Slightly Off-Topic

So… the whole wikileaks thing is a loaded bag, isn’t it?  I don’t think too much of Julian Assange… call it an innate distrust of self-aggrandizing press-whores wrapping themselves in a cloak of nobility… but that may just be me…

…but I’m a huge fan of whistleblowers.  Someone or something does something wrong, someone has the courage to stand up and bring it to light, and justice ensues!  What’s not to like?!?  Look at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo… some pretty horrific things were occurring in the name of the American people (…and truth and justice…), and they’d still be going on if someone hadn’t said that this just isn’t right and let the story out.  This is a good thing… this is a responsible thing… two thumbs up…

Then there’s things like this latest Diplomatic cable dump… I’m having a hard time seeing the upside to this other than a thumbing of noses at the US.  It would be something if there was anything meaningful in these cables, a whistle being blown as it were, but… I haven’t seen it.  Mostly it seems to be just an exercise in information dumping… which would be okay except for the fact that the job of diplomacy kind of requires some secrecy.  These people *need* the ability to speak behind closed doors because some things can’t be said openly.  As long as it is all kept within the rule of law, progress is made, and that is as it should be.  However with the “dump”, the only lesson learned seems to be “You can no longer speak freely with your diplomatic counterparts”… that’s helpful.

I wish they’d show more restraint and just release those things that need released and not just dump and dump and dump until we are all swimming in poo…

Editorial Addition:

Well… that didn’t take long… having now been the recipient of a pile of private messages on the order of “You can’t talk about wikileaks that way”, “you sound like a baboon when you say that”, “you forgot to mention”, etc, it seems I’d better clarify a few things:

1. You can’t talk about Wikileaks that way:  Sure I can.    I can opine about anything I want.  I live in a country which values Free Speech, so I’m pretty sure I’m okay… and I’m pretty sure that Wikileaks would support me on that.
2. What about Mr. Assange’s clear crusade against America?: Uhm… yeah… sure…  I will admit that I used to be bugged by the fact that Wiki seemed to be fairly fully focused on sticking it to good ol’ Uncle Sam, but let’s face it… The US is the best target for this sort of thing.  Even in this crappy global economy, we are a country of haves, we hold ourselves as the defender of liberty and justice for all, we are currently waging *two* wars, and most importantly, we can be responsive to this sort of activity.  When you blow the whistle on the US, the people react… often insufficiently or misguidedly, but there is an effect.  Given enough time, we will get it right.  Now consider what sort of effect whistle blowing might have on another country… China for instance… what would happen if some dirty secret of China’s was posted on Wikileaks?  Answer: Not a darn thing.  China has already shown that they don’t care much about world opinion on their policies, and they wield a big enough stick (economically and militarily) that much of the world isn’t going to seriously press them on any given issue.  So, I actually have no idea if Mr. Assange has declared vendetta against the US, but we are the biggest and brightest target for such things, so I’m not too concerned.
3. So you don’t think Wikileaks has the right to share this information: I don’t think that at all.  I think it’s very useful to have such a place where evidence of wrongdoing can be unveiled when there is no appropriate office of authority available.  I mean if a corporation is dumping toxic waste on Cleveland, you go to the feds.  If the United States government is the individual in the wrong, to whom do you turn?  The only reasonable answer is “the whole world”, and that is a valid role for Wikileaks.  However, if you choose to just dump and dump and dump meaningless information, you kind of devalue your platform.  There is some concern about a non-elected body appointing itself the “clearinghouse” of the world’s secrets, but as we know, eventually, everything leaks, so I would hope they are practicing the same restraints that they are expecting of everyone else.  If not, we’ll find out.
4. So what about Mr. Assange’s rape charges: No idea.  I wasn’t there, and I don’t know anyone involved.  It seems that there’s a really good argument that this is politically motivated, but there’s just as good an argument that if he is guilty of anything, it will never be taken seriously because everyone thinks the charges are politically motivated.
5. What about Mr. Assange’s “Poison Pill”:  I’m not sure I buy this one.  If he really had information that would bring various governments to their knees, wouldn’t he have leaked it already?  If he really thought that it was too dangerous to get out, wouldn’t he have re-buried it?  What he did instead, it seems, was encrypt a bunch of information and send it out to his bestest buddies and high-profile hackers.  If it’s so bad that he doesn’t want to take the responsibility of leaking it, why is he so fine with a global meltdown once he’s gone?  Or is it just a bluff?  A packet of mostly useless information.  If it is the real thing, why did he send it out multiple copies of the thing.  Everything leaks.  Every code is broken.  It’s just a matter of time before it becomes public knowledge… or is that the whole idea?
6. Don’t you love America?:  Yes, yes I do…

Well, enough of that… there is a comment area below, folks… no need to call me a baboon in private.  In honor of wikileaks, let’s let the whole world hear you!  In other news, I’m sorry for the erratic update (+/- 24hours) schedule these last few weeks.  Things are getting increasingly busy in my little corner of the world, and things have needed to shift accordingly, however, I have hopes that things will level off soon, and we’ll be back to normal.  Thanks.