Wikileaks founder and good North man Julian Assange

[jacko57]

In the discussion I've seen (here and abroad), it's noticeable that those pushing the 'Assange has put lives at risk' line are usually the ones who were most vocally keen on the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions.

 

[DarwinRoo]

Maybe, maybe not. I seem to recall we had a whistle blower who made it clear that one of the key WMD claims (w.r.t. niger yellowcake) was definitely bogus. And if I recall correctly, the response of the US politicians who wanted to go to war was to expose one of their own secret agents, the wife of said whistle blower, and to try to discredit the whistle blower also. The response of the media was even worse, but that's a whole other issue.

I reckon the most we can say is that if wikileaks had existed then, Wilson may have been able to leak anonymously, and perhaps the Plame injustice would never have happened. Not sure if anything could have stopped the war. The Bush admin was crazy keen for that one.

I believe that said whistleblower is now the member for Denison.

 

[shiraz]

Oh, sorry I was being a bit obtuse. I was actually alluding to Joseph Wilson from USA. But Wilkie is another great example of a legitimate leaker who suffered serious retribution. Wikileaks didn't appear out of a vaccuum...

 

[The Other Dean]

furthermore, the majority of the rhetoric about wikileaks releases endangering lives has originated from the US military/government, claims which have been mostly shown to be scurrilous by their own subsequently leaked intelligence reports.

Yep. A round of chest-beating followed by a bullshit smear campaign, with an obedient, unquestioning lap-dog media reinforcing the stock Pentagon line.....who woulda thunk it ?

Interesting to note that prior to the release of the Afghanistan war logs, Wikileaks contacted the White House asking that it identify sensitive Afghan names that might draw reprisals, so said names could be removed, but received no reply.

But, yeah....

"On 31 July, the American reporter Christiane Amanpour interviewed the US secretary of defence, Robert Gates, on the ABC network. She invited him to describe to her viewers his "anger" at WikiLeaks. She echoed the Pentagon line that "this leak has blood on its hands", cueing Gates to find WikiLeaks "guilty" of "moral culpability". Such hypocrisy coming from a regime drenched in the blood of the people of Afghanistan and Iraq - as its own files make clear - is apparently not for journalistic inquiry. This is hardly surprising now that a new and fearless form of public accountability, which WikiLeaks represents, threatens not only the warmakers but also their apologists.....

....The WikiLeaks revelations shame the dominant section of journalism, devoted merely to taking down what cynical and malign power tells it. This is state stenography, not journalism." - John Pilger

Mind you, that's just Pilger's opinion. And of course, he's no Andrew Bolt or anything.

 

[SweetLeftFoot]

Assange has done Australian democracy an enormous service by revealing that a Federal Senator is an agent for a foreign power.

A medal should be struck on Assange's name. And Arbib should be tried and if found guilty (and it is hard to see how he could not be), locked up for remainder of life.

 

[GarnerSmash]

....The WikiLeaks revelations shame the dominant section of journalism, devoted merely to taking down what cynical and malign power tells it. This is state stenography, not journalism." - John Pilger

Mind you, that's just Pilger's opinion. And of course, he's no Andrew Bolt or anything.

Great line, and unfortunately an accurate one.

 

[Z_K]

I'll be happy enough to never see Arbib again. He looks like one of those scheming little evil buggers that plots massive shitstorms in 2nd rate fantasy novels.

Wikileaks is tremendous. Assange is the most influential Australian in my lifetime and hopefully he's not even half done.

 

[SweetLeftFoot]

I'll be happy enough to never see Arbib again. He looks like one of those scheming little evil buggers that plots massive shitstorms in 2nd rate fantasy novels.

Wikileaks is tremendous. Assange is the most influential Australian in my lifetime and hopefully he's not even half done.

Will be fascinating to see what the gutless cretin Gillard does about this.

You know, the factional numbers bloke who got her there is now revealed as the agent of a foreign power.

Tbhis of course raises enormous questions about Gingerbaws herself.

God, and this from the party of Gough Whitlam.

Sickening.

VOTE GREEN

 

[Yianni]

I'm proud that he's an Aussie and that he's a North fan.

I fully support Wikileaks, tipping the balance of accountability back in the right direction.

 

[Z_K]

VOTE GREEN

Yeah, while there is still some left.

 

[SweetLeftFoot]

Yeah, while there is still some left.

How many ALP types got returned in the most recent election in Victoria mate? We at least got all ours back.

Must be great being a member of a party committed to the WORKING PEOPLE where the most powerful factional powerbroker is a CIA agent.

Normally I'd say LOL but its ****ing sad, not funny.

 

[Z_K]

How many ALP types got returned in the most recent election in Victoria mate?

Mate, I have no idea. Couldn't care less.

We at least got all ours back.

Yeah.

Must be great being a member of a party committed to the WORKING PEOPLE where the most powerful factional powerbroker is a CIA agent.

I am not a member of any party and haven't been for a long time. I have no affiliations at all, on paper, ideologically or otherwise. I am certain I dislike Mark Arbib more than you.

 

[SweetLeftFoot]

I am certain I dislike Mark Arbib more than you.

I really don't know about that.

 

[Z_K]

I really don't know about that.

It's not something we can easily put to the test, but I'm confident that if we could I'd leave you well behind.

 

[SweetLeftFoot]

It's not something we can easily put to the test, but I'm confident that if we could I'd leave you well behind.

Has he personally done something to you or your loved ones? That's the only point I'd concede.

 

[Kimbo]

It's not something we can easily put to the test, but I'm confident that if we could I'd leave you well behind.

Has he personally done something to you or your loved ones? That's the only point I'd concede.

Of all the pissing contests to go on on BF, this one takes the cake.

"No, I hate Mark Arbib more than you." Gotta love it.

 

[Deep We11s]

Great thread about arguably the most important global issue most of us will experience in our lifetimes.

My 12 yr old son asked me about this last night. It took me a while to find the words to explain what was happening. My son is now very confused about why he should bother telling the truth.

People, we must get behind this cause and hold governments accountable for their behaviours. Stop the secrets, back room deals and political rhetoric and build that bloody stadium in Ballarat and have Roos play 6 home games there a year!

 

[see see]

Of all the pissing contests to go on on BF, this one takes the cake.

"No, I hate Mark Arbib more than you." Gotta love it.

I was thinking exactly the same thing as I was reading the above exchange.

Hopefully some lazy, story-trawling hack from that increasingly irrelevant left-wing rag The Age will pick this up and put it on the back of tomorrow's sports section. It deserves no less.

 

[Flawed Genius]

The Age should just cut out the middle man and employ SLF.

 

[comrade]

The Age should just cut out the middle man and employ SLF.

Considering the quality of that rag, I'm suprised he's not already on the payroll

 

[RooHooDoo]

I havent really gone into this wikileaks stuff in any depth, but what makes what they say any more believable than the crap we get fed by the government or other media sources?

 

[The OBSTacle]

Arbib is just another Fabian arseh*le feasting on the carcass of the Labor Party.

"When I joined the Labor Party, it contained the cream of the working class. But as I look about me now all I see are the dregs of the middle class. And what I want to know is when you middle class perverts are going to stop using the Labor Party as a spiritual spitoon." - Kim Beazley Snr 1970.

 

[The OBSTacle]

The Age should just cut out the middle man and employ SLF.

The Herald Sun should just cut out the middle man and employ Rupert Murdoch.


...........oh, wait a minute.

 

[SweetLeftFoot]

Considering the quality of that rag, I'm suprised he's not already on the payroll

Mate, if I had access to Caro's front page, your shithole hole club would have gone down the gurgler circa 2006.

 

[Twinkletoes]

Hopefully some lazy, story-trawling hack from that increasingly irrelevant left-wing rag The Age will pick this up and put it on the back of tomorrow's sports section. It deserves no less.

It deserves an audience though see see. Not to be isolated on the deserted island that is the back page of The Age sports liftout.

*NB. Although I read it every day.