WikiLeaks has been on my mind lately. I have discussed it with college professors at cocktail parties, 4chan hackers, and I’ve read pretty much every news article there is on the matter. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert… though I’m certainly a fan.
However, I have come to an uncomfortable conclusion: the government isn’t the one whose scared. Let that sink in for a second. Savor it, roll it around on your tongue, and while you’re doing so, allow me to elaborate.
There was an almost sudden knee-jerk reaction in the past couple weeks, but why? The diplomatic cables are just not that bad. All this noise isn’t about the most recent release. It’s also not about the release of information pertaining to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were storms far worse than the cables that blew over long ago.
Then it hit me: the charges against Assange, the calls from politicians like Joe Lieberman to cut their financial strings… it came after perhaps the least publicized revelation: the government isn’t the only entity that WikiLeaks has dirt on.
Frankly, I was kind of underwhelmed by what has been released so far. I imagined we were up to much worse things than was revealed by WikiLeaks. If this is it, I’m beginning to think we aren’t even half bad. Yeah, some government officials should be tried as war criminals and our army is guilty of some horrible atrocities, but nothing on a scale so spectacular that it warrants this kind of reaction.
We’ve had a lot of time to comb through everything, and the worst is out there… and it’s just not that horrible. Bad, yes, but we aren’t the new Nazis.
However, on rumors that WikiLeaks has damning documents on Bank of America, their stock took a tumble. And I asked myself: who really holds the keys to this country? Is it the politicians we elect, or the companies who buy them?
I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the government stoically took it on the chin when it was their ass on the line, yet they sic the dogs on Julian Assange at the first scent of danger for the private interests… because it’s the wealthy elite of this country that really hold the leash.
While the idea of WikiLeaks exposing the crimes of the government is awfully romantic, I think the real fireworks will occur when the dirty little secrets of America’s captains of industry are revealed.
Don’t get me wrong, I hope the flow of info on government secrets continues. In fact, it most certainly will. Today, Monday December 13th, a new leak site will go online: OpenLinks. Just as Napster gave way to numerous other sources of open source media and applications, WikiLeaks is merely the trailblazer in what will likely be an endless series of sites exposing the truth for all to see.
But I suspect it’s not the government who is worried. The stakes are just too low. No one is going to jail for any of the government’s revealed secrets (assuming they don’t get too big), and I get the feeling elected office isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The billionaires who plunder the American people… they’re the ones who are shitting themselves.
Frankly, I can’t wait.
We’ve had a lot of time to comb through everything, and the worst is out there… and it’s just not that horrible. Bad, yes, but we aren’t the new Nazis.
ReplyDeleteI think you've be desensitized. American solders have killed between 99,000 - 108,000 Iraqi civilians - and that's only one example. What do you need evidence of - Your soldiers eating babies as well?
Bradley Manning is going to jail, of not to the chair. There's real risk for uniformed leakers. They don't get civil trials, unless it's for show.
ReplyDeleteI think you've be desensitized. American solders have killed between 99,000 - 108,000 Iraqi civilians - and that's only one example. What do you need evidence of - Your soldiers eating babies as well?
ReplyDeleteThese estimates are nothing new. I'm not saying the Iraq and Afghan wars are not a problem, I'm saying the leaked information doesn't add anything new. I am not re-angered by the shit I already knew. If WikiLeaks had exposed something tantamount to the Abu Ghraib incidents, for example, I would say they excposed something major, As it stands, I have read several hundred pages of information that merely spells out in detail what I was not surprised to hear.
In one sense, civilian deaths are a part of war. The crime is not the death of civilians, the crime was starting the wars in the first place. Plenty of wars have lasted less than 8 years and resulted in more civilian deaths. That isn't desensitization, it's merely being acquainted with history.
Bradley Manning is going to jail, of not to the chair. There's real risk for uniformed leakers. They don't get civil trials, unless it's for show.
I'm fairly certain he won't get "the chair." I'm also fairly certain he won't get life in prison. Maybe I'm an optimist on this. I just hope he's tried soon, because his detention is criminal at this point.
Bing, bang, pow...
ReplyDeleteBanking - the huge fraud of fractional reserve banking and the true seat of power...
"Give Me Control Of A Nation's Money And I Care Not Who Makes The Laws.”
Nothing moves, nothing is purchased, nothing is traded on Wall st. without the web of money...
Cocktail parties? Pretty swanky for someone who's unemfrigginployed.
ReplyDeleteWhy do I get the feeling you go for the free drinks - and piggy's in a blanket?
I think you're onto something here. I agree that there's been nothing really new that informed observers haven't already surmised (or even read about elsewhere). Certainly there's more to come, and some people are scared.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons Wikileaks has taken such a plastering is b/c it is threatening the monopoly journalism that is embedded in the gov't/bzns/military racket in a big way.
Even, if you saw it, the U.S. State Dep't made a point of declaring that Assange is not a "journalist". A journalist is one who takes notes in press conferences, gets background from legit sources who'll tell them only what they want published, and transcribes it on deadline. That's what passes for 'investigative' these days.
WL is a challenge to the official narrative on which BIG journalism has what it believes is an exclusive claim.
So, yes to your analysis. Plus more.
Best,
Jim H.
It's the same in sports journalism. I still can't believe how steroids got past journalists.
ReplyDeleteCocktail parties? Pretty swanky for someone who's unemfrigginployed.
ReplyDeleteMy wife's a professor, it's actually not my choice. I would rather stay home and call all of you guys faggots, but... duty calls. On the plus side, I may have made inroads into getting a job and may seal it with the next one this weekend. If all goes well, I might be a department secretary next semester. Here's hoping.
Why do I get the feeling you go for the free drinks - and piggy's in a blanket?
I don't drink... and they never have pigs in a blanket, sadly. But Hebrew National makes some great pre-made ones you just have to heat up in the oven. We have two packages of them in our freezer right now. Soooo good.
One of the reasons Wikileaks has taken such a plastering is b/c it is threatening the monopoly journalism that is embedded in the gov't/bzns/military racket in a big way.
Oh definitely. This is certainly why so many news agencies have been hostile towards it. OpenLeaks may skirt this, because they are encouraging news outlets to work with them and through them. This allows leaked material to make it to the public while journalists can pretend they're the hero.
But Hebrew National makes some great pre-made ones you just have to heat up in the oven. We have two packages of them in our freezer right now.
ReplyDeleteI need to get me some of those, if I can find them...
They have them at Harris Teeter and ShopRite, not sure where else, but they usually have them near the butcher, not in the frozen food section.
ReplyDeletebut they usually have them near the butcher, not in the frozen food section.
ReplyDeleteThey must only sell them back East, then, cause I've never seen them anywhere. Never heard of those two stores either.
How 'bout sending me some for Christmas?
"On the plus side, I may have made inroads into getting a job and may seal it with the next one this weekend."
ReplyDeleteCleaning pigeon shit off house trusses, eh?
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