Wikileaks is still a big yawn. Freedom of speech / press is one thing worth fighting for, but governments have power because we give it to them on our behalf to protect our interests.
The ability to hack into and publish anything morally interesting or dubious is not itself a reason to do so, though the threat (ability) to do so is being used to force institutional change. Well, OK, but watch out for the collateral damage. With responsible press investigation, sure, publish what is relevant to the public interest – like the US military shooting of Iraqi Reuters journalists. Specific story with specific case (in the documentary).
Archive publishing – after the event – of war reports classified / secret in real time – is normal historical precedent. The bulk publishing of hacked material because it would otherwise be secret has nothing to do with freedoms. War is not new. War is hell. War fought with weapons of detached technology is even more inhuman. War is to be avoided. This is not news.
As Assange says himself – quoting Solzhenitsyn – one selected word of truth has most value. Mass hacking is still criminal. Wielding the power to hack anywhere anytime has unsurprisingly brought out the worst in the authorities charged with maintaining stable government. Wikileaks has chosen its own misguided ideological battleground. Governments should know better, but they are we. Perhaps Openleaks will understand that total disclosure is an impractical ideology for any organization that values human trust. We can only hope it will be over by Christmas.
Anyway, once the idiots have stopped posturing, the principal outcome will simply be tighter secrecy and less trust all round. Brilliant shot in the foot Julian. What next, the War on Wikis ?
Thanks to Johnnie Moore for the tweeted documentary link.
(BTW – can’t understand why he doesn’t just get on a plane and go to Sweden ?)
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