The CIA needs to hire him if he's not already on the payroll.
The CIA needs to hire him if he's not already on the payroll.
A nutcase will do nutty things.
Tons of these released documents were not of the "whistleblower" variety. They were simply documents meant to be private/privileged and not for public consumption. Leave it at that for a moment while I make a legal comparison...
Many famous people have emails (sound familiar?) that are hacked and/or stolen (sound familiar?). And then these emails are reproduced recklessly for public consumption (sound familiar?). There is no whistleblowing involved and it only served to embarrass the people in the emails.
MANY celebs, and almost in all cases where they fought back, have won their cases. And not only were the hackers/thieves busted and punished, but so were the sites that tried to reproduce the stolen documents. Cease and desists flow heavily and all attempts are made to retract the publishing, and even lawsuits, and many successful, are brought against the sites who solely republished the stolen materials. (sound familiar?)
These are purely looked at as thefts, and rightly so. But when someone does so towards a political person/entity that they don't care for, all of a sudden that theft somehow becomes A-ok. So take out all of the possible illegal things that were exposed via Wikileaks and the Assange/Manning connection. Those made up for a extremely small portion of the documents released. So what we're left with is stolen, private and confidential documents, reproduced for public consumption. Nothing illegal in the extreme overall majority of these documents and no "whistleblower" crap can remotely be connected.
A crime is a crime is a crime, and a thief is a thief.
“You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named "Bush", "Dick", and "Colin." Need I say more?” - Chris Rock
“You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named "Bush", "Dick", and "Colin." Need I say more?” - Chris Rock
Casino's hire the best cheats and con men.
A nutcase will do nutty things.
Oh gimme a break Jim. This isn't about justice, it's about power. Information is power; and assange upset the overhelmingly superior advantage the us govt has. If justice were the mantra of the us government, we'd of paid reparations to Nicaragua over the contra affair; instead we enjoyed the veto power (our's, the sole vote against) of the icj's determination. What's that you said earlier about the accused bing able to determine the validity of charges???
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the purpose of checks and balances to limit the over zealous agencies of govt; not those who oppose their actions or undermine that zeal.
The exposé of government actions against people to the public being interpreted as subversive of democracy reaks of authoritarianism.
I don't discount the authority of the UK to do so; of course they can. He with the greatest power to enforce the rules is in no way bound by them-- that's what assange exposed. But don't try to sell the state's authority as righteous or just; when it's plainly about the power to impose their will.
Last edited by logroller; 08-19-2012 at 08:10 PM.
He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.AeschylusRead more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/qu...zeMUwcpY1Io.99
Quite frankly, no breaks given, and I don't care what you or anyone "think". The FACT is, both Assange and Manning committed crimes. One is incarcerated and awaiting his day in court, the other is fleeing rather than having his day in court. The fact that they both stole is indisputable, and that makes them criminals. So I'll say "oh, gimme a break logroller" and realize that if someone commits a crime, they need to answer to the courts and have justice determine guilt or innocence. Regardless of his motives or what a great guy you all think he is, he conspired to steal and further disseminated stolen, and confidential arguments. With all the major legalities aside, they are guilty of theft, and this isn't of the petty theft variety. And just as I don't think Obama/Holder should be allowed to avoid the justice system over the Fast and Furious debacle, I don't think these guys should get to avoid the justice system. And then the netx time someone commits a major crime, and some feel he/she did it for noble reasons, it just snowballs. Sorry, a lot of you guys come up on the end of supporting criminals at times, and thinking their intent should absolve them from the law.
We have a justice system, and it's been said many times that it isn't perfect, but it's the best we have. Well, it's the worst we have when we feel certain people are above the law, and based on the feelings of the people determining, they may or may not have to answer for crimes.
I will be sure to shoot out to some of you guys though if I ever get busted for a crime, a good character reference about what a nice criminal I am would be helpful!
“You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named "Bush", "Dick", and "Colin." Need I say more?” - Chris Rock
People forget just how important it is for justice to be blind! We may feel for the guy that steals to feed his family but it doesnt not void the crime of stealing that he did. In this case nothing so noble as sacrificing ones freedom/security to feed starving children. The two culprits both acted out of personal beliefs/desires to usurp aothority in order to give authority/power to a different entity, not for some grand ideal of justice but for personal reasons. They are not heroes but rather closer to self-absorbed zeroes that caused great harm and Im sure a few deaths even.-Tyr
18 U.S. Code § 2381-Treason Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
Bull .. Manning should be shot!! Assange should either be shot or jailed for life. The destruction their actions have caused , very likely even deaths to undercover agents(especially ours) should insure that Manning be shot! Give him his day in court , if he is found to be guilty , pronounce execution of death by firing squad and I'd do it for free.. He is a certified traitor! A man either has principles and loyalty or he doesnt! Every true traitor of every stripe should suffer immensely. His was no noble act and it is silly as hell to declare it so IMHO.-Tyr
18 U.S. Code § 2381-Treason Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
The matter with lawmakers, and whether a case should be made against anything exposed, is another matter. And if crimes were committed, those people too should face justice. But like you said above, Assange committed a crime in doing so. There's no such thing as a law being overlooked based on intent. And lets not forget the hundreds of thousands of documents released that exposed nothing criminal at all, but were still stolen.
“You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named "Bush", "Dick", and "Colin." Need I say more?” - Chris Rock
“You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named "Bush", "Dick", and "Colin." Need I say more?” - Chris Rock