Public service! All he's done is promote himself and his own self importance. He's not important, nor elected as Stirling has pointed out.

All he really is, is a serial law breaker hiding being a fake political stance.

Optimistic as ever

The nut of the problem, if a state acts illegally, they get away with it, if a person calls them to task by acting illegally, they get persicuted.

Wikileaks information on the gulf war presents further fuel to the arguement that a) the war was manufactured from the start b) that governments have broken their own laws in the 'war on terror' c) that war crimes have been committed.

When the government lacks the capacity to be lawful, then it should not be suprised when individuals act accordingly.

"One Nation Under God, has turned into One Nation Under the Influence of One Drug"
[Link]

It has no mandate. It is its own judge and executor with no accountability other than to itself.

I happily concede that there are good aspects to it, however this is surely not a healthy state of affairs.

There are practical reasons to keep some information confidential.

Who's judging Wikileaks?

Edited by Stirlingsays (26 Feb 2013 12.21pm)

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

Arguably it is accountable, given the recent efforts of the US to single out wikileaks, and Assange.

Whilst there are practical reasons for some information to be kept confidential, in most cases this seems to have been to protect 'the cause and reputation of state' rather than to actual national security. Its worth noting that wikileaks redacts information from its leaks as well.

Wikileaks is simply doing the job the 4th Estate is supposed to have performed, holding the state accountable.

"One Nation Under God, has turned into One Nation Under the Influence of One Drug"
[Link]

Oh come on Jamie, that is risible. Besides most on the left argue that it's persecution and not accountability.

They don't have a mandate and holding them to account as you can a newspaper is very difficult....Not the same thing.

Your point about holding states to account I agree with, though if Wikileaks is the answer then it's a poor one.

Whistle blowing is a good thing......Organized whistle blowing with no accountability....Nope.

I would have more time for Wikileaks if their releases were independently vetted. Not by government but not by their supporters either. But of course that would defeat the purpose of Wikileaks.....Leaks are the operative word.

It's not about 'judgement' it's about free access to all information...It's an agenda, hiding behind a purpose that has some good aspects to it but also some poor ones....Both for a democracy and for fairness...In my view.

It's not fair that all information is open season, confidentially isn't always for malign purpose.....As I say Wikileaks have no mandate to be the 4th Estate or anything else.

Investigative but accountable journalism is a far better modus operandi.

Edited by Stirlingsays (26 Feb 2013 2.38pm)

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

I'd agree, but when the state and fourth estate fails to live up to their responsibilities and duties, then its not suprising that a less accountable and responsible entity fills their place.

The UK media, for example, in the run up to the gulf war and aftermath have done little to restore the balance of faith in those institutions. We know that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, the members of parliment and prime ministers either lied or presented very poorly sourced uncollaborated intelligence to present a case for war, and that even institutions within the UK and US government, including the CIA were distrustful of both the intelligence and viewed the sources as both distrustful and unreliable.

As for international law, the US and UK acted to fulfil their interpretation of an old security council resolution, without the sanction of the other members of the security council.

Call it what you will, but that war was entirely fabricated for ulteria motives, and those responsible were never held to account for those actions.

As for facts, court cases are still ongoing regarding torture, documented evidence of rendition and permission for rendition exist, along with the details of 'ghost prisons' operated by the US, and possibly UK. The US legalised torture as a means of interogation and stood by it, openly, and accounts of innocent people tortured by the state on cases of mistaken identity exist, and have been corrobroated.

The US has reinitiated assassination (using drones, that violate international airspace, and launch illegal strikes in numerous nations, that result in the death of forigen nationals as 'collateral damage').

"One Nation Under God, has turned into One Nation Under the Influence of One Drug"
[Link]