WikiLeaks and their WikiFreaks

Ah, where to begin. Each day since WikiLeaks posted the first diplomatic cables Assange's army of supporters seems to grow, particularly in the UK and Australia. And now a band of people have been launching DDos attacks on various companies that have severed ties with him and on a Swedish government website. And each day (as usual), I grow steadily more dumbfounded as to how people think.

WikiLeaks started out with an arguably noble purpose: "expose oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations." And invariably their current supporters view Assange as a kind of crusader for Almighty Truth and Freedom. Thing is, much of what WikiLeaks has leaked has nothing to do with unethical behavior or wrongdoing. Much of it is simply private correspondence and documents. Is it really so earthshatteringly important that some diplomat thinks a government official is 'thin-skinned' or that Kaddafi likes Flamenco dancing? I can't believe that people can't see a difference between exposing corruption and cruelty and just plain old embarrassing people and hurting international relations for the hell of it. I'm all about injustices being thrown under the spotlight, but the vast majority of the recent stuff seems to have nothing to do with this. It's nothing more than childish mud-slinging. The handling of some of these documents is so disputed that their own ranks have split. If WikiLeaks is into total transparency then here is a challenge - release your own unredacted e-mails, financial records, and correspondence. The public has the the "right to know" this too, correct? And if not, why not?

Here's a revelation for my idealistic friends out there. Material is often classified for a reason. And no, you do not get to know every thing that happens. The Founding Fathers that penned the Freedom of the Press Assange's supporters like to bring up at every opportunity understood this. Ciphers, codes, and scytales have been used since ancient times. If the internet existed in Washington and Madison's time, do you honestly believe that they would approve of sensitive military documents and diplomatic dispatches being made available to all and sundry? If you do you are a goddamned fool.

The "Hackers":

First of all, that the media keeps calling 'Anonymous' "Hackers" is irritating in the extreme. As far as I know, they haven't "hacked" into anything. They are script kiddies. A DOS attack is simply a flood, a 14 year old kid can do this. But at any rate, you guys are into "freedom", right? What about the freedom that a private business owner has to do business with, or not do business with, anybody they damn well please? If you owned a business instead of living in your mom's basement wondering what a naked woman looks like, would you think it is fair that a group of people should attempt to hurt your livelihood because of a decision you made regarding a business you own? Do you really think you are seriously going to 'bring VISA and Mastercard down' by interrupting service? If anything, you are doing nothing more than inconveniencing regular people who are trying to pay their bills and make a living - people that have nothing whatsoever to do with WikiLeaks. Brush the Cheeto-dust off your fingers, put down your Mountain Dew Code Red, and start living in the real world morons.

That's it for now. If you pull the tail of a tiger, don't be surprised when you get effed up. And Mr. Assange, don't drop the soap.