Ahhh .. OK, I begin to see what you have in mind I think.
Yeah that stuff did get discussed here once or twice in the past, you might find itby searching for cryptome as that guy had quite the rant about the wikileaks business model in the past. The cryptome rant probably went beyond the reality of this case but it opened up some interesting areas for discussion.
Even ignoring the most cynical and disturbing commercial possibilities behind Assanges wikileaks model, I had plenty else to rant about, ranging from the completely innaporpriate use of wiki in their name, to the way Assange has conducted himself on so many fronts.
Primarily Im pissed because there are a load of real important issues here and I would much rather have been able to read a Pilger article on the subject and agree with it, and shout my mouth off as part of a wider struggle to defend leaking entities, explore the way the world could work if sensitive information more routinely escaped into the public sphere, etc.
But no, almost every step of the way Assange did things I couldn't ignore, that shoot the whole cause in the foot. And as he casts himself in the mould of a cunning activist who was fully aware of the implications of his actions, aware that they would be out to get him, I had rather hoped he would actually be well prepared and that even if he personally got 'taken out' in some way, he would have defended a variety of vital concepts and beliefs. But no, at best he walked into an obvious trap and then said some horrible things whilst defending himself. At worst he committed crimes against individuals and then tried to shield himself from account by using his vehicle thats supposed to be about, ahem, holding people in office to account.
I was also critical of him because some of the things he has said make it sound like he hadn't actually tried to create an institution that was bigger than him, that could carry on if he was removed from the picture. But he does talk some shit sometimes so maybe wikileaks will be ok if the law gets him, we shall see.
Now given that various powers would be bound to want to get him, and the number of serious issues at stake, I ca appreciate why many people have defended assange and think that those who attack him are doing the devils work. Well perhaps I could have turned a blind eye to some of Assanges unattractive personality traits & failings, if only there had not been so many areas of hypocrisy right on wikileaks prime territory, double-standards that affect the very core of what wikileaks is supposed to be about. How can I possibly support an organisation that calls other to account but does not think that it should be accountable in anything like the same way?
And even more importantly, how can I fight for a cause whose cheerleader has a very dangerous attitude towards information? Assange is acutely aware of the power of information, and how concentrated that power can be when the information is only in a few hands. But does he want to throw that ring of power into a pit and destroy it forever? No, he is dazzled by the ring, he wants to wear it himself, and decide what it released, to whom, and when.
So he is Gollum to me, and I will only judge him kindly if he completes Gollums acts by sacrificing himself selflessly in the end
