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Wikileaks about to stir sh!t up again... and Julian Assange - Asshat or Hero? (pg. 43)
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| srussell0018 |
You don't consider exposing all of the incredibly evil things done by world leaders, countries, corporations, etc. under the threat of imprisonment or even assassination to be heroic? You'd rather just live under the veil of secrecy that your government provides you? That's what I call naive.
"You youngsters" :stongue: Get your cane out again :p |
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| The17sss |
| quote: | Originally posted by srussell0018
You don't consider exposing all of the incredibly evil things done by world leaders, countries, corporations, etc. under the threat of imprisonment or even assassination to be heroic? You'd rather just live under the veil of secrecy that your government provides you? That's what I call naive. |
lol... wake up man. If people like that are your heroes, I feel bad for you.
This pretty much sums it up... take it away Dr. Hanson:
| quote: | Julian Assange, the public face of WikiLeaks, is, among many things, cowardly. Courageousness would involve meeting with Iranian dissidents, Russian journalists, Pakistani Christians, or Chinese human-rights activists — and then releasing any confidential information that they might have about the torment institutionalized by their countries’ authoritarian regimes. That would be risky to Assange, however, since such governments do not customarily go to court against their leakers; they gulag them — or liquidate them.
So, instead, Assange navigates through the European northwest among the good-life elites whose economic and security protocols he does so much to undermine. Being summoned to a trumped-up Swedish hearing for being an exploitative cad who fails to wear a condom in his ephemeral hook-ups is not the same thing as being dragged into the basement of the Pakistani intelligence service or appearing in an orange jumpsuit on an al-Qaeda execution video. Why does not the peripatetic Assange at least drive about, say, the back roads of the Middle East, Mexico, or Central Africa in his quest for conduits to spread cosmic truth and justice?
In truth, Assange is a sorry product of the postmodern West. He reminds us of the morality of Western shock artists who freely caricature Christianity on the hallowed principle of free speech, but, in a nano-second, censor themselves when Islam might provide an even larger target for their cynical secular disdain. WikiLeaks is the journalistic equivalent of a Piss Christ exhibition of the contemporary art world — a repellent reminder of the cowardly selectivity of the shock-jock huckster... |
And he hits the narcissim nail on the head...
| quote: | Julian Assange is a narcissist. Like all self-absorbed egos who deny their selfishness, he protests that he wished WikiLeaks to remain an anonymously run, collective effort — while he ensured that it most certainly would not be, as he jetted the globe, giving dozens of media interviews, leveling threats, pontificating about world leaders who should resign, and promising to drop embarrassing megatonnage of gossip should he, Julian Assange, ever be charged.
Julian Assange has more or less ensured that WikiLeaks would be synonymous with Julian Assange and that he would be its man-of-the-year face on Time magazine. Like all narcissists, when reminded that his recklessness will lead to violence, mayhem, and deaths, he dismisses such dangers as insignificant in comparison to the benevolence that he bestows. Note how easily a computer hacker with a criminal record has established himself as judge, jury, and executioner on behalf of world truth. When he says, “I have become a lightning rod,” he means, “I am the Lady Gaga of leaking.” |
Seek other role models dude. |
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| Zharen |
http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/03/02...dex.html?hpt=T2
| quote: | 22 new charges for U.S. WikiLeaks suspect
The U.S. Army Wednesday notified Pfc. Bradley Manning, a prime suspect in the WikiLeaks case, that he now faces 22 more charges in connection with allegedly downloading secret information from computers in Iraq.
The most serious new charge alleges that he aided the enemy by making this information public. That charge is punishable by death. A news release from the Army said the prosecution team "has notified the defense that the prosecution will not recommend the death penalty," but technically it is up to the commander overseeing the case to make the final decision about the death penalty.
All told, Manning, a military intelligence analyst from Oklahoma, now faces a total of 34 charges in the case, including:
-- Wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the internet
-- Theft of public records
-- Transmitting defense information
-- Transferring classified data onto his personal computer
-- Disclosing classified information concerning the national defense.
Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, would not comment on the new charges, but posted a statement on his blog Wednesday evening:
"Over the past few weeks, the defense has been preparing for the possibility of additional charges in this case."
U.S. military officials have said that Manning is the prime suspect in the leak of many thousands of classified documents that ended up on the WikiLeaks website. However, WikiLeaks is not mentioned in the charge sheets.
Last August, Coombs said he'd seen no evidence tying Manning to the WikiLeaks case.
Even though the investigators filed the new charges, there are still several legal steps that would be taken before any decision will be made on which charges, if any, Manning would actually face in a court-martial.
One of those steps involves determining Manning's mental capacity. That step is expected to take two to six more weeks.
Manning is currently being held in the brig at Quantico Marine Base south of Washington, D.C. There has been a push by friends and supporters to have the rules about his confinement conditions eased. They say his confinement, in a one-man cell with only one hour a day outside of the cell for exercise, is unfair. |
This government really is a fool to think that executing this man is going to solve anything. Martyrs can be very galvanizing forces as well. The US is fast turning into a fascist state. |
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| srussell0018 |
| quote: | Originally posted by The17sss
lol... wake up man. If people like that are your heroes, I feel bad for you.
This pretty much sums it up... take it away Dr. Hanson:
And he hits the narcissim nail on the head...
Seek other role models dude. |
So, you'd prefer that this information just never was released at all so you can keep living in your dream world? Wake up, this happens. Governments don't want their people to know, but those people should know.
It's things like this that could have prevented 9/11. You're naive if you think otherwise. Why do you think 90% of the information is "classified" anyways? It's to save face. Assange deserves man of the year more than anyone else, and I really hope you have a subscription to Time when he does. |
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| narcism |
| quote: | | Julian Assange has more or less ensured that WikiLeaks would be synonymous with Julian Assange and that he would be its man-of-the-year face on Time magazine. Like all narcissists, when reminded that his recklessness will lead to[b] violence, mayhem, and deaths [b] |
The17sss, Please show evidence of this?? |
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| Halcyon+On+On |
| quote: | Originally posted by The17sss
lol... wake up man. If people like that are your heroes, I feel bad for you.
This pretty much sums it up... take it away Dr. Hanson: |
I'm certainly not eager to call him a 'hero', but suddenly he's a coward because he doesn't come to governments and organizations directly with his evidence of grievances? When you see your next-door neighbour taking bodies out of his black van at night and stuffing them into his storm cellar, you're a ing coward if you don't knock on his door the next morning and ask him about it, right?
But on that same note, he supposedly wouldn't be a coward if he dealt with these things personally (like Rambo, right?) - yet when he's marked a coward for the way he handles it, he's self-centered and narcissistic. Narcissism would be the arrogance it takes to say "hey guys, look at me! watch!" as he sticks his head into the beehive.
Hero is not the right word. But he is going to be remembered as one of the most pivotal men of this decade. |
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| idoru |
| quote: | Originally posted by Zharen
This government really is a fool to think that executing this man is going to solve anything. |
You'd do well to read the articles you post...
| quote: | | A news release from the Army said the prosecution team "has notified the defense that the prosecution will not recommend the death penalty,"... |
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| Zharen |
| quote: | Originally posted by idoru
You'd do well to read the articles you post... |
I do
| quote: | | but technically it is up to the commander overseeing the case to make the final decision about the death penalty. |
Seems like they're still considering it... |
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| Zharen |
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daphn...i_b_831489.html
| quote: |
Marines Say Bradley Manning Is Imprisoned Isolated and Naked 'For His Own Good'
If the U.S. military is really concerned that a soldier in its custody might commit suicide, it would seem like a bad idea to keep him isolated in a prison cell for months and forcibly stripped naked for seven hours a day while under constant surveillance.
But that's just what the Marines at the brig in Quantico, Virginia are apparently doing to Pfc. Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence analyst suspected of leaking secret government documents to Wikileaks.
According to his lawyer, David Coombs, Manning, who is in Maximum security and Prevention of Injury watch, was once again stripped naked on Thursday night. This is apparently part of a new regimen implemented earlier this week. Coombs said he was first stripped and left naked in his cell for seven hours on Wednesday, as the New York Times reported this morning.
First Lieutenant Brian Villard, a Marine spokesman, told the Times that the decision was "not punitive" and is in accordance with Brig rules. But, he added, it would be "inappropriate for me to explain it."
Inappropriate, or impossible?
As Coombs notes in his blog: "There can be no conceivable justification for requiring a soldier to surrender all his clothing, remain naked in his cell for seven hours, and then stand at attention the subsequent morning. This treatment is even more degrading considering that PFC Manning is being monitored -- both by direct observation and by video -- at all times."
Coombs was told that Brig officials decided to implement this new nakedness policy without consulting any of the Brig's mental health providers.
When I last wrote about Manning's treatment, Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice who teaches at Yale Law School, told me that the extreme conditions of his confinement were "not customary" and seemed particularly troublesome for someone believed to be a danger to himself. He would be better off in a hospital if that's the case, Fidell said.
If Manning wasn't mentally disturbed already, it would seem that forcing him to stay naked in his cell all night while under constant surveillance, then to stand naked outside the cell while it's inspected, would certainly push him in that direction.
David House, a friend of Manning's, told reporters on Thursday that he believes Manning's mental condition is rapidly deteriorating. In addition to being kept isolated in a cell 23 hours a day, Manning gets one hour to exercise -- alone -- in an empty room indoors.
Pfc Manning, arrested last May, was initially charged with "transferring classified data onto his personal computer and adding unauthorized software to a classified computer system in connection with the leaking of a video of a helicopter attack in Iraq in 2007," and "communicating, transmitting and delivering national defense information to an unauthorized source and disclosing classified information concerning the national defense with reason to believe that the information could cause injury to the United States."
On Wednesday, the government filed another 22 charges, including "aiding the enemy," which can be punishable by death. The government has said it will not seek the death penalty in this case. That may be because, as Jane Hamsher noted on Firedoglake, it's not really clear who the enemy is in this case: Wikileaks?
Pentagon spokesman Goeffrey Morrell on Thursday said that Manning is being held under his current confinement conditions due to "the seriousness of the charges he's facing, the potential length of sentence, the national security implications, and also the potential harm to him that he could do to himself or from others," adding that the conditions were ultimately "for his [PFC Manning's] own good."
It's not at all clear, however, how any of this is for the good of Pfc Manning. On the contrary, it appears to be a form of punishment for what the government is now suggesting is some sort of terrorist activity, although Wikileaks is not a terrorist organization and in any event, Manning has yet to be court-martialed for it.
Article 13 of the UCMJ expressly forbids punishing a military servicemember by conditions of confinement that are "any more rigorous than the circumstances required to insure his presence" at trial. Although he may be punished for disciplinary infractions in prison, the military has not claimed that he's broken any prison rules or been other than a model prisoner.
Coombs has filed a complaint about Manning's conditions, and on Wednesday, the government filed its response. The military denied Manning's request to be removed from Maximum custody and from Prevention of Injury watch. |
So maybe they won't kill him, but I find it rather disturbing that they would force him to be naked in his cell. |
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| Moongoose |
| quote: | | First Lieutenant Brian Villard, a Marine spokesman, told the Times that the decision was "not punitive" and is in accordance with Brig rules. But, he added, it would be "inappropriate for me to explain it." |
I love this line. its not inappropriate that they keep him naked for a better part of the day, just explaining why they do it is inappropriate :stongue: |
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| srussell0018 |
| Did you order the code red?!?! |
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| Zharen |
| I didn't know Rumsfeld was back in office... |
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