Julian Assange: Hero or Villain?
- Thread starter Rearden Metal
- Start date
could those countries have better security?
"In his Internet chat, Manning described the conditions as lax to the point that he could bring a homemade music CD to work with him, erase the music and replace it with secrets. He told the computer hacker who would turn him in that he lip-synched along with pop singer Lady Gaga's hit "Telephone" while making off with "possibly the largest data spillage in American history."
Wired.com published a partial log of Manning's discussions with hacker R. Adrian Lamo in June.
"Weak servers, weak logging, weak physical security, weak counterintelligence, inattentive signal analysis," Manning wrote. "A perfect storm....""
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101130/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_wikileaks_security
Glenn Beck showed? Stop right there.
HA! And the same people who pay the moron Becks salary are Muslims ...his bosses. They own Fox news.
When he gets around to exposing the pharmaceutical company's and the banks secret documents, he will officially become a hero.
Can't wait to see all the illegal shit those organizations have been doing.
Can't wait to see all the illegal shit those organizations have been doing.
I'd say that invading someone's property and taking something of value from it is clearly wrong, if there are not significant mitigating circumstances. So it all boils down to are there sufficient mitigating circumstances. Hacking China's computers to save the life of a dissident by publishing info is clearly fine, even if illegal. Hacking a private citizen's personal email to expose their love letters or a company to expose their confidential business strategies is clearly wrong, even if legal (which I'm pretty sure it isn't).
You also have to factor in the foreseeable consequences of a leak. If it's going to result in innocent people getting killed (e.g. people who report on Taliban abuses, dissidents in tyrannical regimes) then it is no different to pulling the trigger yourself.
I haven't seen the info on wikileaks so I don't know to what extent Assange and his group fall into those categories. But given his apparent carte blanche approach to leaking info, IMO it's only a matter of time before he becomes morally culpable for numerous homicides, at which point it'd be morally justified for anyone in the world to kill him. Then again, many of the world's leading statesman - past and present - have been in similar positions, morally speaking.
His intent is probably noble, but intent doesn't really matter - you are just as dead if killed by a saint as by a sadist.
You also have to factor in the foreseeable consequences of a leak. If it's going to result in innocent people getting killed (e.g. people who report on Taliban abuses, dissidents in tyrannical regimes) then it is no different to pulling the trigger yourself.
I haven't seen the info on wikileaks so I don't know to what extent Assange and his group fall into those categories. But given his apparent carte blanche approach to leaking info, IMO it's only a matter of time before he becomes morally culpable for numerous homicides, at which point it'd be morally justified for anyone in the world to kill him. Then again, many of the world's leading statesman - past and present - have been in similar positions, morally speaking.
His intent is probably noble, but intent doesn't really matter - you are just as dead if killed by a saint as by a sadist.
The point is, you can't be a "hero" by exposing what's going on in just one country or organization. That implies that there isn't the same - or worse - happening in other countries or organizations.
If he wants to be a hero, he has to be egalitarian about it.
No he doesn't. Heroism doesn't require doing it everywhere - one place is enough.
Better security, maybe. Hit men that they would gladly use, for sure.
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