Slashdot Mirror


WikiLeaks Begins Release of 2.5m Syrian Emails

judgecorp writes "WikiLeaks has started publishing 2.5 million emails from Syrian political figures and other bodies. The material will embarrass Syria, as well as other governments according to Julian Assange (still hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London). As well as revealing the behaviour of the Syrian regime, the emails will also expose the hypocrisy of other governments and companies, Assange has said."

216 of 322 comments (clear)

  1. And this is why by Phrogman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We need Wikileaks. Information like this will likely prove to be very informative.

    --
    "The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
    1. Re:And this is why by plover · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Information like this will likely prove to be very informative.

      And bananas will likely prove to taste very much like bananas, and books will likely prove to contain words.

      I think you were trying to make a point, but it really got lost in your posting.

      --
      John
    2. Re:And this is why by gambino21 · · Score: 5, Informative

      The Bank of America data (along with some other interesting stuff) was deleted by Daniel Domscheit-Berg.

    3. Re:And this is why by SuricouRaven · · Score: 3, Funny

      Future events like these will affect you in the future, my friend.

    4. Re:And this is why by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The only problem is that is Assange is throwing in with people like Putin and Chavez, who kill their journalist opponents or, if they're lucky, just get railroaded into jail. Chavez just completed the dictator trifecta -- hassled opponents and journalists, silencing them. Got the "emergency" power to pass law by decree (the "dictator" part of "dictatorship"), and, just recently, outlawed sales of guns and ammunition.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    5. Re:And this is why by LordMund · · Score: 1

      I think you made the same mistake as Phrogman...Oh wait a minute. I see what you did there!

    6. Re:And this is why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      We need Wikileaks. Information like this will likely prove to be very informative.

      ...unless it's information about the USA, in which case Julian Assange is a filthy traitor who should be hunted down and executed.

    7. Re:And this is why by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      There's a good chance it's going to turn out to be too much, too soon. There's a reason that "truth and reconciliation" type things are handled gently, and only after the gunplay has died down. See South Africa, East Germany, etc. Now is not the time, and this is not the method. A rash of revenge killings isn't going to help Syria move forward as a country.

      The reason that "truth and reconciliation" is 'handled gently' is that it tends to occur in places where the necessary political will isn't available to manage actual justice. It's a feel-good way of letting your criminals off the hook because you are too weak, or too compromised by them, or too sympathetic toward them, to do anything else.

      An actual justice system is, of course, preferable; but revenge killings are sometimes the only sort of judgement to which one's malefactors can ever be expected to be exposed and if there is anything uglier than vengeance, it is impunity...

    8. Re:And this is why by Eggbloke · · Score: 2

      Wow, did they not have backups?

      --
      I care not for your karma and your mod points.
    9. Re:And this is why by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 4, Funny

      No matter where you go, there you are.

    10. Re:And this is why by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      I still don't know how that fucker sleeps at night.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    11. Re:And this is why by daem0n1x · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Oh, you Americans! You have supported all kinds of terrible dictators in Latin America. It takes a lot of nerve to be calling Chavez a dictator!

      The only reason you hate him is because he was one of the first Latin American leaders that showed you the finger and you couldn't eliminate! A few others have followed the example, which revolves your guts. Latin America is no longer your backyard, get used to it. If you want oil, pay for it big time, instead of bribing a few officers, like usual.

      If Venezuelans don't want Chavez in power, it's not like they don't have options. Just vote for someone else. It's called democracy, you Americans hypocritically blabber about it ad nauseam. But guess what, he greatly reduced poverty, gave education and healthcare to those who never had anything, he's trying to reduce violence, etc. The majority of Venezuelans are very poor and are living a lot better since he's in power. Maybe they simply... well... like him!

    12. Re:And this is why by tmosley · · Score: 3, Informative
    13. Re:And this is why by Phrogman · · Score: 5, Informative

      Sure, I should have said more evidently. I thought I was being obvious, but obviously I was not :P

      Despite the legions of posters on this site (and every other site I have been to so far) who seem to feel that because Wikileaks DARED to releas US Government secrets that were submitted to them, Assange should be hung, drawn and quartered in public for having the temerity to do so, I think that Wikileaks serves a very valuable service to the bulk of humanity who might be interested in the things their governments are doing in their name and often keeping them from knowing. Releasing the emails from the Syrian government might prove to be very important and have a useful bearing on what is and has been going on there. Without some organization like WL we wouldn't see this stuff at all as members of the public. Moreover, the legion of journalists that will descend on this stuff wouldn't have the ability to root through it and summarize the key information they come across, and then disseminate to us in a more readable format.

      Assange may be an egotistical ass, but the legion of the same posters above who are willing to see him tried and convicted of rape, without charges, without a court deliberation after a trial etc is getting rather annoying to me at least. If he's guilty then let him be charged and tried etc. Until then, he's innocent, just as anyone else who hasn't been charged is innocent. Stating otherwise is just ad hominem attacks that serve no purpose other than to show the poster's personal bias/agenda. What he is doing is a remarkable job of staying in the news, and thus advertising Wikileaks though. He's a figurehead that garners a lot of attention - or an attention whore in other words, and he's doing that very effectively. I have a feeling his greatest crime in the eyes of most US posters though is that he dared to do something that might reflect badly on the US, and "my country tis of thee" etc, they don't want to see a foreigner criticize the US, I guess only US citizens can do that without rancor it seems.

      I think the world needs to do something about the situation in Syria. This information might give us a chance to be better informed on what has happened there and what is happening there, how can that be a bad thing in the long run? Unless of course it turns out that US Government agencies and US Corporations are implicated in the massacre of civilians there - then those same people I mentioned above will only have more ammunition for their arguments as to why Assange should be tried, convicted of treason (against a country he is not a citizen of) and then executed.

      --
      "The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
    14. Re:And this is why by Beyond_GoodandEvil · · Score: 1

      if there is anything uglier than vengeance, it is impunity...
      No, because eventually all persons die, whereas the cycle of vengeance can continue unabated, ergo impunity is not uglier than vengeance.

      --
      I laughed at the weak who considered themselves good because they lacked claws.
    15. Re:And this is why by butalearner · · Score: 5, Funny

      Probably lying upon piles and piles of money.

    16. Re:And this is why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Anyone who rules by decree is a dictator. It doesn't matter where are they are from, or what they do.

    17. Re:And this is why by tnk1 · · Score: 2

      The fact that the US Government has supported dictators in the past doesn't change the fact that Chavez is one. In fact, you'd think we'd know a dictator when we see one, given our vast experience.

      Also, the fact that the people like him doesn't mean he isn't a dictator. You don't usually get to be a founding dictator in a country by being unpopular. In fact, the real problem with him is not that he's popular or unpopular, but that he's squelching opposition and changing the laws to favor himself. That means that as time goes on, even if the people got sick of him, he's making it harder and harder to set up an effective, legal opposition to his policies or even simply his tenure in office. Eventually, that democratic change that you think is all that is needed will become no more than theoretical.

    18. Re:And this is why by Evtim · · Score: 1

      He sleeps very well, I guess. On a pillow made of money...

      Disclaimer: I have no idea what actually transpired but such "unfortunate events" exactly in the right time always make my skin crawl....I smell a rat

    19. Re:And this is why by butalearner · · Score: 2

      Despite the legions of posters on this site (and every other site I have been to so far) who seem to feel that because Wikileaks DARED to releas US Government secrets that were submitted to them, Assange should be hung, drawn and quartered in public for having the temerity to do so, I think that Wikileaks serves a very valuable service to the bulk of humanity who might be interested in the things their governments are doing in their name and often keeping them from knowing.

      I may be misremembering, but I was under the impression that the people here generally support the actions of Wikileaks, even if they're not the biggest fans of Assange himself. On most other US news sites it's exactly how you say.

    20. Re:And this is why by daem0n1x · · Score: 3

      Bullshit. They can vote for someone else or even call for a mid-term referendum. Chavez has survived one of these before, I wonder why the opposition doesn't pull that one again? Maybe because they know they'll lose?

    21. Re:And this is why by Internetuser1248 · · Score: 2

      Maybe you should have spent a few more seconds reading my post, specifically the part quoted from its parent.

      You articles show that he asked for emergency powers after a disaster, that he implemented gun control laws and that he closed some private media corporations (since when is CNN liberal?!). The first two are opinions about possible future dictatoryness. Note the words 'critics warn' and 'said[...]a U.S. government office'. This is not evidence, it is opinion. The last one is the only one that even relates to my question. It is also contextless and only the headline and an opinion by the journalist actually offer any 'evidence' that it is repression and not simply normal governance. Chavez accuses them of supporting the coup against him, if true this gives him 'some' justification for closing them, especially as the junta were some pretty dodgy people. But I don't want to get too bogged down in the details of that event, as it is still only peripheral to my question. The parent of my post claimed that he was killing journalists and/or sending them to prison. This is a VERY serious allegation and I don't think I am out of line to ask for substantiation. Do you have any links for that?

      tl:dr Citation still needed for killing/imprisoning journalists

      PS. Seriously? Gun control = dictatorship? I am sorry but I grew up in New Zealand where we have had very strong gun control laws for a long time, that shit is not going to fly with me.

    22. Re:And this is why by tnk1 · · Score: 1

      Forgiveness isn't weakness. Revenge is due to the weakness of having to obtain an emotional vindication against someone else who may have wronged you or your family, but without any way of restoring the dead to life or removing the pain of torture, rape, etc. All that is required for civilization to maintain peace and security is to ensure that those who may have committed those crimes are unable to do so in the future. It doesn't matter if they are living in a comfortable exile except for those who feel the need for revenge.

      Insofar as it may also be necessary to prevent future crimes, consider that if a dictator thinks he can surrender without losing his head, he will be more likely to bow to pressure before it becomes violent. This saves a lot more innocent lives in the long run. It may not satisfy our sense of blind justice, but it does satisfy our desire for peace in the future.

      To be very clear, it is the people who allow dictators to come to power and it is their acceptance, no matter how grudging, that allows it to continue. If they choose not to act in defense of their liberties now, they choose to have to deal with a dictator and his policies which they have empowered. And it is unlikely that anyone in Syria was not well aware of who and what their government was. The only question is how they went about rationalizing it's acceptance.

    23. Re:And this is why by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      A police officer recently explained to me "we can only be where we are" as I complained that they had speed traps in thoroughfares with no residential instead of near schools where safety would matter.

      Then he wrote me the ticket ;-)

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
    24. Re:And this is why by crazyjj · · Score: 2

      ow that fucker sleeps at night

      On the pile of cash the CIA paid him as a plant and agent provocateur.

      --
      What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
    25. Re:And this is why by Rei · · Score: 5, Funny

      And they say that the Titanic was sunk by someone named Iceberg! Clearly the world zionist conspiracy is afoot!

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    26. Re:And this is why by medv4380 · · Score: 1

      Convenient. So all they have to do is make claim X, and when it comes time to reviling it all they have to do is claim Disgruntled employee Y deleted the data to claim X. If they had just released it rather than sit on it and try to build hype then they wouldn't have lost it because all the drones who mindlessly copy their data for them.

    27. Re:And this is why by Rei · · Score: 2

      If he's guilty then let him be charged and tried etc

      Glad to see we're in agreement on this one. Step one, in accordance with Swedish law, he needs to stop running and hand himself over for extradition to the country so that he can be charged on Swedish soil.

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    28. Re:And this is why by Internetuser1248 · · Score: 2

      I read a bit further on the emergency powers issue. One one hand Chavez voluntarily reduced the term of his emergency powers from 18 months to 6, to disprove the criticism that he is a dictator, on the other hand he did quickly sign a whole bunch of laws on the last days of those powers. The news media didn't see fit to furnish me with details of those laws though, so it is difficult to judge the level of oppressiveness. There is a reason I said 'as leaders go', I don't think he is a saint or anything, I personally think he has been in power far too long and power corrupts. The Venezuelan people seriously need to vote for someone else in the next election. I was just saying that the demonizing 'oppressive fascist dictator' FUD is more garbage propaganda from right wing US news organisation and anyone who takes it seriously should seriously consider critical thinking, education and/or being silent. I think he was a good leader and did a lot of good for his country and its people, but he has passed his use-by date and needs to go now.

    29. Re:And this is why by FingerDemon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I have mixed feelings about Wikileaks. On the one hand, I like when gov't wrong doing that has been covered up is revealed. But on the other, Assange has the view that countries should always say the same things in public as in private (He said so in 60 minutes inteview). I think this is just not a standard that any nation can live up to. Most decent people don't live that way and neither would I expect well run nations to do so. Even allies will make public statements while having more private views and back channel communications. I really don't see that as wrong. It is only if it is used to propagate hurtful lies or hide important truths that make it wrong.
      As for his criminal accusations, I don't know what to think. I am skeptical of the accusations and the way they were made. But I am equally skeptical of the defense of him I have heard. I don't know what the truth is. I can only hope if he committed a crime, he gets a fair trial. And if he didn't, that all accusations and allegations would be dropped.
      If the U.S. is involved in the massacre of civilians in Syria, I would want to know about it. And I would want those responsible to answer for it. However, I do think that scenario unlikely in the case of Syria, from what I have read.

      --

      "Contrarily the lookaside buffer might not be the panacea... "
    30. Re:And this is why by Nadaka · · Score: 1

      How exactly is Assange "throwing in with people like Putin and Chavez"? I have literally seen no indication he is, and releasing information damaging to Syria is explicitly taking a stand against something that Putin is supporting.

    31. Re:And this is why by Nadaka · · Score: 2

      There was evidence of vote tampering and fraud in that election.

    32. Re:And this is why by Internetuser1248 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Anyone who rules by decree is a dictator. It doesn't matter where are they are from, or what they do.

      In fact, you'd think we'd know a dictator when we see one, given our vast experience.

      You would hope so, but to be honest I don't have a lot of faith in your judgement. Sorry.

    33. Re:And this is why by daem0n1x · · Score: 3, Informative

      Care to cite any evidence? As far as I know, elections in Venezuela are closely watched by thousands of UN observers, and they never declared any significant fraud since Chavez is in power. Check this.

      Which is more than you can say about Baby Bush's first election...

    34. Re:And this is why by TFAFalcon · · Score: 1

      Isn't 'getting railroaded into jail' exactly what is happening to Assange? He released some information that the US wanted to keep secret (acting like a journalist, except not being completely muzzled by the owners of his newspaper/TV station), so there were immediate demands that he be either locked up or just killed, even from members of the government.

    35. Re:And this is why by daem0n1x · · Score: 1

      It's so cool that anyone can come here as an Anonymous Coward and just outright lie their ass off without any having to present any evidence or suffering any consequences.

    36. Re:And this is why by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Look at it from HIS point of view though.

      If he did not rape those women, then he's got a corrupt government and police force on a witch hunt, trying to frame him far a crime he didn't commit. Presumably, this is being done by Sweden at the behest of the US government, which wants his head served up on a platter. Why anyone surrender himself to that situation. It's not like he'd get anything resembling a fair trial, in Sweden, or here after the inevitable rendition.Â

      If he DID rape those women, then he really is a scumbag of scumbags, every bit as bad... worse... as the republicans here make him out to be. Why would you expect that a lowlife like that would have even a sliver of honor? And every second he dodges extradition is another second he dodges justice and if free to rape again.Â

      Innocent *or* guilty, his circumstances don't exactly favor surrender.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
    37. Re:And this is why by Phrogman · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well I can't argue that myself. However, he seems to think that the whole purpose of them wanting him to go to Sweden is so that he can then be extradited directly to the US, and he apparently feels that the US Gov't is somewhat irritated with him for some reason.
      Since the Swedes have allowed the US to use extraordinary rendition against at least one individual in Sweden in the past, and since they have already questioned him, determined that there was no case, and given him permission to leave, I don't think his suspicions are entirely unreasonable. I don't pretend to know all the details, understand Swedish law or understand the finer nuances of how Swedish law defines sexual misconducts (its much more defined there than it would be in Canada (where I am from) or the US (where most of you are). I can understand someone deciding that having already been examined, and given permission to leave because no charges were going to be laid after answering all the questions put to him, he might decide he doesn't see why he should have to go through that whole process again.
      Then we have the various questions about why the 2 women raised the whole issue in the first place and their (to me at least) somewhat suspicious behavior, plus the fact that one of them has had some connection to the CIA in the past (if that is true). Assange has to be fairly paranoid and I am sure this all feeds that - whether or not there is any justification to his fears.
      I am not defending him mind you, just saying I can understand why he doesn't want to go to Sweden.

      Personally, I am now of the mind that the US does want him, but mostly so they can use him in the trial of Bradley Manning. Assange has had so much publicity that if the US does extradite him they will have to watch what they do with him under the world's eyes (although that often doesn't seem to matter to the US Gov't I admit). Manning on the other hand is clearly someone they want to try and punish. Its two ends of the same problem. If the US shows they will locate, try and punish harshly anyone who reveals stuff to Wikileaks, then they achieve the same goal: preventing something similar from happening in the future.

      --
      "The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
    38. Re:And this is why by afeeney · · Score: 1
      Slate.com is generally considered quite liberal and here recounts thuggish repressions of student protests of his referendum .

      Here, there's an AP story on Chavez recalling a governor for speaking against his policies.

      Reporters Without Borders, also considered a liberal organization, reports several instances of censorship, including blocking entire topics from discussion. It lists Venezuela as 117 out of 179 in overall press freedom.

      For me, Chavez is one of the less harmful dictators, but a populist dictator remains a dictator, and anybody who blocks freedom of speech and requires media to carry his opinions is a dictator.

    39. Re:And this is why by Nadaka · · Score: 1

      I seem to recall a suggestion that releasing evidence of government malfeasance in Russia isn't as effective as it is in the west because everyone assumes the government is a bit shady, but they think it is a bit shady in their interests.

    40. Re:And this is why by Internetuser1248 · · Score: 1

      Apparently by the Chavez side. According to statistical analysis.

    41. Re:And this is why by TheoMurpse · · Score: 1

      I think you're trying to make some vaguely anti-Semitic remark, but "berg" is a generic German surname suffix. It is not even close to being a strictly Jewish surname suffix.

    42. Re:And this is why by mrex · · Score: 1

      The only problem is that is Assange is throwing in with people like Putin and Chavez

      Errr, how is he doing that?

    43. Re:And this is why by Internetuser1248 · · Score: 1

      I am genuinely looking for information, but I know about protests and dodgy looking election results. I wanted information on the killing and imprisonment of journalists. Like I said above, read the part I quoted. Also read above where I found the links I was asking for myself, after getting tired of rude/ignorant people telling me I should not think for myself. With respect to your articles, thanks for the links but all of those things happen in the US as well(47th in press freedom) and are therefore poor examples. Student protests are brutalised, people are kicked out of both the dems and the reps(? whats the short form) for publicly going against party policy. Censorship is a bit different in the US, far more subtle and mostly achieved by money rather than violence (which is better, but still not good). Chavez is a politician. He is not better or worse than bush or blair or merkel, he may be cruder, poorer and less sophisticated but I nothing but contempt for all of them. I also have nothing but contempt for people that post wild allegations without offering supporting documentation.

    44. Re:And this is why by oxdas · · Score: 1

      He is not being accused of rape as it is popularly defined in the U.S. He is being accused of not using a condom after he told two women he would. Both women willingly had sex with him (one women woke up during the night to Assange having sex with her without a condom). Not using a condom when you are asked to is a crime in Sweden. The women only wanted to force Assange to get an STD test (they were both Assange supporters). I don't like the guy, but something is not right here.

    45. Re:And this is why by Rei · · Score: 1

      Look at it from HIS point of view though

      I don't think there's any question *why* he's hiding. I think his logic train is running down a track that ends right after the next tunnel, but there's no question that the train is there. But we shouldn't be cheering him on for doing so. We need to support the rule of law.

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    46. Re:And this is why by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Much more informative will be the response. Oh, and I hope we're getting mail from both sides. Otherwise it's just the same ol' same ol'

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    47. Re:And this is why by rossdee · · Score: 1

      "Information like this will likely prove to be very informative."

      Everyome seems to be loling at the obviousness of that statement, however I'll take it as how it was meant.
      ie the amount of actual information in some of my email accounts would be zero as it is all spam.

      While there are likely to be more interesting stuff in the Syrian gov emails, of course it would not be informative to most of us since it is very likely to be in Arabic.

    48. Re:And this is why by sjames · · Score: 2

      Even in your post, the smear campaign's effect can be seen. The crime he is accused of in Sweden isn't what MOST countries would call rape. A better translation would be "general douchbaggery with sex involved".

      IF proven true, it would hardly make him a paragon of virtue, but it wouldn't even be considered to rise to the level of a crime in most countries.

    49. Re:And this is why by fredprado · · Score: 1

      Yes, we should. But when the governments do not follow the law and behave as Authoritarian regimens, as it happens more often each day, we end having to defend ourselves in the best way we can, even if it is by breaking the law. The accusations against Assange are ridiculous and obviously manufactured and blown out of proportion for political reasons. He has no real choice but to run. Anybody else with half a brain would do the same.

    50. Re:And this is why by sjames · · Score: 1

      Perhaps every country has a Florida and a Diebold?

    51. Re:And this is why by Internetuser1248 · · Score: 1

      I think your debate is skewed to the right. You didn't leave room on your spectrum for organisations like WSW. They are way left of NPR. I am also including extremists, there are those that are much more extreme than WSW. There are also plenty of right wingers that are far to the right of fox. My point is that from another perspective CNN are fairly right wing and NPR is centrist or slighly left. Fox is still batshit-crazy conservative though. I don't even claim that conservatives are wrong, fox isn't wrong because they are too far right, they are wrong because they are incoherent and idiotic.

    52. Re:And this is why by sjames · · Score: 1

      That sounds a lot like the sort of shenanigans we have seen from the last few U.S. presidents.

    53. Re:And this is why by daem0n1x · · Score: 1

      Firearm possession is illegal in my country, dumb fuck. And in the rest of Europe, by the way. I suppose we live under terrible dictatorships, according to fanatic fucks like you.

      The levels of gun related violence in Venezuela are appalling. What the fuck should the government do? Sit on their asses? Then they'd be criticised for that, too. Stop judging other countries according to your own warped values. The crazy gun ownership laws in the US are the exception among civilised countries. Not the rule. There are far more important things to think about that owning guns. I guess the Venezuelans value more to have a job and food on their table that owning a revolver. Crazy people.

    54. Re:And this is why by del_diablo · · Score: 1

      Or we should support "good behavior". If he is indeed a witness, why can't the Swedish goverment agree with using Skype for long distance communcation for him merely being a witness?

    55. Re:And this is why by Rei · · Score: 1

      Since the Swedes have allowed the US to use extraordinary rendition against at least one individual in Sweden in the past

      So have the British, and have even led joint extraordinary rendition efforts. The British are far more of a US lapdog than Sweden. Even Google recognizes this - start typing anything about "Britain" and "lapdog" and you get suggested searches about Britain being America's lapdog.

      Beyond that, this is being done through the European Arrest Warrant system. To reextradite Assange would require both Swedish *and* British consent, in contrast to just British consent as it stands now. Unless you think one of the most high profile accused persons on Earth right now is just going to disappear.

      I can understand someone deciding that having already been examined, and given permission to leave because no charges were going to be laid after answering all the questions put to him, he might decide he doesn't see why he should have to go through that whole process again.

      First off, people suspected of crimes don't get to pick and choose what cooperation they want to have with the police without repercussions. Multiple questionings are not only not unusual, but they're pretty much standard. And there's nothing at all unusual about one investigator deciding that there's not enough evidence to push charges at a particular moment in time and a different investigator deciding, at that some different moment in time, that there is. The reports are that he had promised to come back, and even if he hadn't, Sweden had every reason in the world to suspect that he planned to come back because he had just applied for permanent residency there. To reiterate, he had applied for permanent residency somewhere, but as soon as there were criminal accusations against him, he hightailed it out of town to avoid them.

      Then we have the various questions about why the 2 women raised the whole issue in the first place and their (to me at least) somewhat suspicious behavior

      Ah, yes, the obligatory victim smearing. Please elaborate after reading the actual accusations,

      plus the fact that one of them has had some connection to the CIA in the past (if that is true).

      This one is the most absurd of them all. The source is a Counterpunch article, which begins with casting Assange as Neo, hero of The Matrix, that... now try to follow this...

      1) She published anti-Castro articles...
      2) In a magazine...
      3) Run by a group in Sweden...
      4) Which according to some professor in Oslo...
      5) Is funded by another group in Sweden...
      6) Which is connected with a Cuban organization...
      7) Which is led by a guy...
      8) Who a Wordpress blog post says is a CIA agent.

      And then this:

      1) She has "interacted"...
      2) (No source)...
      3) With a cuban feminist organization...
      4) ... of women, repeatedly praised and defended by Amnesty International, who protest the jailing of their husbands by going to church dressed in white...
      5a) Because it "gets money" from the US government...
      5b) (No source)...
      6b) And because someone who bombed a plane...
      7) Walked next to Gloria Estefan when she supported the group in Miami.

      I wish I was kidding - check out the article yourself, that's where this tripe started.

      I am not defending him mind you,

      Yes you are. That's precisely what you're doing, without hardly even looking into the situation. Take a look at your post. You even accused someone who is charging someone with raping them of being a CIA plant witho

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    56. Re:And this is why by Forty+Two+Tenfold · · Score: 1

      this is just not a standard that any nation can live up to

      Yes they can. They just don't want to, because it's inconvenient to be limited in actions by the requirement of truthfulness. In the meantime the governments tell the people that they don't have to worry if they have nothing to hide. Hypocrisy much?

      If the U.S. is involved in the massacre of civilians in Syria

      Yes, they are, as are the Russkies.

      --
      Upward mobility is a slippery slope - the higher you climb the more you show your ass.
    57. Re:And this is why by pastafazou · · Score: 2, Informative

      citation 1
      citation 2
      citation 3
      citation 4
      citation 5
      citation 6
      citation 7
      citation 8
      citation 9
      citation 10
      Okay, there's 10 citations for you. Begin your spin, denouncements, deflections, justifications, and outright lies.....

    58. Re:And this is why by pastafazou · · Score: 1

      No, you idiot! Venezuela used to be a democratic country. Chavez is making himself a permanent leader. He's shutting down any news organizations that are critical of him. His opponents are being silenced, bullied, jailed, or worse. Venezuelans aren't doing better because he's doing a good job. Only some of them are doing better because he's seized billions of dollars in assets and money and redistributed them to his loyal supporters. He's following the same path as hundreds of other dictators before him. Why do people refuse to see this?

    59. Re:And this is why by pastafazou · · Score: 1

      how about this? From the conclusion:
      "The alternate hypothesis that there was fraud is consistent with our results, which is why we are unable to reject it." I read the summary of the link you provided. It seems that they were merely observing the implementation of the electronic voting system to ensure it was fair, as opposed to looking for voter suppression, intimidation, multiple voting, etc. All your document says is the electronic system implemented didn't present an inherent bias when the voter showed up to vote.

    60. Re:And this is why by Feyshtey · · Score: 1

      By your rationale it is understandable for every innocent person accused of any crime to refuse being taken into custody and tried because they might be falsely found guilty. And of course, only the innocent people would make this refusal...

      --
      "But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it,..." - Nancy Pelosi
    61. Re:And this is why by tmosley · · Score: 1

      You asked for specific citations for those specific issues (hassling journalists, "emergency" dictatorial powers, and the oulaw of gun ownership). You were given those citations, then you moved the goalposts. The other crap you are talking about is spread between Putin and Chavez.

      Funny how you talk about bias, but you are about as pro-Chavez biased as I have ever seen in my life. I personally don't give a fuck either way, nor do I own a TV, or read from places like CNN except for getting stories for situations like this.

    62. Re:And this is why by tmosley · · Score: 1, Funny

      You resent not being given things. No wonder you love Chavez so much.

    63. Re:And this is why by guises · · Score: 1

      (since when is CNN liberal?!)

      Obviously the BBC isn't liberal either (I don't know anything about Salon), but to a Fox News aficionado anything that isn't Murdoch owned is "the liberal media." The GP wasn't claiming that those sources were genuinely liberal, he was just pointing out that misbehavior by Chavez isn't solely a fabrication of right-wing propaganda.

    64. Re:And this is why by thelexx · · Score: 1

      "Firearm possession is illegal in my country, dumb fuck. And in the rest of Europe, by the way."

      No, they aren't.

      --
      "Gold still represents the ultimate form of payment in the world." - Alan Greenspan, 1999
    65. Re:And this is why by Rei · · Score: 1

      The Swedish legal system wants to charge him. Swedish law requires him to be on Swedish soil to be charged. What's confusing about this?

      And furthermore, since when is a "skype chat" the same as a police interrogation, and since when do suspects get to dictate the terms of their interrogation?

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    66. Re:And this is why by Rei · · Score: 1

      They absolutely are not "ridiculous and obviously manufactured" unless you have some sort of psychic powers I'm unaware of. And *even if* a government is out to get someone, that's *still* not an excuse to be handing "get out of jail free" cards for rape.

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    67. Re:And this is why by Rei · · Score: 1

      You are greatly distorting the accusations.

      You know, half this debate would disappear from Slashdot if people would just take the time to read the actual accusations instead of parroting the echobox and Assange's lawyers.

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    68. Re:And this is why by Rei · · Score: 1

      Julian, calm down, it's going to be all right.

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    69. Re:And this is why by Troed · · Score: 1

      My last name ends in 'berg' as well. It means 'mountain' in my native language. You'll find that to be quite common in northern Europe.

      http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=berg

      (On the other hand, I'm not sure what you were getting at at all)

    70. Re:And this is why by modecx · · Score: 1

      Autocrats will often seek to retain their power once they have it. The Roman Dictator position was supposed to be held only for 6 months at a maximum, and while some dictators gave up the position when business was done, it didn't always work, did it? How many modern dictators were elected by the people, or supported by the people during a coup where they promise a new democracy, only to shit on these promises shortly thereafter? Enough that the people of Venezuela, and the people of the world have every justification to be concerned!

      Also, I'm not from NZ but even I know that NZ laws are a very far cry from a complete ban like ol' Hugo recently passed (basically by edict, that's what makes one a dictator), and excepting the U.S. NZ is one of the world's most liberalized states when it comes to guns--especially shotguns and bolt action rifles. Firearms are registered, one must take a safety class and pass a test, and if I remember right you also have to have endorsements from two people to certify you're not a lunatic; semiautomatic center-fire rifles of 10 rounds and less are also legal under the default license unless they have evil features such as a telescoping buttstock (so scary). You also have no regulation of sound suppressors whatsoever, which is relatively unique in the world.

      The funny thing is that Venezuela new gun law won't do a thing to stop the criminals who are murdering people anonymously, and with impunity... Murder was already illegal after all. However, the government knows exactly where every law abiding shop owner and sportsman lives due to registration; they won't hesitate to make an example of a few of them! Yeah, that's not so funny for the good people of Venezuela after all. There's sure to be a lesson coming down the pipeline in all of this, but I'm sure plenty of people like you will be there to backup the jackbooted thugs and justify the things they'll do.

      --
      Constitutional rights may be respected, repealed, or modified; but they must never be ignored.
    71. Re:And this is why by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I'd also point out that Sweden has been America's bitch in the past so there is president. The original Pirate Bay raid was due to the US requesting it.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    72. Re:And this is why by fredprado · · Score: 1

      I've read the article, and these are ridiculous claims. Come on, girl goes and fucks with guy, which she herself admits doing willingly for a week and then suddenly gets worried about DSTs, many years later and decides to sue him for supposedly "torning his condom on purpose". Public attorney decides to make a name and blows this out of proportion.

      But it gets better, Another girl (a friend of the first one) then brings him to her home, and turns him down, because he didn't want to use a condom. He accepts but she still invites him to sleep with her. In the morning he advances over her, and she relutanctly agrees to have unprotected sex with him, after he assures her he didn't have HIV.

      There is absolutely nothing even remotely related to rape here. Only a feminazy would see it otherwise. It is obviously a honey trap to send him to US as soon as he lands in Sweden. If the government is out for someone it can accuse him of basically anything and running from an abusive government is many times the only alternative a person has, as it is his case here. Especially in his case where the most powerful people in the World want him dead or at the very least arrested and discredited.

    73. Re:And this is why by ZigiSamblak · · Score: 1

      Well that explains why his name in Dutch means "Daniel Stupidshit-Mountain" and also why he changed it.

    74. Re:And this is why by drwho · · Score: 1

      Now we're all sons of bitches.

    75. Re:And this is why by freedom_india · · Score: 1

      Anyone the Republicans hate must be a good guy.

      --
      "Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer
    76. Re:And this is why by freedom_india · · Score: 1

      Which is the business of law making should not be left to government. We end up having laws that are detrimental to people.

      --
      "Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer
    77. Re:And this is why by freedom_india · · Score: 1

      So was iran in 1950s. So was panama in 1980s. That didn't prevent USA from replacing the regimes with dictators. Somehow a USA supported dictator is manna, while others Are bad.

      --
      "Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer
    78. Re:And this is why by freedom_india · · Score: 1

      How I miss Stalin and Beria. They would not have bothered with these niceties. A quick short jab, or a taxi running crazy, or even a hero of soviet union medal to entice him back and then arrest him... I miss the good old days when governmens used to run the show without having to play nice with people like Assange.

      --
      "Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer
    79. Re:And this is why by dbIII · · Score: 2

      Unless of course it turns out that US Government agencies and US Corporations are implicated in the massacre of civilians there

      Even if they are not, the co-operation between US agencies and Syria with the "extreme rendition" incidents (ie. torture of US prisoners subcontracted out to Syria) is probably enough for some to argue that releasing stuff about Syria that could implicate people from the USA is "unpatriotic".
      It's an odd situation where joint operations were carried out with a nation that the general public see as an enemy (refer also to Algeria for even more involvement in a regime far worse than Zimbabwe), so currently people in US politics are busy ignoring the problems in Syria and hoping they will just vanish until everyone forgets that links made during the Iraq war.

    80. Re:And this is why by DinDaddy · · Score: 1

      Why does he need to stop running around and be extradited for them to charge him? Surely extradition would be easier if there were charges already in place?

    81. Re:And this is why by dbIII · · Score: 1

      The accusations sadly matter very little one way or another. He's being extradited without even being charged - that's a new thing and bound to provoke feelings of paranoia.

    82. Re:And this is why by dbIII · · Score: 1

      The only problem is that is Assange is throwing in with people like Putin and Chavez

      Is he? Where's the connection? Is it Kevin Bacon?
      You're really scraping the bottom of the barrel here with guilt by implied association where the only link is they all belong to the set of people you don't like. Why haven't you grown out of such behaviour yet?

    83. Re:And this is why by neoshroom · · Score: 1

      Police officer and Buddhist master, clearly.

      --
      Big apple, new Yorik, undig it, something's unrotting in Edenmark.
    84. Re:And this is why by Internetuser1248 · · Score: 1

      Okay, there's 10 citations for you. Begin your spin, denouncements, deflections, justifications, and outright lies.....

      No, those are good. Thankyou.

      How did I become the bad guy for asking for citations?

    85. Re:And this is why by Internetuser1248 · · Score: 1

      You asked for specific citations for those specific issues (hassling journalists, "emergency" dictatorial powers, and the oulaw of gun ownership). You were given those citations, then you moved the goalposts. The other crap you are talking about is spread between Putin and Chavez. Funny how you talk about bias, but you are about as pro-Chavez biased as I have ever seen in my life. I personally don't give a fuck either way, nor do I own a TV, or read from places like CNN except for getting stories for situations like this.

      No I didn't, read it again. No I wasn't read it again. I am the most pro Chavez person you have ever seen? Wow. Let me just repeat the words of praise I have lavished on him:

      I disagree with the charges and believe that journalists should be able to say what they want, I think the Chavez administration has overstepped its authority in this case.

      I am actually concerned about state repression of the media in Venezuela.

      Chavez is a politician. He is not better or worse than bush or blair or merkel, he may be cruder, poorer and less sophisticated but I nothing but contempt for all of them.

    86. Re:And this is why by Internetuser1248 · · Score: 1

      I resent being called an asshole for not swallowing your opinion whole without thinking for myself.

      I also resent having my internet search skills insulted by someone who fails basic reading comprehension.

      I am now offering reading lessons to everyone one slashdot, only 10USD/hour. Seriously who the fuck modded this funny?

    87. Re:And this is why by sa1lnr · · Score: 1

      "The British are far more of a US lapdog"

      Excuse me, we call that "The Special Relationship" :)

    88. Re:And this is why by sa1lnr · · Score: 1

      A decree is an Executive Order by a different name. ;)

    89. Re:And this is why by Rei · · Score: 1

      Which are...? I provided an article detailing the accusations, care to provide anything other than "I'm Swedish"?

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    90. Re:And this is why by Rei · · Score: 1

      which she herself admits doing willingly for a week ... many years later ... she relutanctly agrees to have unprotected sex with him, after he assures her he didn't have HIV.

      How on Earth can you claim to have read the article? That's like reading an article on the JFK assassination and coming to the conclusion that JFK shot himself from the book depository.

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    91. Re:And this is why by crazyjj · · Score: 1

      In contrast to Assange he is taking the protection of source seriously.

      Is that what he's saying about his honeypot? Any source dumb enough to hand documents over to that CIA piece of shit deserves the prison cell it's going to get them.

      --
      What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
    92. Re:And this is why by daem0n1x · · Score: 1

      Well, the people in Venezuela have chosen democratically to be ruled by Chavez. And he's doing a better job than all the previous corrupt pro-USA leaders that made them live in the most abject poverty in a country full of oil.

    93. Re:And this is why by pastafazou · · Score: 1

      I find the majority of posters on slashdot that request citations do so not because they have an open mind on the subject, but because they're trying to silence someone they disagree with. If citations aren't provided, they declare the original claim to be false (which makes no sense logically, they should be providing citations themselves that prove the original claim to be false). If citations are provided, they will try to discount them, such as declaring the source of the citation to be biased. So when someone requests citations, I tend to assume they're the bad guy. If I disagree with someone's post, I'll go out and find my own citations that disprove it, rather than requesting them to provide citations to support it.

    94. Re:And this is why by fredprado · · Score: 1

      That is because I know how to read. You on the other hand seems to mix the text you read with things from your imagination, apparently. The statements you quote can be easily verified by reading the text. You need some read and comprehension skills badly.

      Let me put it in a way even you can understand. These are the facts:

      - Woman A invites him to have sex.
      - Woman A asks him to use a condom.
      - He accepts even if it annoys him.
      - Condom ends ripping.
      - He stays one week in Woman A house and she never asks him to leave.
      - Woman A asks him for an HIV test.
      - He refuses, which is within his right to do.
      - Later, woman A accuses him of ripping the condom on purpose.

      - Woman B invites him to her house.
      - Woman B refuses to have sex without condom.
      - Woman B invites him to sleep in her bed.
      - He advances over her in the morning.
      - After some insistence she asks him if he has no HIV.
      - He says he does not.
      - She concedes.
      - They have sex.
      - He goes away.
      - Later woman B accuses him of "forcing" her into unsafe sex.

      And these are the obvious conclusions:

      - Woman A and Woman B see him in the news and decide to get rich by publishing their stories.
      - Prosecutor C decides to get famous by taking the case.
      - Politicians D, E and F, see it as an opportunity to make an example of him and discredit his efforts.

      It is really simple. If you can't understand it is because you don't know how to read.

    95. Re:And this is why by fredprado · · Score: 1

      By your rationale there is not such thing as political refugees. Because it is really easy to accuse someone of something and them, when he is under your power arrest him for anything else, as political dissent, for example.

      By your rationale You should, for example, go to China to be tried for a murder you didn't commit, even though you know they are after you because you made anti-communist propaganda.

      That is idiocy on its best.

    96. Re:And this is why by Palamos · · Score: 1

      As governments are voted in by the electorate, at least in some countries, doesn't the electorate have the right to know the truth about them? Surely if government agencies were allowed to (or continue to be allowed to) cover up the truth it is tantamount to vote rigging. Wiki leaks has done something very significant, it has shown governments that they are visible, that they can't ride roughshod over the electorate and they will be measured by what they've done, not what they've said they've done. Wiki leaks is a a small step for man but a giant leap for mankind.

    97. Re:And this is why by uninformedLuddite · · Score: 1

      a platinum blonde rat

      --
      The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
    98. Re:And this is why by fredprado · · Score: 1

      Even if I do not like Chavez I have to point that you have ZERO evidence to support your claims and stills insist on defending them. Chavez does not need to tamper with elections, he is a demagogue and has the people, who unfortunately do not know better, on his side. That is, at least until he manages to screw his country's economy majorly, which you can bet he will, sooner or later.

    99. Re:And this is why by pastafazou · · Score: 1

      Maybe you need to stop getting your news from the liberal media in America, as they seem to love Chavez and won't report anything bad about him. There are two camps in Venezuela; those that support Chavez, and those that don't. Supporters of Chavez are rewarded with plenty of perks, while those that oppose him are arrested, attacked, bullied, and worse. Chavez isn't hugely popular among the people, he's only popular among his supporters. The only ones who will speak up are those that support him, as it's dangerous to speak badly about him. There were some good underground bloggers operating out of Caracas back around the recall election, and some of the stuff they reported on made it sound like Soviet Union style politics.

    100. Re:And this is why by Rei · · Score: 1

      That is because I know how to read.

      And apparently you learned to do so in Wayside School.

      - Woman A invites him to have sex.

      Not what the accusation states. Accusation says he starts ripping off her clothes, she tries to put them back on, he rips them off again, then pins her down and tries to force sex without a condom, and she consents under duress only if he'll use one. The fact that you claim to have read the article and believe what you wrote is incredible.

      - He stays one week in Woman A house and she never asks him to leave.

      Flatly contradicted by the accusations, which state that *he* says she never asked him, but *she* says she asked him to leave and wouldn't, told her friends he wouldn't leave, started sleeping on her couch to get away from him, and ultimately moved out of her own apartment until he left to get away with him. Undoubtedly these claims have been investigated by the police as they're verifiable.

      - He advances over her in the morning.

      Otherwise known as "he starts fucking her while she's asleep". In violation of the terms she had set out the previous night, but it'd be rape even if he was using one.

      - After some insistence she asks him if he has no HIV.
      - He says he does not.
      - She concedes.

      Probably the most extreme example of your imagination going wild when "reading" the accusations. He is *inside of her* while she was asleep, without a condom when she wakes up and then says "you better not have HIV".

      What part of, "She had awoken to find him having sex with her, she said, but when she asked whether he was wearing a condom he said no. " was tricky for you to understand? The fact that it's made of words?

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    101. Re:And this is why by fredprado · · Score: 1

      Maybe you should start getting your news in another place too. I live next door in Brazil and I have several friends living there. Chavez is a demagogue, a populist, and generally speaking incompetent. But he do have the majority of the population on his side. Many many times the majority is that stupid and indulge in immediate benefits without thinking about the future. It was like so with Hitler, it was like so in the Russian revolution and it was like so in Cuba too. Even if in time all these countries' populations finally realized that they had done a very big mistake when they put these guys in power that does not change the fact that the majority did put them in power willingly .

    102. Re:And this is why by fredprado · · Score: 1

      It is clear he only advanced over her, then she woke up, he forced his hand she conceded. They had have already sex over the night, she was not drugged and she certainly wouldn't have slept through the act in the morning. He never used his strength to hurt any of the girls, which they clearly admitted. The second girl could have yelled "get away from me" when she woke up, but noooo, she said: "you'd better not have HIV." There was no such thing as "consenting under duress" here. That is bullshit. They consented and then regretted their decisions. It is their problem not his. It is past time for women like this to start to be accounted for their decisions.

      You are an idiot. A feminazi imbecile. The only good part about your thinking is that in time your kind will end extinct when your dystopia where it is required to fill seventy forms and hire a lawyer team in order to have sex comes to be.

    103. Re:And this is why by electrons_are_brave · · Score: 1
      It's not a crazy law. The problem isn't the law, and the problem for Assange isn't facing the charges - even if he is guilty it won't be a big deal. The problem is that there is still some chance that Sweden will extradite him to to the US. And Assange's fellow Australian's will miss out on a chance to vote him into the Senate.

      But don't blame the Swedish law; it's just a more advanced country in regards to the human rights of women in this area.

    104. Re:And this is why by electrons_are_brave · · Score: 1

      Thanks you for explaining that. Just to point out, though, that in Australia you can still sue someone who knows they have an STD but does not disclose it to you.

  2. pics? by netwarerip · · Score: 2

    I guess as long as there are no pics of the prophet then no one will mind.
    Oh, who am I kidding? No one will care much outside Syria anyway, at least not for more than 5 minutes and a tweet or 2.

    1. Re:pics? by tqk · · Score: 1

      No one will care much outside Syria anyway, at least not for more than 5 minutes and a tweet or 2.

      Are you joking? That regime has been a seeping wound on the face of mankind for a long time now. They had hit squads roaming the world assassinating their opponents during the Cold War. Assad & Co. have done far worse things than Gaddafi even dreamed of.

      I will dance when that bunch gets hung up on meathooks.

      --
      "Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
  3. How Wikileaks will take itself out. . . by PerlPunk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Wikileaks is a project waiting for just one of those less politically correct countries like Syria but that has enough time on their hands to send a hit squad to wipe them out permanently--as in personnel and extended family if necessary.

    1. Re:How Wikileaks will take itself out. . . by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      Yep, because a military strike into a first world country would do so much for Assad's position.

    2. Re:How Wikileaks will take itself out. . . by hey_popey · · Score: 1

      You mean, like any of the biggest military powers which were concerned by the diplomatic cables?

    3. Re:How Wikileaks will take itself out. . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If wikileak's falls, by whatever mechanism, it is as a result of vanity. Their service of data dissemination, can be replicated without a figurehead. That's not to say that this Wikileaks 2.0 couldn't/shouldn't have outspoken proponents, nor should it be a wild-west style data-dumping ground without independent oversight; only that the whole process does not need centralization.

    4. Re:How Wikileaks will take itself out. . . by daem0n1x · · Score: 1

      Like Syria had any capability to do anything like that!

      And everybody knows he has nothing to fear from the civilised western countries, does he? When have they ever done anything like that?

      Stop watching NCIS. It's fiction, you know? And bad one.

    5. Re:How Wikileaks will take itself out. . . by gl4ss · · Score: 2

      well, they tried but they tried buying the service from columbian cartels.

      but seriously, basically you're suggesting that journalists should be scared of offending some fucking douchebag dictators who have their hands full with their own very, very pissed off rebels, activists and dictator-to-be wanabes. hell, you're suggesting that we should just stop talking shit about every regime because otherwise they'll come and kill everyone of us! like in their shitty propaganda! What the fuck??

      fuck that, of course they know that's something that might happen - that's why it's been tried to setup so that the information they have gets released regardless. so it would make only sense to take them out if you knew they were about to receive information about your regime.

      wtf do they care about a proxy publisher anways? assad&gang is more interested in wiping the leakers, they could have leaked the information through a dozen other ways as well, for example in exchange for money to mossad.

      besides, if syria had an uber hitsquad capable of wiping out extended families, you'd think they would us those on people dealing weapons to their rebels, no?

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    6. Re:How Wikileaks will take itself out. . . by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Yep, because a military strike into a first world country would do so much for Assad's position.

      Chile did that (car bomb in Washington D.C.) without it changing anything diplomaticly.

    7. Re:How Wikileaks will take itself out. . . by Dabido · · Score: 1

      Doesn't nec. have to be a country either. Could just be an organisation (crime syndicate/drug cartel etc).

      --
      Sure enough, the cow costume was hanging up next to the superhero outfit and sailors uniform. (S,Spud)
  4. Re:Droning on and on by Issarlk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why? Has your country something embarasing to hide?

  5. Finally... by olau · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...some real, possibly world-changing leaks stories instead of all the crap about Assange and his whereabouts.

    There was a news report on Danish television about the Syrian regime and how it's treating dissidents. That was not pleasant to watch.

    1. Re:Finally... by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 3

      I keep hearing about what is happening in Syria, and wonder exactly the UN is for if not stopping exactly that kind of shit.

      --
      Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
    2. Re:Finally... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Most of the UN wanted to, but sadly Russia and China have interest in Syria and also a shitload of clout. Any proposed action would have been quashed.

      I mean its blatantly obvious that the situation in Syria has been as bad or worse than the previous situation in Libya for quite some time. If you want to get angry, be angry with the fact that the rest of the UN, including the United States, the UK, Canada, etc, were all too much of a pack of wusses to call China and Russia out for being such dicks.

    3. Re:Finally... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      The UN has sent many strongly-worded letters to the Assad regime and has sent observers to take note of what's happening.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    4. Re:Finally... by Hatta · · Score: 1

      Indeed. This is Syria's business.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    5. Re:Finally... by Rei · · Score: 2

      And if that doesn't work, they're going to tattle to Syria's mom.

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    6. Re:Finally... by tbannist · · Score: 2

      The U.N. exists to prevent the U.S., China, England, France and Russia from going to war with each other. That is its primary purpose, that's why each of those nations have permanent security council seats and vetos. China and Russia and have been using their vetos to allow the Syrian bloodshed to play out. The implicit threat is that they would consider going to war over the issue if the rest of the world intervenes.

      --
      Fanatically anti-fanatical
    7. Re:Finally... by del_diablo · · Score: 1

      Its actually a lot more simple that what the current issue is. The current vote is for "military intervention", which is basically raiding the place, drop a few bombs, ruin a bit of infastructure, replace the top of the power structure, pay a few warlords, and don't uphold the law. China don't want such a uncivilized action to be taken, and some of the Russian top likes the Syrian top. So there goes the veto.
      Now... what could have happened? Don't go for military intervention, just send in "Law Enforcement Tropers". Don't squash, just do what their local police is not doing, take over the courts, uphold the law, and do nothing more. Once the peace as settled for a bit, the only things left to deal with is corruption.

    8. Re:Finally... by tbannist · · Score: 1

      I think there's also a wider issue here, which is the right of governments to act with impunity when dealing with internal dissent. Both Russia and China are going to be facing similar protests in the foreseeable future. China's leadership is skating by on many issues because of the economic growth and prosperity being generated right now, however, when the Chinese economy finally hits the wall they're probably planning similar actions. Russia already has similar problems. They'd like to see Assad win because it would discourage their own dissidents.

      --
      Fanatically anti-fanatical
    9. Re:Finally... by fustakrakich · · Score: 2

      You got it all wrong. It's just business, like the whole Qaddafi thing.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    10. Re:Finally... by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      No, now your'e being silly. They'll instead send an even more strongly worded letter, this time with exclamation marks.

    11. Re:Finally... by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      In some sense I suspect Russian and China are worried about the concept of military action against repressive regimes as it sets a bad precedent. They may have many friends and trading partners who are repressive regimes, and of course China and Russia are accused all the time of being repressive regimes themselves.

      Ie, if this is just "internal dissent" then these countries wish it to remain internal. Russia and China both have internal dissent and dissidents and breakaway movements that they consider internal problems. They do not want the UN to butt in to private matters in other words (ie, they do not want you to think that just because you can hear your neighbor beating his wife behind closed doors that you can call the police).

  6. Assange is not hiding. by SpzToid · · Score: 1

    Assange has requested asylum from Equador. We all know where he is. Last I heard, he was also on the ballot in Australia and has a TV show on hulu.com, so he's not exactly low-profile either.

    --
    You can't be ahead of the curve, if you're stuck in a loop.
    1. Re:Assange is not hiding. by bsane · · Score: 2

      'hiding' is exactly what he is doing, it has more than one meaning:

      http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hiding

      v.intr.
      2. To seek refuge.

    2. Re:Assange is not hiding. by who_stole_my_kidneys · · Score: 1

      Uh if hes not "hiding" he fucking should be. Basically he has leaked confidential U.S. documents, that makes him a high priority target, and if he is extradited, 1 of two things will happen, one: he will be executed (not likely) two: he will be prosecuted for some crime and put in a hole for the rest of eternity (most likely). is this instance hiding is not a cowardly thing, is a survival tactic.

    3. Re:Assange is not hiding. by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Uh if hes not "hiding" he fucking should be. Basically he has leaked confidential U.S. documents, that makes him a high priority target, and if he is extradited, 1 of two things will happen, one: he will be executed (not likely) two: he will be prosecuted for some crime and put in a hole for the rest of eternity (most likely).

      Precedent from Watergate says that Assange has nothing to fear from a US Court for the leaked documents.

      Unless, of course, it can be proved that he either paid or encouraged Manning to do the deed. That would probably come under espionage laws.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    4. Re:Assange is not hiding. by Hatta · · Score: 1

      What makes you think he would ever get a day in court in the US?

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    5. Re:Assange is not hiding. by Apuleius · · Score: 1

      "What makes you think he would ever get a day in court in the US?"

      Ellsberg did. Ghods, your type has the memory of a goldfish.

    6. Re:Assange is not hiding. by Hatta · · Score: 1

      Ellsberg was a citizen, and that was pre-9/11. For a non-citizen accused of espionage post-9/11, he can reasonably be expected to be rendered to another country for torture.

      Of course, since he's a white european and not an arab or persian he may not actually be rendered. But that doesn't speak highly for our justice system either. Justice should be blind.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    7. Re:Assange is not hiding. by tbannist · · Score: 1

      That was then, recently a U.S. military hearing tried to sentence a Canadian citizen to 40 years of prison (on top of the already 10 years spent in custody) for killing a U.S. medic during a fire fight in Afghanistan despite the fact that the defendant was 15 and injured at the time (he was shot three times in the back during the fire fight). The sentence was longer than the one requested by the prosecution and the evidence to support the conviction was a confession extracted under torture which was allowed as evidence by the "judge".

      I have zero confidence that the U.S. system believes in justice any more, especially for people who are not U.S. citizens and I'm not alone in that view. Compounded with the fact that multiple American politicians have called for Assange's execution for "treason" against the U.S. and there is significant reason to doubt that he'd ever see a fair trial. That the real problem with all this torture for hire, special prisons, black ops, CIA stuff. It tarnishes your reputation, and soon people expect your country to murder innocent people because it's convenient. Maybe he would get one after all, however, no one who might have to face the consequences would ever want to take that risk.

      --
      Fanatically anti-fanatical
  7. The leaks with a twist... by jellomizer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "the emails will also expose the hypocrisy of other governments and companies"

    In other words he will filter out data that will United States and Western Europe in a good light.

    My prediction it will show that Companies are dealing with Syria by working around any laws to stop them, and there are some politicians who were willing to look the other way for some concessions, and Oil...

    If you don't know this stuff is actually happening then you are either an idiot, or you live in Mr. Happy land where your country can do no wrong.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:The leaks with a twist... by daem0n1x · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "the emails will also expose the hypocrisy of other governments and companies"

      In other words he will filter out data that will United States and Western Europe in a good light.

      So, when he filters you accuse him of cherry-picking. When he publishes everything you accuse him of publishing shitloads of irrelevant and mundane data. If you want to bash the man, at least get your hatred bullshit straight! It the US and Western Europe are so pure and clean they should have nothing to fear, should they?

      My prediction it will show that Companies are dealing with Syria by working around any laws to stop them, and there are some politicians who were willing to look the other way for some concessions, and Oil...

      If you don't know this stuff is actually happening then you are either an idiot, or you live in Mr. Happy land where your country can do no wrong.

      One thing is people gossiping about that. It's only one more conspiracy theory to add to the lot. But this is evidence. It's quite different. You're just trying to spin it to your liking. If there weren't embarrassing details for the West you'd be screaming and shouting about how monstrous the Assad regime is, and how this is the definitive evidence to justify an invasion!

    2. Re:The leaks with a twist... by RivenAleem · · Score: 1

      It was filtered out.

    3. Re:The leaks with a twist... by Xelios · · Score: 1

      There's an important difference between "knowing" these things while being labeled paranoid or a conspiracy nut and "knowing" these things in relation to hard evidence that you can show people.

      --
      Murphey's fighting Occam, and we're in the stands.
  8. 2.5m? by hobarrera · · Score: 3, Funny

    They're releasing 2.5metres of emails? Or maybe it's miles!

    1. Re:2.5m? by Quakeulf · · Score: 2

      They're using standard-issue A4 office printer paper, which is quite thin. Besides, I don't think the governments communicated enough.

    2. Re:2.5m? by Kinthelt · · Score: 1

      The length of a standard DDR3 DIMM is 82mm. So assuming each DIMM is 1GB that comes out to approximately 30.5 GB of emails.

      --

      "Evil will always triumph over good, because good is dumb." - Dark Helmet (Spaceballs)

    3. Re:2.5m? by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      2.5 metres of emails is a decent amount of data on a modern data tape.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    4. Re:2.5m? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      With standard SI notation, it's obviously 2.5 milli-emails. You can tell because the m is lowercase. That 0.0025 emails can still embarrass several nations at once is really quite impressive.

  9. Re:How Wikileaks will take itself out. . . or not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    So when BBC or New York Times publish articles that are not deemed Correct by these entities, then they need to worry that themselves and their families will be assassinated??

    Assange did not leak *anything*. All he does it put leaks sent to him up on a website and acts all important about it. He's not the important part of the equation. There are 1,000,000 Assange-like people waiting in the wings hoping he fails so they can step in.

  10. You're talking to the wrong crowd by daveschroeder · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Most of the commenters here will twist this story into how the US is somehow evil, and drone on (pun intended) about how the US and West governments and/or corporations and/or political systems are what's wrong with the world, when in reality, people are suffering and dying under actual tyranny and oppression.

    Like in Syria.

    It's about time Wikileaks lived up to its initial stated mission of "exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East," instead of becoming an anti-US pulpit for a self-righteous egomaniac who has openly said if he was asked to choose between "advocate"/"activist" and "journalist", he would choose "advocate", and who answered "I'm too busy ending two wars," in response to a reporter asking for clarity on an issue.

    (And no, this doesn't mean the US and West are all-perfect or all-wise — what it means is that people need to get out of their bizarro world and get some perspective on things. A clue wouldn't hurt, either.)

    1. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by darkstar019 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      How come wikileaks is anti-US ? All it did was to leak the documents provided by its collaborators. If people in other countries also leak information, it would be available on a public use. The US dossier was very big and it came after the chilling video of civilians being killed, so it generated such a bang.

      --
      Fuck Beta
    2. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      Perhaps they are all evil, but differ in degree?

    3. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2

      As The Good Guys(tm), we have a right to an unsullied public image. Even holding the theory that our goodness state is some kind of empirical question, to be decided by looking at our actions, is downright anti-American.

    4. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by copponex · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Most of the commenters here will twist this story into how the US is somehow evil, and drone on (pun intended) about how the US and West governments and/or corporations and/or political systems are what's wrong with the world, when in reality, people are suffering and dying under actual tyranny and oppression.

      Like in Syria.

      You are absolutely right, and absolutely wrong.

      In December of 2001, U.S. agents arranged to have a German citizen flown to a Syrian jail called the Palestine Branch, renowned for its use of torture, and later offered to pass written questions to Syrian interrogators to pose to the prisoner, according to a secret German intelligence report shown to TIME on Wednesday. The report is described in the new book Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program by British investigative journalist Stephen Grey. The complex arrangement was part of the CIA's sprawling practice of extraordinary renditions, the secret transfer of terror suspects to hidden prisons across the world -- which has involved the aid of numerous foreign governments and the knowledge of key Western European allies, according to the book, which was shown to TIME by the author. After U.S. officials long refused to confirm the CIA's secret detention of terror suspects abroad, President Bush last month admitted that terror suspects had been transferred abroad to secret CIA facilities, but U.S. officials continue to deny that such prisoners have been tortured, saying that foreign governments assured them that they would be treated fairly.

      Inside the CIA's Secret Prisons Program, Time Magazine, 2006

      And before you backpedal on what happened to Maher Arar:

      This week the Supreme Court denied, without comment, the appeal of Maher Arar, a dual citizen of Canada and Syria who was arrested in transit through JFK airport in 2002, then shipped off to Syria and tortured for 10 months. Arar's abuse allegedly included repeated beatings with electrical cables and confinement in a cell the size of a grave. When they realized they had the wrong guy -- the really, totally, and utterly innocent guy -- Arar was released without charges. He was then completely exonerated of any link to terror by the Canadian government, which impaneled a commission to investigate the incident, issued a 1,000-plus-page report on the matter, held its own intelligence forces responsible for their role in the screw-up, then apologized and paid Arar $9.8 million. Whereas the U.S. government -- as Glenn Greenwald observes -- has never apologized, never acknowledged any wrongdoing, never held anyone responsible, and, on President Barack Obama's watch, has only redoubled its efforts to prevent Arar from having even a single day in court.

      So, we took an innocent man, illegally shipped him off to Syria (probably in exchange for easing off pressure on the Assad regime), tortured him, and now we're denying him his day in court to hold our government to account. Stop pretending that you, or the American government, has any principled position on matters of human rights. Syrian torture facilities are just dandy when we want to use them. The fact is that we have put more bodies in the ground this decade than the Assad regime has in it's entire family history.

      That's why you focus on Assange, instead of dealing with what his organization has revealed. The truth isn't important to you. Protecting American state power is. Oddly enough, the American government keeps telling me that they're free to subpoena everything about me and my life, and that I should have nothing to fear if I have nothing to hide, and now we're saying the same thing. Why is the American government so afraid of the truth?

      As a huge world power, they've got lots of little people like you, desperately clinging at the teat of the empire, ready to kill eno

    5. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by BForrester · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Countries with the greatest capacity to do harm, and the likely propensity to exercise that power should be under the greatest scrutiny.

      Deaths in Syrian uprising: nearly 18,000
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_uprising_(2011%E2%80%93present)#Deaths

      Deaths in US-Afghanistan War: nearly 18,000
      http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/aug/10/afghanistan-civilian-casualties-statistics

      Deaths in US-Iraq war: approximately 110,000
      http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/

      So, while Syria certainly needs to be on the watch list, and it is very advantageous for the supporters of that regime to be unmasked and exposed, the Western governments do not get a free pass just because some people have concluded that they are not oppressive or dangerous to their own people.

    6. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by LordLucless · · Score: 2

      It's about time Wikileaks lived up to its initial stated mission [archive.org] of "exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East,"

      What, like releasing 2.5 million emails from Syrian political figures? I just love how you brainless "patriots" will praise people as long as they only criticize the people your leaders have decided are "bad guys", but as soon as they reveal how close the "good guys" come to being bad, you decry them for being anti-American. You're not looking for information, you're looking for useful propaganda. A true patriot would be backing what America stands for, not what America does just because it's America doing it.

      All it takes is to read your second reply to the OP to see how incapable you are of ever believing your country could do any wrong. Your attitude is blinkered, and foolish, and only leads to you being exploited by those gaming the political system to maintain power. I don't care so much about that - you deserve it. But unfortunately, people like you take the rest of the country down with you.

      --
      Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
    7. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by daveschroeder · · Score: 4, Insightful

      *Sigh*

      Now we're getting into semantics, but it's not necessarily malicious, nor murder, nor "illegal" to kill in war. It is possible for a killing, even in wartime, to be all of those things. This wasn't one of those times. It's also possible to kill civilians accidentally and still not have it be malicious or a crime. Yes, someone is still dead — but intent matters, even in war. This is not a new construct.

    8. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by daveschroeder · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I hope the amount of incorrect, ranting assumptions you've made about me and what you think I stand for made you feel better.

      I don't discount any of the facts about individual incidents in your comment, nor would I ever be foolish or arrogant enough to say the US has never made a mistake — we have made plenty and will make plenty more — but let me ask you something:

      Do you believe that the world and humanity would be better off if the US hadn't existed after, say, WWII? Not just from a geopolitical perspective, but from perspectives of technology, medicine, and similar?

      Do you believe that someone like, say, China, or an amalgamation of warring mideast states, or perhaps even an old Soviet superstate would be a better global steward than the United States and the West?

      If you can answer "Yes", or even "Perhaps", to either of those questions, we share no common ground from which to even have a discussion.

    9. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by Hatta · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The video was not "chilling" unless you expect war to be a happy affair

      Most people don't think about the costs of war. Presenting them with actual footage really does chill the general public. If it didn't, they wouldn't bother hiding it from us.

      Yes, war is hell and sometimes people choose to do it anyway. But if they do, they should be presented with the consequences of their choices as directly and as often as possible. This is the service that Wikileaks provided with its release of Collateral Murder.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    10. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Meh, he states on his homepage he's an Information Warfare Officer for the Navy.

      He's always rabidly defending the US whilst simultaneously trying to defame the rest. I think he just used Slashdot as his own personal little information warfare training ground and judging by the upmods.

      He's doing what he's paid to do, don't let it bother you. People who have been on Slashdot long enough know he isn't worth listening to because his viewpoint is so politically slanted and unobjective. Still, at least he has the courtesy to post his own homepage so that those willing to understand the motivations of his post can. A nice dislaimer in his sig would go further, but that would defeat the object of the political game he likes to play here.

      The only problem for him is that he doesn't seem to realise that the only people he's actually persuading are the people who are already of the same opinion as him to start with. The rest of us just see him for what he is - a political shill, a self-confessed information warfare officer for the US military industrial complex.

    11. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Neligence matters too, and that's where the US troops in the video fell foul.

      Most militaries in the world are trained to confirm their targets before firing, America fails miserably at this which is precisely why it's everything from the butt of countless friendly fire jokes, to being see as a hated occupying army by the Iraqis and Afghans.

      The fact is the people in question, and most certainly the vehicle that tried to help were not an immediate threat to anyone. Any other military force with a care for human rights (i.e. Canadian, European, Australian, New Zealand) would've at least waited until there was an actual clear risk before pulling the trigger. These forces recognise that even if that means waiting until an RPG is actually fired, that even if it led to the death of one of their own, then that's a far safer action in the grand scheme of things than riling up a civilian population to fight against you by killing children which will inevitably mean 10s, possibly hundreds of your soldiers dying as an indirect effect of that. The math is simple, but US forces aren't trained to think about the bigger picture, only the excitement of pulling a trigger, and this is why the troops in the video were criminally negligent and should at very least have been held up on manslaughter charges if nothing else.

      Still, it's America's choice, they're the ones who are throwing thousands of their sons into graves for no reason because they consistently end up having to run from said wars with their tales between their legs. It's just a shame other nation's civilians have to die because of their military incompetence. The only saving grace is that even the American public eventually get sick of seeing their own kids come home in body bags because they have no clue that fighting a war is about far more than simply pulling the trigger.

    12. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by daveschroeder · · Score: 1

      Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not paid to do anything. By your logic — especially since you're posting as AC and thus hiding your identity! — you must be shilling for some agenda, no? Please also explain how Syria's actions can be defended.

      I do find it amusing that anyone you disagree with must be "playing political games", and that you think I should have a "disclaimer" in my sig. That says what? "Warning — you may find ideas which run counter to yours difficult to swallow"?

      Give me a break.

    13. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by Nadaka · · Score: 3, Informative

      You would be wrong. The entire video does not show the crime, it shows the context for the crime that takes place in one specific part of the video.

      When the van pulls onto the scene in the video, you can hear the gunner begging for permission to open fire. And then lying to his CO over the radio, claiming that the people were collecting guns and bodies, when they were very very clearly only retrieving the 1 wounded survivor. Wither or not there was some mistaken identity earlier is debatable. but that specific instance with the van? That is most definitely a crime.

    14. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by Rei · · Score: 3, Informative

      Iraq Body Count is one of the lowest estimates out there. There are three peer-reviewed studies on it (IBC is not among them): the Iraq Family Health Survey, the Lancet survey, and the Opinion Research Business survey. The Lancet's value of 655k dead by June 2006 (601k from violence, and of those, 181k from the coalition and 276k where the killer was unknown) is the middle one of the three. They also have had the most feedback on the paper and the best sampling, so if anyone is going to cite just one work on the subject, it should probably be them.

      --
      Rock Us, Dukakis.
    15. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by Nadaka · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Then why are they releasing information on Syria, a decidedly anti-western country?

    16. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by daveschroeder · · Score: 1

      (Successful troll is successful.)

      So let me get this straight:

      You believe that I'm posting on slashdot as part of official duties, and that I am being paid to do this — AND that I make no effort to hide who I am — wait, wait, let me guess: so that I have some Princess-Bride-poison-scene plausible deniability or some other nonsense, instead of, oh, I don't know, just hiding my identity or even posting as AC?

      Wow. Just...wow. Thanks for putting a smile on my face! :-)

    17. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by Hatta · · Score: 1

      Then why didn't the military release the collateral murder video itself? If this is the kind of thing we want to achieve, then they should be proud of their successes.

      No, the actual reason is that most people are horrified by unnecessary killing, and you are just a sick fuck.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    18. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by dkleinsc · · Score: 1

      So if the US were demonstrably closely allied with oppressive regimes in the Middle East, would you want Wikileaks to expose information about those regimes and their relationships with the US?

      There's even a good argument that the US acts as an oppressive regime in the Middle East, specifically in the countries it's currently occupying.

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    19. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by PerlPunk · · Score: 1

      daveschroeder wrote: "Most of the commenters here will twist this story into how the US is somehow evil, and drone on (pun intended) about how the US and West governments and/or corporations and/or political systems are what's wrong with the world, when in reality, people are suffering and dying under actual tyranny and oppression."

      Agreed. And there is usually some political objective behind it: unseat the incumbent political party if it's not yours, or remain (somewhat) silent if it is the party you identify with.

      But if fundamental values are to be subordinated to the interests of group identity--whether that identity be political, or social, or national, or racial, or some combination of them--then there is really no important moral difference between the crowd that supports a project like Wikileaks (because supporting such a project somehow advances their own group identity) and the various "corrupt" regimes around the world that Wikileaks supposedly seeks to "out."

    20. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by GigaBurglar · · Score: 1

      "how the US and West governments and/or corporations and/or political systems are what's wrong with the world, when in reality, people are suffering and dying under actual tyranny and oppression." - Yes very good. That's like saying people don't kill people - guns do; that's ridiculous. The US, and many other countries including my own, the UK, financially and economically pull the trigger. If you honestly think that economic policy is not built around foreign enterprise then you are completely mistaken. Countries that cannot even afford the interest placed on their shoulders by the IMF obligate to pay their dues through enterprise - think of all the US and European firms that operate in poor countries in exchange for cheap goods and services - oil is a commodity that springs to mind. Do remember who are the major player in foreign policy - we (especially the US) live in a system of governance that actually permits lobby-ism. The entire western economic model revolves around the exploitation of cheap labour and goods - this is why we can regularly afford to commercially give away gifts (that we take for granted) that are derived from one of the most precious commodities on the planet - oil; plastic. If your AOL CDs were wrapped on gold plated packaging you might ask questions but it's plastic and we take it for granted - people pay for that with their lives. Poverty may be a side effect of tyranny - but remember that countries who give the middle finger to the west are not playing ball in our eyes - Chavez springs to mind - like him or not that is exactly what he done. A tyrant who conforms is more economically viable than a democratically elected official who shrugs their shoulders at us. So stop talking pish.

    21. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by daveschroeder · · Score: 1

      Because Assange has effectively been sidelined, and Wikileaks is getting back to its original mission statement.

    22. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by oxdas · · Score: 1

      Of course, it is impossible to say what the world would be like today without the U.S., WWII is an interesting choice. The United States entrance into WWI turned a likely, but limited, German victory into a massive Allied route. This is turn allowed France to exact revenge on Germany, both for WWI and for the German victory in the Franco-Prussian War, less than 50 years earlier. It could be argued that the harsh terms of the peace led to extreme nationalism in German, giving rise to Hitler and eventually WWII. So, in this case, the United States could be seen as having caused WWII in the first place.

      Personally, I cannot understand anyone who could not answer "Perhaps" on a question with so many variables and unknowns.

    23. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Wikileaks is not the same as Assange. Yes he has indeed taken it upon himself to try to convince the world that he is in charge of Wikileaks and invented it. With him being the international man of mystery continually on the run from SMERSH I doubt he has had any time to deal with the Syrian emails at all except to make an announcement about them.

    24. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 1

      That's kind of silly.

      Firstly, the post-war USA is not much like the current USA. America has shifted radically towards the right over the past decades. Its foreign policy pre-WW2 and post-WW2 are very different. It's quite possible to comment on the USA of today without the implications being back-propagated through history.

      Secondly, you seem to assume that the alternative to the USA being the big dog is some other country being the big dog. It could just as easily have been that there was no big dog. You might assume the whole world would have become communist without the USA, but that's a titanically huge assumption more worthy of being explored through fiction than debate.

    25. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by khallow · · Score: 1

      I think you're in the crowd without a sense of perspective. It's ridiculous to have to remind people repeatedly that the US isn't like Syria. For example, Copponex conflates the recent murders of hundreds of protestors in Syria with a single kidnapping/torture case. Sure, the latter indicates something is deeply wrong with the US, but what does the former say about Syria?

      Perhaps daveschroeder and myself are apologists for the US. Even so, that appears to me to be a lot more seemly than whatever role you and Copponex are playing for Syria. I might add, I can't be bothered to try to be "trusted" by the likes of you.

    26. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by copponex · · Score: 1

      I hope the amount of incorrect, ranting assumptions you've made about me and what you think I stand for made you feel better.

      Perhaps you shouldn't be blamed, but your role in the institution is clear: you help rationalize death and violence for those in pursuit of power. There are lower callings, but not many.

      Do you believe that the world and humanity would be better off if the US hadn't existed after, say, WWII? Not just from a geopolitical perspective, but from perspectives of technology, medicine, and similar? Do you believe that someone like, say, China, or an amalgamation of warring mideast states, or perhaps even an old Soviet superstate would be a better global steward than the United States and the West?

      The mid-east states started warring after we and our allies divided them up after WWI and purposefully separated tribal groups by state lines, and then started stealing all of their resources. China has not stepped outside of its borders in quite some time, but I understand if you're afraid of the Asiatics. 19th Century ignorance is about where I'd place your philosophical aspirations.

      As for Russia, I find that simply ironic. Who was it who was invading Afghanistan to impose secular values on a fundamentalist culture, but couldn't get things done because weapons and arms were being smuggled in through Pakistan? Do I prefer the massacres in the eastern bloc to the death squads in Central America? Do I prefer the assassinations of civil rights leaders with the FBI or the KGB? How is Estonia doing vs Haiti? Latvia vs Ecuador? Poland vs Nicaragua? Was Saddam a great ally in the 1980s when we sponsored a million deaths after Iran threw out our puppet government, or was Mubarak a better investment (until recently, at least)?

      Did our investment in China go up or down after they rolled over students in Tiananmen Square? What made us turn on Gaddafi after showering him with diplomatic gifts in 2008?

      Do women have more rights in Saudi Arabia or Iran, and if the answer is Iran, why are we allies with Saudi Arabia?

      Only a fool can see the American empire as anything than what it is: a run-of-the-mill, self-interested machine of conquest and violence. Not better or worse than any other empire, but like all empires, interested in a single question: do you obey?

      If you want to defend that mentality, there's no difference between yourself an any other parasite of any other empire. You wave the stars and stripes because of your coincidental birthplace, not because it represents a value system. You're a self-righteous parasite. There's nothing special about you or about America. Not anymore.

      PS: I didn't even touch the slaughter in Southeast Asia. That would have made the argument too easy.

    27. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by dbIII · · Score: 1

      It's about time Wikileaks lived up to

      Before you Americans had even heard of Wikileaks they had won an international award for releasing a lot of information about the injustices carried out by the Kenyan government.

      what it means is that people need to get out of their bizarro world and get some perspective on things

      You statement appears to be hypocritical but it I'd say it is merely helplessly ignorant because of failures in presentation of news by the mainstream outlets in your area - which has led to a poor perspective on this issue. If all the news you get about wikileaks is about how it has embarrassed Hillary Clinton etc then that will give you such a skewed perspective with no fault of your own.

    28. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by khallow · · Score: 1

      Actually, I don't remember asking you to remind me that the US isn't like Syria.

      Does someone have to ask for help when they're clearly in need? I'd no more wait to help a choking man than I'd wait to help someone sorely in need of perspective. It's a service I provide free of charge or request.

    29. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Which was written by and adhered to for so long by which person exactly? I'll give you a clue, his surname starts with A. Where do you guys get this shit from?

    30. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by kc_cramer · · Score: 1

      Gosh, I'm all choked up now, for sure ;-)

      You're a real human being after all, not like what I thought at first.

    31. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by dbIII · · Score: 1

      The above poster is not going low, merely pointing out that it's a large empire with an amoral outlook instead of the little cosy light of justice on the hill. Pointing out that something is not perfect should not be so difficult and shouldn't provoke the sort of responses seen here. Of course we know the USA is never going to poison Assange with Polonium but there's not just a binary scale of absolute good and absolete evil.
      What I see here is people getting angry when their team is being watched by the "eternally vigilant" and do not understand that's how you get to keep your freedom. Wikileaks fills a niche where some of the press used to be back when the US government had less control of the flow of information.

    32. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by dbIII · · Score: 1

      how would we know if the USA is going to poison Assange with Polonium or not

      For one, they can't get the stuff because it only comes from one type of nuclear reactor in Russia. Polonium poisoning is like deliberately leaving a calling card and a warning to others. The CIA and other US agencies, for all their faults, don't do that sort of thing yet even if they fire drones at people. Since you obviously missed the general knowledge about Polonium (which is in the news again this week) I'm not surprised that you haven't been following this enough to get my point.

    33. Re:You're talking to the wrong crowd by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Look, he's embarassed a pile of people in US intelligence and is not dead. Russia doesn't act the same way and have made it clear that they will assassinate people in a similar situation. Is that simple enough for you?

  11. Govt. By The People, FOR The People .... by King_TJ · · Score: 2

    This concept may be foreign to some people living on this planet, but certainly as a U.S. citizen, I was raised believing in the idea. As an adult, I've learned what a fantasy it really is today ... but that's doesn't mean it's not a worthy goal to keep striving for.

    So thanks again, wikileaks -- because a govt. keeping secrets isn't a very accountable one.

    1. Re:Govt. By The People, FOR The People .... by KermodeBear · · Score: 1

      I do think that governments keep too many secrets. That said, a government should have the capability to keep some secrets.

      While it would be interesting, I don't want to know (for example) the list of spies we have planted in the Iranian government. I don't want to know the location of our nuclear warheads. I also don't want to know every detail of the president's schedule for the next six months.

      A fully transparent government is a wonderful ideal, but like many ideals it just doesn't work well in practice. In order to protect its people, a government needs to have some expectation of privacy in certain areas.

      I think our government works in the opposite way that it should here. By default, all documents / calls / emails / etc. produced by a government office - any government office - should be filed away, made public so that anyone can go get them. It should be the exception to the rule that a document / process / etc. is kept secret - and the necessity to keep such things a secret should be validated by a third party.

      --
      Love sees no species.
    2. Re:Govt. By The People, FOR The People .... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      Why don't you publish all of your work emails, since you have nothing to hide. Assuming you aren't an unemployed basement-dweller, that is.

      In the case of a great many civil servants, all their work emails are subject to public records laws. Unless their employer feels like stonewalling for them, or they work largely on classified stuff, the main thing keeping their email unpublished is lack of interest...

    3. Re:Govt. By The People, FOR The People .... by Infiniti2000 · · Score: 1

      So thanks again, wikileaks -- because a govt. keeping secrets isn't a very accountable one.

      The problem I have is that the GOVT should still be able to keep secrets from OTHER governments. Let's assume that what you want is for the U.S. GOVT to not keep any secrets from you, theoretically a valid U.S. citizen. But, I argue that we still want to keep those secrets from other governments, including our possible and potential allies. WikiLeaks unfortunately makes no such distinctions. So, explain to me why you think that a particular sovereignty should not keep any information from other nations, whether they're friendly or not.

    4. Re:Govt. By The People, FOR The People .... by Hatta · · Score: 1

      I don't want to know (for example) the list of spies we have planted in the Iranian government.

      I do. Those spies are almost certainly making our diplomatic relations with Iran worse. I don't feel safer with spies in Iran. If I knew exactly how many spies we had in Iran, I could pressure my representative to hold hearings to justify our espionage.

      I don't want to know the location of our nuclear warheads.

      I do. Then I could go protest there.

      I also don't want to know every detail of the president's schedule for the next six months.

      See above.

      It should be the exception to the rule that a document / process / etc. is kept secret - and the necessity to keep such things a secret should be validated by a third party.

      What third party could be trusted? The courts are already completely on board with total secrecy. Any independent body powerful enough to withstand government pressure would have their own interests to protect with secrecy.

      There are things one might legitimately want secret. There are a lot more things where secrecy is used to hide impropriety. The nature of secrecy is that accountability is not possible. On the whole, we stand to gain a lot by abolishing secrecy and enforcing accountability throughout the government. The threat our foreign enemies pose is negligible compared to the threat of corruption shrowded in secrecy.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    5. Re:Govt. By The People, FOR The People .... by tbannist · · Score: 1

      Because "keeping it secret from other nations" is exactly the same as "keeping it secret from our own people" and is used for the exact same reason, doing unethical things that neither your own people nor other nation's people would like.

      The difference is entirely in what you say to justify hiding your misdeeds, there is no practical difference.

      --
      Fanatically anti-fanatical
    6. Re:Govt. By The People, FOR The People .... by dbIII · · Score: 1

      the list of spies we have planted in the Iranian government

      I doubt there are any since the CIA moved to intelligence by whatever grabs the most headlines, and even cut the number of ordinary analysts that can read Farsi down to almost none. If it's ignored on the civilian side there's nobody getting the skills to do anything else.
      If there are any spies there they will be on loan from a foreign power instead of one that does entraption stunts like the UK only "Saddams nuclear trigger" debacle instead of actually putting an agent in the country in question. Remember Iraq? The CIA had little clue what was going on there because they had nobody on the ground. Iran would be a lot harder and require patience that is not present in a promotion seeking bloated agency.

  12. too little, too late? by darkstar019 · · Score: 1

    It seems to be this way, as the civil war rages on unabated in Syria.

    --
    Fuck Beta
  13. Re:How Wikileaks will take itself out. . . or not. by Dunbal · · Score: 2

    I think you have failed to notice that the BBC and NYT don't publish those kinds of article anymore.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  14. Waiting for e-mails from Assange to harassed women by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Hey babe,

    Here is a red dress if you keep your purty mouth shut.

  15. The problem with moral relativism by daveschroeder · · Score: 3, Informative

    They're all SOMETHING, and differ in degree, but the US and the principles for which it stands, however imperfectly throughout history, can definitely not be generalized as "evil". I can't say the same for totalitarian states — throughout history, or now.

    Saying it's all "just different kinds of evil" shamefully ignores the countless tens millions of people who have died under the repression, tyranny, and selfishness of totalitarian regimes.

    Yes, be vigilant. Yes, identify injustice. Yes, call out abuse. But as soon as you start believing the US is "just as bad" (or some similar sentiment) as any other government, but "just in a different way", you have lost all perspective on the realities of history and the world in which we live.

    1. Re:The problem with moral relativism by cheekyjohnson · · Score: 1

      The problem with moral relativism

      What does that have to do with moral relativism?

      can definitely not be generalized as "evil".

      Apparently it can.

      Saying it's all "just different kinds of evil" shamefully ignores the countless tens millions of people who have died under the repression, tyranny, and selfishness of totalitarian regimes.

      The fact that it could be worse does not mean that it's not bad.

      But as soon as you start believing the US is "just as bad" (or some similar sentiment) as any other government, but "just in a different way", you have lost all perspective on the realities of history and the world in which we live.

      What? It looks to me like he was just saying that some can be more evil than others but the less evil ones can still be evil.

      --
      Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
    2. Re:The problem with moral relativism by Hatta · · Score: 1

      Yes, call out abuse. But as soon as you start believing the US is "just as bad" (or some similar sentiment) as any other government, but "just in a different way", you have lost all perspective on the realities of history and the world in which we live.

      I see you're watching this thread. I look forward to your response to BForrester who demonstrates that the US isn't "just as bad" but worse by roughly an order of magnitude in absolute terms.

      The fact is, it's you who have lost all perspective on historical reality. The principles you think the US stands for have never been anything except cover for rapacious greed and power lust. If we were talking about China, whose Communism is supposed to benefit the proletariat, I'm sure you'd understand. But in America with "Freedom and Justice for All (TM)", you can't seem to make the leap when its your own country. It's all lies, and that's all it's ever been, just like every other government, in every other country, throughout history.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    3. Re:The problem with moral relativism by daveschroeder · · Score: 1

      Oh, is this the part where we get to play human calculus? Where how many Syrians killed under their own government can somehow be viewed in the exact same light, without any context whatever, as the Iraqi lives lost during the US military action in Iraq?

      Do you believe the US indiscriminately slaughters civilians with intend as a matter of policy, and that even in examples where civilians have died, has actually wanted that to occur? When civilians have died in Iraq or Afghanistan, it has served as a distinct negative for US interests. There is no reason, by any measure, for the US to want to kill Iraqi civilians.

      The existence and principles of the West after WWII has saved and preserved FAR more lives than totalitarian ideologies would have if entrusted with the same. We've already seen the misery that Communism (and I use that in the practical, colloquial sense) can visit on the world, lest we forget history.

      Sure there can be corruption, abuse, greed — these are all part of the human condition. But your own sarcastic (and fallacious) view of what the US stands for is illustrative.

      I really wish there were a way — and I'm serious, and I'd eat all the words I've ever spoken were I wrong — to just snap my fingers and see what the world would have been like without the US after WWII. Would we even have the transistor? The laser? A trip to the moon? The internet? (And all of the innumerable things those have supported is implied.) And no, I don't just mean in those exact forms, by those exact names — would any of the things that have driven human achievement for the past six decades even have existed? Perhaps some equivalents would, someday, but if we're going to extend the timeline to infinity, nothing will really matter since inevitably the Sun will die and humans will likely become extinct.

      So this is all academic, isn't it?

      I prefer to do what's best for the largest amount of people — and not JUST Americans — with the tools and knowledge that we have in the present. If you can't see anything positive in the United States or the West, and see their governments as something just as bad/good/indifferent as China by a different name, then we are likely at a philosophical impasse — and judging by your last sentence, I'd say that's where we are, but I thought I'd give you the courtesy of a reply.

    4. Re:The problem with moral relativism by Hatta · · Score: 1

      Do you believe the US indiscriminately slaughters civilians with intend as a matter of policy, and that even in examples where civilians have died, has actually wanted that to occur?

      I believe the dead don't care what your intent was. If you choose a course of action where you know people are going to be killed and go ahead with it anyway, I don't see any way to excuse those deaths as unintentional.

      And no, I don't just mean in those exact forms, by those exact names â" would any of the things that have driven human achievement for the past six decades even have existed?

      Wow, that's some first class chauvinism there. The US got there first, because of the economic advantage it got post WWII. If Germany had won, they'd have the advantage and would have made the advances. They also would have slaughtered many more millions of people, and I'm glad that didn't happen. But science will progress either way. Other people in other countries would find the same questions we did, and they'd find similar answers.

      Also, remember that that was over half a century ago. More like Germany pre-1933 than US post-1949. Germany too once enjoyed being the technological and artistic capital of the world. Just as they fell, so are we falling.

      prefer to do what's best for the largest amount of people â" and not JUST Americans â" with the tools and knowledge that we have in the present.

      I agree with this entirely. I simply have no faith whatsoever in the US to do what is best for most people, instead of what is best for the powerful stakeholders that run our political and economic system. I don't see any evidence that the US has acted in the best interests of anyone other than the top .01% of Americans for decades.

      If you can't see anything positive in the United States or the West, and see their governments as something just as bad/good/indifferent as China by a different name, then we are likely at a philosophical impasse

      I too value the principles that the US stands for. I just wish they would actually put them into practice. It's not a philosophical impasse. I look at the world and what I see is not consistent with the US being a force for good, or even well intentioned but misguided.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    5. Re:The problem with moral relativism by dkleinsc · · Score: 1

      Like most other entities, the US has done some good things, and some evil things.

      Good things include:
      - Starting a string of revolutions that freed a lot of Europeans as well as Americans.
      - Winning WWII (shared credit to the UK and the Commonwealth, France, the USSR, and quite a few other countries and organizations)
      - Winning the Cold War (again, lots of shared credit, including to Mikhail Gorbachev for risking life and limb to stand up against his hardline opponents)
      - Lots of fantastic scientific discoveries and inventions, including but not limited to the light bulb, the airplane, the automobile, the personal computer (including lots of components for said computer).
      - Landing on the moon. That was awesome.

      Evil things include:
      - Genocide against the American Indians (estimated at about 10 million people)
      - Enslavement of Africans (about 12 million people)
      - Installing and supporting oppressive totalitarian dictators who do the bidding of US-based multinationals. Some of the better known cases of this include Augusto Pinochet in Chile, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Iran, Fulgencio Batista in Cuba, Manuel Noriega in Nicaragua and Panama, and more recently Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.
      - The Vietnam War: This goes in the "evil" column for me due to the millions of civilians dead and the war aim of preventing a country from choosing its own leaders.

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    6. Re:The problem with moral relativism by dbIII · · Score: 1

      The cold war pretty well had to be over before somebody like Mikhail Gorbachev had a chance to be in charge of the USSR instead of the hardliners. After that it was a matter of convincing Reagan to stop trying to start it up again. Eventually Thatcher did that, after she'd got Reagan's respect by tearing him a new one over the phone for invading Grenada.
      I don't think Carter can take any credit either, since his talks were made possible by a thawing in relations instead of causing them. I've got no idea why Americans revere almost as much as Gods the two idiots that played stupid and pointless nuclear games of brinksmanship with little benefit (Kennedy and Reagan).

  16. Re:Above the law ? by darjen · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Wow, talk about wild eyed assertions. Accusing Wikileaks of being a front for "something else" with absolutely no evidence whatsoever. Sounds to me like you just don't like what they do, so you will say any damn ridiculous thing you can to try and discredit them.

  17. Re:Above the law ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Yes. It is morally imperative to resist immoral laws.

    Have you looked at what Wikileaks publishes? It's not some yellow press institution that posts some sad peeping tom bullshit. It's hardcore international politics and all kind of shady deal most of which should never have been classified in the first place.

    You really think that the US is a "free democracy with fair justice system"? What rock do you live under?

    The world is already a much worse place. http://community.mis.temple.edu/mis3538b2/files/2011/10/assage.jpg

  18. Re:Droning on and on by X0563511 · · Score: 1

    We try really hard to keep them locked up in basements and such, but occasionally the crazy gets out.

    --
    For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  19. Re:Droning on and on by miscGeek · · Score: 2

    Every country has something embarrassing to hide. Just some more than others.

    --
    May the source be with you!
  20. List of Releases by mat.power · · Score: 5, Informative
  21. Was it just me? by sharkey · · Score: 2

    At first glance, I read that as "Sybian Emails", and was wondering what the contents could possibly be.

    --

    --
    "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  22. Re:Above the law ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Fugitive?

    The women wanted him to take an HIV test and asked police for advice. Random attorney jumped and called it rape. Some sane guy read it and said 'what lol' and dropped the case. Said retard attorney dug it back up along with the help of Bodström, with whose help they poisoned his well and made him look like a rapist in the medias (which is all owned by the Bonnier group).

    Assange offered to be questioned/interviewed, but the attorney declined. He did so again and warned that he was headed overseas, but she declined. Then when he's at the airport some minutes before takeoff, she issues an arrest warrant for questioning, and later the interpol most wanted call. The ladies involved who asked about what they could/should do about the hiv test are long since out of the picture.

    There are lots of precedents where Swedish authorities have interviewed/questioned people over phone, or even by traveling to the country where the person is to do it there. Ny and Bodström don't want to; they want him inside Sweden.

    Once here they can ship him off to US in all accordance with Swedish law, without any court proceedings (or if any then behind closed doors as is usually reserved for sexual assault on minors, very hush hush). The temporary surrender agreement that we have with the states just demands that the reason why the US wants the extraditee mustn't be political.

    The secret grand jury has had ample time to invent a new interpretation of the espionnage laws by now, so when he lands at JFK they'll be waiting with an orange jumpsuit, a pair of zipties and a tazer. After a ~year of psychological torture (sleep deprivation is very very very effective), Manning could easily be coaxed into saying Assange made him do it, and then he'd get gitmoed.

    I don't think they'll suicide him right away lest he become a martyr. Though I guess they could do the burial-at-sea thing again.

  23. Wikileaks joins Syria bashing train? by cpghost · · Score: 1

    It looks like Julian Assange is seeking to endear himself with the US government in joining the Western-led anti-Syrian bashing train. But somehow, I doubt this will help him redeem himself in the eyes of the Empire. And no, don't get me started about how evil the Assad regime is, considering that the only realistic alternative could be a lot worse. Quo vadis, Wikileaks?

    --
    cpghost at Cordula's Web.
    1. Re:Wikileaks joins Syria bashing train? by dkleinsc · · Score: 2

      ... could be a lot worse.

      A lot worse for whom exactly? Certainly not the portions of the Syrian population that are getting killed by their own government.

      I mean, how exactly would you react if the US government started dropping bombs on, say, Houston? Would you want the rest of the world to say "Hey, that's better than having a Texan in the White House!"

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    2. Re:Wikileaks joins Syria bashing train? by cpghost · · Score: 1
      Well, Huston didn't attack the US, nor were they infiltrated by foreign fighters; or did they? At least use an analogy that is a little bit more accurate. Hmmm... let's say: the world wants to take down the US government, because it dared to attack the loonies in Waco. But even then, that's a poor analogy, because they too weren't a threat to the US, and the US didn't bomb them in the ground.

      And a lot worse? Yes, if all those Al Qaeda fighters that infiltrated the opposition got their way and managed to hijack that rebellion. Things could indeed get worse in Syria. The Syrian people are right now caught between a rock and a hard place: both alternatives are bad. Let's at least not intervene there nor support those who do, making things even worse. IMHO. You're free to disagree, of course.

      --
      cpghost at Cordula's Web.
  24. Re:Up until recently... by cpghost · · Score: 1

    countries didn't 'publicly' intervene in other countries' civil wars.

    Well, the Prime Directive wasn't invented yet in this time and age. It is exactly this current kind of overzealous interventionism with all those painful unintended consequences that will eventually lead the world to adopt it sometime in the future.

    --
    cpghost at Cordula's Web.
  25. Re:Nice line. But Assange isn't "hiding". by Rei · · Score: 1

    Right. It's not like he's wanted for rape by the legal system of a first world country with an extradition request approved and the accusations deemed credible by two courts of a second first-world country.

    --
    Rock Us, Dukakis.
  26. Irritating totalitarian governments by Beeftopia · · Score: 1

    Assange better watch himself. The US is/has been involved in a lot of corruption in its politics and its financial sector, and it fields assassination teams around the world. However it's not going to directly kill Assange for embarrassing/inconveniencing it.

    The same cannot be said for Russia and a host of other countries.

  27. Wikileaks Outs Russian Federation. . . by PerlPunk · · Score: 1

    . . . and then something like this happens:

    Fearless Leader: Keel Asange

    Agent Badenov: But Fearless Leader, we don't know where he is. . .

    Fearless Leader: Ask our CIA friends.

    CIA Friend: Here is his address, phone number, brothers, sisters, friends, favourite restaurants, etc.

    Agent Badenov: Thank you!

    Julian Asange, a uniter, not a divider. . .

  28. Re:Nice line. But Assange isn't "hiding". by Rei · · Score: 2

    Sorry, but that is 100% false and pure victim smearing. And there is no such charge as "sex by surprise". The charge they want to try him for (well, one of the four) is "mindre grov våldtäkt" ("minor rape" - literally, "less than major rape"), but had it happened in the UK it would simply be prosecuted as "rape". Which isn't speculation; that's what the British lower court determined and what the high court upheld. The total maximum penalty is 4 years jail time.

    The term "sex by surprise" comes from Assange's attorney pushing a literal translation of the term "överraskningssex", which is not a charge, just a description (and while "överraskning" means "surprise", "överraskningssex" still means "rape").

    --
    Rock Us, Dukakis.
  29. Nope, you're misremembering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Go look at the previous threads about Iceland's MEP talking about any WL defenders being hounded by the USA.

    Assange was used as a reason to hate Wikileaks, but the hate was about Wikileaks and what they did to the USA.

  30. Re:Up until recently... by Beyond_GoodandEvil · · Score: 1

    Define recently? Post WWII? What do you think our fighting in Vietnam was except an interference in a civil war? Or post WWI, the Russian Civil War. Now, more often then not, the world decides to wring its hands b/c interventions into civil conflicts tend to escalate into proxy wars and full blown regional conflicts. Too recent? Look into the history of the CSS Alabama.

    --
    I laughed at the weak who considered themselves good because they lacked claws.
  31. Re:From a Canadian Perspective... by Phrogman · · Score: 1

    The US is right-wing generally. What you call a "liberal" is what we call middle of the road or possibly a conservative.
    I agree that Faux News is batshit crazy right wing, but I see CNN as merely right wing, not liberal by any means, and most of the people who comment on CNN stories are also batshit rightwing it seems.
    The extremes are dangerous IMHO, in the very least because they don't think they are dangerous. While I am slightly leftwing politically myself, the extreme leftwing people are often out to lunch IMHO, and the rightwing Conservative types seem only a few steps from Fascist.
    I don't think the typical American political range from left to right is lining up with the rest of the world's similar range. You folks tend to be slid towards the rightwing side more. At least thats my perspective on it :P

    --
    "The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
  32. are these the kind of hackers by KingBenny · · Score: 1

    that alleged intellectual would be proposing the death penalty for then? Or only the ones who cost a lot to the corporatiocracy, i was a little confused about it and by the time i got the newsletter the discussion was archived.

    --
    Free speech was meant to be free for all... how can anyone grow up in a nanny state ?