Different people are assuming that wikileaks are invention of CIA. The famous Daniel Ellsberg is an american who disclosed the US document after Vietnam War and known as Whistleblower.People like him and Julian Assange are not syndicalists. They are reformers!
Please check this link: http://213.251.145.96/video.html
Freedom of information in capitalist system comes under Public Good. A good that is the responsibility of government to provide to there citizens. Should government reveal the information of that nature ? The one disclosed by these Whistleblowers. Government officials -- the rent seekers, have courage to do this ?
A famous book nowadays - Government Secrecy by Jan Goldman and Susan L. Maret questions the existence of democracy and secrecy with a lot of interesting critique.
Daniel , Julian and many others are the outcomes of the value system of these western societies. This is what I believe! What you guys think ?
Whistle-blowing is an old phenomenon. The concept emerged in England, where the Police will blow whistle upon seeing a suspicious activity, btw.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as per these leaks, the concept of democracy, and freedom of information as a public good, I have some points to clarify the concept.
1. The wiki-leaks have revealed "classified" to "top-secret" information.
2. Such documents are confidential and kept secret because it may hamper national security.
3. Even authorized people are not allowed access to every document, rather it is shared on the basis of "Need to Know".
4. Conventions have been made between nation-states and organizations like NATO and EU, to share classified documents, under strict rules and regulations.
5. A "leak" of this information comes under clandestine operations, more aptly, espionage.
Finally, democracy and freedom of information does not mean that everyone gets to know state-secrets. The freedom of information laws passed in America, Pakistan, and the rest of the countries, only account for public documents. Which do not include classified information. Julian Assange's wiki-leaks, however much we like to justify, are an act that is unlawful.
well who says every law is written in stone all hail Julius Assange, Siddique stop trying to act a know it all all the time its annoying, freedom of speech duh, tomorrow if Al-Qaeda leaks documents regarding the pakistani afghan india love triangle it would suddenly become LAW and the heart of the newage POLICY. so Julius brought to light some very detrimental elements and if the west has made the rest of the world signatories to their well orchestrated processes well I for one am not falling into that tune.
ReplyDeletepeace
Ah, the torch-bearers of democracy. What if Al-Qaeda demands, under freedom of information the highly classified documents pertaining to lets just say Pakistan's nuclear assets? Or, better still, someone 'leaks' such information and it lands in the hands of terrorists?
ReplyDeleteWhistle-blowing, although an act of courage and importance, still needs to have a proper backing by law. And stop trying to argue-it-all all the time, its annoying. :P
Americans had carried out a revolution and the right to information was embedded in the Bill of rights (1789), Bill of rights a set of ten amendments made to the constitution emphasized the freedom of expression and speech and set limitation on the powers of the federal government. But democracy and freedom of information does not mean that everyone gets to know state-secrets.
ReplyDeleteIf we say that Julian's - wikileaks are clandestine. Then why they are not arresting him ? Now you (Siddique) will say that he has been arrested. He has been arrested not on Wikileak charges but on on rape charges!
ReplyDeleteWikileak is a press organization. So according to freedom of information - Bill of Rights of US, there is nothing wrong with it.
some papers say that Assange is going to be charged under the 1917 Espionage act which was unsuccessfully used against the New York times when it leaked secrets of the pentagon in the 70s,although questions are arising as to whether he shud be consitionally charged in the US when he leaked the information outside.
ReplyDeleteThere are differing views on the matter till now and Assange is being held captive in london though there are also rumours according to 'friends'who say he is in hiding .The RUSSIANS want him to be given the noble prize:P .The Americans obviously reffering to him as the high tech terrorist while the press is going wild singing his praises regarding freedom of speech.
moral: differing views.
Please do check the link below before going in to details:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/4/6/massacre_caught_on_tape_us_military
now we see the concept of Whistle-blower:
revealing a crime committed by a management or professional at a corporation
• may be structural or not (policy of company)
• employee is at risk of being fired for revealing crime
• crime (fraud, legality issue, etc.) benefits specific individuals or company at the detriment of customer or general public
• justification: right a wrong (criminal offense) -betterment of society ; a trust issue
for their perspective of investigative journalism its all right they have provided the evidences of US military war crimes, i dont think so that governments have dare to reveal their crimes so openly.
US is an institutionalized society where everyone is making their point , US security department has a secure network and nothing could be leaked (especially governments secrets without the official involvement) by seeing this video you would be aware that Assange himself said that this tape was received form an official upon the encryption it was revealed that two Reuters journalist were also killed with Iraqi civilians, and US military has authenticated the video.
Democracy is defined as by the people and people should be made aware of the conduct of their governments; and secrecy is for the government to hold their double standards?? thats not fair!
Thats of course no doubt whatever comes up is the product of the value system of any society.
wiki leaks is an activist organization whose job is to provide the cyber platform to reveal the truth. thats daring! a person who put his personal security at risk, now the issue took the shape of cyber war,and if getting Assange an Australian in to an american court would turn him a free speech martyr and former wiki leaks staffer are preparing to launch a rival anti-secrecy site.
"Now you (Siddique) will say that he has been arrested. He has been arrested not on Wikileak charges but on on rape charges!"
ReplyDeleteHaha, I would have not said that in the first place sire. Wrong assumption! :P
Anyway, so here goes:
The site says that it accepts "classified, censored or otherwise restricted material of political, diplomatic or ethical significance" but does not take "rumour, opinion or other kinds of first hand reporting or material that is already publicly available". ~ BBC.
And as earlier said by Nishaa, wikileaks founder might be tried under the Espionage Act.
"That language is not only the right thing to do policy-wise but puts the government in a position to prosecute him," Smith said. Under the Espionage Act, anyone who has "unauthorized possession to information relating to the national defense" and has reason to believe it could harm the United States may be prosecuted if he publishes it or "willfully" retains it when the government has demanded its return, Smith said.
The Justice Department is already putting up its efforts. Extradition to America is one of the hurdles in the process though.
"Could become as important a journalistic tool as the Freedom of Information Act." - Time Magazine
ReplyDeleteThe clause in the espionage act can be debated. Should be respect a policy devised that keeps an individual organization from leaking information out to the public about their own government's detrimental acts and intrigue? Obviously when we look at it from one angle we applause Julian's guts i must say
on the other hand from a policy perspective when statements like " India informs the US about 43 military camps in Pakistan" and vice versa,makes one ponder whether such leaks bring more harm to the already deteriorating affairs in countries like Pakistan.If everything becomes public knowledge then secret agencies, confidential documents etc lose their existence credibility.On the other hand blocking the spread correct information to public THAT IS in the end affected by all this confidentiality raises another dilemma
But i guess double standards are at the crux of every policy maker to be very honest, they have a difference of opinion on every matter when it concerns their own selves and another when it represents another sector of the global community.When it comes to the hijab controversy it is argued that the muslims living in france should follow the french codes of dressing and conduct then why is an Australian journalist being tried by America? If the Australians are fine with what he is doing just like the danish were fine with the cartoons and the Americans were fine with the slander against minorities in their country Angassis should have the save right as anyone else as stated in his constituition.
ReplyDeletewikileaks is the invention of CIA, these are the perceptions because till the time they didnt reveal anything which is not known to anyone. As America is the capitalist society and information in the capitalist society is a public good. Its the acceptable thing that freedom of speech does not mean to reveal the state secrets but we cannot neglect that its the failure of their making in the Bill of Rights. Thats why they have not arrested him on wikileak charge.
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