Julian Assange: Hero or Villain?

[CaptainObvious]

Once again it's the stunning hypocrisy of the left which comes in to play. Remember Valerie Plame, the glorifed CIA secretary? When she was outed, and she was, it was OMFG, how can we be doing this? This is secret info. Remember, the e-mails obtained from climate gate? Again, OMFG, this is confidential material, and it was obtained illegally according to the left. But this wiki-leaks...no big deal. We're just putting countless lives at risk around the globe, straining international relationships, fuck it. No problem, it's just info the public needs to know.
Again, just one time, I'd like the outrage of the left to be consistant. Just one fucking time!

 

[MarketMasher]

I think it has to do with whether or not he is just barfing up a ton a crap without a useful outcome.

It gets gray if he is using illegal means to expose criminal acts. Then I suppose it falls into the "lesser of two evils" category.

He is targeting a Big Bank next. Maybe a TBTF one. But if the TBTF banks tend to be connected via the counter-party ties that forced a gov't bailout, the trail may branch out from there....


Unless Plame was performing criminal acts for the CIA, I don't see how outing her produced a useful outcome - especially when it was by her own gov't, not some outsider.

 

[buzzy2]

The Wikileaks Cablegate proves that Ron Paul is right. Current US Foreign Policy is a liability not an asset to the US.

The USA has no business meddling in other countries' affairs and much less spying, ridiculing, backstabbing and insulting foreign leaders. It doesn't take much intelligence to infer that this has been going on for a long time. US Foreign Policy is nothing but a waste of money and turns hordes of people overseas into US enemies .

If some foreign country diplomatic service comes to the US and starts spying US citizens on US soil and insulting our elected representatives, would you hate them or would you like to be friends with them? Wouldn't you want them deported ASAP?

How do you fight terrorism creating nothing but enemies all over the world?

 

[MarketMasher]

Quote from buzzy2:

and insulting our elected representatives,...

They do it to themselves every day.

And we do it to them too - and lord knows they deserve it for being spineless sellouts.

 

[Ricter]

Quote from CaptainObvious:

Once again it's the stunning hypocrisy of the left which comes in to play. Remember Valerie Plame, the glorifed CIA secretary? When she was outed, and she was, it was OMFG, how can we be doing this? This is secret info. Remember, the e-mails obtained from climate gate? Again, OMFG, this is confidential material, and it was obtained illegally according to the left. But this wiki-leaks...no big deal. We're just putting countless lives at risk around the globe, straining international relationships, fuck it. No problem, it's just info the public needs to know.
Again, just one time, I'd like the outrage of the left to be consistant. Just one fucking time!

I appreciate what you are saying here, and it's true. I'm not going to try and split hairs about the qualitative and quantative differences between outcomes, and the other "etc." type rationalizations. But I note that the right does this too. The commonality is partisanship. That's a tough thing to outgrow. I struggle with it constantly, in spite of my knowledge that it's merely an edifice I'm trying to put between me and the harsh reality of my mortality. At least I've got company in that.

 

[buzzy2]

Quote from MarketMasher:
They do it to themselves every day.
And we do it to them too - and lord knows they deserve it for being spineless sellouts.

Maybe, but what if a foreign ambassador does it?
Who are US bureaucrats accountable to, US citizens, or some foreign country?
If the Chinese ambassador starts spying, ridiculing and backstabbing Obama, no matter whether you are democrat, republican or Tea Party, wouldn't you agree with the need to kick him out of the country?

 

[Dr. Zhivodka]

How do you feel about Daniel Ellsberg?

Quote from CaptainObvious:

Once again it's the stunning hypocrisy of the left which comes in to play. Remember Valerie Plame, the glorifed CIA secretary? When she was outed, and she was, it was OMFG, how can we be doing this? This is secret info. Remember, the e-mails obtained from climate gate? Again, OMFG, this is confidential material, and it was obtained illegally according to the left. But this wiki-leaks...no big deal. We're just putting countless lives at risk around the globe, straining international relationships, fuck it. No problem, it's just info the public needs to know.
Again, just one time, I'd like the outrage of the left to be consistant. Just one fucking time!

 

[Scataphagos]

Quote from buzzy2:

"... If the Chinese ambassador starts spying, ridiculing and backstabbing Obama, no matter whether you are democrat, republican or Tea Party, wouldn't you agree with the need to kick him out of the country?

Odumbo? I'd give the guy a FRICKIN' MEDAL!

But in general you have a point.

 

[SWScapital]

Quote from MarketMasher:

I'll decide when he posts leaks from other big countries - preferably totalitarian ones.

Didnt they just post that whole China hacks google piece?

 

[SWScapital]

Quote from Dr. Zhivodka:

Daniel Ellsberg

Hero!