WikiLeaks Insiders Resign 210
Americano writes "Wired reports that at least six WikiLeaks insiders, including Daniel Domscheit-Berg, WikiLeaks' spokesman in Germany, have resigned in the past few weeks. Those who have spoken with Wired cite differences and disputes with Julian Assange, and his autocratic leadership style, as the motivation for their departure. From the article: 'Key members of WikiLeaks were angered to learn last month that Assange had secretly provided media outlets with embargoed access to the vast database, under an arrangement similar to the one WikiLeaks made with three newspapers that released documents from the Afghanistan war in July. WikiLeaks is set to release the Iraq trove on Oct. 18, according to ex-staffers — far too early, in the view of some of them, to properly redact the names of US collaborators and informants in Iraq.'"
Then again, this is from (Score:3, Insightful)
...Wired, known for its constant barrage against wikileaks.
Re:Then again, this is from (Score:5, Insightful)
So you're saying they're lying and that the quotes from people who've resigned are false.
Well, fortunately, this is the web, I'm sure they and others will come out to counter these claims.
Right?
I mean, it couldn't be that the beloved wikileaks really is rotting from the inside out thanks to a paranoid, egomaniacal who believes he can run the project with an iron fist...
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In other news... (Score:2)
In other (completely unrelated) news, Wired also reports that an "unspecified anonymous whistle blower" has revealed to the press, that a vast corpus of proofs and other material has been given by anonymous sources to the Swedish justice, proving irrevocably and beyond any doubt that in fact, Julian Assange is an evil Pedo-Terrorist Pirate.
The anonymous whistle blower insists that the source of the material has absolutely nothing to do with three-lettered US agencies. And it's completely coincidental if the
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Posting as AC, for obvious reasons.
Those being that you don't want to offend the powerful staff of "wired?" You want to continue to be seen as completely neutral about wired? Your statement was pretty qualified.
Oh really (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Oh really (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Oh really (Score:5, Insightful)
I doubt it. At this point it would appear the governments of the world don't need to do anything to deal with wikileaks - they simply need to wait.
Something like this is _very_ delicate. If Assange is getting a bit full of himself, this thing will come apart quickly.
Re:Oh really (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, this is probably wikileaks decentralizing. These guys aren't idiots, there's quite a few PhDs and other savants on the team.
It rose from pretty much nothing, just a domain name. It can rise again as governmentleaks.com, etc. That's the internet. The site is too high profile now to be below the radar of politics. Instead they will release via bittorrent.
It's sad that the media still isn't doing their job and instead acting as shills to tarnish wikileaks. They are being used by the spin doctors. The media response is predictable. They could either go "why didn't we do that" or they can go "we would never do that, we're too professional". Which is the problem--this idea that educated journalism just rehashes what everyone else and the government is saying.
But when you look back in history you see the truely groundbreaking stories that really changed things (like tobacco, watergate, etc) were almost snuffed out by national security and governmental interference, put the reporters at risk of jail, and possibly even assassination attempts.
Yet they prevailed because the printing press enables them to copy their report and send to everyone and there's no way people can call it back. Now, obviously this great power requires responsibility, but in a case where the information is really telling about a war that they are asking us to vote for each year--telling in that it shows the government has lied to us to keep us voting for the war--I think that should come out. If soldiers should die because of the information release, remember who sent them over there to begin with. If they were safely at home it wouldn't be a problem now would it? Furthermore, if the information release leads to the war ending sooner, what about all the lives that will be saved?
Thus it's a bullshit ad-homium argument. "What about the troops?!" I can't believe we're so ignorant in this country that we believe we can have a war where no one dies except the enemy. And I have lots of friends in the military in various capacities, and none of them want to die, and most of them don't want to be there but they also know that it's their job. But the majority of them would give their life to end the war right now and bring all the rest home. I guarantee that.
So, wikileaks needs to decide if this is information that will help end the war, and cause political support for it to buckle in the US or not.
Now my little rant against: I, for one, want to know if I've been lied to. They are spending OUR MONEY (and our kids) on the war and they are asking for me to vote on it again. I want my vote to be based on the most true facts possible.
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>>>If Assange is getting a bit full of himself, this thing will come apart quickly.
I found the following interview with the Wikileaks founder interesting. In it the host (Judge Andrew Napolitano) says during the Veitnam era the government tried to sue the newspaper for publishing classified info, but the Supreme Court found them to be protected by the "free press" clause of the Constitution. Probably the same is true for Wikileaks, Wikipedia, Google, and other publishers. (shrug) You can make you
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Well, no we can't. I mean, we can make our own judgment, but it will have *zero* impact on what happens in this situation. It's the judgment of the CIA, the Pentagon, etc, that will determine how this plays out. In the long run, the best we can hope for is t
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My immediate reaction was "they've been leant on".
That kind of paranoia really isn't healthy. When you start seeing shadowy conspiracies around every corner, it's time to seek help.
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This argument would have more weight if it were not for the fact that because of Wikileaks we have been made more aware of conspiracies to cover up illegal activities, and that some of those groups whose actions have been uncovered are actively trying to discredit Wikileaks and limit its ability to function.
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This argument would have more weight if it were not for the fact that because of Wikileaks we have been made more aware of conspiracies to cover up illegal activities ...
We have? Example, please?
and that some of those groups whose actions have been uncovered are actively trying to discredit Wikileaks and limit its ability to function
Oh, I see. More paranoia. NM then.
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This argument would have more weight if it were not for the fact that because of Wikileaks we have been made more aware of conspiracies to cover up illegal activities ...
We have? Example, please?
Sure [telegraph.co.uk]
and that some of those groups whose actions have been uncovered are actively trying to discredit Wikileaks and limit its ability to function
Oh, I see. More paranoia. NM then.
There is evidence for that, too [v3.co.uk].
But judging from your condescending tone, I don't expect fact to sway your opinion, so please continue.
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Sure [telegraph.co.uk]
Misleading headline is misleading. Next time, RTFA. However, even if we stick with just the title, it's a big strech to go from "evidence suggests" to "OMFG DEY CUVERED UP STUFF!!!!".
So ... once again ... example?
There is evidence for that, too [v3.co.uk].
Again, I think your inability to get past the title/subtitle is a serious problem. Nothing in that article suggests that the US government is looking to discredit wikilieaks, let alone that they have actually done so; it only speaks about taking legal action against those who leak classified inf
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Misleading headline is misleading. Next time, RTFA. However, even if we stick with just the title, it's a big strech to go from "evidence suggests" to "OMFG DEY CUVERED UP STUFF!!!!".
So ... once again ... example?
I'm sure that you're not as ignorant of this event as your sarcasm suggests - they refused a FOIA request to release the video on grounds of political expediency.
That's a cover up.
Is it Watergate? No. It's worse. Innocent people were murdered.
Again, I think your inability to get past the title/subtitle is a serious problem. Nothing in that article suggests that the US government is looking to discredit wikilieaks, let alone that they have actually done so; it only speaks about taking legal action against those who leak classified information. And if the only complaint you can come up with is that they're charging people who violate the terms of their contract and break the law ... well, don't expect to be taken seriously.
Paranoia and poor comprehension abilities are a horrible mix. You'd fit right in with the 9/11 conspiracy theorists.
The military report described in that article identifies Wikileaks as an operational threat, and describes several methods which could be used to "damage or destroy" the trust and reputation of Wikileaks.
That report is two years old and the military have been using
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When an organization has been publicly demonized by a government, it's hard to avoid thinking that if it falls apart, it's due to the actions of that government.
One piece of why this explanation may be BS: If these volunteers wanted to continue working for the cause Wikileaks represents, but without Assange, they could fairly easily set up their own servers, see if Assange is interested in releasing the Wikileaks data to them, and even if not set up a forked project. If they're worried that it's become too
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Daniel Domscheit-Berg indicated he intends to do exactly that here [spiegel.de].
Short memory (Score:5, Insightful)
It was only about two months ago that people in government were demanding his head. Reacting to this event may well be unfounded paranoia but that does not change that powerful people do want to get him. Now what should happen is that it should stop at the noise of unprofessional weasels demanding his head, but it may go furthur and somebody may be sent on the pointless useless and deplorable task of stirring up trouble from him to "teach him a lesson". It would be as unprofessional as outing a CIA agent because her husband pointed out a blatant and stupid lie, but that doesn't mean it won't happen.
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'round these here parts if you ain't paranoid, you're sheeple. You don't want to be sheeple, do ya?
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'round these here parts if you ain't paranoid, you're sheeple. You don't want to be sheeple, do ya?
uh, no. Especially not 'round those there parts. I know what happens to sheeple 'round those there parts...
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That kind of paranoia really isn't healthy. When you start seeing shadowy conspiracies around every corner, it's time to seek help.
Are you kidding?!? The psychiatric organization is the worst of them all! They're the ones at the forefront of trying to take away my tinfoil hat to establish a new world order!
Seriously though. There -are- conspiracies to shut down wikileaks. Not really that shadowy though: like many conspiracies that are real and not just paranoia, they're much less secretive than the imagined conspiracies. The actors aren't concealing their dislike of wikileaks.
No one is accusing anyone of plotting literal assassina
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Wow the idea that Assange is narcissistic is so abhorrent to you that you first reaction is that the US government got to them.
This is the worst kind of hero worship. If you keep this up there can only be two results.
1. I life of mindless devotion to Assange.
2. Deep depression when you finally find out the Assange isn't perfect.
I suggest you read the story first. Even if you think Assange is right then it comes down to a simple battle of egos which Assange as a leader didn't handle correctly IMHO. And that
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Wow the idea that Assange is narcissistic
No, the idea is that Assange has suddenly become intolerably narcissistic at just the same time as big players want to discredit him. Now, it is possible that the publicity has gone to his head, but it's a slightly more complex idea than yours.
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Not really. As the publicity and mindless fandom increases so will narcissism. Also people can and do get feed up with dealing with a jerk after a while. I suggest you read the story.
Slightly more complex? Not really. A lot more paranoid? Yes.
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Do you also hold the Kennedys responsible for your favorite band never having a hit song?
Re:Oh really (Score:5, Insightful)
My immediate reaction was "they've been leant on". I'd imagine the US government has been putting pressure directly on any individual involved in the hope of a) weakening Wikileaks and b) causing dissent and reducing their credibility.
NYT: [nytimes.com]'The civilian also said that the Army had offered him “a considerable amount of money if I were to keep my ear to the ground and be an in with them with WikiLeaks.” He said that he had turned the Army down'
So there is some precedence, there is a plan [wikileaks.org] and a 120 strong department [thedailybeast.com] working around the clock to make it happen. Does not sound far fetched to me.
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Re:Oh really (Score:4, Insightful)
....there is a plan [wikileaks.org]....
Pop quiz; what is the plan? Have you actually read that document? The most direct "plan" in the leaked document is as follows:
In summery, go after whistle-blowers / leaks. That's it. No grand government conspiracy to lean on Wikileaks staff. No grand plan to get Assange personally. Yet every time anything remote touches on Wikileaks or Assange, we get post after post about how it is the latest evidence of powerful enemies pulling strings all in accordance with The Plan.
Seriously folks, where that skepticism that prevents you from swallowing everything fed to you by your government? Does it all go out the window because you're being fed by someone who matches your politics?
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"Does it all go out the window because you're being fed by someone who matches your politics?"
Yes.
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Does it all go out the window because you're being fed by someone who matches your politics?
In the case of TLA agencies, their proven track record means they've got a reversed burden of proof. It doesn't matter whose politics it matches; such actions by these agencies would merely be a continuation of an established pattern of behaviour, and to assume any significant change without proof would be naive. Of course, should they allow enough transparency to establish any such reasonably reliable proof, there p
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In the case of TLA agencies, their proven track record means they've got a reversed burden of proof. It doesn't matter whose politics it matches; such actions by these agencies would merely be a continuation of an established pattern of behaviour, and to assume any significant change without proof would be naive.
The problem with that line of thought is that all one has to do is frame oneself as being in opposition of said TLA agencies. Then anything that happens or any criticisms can be chalked up to the shadow workings of a TLA agency conspiracy.
What's further troubling about this line of thought is the demand to prove a negative.
Re:Oh really (Score:4, Insightful)
Let's see... once again, according to the material you've linked:
So his job is to analyze Wikileaks' activities and prepare a case for prosecution if the Government wants to go that direction? And that's the evidence of Government leaning on Wikileaks staff? Investigation.
Furthermore, the article does fall in line with what I've already pointed out. They were given a lead on an accused leak. And presumably have been involved in putting together a case against Manning. Which is exactly what that leaked document outlines; going after the leaks.
Once again - I have to ask if you even READ what you're linking to. You even quote a definition for conspiracy that hardly fits the material you're providing.
Re:Oh really (Score:4, Insightful)
And that's all a fine argument once we get to the point of the US Government attempting to prosecute. But they're not (at least not yet). And while investigation can lead to prosecution, they're not the same thing.
If the Government does attempt prosecution, then I'd be behind your argument in most cases. But the only one they've started prosecution on is Manning. And the Espionage Act of 1917 clearly applies there.
What fails to come to light in this thread is any evidence of a conspiracy to lean on Wikileaks agents. Yet you've invoked all this as proof. And that proof fails to deliver. Just as it fails to deliver when all the other conspiracy theorists invoke it to explain away criticisms of Wikileaks and anything else that touches Wikileaks or Assange in a negative light.
As an aside, the article described this supposed dedicated group as "nearly 120 intelligence analysts, FBI agents, and others" - not sure where you get "propaganda specialists" out of that although I think you're counting "spooks" twice naming the FBI. The problem I keep having in these threads is that there's supposed to be clear proof, yet every time a little digging is done, we discover that the bias of the individual has produced fictions and presented them as fact.
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Re:Oh really (Score:4, Insightful)
Cue the People's Front of WikiLeaks in 3... 2... (Score:4, Insightful)
If there's one thing Freedom Fighters can't stand more than the Romans^W Military Industrial Complex, it's each others' company.
Note: this is +1 Sadly Insightful, not Funny.
People's Front of WikiLeaks (Score:2)
Cue the People's Front of WikiLeaks in 3... 2...
WikiLeak's Liberation Front : "You splitters !"
Daniel's Wife is Microsoft Govt Liason in Germany (Score:2, Insightful)
So I ask what is MS doing supporting wikileaks? An organization that released MS's own disclosure policies for xboxlive and other services.
If MS supports wikileaks how is that not a security violation and a conflict of interest?
Furthermore, Daniel's wife is in a POLITICAL ROLE for microsoft, does anyone question what this could have to do about the the leaks of the EU's OSS initiative which Microsoft et al. probably ran off of the rails?
There are legitimate questions about Daniel's role in Microsoft's EU pr
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She's a witch! Burn her! Burn her!
Or perhaps people aren't always blind slaves to the corporations they or their family members work for and personal motivation can be both varied and complex.
Typical (Score:5, Insightful)
As someone with a business background and studying for my MBA (let the jokes begin), I find this type of thing fascinating.
This type of situation happens a lot in small business. Most successful smal businesses face failure when they make the hurdle to medium-sized businesses. They either end up folding,or going back to a smaller company.
To get a company up and running requires a certain personality -- very confident, very controlling. To successfully grow you need a staff around you that shares in the power and is trusted to make decisions. The original personality type fails in this regard. Either the person in charge must change his leadership style or the person in charge must change (i.e. get rid of him).
So from the 50.000 foot view, it seems like we have this situation at wikileaks. This is a shame as I think this type of organization can truly be a benefit to freedom and democracy.
Clarify one point (Score:2)
As I reread my post, the "requires a certain personality -- very confident, very controlling" is not stricly true. However, the vast majority of small businesses that do not fail and actually grow tent to br run by these personality types. There are cases, of course, of other types. I only wanted to point out that WikiLeaks appears to fall into this majority case.
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As someone with a business background and studying for my MBA (let the jokes begin),
What, did you find your "handjobs in the YMCA parking lot" enterprise left you with too much self-respect?
Sorry, sorry... but you DID invite it. ;)
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:)
Actually, a decade as a developer. Some projects made the whole YMCA parking lot seem like a step up :) It is fun to actually be in management and get to have an impact on the culture rather than be the victim of it.
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So you're saying that their little rock band has had their first number one, and the lead singer and the bassist struggle with artistic differences? Sounds plausible to me. Besides, Julian gets all the groupies.
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Besides, Julian gets all the groupies.
No matter what it takes. [nydailynews.com]
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I've seen this sort of transition occur firsthand. It's not pretty. The company was better for it in the end, though--they just had to shed a lot (and I mean a lot) of people. Over a third of the company was gone by the time it was all said and done and virtually the entire leadership structure was changed.
Flameware (Score:3, Interesting)
Domscheit-Berg: what are the agreements re iraq? i need to understand what the plan is there, and what the constraints are Assange: "A person in close contact with other WikiLeaks activists around Europe, who asked for anonymity when discussing a sensitive topic, says that many of them were privately concerned that Assange has continued to spread allegations of dirty tricks and hint at conspiracies against him without justification. Insiders say that some people affiliated with the website are already Assange: brainsorming whether ther e might be some way to persuade their front man to step aside, or failing that, even to oust him." Domscheit-Berg: what does that have to do with me? Domscheit-Berg: and where is this from? Assange: Why do you think it has something to do with you? Domscheit-Berg: probably because you alleg this was me Domscheit-Berg: but other than that just about nothing Domscheit-Berg: as discussed yesterday, this is an ongoing discussion that lots of people have voiced concern about Domscheit-Berg: you should face this, rather than trying to shoot at the only person that even cares to be honest about it towards you Assange: No, three people have "relayed" your messages already. Domscheit-Berg: what messages? Domscheit-Berg: and what three people? Domscheit-Berg: this issue was discussed Domscheit-Berg: [Redacted] and i talked about it, [Redacted] talked about it, [Redacted] talked about it, [Redacted] talked about it Domscheit-Berg: lots of people that care for this project have issued that precise suggestion Domscheit-Berg: its not me that is spreading this message Domscheit-Berg: it would just be the natural step to take Domscheit-Berg: and thats what pretty much anyone says Assange: Was this you? Domscheit-Berg: i didnt speak to newsweek or other media representatives about this Domscheit-Berg: i spoke to people we work with and that have an interest in and care about this project Domscheit-Berg: and there is nothing wrong about this Domscheit-Berg: it'd actually be needed much more, and i can still only recommend you to finally start listening to such concerns Domscheit-Berg: especially when one fuckup is happening after the other Assange: who, exactly? Domscheit-Berg: who exactly what? Assange: Who have you spoken to about this issue? Domscheit-Berg: i already told you up there Assange: those are the only persons? Domscheit-Berg: some folks from the club have asked me about it and i have issued that i think this would be the best behaviour Domscheit-Berg: thats my opinion Domscheit-Berg: and this is also in light to calm down the anger there about what happened in 2007 Assange: how many people at the club? Domscheit-Berg: i dont have to answer to you on this j Domscheit-Berg: this debate is fuckin all over the place, and no one understands why you go into denial, especially not the people that know about other incidents Assange: How many people at the club? Assange: In what venue? Domscheit-Berg: in private chats Domscheit-Berg: but i will not answe
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Re:Flameware (Score:5, Informative)
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Instead, his only concern is the leak itself
Which is deliciously ironic... apparently the seekers of transparency, themselves, need not be transparent. Nice.
Meanwhile, Assange's paranoid need to root out this defector is clearly preventing wikileaks from actually doing the job they exist to do, as evidenced by that very transcript.
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Which is deliciously ironic... apparently the seekers of transparency, themselves, need not be transparent. Nice.
Meanwhile, Assange's paranoid need to root out this defector is clearly preventing wikileaks from actually doing the job they exist to do, as evidenced by that very transcript.
If you're putting together an army to fight for freedom and liberty, you can't run it like a democracy. There's a reason why decisive leadership is important in times of crisis. Interesting bit of history, many pirate crews operated under a form of limited democracy. They'd elect captains. Once in battle, the man's orders were obeyed as if from God. After the battle, they could decide if they had faith in him.
An operation like Wikileaks has to present a cohesive, united front. They can have all the internal
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yeah you can have an honest internal discussion and King Julian suspends you on the spot if you give any criticism.
And apparently everyone is jumping ship.... so yeah Julian's management style sucks.
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An operation like Wikileaks has to present a cohesive, united front. They can have all the internal debates they want but they can't appear to be bickering and disunited in public.
Why? Because you say so?
Please.
WikiLeaks is an interesting organization, but they aren't an army. Frankly, I'm baffled you even made that comparison...
Re:Flameware (Score:4, Informative)
If you're putting together an army to fight for freedom and liberty, you can't run it like a democracy. There's a reason why decisive leadership is important in times of crisis.
I'm sorry, are you arguing in favor of Assange or President Bush serving a third term to continue the fight terrorists in Afghanistan? The rhetoric has suddenly become indistinguishable.
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Excellent trollage. Wow. That has the absolute ring of sincerely-held and honestly-stated opinion, while simultaneously being so completely out there that it has to attract massive energetic flamage.
Simply brilliant.
WTF, you're serious?
My bad.
Re:Flameware (Score:5, Insightful)
were you reading the same chatlog?
All Assange was saying was basically "who dares speak against ME??" And the other guy was just trying to get some work done. Assange refused to give the guy the answers he needed to get his work done.
He was acting like a douche and the other guy got pissed off and told him he was a douche. And then Assange proves it by unilaterally suspending the guy.
Face it Assange is a douchebag, and he's going to bring down wikileaks.
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Indeed; I can't be bothered reading a mess like that. Hell, he doesn't even need a <p> tag, all he has to do is select "Plain Old Text" and hit "enter" after every line.
If he can't be bothered to make his comment readable, I can't be bothered to read it.
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Skipping the wired (and poster "Americanos") spin at looking right at the chat logs they are basing it on (reproduced below
Dude, that's not all they're basing it on. There's been *multiple* resignations in the organization. If this were an isolated incident with a single individual, I might believe you, but it's clear there's far more to it than this.
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So you're saying this quote:
And this:
Are lies? Alright, where's *your* proof? I mean, if this is an outright fabrication, there must be published quotes countering these statements somewhere. Right? So where are they? The only thing I've found is a twit from Assange whe
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Gotcha, mindless denialism is the name of the game, here.
Wait a second... Julian? Is that you??
Re:Flameware (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, he totally weasels out of it completely. Oh, except for the part where he says: "i didnt speak to newsweek or other media representatives about this."
For what it's worth, my "spin," as you call it, is entirely accurate. The people who have left that Wired have spoken to have cited differences and disputes, both personally with Julian Assange, and with his -- apparently autocratic -- leadership style. Go RTFA, and you'll see that it's not really me "spinning" the summary, it's a pretty accurate summary of what the Wired story has to say.
You may disagree with their assessment, and feel that Assange is NOT being autocratic and heavy-handed, but that does not change the fact that Wired has reported this to be the opinion of several of the people who have resigned.
Re:Flameware (Score:5, Insightful)
That's right, NO.
Assange asked him directly, "did you speak to Newsweek about this."
Domscheit-Berg responded directly, "I didn't speak to Newsweek or other media representatives about this."
I'd hardly call that weasel language, or refusing to answer the question. As far as him leaking this information for "political and financial advantage," what advantage at all is there for Domscheit-Berg in this? Please explain how he's going to reap rewards out of... leaving Wikileaks?
It's funny, apparently when we criticize Assange we need ironclad proof, and even with video we're not sure that it wasn't heavily doctored by the CIA/MSFT/Barack Obama/UN/UK/Germany/Swedish Prosecutors/Glenn Beck/Rush Limbaugh/et. al., but when anybody else is involved, a bit of baseless conspiracy theory and a few twists of innuendo ("I'm not SAYING he leaked it for financial gain, but he's never specifically DENIED it, either!"), and that's good enough to assume the people we disagree with are guilty.
Double standard? I think so.
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From the interview:
Very invasive, indeed. What a weasel.
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the cause is greater than the man (Score:5, Insightful)
assange did a good thing starting wikileaks, but we are all human, we are all fallible, and it is possible to praise assange for getting the ball rolling but recognize that perhaps the cause has outgrown him
he obviously needs to let go and let other people run the show in a distributed manner, not with a single point of failure: one man
this is not a trumped up rape charge in sweden. this is a valid problem with his management style. if you blindly defense assange, even to the extent that wikileaks the cause can be hurt in terms of image, ethical behavior, or compromised mission because of his management failures, then you are guilty of hero worship and cult of personality behavior. if you laugh at why people care about the star worship on TMZ.com or wonder why scientologists or north koreans can't see that they are being sold a bill of goods... yet you still defend assange: look in the mirror. surely you can separate wikileaks and assange in your mind
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> assange did a good thing starting wikileaks,
Assange did not start Wikileaks.
apologies, you are correct (Score:2)
regardless, assange exercises too much power in the organization. how that came to be might be valid but that it continue like that is obviously not compatible with the organization's mission
Ahh...the Sweet Irony (Score:5, Funny)
FTA: "When he quizzed Assange in an online chat, Assange responded by accusing Domscheit-Berg of leaking information about discontent within WikiLeaks to a columnist for Newsweek".
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FTA: "When he quizzed Assange in an online chat, Assange responded by accusing Domscheit-Berg of leaking information about discontent within WikiLeaks to a columnist for Newsweek".
Which is when Domscheit-Berg tries to change the subject, gets all pissy and starts whining about how nobody likes Assange.
You know, FTA...
Sounds like (Score:3, Funny)
I can't say I'm surprised... (Score:5, Insightful)
The idea behind Wikileaks is a good one, but Assange has an agenda (as the Collateral Murder site clearly showed). I hope these people are heading off to form their own organization, with perhaps something closer to neutrality.
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Everyone knows that Hizbollah is pure, true and good and it is only Israel that is evil.
If it where any other way we would hear about it on CNN.
See, it is clear that there is no point to trying to expose any wrongdoings of Hizbollah. Just as it is clear that there is plenty of wrongdoing to find in anything the US does. What possible good could a country do that has created McDonald's?
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"but Assange has an agenda"
What's wrong with having an agenda?
Many prefer the old format (present the public with raw data and allow them to decide), Assange should be acting as curator, not hype or spin man.
how is wikileaks safer than 4chan? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:how is wikileaks safer than 4chan? (Score:5, Interesting)
Because they hopefully some expertise whereas the random guy who wants to leak something probably hasn't even heard any of the terms "proxy chain", "tor", or "4chan".
Because wikileaks claims to do some checking which will give the leak more weight than some random post to 4chan.
Because wikileaks has media contacts and can push the leaked data out to them, which would be very hard for most people to do anonymously.
Re:how is wikileaks safer than 4chan? (Score:5, Insightful)
And because the admins of 4chan might just out you for the lulz
Not surprised. (Score:2, Informative)
Assuange has always struck me to be a self-important attention whore. I'm certain there are quite a few people out there better suited to running the organization.
One of the biggest concerns I have about WikiLeaks is that they end up being driven by particular agendas, that they end up being selective about what they disclose because it might not suit their particular viewpoints or goals.
I do believe WikiLeaks provides a valuable service. But they aren't essential either. There are a million and one ways to
Wiki leaks is all about media whoring. (Score:5, Insightful)
The US government has too many secrets. Certainly, they need SOME, otherwise they can't have a tactical advantage over enemies. But there's stuff decades old that just should not be closed up in some government filing cabinet. I think the excessive government secrecy, cover-ups for mistakes, and all sorts of other crud need to be blown wide open by those who care more for the American people than for their government (which should be for the people, by the people, of the people, etc.).
The problem currently is that those people doing the blowing-open appear to be kindof shallow on ethics themselves. Assange comes across to me as a serious ass-hat who get's a kick out of doing this stuff more because it's "naughty" than because he really cares about freedom of information. Of course, this impression, along with the sexual misconduct charges, could all be the result of Pentagon brainwashing. But if you're going to take the "moral high ground" against government secrecy, you have to be above reproach, and you have to use tactics much less douchy than the ones we've been seeing, what with the "I'm going to release this stuff in two weeks, so I can get lots of personal attention, up the suspense, etc. Maybe I'll be arrested for not having yet released anything, which will be a high profile embarrassment for the government. Strisand Effect."
Wikileaks seems to be more about media whoring than truly doing good things.
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Unfortunately if it wasn't like that I doubt we'd get any leaks and secrets would just stay secrets.
That "agenda", whoring, whatever you wanna call it is the nerve that push them hard enough to actually do something about it.
Fully moral, ethical people cannot convey such tasks because they'll be blocked by their own ethics pretty quickly, and have only low scale events no one will get informed about.
Ideally, it takes a smart - bad - guy to convey the task in the best way possible. The bad guy has his agenda
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I'm unclear about the need for secrets. If they assume that said information is secret and it has actually been obtained by an enemy, then they're vulnerable. (See: Germany and Japan, after codebreakers successfully broke their secure lines of communication.) On the other hand, if they don't assume that said information is secret, then it doesn't matter whether it is actually secret or published. The third option, of them assuming it is secret and it being secret is something that a government can never pro
Fork already! (Score:3, Insightful)
redacted? (Score:3, Interesting)
Domscheit-Berg: [Redacted] and i talked about it, [Redacted] talked about it, [Redacted] talked about it, [Redacted] talked about it
And here I thought that no secrets were worth keeping.
Angels dancing (Score:2)
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== Tyrant? If true it sounds like he's as bad as the leaders he's trying to expose?
President Obama has argued that he can have American citizens assassinated and that the courts aren't allowed to intervene, as that would violate state secrecy. Call me when the corpses start piling up in Mr. Assange's bedroom.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/25/AR2010092500560.html?hpid=topnews [washingtonpost.com]
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I agree with taking him out to be honest. He's not a nice guy IMO. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_al-Awlaki [wikipedia.org]
But see, in this great country that zealots like you continually crap on, we don't just nuke the whole of the Middle East or even get an asshole like that on a capture/kill l
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Sure, it might be justifiable in that single case, but allowing that much power is scary. The US government hasn't really proven itself trustful, so I think we have the right to be deeply skeptical any time it claims power without the culpability for misuse. The ability to silently assassinate people has generally proven bad in the case of the US government. Look at the mess we made of South America for three decades (or more). Look how much unbridled power the CIA had to do nasty things to people who
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"The law, in all vicissitudes of government, fluctuat
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The American people (English colonists) *knew* why the redcoats were being killed. We haven't been told why this guy could be. It's a "state secret" after all. The case has not been made and the president doesn't feel the need to tell us. You don't find that scary? Maybe you don't know - but imagine a president you vehemently disagree with. Now do you find it scary?
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Came off a bit trollish maybe?
Rest was interesting though.
I guess what I'm saying is thanks for the link to the intervi
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