The Wikileaks affair

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if someone publishes non classified material, and then gets investigated for doing so, what does that actually tell you about the situation in america now

The cables were not "non classified."

I have enough sense not to step into this one because I only know what little I have read or heard on the knews, and I am sure it is only the tip of the iceberg.I have spent enough time in Washington, D. C. and in state legislative halls to know that levels of secrecy are multi-layered and "need to know" has many interpretations.

If I were the person compromised or the soldier with my life on the line, I would have very strong opinions about the release of information that endangered me and those with whom I served. Once again, greed prevails. I smell a book.

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"need to know" has many interpretations.

"Classified" doesn't, though. It means just that, classified, as in available to people authorized with specific job titles and clearances. From all accounts I've read, the information was classified. As in, not supposed to be disseminated to public websites. What, exactly, is so open to interpretation about that?

"Classified' is one layer of "need to know." I'm not debating this at all. This is not my expertise. My concern is the release of information that jeopardizes lives. I have no legal stand whatsoever. I believe, but am not certain, that the release of this information served no positive purpose.

Al Stevens wrote:

I am not anti-feminist like you describe your brother. My issues with Fonda have nothing to do with that. Searching ad hominem for some imagined and irrelevant character flaw in me does not deflect the severity of what Hanoi Jane did or add strength to your support of her.

Your brother is right, his views on feminism notwithstanding. She did poke her nose where it didn't belong--into the camp and the confidence of the enemy, the captors, jailers and torturers of Americans.

I don't know where you were and what you were doing when all that went down. I know where I was.

Al,

Were you in Viet Nam?

8/9/2010

Put it this way LC knows not what she talks about !
As far as the name Fonda is concerned I only liked
and will like is Henry Fonda , as far as Jane is
concerned she's a dam communist , it amaze me
the Hollywood left even Streisand who are very
wealthy are always leaning to the left, as far as
I'm concerned they can leave the country !!!!!
Including Alex Baldwin, Susan Sarandon, Good
ridance !!!


Cheers.. Joe "God Bless America"

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The cables were not "non classified."

"...the cables were "once classified" meaning they are declassified, meaning that anyone both has the right to know and the right to expose them..." mentioned the goblin now, adding "...the left wing president was voted in on a platform of change, instead he has just increased the commitment, the next president will probably be from the right wing party so expect war with iran...", simply, both parties are following the "bigs" agenda here, where large corporations and rich invested interests own both the political scene and the media here, "...look it couldn't be easier, one gets the general public's attention neatly focused on such bogymen as terrorism of our time, communism of old, or fascism before that, right back to the cry of "barbarians at the gates" that is, so that the "bigs" can then milk it for all it's worth, billions of dollars, so simply the unspoken line hasn't changed, it still is "war is good for business"..." ventured the goblin thinking elsewhere at this point, in fact he was just asking himself now "...well, if there's no discernible oil left in the gulf of mexico at this point, why is that "no flyover zone" still set firmly in place, oh no, it's going to get worse better it gets better, honestly folks a faceless corporate dictatorship is probably more insidious than either fascism and communism are, corporatism controls here..."

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"...the cables were "once classified" meaning they are declassified, meaning that anyone both has the right to know and the right to expose them..

No they weren't. They were available to those who worked for the government and has the proper authority and clearance to access them. Where are you getting your information?

If documents generated by the government are indeed de-classified, then everyone can access them under the Freedom of Information Act.

The point is that information created with public funding belongs to and is available to the public.

There are exemptions, which you can read about here:

http://www.hrsa.gov/foia/foiaexemp.htm

I think the "once-secret" quote is misleading. As near as I can tell, the writer meant that prior to their having been leaked, they were classified. Once they were leaked, there was no point.

Then I think goblin and I are talking about completely different things. I'm not talking about what could or should be done with the information once Manning leaked it. I'm talking about his leaking them in the first place. They were classified before he did that. That's why he's in jail. Seems obvious, but maybe I'm missing something.

It's not obvious from that particular article. The language is ambiguous. Subsequent reports alluded to content that would have had to be classified because it named assets. The media are not always concise. Often they are deliberately vague when they don't have hard facts.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. We have guys like Manning in jail now for leaking information to foreign governments. Somehow, though, when you leak it to the American press, things go differently.

I am reminded of Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers.

"...yes I got that wrong, sorry then, just another misleading news article where I didn't bother looking elsewhere for more details, perhaps because either way the issue in itself, though admittedly interesting, is minor compared to the real point here, that "the war is lost because it can't be won", simply the taliban remain after the occupying forces leave..."

I don't think The hero time is gone, goblin. It's just time to return with the healing elixir that will turn the wasteland back into a thriving community that honors everybody in it.

Ann

"...history goes against hope here ann, for doesn't afghanistan just fight itself whenever it isn't fighting its occupiers now..." mentioned the goblin looking over a rather extensive list to date, adding "...so if we don't leave in obama's term, then we'll fight iran in the next when the right wing gets voted in, where america, clearly as top dog, can win any war it likes but somehow forgets that it can ill afford the peace afterwards..."

So now Assange is being accused of rape -you have to admire the evil genius behind that maneuver. lol.

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/report-rape-investigation-of-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange/19602881

"...so if we don't leave in obama's term, then we'll fight iran in the next when the right wing gets voted in..."

Bite your tongue!

Ann

"...nah, they'll be going to war if only because they're fast running out of money and ideas here, where the plebs will need to be distracted with yet more circus when that financial collapse bites..." mentioned the goblin again, "...though admittedly one mustn't use that term "circus" here, because that suggests images of "party political clowns" and on the one hand and "on with the show commentators" on the other, so instead we need to use the proper name like "theater of war" here as it doesn't quite have those connotations, for "theatrics mediated, timed, and decided for the viewing spectators" couldn't possible be mistaken for actual circus now could it..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZg8a0nqjTE&feature=search

I don't quite get this picture ...but I think the two in the foreground are currently copyediting my book.