Hope you never step out of line then because if it can happen to him, then it can happen to you.

This whole farce is obviously more about saving face than protecting our troops. Assange's releases have not included troop movements and locations or planned initiatives by our military for assaults on our enemies. We live in a democracy and the First Amendment was created to enforce an open and hopefully honest exchange of information between our government and its citizens. Democracy does not work in an environment of rigid secrecy.

The Swedish sex abuse/rape charges are obviously not just weak, but ridiculous. None of us are fooled by how the media continues to perpetuate this weak myth by repeating the charges over and over without the details.

I am glad at least the British are showing more common sense in this business by releasing him on bail.

Que all the clueless sheep who want to hide secrets such as the US government covering for US corporation DynCorp which bought young boys for Afghan men to have anal sex with.

The only people who want to silence WikiLeaks are those who are clueless about how corrupt our government is and those who disengage their brains when spoon feeding from the US media..

Mr. Rogers...Or...we could allow our American hackers to dish on the Brits whose legendary "secrets" always end up in legendary scandals, right? What's good for the goose is sauce for the gander. We Americans will all "que" up too....Americans are not at fault for the economic problems you Brits are having. You can stop with the America bashing now.

Once a Guardian ultra-liberal...always a Guardian ultra-liberal.

Americans are not at fault for the economic problems you Brits are having. You can stop with the America bashing now.

Fail on your part... I am an American which means I bare some responsibility for the insane acts of my government. All Americans do, who have grown complacent thinking that government will honor and protect the Constitution when it is we the people who must remain ever vigilant to protect the virtues of liberty and freedom.

Couldnt have said it better myself Marie. I am a conservative in theology, under no illusion that our representatives lie to its citizens as a matter of practice rather than random meanderings from honest principles. I want to know what these slithering snakes are up to. We should know what they are doing in the name of American interests

I want to know what these slithering snakes are up to. We should know what they are doing in the name of American interests

Without REAL transparency we are stuck in the mode of electing the same brood of slithering sleazy snakes... just with different letters "R" or "D".

its about time. its awsome that people belive in what he does including me. people everywhere need to be informed about the crap that govern't is doing behind their backs. so that we can be prepared and fight the parasite that is known as government.

UNBELIEVABLE Obamas partner Michael moore bailed him out! Why do liberals hate their own country?

Mr. Rogers...Right....Let me know how many Americans use the word "que"? Sorry dead giveaway. When an American gets into a line, they don't "que"....that's pure Australian, Canadian and Brit. Do you get a paycheck or a "cheque"? Do you favour or favor? Do you have a "favourite" or a favorite? Dead giveaway when it comes to anti-American bashing.

Americans who care about their country don't bash it for petty BS like Assange.

Americans who care about their country don't bash it for petty BS like Assange.

I'm not bashing America... I am bashing the FOOLS in DC. America is more than our government... America is the people and the spirit of freedom within the US Constitution.

I'm not protecting Assuage... I am protecting the US Constitution. Ever heard of it?

Mr. Rogers...You are bashing America. We, the people, voted for the people in DC. So...when you bash them, you bash all Americans because we the people, are the government we elected.

You don't even want me to go there about the Constitution. Foreigners whose countries don't have one don't have a clue how important our Constitution is to us. You obviously like the idea of bastardizing it to suit. So, the Constitution becomes as reinterpreted as the Bible.

There's free speech and then, there's stretching the limits of the freedom of speech until it's so transparent, it begins to unravel. Duh....I'm all for freedom of speech. I am not for Assange bashing MY country because the little twerp thinks he's a political savior. As for Michael Moore, I lost all respect for him because now I see that he is nothing more than a hack himself who uses the US bash fest he's having to make himself rich. If Assange thinks that's what will happen to him, he better think again.

There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. Assange had no right to the information he inveigled that private to pass onto him. And, if it's found out that someone higher up in the military condoned it, they should be jailed.

I detest hackers because they believe they have a right to violate others. That's what hackers do today. They dump all manner of cyber disease on other peoples' computers, steal personal information and like Assange, manage to get into computer systems they don't have a right to.

You talk about rights according to the Constitution...now...tell me exactly where in the Constitution it gives a twerp the right to violate anyone else's property or personal information?

ewent,

you just havent been exposed to the educated here in the USA. I use "tisn't" alot and it irks people because they arent accustomed to it ... I tell them get used to it. Same with my use of "shall" and other words.

You sound very UNEDUCATED and remind me of when my husband made fun of 2 of our daughters when they were using "words he didnt understand". They were expanding their vocabulary and putting those words to GOOD USAGE.

I was always proud of how they intentionally found words not usually heard in the "normal" parlance of our American society and utilized their expanded vocabulary. One of them is a rocket engineer (actually an aeronautical engineer because of her emphasis in space engineering while matriculating) now and actually worked on the development of the fuselage of the F-35 Lightning down at Lockheed-Martin in Fort Worth TX and a new DOD Helicopter at Sikorsky in CT. The other is in upper management and my 3rd daughter is a civil engineer.

You continue on with 1, 2 and 3 syllable simpleton word usage ... those of us who appreciate knowledge will continue to expand and enhance our vocabulary and its use thereof.

@Mr Rogers

Que all the clueless sheep who want to hide secrets such as the US government covering for US corporation DynCorp which bought young boys for Afghan men to have anal sex with.

So do you have some sort of proof to back this up or are you just another fruitcake wondering around with tinfoil lining the inside of your baseball cap?

And for the record, people are free to leave this country anytime they should desire. If you are so convinced it is corrupt to the very core and there’s nothing an average citizen can do to change it may I suggest you get the F out. Good riddance I’d say. What use are you to anyone? How many times have you run for office? What have you done to try to change anything? Or are you just another crybaby, bitching about all of the boogiemen someone told them was hiding around every corner without actually getting off your fat backside to try to do something about it?

Now back to the article...

Assange would be safer if he stayed in jail. But now that he is out, perfect target for those that want to take him out.

But if there are to be no secrets in goverment, then it is ok for government to publish tax records.

Marie485962

You obviously haven't researched enough of these cables to realize the gravity of the situation and exactly what this moron's websites are responsible for releasing. These cables go over a broad range of information that the American government wanted to keep secret for a reason. Even if a lot of the American government's secrets are dirty, and we are bastards who do horrible things and are the oppressors of the known world, the reason these things go down behind the scenes the way they do (up until dip@!$%# here came along) are so that desk jockey bleeding heart liberals can sit in the comfort of their homes and criticize the methods the American government uses to give them that right, and the same goes for the people in other democratic free societies.

It isn't a question of whether or not this sleazeball raped anyone (and he probably did people don't be so thick) it is a question of whether or not he should be held accountable for being the person responsible for jeopardizing the lives of all the people in any government that his website exposes.

From the grunts out there fighting in the open and protecting while T.V. cameras are rolling, to the undercover operatives in the field, to dirty politicians and the list goes on and on. His website exposes things that best be kept secret for the greater good, (something you obviously have no notion of) it does nothing but put people in the front and back in danger and makes everyone distrustful, hateful, and even spiteful of the very government which protects them.

Also, who are you to say what puts troops in danger and what doesn't? Where did you go to boot camp and when did you serve? It is real easy to call the shots from your desk. If you are a veteran, it would be wise to say so before you feel you need to say something like that, otherwise you'll just offend the people who have served.

Point is, this guy is a @!$%#bag, and I certainly hope that someone does bag and tag his ass and that the evil government burns his legacy to the ground.

@recycled hope

those of us who appreciate knowledge will continue to expand and enhance our vocabulary and its use thereof.

As well as hold your obviously advanced intellect over the rest of the ignorant simpletons who muddle the world around you.

I would like to thank you, on behalf of everyone here, for stepping away from your wonderful life and your brilliant children to grace us, just for a moment, with your presence. We are truly honored.

One major problem with this case; all documents released were not marked secret or any other national security designation; the espionage act of 1917 along with it's sister act, the alien and sedation act ; were used to put persons who were against the first world war in jail; they even put a candidate for president,. eugene debs in jail for campaigning against the war; the act was later ruled unconstitutional by th SCOTUS.

As I said before, this is going to be a interesting case !

Too bad wikileaks wasn't around to publish the documents that Cheney and Bush had already seen before invading Iraq, showing there were no WMD's. Then maybe 3000+ of our young people wouldn't be dead and trillions of dollars would be in our country's pocket.

backcountry, at least I dont go out of my way to flaunt ignorance like too many of my fellow Americans do. We introduced the concept of educating the masses when we became a nation because our founders firmly believed tyranny depends on ignorance of the masses ... and today, too many American citizens enjoy the bliss of ignorance imposed upon them by our leaders. We lead the world in academic acheivement up until a few decades ago ... now we barely drag along in middle fiddle position. Are you proud of that?

PS: there is plenty of proof. Look it up on the PBS website under "the dancing boys of Afghanastan". They purchase boys as young as 9 yrs of age and use them as sexual slaves until the age of 17 or 18, when they become too old. They are forced to dress in women's clothing and dance and entertain the "men", and then they are forced to sexually preform for the highest bidder after the "party' ends.

Recycled Hope...I'm a published writer. Have been for ages. Don't talk down to me from that Ivory Tower. I'm more educated than you can ever be. I also have written many blog contents, SEO copy controls for those in the UK, Australia and Canada.....all three use a completely different English. Ask anyone who writes for these three countries if each don't have their own "version" of English.

You are not so educated if you use the word "tisn't". That's archaic Celt colloquialism and has always been considered slang...just like the word "y'all". Next time, let the air out of the educated gas bag.

they can also be found by researching "bacha bazi' which means "boy play". Here is the pbs link http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/dancingboys/view/

so ewent, you are a published writer ... like Sarah Palin, huh.

Tisn't may not be a usual word used nowadays, but I have always loved literature and took 22 credits of literary courses (mostly Shakespeare, ancient drama and modern drama) while obtaining my degree in Pure and Applied Mathematics as well as 18 credits in psychology. You have a nerve to tell anyone NOT to look down on you when you so freely do so to others.

I know of the differences in the English language usage between the English language countries ... it isnt as significant as you make it out to be.

Please, take your own advise and get off your high horse.

Recycled hope....

you are blathering on like an idiot, please, hush!... the adults are talking!

Whenever someone starts blathering about the "Uneducated" it is a "Big Red Banner" with "I'm a Liberal Elitist" written across it!

The United States has NOTHING to do with what has happened to Mr. Assange. Yes, our Government is a bit peeved at the fact he stole and published information that neither applied to Him, nor was his to publish. However, we did not charge him, we did not arrest him, we did not hold him without bail... or give him bail. And we are not responsible that he is under suspicion of being a sexual predator. Those issues belong to the UK and other nations not so happy with Assange (it a big list).

Furthermore, The Europeans are responsible for their own plight. Their foolishness in creating a "EURO" as their form of currency is of their own doing. The moment they tied the future of their own individual financial situation with the performance and will of all the other Socialist Nanny States who chose to adopt the "EURO" as their currency, their fate was sealed.The UK of course has George Soros to blame for undermining their monetary situation, but they allowed it to happen, and now he is after the Dollar.

Fortunately, unlike the UK, Americans (Those who make an attempt to keep track of who is doing what) are aware of Soros and his activities, and regardless of the 80% Liberal/progressive Media in America who give license to the behavior of men like Soros and Assange, We are willing/able to vote out those who have sided and are making an attempt to monetize debt and hasten the fall of our own currency. Those who would buy into his drivel have just over 2 years to remain in a position to help him. Then they are off to Chicago to continue organizing labor and undermining Corporate Jobs and industry.

I personally do not care what happens to Assange. I also feel it is our own fault for not being more careful with our private National correspondence...I'm sure of one thing.... The mistakes will not repeat themselves. I suppose what Assange has taught us is to be more careful. To protect and guard our information with all zeal. Those who feel that Assange has done something wonderful show the utter Naivety of the Liberal/Progressives that buy into the Utopian dream.... He did not advance free speech.... That is a fools dream... All Assange did was to drive intelligence deeper and make yet another layer of secrecy between us, and those who govern us.... It was a fools errand... and Assange handled it just like any fool would...Perfectly!

@ewent

I have read several of your posts. Some of your posts are thoughtful and incisive. I don't always agree with everything you say, but right now you are being a pompous jerk. I use "y'all" on occassion, I know it is colloquial, but I tend to write the way I speak. I am not uneducated nor am I close minded. Once you stop looking at every side of an issue you will quickly become both.

Y'all is a time honored plural second-person pronoun ewent. Users are generally gracious and hospitable.

Tisn't seemly to try to cram the English language into your own little box.

Recycled Hope ...Let me guess, you're educatorati right? One of those who stands in a classroom with that air of superiority while the class falls asleep? If you are such a literary genius, where's the proof? I never purported to be a genius. But neither do I suffer fools who have an overbloated ego, literary degrees or not.

As for Sarah Palin, puhlease.....Couldn't you have used a better Republican female role model ...like Olympia Snowe? Kaye Bailey Richardson? Your illiteracy is showing big time.

Hey guys...I never said I hated colloquialisms. I used two examples of them. It's a free country and I certainly do love every part of it. I am particularly fond of the genuine country people. However, there are people who "borrow" the genuine colloquialisms and it only comes out sounding pretentious on their part. If you are a southerner and have always said "y'all"...fine and dandy. Same with the adorable colloquialisms of New Englanders, northwesterners and midwesterners.

However, I suffer no fools who try to "educate" me. One adult who tries that with another adult shows clearly who the really uneducated person is. And, in my book, there's never ever a need to insult the intelligence of any other human being no matter how high up the rank one may be.

@recycled hope

backcountry, at least I dont go out of my way to flaunt ignorance like too many of my fellow Americans do

No you just go out of your way to brag about how awesome you and your children are and to push the concept that using big words makes you somehow superior. Btw, did it ever occur to you that perhaps your husband wasn’t actually making fun of your daughters for using big words that few people understand? Perhaps he just didn’t want them to come off as being stuck up b!tches. Yes, that was a rhetorical question; obviously the possibility of coming off as a stuck up b!tch has never crossed your mind.

P.S.- Children are being sexually abused in the world!! I never would have imagined it was possible. Now how about some proof that the US government is actively involved in covering it up? Seriously, you claim to be so brilliant but you honestly couldn’t figure out what I was requesting proof of? Methinks perhaps your intellect is limited to your word of the day calendar.

Mr. Rogers - under Islam sex between men and young boys is an accepted custom. The exposition that it's going on doesn't have to come from someone who's stealing government documents to do so. ewent is right, Assange is making money from stolen property. He has no right to sell it and make a profit. He not only is not denying that it's the property of the US government, he's telling you that he is charging extra because it is. Profiting from the sale of stolen merchandise is a crime, it's not an excercise in liberty.

All of the hackers out there that are attacking Visa, Amazon, PayPal, et al because they aren't putting themselves at risk by selling stolen merchandise need to get real. The man's been labelled a terrorist because the information that he's releasing can aid terrorist groups. Imagine as a hacker if someone found out your ID and methods and was selling it to people you had hacked - would you be as quick to support their right to do so?

Whether or not he is released on bail should be strictly determined by whether or not he's going to disappear. As he's been in hiding for months now, I'd say he's proven that he's a flight risk.

Recycled Hope - your hubby's right if he's telling you that your kids need to speak to their audience and not over everyone else's head. It's more important to get your point accross than it is to impress folks with all of the big words that you know.

So do you have some sort of proof to back this up or are you just another fruitcake wondering around with tinfoil lining the inside of your baseball cap?

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/12/wikileaks_texas_company_helped.php

http://nation.foxnews.com/dyncorp/2010/12/08/wikileaks-texas-company-helped-pimp-little-boys-stoned-afghan-cops

Miron -

You can donate to WikiLeaks through your cellphone. Xipwire is waiving all fees so that 100% of your donation will go directly to WikiLeaks. Just text WL to 56624 to make a $10 donation.

Or donate oline: https://xipwire.com/give/wl

ewent went on a bashing spree on me a few days ago....even compaired himself to god in one of his posts. It was quite telling.

He went on to tell me that anyone who doesnt know the truth about our government, is ignorant and misinformed.

However, I suffer no fools who try to "educate" me. One adult who tries that with another adult shows clearly who the really uneducated person is. And, in my book, there's never ever a need to insult the intelligence of any other human being no matter how high up the rank one may be.

You sir, are a walking contradiction

And for the record, people are free to leave this country anytime they should desire. If you are so convinced it is corrupt to the very core and there’s nothing an average citizen can do to change it may I suggest you get the F out.

The average citizen would do well to LEARN what its government does and SPEAK OUT about it... EXACTLY what I am doing genius.

If you want to remain clueless and live in your fantasy world I am sure you have some episodes of Jersey Housewives on your DVR to watch... I on the other hand plan to remain vigilant and exercise my Constitutional rights.

ewet,

You better goddamned retract any statement implying you speak for the American people. I am an American, and a proud one at that.

You, sir, do not speak for me. Not now, not ever.

@ewent

American's who love their country ALWAYS question its actions and motivations so that we may always endeavor to form a more perfect union. It's not bashing its remaining diligent as citizens are guardians of our own freedom and government. NOT being critical of our government is NOT showing "love" for country its enabling.

Mr. Rogers - under Islam sex between men and young boys is an accepted custom. The exposition that it's going on doesn't have to come from someone who's stealing government documents to do so.

WOW... some of you people are SO CLUELESS...

First off, it was actually BANNED by the Taliban.... Second and most important, it is ILLEGAL under US and UNACCEPTABLE for US TAX PAYER MONEY to pay for such things.

I speak AS an American. That's my right. Don't bash my country and you won't get into hot water with me. I was taught loyalty to my country by my father who wasn't born here. It sickens me to see the glut of people who love the money they get from the freedoms this country offers and then slice and dice it like a hunk of liver.

If you don't like your politicians, do something about it. Otherwise, don't tell me or anyone who is proud to be American what to do.

I question the actions and motives of those who make decisions I considered self-deprecating and self-serving. Because as a country of "United" States, that's divisive. I have no problem confronting anyone who tries to bring my country down. There are too many future generations to allow that. Right wingers do it all the time....their bash fests are legend. They find everything wrong and nothing right (no pun intended) with this country. So...what are they doing here?

Do you guys now understand how the USSR/Soviet Union lasted for so long? Keep people ignorant of what the government is really doing and tell them it's treason to inquire about it.

Then keep telling people how bad the world to instill fear in them. BS like the entire world hates the US and no one can be trusted and the UN is there to one day control the US, blah, blah, blah.

And anyone found acting like Mr. Assange is "anti-US" and therefore enemy of the state. That's how the government gets to scare a magazine like Time into not choosing Mr. Assange as Man Of The Year.

Freedom of the press does not matter anymore, it's all about toeing the government line.

One of these days that wall has got to come down, it will come down!

Mr. Rogers is a fringer. Feel free to ignore his posts. What he fails to understand is that he is as radical as his 700 Club fan counterpart.

Interesting that Assange wants out of jail, given that he's probably safer in jail. As it is, he'll be hiding out in his little estate, fearing for his life, thankfully. Its cozier than a cave byut its just a nice prison until he can get back to a prison with bars. Now if only the rest of the wikileaks staff would be hunted down.

Olias...I am no proponent of silencing the masses. If you cannot see the blowback of Assange's actions and that for every action there is a consequence, no amount of reason will effect that.

First of all, anyone who has ever worked in DC with the government would tell, there simply are no secrets. It's the reason there are more leaks than a Dutch Boy's dike.

If these leaks were perpetrated by Americans, I'd have less of a problem with this. Now, it's open season thanks to Assange on government information from every foreign dissident with an axe to grind.

If you really want to lay blame for the secrecy, try those who are media moguls. Most only post their ideological version of "truth" and regurgitate so that it comes out with them blameless and everyone but them guilty.

There are too many future generations to allow that. Right wingers do it all the time....their bash fests are legend. They find everything wrong and nothing right (no pun intended) with this country. So...what are they doing here?

Where does one begin....Right wingers find nothing right with this country? For a published writer, you sure seem to have a terrible time seeing over your fence. (Maybe that is what being a published writer is all about) Liberals have no qualms about finding things wrong with this country.

I find it interesting that so many of you who support Julian Assange don't bother to question his motives. Nor do you bother to acknowledge that the man may have an ulterior motive that is neither pure nor noble.

He has specifically stated that he wants to harm America, yet you ignore his words because you don't like things that the government does. So what does that say about you? Do you want to harm America too? Or are you merely blinded by your idealogy and hatred of the government to the point where you don't care what happens, so long as the government is embarrassed or forced to acknowledge it's coverups and lies?

Mr. Assange is selling his information and for very large amounts of money, yet you think his motives are unselfish. Does anyone see a contradiction here?

It is one thing to desire that our government stop with the lies, the coverups and the corruption that seems to be so prevalent these days. I don't think anyone would say they like how our government works and behaves these days. However, if you do not question the motives of a person like Mr. Assange when he says and does things that do not match his rhetoric, then you are not being intellectually honest.

Which, unfortunately, is all too common in the human race these days.

Kornfed...Believe it when I tell you that I've tried desperately to understand the right wingers. Unfortunately, I see the same bullying I saw when I was a Republican. I detest bullies. Always have and always will.

Liberals are all about change as are progressives. Trying to get the right wing to make any changes to their precious and hallowed status quo is like ripping out your back molars.

Right now, you have a push to get rid of the healthcare reform and it's coming from all of those most predictable states where the right wing doesn't feel the government should tell them what to do. Our government doesn't tell anyone what to do. Law does that well enough. So...if the right wingers hate the government because they feel it tells them what to do, What do they really hate? Law? Without law, there is no order...when there is no order, there is chaos and anarchy.

As a writer, I interview people all the time. I listen to their views and then try to figure out what they are trying to communicate. I've read your posts often. I don't disagree with all. However, with the issue of Assange, I cannot agree. Mostly because my sense is that allowing a cyber terrorist to do as he pleases, only opens Pandora's box for multitudes of others to do the same.

It may be wrong to single out Assange at this point in time or trivialize it, but, anyone who cannot see the future damage either has no ability of foresight or simply refuses to see that overdosing on any freedom has a price.

Rapist and killers are heroes for the left , Assange, Roman Polanski, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara what a coincidence.

Our government doesn't tell anyone what to do

Our government are responsible for legislation. Where do you think laws come from? I dont know how you seperate the two. Why do you think there is such debate over the idiology of our government, and the legislative direction it heads.

Liberals are all about change as are progressives. Trying to get the right wing to make any changes to their precious and hallowed status quo is like ripping out your back molars

I'm not sure how you are able to assert such things about one party, while excluding the other haha. You dont think conservatives dont want change in our social spending structure? You dont think Liberals want business as usual when it comes to illegal immigration issues? Come on man, stop with these one sided generalities that are indefensible.

As a veteran whose job it was to enter confidential data into the military intelligence computer system I would say to brad-778574 who posted that all Assange did was just stepout of line; Assange did more than step out of line he received stolen property which is a crime and disseminated it over the Internet which I believe is an act of espionage.

I would point out to all the America haters that we have a legal system in this country to obtain informtion from the Government, which he could have used and the courts would decide what kind of information should be released.

As far as I know he did not attempt to use the Freedom Of Information Act to gather information (if he or anyone else did attempt to use the legal avenue and was rejected by the courts that should have been the end of it). Instead he set himself up the arbiter of what information the Sovereign Nation called the Unite States of America should hold classified. As far as I am concerned any patriotic American would view Mr Assange as an enemy of this country.

It's disgraceful that all the bloggers are reveling in the fact that national security information and political gossip has been illegally released which makes it harder for our nation to deal with friend or foe alike.

It's nonsense to believe that Assange is anything close to a hero, he is nothing more than a self proclaimed authoritarian on what the world should be according to Jullian.

"Ignorance Is Bliss!" some can never break though to a higher level of understanding, and wallow with pride in their ignorance, never giving themselves the opportunity to reach enlightenment. They will always be the pawns of those that deceive them.

I have always wondered why visionaries fight on against the odds, to help other people that aren't able to understand the importance of the struggle they fight for.

Julian Assange appears to be such a visionary, driven to fight for a cause that benefit the human race as a whole, with no particular gain for any single person.

If you believe in deceit as a way of life ... you have to be against Julian Assange.

If you are opposed to deceit as your way of life .. you should be for him.

I wait with great interest to see this "play" unfold, and how the quickly the Assangest (or would it be Assangeist?) movement is drawn into mainstream American political discussions.

The British high court made the right decision .. otherwise

"Farewell the Rights of Man!"

Marie:

You got it! It is a Farce---meanwhile, this highly dangerous person will continue his "work" with even more ferocity.

Great Britain--I give up. There is no Justice in this world. The bad always win out.

Ladies and Gentlemen; a bit off topic I'd say. But this all began when (ewent) implied that (Mr. Rodgers) was not of the citizenship s/he's professed. And all that was because of a slang/colloquialism used, motivation unknown. (Recycled Hope) intervened in that language is not just local anymore (clever at times).

I'd say all involved ie. (Derek-V) got a little to defensive.

moonbeamracer,

If you are opposed to deceit as your way of life .. you should be for him.

Really? Why?

Just because he says he is doing this for "all the right reasons", does not mean he is telling the truth.

After all, he's also said he wants to hurt America. He is also selling this information for very large amounts of money, as opposed to freely releasing it in the name of "truth and justice".

I do not like deceit. I do not like corruption. I definitely don't like either one in relation to the way my government works and behaves. However, I also do not trust anyone who says "I am doing this for you!" and yet, at the same time, says "I want to hurt America" and "I am going to make a lot of money off of this stuff".

Actions always speak louder than words, and Mr. Assange's actions should make anyone question his motives.

Ewent,

To paraphrase the old saying "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." If Assange were posting secrets about Iran everyone would be lauding him. Instead he's posting American secrets and so he's a "terrorist" but it's all perspective. He's said himself he has no allegiance to any country when acting for wikileaks, and see's himself as a neutral force no matter the outcome.

As for his personal motivations and his seemingly anti-American rhetoric... I think you'd be in a position to appreciate his situation after all this today.

You have a valid position that most people on here would agree with, or at least recognize as valid, except that your persona comes across as pompous and arrogant. The more you argue, the more you confirm this, and the more people who WOULD agree with you are polarized against you.

The same seems to be happening with Assange. The more interviews he conducts the more he seems anti-American, but his position is still just as valid.

@ Mr Rogers

You’ve got one article and another that links back to it. Nowhere in your one source does it accuse the US government of covering up what was going on. The story CLEARLY states that the Afghan interior minister urged the US state department to “shut down” a reporter. It goes on to say that US diplomats cautioned against an “overreaction” and against approaching the journalist in question. The Afghans say- “make the story go away”; and the US response is “just ignore it”. So in your mind the US taking NO ACTION to stop the story is the same thing as “covering for US corporation DynCorp”?

The average citizen would do well to LEARN what its government does and SPEAK OUT about it... EXACTLY what I am doing genius.

No, what you are doing is whining about something that you have exaggerated in your own mind. “Speaking out” is for people who want to con themselves into believing that they are doing something important. Guess what, no one listens to radicals and their make-believe conspiracy theories and sure as hell, no one believes they are “average citizens”. Look at all of the ridicule you receive here, you honestly believe that you are making some sort of difference? ROTFLMAO! Maybe if you joined the rest of us in the real world your words would have some sort of meaning, until then you are just another conspiracy kook.

Btw- I have no clue what Jersey Housewives is and I don’t own a DVR or a TV for that matter. Using references from your own life in an attempt to insult someone else is a little telling.

Idaho Dragon;

"He has specifically stated that he wants to harm America,"

Where can I find this. I'd like perspective.

Idaho Dragon;

"Mr. Assange is selling his information and for very large amounts of money,"

Where can I find this.

Dragon, I downloaded some info from the WikiLeaks site, and it cost me not a dime.

Why do you feel making things up is a defensible position?

WikiLeaks is a not-for-profit media organization. If you happen to live in Germany, your contribution is tax deductible.

Mr. Rogers: Where do you live. I want to know since I am one of the clueless who think that this Assange man can create havoc for my country.
If countries did not have secrets, etc. where would we be. Certainly not the United States. The English would have won without the secrets and the spies etc. Most of you people need to get real. You do not need to know. And the reason I want to know where you live Mr Rogers is so I can be enlightened (about your life, your money, etc). I have a need to know. Put it on line, and then it becomes freedom of speech.

Those of you who do not live in the United States, speak for your own country not mine. Do you have the freedoms we do, do you pay the low taxes we do.

Acosmet,

"One of the early members and co-founders of the tight-knit, secretive WikiLeaks operation charged today that the website and its co-founder, Julian Assange, sold intelligence information the site had obtained.

John Young, whose name was listed as the public face of WikiLeaks in the site's original domain registration, also alleged that the website is a lucrative business.

Young said he left the site in 2007 due to concerns over its finances and that WikiLeaks was engaged in the selling of documents. - http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=236345

This is from World Net Daily, Dec. 5, 2010. There are similar articles listed on CNN, MSNBC and others on Dec. 5-6.

I do find it interesting that he specifically points out that WikiLeaks desire for large amounts of money (according to the article, Mr. Young says Assange and other major members wanted the organization to have $5 million in donations) is what made him leave the group. Mr. Young also states that his own information revealing website Cryptome.org costs him roughly $100 a month to operate by comparison.

As for Julian Assange being quoted as saying he hates the US, I have read it in numerous articles, though I have yet to find the exact quote in any of them now that I have actually gone searching for the exact quote. I will admit that does appear rather odd. I will post it if I find it.

I still question the man's motives however. As I've mentioned in my earlier posts, questions remain about the relevance of some of the material leaked, what "lies or coverups" some of it is revealing and whether or not it serves any real purpose but to embarrass nations and damage international diplomacy.

How about banks? Can banks have secrets?...say, rigging bids and making $1.3 billion?

Is turning a blind eye to arms smuggling a secret government should have? Our friends the Saudi are really into killing people in Darfur... if we wink at arms going in... is that a secret we should have?

I do realize we need to keep some stuff secret... but Assange has done an awful lot of good... and so far, nothing has come out that could feasibly hurt anything...other than keeping Hillary from collecting "biometric data" at the UN.

If I see so much as one cable that actually puts our forces in danger, I'm switching sides.

As it stands, Assange is the last vestige of a free press, being hounded by the Obama administration.

And if I ever grow up, I want to be just like him.

freedman1,

I am not "making things up" so kindly keep your accusations to yourself.

Considering the fact that one of the former co-founders of WikiLeaks, Mr. John Young, specifically stated that WikiLeaks was selling information, I will tend to take his word over yours. While you may have been able to download information from WikiLeaks' website, there's nothing that says they didn't sell it to the news services first.

Unlike you, I actually question the motives of BOTH sides of this issue. You might try it sometime.

ewent: "Kaye Bailey Richardson?" what? Its Kaye Bailey Hutchison and Ann Richards...y'all.

$350,000 and a top 10 on the Interpol most wanted list for a broken condom after the charges had already been dropped once (can you say double jeopardy?). But no, Assange isn't being specifically targeted for political reasons...

$350,000 and a top 10 on the Interpol most wanted list for a broken condom after the charges had already been dropped once (can you say double jeopardy?). But no, Assange isn't being specifically targeted for political reasons...

Political reasons brought about by what exactly? That’s right, his own actions. He knew perfectly well what type of response his actions were likely to receive long before he released any documents; in fact he counted on it. After all it is the belief that he is somehow being persecuted that allows him to con so many of you into supporting him. And lets be honest, the irony is that it was his newly acquired notoriety that put him in a position to “hook up” with two Swedish women to begin with.

Btw- no, you can’t say double jeopardy. That only applies to a person being TRIED for the same crime a second time after an acquittal. Police can issue and rescind an arrest warrant as many times as they like based on changing evidence.

I want to know if all those Assangeist never had somthing they don't want to share with everybody. However they want make public private files of this Government regardless the consequences.

I'm glad he's free and in the public view...I'm sure a lot of spy agencies will soon have him in their cross hairs. Acute lead poisoning is always a possibility with cyber-terrorists that are caught in the open. I hope it happens soon.

"UNBELIEVABLE Obamas partner Michael moore bailed him out! Why do liberals hate their own country?"

Amerikano, why is it when people disagree with a conservative, it equates to hate of America? Many right wingers disagree with everything "their" president is doing right now. Does that make them un-American or mean they hate their country?

USA is not perfect, burying your head and ignoring its wrong doings doesn't mean you love America. It means you like being ignorant.

ewent- will you shut up once and for all? you are an @!$%#!

Why is this fool, Assange, the darling of the media? Why are idiots like Michael Moore supporting him? Compare this to the media release of information on Valerie Plame. Assange's leaks have endangered the lives of operatives all over the world. I guess that doesn't matter because the left, which hates this country for its excellence, wants to destroy this country. Oh, I always forget. If the leftist socialists like it the rules don't apply the same way they do to the conservatives. Leftists are hypocrites! Assange should be tried for purchasing stolen information.

Okay...stop lumping all liberals into a category that supports this guy...because I am a very left leaning liberal and think what he is doing is wrong...I LOVE THIS COUNTRY AS MUCH AS YOU DO...and I am sick of being accused of hating it simply on the grounds that I'm liberal...I just have different views than you do...so how about taking a step back because you lose all credibility in your arguments when you start lumping us all together...okay I'm done ranting now...thanks for your time.

What is all this concern about motives? If you are telling a lie, I might wonder about your motives. If you're telling the truth, who cares?

According to Robert Gates - US Defence Secretary..

Apart from bruised reputations and red faces, there is no evidence yet of any harm from the release of the material. In contrast to the hysteria in some quarters, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has kept his cool. "Let me just offer some perspective as somebody who's been at this a long time," he said last week. (His perspective includes a period running the CIA.)

"Now, I've heard the impact of these releases on our foreign policy described as a meltdown, as a game-changer and so on. I think those descriptions are fairly significantly overwrought."

The US Government was given the chance to review and redact any names contained in the releases. The US Gov choose to not do this...

When it comes to illegality, there is more evidence against Clinton than Assange.

In July last year, she ordered her diplomats to spy on UN representatives and officials from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon down. She wanted not only work schedules, email addresses, fax numbers, website details and mobile phone numbers but also DNA data such as iris scans and fingerprints, and credit card and frequent-flyer numbers. Why all this detail? Presumably not just to see whether they were acting against US interests but also to compromise them if possible.

Spying on the UN is illegal under international treaties. No one should be surprised that it happens, nor that other countries engage in it. The extent to which the US is prepared to go and the fact the Secretary of State is willing to issue written instructions authorising it says something about the reach and supreme confidence of the world's remaining superpower. see http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/assange-has-less-to-answer-for-than-clinton/story-e6frg6zo-1225968558351

As I have stated prior, "If the World News Media had been doing their JOB, instead of pushing their AGENDAs. WikiLeaks would have NOTHING to report...

Commonsense1,

What is all this concern about motives? If you are telling a lie, I might wonder about your motives. If you're telling the truth, who cares?

So motives don't matter? What if the person is telling the truth in order to cause harm to others? Wouldn't you say that matters?

The motive always matters. By looking at a person's motives, you can better determine why they are doing what they are doing. If you don't know the motive, then you are left without important information and you cannot intelligently determine if the person is being totally honest or not.

Truth matters, but without knowing the motive, you don't have the whole truth.

What problems has he caused?

Gawd, didn't you read the MSNBC article just above this one about the government misleading us about the killing of a top Al-Qaeda leader? Only to find him resurface later? This is not the 1st time this has happened. This is a perfect example of why we need WikiLeaks or are you happy "thinking" we're winning these wars? What are you gonna do when the house comes tumbling down from all these misconceptions? Personally, I want to know whether we are winning these wars or not.

I bet if Wikileaks were exposing corruptions in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, etc. all the delusional bigots would be absolutely thrill with open arms to Mr. Assange or even better award him a medal of honor for heroism. But the moment the corruptions are exposed in the U.S., all the delusional bigots are crying "traitor, traitor, traitor!!! Oh my, he's endangering our troops!" BS!!! Mr. Assange never did put our troops in harm's way, it was the DC neocons whom murdered thousands of GI's & hundreds of thousandths of innocent civilians by cooking WMD and yellow cake fantasys to drum up support for an illegal war that should have never been from the start. Gee, no wonder the patroitic U.S. government is so fearless & consistent in screwing the American people over & over again. Mr. Assange you are a real patroitic American. Keep up the good work sir!

Recycled Hope--there is nothing like a pedant (go look that word up) to set off a person like myself who has an actual degree. Please do not make those of us who are genuinely educated look bad by claiming to be one of us. Let's have a little fun with you:

you just havent been exposed to the educated here in the USA. I use "tisn't" alot and it irks people because they arent accustomed to it ... I tell them get used to it. Same with my use of "shall" and other words.

Corrected: "You just haven't been exposed to the educated [populace] here in the USA. I use 'tis't' a lot, and it irks people because they aren't accustomed to it . . . I tell them to get used to it. The same [issue is true with] my use of 'shall' and other words."

My observation: You do know, by the way, that the word "tisn't" more colloquially refers to that part of a male anatomy that is not his anus and not his scrotum, but the area between? I would suggest that others are trying to clue you into the fact that you are using a slang word for genitals.

You sound very UNEDUCATED and remind me of when my husband made fun of 2 of our daughters when they were using "words he didnt understand". They were expanding their vocabulary and putting those words to GOOD USAGE.

Corrected: "You sound very uneducated, and [your behavior reminds me of the time] my husband made fun of two of our daughters when they were using 'words he didn't understand.' They were expanding their vocabularies and putting those words to good use.

My observation: It would be nice if you learned the difference between "usage" and "use," as well as correct punctuation.

I was always proud of how they intentionally found words not usually heard in the "normal" parlance of our American society and utilized their expanded vocabulary. One of them is a rocket engineer (actually an aeronautical engineer because of her emphasis in space engineering while matriculating) now and actually worked on the development of the fuselage of the F-35 Lightning down at Lockheed-Martin in Fort Worth TX and a new DOD Helicopter at Sikorsky in CT. The other is in upper management and my 3rd daughter is a civil engineer.

Corrected: "I was always proud of how they intentionally found words not usually heard in the 'normal' [vocabulary] of our American society and utilized [these words as part of] their expanded vocabulary. One of them is a rocket engineer (actually an aeronautical engineer because of her [scholarly] emphasis in space engineering) now and worked on the development of the fuselage of the F-35 Lightning while at Lockheed-Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, and [also worked on a new design for the] DOD Helicopter at Sikorsky in Connecticutt. The other is in upper management, and my third daughter is a civil engineer.

My observation: Considering how few women actually work in engineering, this is an extremely unlikely scenario. It is interesting as fiction, however. If it is the case, you just gave enough information for your daughter who works for the Department of Defense to lose her job. Any person with a mother who is quite this blithe about state secrets is not likely to retain clearance. Bravo!

You continue on with 1, 2 and 3 syllable simpleton word usage ... those of us who appreciate knowledge will continue to expand and enhance our vocabulary and its use thereof.

Corrected: You continue on with one, two, and three-syllable, simpleton word usage ... Those of us who appreciate knowledge will continue to expand and enhance our vocabularies and our use thereof.

My observation: As George Orwell pointed out, the best sort of language is simple, straightforward, and unambiguous. Those who pride themselves on the use of language which serves only to obfuscate (yes, I'm using that word intentionally) and prove their own erudition (again, that was intentional), are at best described as pedantic and at worst described as morons with access to a dictionary and a thesaurus.

The bulk of the English language is made up of words of one, two, and three syllables, and I find all these words (particularly the strong, Anglo-Saxon words with robust meanings) to be perfectly fine. If you would like to continue sounding like a self-aggrandizing twit, well now, you go right ahead.

Well, that is, if your mother and father let you continue to use the computer to invent personae for yourself so that you can continue to annoy others on MSNBC.

scary; now governments and people want to destroy The Messenger..i'm Not saying he's Wrong or Right..he's a journalist that informed the people..what about about Our Freedom Of Speech, i'm sorry i know we're Limited there..if and when Our Righteous Ways step out of bounds and We Reveal Our Ownselves isn't it Our Own Fault for being Stupid and Stupid does..any Internal Problems Should Carefully be Handled in the Utmost Secretive Fashion, i think..

Meet the new Nazis of the 21st century, the U.S. government run courtesy of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Wall Street. They all pay to have the news censored and control the Internet!

Where can I send money to help with bail? A hero. Thank you Michael Moore. Government should be subservient to We the People and not the other way around. Not one current war the US is involved in at this point is for American 'Freedom'. America's sovereignty is not threatened. On the contrary, we are in other people's countries killing innocent civilians. America is committing war crimes fro economic reasons. Assange has not killed ONE SINGLE SOUL. Secret documents are leaked all the time and all newspapers publish their contents. If the US goes after Assange then the US must go against many powerful newspapers as well. There can not be two measuring sticks. The problems Assange is having with these 'women' is because he was set up from the get go. He will be acquitted.

Aside from him just being some internet nobody who the actual thief sent stolen documents to it is going to be hard for him to continue also saying he is being SMEARED since the accusation and investigation of RAPE of 2 women happened BEFORE he even had the documents to release.

I find him a little more alarming if he is a rapist than he is at knowing how to upload. In any case he appears more like a lumpy whose greatest life highlight is being a naughty boy and blaming everyone else.

Mr Assange is putting his life and reputation on the line to do what needs to be done (and what corporate media often neglects to do): exposing corruption around the world, especially gov't corruption and their secrets that harm the proceedings of democracy.

I had to laugh when Assange was quoted as saying there is a smear campaign going on against him; isn't that what he is trying to do? The things he has exposed seem mostly like they are to embarrass the U.S. government, not actually help anyone. This sounds like the pot calling the kettle burnt!

The difference, blond, is that the US embarrassed itself. Diplomats should know better then to write crap down and the transmitting them. If you are going to report crap do it in person or on the phone or do it in a manner that would not embarrass yourself, others, and you country. The smear campaign against Assange is totally vendetta for him showing the World what the US government does in the name of We the People. Your comparison does not hold water.

ewent is always on her high horse, sos.

"Assange said that a "very successful smear campaign" had been waged against him"

did he blame bush?

Idaho Dragon;

Well, I did a search of your assertions. I can see where Amazon is selling documents that Wikileaks made available but, find nothing other than John Young’s statement that they talked about it for income.

John “Young (“One of the early members and co-founders”) is a 74-year-old Manhattan-based architect who publishes a document-leaking website of his own called Cryptome.org that predates Wikileaks by over a decade.” Disgruntled maybe? I didn’t see any hyperlinks for CNN or MSNBC.

As for making money well, that what capitalist organizations due. If they didn't, then they wouldn’t have the bunker with the servers in Sweden. I would imagine that’s large investment.

First of all, enough of the idiotic bickering over who has the greatest command of the English language!!! There are many, many people who regularly write on this forum who are excellent writers, educated, and accomplished! You're not proving anything of value to the other posters other than how sensitive your egos are!!! You guys have wasted enough space to this matter, so stop the sophomoric gamesmanship!

Furthermore, this particular thread could have easily been separated into several sub-threads based upon the numerous topics discussed at the same time! I'm not even sure where to start, given the slew of ridiculous viewpoints that have already been addressed!

Alas, (or is that too archaic, Ewent?), I would like to add my 2 cents to the discussion of Assange. This whole issue of Wikileaks has already digressed into a stern polarization between those who support him and feel he is a hero of sorts, and those who decry his actions and wish to see him harmed and/or prosecuted.

I, for one, support Asssange's actions on the notion that I cannot trust my government to represent me benevolently. This trust has been destroyed over the past decade due to numerous examples of governmental mismanagement, wars of attrition, loose financial policies that effectively only cater to the corporate industry, overt legislation that decreases our civil liberties, etc. etc. etc......

Thus I feel it is simply time that we are allowed to become more aware about the inner workings of our government, and who they truly represent. I understand that Assange's motives may not necessarily be benign, but then again, I could make the same argument for our government's motives.

It's an opinion, and it happens to belong to me. No, I'm not an idiot, I'm certainly not uneducated, and I have at least attempted to utilize proper grammar and syntax so as to not offend anyone's literary sensibilities! And if I have made some grammatical blunders, please don't bother notifying me or flaming me over it, as I simply am not going to respond.

beanathome ...

Trolling grammar and such? Seriously? For being such a dick about it, the least you could have done was follow AP's rules on the proper use of ellipses, among other things. Irony is a fickle mistress, and she's slap you silly when you cross her up.

I'm digressing. The point I'm making is if spending your evening critically critiquing then rewritting someone else's post then posting said rewrite on a newsvine fulfills some deep longing of superiority is you bag, who the hell am I to get in your way?

To each their own. Best regards, prick! Grab your red pen and have at it.

What problems would those be exactly? It should be obvious to you that the real "problems" here were caused by the US and various other governments around the world.

We, the people, sponsor the idiocy the government does in secret. We have an absolute right to know where our money is going.

The US gov't response to this whole thing is deplorable and embarrassing.

When less then 7000 ( just my Guess) people run the world, and hide what they are doing, the leaks are very eye opening. Better to know then not to know. If we had more information on WMD in Iraq, we could have avoided that mess of a war. Or made a better case for getting into it.

If he's out on bail essentially on house arrest, how is it that he can stop off at the Frontline Club for a celebratory cocktail? Throw him back in jail for a violation.

Like Brad said; if it can happen to him it can happen to you. The really sad thing is Brad's right. I get the feeling that this person (Not Brad) who thinks the old KGB and or the China thugs should take his butt out has not even taken the time to read these cables. I mean have you read any of this? The only people who should have charges file against them is the fools runing or better ruining our government.

I love my country, I hate the fools who are destroying it. And Sir or madam who ever you are my guess is you either work for the State department or like so many who post here are taking the line the Government rats shove down your throat. It seems that at least in the State department that These people care not one wit for our Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, or worst our Bill of Rights. And forget Freedom of Speech.

My point here is why is Eric Holder not going after the Jack-ass's who it is clear have broken more laws than Wikileaks or Julian Assange ever dreamed of breaking. You call for this persons assassination without I'm certain now ever reading even one cable or you are a tool of this administration and then it makes all the since in the world why you would write such crap.

Your rights are being stolen and you words prove you care not one wit for mine or anyone rights as it pertains to the Constitution, The Declaration of Independence or our Bill of Rights for if you did you would see the real harm in your take of how this all should be handled.

Read the cables and get ready to have your anger directed at the fools who deserve your wrath not those who if you could only see are only trying to save you from it. And I'm talking the wrath of people who have zero conscience who instead of going after the thieving bankers and putting those fools in jail are instead going along with stealing everything we hold dear. The worst part of your post is they got you right were they want all of us...... brain washed.

My advice is wake-up before like Brad mentions your the next guy they smack down for just being a honest person trying to inform folks of how your Tax dollars are being spent. Last time I looked I never wanted my country involved in murder or for that matter dealing with the same fools who destroy others freedoms while this administartion and others stand hand in hand with these thugs and declare victory in the name of democracy.

The PFC that released the documents is in the military and subject to the UCMJ. Military law. It's similar to, but not quite the same as civilian law. Apparently, his leaking the documents is not in doubt. It's to who and how Assange got his hands on them. It was said he's been in a military jail for 6 months and in a cell 23 of 24 hrs. daily----different ballgame in the military. Also, civilian law and military law do not mix. It's one or the other. In this case, it's military. They want to discover the line between the PFC and Assange. Even if Assange walks, the others won't.

Of course Assange doesn't know Manning!---remember, computers do all the work.

Do all the Imam's of Terrorists personally know their work gang, the suicide bombers?

Assange is a walking Terrorist without a grenade or bomb; he uses the Internet Cables as his weapon of destruction.

He now feels empowered to do more damage by being freed on bail, although he is under House Arrest in a suburb super Mansion? in Britain. Who does this Mansion belong to?

Sweden will try to get him Extradited, then from there the US Government may be able to indict him over Espionage charges.

Assange is just that. An As----------------------who need enemies?

Question regarding the article and published media information.....?

If Inmate Manning only relesed 150K pages of Classified information, Where did Wikileaks get the rest of the Classified Information it is sharing?

Did the former 96B (MOS Servis job) create a backdoor so that wikileaks could obtain more information???

The number do not add up As Manning is said to have released 150K and wikileaks claimes to have over 500K of Classified US Information still in its database from the same time frame... Again the numbers don't add up and i am willing to bet mannning did set up a backdoor and Wikileaks did steal information.

That is, in the end, the only way that sources can be guaranteed that they remain anonymous.

let me see if I got this straight, he wants to maintain his secrecy while exposing everyone's else's?

to recycled hope sorry to call you a liar but my niece is the only FEMALE in country to take aviation repair classes at this time she is also the only 1 to have been offered a real job in this field , did your daughter go to school or learn her skills in the military, you also used the wrong spelling of lead in your comment LEAD is either to conduct or steer or it is a mineral , led is the correct spelling you were looking for lmao

1screamineagle:

Manning could be the "Fall Guy" for this Operation. Assange has many more associates doing work for him.

Who are they? Assange is a clever master at White Collar Crime.

Marchant

Manning could be the "Fall Guy" for this Operation. Assange has many more associates doing work for him.

Who are they? Assange is a clever master at White Collar Crime.

If only Uncle Sam could hang him on white collar crime. He's done nothing of the sort.

Nixon would have gone after "Deep Throat" if he were public like Manning or Assange...you could bet on it.

The truth hurts, and as much of a loose cannon Assange may be, he brings some level of accountability to people in positions of power where they used to enjoy anonemously pulling strings.

It sucks that Assange has released a ton of unredacted materials that have probably reduced our ability to get informants for certain important bits of info, but he's also exposed important information on Abu Graib and GITMO that was formerly only on a need-to-know basis.

Politicians need to be wary of corruption and conflicts of interest, look at our recent scandals coming to light from the Senate Finance Committee! That loser was there for decades making deals for his own gains at our expense!

There's more than just him, he was just too foolish and got caught!

Derek_V...your really trying to tell me that we as American's don't elect people who devalue our money, have you been living under a rock? The senate voted to print hundreds of thousands of dollars so the US could be more "liquid". In reality the only thing printing more money doe is being us closer to the former plight of the German's where a loaf of bread literally cost a barrel of Franks.

Mr. Rogers, why don't you put your money where your mouth is and be a real patriot...run for office. Same for everyone else who's trashing your elected representatives. Good luck getting elected on the "Conspiracy Theory" platform.

Seriously No Really?

Let's just call it Computer Warfare with "keys". Assange is as dangerous to all Countries, comparing him to a suicide bomber Terrorist.

How many people has he already killed because their names were brought to the forefront from this "Leak Head"?---Names to be remained an anonymous to help get this War in Afghanistan under control, Pakistan Informants, and plain old innocent people who have given info, so we can protect them and get some Peace in this World.

It hasn't happened yet, Peace, but Ass---------is the definite big Enemy, although the info he has leaked, is not Top Secret Intelligence. It is dangerous gossip; causing other leaders, including our Leader, the Pres. to look behind their backs; never trusting the US again.

Ass--------------is locked up in a mansion of one of his supporters. Once he leaves Great Britain, he is game for charges of Espionage..

"What cones around, goes around". It never fails.

read the GENEVA articles of war you might learn something

Yes, that's contradictory; how often do news sources use the clever phrases of 'on the conditon of anonymity', 'not autherized to speak', etc.... ?

Such a big deal years ago as well about Bush being recorded at a summit meeting discussing diet pepsi, etc... all over TV.

Yet, now.....

I don't know of any naievettes that believe nothing is going in in government; it's been corrupt for some time, beholden to other's interests including big money's. Nothing had been done decades ago, and has grown much worse; too powerful, not beholden to it's constituents, a separate entity from Us that is more powerful and wealthier than any corporation(s) that it's in bed with.

So, what's the big news? Confirmation of it's corruptness? No other nation is any more innocent pertaining to 'bad talk', or sly intentions....and populaces do nothing to change it.

and populaces do nothing to change it.

And this is the problem... people are asleep and ignorant. They have bought into the US media as absolute truth, when in reality, the US media has been compromised by corporate and state interest according to several ex CIA analysts.

I feel more awakening each and every day however.

Mr. Rogers...Your presumptions are obtuse. You generalize so that you include ALL Americans. Do you include ALL Brits, Canadians or Australians in stupidity or do you just reserve that for Americans?

Sorry, pallie....but in my country, Americans get a full education without toffee nosed attitudes. We have access to all of the information we can manage to get our hands on and make our own decisions on what's right and what's wrong...We don't need an ideological rag like the Guardian to do it for us.

ewent,

Mr Rogers has explicitly stated HE IS AN AMERICAN. Who the hell do you think you are to state he isnt because of using the word "que', a word used most frequently by many people right here in the USA.

You state you have "plenty of knowledge' ... I dont count fox news and hannity and limbaugh as sources of "knowledge", merely inflicted opinon.

I question your knowledge level since what I consider "simple" words appear to be beyond your grasp as existing in America ... perhaps that is merely the difference between private education (mine) and public education ... or between settling for a high school degree as versus continuing on to obtain a college degree (me).

Whatever the difference .... I do believe YOUR claim to be an American, I merely question your claim to be an "educated" American.

Good morning ewent;

I cannot believe I am doing this because I am not highly educated and therefore should be paid no attention. You speak of education and yet you say "pallie"? Even I know the correct term is "Pally". WOW! I just may become one of the grammer/spelling gestapo. I am just pulling your leg and I only do that to make them even.

Life is too important to be taken so damned seriously. Peace

Recycled Hope...I know who the hell I am. I also know Brit English when I see it. I ought to...When I have to write Brit blog content they are the biggest pains in the tuckus because they want no "Americanisms"...meaning...they dislike American English. Too bad their country is monocultural and ours is multi-cultural isn't it?

I rarely watch TV. Writers spend most of their time writing. Or thinking of the ideas that they will write.

I attended a Catholic elementary school, public high school and business school. Who the hell are you to talk down to anyone? You live in a democracy that disqualifies the all too educated with no common sense in a single fiber of their being to look down their perceived educated noses at anyone else.

Get a clue.

Dragula....Sorry, I don't watch Fox...or pay attention to anything Rupert Murdoch owns. As for my love of my country, perhaps if you cared as much it wouldn't be in the situation it's in. If you hate your government, why do you vote the same people into office over and over?

If you don't love your country, there's the door. Don't let it hit you in the ass. The rest of us are fed up with Americans bashing hell out of this country for no reason other than narcissism. If there's anything wrong with this country, it's a bunch of self-important little scheist heads with egos bigger than those gas guzzlers they love so much.

lol ... you betcha ... spoken like another person who has published works

Recycled Hope..."Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius"...Fulton J. Sheen To Cardinal Spellman....take the hint.

You seem awfully knowledgeable about "broken" English....guess that's what they teach in those backwoods schools in the hinterlands, right?

Ewent - "When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." - Jonathan Swift.

See? I can find a clever quote and zip it back. I guess all the people rallying agains Assange are dunces, huh? Since quote mining has some sort of inherent truth value, right?

I am really starting to hate people who just launch into a jingoistic rally cry and tell people to "get out of Amurika" if they disagree.

But hey,

"USA! USA! We're #1 We're#1! Football and beer! Football and beer! Government knows best! Except for Obama! He's the Antichrist! But the Pentagon and Dick Cheney know best! Love it or leave it! Love it or leave it!"

Why are so many propagating a philosophy that goes something like "I'm too stupid/fearful to handle the truth."

I would have thought this would have played right into 90% of American peoples eschatological wet dream scenarios.

Ivanho...Oh puhlease...Jonathan Swift? That's the sum total of the quoting genius you could find? No Churchill? No Ghandi? No Gibrand? I don't tell anyone to get out of America...I tell people "if you don't like this country, there's the door...don't let it hit you in the ass." It's still their choice.

Why are right wingers trying desperately to turn a democracy into a plutocracy? Why are right wingers bashing the country that gives them more freedoms than any country in the world? What's with the right wing angst and anti-America BS? Enough is enough. If you don't like this country fine. Just don't go after people who do.

The problem with the anti-American Americans is that want it all and they want it in triplicate yesterday...Grow up. Live through austerity like the Great Depression as my parents did and come back and tell us how you hate the US. You wouldn't have what you do now if it hadn't been for loyal, patriotic Americans. In fact, I'm guessing that you are one of those who'd love nothing better than to see China or some other foreign country take over. So much for patriotism.

ewent,

I notice you keep saying "right wingers" as though right-wingers are the only ones who seem to hate America. What about all the left-wingers that seem to hate America too? I would think there are plenty on both sides who have shown a lot of negativity in their comments towards this country.

So far as I can tell, most right-wingers are not trying to turn this democracy into a plutocracy. They are simply tired of the way their government is working and I can't say as I blame them. I'm tired of the way its working too, and I can lay as much blame at the feet of liberal left-wingers as I can at the feet of conservative right-wingers.

Instead of name calling and insult hurling back and forth, how about we grow up, act like adults and POLITELY and CALMLY debate issues and attempt to come up with some intelligent and rational solutions to problems?

I realize that will never happen, but I can always hope right?

Idaho Dragon...Perhaps, they should be called what they are radicals? I have a real problem with ideology. I believe it does more to divide a country than a Civil War. If people could express their truly personal opinions and not follow the guidelines of some phantom ideological values, maybe there would be more credibility. Marching to the tune of any ideology right or left reduces the marcher to something akin to a clone.

ewent,

I agree. I have no use for idealogues as they go through life blind to any viewpoints but their own, regardless of how much they protest otherwise. I was merely curious as to why you seemed to go after right-wingers predominantly. Thanks for clarifying.

Unfortunately, idealogy is a trap that most people easily fall into because it is easier to emotionally believe in something than it is to intellectually verify something.

Idaho Dragon .. Thoughtful post! .

America is suppose to stand for truth, Honor, freedom,caring,for the sick, and its friends, not lying, cheating, robbing, murdering and the like so don't let these people destroy what Americans stand for sort out your goverment

ewent:

I got all of my education out here in the "backwoods hinterlands". After reading your comments, however, I suddenly feel the need to improve myself. Can you suggest where I might return to school and acquire the credentials to become a smug gas bag with a superior attitude, so I too can talk down to everyone else?

Just because Mr. Rogers states he is an American, doesn't make him one.

ewent- you are so full of yourself. shut up

how about everyone shut up about damn credentials you guys sound like kids and i should know i am one all of you pull your heads outta your asses and stop talking like your all better than the other or your smarter im talking to everyone who argues like little children here about stuff that doesnt have anything to do with the article

One of the most offensive things in our country is people chanting "America, if you don't like it, leave." I don't care how educated a person, that chant throws them into the barrel of ingorance and while it is their right to voice it, it certainly should be countered with the right to ignore it ---more responsibly to be met with a voice of greater reason. Now, when I say that, I know it may offend some, but let me illustrate why it may bother you, but you can't argue it...

The pieces of paper that outlined your right to say that also outlined the right of others to speak out against their government, assemble to discuss their dissent, put it in the news, AND TO ACTUALLY STOMP OUT ANY GOVERNMENT OR BODY OF PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY THAT WOULD SUBVERT IT!!! So many Americans run their mouths about their freedoms yet very few have ACTUALLY READ either of these documents and fewer still know anything about the philosophies of the men that wrote them.

According to the great men that outlined those freedoms, Americans also have a great responsibility (surely you didn't think that freedom was free?)---that responsibility is to ferret out the secrecy of our government, to stand up against their gradual erosion of our liberties, and to rise up against it if need be. They warned that the US would be 'destroyed from the inside under the guise of an outside intruder or force'....'too watch under close scrutiny all men of government'...and that it is absolutely imperative that we do so. Secret societies, dealings, and alliances are all things we were told to not only distrust, but to preven them from taking root in the first place. And in the event that they did, it was the RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY of all of us to ensure we no longer allowed it to happen. They told us to avoid war because through war, all other forces destructive to our liberty would grow--which brings us to WikiLeaks.

To me, the greatest thing about WikiLeaks is not the embarassment to the US...it is the fact that maybe, just maybe, world governments will be more hesitant to not only go to war, but also more hesitant to involve their people in a war based on lies. I am not fooling myself or attempting to fool anyone else into believing there will never be war--men are too stupid for there to be no wars. Our presence in Iraq is a sham and while only some Americans understand this, a greater percentage of the world does. Sure there are people in the Middle-East that feared Saddam Hussein and the possibilty he might invade their country, but how does our invasion of Iraq make us any different?

I understand that people may get hurt because of WikiLeaks---isn't that part of war? Further still, our military knew that when they enlisted. Any that were naive enough to think we were done in the Middle East bought themselves a lifetime supply of snake-oil. The whole purpose of the sanctions and the weapon investigators was to soften them up enough to invade. Once we knew we had them where we wanted, we did just that. Don't fool yourself, our people are not over there fighting for our freedom. The only ways for our freedom to be subverted is to be invaded OR for it to happen from within.

When Sr attacked Iraq the first time (as a response to its invasion of America), many of us told the people around us that it would be a long, expensive war---people laughed and mocked us---no big deal though, we knew we were right but we bided our time and waited. When they announced victory, we were mocked, but we waited. Sure, some thought we should have and could have gone in and cleaned house, but if we had, we would have felt those WMD's that Iraq DID have AT THE TIME. (((ODDLY ENOUGH, WE AIDED KUWAIT BECAUSE THEY WERE A GREAT SUPPLIER OF U.S. OIL AND SADDAM WOULD HAVE DRIVEN UP PRICES. ISN'T THAT EXACTLY WHAT OUR OWN COUNTRYMEN DID TO US AFTER WE "LIBERATED" IRAQI OIL FIELDS?))). Twenty years later, we are in Iraq-- the only difference is now, nobody is mocking us, nobody is laughing. Hell, we may just find out from Wikileaks that our government DID DO something to provoke Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Tariq Aziz said it and many theorists believed it..who knows, but it is something to think about.

And yes, you have the right to say "America, if you don't like it, leave" but are you prepared to leave it if things change? You know, we do have that right...and if you didn't, read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. When you've done that, get back to us and let us know if you still don't see the wolves hiding under the sheep's fleece. If you don't, then you were destined to be one of the sheep anyway.

And yes, you have the right to say "America, if you don't like it, leave" but are you prepared to leave it if things change?

People that say that are the robots that are programmed to blissfully say that whatever the rulers (the government, the corporations and all those smugs that make a living from profits they make off of others' labor) do - it is one of those 'isms' where you exercise your motor system without much help from the nervous system. And they say that for the fear that what they call the 'immigrants' might follow what the older immigrants did - "if you don't like what they do here, kill them and make your own rules"; it’s a kind of paranoia arising from a ghost fear rooting in the mounting personal debts and joblessness.

I was about to post something about the "love it or leave it" crowd, but Jeepers said everything there was to say.

Just wanted to add: If the crux of your arguement hangs on the assumed nationality of someone else, you haven't proven anything. It's the same slander that the right wingers say when they claim that obama is a muslim.

We invaded Iraq because Saddam threatened to kill W's father, plain and simple it was revenge.

I'm no fan of Assange, but he hasn't actually done anything illegal in regard to the intelligence leaks. He's a member of the foreign press and not a U.S. citizen; there is no charge we can bring against him.

PFC Manning is the only guilty party here legally speaking. Manning sent the documents in, it was his job to keep the intel secret, so it is him that broke the law. And boy did he ever break a heck load of laws but Assange didn't break any laws at all because he's under no legal obligations to keep our secrets or respect our intelligence community's privacy.

If we were to kill Assange, under the law we'd be committing murder on a foreign national from one of our allied nations.

I can tell nobody calling for this guys execution or assasination has ever thought very hard about the law or the status our nation enjoys because of our adherence to international law.

Beer Man...He's a member of the foreign press and under the tutelage of Rupert Murdoch, mega monster of media. Murdoch hates Americans and only became an American citizen to control American media. So any liberal who supports Assange is buffaloed into believing he's a liberal. When his hero is Murdoch? An avowed and publicly admitted ultra right winger? I think not.

Beer-Man:

Assange is no journalist. He's simply posting online some documents that were sent to him. That is not journalism.

I agree on you with the remainder of your statement.

Assange is nothing but a terrorist and wikileaks is no different than AlQuiada. If don't think so, ask the PayPal users, MasterCard users that where denied access to corporate web sites - because Assange's followers think their above the law.

If wikileaks wants openess, let's see a list to their donors and which governments that are giving support.

Assange is nothing but a rapist - otherwise he would go back and face the charges. But now he is going be out on bail - what are the odds that he won't live to see 2011???

WOW! This seems like the Salem Witch hunts, which I thought we all learned to despise. Is this what folks mean when they scream "take our country back"?

Old Dude...I may have too many grey hairs beneath my Clairol, but I see a population of younger people who have virtually no sense of propriety these days. Rudeness to others, aggressive and violent behavior, slander and libel are all condoned or in some way enabled.

I raised my two children to know that rude and aggressive behavior makes them classless and shows lack of breeding. I taught them to think with their brains, not their fists. If what I see in papers and TV is an example of today's behavior, it's akin to Lord of the Flies.

Good lord it's like people are blind to what was done...."Mr" Assange received what he KNEW was stolen documents and gladly posted them. He was in possession of those...In this country, at least, he can be charged with possession of stolen property....Why can't some of you understand that?? You are so enamored with him and hate the US that you just don't care about that...You all orgasm at the thought of embarrassing the US....

Kornfed...Show me the exact wording of any one of my posts where I said I was "god"....Calling your bluff. By the way, I'm not a sir......I'm a m'am. Two sons I adore, 11 nephews who call me every week, 5 half brothers and 2 biological brothers...You bet I grew up learning how to fight my own battles. Everything I ever learned came from males. Pity, isn't it?

I really find it hard to respect the opinions of people who are so ashamed of their own names that they come up with a identity like moonbeanracer. Are you so ashamed of what you write that you don't want for friends to know what you really think. Or maybe your mommy and daddy will take away or computer.

Good Observation Old Dude ... maybe in two hundred more years history will look back and compare this in a similar manner ....

Absolutely hang him high! And while they're at it, take out old Recycled Hope! He is becoming an absolute ass. Shut up already, we all know that you're a Brit.

Really? And we sit and wonder why the world is the way it is? I have met alot of people in my 52 years on this rock, alot of very smart non-college folks, and some really stupid Grads. Your knowledge base is just that. Some have high education...some are just high. The paper you hold means nothing to the majority of people. I am glad you have been able to hide in books for so many years, while...some of us were living while your head was burried. Do I spell right? Prob not...do I use slang...yes...does it matter? Not a bit. The people on this forum are giving oppinions...who cares about spelling? It is about content. And...if you or any are to educated to understand that...sorry for you. Close the book...and open your mind to others ideas, not the spelling or slang. My 2 cents worth.

ewent... Assange is a foreign national, he is neither liberal or conservative in the sense you are speaking. The information being leaked is bipartisan, being that the cables are from a range of time in which both Dems and Reps were in power.

...very smart non-college folks, and some really stupid Grads

Yes, it is disgusting to note how some people here waste space and readers' time writing about the degrees they accumulated. the jobs they hold, the families/countries they were born in (and their 'achievements' there on) - all seemingly to validate (sometimes stupid and irrelevant) comments they make. While a certain degree of grammar and spelling correctness is required for easier reading, mistakes happen some of which that are not real show-stoppers. Uses such a 'to'/'too' , 'then'/'than' and many more require a second read at times, though...

The arrest of Assange is just part of the 'international diplomacy' in effect to keep a hold on him till the government formulates a way to 'bring him to justice' (kind of like the 'kill the messenger' strategy) for publishing what it did wrong.

I'm curious what you pro-arrest or pro-assassination of Assange feel about other famous leaks that occurred in our past.

The_Pentagon_Papers

Deep_Throat_and_Watergate

Iran_Contra

Edward_R_Murrow_Takes_on_Senator_McCarthy

Lockheed's_Bribery_Scandals

and other famous instances of whistle blowers and leaks exposing wrongdoing!

You may not like Assange, frankly neither do I. Half of the time when his leaks expose informants, that is actually counter-productive. But to go after him for supposed criminal wrongdoing is idiotic and blatantly irresponsible.

The US needs to discuss with Assange that he must actively protect his sources and recognize the gravity of exposing informants in the materials that he leaks out. But obviously the US, nor any other country is going to do that because they don't want to lend any legitimacy to Assange's reports. After all, if the subject government dains make a comment on a new leak, it only lends credibility to the leak itself and the content it provides.

A veritable rock and hard place.

But...our politicians need to face accountability! We cannot allow too much back room dealings because criminals will enjoy such anonymity just as much as legitimate concerns will.

Our government has never been a poster child for self-regulation and proven adept in avoiding conflicts of interest! For that reason, we need a strong and free press. It's too bad it has to come from Assange given how our MSM is bought and paid for by the very interests we wish to expose!

And what is MSM, si vou plait?

Mainstream Media

Got it, thanks. In that case, I agree with your statement.

Oh you know it......he will be gone in a flash.

He may go into hiding, but he will still cooperate with law authorities. After all, he turned himself in to British authorities when they issued the arrest warrant. He is not trying to skirt the law. He has even volunteered to meet with prosecutors outside Sweden to answer any questions. He is trying to avoid our government from extraditing him and fears that the US will pressure Sweden into extradition.

Well of course he volunteered to meet prosecutors outside Sweden where they have no power...

If they have no power, how did they get Britain to arrest him?

They didn't get Britain to do anything. If Sweden got Britain to arrest him, he would be facing rape charges.

Eoin...Nope...This is an egotistical little twerp...When a twerp can't get his way, he goes for the jugular. From the look in his eyes, I'm betting he is now going to drop his biggest dish on Americans yet. He hates Americans. So, he is playing David to America's Goliath.

All I see is Julian Assange taking control of cyberspace in a way the entire world is going to despise. Twerps are always control freaks at heart.

I hope he does run.

Real men fight for their honor, even if they've dishonored themselves.

Flippant Vain...Great post. Especially the last sentence. Thank you.

Wasn't Assange will of the villians in a James Bond flick?

Flippant and Ewent,

I think you two are a little confused. Placing oneself before a firing squad has nothing to do with honor. If that were the case, we wouldn't have Black Ops, Special Forces, or stealth aircraft. Seriously, you spew forth rhetoric to cloak a situation but anyone with a moderate degree of perception sees through your veil. You are now calling any soldier who uses camouflage dishonorable, any Navy Seal who sneaks in and sneaks out a coward, and any person fires a missle from afar to kill as opposed to beating down a person with their bare hands a chicken.

However, for a moment, let's assume your stance. If to stand and face charges is honorable, then it is logical that an attempt to hide one's actions is not. Correct? So, if our government is so honorable, they in turn would take any shots or charges made against them and would welcome the opportunity to defend themselves publicly. IT HASN'T HAPPENED THAT WAY AND IT WON'T!!!!

As to labelling people "Assange supporters", we are much more than that---we are Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution supporters. Not just for ourselves, but for you as well. Let's hear what some of the people on our side have to say about situations such as this...

Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.
Thomas Jefferson

I am mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, the sale of a book can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too.
Thomas Jefferson

I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion.
Thomas Jefferson

A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people.
James Madison

All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree.
James Madison

Despotism can only exist in darkness, and there are too many lights now in the political firmament to permit it to remain anywhere, as it has heretofore done, almost everywhere.
James Madison

I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.
James Madison

Of all the enemies of public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other.
James Madison

We are right to take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties.
James Madison

“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy”

Again, James Madison

Seriously, without technology, without modern education and advances, without any of the progaganda of today, these men saw 200 years into the future to tell you for what to look. These men are the ones that tell you "you need to know what's going on, you're smart enough to handle it". What are we told today by our government? Isn't our government growing to be exactly like the one they told us to either prevent or rise up against?

MARK, FLIPPANT, EWENT---OVER HERE

IF you were right, you'd be all three kinds of angles...instead, you are just acutely obtuse.

To all you morons that feel Assange should stand and face his accusers in a weak case of sexual misconduct and that he should be killed for espionage against the US---How do you feel about the pulling of the top US spy in Afghanistan? Shouldn't he have to stay and face his accusers?...He's accused of murder (which, in our country, is still a crime..unlike sex with a broken condom). Even our country is admitting he's a spy. Why then do we expect Assange to turn himself in when we pull our spy and keep him from facing his accusers for murder or espionage??!?!?! How do you like choking on that crow you hypocritical imbeciles. Now, you and our government have done even more to make the rest of us look as ignorant as you are.

Though I have tried to be polite and respect other viewpoints without labelling anyone stupid, I can no longer tolerate the absolute idiocy of your stance. Before, I read your collective comments and tried to weigh each side...Now, your comments only read..."BAAA...BAAA...BAAA".

More likely that a large corporation will hire someone to have him "wacked." We would like to prosecute him. That way we can get his co-conspirators too.

That too. Good call.

Rob99....Nah...The US knows a twerp when they see one. He's not worth the cost of taking him out. This little mouthpiece of the world will slip up. His ego has the better of him. The bigger the ego, the harder the fall.

The US might have him wacked? Not while the Libs are in power. Oblaba can't

even whack the Repubs. Under men like Nixon , perhaps he might be dead. But

those days for the CIA are over. Clinton saw to that. The CIA is a boys and girls

club with DADT occupying their desks and the Lesbos running amok. American

society is infiltrated and subverted by this social disease which seems to be

the central attention of the security services. Is this the war on terror? Arguing

about a social disease?

Assange won't get whacked by the government - by US corporations is a different story... "Hello, Blackwater.... want to take a trip to merry old England?"

Al---I'm curious...You think Assange would be dumb enough to leak on Blackwater? Interesting take on it though. Thanks.

So true. Assange will not leak anything on Russia, Israel, China or any other countries who will send out hit squads on him. He is a worthless POS and I hope he trips up soon. As for Michale Moore, he is shown his true colors. He is not an American in my opinion. I wonder if he feels he should give up his cash for the underpriviledged? I doubt it. As soon as his lawyers realize he is washed up, they will advise him to move to a tax haven country and live the life of any good, liberal Hollywood type.

Isn't it funny when Sarah Palin agrees with Lieberman and Barbara Boxer?

Isn't it funny when the most conservative voting Republican congressman since 1937 agrees with Michael Moore?

The party establishment is the same coin. You can root for heads - you can root for tails - but in the end, you have but one coin. It's always been this way. But it's fun to keep people rooting for heads or for tails rather than to expose the fact that everybody has a bad penny.

JUven: Quite blaming everything on liberals. It is the liberals who would love to have him "gone" and I don't think I'm any different than other liberals. We love helping our fellow men/women, so I would love to help him out of this world.

JuvenBachan: "

The CIA is a boys and girls

club with DADT occupying their desks and the Lesbos running amok. American

society is infiltrated and subverted by this social disease which seems to be

the central attention of the security services. Is this the war on terror? Arguing

about a social disease?" So being anything other than the norm is being part of the social disease. Kind of a bigot statement there. I do agree that Jullian has a date with a bullet, blade,etc. But to say that this government is incapable ok taking care of him is short sited. We can call in a few favors to the isreallie's. btw sorry for the bad spelling.

You guys are great..."leaking on Blackwater"..."Blackwater taking him out"...To be honest, Blackwater has nothing to hide....everything they do, they are HIRED to do...The US government certainly doesn't want anyone to leak on Blackwater because they have been a tool of the US government. Blackwater would have no problem providing documentation to attest to it. Blackwater take him out? LOL...Look, Blackwater is going to get paid and they don't really care who foots the bill. Unless someone hires them to take out Assange, he is someone else's problem. And if all this BS is to be believed and Blackwater is so effective, why haven't they gotten Bin Laden? Or have they? Certainly by not finding Bin Laden, we have a continued ruse to occupy Afghanistan. After we have him, what excuse do we have to be there? To flush out all "terrorists"? The only way too crush all terrorists is to subvert any and all peoples to the point of tryanny.

I swear that when I read these posts, I feel like I walked into a strip bar the size of Rhode Island...what a collection of boobs.

Rumor has it OBL has been dead since 2001. We won't "find" him. It's a farce, in my opinion.

JuvenBachan... you are the social disease spreading hate and allowing injustices to be committed against perfectly good honest people who have done nothing to hurt you. Perhaps you should take your head out of the bible you so clearly hold dear to you and actually start to understand whats going on around you rather than just accepting a man's interpretation of another man's words, and saying it's the word of God is complete and utter ridiculousness

Indy Patriot:

There have been videos of bin laden talking about current events. Unless he can predict the future, I think it's pretty obvious he's still alive.

OBL was receiving kidney dialysis before he disappeared. Many experts have said it is not OBL and that it is a body double. While I can neither prove nor refute either stance, a dead OBL is a stance that bears weight given the fact he was already quite sick and receiving dialysis. Not sure how long people generally make it once they start receiving dialysis...everyone I've known has not lasted long. However, I am sure there are exceptions especially for one with the means OBL had at his disposal.

EddieTheKid...Actually, that's not quite accurate. Unless British government has changed radically, their concept has always been guilty until proven innocent. In most countries, that's the judicial posturing. Remember, Britain isn't a democracy. It's a monarchy. Their judiciary is different as a result.

At least the British still believe in the concept that a man is innocent until proven guilty.

Denying or allowing bail has nothing to do with guilt or innocence. It is about determining the likelihood that someone will try to flee and avoid the trial and potential punishment. Obviously someone who spends the majority of their life sneaking around and in hiding presents a legitimate risk of flight; allowing him bail was stupid.

Back country...Thank you. And, though they are loathe to admit it, Assange has flown from one country to another avoiding Sweden's hunt for him. If he isn't guilty of those charges in Sweden, why run? And if he's not guilty why drag himself into a mess with Swedish government? Those charges in Sweden are old...the proof of his flight is how well he was able to avoid being found by Sweden.

dragula...My son lives in Sweden...I think I know what he tells me about the laws of Sweden. I work with a Brit. I think I know what he tells me about Brit law....Now...Give me a reason why Assange won't go to Sweden and fight for his rights. And not that BS about how the US will extradite him. I don't think the US considers him anything more than pond scum. Our military may have a very different opinion, however. He did exploit one of their own for his own self-important purposes. I imagine if I were military, Assange wouldn't be Poster Boy of the Month.

Eddiethe kid-----as Bugs Bunny would say "what a maroon". He isn't on trial yet---only trying to establish whether he's a fight risk to the point of having bail denied until the extradition proceedings are done. He is, however, charged with serious crimes back in Sweden and justice would demand he have to go back and answer those charges. You'd think he would want to clear his "good" name. LOL. Hey, as far as what he's done to the saftey and security of our nation isn't even a question to the sane mind----he freely admits it and is quite boastful and arrogant about it.

Actually, your country had the concept of torturing and denying the rights of free people long before this Wikileaks episode. It was the atrocities committed against the American colonists in the 1700s. Perhaps if you knew history in depth instead of getting all your "facts" off the internet you would have already known this. Also, freedom and irresponsible license are two different things. Revealing anything that might hurt another person who is innocent is wrong. What about the freedoms of the people hurt by this? Your freedom to swing your fist ends where my nose begins. Assange is an eventual threat to your freedoms as well, if only you were intelligent enough to see where things like this reach their conclusion. Whose pockets do you think the millions spent prosecuting and defending this piece of trash come out of. Every penny spent will be paid eventually by the taxpayers, whether in England, Sweden, or America, because thats where everything is financed. I'm sure there are many "cheaper" ways to shut this guy up.

dragula....You're getting desperate for the upperhand...Not going to happen. My son's married to a Swede. He's lived there for 12 years. What's your knowledge of Swedish law?

Swedish prosecutors have refined their claim because they realize few outside Sweden understand what really defines their laws. Sweden isn't the US. I'm sure with all your research that's totally pro-Assange, you didn't bother to check out how long Assange has avoided Swedish law for his crime? You might want to stop trying to minimize a law breaker's culpability just to prove you are right and the rest of the world is wrong.

You can't win an argument just because you want to. You either prove me wrong on Swedish law or you accept your loss like a man. Or...woman..whichever.

dragula...My son lives in Sweden...I think I know what he tells me about the laws of Sweden. I work with a Brit. I think I know what he tells me about Brit law....Now...Give me a reason why Assange won't go to Sweden and fight for his rights. And not that BS about how the US will extradite him. I don't think the US considers him anything more than pond scum. Our military may have a very different opinion, however. He did exploit one of their own for his own self-important purposes. I imagine if I were military, Assange wouldn't be Poster Boy of the Month.

I'm intrigued...what do you know about British law? You already think us a monarchy rather than a democracy, which, if taken literally, I suppose we are, even though the monarch has no power. "Figurehead" I believe is the best way to describe her.

Is all criticism of American policy anti-American? Because if you were to criticise, for example, the release of Al-Megrahi, then I wouldn't think you anti-British.

Just so we're clear, American friends, any criticism of your government isn't directed at your people. You lot are really friendly. Also, I don't particularly think my government is much better, nor my country.

We do have a monarchy...which is, gladfully, toothless. We don't chuck it because apparently the elders of my country like them. I'd like to see them disposed of.

yeah, just like they released the convicted killer that blew up the plane and killed hundreds at Lockerbie for compassionate grounds...

what are you thinking? or do you live in a hole?

eddie, politics was nasty well before the last two Presidents. Wikileaks just isn't helping our case much. Our government and a few others are trying to silence the guy before he does any more damage. The guy isn't newsworthy apart from the fact he posts information on what amounts to the back alley of wikipedia. The media just blew it and the political effects of his attention-mongering into a much much larger deal. On the plus side, they caught the traitor who provided the info. On the minus side, the digital tabloids continue.

Yeah I think anybody who hides from authorities for weeks should be granted bail. I think since England believe that people are inncoent until proved guilty should grant bail for all acused, not just this ferrie.

Give bail to molester's, murderer's, rapist's...what the heck huh.

@Smallstuff, when he first came to England he notified authorities of his location and gave contact information. When the prosecution produced an actual UK arrest warrant he turned himself in.

Also, it's not just England that believes people are innocent until proven guilty. It's part of American law too. The burden of proof is on the accuser.

Eddie, we don't torture or throw people in prisons due their political beliefs. You are so miguided. Next time just stay in you mama's basement, clean your underwear and stay of of the net. All it does for you is make paraniod. We don't witch hunt anyone. Wikileaks is a group hell bent destorying our great counrty not help and they are traiters. Also they are not protected by our constitution, not citizens.

towerboy: America has more prisons and prisoners than Russia, China, North Korea, Cuba and Iran combined...now why do you think that is? There are political crimes, and then there are disguised political crimes. Either way, we have a tyranny.

EddietheKid is a notorious "spreader of the crapola", regardless of topic. I've encountered it on other postings, and it's kind of like a train-wreck...you don't wanna look at the ensuing mess but just can't help yourself.

Rock, crawl back under.

Pater, well said.

Dragula, I think you're losing ground and credibility...in huge chunks.

ewent...The UK is no longer a monarchy, the queen has no real rule over the people, she is just the face of the country not the head of state. The UK uses a form of goverment known as the Westminster System , similiar to a Parlimentary Democracy. More information about it can be found here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_the_United_Kingdom

He hasn't been charged with espionage or terrorism yet. The court could only consider the rape charges against him. We are talking 3rd degree rape, the lowest offense of the type. He is a significant flight risk, so I'm a bit confused. The judge has better hope that Assange doesn't flee or his career is absolutely over.

I'm an American, and WikiLeaks is no threat to my safety.

In fact, truth from any source is not a threat to me.

Those who advocate violence, even if atypically, and outside of the 'so called justice system' are actually the threat to America, even the world.

Well, there are folks who think "hang 'em" is the solution for everything.

Assange has saved lives and billions of dollars. If you can't hang him for that, what's the point of having all this rope?

Well you are definitely not in the military, otherwise it would be a threat to your security. But what do you care right?

I would say it's a case of 'a fox being in the henhouse'; these documents didn't leak themselves, there's an insider(s)....

So, breach of security is only in the fact that there's a traitor(s) within the government. It's difficult to say that our security is weak, when some of those responsible for said security are criminal. A Brinks truck driver can decide one day...

I'm a military veteran, Driver. I care because this is my home. I care because 53,000 men and women died in VietNam for a lie, and some of them were my friends. I speak because they are not able.

Freedman...I agree with you. There are some on this thread who have absolutely no knowledge of the enormous importance diplomacy plays for our country. Without it, everyone outside the US is an enemy. The American military are our most treasured diplomats.

But, the real problem with this turdbird Assange is the damage he will do to diplomacy between our allies. Diplomacy is always a fragile issue. Holbrook knew that and many other of our government diplomats know that.

I'm an American, and WikiLeaks is no threat to my safety.

In fact, truth from any source is not a threat to me.

Those who advocate violence, even if atypically, and outside of the 'so called justice system' are actually the threat to America, even the world.

Freedman, every so often, I see a quote that I want to frame and hang on my wall. Yours is one of them.

You go , Boutlaw.

dragula...Tell you what...Go to Sweden. Go and get a few babes and have unprotected sex and see how fast you end up in jail for rape. I've already posted why Sweden considers Assange's actions rape. You can't rubber stamp American laws on rape for other countries. What's considered rape here in the US, isn't in Arab countries as an example. There's no laws on spousal rape in certain Muslim countries, depending on the predominance of the sect in control.

@dragula

Assange is wanted not for allegations of rape, as previously reported, but for something called "sex by surprise," which involves a fine of 5,000 kronor or about $715.

So why is he running if it’s just a small fine? Why the hell does he need a “defense fund”? Only the conspiracy kooks think the US has any ability to extradite him. The US hasn’t even charged him with anything. If it’s as small a thing as you claim, it seems to me he could just return to Sweden, plead guilty, pay his fine and be gone before the US could blink an eye. Instead he runs around inciting all of the radicals. Why? OH that’s right, I almost forgot, he makes a boatload of money by conning all of the liberal sheeple into supporting him. If he stopped running and hiding the money would stop coming in. If he returned to Sweden and the sheeple discovered the US had no power to touch him what incentive would they have to fund his anti US government rhetoric?

running is an incorrect word for this case

He’s fighting extradition to avoid what you consider to be a trivial thing; use whatever word you choose.

also its pretty tough to profit without paypal visa and mastercard

Paypal has been around for 10 years, credit cards since the mid 50’s; before that I guess we were living in caves? Just because something is not ridiculously over-easy does not make it “tough”. Aside from that it has only been what, 10 days since they cut him off? An arrest warrant was issued for him in late August, if it were no big deal or total BS as he claims he could have dealt with it then. Instead he’s been RUNNING (and crying boo-hoo help poor little me) for more than 3 months collecting money from his PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard accounts the VAST majority of that time. Aside from that there is already a whole host of liberals digging into their pockets right now to pay his bail. And when he does get out where is he going while he awaits the hearing? A mansion on a 600-acre estate. Yeah, since paypal stopped taking donations (they did release what was already in the account) he’s been just scrapping by on peanuts.

ps isnt the term sheeple reserved for conservatives.

No, people on the far left are led about by socialists just as easily as those on the far right are led about by zealots. There’s just a heck of a lot fewer people on the far left so it gets easily overlooked. But we can useyou as an example, you honestly believe that this guy is some sort of persecuted do-gooder when he’s obviously nothing more than a glory hound trying to stretch his 15 minutes and make a decent profit in the process.

My oh my the Alaska Farmer responds;

I swore an oath 56 years ago (1954) to defend this great nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I took that oath, bled my blood and took the bullets that came with it. It doesn't matter who was the president -- it's still my country damn it. This country has a constitution charging it with this job and for better or worse it does it far better than any country on earth.

In war, big and little business, romance, and world affairs, truth is a casualty and is accepted by the world community. To think otherwise is not only retarded thought, but juvenile or prompted by a few too many tokes of grass smoked. Idealism belongs in the physiologic work shop never in the world as we know it because there is no switch to be turned on that changes all mankind in a instant --- too become all truthful at once so to speak. Man's law only works when all men from all sides recognize it --- we all must obey nature's law, survival of the fittest. With no exceptions allowed.

When @!$%#s such as Assange and traitors such as Manning side their selves with the enemy then they become my enemy and threaten every man, woman and child in this nation. They sided with our enemies when they revealed only the records of the USA not the other side, if they had revealed all sides equally we would be armpit deep in WWIII.

Before this all shakes out, hundreds if not thousands of our friends (Informants) will die and their blood will drench the bodies of Manning and Assange, because it was them who shifted the target unto America's true heroes and their families. If given the chance I will pee on Manning and Assange's graves.

As always, the cost of freedom goes up when those whose brilliant egos blot out the vision of a free country.

Our happy Wiki leak followers blinded by the dust kicked up by their actions fail to realize they stoned to death tens of thousands of mom and pop investors in the money market business who invested to save a little towards retirement. If the financial institution goes down, so do the investors. Guess A & M are happy Stalinist now.

Always remember unintended actions always follow the shallow thoughts of the idealist hidden behind so-called great ideals. Joe Stalin was one of those who ignited the greatest mass murder and enslavement of people the world has ever known.

May their treasonous soul rot in hell; until it does may a rabid Rattlesnake chew on their collective crotches. Only then will they swell up and fill the oversize coat of the zealous hero painted by Manning and Assange's supporters.

your post is clearly a rant with no reference to facts, just your personal, albeit misinformed opinion.

ROTFLMAO!!Just because you choose to ignore something doesn’t mean it’s not factual.

a true American patriot would want to seek truth, all others are nothing more than dog sh!t under the feet of our constitution.

OMG! You are too much! What the F does “truth” have to do with the constitution? For cryin’ out loud the word never appears once in the constitution. There isn’t anything in the constitution that says our government has to tell us everything. Do you have a clue what you’re talking about or are you just one of those who wave the flag only so as to be seen doing so? And guess what nimrod, since when is keeping a secret the same thing as being untruthful? Why don’t you share your CC numbers in your next post since you believe everyone has the right to know everything? LOL!

ps I agree our gov will likely not extradite. however wouldn't logic suggest being prepared. you know with all the threats of extradition ect...

Threats? WTF are you talking about now? There has NEVER been any threat of extradition from the US. For Christ’s sake they haven’t even figured out if he can be indicted on any charges.

Your problem is that you believe all of Assange’s BS. You believe everything bad that’s happening to him is the result of pressure from the US just like he wants you to. Take you head out of your @ss and look at the facts you accuse everyone else of lacking. This guy is taking you for a ride while people like me sit and laugh at your ignorance. “The truth is slowly being revealed” LOL, yeah a bunch of US diplomats had less than flattering personal evaluations of foreign dignitaries. Thank God we know that now! I’ll certainly sleep better tonight. Too friggin’ funny!!!

first of all guilty till proven Innocent is "french" not British which is Innocent til proven guilty (not to be confused with American law which is " guilty until you buy or lie your way out!")

second look at the "charges" from Sweden (the vague form changes everyday ) I can't real blame him for believing it's less about his sexual activities then a smear campaign

third look at the info that was leaked in this last few rounds of leaks how many troops do you think are going too be endangered by the public knowing that a certain world leader likes his nurses attractive and Ukrainian or that us diplomatic staff might have been asked to spy on un staff now ask how come drivel like this has politicians in a heat (i still think when you get to the end of these leaks we'll find document stating which big companies and groups own which politicians (maybe we can pass a law requiring them to where patches denoting sponsorship))

lastly i find it amazing that in the there are people that use the "government only keeps it in the dark so you can be free too bitch and moan" as a defense for government actions. for at least the last sixty years the government has been acting not from a need to protect the people but from a need too protect it patrons. take Cuba for example do you think (leaving the Russians missiles aside)that the us really cared about a tiny island political system as much as it cared that the revolution lost big business huge plantations and access too cheap labour pool and organized crime the country it controled in all but name

Assange and all of you Assanginites need your own (very remote) island.

Just because you choose to ignore something doesn't mean it's not factual.- what facts have you posted? pls supply link..

The house judiciary committee held a hearing to "look into the possibility" of whether or not Assange can be INDICTED. There has to be an indictment before there can be an extradition. The US has never threatened to extradite Assange. You want links to prove it; I'll look some up… Sorry, couldn't find any; turns out no one writes articles about things that never happened. Durrrrrr How about providing some links to your supposed threats?

http://www.iraqwarlogs.com/2010/10/23/us-commits-"war-crime"-as-apache-helicopter-cleared-to-gun-surrendering-insurgents/

And? What's your point exactly? People die in war, that's one of the reasons it sucks so much (again, durrrr). Earlier you were blathering about the constitution; please explain where in the constitution it says our government is obligated to give detailed accounts of every action of every soldier in every corner of the world. Please explain where it says that if the government, or some arm thereof, makes some terrible mistake they are obliged to take out front page ads in every newspaper detailing their mistake.

I asked you for your credit card number earlier, I'd also like a list of every accident you've ever been in. And I'd like to know what sort of movies you like to watch so please post your Netflix account info. What sort of grades did you get in school? Please post relevant documentation. Are you healthy? Have you always been? Please include a detailed medical history with your next post.

What? Not interested in living up to the same standard you hold your government to? Don't want the whole world to know every potentially embarrassing detail of your life. Don't want the whole world to know every mistake you've made? And yet you think the government is wrong for the same thing. So are you also a "bad guy" or just a hypocrite?

you are clearly just another sheeple feeding from the trough of our state run media..

LOL! I don't own a TV and the only time I listen to the radio is when my alarm goes off in the morning. The only "news" I occasionally bother with is from a variety of sources, foreign and domestic, online. As for "State run media" last time I checked the media was run by the left, isn't that your crowd?

you are obviously lacking reading and comprehension skills, so I will try to dumb things down a bit for you.

I have been reading some of your past posts and this is pretty much your standard response to all of the people who disagree with you. Have you stopped to consider that perhaps there are soooo many who do disagree with you is because it is in fact YOU who are the one who lacks comprehension skills?

On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee in the U.S. Congress held hearings on the possibility of extradition for WikiLeaks founder Assange under the Espionage Act.

Here's you problem (well, one of several anyway) you obviously only read the headlines. The committee was held to discuss the "legal and constitutional issues raised by wikileaks". Here is a video if you care to watch-http://www.c-span.org/flvPop.aspx?src=60days/e121610_wikileaks.flv&msg=You+are+watching+the+C-SPAN+Networks+LIVE&start=11.52&end=-1. The hearing was NOT to specifically determine whether or not Assange should be extradited, as you erroneously believe.

for anyone with more than two brain cells firing this would be threatening

Correction- For anyone with ONLY two brain cells firing this would be threatening because anyone with MORE than two brain cells could look past the headlines and actually go directly to the source for accurate information.

we try to hold govs all over the world accountable for war crimes, but when its us we try to hide it

Ok, I get it now. When someone does something you agree with they are being persecuted unfairly but when it is something you oppose it is automatically a crime without regard to the actual letter of the law. In other words you believe you are the ultimate judge of right and wrong and anyone who disagrees with you is an idiot.

you cant just read ppls comments and believe that to be news..

Yawn, you're grasping at straws now in an effort to discredit me in your own narrow mind. Obviously there are a variety of legitimate news sources, worldwide, on the net. You mock people for getting info from the "state run media" but you also mock them when they tell you they get their info from other sources. And you think other people are idiots; you have a mirror in your house right?

We have a right, an obligation, to know what sh!t our gov is doing in our name

Is that a fact? Why don't you show us all EXACTLY what gives us that right? Oh I'm sorry, I forgot, YOU are the ultimate judge of what is right and wrong. YOU are the one who is allowed to rewrite the constitution to suit your wants and desires. Hate to break it to you genius, but NOWHERE in the constitution of the United States does it say that the people have the right to "know what sh!t our gov is doing". Like it or leave it. In your case I think most people would agree that "leave it" should be the option you choose. Good riddance.

Perhaps Mr. Assange should just keep it in his pants from now on and he can avoid this type of problem. Or better yet, he should learn the definitions of the words no and stop.

The ones commenting vilely stating he should be assassinated, hopefully, will prevent Jullian Assange from ever being extradited to the USA ... they are proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that the far right wing here in America will ensure he CAN NOT receive a fair trial here which is a violation of his human rights. No country will extradite him under those conditions.

Mark Fettig....Persecuted? When you steal information that can damage relations between countries and then broadcast it to the world? What's the matter the little turdbird couldn't find anything interesting to diss on bin Laden?

Why not just put the nails in his hands and feet, that way his supporters can worship him for a purpose and not some phoney baloney support that is based on illegalities.

Hi Differnet - glad to see you doing well today.

Recycled Hope - great name - we have seen these very same methods repeated by the very same blue-blood groups since the Indian days, Our hideous slave treatment, even the treatment of the non-whites ever since. But since the rulings that it is illegal to discriminate against race, sex, age and religion, it seems we have become discriminatory against everyone, no?

Ewent - I think our gov would like to have that information, so they can prove their case - theft; the unlawful taking of property, depriving the owner of use - I believe the goc can still access these files, and since the property itself was only copied, it isn't property, and falls under the guise of cloning, which is only illegal when it comes to the cloning of people (because so few are of the 'proper' quality to be cloned (perfect)...Thanks for the oportunity to fire it off.

What we are experiencing here are the typical tactics of "Persecutors" who prefer to be called "Prosecutors" .. Incredible distortions of the truth to achieve their goal.

Rarely does the truth have anything to do with a trial, it's all about show, and the "Persecutor" has as a primary drive his own interest at hand, all he cares about is CONVICTIONS to increase his own job opportunity and advancement. One need to look at a former New York governor, who gained his fame through prosecutions, and his ultimate downfall to understand.

We have at least two individuals here that are going to batter us with distortions of facts, to display these distortions to all that read this commentary in hopes, they can cloud the issues.

Regardless of your viewpoint of wikileaks, most of you, unless you are evil, have a desire for fairness, and can debate a subject without having to resort knowingly to disingenuous, and inflamitory statements, and "hammering" your opposition.

With the exception of the "provocateurs" (puppets of others here for their masters) I accept the majority here to earnestly believe in the position they espouse, and respect persons that are passionate in that representation.

That is what we are here for ....a debate .. not to have to reply to personal attacks of those who simply want to establish a "false" sense of what the facts are.

To respond to personal attacks only gives the attacker the floor, to continue their diatribe, serving no useful purpose in the discussion ... I choose to ignore them.

I have researched this subject and have not knowingly misrepresented any portion of what I have stated .

moonbeamracer,

You make several valid points. Good post.

I would ask you this though. You state that prosecutors have their own interests as a primary goal. Wouldn't you say that defense attorneys have the same goal? Instead of convictions, they want "not guilty" verdicts so that they can increase their own job opportunities don't they? Defense attorneys are just as likely to use "incredible distortions of the truth" to achieve their own goals.

I am not saying that prosecutors don't do the same thing. I am merely pointing out that both sides of the legal aisle engage in the same kind of sordid tactics.

As for the facts and those that wish to distort them, I would say that there are those on both sides of the debate who could be accused of that. It is regrettable, but unfortunately true.

Recycled, Assange himself bears responsibility for any real or perceived inability to receive a fair trial, no matter what the locaton. He's conducted himself in a manner that will almost always lead those on the outside looking in to assume he has something to hide.

My gosh, it's really sad that many in this country, and the world in general are so starved for a hero figure that they turn to this clown. There are people around who are deserving of your praise and admiration...surely you can find someone more worthy. You most likely will have to get your head out of the "Wiki" stories to see one however.

Brad....American law on rape is far less complex than in Sweden. I'll give you an example...How many American men have been arrested for refusing to have unprotected sex under our laws that define rape? Not many, if any at all.

In Sweden, which is a very liberal country regarding sex, they try to reduce the amount of STDs which cost the government and people more money for treatment because they have universal healthcare in that country. So, under their rape laws, a single guy who goes around planting himself prodigously without proper protection can be convicted of rape. In the eyes of the Swedes, a man who would endanger the lives of others because he refuses to obey the Swedish laws regarding sex with partners, is considered a rapist.

Maybe not in the eyes of Americans, but in the eyes of Swedes, he's a rapist.

Freedom of speech? Exactly what is freedom of speech? The ability to voice my opinion and thoughts? I don't believe I've seen anyone's freedom to voice their own opinions and thoughts taken from them in any area. Stealing and distributing even freely is not a freedom of speech. The ability to voice freely whether you support a spy is freedom of speech. To be the spy or in league with a spy is not freedom of speech. Myself, I choose not to support a spy regardless what country they are from including our own when they are caught.

@Mikela

Stealing and distributing even freely is not a freedom of speech.

Assange didn't steal those cables, he was given them. Still could be considered receiving stolen property. But even that is still being debated.

We can assume he played no role in stealing them as well as we can assume the military traitor was not a member of his wikileaks memberships. But should further investigations expose any prior connection between the traitor and Assange, then he also becomes an abettor to the espionage.

TamL...Who gave them to Assange? Did the giver have permission to do so? Devil in details...as always.

Dragula...You have no idea what you are talking about. If you think you can revert the Swedish laws to suit, go ahead and try. If Assange's lawyer doesn't know what the charges are, how effective is he then? And, let's not pretend that feigning ignorance of a crime is brand new to the justice systems around the globe. You are grabbing at straws and they are all too too short.

@Ewent You can't accuse Assange of stealing, only of receiving stolen property maybe. PFC Manning ( however based on the volume I am almost sure there were others involved) is the person who stole the cables and gave them to Assange. Though he is recanting now, he bragged online that he was responsible.

This is not a 1st amendment issue. First, he is not American so he is not protected under our constitution. Second, these communications were stolen and considered espionage. How would you like someone to worm their way into your personal communications and splash them over the internet?

isolation...Get real. The Americans who helped WikiLeaks broke the law. We don't allow our military personnel to sell information to foreigners. Where's the violation of their free speech come in there?

Free speech isn't absolute. It has responsibility. All freedoms do. Assange is too stupid to know this. So, he takes it upon himself to enjoy extreme limits of these freedoms without any circumspection of his responsibility.

Call someone a racial epithet in this country and see how free your speech will be.

correct me if i am wrong--a gay military guy sold secrets to a foreign guy named Assanger?---but if what i have read is true--this assanger guy says that all of the leaked info has been sent to over a hundred mirror sites and if he is arrested or goes to prison these sites will automatically release ALL of the leaked info---seems like ehxtortion/blackmail to me---I view this guy as a terrorist--and recommend treating him as such--make such an example out of this guy that his Mirror sites will be to scared of reprocussions and will run quicker than the Brits in the revolutionary war.

Tired..."I view this guy as a terrorist--and recommend treating him as such"...this means we get to send him to Gitmo and he gets to meet (meat) Big Bob! Fitting, very fitting.

Just a reminder, he can't be tried for treason, he is Australian not American.

And Australia, being a strong ally of the United States as well as a leading coalition member of both Iraq and Afghanistan also have the jurisdiction to promote treason laws against Assange should they decide they have grounds to do so.

mikela, here is what Australia's foreign minister has to say --

"Mr Assange is not himself responsible for the unauthorised release of 250,000 documents from the US diplomatic communications network. The Americans are responsible for that." --Kevin Rudd

Interesting because Rudd was himself a former Prime Minister and Mr. Rudd was dismissed in one leaked US cable as a "mistake-prone control freak".

I agree. We should be looking into why the information was able to be leaked in the first place.

Driver95...Why was it leaked in the first place? The article clearly states why...money. These days Americans are so desperate for wealth, they compromise their own sense of ethics and morals to get that last nickle. Sad commentary on personal values.

Ewent ...

Show proof, any hard evidence, that money exchanged hands, for any of these documents ... There is not a shred of evidence that even implies, that any money has been paid!

You have just lost all credibility in my eyes for any statement you make !

Moonbeam, please go ahead and add me to your "no credibility in my eyes" list.

I see the crap you spew in a lot of posts as well, and I figure being on your Sh*tlist can do nothing but actually raise my credibility with anyone who actually employs a little common sense before posting. Thanks in advance for the boost.

Tired..."I view this guy as a terrorist--and recommend treating him as such"...this means we get to send him to Gitmo and he gets to meet (meat) Big Bob! Fitting, very fitting.

If this is what you consider credibility and common sense, you're on my list as well, lonestar.

Do you have anything to contribute to this discussion or are you just "spew"ing empty statements?

cooch, truth brings fear only to the cowardly.

Who lies for you will lie against you.

cooch...I don't know who YOU elect, but my representatives work hard for the people of my state (NJ). The problem in this country isn't the elected politicians....it's the people who elect them.

Florida and the whole world saw how politics is done there during the 2000 elections.Some of them do try and your right about the people they pick a party not a person .I've been a registered independent for 40 years and vote my mind not a parties desires

I disavow my right to be ignorant.

freedman1 I concur!

I'd like to know what my country is doing. I'm not afraid of a bit of information!

Thanks wikileaks, for being to us what the boston tea party was to the colonists!

nothing wrong with wanting to be informed--as long as it isnt a hazard to our troops abroad or compromises the safety of americans anywhere--or as long as the info isnt deemed classified or restricted..

your giving President Obama more power than he actually has he doe'nt control any media outlets special interest groups have that all locked up on both sides of the aisle

cooch...That is so correct. Some of the media moguls monsters admit they are ultra-conservatives like Zuckerman and Murdoch. What does it tell about a man like Murdoch when he admits he only became a US citizen because that's where the money is? It tells me that his basic values lie in how he can extract the most money from his ownership of American media. Why do we give citizenship to people like him? He has about as much loyalty to America as an Australian emu.

Somebody got to Amazon. Somebody got to the internet providers. Somebody has gotten to MSNBC. A bank ripping off $1.3 billion should be the story of the year... but it isn't.

Ask Bernie Maddoff how much he got.

Obama has the most powerful presidency in the history of the US. He expanded the Patriot Act even over how Bush had it... You know... no more judicial review of search and seizure... and the war powers act pretty much makes him able to wage war all by himself.

Both parties have cooperated with making the executive branch of government ever more powerful with each successive administration.

oops..that should be $137 million.. not 1.3 billion

Seems pretty straightforward to me. Just look at the guy, he obviously had no chance of getting laid before he became a household name all over the world. Before that he was just another fringe kook trying to make a living by airing other peoples dirty laundry. Now that he has world wide celebrity status fueling his God complex are you really surprised that he wouldn’t take no for an answer?

So apparently if you get some charges against you that haven't been proven you can rape women and people will consider you innocent because they want to get you on other charges. Damn

You mean the old" looks like he shot himself 15 times in the back of the head"? I love that one, and I would gladly help him achieve martyrdom

Bedfellows....

Michael Moore is one of the few true American Heroes and anybody who can't see that is an idiot.

And a disgusting Lib. Only the Democrats do such things. Bail the terrorists,

send them to paradise vacations etc.

Juven:Wrong oh wise one Bush let all the Bin Ladens leave here on a jet he provided before any could be questioned

cd08---michael moore is canadian not american

Michael Moore lived in Davison, Michigan (at one time) and was not well liked there.

Tired-2103560 - Don't put that on us.

We are all Norta Americanos, or gringos. And, I have heard Honkies. [So sorry Adam from Canada.] But, what is Michael Moore thinking? Is he thinking green?

Maybe this is an example of the right to be ignorant.

You RETARDS. Assange did not put our troops in danger (what a @!$%#ty card to play by the way). They are in danger because they joined the mother effen military not because some guy on the internet released info that out own government leaked.

The people that live OUR country and are US born are the real reasons you tards say "Our troops are in danger!"

Anyways like I said Assange didn't do this, the people who gave him the info did. Please stop playing the Troops are in danger cards that is complete bull@!$%#. Troops are ALWAYS in danger and this is because they are on hostile foreign land.

Freedman, perhaps you would like your personal emails, banking information, etc etc disseminated on the internet. Isn't that free speech by your definition? These communications were private and confidential - stolen by a disgruntled gay private who was probably bullied his whole life.

I do not understand

Key words.

You're completely right freedman1. This is definitely a good example of the right to be ignorant. Concern for our troops overseas. Excellent point there.

Lloyd, the expectation of privacy is an expectation of citizens, not governments.

I work for local government and I have been given a specific guideline not to put any inappoprinate contents in workplace emails for if under request, my emails will have to release to the public. freedman is correct. Many people don't quite understand this concept.
However in a modern real world situation I seriously doubt that our fed government can properly operate without keeping certain secrets. Far too often unfortunately government officials are doing things solely for personal gain and than put a classify stamp in the name of national security to cover up.
Where we draw the line?

MadaTx....I know what you mean. Two of the biggest Fortune 50 companies I worked for had their employees sign Confidentiality agreements and their upper management had to sign Non-comp agreements. So, keeping one's trap shut about certain information is not new...You are soooo right.

you are in the real world the u s a has no right over any other country nor control , so get use to it , America signed the Geneva articles of war , it dose not have the right to murder innocent people ,it doe not have the right to kill reporters ,these are war crimes which will be brought to bear on the u s a get use to the idear

Perhaps we should go by the hypothetical examples of what any other country on this planet might do to someone who throws around so much of their stolen classified information. Maybe they would give him a big ole sloppy kiss. Ya think?

Well, in China, the central government has the absolute power. Hence stolen, classified or not is irrelevant. When the government decided you are not allowed to talk about a certain topic than you are not allowed to, end of story. A good example is recently a dude actively protesting seeking compensation from those who produced posion baby milk power. He was convicted and sentenced in two years if I remember correctly. I wouldn't say the government is evil however. They let him out immediately for medial reason what so ever.
The Philosophy here and China is different. Here we encourage people to speak out, participate, to fight for your own interest in a peaceful and civil manner of course. In China, they don't want trouble makers. Stability is the highest piroity.