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Jim Lane

(11,175 posts)
49. Snowden's revelations and the DNC emails are but two of many counterexamples
Mon Aug 1, 2016, 05:49 AM
Aug 2016

Western liberalism is helped, not harmed, by revelations of the misdeeds of powerful people.

Here's Wikipedia's summary of Wikileaks's early years:

2006-08

WikiLeaks posted its first document in December 2006, a decision to assassinate government officials signed by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys {of Somalia}.[28] In August 2007, the UK newspaper The Guardian published a story about corruption by the family of the former Kenyan leader Daniel arap Moi based on information provided via WikiLeaks.[132] In November 2007, a March 2003 copy of Standard Operating Procedures for Camp Delta detailing the protocol of the U.S. Army at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp was released.[133][134] The document revealed that some prisoners were off-limits to the International Committee of the Red Cross, something that the U.S. military had in the past denied repeatedly.[135] In February 2008, WikiLeaks released allegations of illegal activities at the Cayman Islands branch of the Swiss Bank Julius Baer, which resulted in the bank suing WikiLeaks and obtaining an injunction which temporarily suspended the operation of wikileaks.org.[136] The California judge had the service provider of WikiLeaks block the site's domain (wikileaks.org) on 18 February 2008, although the bank only wanted the documents to be removed but WikiLeaks had failed to name a contact. The website was instantly mirrored by supporters, and later that month the judge overturned his previous decision citing First Amendment concerns and questions about legal jurisdiction.[137][138] In March 2008, WikiLeaks published what they referred to as "the collected secret 'bibles' of Scientology," and three days later received letters threatening to sue them for breach of copyright.[139] In September 2008, during the 2008 United States presidential election campaigns, the contents of a Yahoo account belonging to Sarah Palin (the running mate of Republican presidential nominee John McCain) were posted on WikiLeaks after being hacked into by members of a group known as Anonymous.[140][141] In November 2008, the membership list of the far-right British National Party was posted to WikiLeaks, after appearing briefly on a weblog.[142] A year later, on October 2009, another list of BNP members was leaked.[143]


You'll note that the first two items are about illiberal African leaders, and a later one is about Scientology, hardly a component of Western liberalism. As for the third, the Gitmo revelations, did the dissemination of those materials "harm Western liberalism"? I'd say that the harm to Western liberalism came because the U.S. military decided to lie to the public about whether it was allowing the International Committee of the Red Cross to have full access to the prison.

It's certainly true that various malefactors, including the U.S. government and the Democratic National Committee, would have better reputations if they had succeeded in keeping their misdeeds secret. My view, however, is that any reputational harm is the fault of the people in power who made the bad decisions, not the fault of the outsiders who exposed them. In 1973-74 I was rooting for Woodward and Bernstein, not for Nixon.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Read it and pass it by, just like the rags in the checkout lines. Thinkingabout Jul 2016 #1
A rapist Putin puppet? oberliner Jul 2016 #2
That describes Julian Assange rjsquirrel Jul 2016 #3
Alleged scumbag? R. Daneel Olivaw Jul 2016 #4
Oh no he's definitely a scumbag rjsquirrel Jul 2016 #6
So are the "plenty" on DU also useful idiots? R. Daneel Olivaw Jul 2016 #13
This message was self-deleted by its author Donald Ian Rankin Jul 2016 #28
His anti-semitism awoke_in_2003 Jul 2016 #9
Do you have links to this anti-Semitism. R. Daneel Olivaw Jul 2016 #12
You can start here... phleshdef Jul 2016 #15
Ah, I love it whensomebody makes a claim and then tells others R. Daneel Olivaw Jul 2016 #39
Sorry. Link requests are misdirection, obfuscation, and deflection. Stinky The Clown Aug 2016 #46
That's false Orrex Aug 2016 #53
Got a link to the internet rules? Stinky The Clown Aug 2016 #54
If you make a claim, you can't get sour when someone calls you on it. Orrex Aug 2016 #55
:) Stinky The Clown Aug 2016 #74
for nearly fifteen years they have been a mainstay of discussion on DU.... mike_c Aug 2016 #77
Got a link? Stinky The Clown Aug 2016 #80
Start Here: " I don't think Julian Assange meant to leak this" emulatorloo Aug 2016 #63
And Julian Assange is a sexist piece of arrogant shit. eom charlyvi Jul 2016 #5
Thought Control. misterhighwasted Jul 2016 #7
Let's be clear about "wiki". It is a technology. NOT a single site. MH1 Jul 2016 #35
So Chelsea Manning is a RW extremist? Matrosov Jul 2016 #8
Bad judgement on her part to trust Assange MrScorpio Jul 2016 #10
Better to be a "good little German" and keep secrets R. Daneel Olivaw Jul 2016 #14
I believe in what Manning set out to do. The way she did it was reckless though. phleshdef Jul 2016 #16
+1 ronnie624 Jul 2016 #17
Assange randomly happens across meritorious things. Zynx Jul 2016 #20
There are right ways to do things and wrong ways... MrScorpio Jul 2016 #23
Would you have been alright with imprisoning Woodward and Bernstein as well as R. Daneel Olivaw Jul 2016 #40
Bad analogy MrScorpio Jul 2016 #41
Following orders. Like good Germans. cherokeeprogressive Aug 2016 #65
It's not an unreasonable expectation for soldiers to follow lawful orders MrScorpio Aug 2016 #81
Your assent is off. Woodward and Bernstein were/are civilians. R. Daneel Olivaw Aug 2016 #85
It's even better if you only keep some people's secrets. 6000eliot Jul 2016 #24
There are whistleblowing procedures, Mr. Godwin. Tortmaster Jul 2016 #27
Or follow a whistleblowing process that will ensure the secrets remain secrets. Vattel Aug 2016 #51
Godwin's law fail emulatorloo Aug 2016 #58
When the boot fits, my friend. R. Daneel Olivaw Aug 2016 #83
Better to allow only an extremist possibility panting people who may disagree with you as merely aut LanternWaste Aug 2016 #78
I am truly amazed at how this info dump has the Dems lining up R. Daneel Olivaw Aug 2016 #84
yes, and bad judgement to release classified info in the military Fast Walker 52 Jul 2016 #38
Without changing, it morphs. Igel Jul 2016 #11
We have whistleblower procedures for ... Tortmaster Jul 2016 #29
Manning was just a criminal with access and placement that Assange took advantage of... TipTok Jul 2016 #18
Wow! Did I just read this on "Democratic" underground? PoutrageFatigue Aug 2016 #61
Pretty sure... TipTok Aug 2016 #70
Chelsea Manning was a gullible dupe. Adrahil Jul 2016 #32
No....far right, even then. And Stephen Colbert called Assange out on it. msanthrope Aug 2016 #86
If Assange was harassing Trump and the RNC, DU would cheer him on davidn3600 Jul 2016 #19
The problem is that they're selective. They only seek to embarrass one party. Zynx Jul 2016 #21
Assange has a grudge against Hillary davidn3600 Jul 2016 #22
Not working for Russia? jcgoldie Aug 2016 #57
Wired: wikileaks has officially lost the moral high ground Warren DeMontague Jul 2016 #25
Did not know.... bobGandolf Jul 2016 #26
So, until last week, Assange and wikileaks were our friends Calista241 Jul 2016 #30
DU hero to zero in such a short time. NT 1939 Jul 2016 #34
No, they were always unethical nt geek tragedy Aug 2016 #43
I've read this entire thread and there's one huge omission Jim Lane Jul 2016 #31
It's not that they fabricate, it's that they disseminate geek tragedy Aug 2016 #44
Snowden's revelations and the DNC emails are but two of many counterexamples Jim Lane Aug 2016 #49
To put it another way, there's a distinct lack of material published geek tragedy Aug 2016 #52
I already pointed out that some materials are lacking. That doesn't show inaccuracy. Jim Lane Aug 2016 #69
Wikileaks has helped Lukashenko track down dissidents in Belarus geek tragedy Aug 2016 #71
At this point, you and I are addressing different questions. Jim Lane Aug 2016 #75
If Wikileaks were to disappear tomorrow, someone else with more principles geek tragedy Aug 2016 #76
Under the bus with you, Assange. egduj Jul 2016 #33
We're gonna need a bigger bus, HereSince1628 Jul 2016 #36
Julian Assange has always been awful. He's just making it clearer. Zynx Jul 2016 #37
He's always been a piece of shit. nt geek tragedy Aug 2016 #45
He's always been there for me. Adrahil Aug 2016 #68
We still need Wikileaks. n/t Little Tich Jul 2016 #42
Right or left, Debbie Wassermand Schulz flamingdem Aug 2016 #47
Message auto-removed Name removed Aug 2016 #48
Keep in mind Wikileaks doesn't hack anyone direct, they just distribute what others hack Lee-Lee Aug 2016 #50
No doubt Assange is angry at the US. Fear of US pursuit of him drove him to refuge HereSince1628 Aug 2016 #56
... emulatorloo Aug 2016 #59
Nope. Not even your ALL CAPS makes that so. PoutrageFatigue Aug 2016 #60
But that poll does ButterflyBlood Aug 2016 #66
No it doesn't melman Aug 2016 #72
Too much info makes my head hurt. nt CanSocDem Aug 2016 #62
What's wrong with therapist puppets? Capt. Obvious Aug 2016 #64
Wow AlbertCat Aug 2016 #67
& don't forget WikiPEDIA uhnope Aug 2016 #73
Yep shenmue Aug 2016 #79
No, they are just a conduit for lots of inconvenient information JCMach1 Aug 2016 #82
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