Julian Assange is the new Obama, or, whistleblowing is not a crime
As the new Obama, Assange’s Wikileaks and its drive for transparency in government truly could deliver a flavor of politics where those in power are more easily kept in check by the electorate. Wikileaks’ ability to uncover the sowing of fear, uncertainty and doubt through the obfuscation of information should be commended, not condemned.
Update: I had an obamized image of Assange here, but realised that was no more than rewarding the messenger. Of course, the extent to which the messenger is being vilified is absurd, where prominent individuals are allowed to call for Assange’s assassination. (If Assange would call for, say, Karzai’s assassination, how consequential would the impact of that be?)
However, it’s not Assange, in the end, who’s to be commended, it’s the alleged whistleblower, Bradley Manning. More likely than not, currently in custody, he will face a very ignominious and anonymous defeat. There really is, no hope, for Bradley Manning.
Also interesting, Manning seems to be gay. Could Manning’s decision to leak to Wikileaks have anything to do with the US army’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy?