What do you think about Wikileaks' Julian Assange?

What do you think about Wikileaks' Julian Assange?



-from Wikipedia:
Julian Paul Assange (born 3 July 1971) is an Australian journalist, publisher and Internet activist. He is best known as the spokesperson and editor in chief for WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website. Before working with the website, he was a physics and mathematics student as well as a computer programmer. He has lived in several countries and has told reporters he is constantly on the move. He makes irregular public appearances to speak about freedom of the press, censorship, and investigative reporting; he has also won three journalism awards for his work with WikiLeaks.

Assange founded the controversial WikiLeaks website in 2006 and serves on its advisory board. In this capacity, he has been involved in the publication of material documenting extrajudicial killings in Kenya, a report of toxic waste dumping on the African coast, Church of Scientology manuals, Guantanamo Bay procedures, and material involving large banks such as Kaupthing and Julius Baer among other documents. He has recently received widespread public attention for the publication of classified material from WikiLeaks documenting details about the involvement of the United States in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. On 28 November 2010, WikiLeaks and its five media partners began publishing the United States diplomatic cables leak. According to The Guardian, this has placed Assange "at the centre of intense media speculation and a hate campaign against him in America".

On 30 November 2010, Interpol placed Assange on its red notice list of wanted persons; concomitantly, a European Arrest Warrant was issued for him. He was wanted for questioning on suspicion of "sex crimes"; it is alleged that while having consensual sex his condom broke and he either did not disclose the breakage to his partner or continued after his partner asked him to stop. He has not been formally charged with any crime. He was arrested by the London Metropolitan Police on 7 December by appointment, after a voluntary meeting with the police.


1. He is a hero for what he and wikileaks has done

2. He is not a hero and is causing damage with his actions

3. I don't think he is a "hero" but I am glad he is doing what he's doing

4. I don't know enough to make an informed decision

[Bob Wehadababyitsboy]

Full disclosure. That's what is important. The only people who don't like this guy is the ones are doing the wrong. Plain and simple!!

[bdpeace]

At what place do you draw the line at full disclosure? If a Wikileak reveals military secrets, that is espionage. If it is dangerous enough info to get people hurt...that's treason. Should we just hand all of our military and state department secrets to any spy who walks up to the door and asks?

If a bunch of cops were about to aprehend the murderer that killed your family, is it OK to let him know they're on the way to his house so he can get away? I'm just telling him the truth for the purpose of full disclusure.

If this happened during WW2, he would be hanged.

he was good in "Boxing Helena", and "Warlock", but some of that Merchant Ivory stuff is a bit sappy.

[Eccles]

Content, Pictures  and Download links visible to registered users only. 

REGISTER NOW to access all areas that are invisible to non-members.

[ThatHaole]

[Sergei Fedorov]

I think I would have to go with option 3, the: "I don't think he is a "hero" but I am glad he is doing what he's doing".

I would also like to point out he is not a "lone nut", and only the figure head of an organization. So my opinion is more in favor of the idea of Wikileaks then old Julian Assange. I mean, he is kind of a douche.

That stated, this is all pretty awesome, and a realization of the full promise of the internet.

In the mid to late nineties the idea/ideal of the internet, spat out by Wired magazine and movies like Hackers, was that the coming internet age was to be a leveling period in power dynamics between the haves and the have nots. This is obviously not the way the recent past metered out.

What if anything on the internet, of the last few years has actually affected the people in power/ institutions in control on the this scale. The potential of an actual freedom of information (like the ongoing battle for Open source everything) reaffirms my hope in this online community we all participate in.

As to the stilted arguments (Glenn Beck) of treason, espionage, and terrorism: grow the fuck up! First off Assange is the publisher of these documents, not the person or persons who procured them. Second the only difference between him and "real" journalists is he does not redact (publish small exerts/pubish extremely edited versions) the information from his source (see the ideal of freedom of information).

I do assume he will be dead within the next year though. He has dredged up a lot of hate, and struck at some sacred institutions. You don't fuck with the US Military or Hillcat and live. Though I will point out that the only reason he is able to go after the USA so harshly, is because people within the USA are helping him do it.

David versus Goliath in a battle about our right to information, and the control of it (like not waiting 70 years to findout Richard Nixion was a bigger douche than he seemed).

Post Script: As if you do not want to see the Bank of America records/info from the little financial oopsie a few years back. Righteous!

[Sergei Fedorov]

Oh, and that picture is fucking funny, and rep worthy...

Content, Pictures  and Download links visible to registered users only. 

REGISTER NOW to access all areas that are invisible to non-members.

and a new toon...

[Eccles]