It's pretty clear this is a huge witchhunt. I wouldn't side with assange as some of the stuff he has done is questionable, but this whole nonsensical effort to extradite him has a singular target: to scare off future leakers. Same with snowden - he's hundredfold proven right and has contributed not just to global security but also to hold the US gov to account. But of course the US can't tolerate any challenge to their way of running the show.
China, the US, Russia - these are all today just autocracies with an elite serving itself. The US has a chance to get back to sanity as its democracy is still not fully gone, but this whole duopoly of two nearly identical parties that only disagree over a few issues (both would be on a European political spectrum on the far right) prevents any real questioning/challenge of the status quo.
> If Wikileaks was as altruistic about shedding light on the evils of the world, why haven’t they published anything about China, or about Russia? The most darkest of crony governments whose mobster antics and anti free policies keep an iron grip on their power and through silence, let their influence spread.
It's not illegal to tarnish and smear the diplomacy of the United States. If it's legal to release the documents, then there is certainly no requirement that documents must be release about other countries. So the only question is whether it is legal to release these specific documents. He could even be biased (which of course he is since everyone is), and that still wouldn't matter.
> If what he is doing is free and innocent, then defend your actions in court. I have no sympathy of someone who uses freedom as a shield to defend being a possible agent for other countries hostile to freedom.
Typically the American government uses legalistic methods to deal with leakers and "traitors". The Russians are well known for being far more likely to use less easily defeated methods like radioactive substances etc. The hazards are quite different between the powers.
"If Wikileaks was as altruistic about shedding light on the evils of the world, why haven’t they published anything about China, or about Russia?"
Just so I understand, it's your contention that Wikileaks chooses to release nothing about Russia or China?
If, hypothetically speaking, this were demonstrated to be untrue - meaning, that Wikileaks were demonstrated to be at least as critical of, and damaging to, the interests of China and Russia - would you be prepared to change your mind about Wikileaks?
The practice I abhor is releasing a SWATH of documents, not intended for public consumption which are more akin to ideas in infancy and leaving it out there for people to form opinions on with no context. Having other nations documents released would be a start to why America acted a certain way Or said certain things.
this practice of bulk releasing is tarnishing to diplomacy around the world, what’s even worse is when Wikileaks only targets the western world and its allies.
US is not equal to western. Also, Rest of the World don't do dirty things and hide behind a saint front. All Bad shit China is doing is out in open and is having tribunals in International Courts. Even Nobel Peace Prize is given to a Chinese Whistle Blower, I haven't heard China awarding any Western Whistle Blower.
So a country gets a bulk of information dropped with no context and cannot respond while it has its proverbial pants down while a country that assassinates whistleblowers is ignored. I fail to share your enthusiasm.
Similar comments are written by citizens of China and Russia - assuming their own government is an unquestionable force for good, simply because they were born there.
I miss the time when this kind of low-analysis drivel was not on the Internet, and was relegated to family gatherings, etc. When we could still hope that as more people found forward-looking hangouts, this type of lazy ignorance would give way to intelligent discussion. Now these nationalistic propaganda ruminants eat up all the energy in the discussion (every.single.time.), and it's clear they aren't going away.
I, for one, am glad that the dirty laundry of the US army and government is out. These documents all show how dangerous and violent the US really is, even to their own allies, and leaks from other sources have done nothing but confirm that.
How can you expect Assange to leak documents from China and Russia? Just because he has someone on the inside in the US doesn't mean he's got dirt on every other country in the world. Whataboutism doesn't help anyone's case against Assange.
This entire extradition theater is little more than the US trying to cover up for getting caught. The fabrication of rape charges shows that there's no way he's going to get any fair trial. When he will eventually get to defend his actions in court, his fate is already sealed.
The damage wikileaks has done to the US is self-inflicted, really. It you don't want people to get mad at you for massacring an Afghan wedding, for spying on your allies and even on your own citizens, don't blame the whistle-blowers. Those things shouldn't have happened in the first place.
> If Wikileaks was as altruistic about shedding light on the evils of the world, why haven’t they published anything about China, or about Russia?
We should first determine if they had any comparable material about China or Russia and if this came from credible whistleblowers. Wikileaks for sure had at hand material supplied by US personnel working in the US Army and intelligence agencies. I would guess that being able to obtain material of similar value by whistleblowers of verifiable credibility from China or Russia would have been extremely hard.
It is not WikiLeaks' prerogative to have sources in every country.
And as mentioned by several on this thread, they have, in fact, published documents about China and Russia, so that whataboutery was pointless as well.
According to Wikileaks it is their prerogative
“ WikiLeaks specializes in the analysis and publication of large datasets of censored or otherwise restricted official materials involving war, spying and corruption”
Unless you think China and Russia are free from spying and corruption.
But Judging by your cheap attempt to detract from my message youre more interested in slander than the truth. Much like Wikileaks.
China, the US, Russia - these are all today just autocracies with an elite serving itself. The US has a chance to get back to sanity as its democracy is still not fully gone, but this whole duopoly of two nearly identical parties that only disagree over a few issues (both would be on a European political spectrum on the far right) prevents any real questioning/challenge of the status quo.