In the same way as Anonymous and their ilk, yeah.
It would be interesting if a really big info/cyber war really pitches up tho. Not interesting for any regular shmo, mind you - I have visions of "The Handmaids Tale" dancing in my head.
― manic pixie dream girl phenomenon (Trayce), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 04:30 (thirteen years ago) link
A friend suggests that WikiLeaks should publish their stuff as books and sell them -- basically dare the government to try to ban them. Would be interesting.
― a tenth level which features a single castle (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 04:59 (thirteen years ago) link
"Julian Assange is engaged in warfare," Mr. Gingrich said, echoing similar words spoken by Ms. Palin and others last week. "Information terrorism, which leads to people getting killed, is terrorism. And Julian Assange is engaged in terrorism. He should be treated as an enemy combatant and WikiLeaks should be closed down permanently and decisively."
― am0n, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 05:02 (thirteen years ago) link
Not to be too flip, but for real:
http://www.gifanatics.com/files/Jackson_popcorn.gif
― I am Woolen Man. The scarf and I are one. (kenan), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 05:43 (thirteen years ago) link
Impressive list of signatories here. Noam Chomsky! Nice.
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41914.html
― manic pixie dream girl phenomenon (Trayce), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 05:47 (thirteen years ago) link
Out of many, many things that are interesting about this, it's fascinating to watch conservative pundits get in over their heads pretty much instantly. There's no beach, no shelf, no sandbars. The second they start talking about this, they've tumbled over a cliff at Big Sur. There's land, and then OMG it's 1000 feet deep.
― I am Woolen Man. The scarf and I are one. (kenan), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 05:50 (thirteen years ago) link
Newt Gingrich has invented a new thing called "information terrorism," of which of course Assange is guilty.
― a tenth level which features a single castle (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 05:55 (thirteen years ago) link
I do hope that people continue, every hour on the hour, to point out as loudly as possible that Assange is guilty of no crime at all, not under anyone's law. "Information by surprise" is even legal in Sweden.
― I am Woolen Man. The scarf and I are one. (kenan), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 06:03 (thirteen years ago) link
Mitch minority leader being all "well if assange didn't commit a crime, we need to rewrite the law" is such infuriating bullshit. We call Russia and china on this very same crap all the time.
― blank, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 06:13 (thirteen years ago) link
It's weird how no one is talking about Manning, the real culprit and the person who is going to do hard time.
― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 06:18 (thirteen years ago) link
I imagine most people just think Assange somehow hacked his way into the information.
― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 06:19 (thirteen years ago) link
So far, seems to me, everyone who is in a position to make public statements about this doesn't have a clue about the implications of the issue they're talking about. People who seem to understand the issue itself are not on television at all. Not even people I like. Nobody is getting this.
― I am Woolen Man. The scarf and I are one. (kenan), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 06:26 (thirteen years ago) link
And to think that less than 900 of the 250,000 cables have actually been released at this point... Fascinating.
― StanM, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 07:03 (thirteen years ago) link
But it's not about the cables, or what's in them. It's about how much the government(s) will freak the fuck out and try to shut down the whole internet, and the degree to which they will succeed or, much more likely, fail.
― I am Woolen Man. The scarf and I are one. (kenan), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 07:09 (thirteen years ago) link
Unless of course the government(s) can easily convince ISPs to roll over and play dead and filter information at the governments whim, at which point I may buy a gun myself, and I'm not much of a gun person. But that will be beyond beyond.
― I am Woolen Man. The scarf and I are one. (kenan), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 07:14 (thirteen years ago) link
You see what I mean? What's at stake is not just some douchebag from Australia and his bad attitude.
― I am Woolen Man. The scarf and I are one. (kenan), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 07:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Unless of course the government(s) can easily convince ISPs to roll over and play dead and filter information at the governments whim
Aaaaand welcome to what Australia has been fighting for the last 5 years to prevent happening, in a now-curiously-relevant aside.
― manic pixie dream girl phenomenon (Trayce), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 07:37 (thirteen years ago) link
Actually our govt planned on wikileaks being on the filter list were it to kick in, in any case (even before all this).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11937110
― not_goodwin, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 10:35 (thirteen years ago) link
odd. thought he was going voluntarily.
― rip whiney g weingarten 03/11 never forget (history mayne), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 10:48 (thirteen years ago) link
Impressive list of signatories here. Noam Chomsky! Nice.http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41914.html― manic pixie dream girl phenomenon (Trayce), Tuesday, December 7, 2010 5:47 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark
― manic pixie dream girl phenomenon (Trayce), Tuesday, December 7, 2010 5:47 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark
ahaha, yerse. maybe do a search on other petitions chomsky has signed...
― rip whiney g weingarten 03/11 never forget (history mayne), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 10:49 (thirteen years ago) link
is it me or does it seem pretty clear that he turned himself in and the media just doesn't want to report that? hard to believe one could be "arrested" "by appointment"... wtf is that? the incompetence of the media is one of the main arguments in support of assange/wikileaks at this point...
― ╭∩╮⎝⏠⏝⏠⎠╭∩╮ (jeff), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 10:58 (thirteen years ago) link
Am pretty sure he's been staying at the Frontline Club this whole time.
― Exotic Flavors of the Midwest, available in corn, bacon, or beef (suzy), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 11:14 (thirteen years ago) link
the bbc website is not the best for facts, it's true
that arrest may just be the kind of arrested you get when you volunteer for questioning by turning up at the police station at the agreed time. it's basically done to give you rights and protect you.
― caek, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 11:17 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXbCwq4ewBU
love the fake american accents!
i didn't realise the frontline club had rooms! maybe he slept on the floor.
― progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 13:10 (thirteen years ago) link
Man, I can't wait for the porn parody movie about this. Ass angel, leaks? :-/
― StanM, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 14:10 (thirteen years ago) link
I can't wait for the leaks that show how the US is puppetmaster for the Swedes on this
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 14:21 (thirteen years ago) link
how will you react when they occur?
― caek, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 14:23 (thirteen years ago) link
a little endzone dance
― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 14:24 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh no, arrested! Does this mean this insurance.aes256 file I downloaded months ago will explode now?
― StanM, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 14:32 (thirteen years ago) link
From the Daily Mail:
They argue that the whole squalid affair is a sexfalla, which translates loosely from the Swedish as a ‘honeytrap’.
― would like a calmer set (Eazy), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 14:48 (thirteen years ago) link
um so now mastercard and visa have blocked payments to wikileaks? wtf!?
― sonderangerbot, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 14:59 (thirteen years ago) link
What's the precedent for this? Do credit card companies maintain a substantial blacklist? (I have no idea) I can see them blocking payments to child porn sites without hesitation, what about Canad1an V1agra Pharmacy or Pirate Bay?
I get that this ignores the whole "Wikileaks isn't doing anything illegal" argument, just trying to find out how common this kind of thing is.
― seandalai, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 15:17 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah, it's alwo the first time a Swiss bank has ever cared where money came from, imo.
― StanM, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 15:29 (thirteen years ago) link
they used a technicality in the paperwork
― progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 15:34 (thirteen years ago) link
morehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11937110
― not_goodwin, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 15:44 (thirteen years ago) link
comment from that Daily Mail article.
This is the most boring story I have ever read in my whole life.- Dan Hutchin-Plsung, Burnley Lancs, 07/12/2010 09:18Click to rate Rating 219
classic!
― not_goodwin, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 15:49 (thirteen years ago) link
i can see how refusing bail makes sense though
― sonderangerbot, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 15:52 (thirteen years ago) link
the incompetence of the media is one of the main arguments in support of assange/wikileaks at this point...
― ╭∩╮⎝⏠⏝⏠⎠╭∩╮ (jeff), Tuesday, December 7, 2010 5:58 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
its more than incompetence, the media is genuinely pissed at this guy, somewhat cause hes another amateur trespassing on their territory (lol blogs etc), and a lot because hes exposing them for the credulous animals they are
― ice cr?m, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 15:53 (thirteen years ago) link
Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard: "The foundation stone of it is an illegal act, information was taken and that was illegal."
the deliberate elision here is immense, and completely shameful
― kanellos (gbx), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 15:58 (thirteen years ago) link
independent tomorrow no doubt to feature lengthy pilger article about how israel is to blame
― Jefferson Mansplain (DG), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 16:06 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/12/06/natpkg.lister.wikileaks.cnn?hpt=T1
"What you need to know about WikiLeaks" carefully avoids telling you anything you ~really~ need to know about wikileaks
― kanellos (gbx), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 16:12 (thirteen years ago) link
one of the args against wikileaks is kind of persuasive, and that is that their M.O. is doing these giant, undirected data dumps rather than doing, say, reporting around a particular issue in the data - an injustice of some kind - and then releasing that, along with the pertinent data. but they don't do that. so individual issues of injustice or what have you just get swallowed in the mountains of other stuff and none of it gets any traction. i can sympathize with trad news orgs who are like "dude, you're doing it wrong"
― progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 16:16 (thirteen years ago) link
in that case said organizations should consider doing the reporting themselves
― ice cr?m, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 16:19 (thirteen years ago) link
Well the Wiki part of it is that they're expecting/hoping people will sort through it all and find the good stuff. That's how the whole site's set up, so you can tag and share significant things.
― a tenth level which features a single castle (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 16:23 (thirteen years ago) link
TH---you're right about wikileaks "doing it wrong," maybe, but i don't get what you mean by "arguments against." against....what? their continued existence? their legal status as "journalists"? just because wikileaks did it wrong doesn't mean that they should be singled out for special treatment in the legal sphere.
― kanellos (gbx), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 16:25 (thirteen years ago) link
trad news orgs are also "doing it wrong" so
― am0n, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 16:25 (thirteen years ago) link
this IS what he's doing, but that doesn't mean it isn't journalism. It's just really shitty journalism. Internet takes once august profession and makes it shitty SHOCKAH
― "Information by surprise" is even legal in Sweden (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 16:26 (thirteen years ago) link
wikileaks is not journalism! it is intended to be a permanent repository for leaked, sensitive information, no more, no less.
― e.g. delete via naivete (ledge), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 16:28 (thirteen years ago) link
gbx i mean as an argument against the effectiveness of their methods, not whether what they're doing is legal (which it is, i'm pretty sure)
timing and context is a huge part of getting a story to "stick" and the only context for such reporting at this stage is "this was part of the wikileaks document dump". many trad news orgs ARE building up entire issue pieces based on these cables but not only are individual revelations buried in the mass of themselves, the assange drama overshadows them as well.
― progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 7 December 2010 16:29 (thirteen years ago) link