This morning on “Meet the Press,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a “high-tech terrorist.” McConnell, of course, is only one example of how our elected representatives in Congress are screaming for Assange’s prosecution. Some notables in the media are even calling for Assange to be charged with treason, as though the US government could actually bring treason charges against a foreign national, an Australian in this case.
No, the outrage should be directed at Pvt. Bradley Manning, who stole the information, and at the US government itself and the poor security measures that made the theft possible. “Security” is a misnomer when an Army private in Iraq can download and steal 250,000 confidential, sensitive diplomatic records without triggering any kind of alarm. The fault here, and the blame, lie squarely at the feet of our government.
Whether you think Assange is a defender of free speech or a reckless, irresponsible criminal, the fact is he could be neither without the enablers/thieves who supply him with information they’ve stolen from governments and corporations around the world. He’s not the cause of the security leaks; he’s just the inevitable result.
yup thts so true!
To paraphrase congressman Ron Paul, “When the truth is treason, our country is in big trouble.”
It’s hard to believe that Mitch McConnell is that stupid, but maybe he thinks we’re stupid enough to take his hair brained scheme seriously. Either way, he’s an idiot.
The politicians know perfectly well where the fault lies. WikiLeaks is just another irresponsible, attention-seeking, international media outlet.
I think the way the Wiki software works, the term “irresponsible” would have to indict a consensus of every contributor on Earth. If you aren’t already a registered Wiki (pedia for example) contributor, you could join and put on the “Mitch McConnell” bio page that he is a US Senator who believes US laws determine what is legal and illegal worldwide.” You might be interested to see how the other members of the Wiki community handled your assertion. The knee-jerk Republican members would demand verification. You could supply it. They would demand you re-phrase your statement. You could refuse or accept a modified, less antagonistic sentence. Debate would ensue.
WikiLEAKS operates somewhat differently, but it still requires a large segment of the public involved in the vetting and redacting process that precedes the publishing of any material.
Our government seems to agree with McConnell when they attempt to close down Wiki servers, or badger and threaten commercial content providers like “Amazon” in order to prevent the disclosure of it’s own irresponsibility. All they’ve accomplished so far is to piss off a group of freedom minded computer geeks who have the ability to disclose anything they please with complete impunity. If you were surprised that a rag-tag group like the Taliban with it’s 13th century mentality could defeat the worlds penultimate USSR and ultimate USA military… you ain’t seen nuthin yet.
… and the geek shall inherit the earth.
Where’s the “like” on this thing? 🙂
I don’t have it up. Few people use it and it clutters things. For you, I’ll put it back up. It’s just above the comments.
The whole thing is so ridiculous. The U.S. is embarrassed, so raging “patriots” like McConnell are shrieking for heads. Stupid. Inane. And typical.