I think we are in trouble if it becomes a crime to tell the truth, especially when those who represent us don't, and are paid to. All Wikileaks has done is expose the world's governments but especially the US's imperialist policies and secret wars. Because most of the leaks concern US embassies, or US wars or US economic policies. At the very least US intersts in the world.
Would Palestinians have been happy to know that Fatah wanted the Israelis to bomb Hamas, fellow Palestinians? I think not. Do Saudis want Iran bombed, by the U.S.? I think not. Was the UN aware that the US was spying on the organization and its members? I doubt it. Soon Wikileaks is going to reveal the actions of the Bank of America. Exposing the realities of the capitalist system as a whole. It is about time people realize that this system has stopped working for the masses. It works for the Prime ministers, Presidents, parliamentaries and polititians, but that's about it. People are no longer even allowed to know what is happening in the world. I quote from Socialist Alternative:
Charles Krauthammer, a Washington Post op-ed columnist, was bluntest of all:
The problem is not that the purloined cables exposed US hypocrisy or double-dealing. Good God, that’s the essence of diplomacy. That’s what we do; that’s what everyone does…
“That’s what we do.” What sort of a system is this where those whose job it is supposed to be to hold those in power to account can be so blasé in the face of rank corruption of the highest order, at the highest levels? On what other planet could such forthright, frank assessment be useful propaganda? “Lies, assassinations, rank hypocrisy? Never mind, it has always been like this don’t you know?”
Did you know that the lawyer defending the two rape victims, Claes Borgstrom, is also a polititian? Maybe he's also affected by the leaks? Why else did he re-open a closed case?
Assange isn't perfect either. If he in fact has raped those two victims, he should pay for it. However two judges have decided that he's innocent, and this accusation came just in time. If the US, interpol or whoever wanted to accuse assange of something, they had this. People despise thiefs and fraudsters but especially hate rapists. The trauma rapists cause doesn't go away. If these two victims aren't actually victims, they are downplaying the suffering millions, regretfully, suffer. They are almost making rape seem as an excuse, or a joke. It clearly isn't. Whether rapists do it because of society or their past is a different question but rape isn't something which we can laugh about, or misapply.
For all I know, Assange is reported to be authoritarian within Wikileaks, imposing his point of view among others. Also, Wikileaks' bank accounts have never been made public and when Bradley Manning was arrested in relation to the leaks, Wikileaks never gave him the money they had raised to help his case.
He may not be perfect, but in my world only liars are bad. He has been tagged a criminal for telling the truth. Free Speech has been kicked out of the backdoor. I'll finish with Assange's words:
[T]hose who commit abuses against humanity or against the law find abusing legitimate secrecy to conceal their abuse all too easy. People of good conscience have always revealed abuses by ignoring abusive strictures. It is not Wikileaks that decides to reveal something. It is a whistleblower or a dissident who decides to reveal it. Our job is to make sure that these individuals are protected, the public is informed and the historical record is not denied…
We all only live once. So we are obligated to make good use of the time that we have and to do something that is meaningful and satisfying. This is something that I find meaningful and satisfying… I enjoy helping people who are vulnerable. And I enjoy crushing bastards.
If everyone who believes what he believes were to be put in prison, we wouldn't find a continent big enough to put us in.
Here's an interview by Al-Jazeera with Wikileaks.
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