The current furor about the Wikileaks release of stolen government documents is fascinating. On one hand, you have those who defend it as an exercise in government transparency. They see the government as essentially deceitful and deserving of the "outing". On the other hand, you have loyal Embassy workers around the world who are horrified that an offhand comment, transmitted from their hand to some other functionary, is now being blasted worldwide almost as if it were government policy. And of course, the release does hurts not just the US.
This is the surreal world of reality living, of internet uses and abuses, of the prevalent mode of sound bite and spin. Get used to it. Big Brother is the sum of all the bytes and bites strewn about the world, creating our environment detached from anything true and principled. The Wikileaks organization that argues for transparency creates chaos through which the truth cannot be discerned by releasing documents out of context and for no purpose other than disruption.
I personally think the Wikileaks people are more deceitful than the US government. And like any dump of pollutants, the sewerage eventually flows downriver and to the bottom of the sea.
Have you noticed, for all their championing of "transparency," the people behind Wikileaks have released no information about who they are, how they are organized, who supports them, or even a very coherent statement on what their mission is.
ReplyDeleteThis whole drama is pure sensationalism, IMO. Puro KSP lang on the part of a self-appointed "internet activist".
Say hey, Ben. I've seen the two top people of Wikileaks interviewed on CNN and the BBC, and they are a couple of very oily dudes. One is now hiding out from INTERPOL rather than stepping forward to confront charges that he is a rapist. The more this goes on, the greater the damage wreaked, the more I agree with the senator who called them terrorists . . .
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