[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Unconventional Ideas', 'T')his is McCarthyism in 2010.

Free speech is dead, or dying. Your pick.

And nobody has the guts to stand up for it anymore.

[Cog]

If you work for the government you are being warned from trying to read Wikileak info since they are still considered classified information whether they are on the NYT website or not. This is all very chaotic.

Am I breaking the law by referring to documents that are classified?

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/12/03/wi ... s.warning/

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')eparately, the Department of Defense and the Library of Congress have blocked access to the WikiLeaks website from their computers and instructed their employees not to read the documents published by the website, according to representatives of both agencies.

"We have put out a policy saying Department of Defense military, civilian and contractor personnel should not access the WikiLeaks website to view or download the publicized classified information," Department of Defense spokesman Maj. Chris Perrine told CNN. "Doing so could introduce potentially classified information on unclassified networks. This creates 'spillage' which can result in a great cost of time, manpower and money."

[Ludi]

Wikileaks.

[Cog]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'W')ikileaks.

[Ludi]

Wikileaks infinity!

I know you are but what am I?

[Fiddlerdave]

So the US government has now created "The Website Which Must Not Be Named". The WWMNBM !

The whole rest of the world can discuss it, except citizens of the USA.

Strangely enough, this is actually Business As Usual.

[Outcast_Searcher]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EnergyUnlimited', 'I')f one want to work for a government, s/he must not undermine government's position.
Hence it is not advisable to add embarrassment for your prospective employer.

If one does not consider career with government, s/he doesn't need to care.
Documents released on wikileaks are already in public domain anyway, regardless how secret they originally were.

[mattduke]

This is television news, at it's finest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV_Q8WFB ... r_embedded

On an unrelated subject, Wikipedia has a good page on information control in the Soviet Union.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Bl ... semination

[careinke]

The only two honest politicians in Washington are Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich. Both on opposite ends of the spectrum, yet they agree on so many things.

[Roy]

Marginalize, insult and use ad hom attacks against anyone who questions the dominant paradigm.

Both Paul and Kucinich get this treatment, by these laughing 'experts' on CNN.

[Oilguy]

Is the US Government Machiavellian enough to orchestrate the recent brouhaha over the so-called website WikiLeaks, is this a real embarrassment, or will it indeed be damaging as some U.S. diplomats claim?

I am not one to support conspiracy theories but when you stop to analyze the content of the information that was leaked it seem that two things emerge: first, the content of the cables were not so earth shattering as to damage national security, or harm Washington’s relations with other countries.

Second, upon further analysis, it would appear that the information revealed instead sends a strong message to America’s foes.

Much of what has been released in those cables is hardly news in any real sense of the word. Take for example the report that the US has been spying on its friends as well as on its foes and that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ordered diplomats to assemble information on their foreign counterparts. Let’s get real. Friends have been spying on friends ever since man has been involved in conflict.

Espionage between nations -- both friendly and less so -- can probably be traced back to the time when the first group of cavemen realized they could use clubs as weapons. All intelligence services will, as a matter of fact, gather information on whoever and whatever they can. This is what intelligent services do. The trick is not to get caught.

Did Israel not spy on the United States, its staunchest ally, and without whom Israel would have a hard time sustaining itself. The most infamous of Americans spying for Israel is a former US Navy civilian, Jonathan Pollard, who passed classified information to Israel. Pollard is now serving a life sentence for treason. While Pollard may have become the focus point of the US-Israeli espionage dossier, other incidents have gone largely unnoticed.

One report aired by Fox News states that “According to a U.S. intelligence agency, the government of A (Israel) conducts the most aggressive espionage operation against the US of any US ally.”

Indeed, since the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington more than 60 Israelis have been arrested or detained under the new Patriot Act or for immigration violations. Among them were active duty officers in the Israeli army.

All theatrics of embarrassment by the US Department of State aside, the release of such information accomplishes a dual purpose.

Many countries in the Middle East are more concerned about Iran’s nuclear program than they have publically admitted. The information contained in one cable states that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has asked the United States a number of times to “cut the head of the snake,” when talking about Iran and its nuclear program. Other Arab leaders from Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates had similar concerns.
Full article at: http://oilprice.com/Geo-Politics/North- ... ctics.html

[americandream]

These leaks have simply confirmed my view that the ruling elite worldwide are rather mundane mortals, driven by the same anxieties we all confront except that in this instance, they relate to how they see each other and the use value they serve. No reptilian conspiracies or conspiracies to transform themselves into demi-gods, just the ramblings of a privileged order intent on preserving that privilege.

Assange on the other hand is a courageous fellow in having put himself out as he has, his liberal political bent notwithstanding. If he has served any use, it is to put these crazy conspiracy theories to rest.

The elite are regular folks like you and I. They are not invincible.

[Timo]

Government documents available in wikileaks are a very small fraction of what this guy has at his disposal, and it should also be remembered that everything he has was given to him. He did nothing to orchestrate any espionage. He didn't spy his way into the knowledge he has collected. He's simply made a way for the people to let everyone else know the truth about what happens behind closed doors.

[Plantagenet]

The wikileak documents included a study detailing the locations of points of strategic vulnerability of the US to terrorist attack....the well known ones (dams, bridges, subways) as well as not so well known ones (spots where the electrical grid could be taken down etc.)

Thats not the kind of document the Obama administration would ever want getting into the hands of terrorists.

[americandream]

I wouldn't get too excited over the capabilities of these terrorists. I suspect 911 was a one off and was setup with technical help from disaffected Soviets rather than a solo effort by these moon worshippers from Saudi. I suspect most ex-Soviets including the disaffected, have since moved on.

There has been ample time for the moon worshippers to demonstrate their ability in the interim and the best we have had are IRA magnitude attacks in the West. Bombs in orifices and between the toes...yeah. World changing.

I wouldn't call bombing and terrorising your home territories into the Stone Age as any demonstration of aptitude. Extreme stupidity, yes. The hallmarks of an able foe, no. So I am pretty sanguine about these leaks. They're intriguing but hardly earth shaking.

[Timo]

So far.

[americandream]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Timo', 'S')o far.

[vtsnowedin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Oilguy', 'I')s the US Government Machiavellian enough to orchestrate the recent brouhaha over the so-called website WikiLeaks, is this a real embarrassment, or will it indeed be damaging as some U.S. diplomats claim?

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('americandream', 'T')hese leaks have simply confirmed my view that the ruling elite worldwide are rather mundane mortals, driven by the same anxieties we all confront except that in this instance, they relate to how they see each other and the use value they serve. No reptilian conspiracies or conspiracies to transform themselves into demi-gods, just the ramblings of a privileged order intent on preserving that privilege.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Oilguy', 'M')any countries in the Middle East are more concerned about Iran’s nuclear program than they have publically admitted. The information contained in one cable states that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has asked the United States a number of times to “cut the head of the snake,” when talking about Iran and its nuclear program. Other Arab leaders from Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates had similar concerns.
Full article at: http://oilprice.com/Geo-Politics/North- ... ctics.html