Wikileaks diplomatic files.

[walker 0]

Well when other countries are willing to air out their dirty laundry for the world to see then I'll be ok with the what wikileaks has done.

Hi Big Mac

That is precisley what Wikileaks does without fear or favour.

I invite you to review what leaks it has published and from where in the world they originate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks#Leaks

Wikileaks and its staff has been on the Shit and death lists of dictators and corrupt regimes and dirty business men for years before cablegate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks#Investigations.2C_censorship.2C_and_alleged_harassment_and_surveillance

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is also the person who invented the concept of torture proof Cryptography and co-wrote Rubberhose used by dissidents around the world as a deniable encryption tool by people fighting for freedom and democracy in Iran, North Korea, Burma, China and anywhere else that those who are threatened with torture and death need to hide their messages, ideas and thoughts.

The characterisation of Wikileaks and Assange that you present does not gel with reality.

Why else do you thousands of people are using the #imwikileaks tag and turning over their whole website to mirror the Wikleaks site or sticking the IP URLs in their posts?

Kind Regards walker

Edited December 5, 2010 by walker

[DiePod 10]

that is all.

Pretty much.

Not really a very intresting set of leaks these ones.

It loses a lot of the drama when everything you blow the whistle on was already common knowledge.

A yawn fest dressed up as world news.

Totally agreed. Most of the news until now are about things that people:

1. Already knew

2. Already suspected

3. Could have learned with 30 minutes of conversation with a local, from the place which the information concerns.

And since the source of the leaks (SIPRNET, or something like that) is assumed not to hold the topmost classified information, there is no reason to believe that the next releases will show anything better.

I think that what drew most of the attention to the subject was the "gossip" nature of the leak's content. The only aspect that caught me by surprise was to know that diplomats - always full of protocols, procedures and such - also have a sharp tongue to talk about others, when nobody's looking. This seemed very human to me.

As for Wikileaks, c'mon guys, they are a lot overrated. They have no compromise with truth or freedom of information. Mostly, it is just a place for hackers to exhibit skillz. Or, as Binkowski's pic synthetises, for trolls to get lulz and publicity.

[CarlGustaffa 4]

If I was a special forces operator I wouldn't want the people I'm fighting to have even a slight advantage over me

...

So why then is field manuals out in the open for everyone to grab? Including the enemy? Doesn't knowing the response provide a good advantage?

and if I was the head of a state I wouldn't want my diplomats not to feel free to voice their opinions and assessments of the country they're currently working with through private channels for fear of starting at best an international incident and at worst start a war or escalating local conflict into a regional one. Keep in mind wars have been started over a lot less than candid remarks.

Well, yeah. Wars have broken out over football matches. Didn't cause football to get banned :p

Wikileaks put NATO troops in even more danger than they already are and for no good reason with the Iraq and Afghan files.

How? One example please. No I didn't read them all, only what I found interesting. Which didn't turn out to be all that interesting at all. Basically some friendly fire incidents and other high value incidents that you'd have to expect during war. Nothing new, really.

Investigative journalists have a ethical and moral obligation to weigh the consequences of their stories before they air or print them and to ask themselves two questions "what good will come out of this?" and "Is that good worth putting lives at risk?"

Of course they do. So does newspapers. And yet they print it, weird, huh? What Wikileaks succeeds at is deny the possibility for a story to get squelched (buried and forgotten) from pressure from the corruptive governments - yours AND mine. Didn't journalists participate in founding Wikileaks? Why do you think that is? :)

The general public doesn't need to know everything and they're probably better off not knowing everything.

I disagree.

@walker:

Ever hear about fascism? Do you really fail to see the parallels going here? Check out item 6 in particular, in reference to the Wikileaks issue, although all the others are valid. But, make up your own mind. If you want to stay blind I won't try to open your eyes.

;1805282']WL´s PayPal service was force closed today or yesterday..

And so is mine as of today...

Spread the word....

And I wonder if this happened without anyone pushing buttons... Hardly...

@CarlGustaffa - if we need people like Assange

And by that you mean all the newspapers that publish what they get their hands on' date=' weather it be from Assange or the direct source?

, then this world is too far gone to be saved.

Well, that may very well be true. Unrelated to Wikileaks of course...

[Placebo 29]

LEGAL WARNING!

If you are a Federal US Employee or Contractor without the proper clearance AND need it is Illegal for you to read this thread! Or to follow any of the links within it, including those on news websites relating to this thread, or the subject of this thread. Continuing to read any post in this thread may open you to criminal prosecution.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/12/wikileaks_off-limits_to_unauth.html

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/05/federal_employees_barred_from_reading_wikileaks_docs/

Those currently involved in VBS2 should take note. You have been formally warned!

Perhaps as we're all involved in someway with VBS it's simply best to advise that if people wish to discuss this topic they do it on another forum.