+indictment+diplomacy/3927123/story.html

>What exactly is Wikileaks doing that all these other media organizations aren't also doing?

Nothing, but the hypocritical unprincipled politicians* who are calling for Assange's head feel they can attack Wikileaks because it doesn't look like regular, 4th estate media, and they think this means they can avoid charges of attacking the free press. Because Wikileaks is a little bit different.

They can't, but they think they can, particularly when trying to dupe the least informed members of our societies to rouse support for their attacks.

*example of lack of principles and lack of adherence to the rule of law (that's just for us little folks) from The Guardian, today:

"Lawyers representing the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, say that they have been surveilled by members of the security services and have accused the US state department of behaving "inappropriately" by failing to respect attorney-client protocol.

Jennifer Robinson and Mark Stephens of the law firm Finers Stephens Innocent told the Guardian they had been watched by people parked outside their houses for the past week.

[...] a letter from a state department legal adviser – addressed to both Assange and [Robinson] – which appeared to bracket together client and lawyer as if to suggest that WikiLeaks and its lawyers were one and the same.

The letter, which was released to the press, begins: "Dear Ms Robinson and Mr Assange. I am writing in response to your 26 November 2010 letter to US Ambassador Louis B Susman regarding your intention to again publish on your WikiLeaks site what you claim to be classified US government documents."

Robinson said: "By eliding client and lawyer, that was a very inappropriate attempt to implicate me. That is really inappropriate to come from the state department of all places; they understand very well the rules on attorney-client protocol."

It's quite a serious situation," she said, adding that, according to the UN's Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, governments should ensure that lawyers "are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference" and that "lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients' causes as a result of discharging their functions".

[...]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/05/julian-assange-lawyers-being-watched

I think the cables have all reflected very well on the US, as expected, and confirmed that it's a responsible decent world power.

Hehe, crazy.. Here in the EU there's a lot of talk about cables that point to the US being underhanded, at best, with allies.

I guess you're on the CNN side of the Atlantic.

Do you really think this will help to keep the Internet free and open!! get a grip!

You are so bloody right, it hurts. It is also probably going to lead to a clampdown on the press. The real question is whether that "free and open"-ness was worth much to begin with, considering that it seems that it was guaranteed only as long as we used it for farmville and stuff, chat about sports, or just to hail our dear leaders.
As a certain mr. Assange said a few days ago:

Western speech, as something that rarely has any effect on power, is, like badgers and birds, free. [...] We should always look at censorship as an economic signal that reveals the potential power of speech in that jurisdiction. The attacks against us by the US point to a great hope, speech powerful enough to break the fiscal blockade.

(You can read the whole thing here)

All the files are online, right now. All 1.4 gigabytes of them. Just put the terms "insurance.aes256" into torrentfinder.info and check the hash before wasting your time on 1.4 gigs.

Then just hold on to it. If someone in either the US government or some other agency does something stupid...

The Cable Gate archive has been spread, along with significant material from the US and other countries to over 100,000 people in encrypted form. If something happens to us, the key parts will be released automatically. Further, the Cable Gate archives is in the hands of multiple news organisations. History will win. The world will be elevated to a better place. Will we survive? That depends on you.

All these silly arguments are easily resolved, in the favour of what I initially said, by reading Assange's response about this very issue in the Guardian:

Many of these are still available at mirror.wikileaks.info and the rest will be returning as soon as we can find a moment to do address the engineering complexities. Since April of this year our timetable has not been our own, rather it has been one that has centred on the moves of abusive elements of the United States government against us. But rest assured I am deeply unhappy that the three-and-a-half years of my work and others is not easily available or searchable by the general public.

So do, by all means, take your false equivalences and whining somewhere else. They do not sell well on Slashdot. Too much factual information available to us, you see.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/the-us-embassy-cables

The funniest about all this is that most people with security clearance would have been able to access those cables anyway through the gov systems.

I suspect that this is wrong. I have only held security clearance in the UK, so there may be some differences with the USA, but I believe that these points hold on both sides of the pond

Like you, I'm in the UK but from press reports, all this stuff was classified up to "secret" and was on a single database accessible by around three million people: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/28/us-embassy-cable-leak-diplomacy-crisis Hence the ability of a single disgruntled employee to download and leak it all. The reason for this ease of access was because before 9/11 the US government's various agencies were having problems sharing info.