[Sushi]

I just finished going over a data review that explains that democracy, at least in America, is basically a system by which elites cue the uninformed public to agree with them.

I can see a little more transparency being a good thing.

Assuming it even makes a difference. Having the data published only matters if people read it. And most of the "uninformed public" won't.

[General Battuta]

I just finished going over a data review that explains that democracy, at least in America, is basically a system by which elites cue the uninformed public to agree with them.

I can see a little more transparency being a good thing.

Assuming it even makes a difference. Having the data published only matters if people read it. And most of the "uninformed public" won't.

This is true.

Elite cueing may actually be a pretty good technique. It's unclear.

[Scotty]

I still can't understand all the uproar about wikileaks.

Their entire purpose is to leak documents. Are we supposed to be shocked when they actually do it?

No.  They're shocked when doing so gets people killed, and the guy who runs it doesn't give a **** because he's getting "the truth" out.

[karajorma]

Who actually got killed as a result of the last leak?

I ask cause that is what everyone seems to be so upset about but I've not seen any data.

[General Battuta]

I still can't understand all the uproar about wikileaks.

Their entire purpose is to leak documents. Are we supposed to be shocked when they actually do it?

No.  They're shocked when doing so gets people killed, and the guy who runs it doesn't give a **** because he's getting "the truth" out.

But it's an interesting quandary. What is the acceptable price of truth? We just fought an enormous war that destroyed our fiscal policy and killed tens of thousands, and the entire war was based on a lie repeated so long it became the truth and then became forgotten.

Is it possible that going to extremes for the truth could save lives in the long run? If Wikileaks had undermined the lies that were used to justify the Iraq War (which might well have been morally justified on other grounds, but not the ones that were deployed), how would things have been different?

[Dilmah G]

Who actually got killed as a result of the last leak?

I ask cause that is what everyone seems to be so upset about but I've not seen any data.

I doubt we'll find out. The fact that informants live or die isn't something I find likely to air on the six o'clock news.

I also agree with the 'blind idea' behind what Wikileaks does, but I tend to side more with Scotty on this one. This is not exactly a great time to start leaking information that includes a few nations that aren't exactly stable at the moment. I've never been a huge follower of Wikileaks, nor will I claim to know everything about them, but as a layperson, I think some tact would've helped here.

[Bobboau]

wikileaks needs a rival site that will leak reports of informants dieing as a result of wikileaks.

[Topgun]

wikileaks needs a rival site that will leak reports of informants dieing as a result of wikileaks.

Yes, That way we can have watchdogs in our watch dogs for our watchdogs.

[NGTM-1R]

I doubt we'll find out. The fact that informants live or die isn't something I find likely to air on the six o'clock news.

I saw a lot of stuff that would be inconvenient in the latest set, but nothing that would actually result in heads rolling. Some of it was open secrets; that China directly supports hacking efforts against governments and businesses is something people have known for at least a decade.

The cables show the State Department has apparently actually been doing its job in a shocking turn of events. The people who could really be hurt by them aren't in the US.

Of course, this is the WikiLeaks that claimed they had video of Afghan civilians being massacred over six months ago. And stuff from inside BP. Funny how that all never turned up.