tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post4397623608360200724..comments2024-02-23T11:23:45.971-05:00Comments on Lost Motorcyclist: Executing Julian Assange from Wikileaks is Not JusticeLost Motorcyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873504561959138792noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-2398766977196588392010-12-05T09:25:36.691-05:002010-12-05T09:25:36.691-05:00Congressional hearings on this subject eventually ...<a href="http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2005/halloran.pdf" rel="nofollow">Congressional hearings</a> on this subject eventually resulted in the recent enactment of <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/10/07/president-signs-hr-553-reducing-over-classification-act" rel="nofollow">H.R. 553, The Reducing Over-Classification Act</a>.<br /><br />As <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Pulitzer" rel="nofollow">Joseph Pulitzer</a> so eloquently phrased it, '<i>There is not a crime, there is not a dodge, there is not a trick, there is not a swindle, there is not a vice which does not live by secrecy.</i>'<br /><br />I expect that history will regard this current set of leaks as a tempest in a teapot. Contrary to the contentions of all those 'red-blooded' patriots, there are no 'top secrets' revealed in <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,731441,00.html" rel="nofollow">those leaks</a>: most are 'unclassified,' 40% are 'confidential' (the lowest classification) and 6% are 'secret' (the second lowest rating). No documents in the 'top secret' or 'above top secret' are included.<br /><br />U.S. Supreme Court Justice <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Brandeis" rel="nofollow">Louis Brandeis</a> once cogently observed that, '<i>Sunlight is the best disinfectant,</i>' referring to the benefits of openness and transparency.<br /><br />The politicians, military and bureaucrats who are demanding <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20012502-281.html" rel="nofollow">draconian measures</a> in 'punishment' for Assange and Manning should perhaps look in the mirror and see the true source of the problem.Madeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593933575568389288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-83918588672868558022010-12-05T09:23:34.365-05:002010-12-05T09:23:34.365-05:00Why is it not surprising that so many 'red-blo...Why is it not surprising that so many 'red-blooded' Americans have raised the hue and cry for Assange's blood over the recent leaks?<br /><br />'Treason!' they scream (despite the fact that Assange is <b>not</b> an American citizen and, thus, owes no allegiance to the U.S.). 'Hang him!' they shout (execution <a href="http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=53774" rel="nofollow">being the 'solution'</a> to so many of our social problems).<br /><br />Reagan's son goes as far as <a href="http://blog.cagle.com/2010/12/01/call-it-treason/" rel="nofollow">to maintain</a>, 'Consumers do not need to know the gory details of how sausage is made.' Sorry, Michael, but I <b><i>do</i></b> want to know what goes into any sausage I have to eat.<br /><br />And that is precisely the point. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act_%28United_States%29" rel="nofollow">Freedom of Information Act</a> in the U.S. is all about citizens having the right to know how their sausages are made. <br /><br />Politicians, bureaucrats and the military in the U.S. have clearly demonstrated that they consistently prefer to overclassify documents to subvert and thwart the effect of the freedom of information laws. This overclassification occurs not to protect 'national security' but merely to conceal errors, hide incompetence, undermine accountability and often, merely to avoid potential embarrassment.<br /><br />[Continued, below]Madeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593933575568389288noreply@blogger.com