Man in the High Castle

I sort of hate running this Wikileaks thing into the ground. My feelings about the propriety of reading other people's mail are well known, to the consternation of my more freethinking comrades. I don't like it when the government does it, or anyone else does it. Unless the observer has a legal, court ordered warrant, of course.

Wiki has now moved into this underground Swedish bunker, furthering the James Bond imagery that the whole episode is starting to resemble. The ragtag band of cyberwarriors now store the crown jewels in the “Pionen” White Mountains data center owned by Swedish broadband provider Bahnhof. The data is housed 90' deep inside a nuclear bunker carved out of a large rock in downtown Stockholm. There is a single entrance and it is fronted by half-meter thick metal doors and backup generators pulled from German submarines. Word has it that the area is patrolled by radioactive chihuahua sized attack dogs that bite like crocodiles and won't let go of their prey until they hear thunder.

Assange is a strange cat. And I think a megalomaniac of the highest order. As a narcissist myself, I recognize the breed. Lately he has been making some very odd statements.

Hillary Clinton should resign because she ordered her diplomats to conduct espionage. "She should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up. Yes, she should resign over that."



"...Australia and the Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, have made it clear that not only is my return impossible but they are actively working to assist the United States government in its attacks on myself and our people.''''Are we all to be treated like David Hicks at the first possible opportunity merely so that Australian politicians and diplomats can be invited to the best US embassy cocktail parties?''


University of Calgary Professor Tom Flanagan should be charged with incitement to commit murder for his statements about  whacking Assange.



Asked what his "moral calculus" was to justify publishing the leaks and whether he considered what he was doing to be "civil disobedience," Assange said, "Not at all. This organization practices civil obedience, that is, we are an organization that tries to make the world more civil and act against abusive organizations that are pushing it in the opposite direction."

It goes on and on like this. His offer to the Unites States Government to negotiate on redaction. That sort of thing. And it leaves me thinking, why have governments at all? Why not just have the brilliant Julian Assange, the child hacker MENDAX from the group the International Subversives, make all the necessary decisions for us? Judge and jury. Because his exalted sense of self importance knows no bounds. Positively oozing self righteousness. He has appointed himself the sole arbiter of propriety in the world in terms of disclosing classified information.

I think that he is no better than a common thief, his megalomania notwithstanding. And I think that the information he has divulged is going to get some people hurt and dead. I have heard rumblings after moles were unmasked in Lebanon and Afghanistan. I applaud my government for not negotiating with him. We don't negotiate with terrorists.

Is our government or its conduct perfect? Of course not. Have we covered up malfeasance and impropriety on our own part and by our allies? Certainly. But I fail to see how anything positive will be served by turning the ship's logs and private conversations of our foreign service over to the anarchists. I think that adults should be running the show, even in our imperfect world. Certainly better than glorified hackers with messiah complexes.

Having said all that the recent directives by the United States government are laughable as well. Military personnel are not allowed to read the Wikileaks cables, even on their home computers. The Office of Management and Budget today directed all federal agencies to bar unauthorized employees from accessing the Wikileaks web site and its leaked diplomatic cables. Columbia University says not to even comment on the Wiki thing if you ever want a job at the state department.

From: "Office of Career Services"

Date: November 30, 2010 15:26:53 ESTTo:

Hi students,

We received a call today from a SIPA alumnus who is working at the State Department.  He asked us to pass along the following information to anyone who will be applying for jobs in the federal government, since all would require a background investigation and in some instances a security clearance.

The documents released during the past few months through Wikileaks are still considered classified documents. He recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter. Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government.

Regards,
Office of Career Services

Seems pretty silly. Not even "comment." Talk about Orwellian. What's next, a little brain scan and Vulcan mind clearing procedure for every citizen?

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I was weaned on the revolution. I read Spain Rodriguez's Trashman. Ubik. William Gibson. Snowcrash. All that stuff. And my god, the only thing that frightens me more than our current system is if these radicals are actually in charge. Because this is real life, kids.