Opinons on Julian Assange

[Tanzoria]

I am just creating this thread to see veryones views on Julian Assange, founder of wikileaks. I for one think that we have every right to know what our governments are doing and that he is very brave.

[Takaram]

I find the guy to be a creep, personally.

[Osea Island]

I think that some of the things he's done such as exposing the extrajudicial killings in Kenya were meritous. Meanwhile, I feel that the release of the secret U.S. diplomatic cables was unneccessary.

[Takaram]

Agreed on the diplomatic cables. I mean, what did they reveal but that most people in the US government agree with the rest of America.

[Cerb]

If the charges of rape are truthful and accurate, he should be hung drawn and quartered.

As for leaking secret documents, things become more complex.

Firstly, wikileaks is just a conduit. The individuals leaking the documents should be found, prosecuted, and imprisoned. Whether we have a right to know or not is irrelevant. An individual who swore an oath of secrecy and loyalty to their state has broken their vow and must be punished.

As for wikileaks itself, I believe it's entirely irresponsible. People joke and say bad things about their co-workers, friends, family, and customers. Some times they are asking questions which can be misinterpreted. Taken out of context irreparable damage could be done to a person and their relationships.

Now scale that up to international levels and you have a disaster waiting to happen. Covert operatives can be exposed, service personnel placed in harms way, and economic mayhem can run rampant.

People are now being actively encouraged to be dishonest and to break vows of secrecy in the name of transparent government. That's an inherently dangerous situation.

We have members of our community that serve and have served in areas which many of us wouldn't dare to venture in to. One word from wikileaks and they'd probably be dead.

I'm not willing to pay that price for a transparent government.

Oh, one more example? One dumbass leaks a communication from Pakistan and suddenly we have blackhawks blown out of the sky and Usama bin Laden appearing on video personally shooting US troops.

If you think that's fine, then wikileaks is just peachy and good for us.

[Osea Island]

In regards to the charges of rape, I agree that he should recieve the worst.

I also firmly believe that Wikileaks does far more damage than good, but I see little harm in the release of the unclassified documents.

However, releasing the classified documents that risk the lives of servicemen and women across the globe is going to far.

Both Assange and his informants should be tried for the information they leaked and be sent to prison.

[Tsim Sha Tsui]

I think it's important to distinguish WikiLeaks and Julian Assange; and since it's Julian Assange we're talking about I have to say that he seems to be an irrational and narcissistic wannabe playboy. He may very well have done some good in his life, but I believe his intentions were not to do good, but simply to make himself look good.

[Anime Daisuki]

I don't agree with what he's done, but he made a fair point about Facebook, Google, and other things we take for granted in this interview.

[MinnaCaroline]

I like watching the actor who plays him on SnL. I think its pretty funny.

[Cerb]

Can you say hypocrit?
it.slashdot.org/story/11/05/11/2126242/How-WikiLeaks-Gags-Its-Own-Staff?utm_source=rss1.0&utm_medium=feed

[Tsim Sha Tsui]

Oh yeah, Assange does not practice what he preaches.

[Rokkenjima Island]

he didnt even rape anyone, he just didnt use a condom, which just sounds suspicious,
I support this man. Keep those cables coming.

[Camel-landa]

Would the allegations of rape ever have surfaced if he didn't release WikiLeaks? Puzzling... Of course if he is guilty of rape he should be feel the full wrath of Texan law! Because Texas has the best punishments for serious offenders.

I have no problem with WikiLeaks as it can keep governments in check so they don't horse their secrets.And the in cock pit video of the Cobra gunship was interesting. But I must admit that a lot of the stuff there is trash (but not most). Like intercepting cables of leader's personal conversation. Does the world really need to know Obama's Opinion of Vladimir Putin or vice versa? Although I must admit it is interesting it can needlessly damage diplomatic relations.

Then gain, it can be useful if ir reveals what leaders thik about YOU. Take for example these leaked cables of USA ambassadors taking about the Canadian PM Harper:
buckdogpolitics.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-wikileaks-revealed-about-stephen.html

Mmm...Juicy!

[rogernomics]

He didn't reveal too much, but I doubt the rape allegations will be substantive; he will probably at most get a few years jail (since he broke several laws on revealing classified information).

[Tritium II]

I think his intentions have been merit worthy. None of the secrets he revealed really jeopardized anyone's well-being - only the reputation of a few politicians.

[Frank Scott]

Julian Assange is somebody who I feel accomplished two distinct things. One, he was able to demonstrate globally that politics are messy and that people who represent governments are not necessarily free of bias or opinions. And two, that not everybody who swears to keep secrets will do so.

This, however only serves to demonstrate the humanity and fallibility of both our world's politicians and those sworn to protect information. Now, in the laws of most nations, these offenses are punishable by a prison term, which I think is only justified if lives were put at stake. However, I then ask a question, why do we need the secrecy about our operations? Why is it that sometimes the only way to deal with our national and global enemies is to have an underhanded approach?

This is something that the history of the US is filled with, covert operations to disrupt our enemies, not necessarily with the best interests of the world in mind. Take Chile in 1973, the US government encouraged and supported a military coup that displaced Latin America's first democratically elected socialist president, Salvador Allende. I personally think there are better ways to control our environment. Primarily, I believe our governments should focus on ways in which to secure our borders without intervening in the sovereignty of other nations.

My point in bringing this up is only to demonstrate that there are some secrets that, when released, give us a better perspective on the workings of international politics. I am not, however, defending the actions of Julian Assange, as I believe that he was tactless and misguided in his blanket approach to releasing information.

As for the rape or sexual assault allegations, if they are true, then he should be castrated and imprisoned (take him to Texas), however this is not the most important aspect of his character and might only be a way of discrediting him.

Anyway, /rant.

[Kokkinostan]

Thought I'd just weigh in a little on this thread, given Mr Assange is back in the news again

I find him rather... aloof, but vital. The man has done a lot in releasing all of these cables and helping, in many cases, to confirm that many Western 'democracies' spend awful lots of time and money propping up despotic, torture-loving regimes elsewhere in the world provided that they are useful. Though many of the cables are of little consequence, others make for rather interesting/intriguing reading...

As a man himself, though, he seems a little unpleasant. That isn't a reference to the whole 'rape' thing - simply the way he comes across in interviews, speeches and mannerisms

What did people make of him/Wikileaks releasing the unredacted cables this week?

[TBone Steaks]

3 Things:

1. the woman involved in the rape case may be a CIA agent.
2. It was illegal for the USA to keep secrets until the last century.
3. How can the people be in charge when there is secrecy keeping reality from them?

Freedom or Security, not both!

@ Cerb
Blackhawk did go down, and Osama still got shot...

[Invictus]

I can't say that I truly support Assange himself, seeing as though I don't know everything about him, or if the charges against him are true or not. I can say that I like the idea of Wikileaks, and the exposure of government corruption and secret backroom deals.

[Free Guns For All]

Not strictly relevant to this dead arguement, but here's an issue I just got on NS:

Wiki Worries

The Issue

State department officials are in an uproar over the leaking of key government cables by the website WikiSpills. The site's owner, under the nom de plume "El Denunciante," is operating from an anonymous location in neighboring Bigtopia, where the government can't reach him. Free Guns For All's leaders are sharply divided on how to respond.

The Debate
1."This man has done no wrong!" says Matilda Chandra, who also happens to be the head writer of The Sniper City Times Magazine. "The people have a right to transparency of government. El Denunciante is a hero who has revolutionized my magazine sale-er-Freedom of Speech for this country. No state action must be committed that would infringe upon our right to disclose government information, regardless of the effects on diplomatic relations. Besides, it isn't as though you've got anything to hide…do you?"

2."El Denunciante is a terrorist and has committed treason," argues reactionary talk radio host Naki Cruz. "The fact is, he has consistently presented an anti-Free Guns For All agenda, and people like him need to be stopped from propagandizing their filth. What we need is to block this website and any others which threaten the security of this great nation. Like those opposition party blogs that keep popping up! I mean, what use is personal freedom if you don't have security and peace of mind?"

3."This seems like a lot of needless work, if you ask me," says Bianca Janssen, your brother-in-law, while enjoying a foul-smelling beverage in your office. "Why should the people get to discuss you and your government anyway? Seems to me things would be much easier if you just told them what their opinion was and blocked out all others. After all, who knows what's best for them better than you, am I right? Cheers!"

[Mal]

For what it's worth:

"We've done so many secret things over the years in the name of protecting this country, we've created two worlds: ours and the people we promised to protect. They deserve to know the truth, and they can decide how far they want to let us go."