Nsiman:

If assange is to be tried for espionage then his releases are true.  The GON shld also sue Shell for espionage as well and pfizer shld be tried for attempting to/bribery.

in naija? Nigeria?

@ violent, yes because their (shell and pfizer) crime is in nigeria. It depends on u and i

This is just nonsense. Julian Assange is a modern day hero

A hero abi? From australia, leaking the US?

Indirah?:

This is just nonsense. Julian Assange is a modern day hero

Modern day hero?

What good has his information done to the world since its release besides stifling enmity and hatred amongst nations and increasing potentials of driving world powers to the brink of war?

What does he stand to gain by releasing a document which provides clear details of United States strategic assets across the globe and specifically stating that these assets, if attacked will see the US coming down to its knees, thus providing more information than alqaeda or other terrorist groups could ever need. . . .is that heroism for you?. . . .should he be decorated for this?

What Assange has done is very serious. His actions are capable of causing mistrust between friends and nations or even outright war with potentially huge losses in lives and property.

He is lucky that the world has changed so much in the last 25yrs. In matters of state security, so many have been shot and killed for far less.

violent:

Modern day hero?

What good has his information done to the world since its release besides stifling enmity and hatred amongst nations and increasing potentials of driving world powers to the brink of war?

What does he stand to gain by releasing a document which provides clear details of United States strategic assets across the globe and specifically stating that these assets, if attacked will see the US coming down to its knees, thus providing more information than alqaeda or other terrorist groups could ever need. . . .is that heroism for you?. . . .should he be decorated for this?

I agree with you completely. Wikileaks should be seen as the western arm of alquaeda because it is only their purpose that they serve and no one else

violent:

Modern day hero?

What good has his information done to the world since its release besides stifling enmity and[b] hatred amongst nations and increasing potentials of driving world powers to the brink of war?[/b]

What does he stand to gain by releasing a document which provides clear details of United States strategic assets across the globe and specifically stating that these assets, if attacked will see the US coming down to its knees, thus providing more information than alqaeda or other terrorist groups could ever need. . . .is that heroism for you?. . . .should he be decorated for this?

Don't be too skeptical.
why is the US engaging secret diplomacy in the first instance ?

I don't blame assange but those that have evil tho'ts and discussions, Mostly those that provide these informations to him. Assange has reps all over

I don't blame assange but those that have evil tho'ts and discussions, Mostly those that provide these informations to him. Assange has reps all over

~Bluetooth:

Don't be too skeptical.
why is the US engaging secret diplomacy in the first instance ?

Secret diplomacy is unavoidable in the interest of a closely knit society engaged in competitive struggle with similar societies and obliged to defend itself and to safeguard its interest by all available means.

International relations are so intricate and have so many delicate siiadings that they elude the grasp of the common man, and can be held together and seen in their proper relations only by the comprehensive and experienced mind of the seasoned statesman.

Did anybody read the post about the katsina lady and Late president Yar' a dua's secret and shady deals My mouth was left hanging In surprise , In fact I dey laff Ni :


Classified By: Political Counselor Walter Pflaumer for Reasons 1.4 (b,
c, & d).

¶1. (S//NF) SUMMARY: XXXXXXXXXXXX alleged a close
association between President Yar,Adua and Katsina native
and rumored smuggler Dahiru Mangal. XXXXXXXXXXXX claimed Mangal
is the President's "Mr. Fix It," taking care of "anything
filthy" Yar'Adua needs done in addition to smuggling items
for several wealthy Nigerian businessmen through Niger into
Kano. Another Kano business contact corroborated XXXXXXXXXXXX 's
allegations, but observed that Mangal no longer deals openly
in illicit activity since Yar'Adua named him a special
advisor earlier this month. As well, XXXXXXXXXXXX maintained that
he had been approached by a man claiming to represent First
Lady Turai Yar'Adua and seeking an USD 2 million pay-off.
While Post cannot independently authenticate these
allegations of corruption by the President or First Lady,
Post has heard rumors of an emergent "Katsina clique" in the
Presidential Villa. END SUMMARY.



Read more about this lady and her deals , the woman get power gan oooo

http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/02/08ABUJA320.html

@ pennywise, assange is an Austrian, so i dnt think it is serving the west

USA has no case. The 4th Amendment guarantees a publisher freedom 2 publish. The information he published has to proven dat he stole dem 4 him 2 be charged under d Espionage Act. As long as he can prove dat he didn't steal dem, he is in d clear.
Its different in d UK where publishing secret documents is automatically Illegal. Read up Times US edition 4 d analysis.

blank:

USA has no case. The 4th Amendment guarantees a publisher freedom 2 publish. The information he published has to proven dat he stole dem 4 him 2 be charged under d Espionage Act. As long as he can prove dat he didn't steal dem, he is in d clear. Its different in d UK where publishing secret documents is automatically Illegal. Read up Times US edition 4 d analysis.

Contradiction?

@Nsiman

@ pennywise, assange is an Austrian, so i dnt think it is serving the west

POC.  Assange is an Australian and not Ausrian.

violent:

---- If the US government charged an individual who received and distributed classified information, rather than the person who[b] leaked[/b] it, mainstream media would express the concern that they could face prosecution for reporting information they routinely receive from government insiders, so essentially, Wikileaks in the eyes of the constitution is no less different from BBC or Guardian press. There were also evidences that Assange requested a consultation with Washington to discuss which documents are explicit and could jeopardize National security in the United States, however, the US government turned his request down.


----- The prosecution also has to get around the fact that the cables reveal confidential information surrounding foreign policy and diplomacy, rather than military secrets. Under the Espionage Act, the U.S. will need to prove that a particular cable is a threat to national security.  It will be really difficult for a US prosecutor to prove "gossips" between diplomats and foreign governments, revealed in mainstream media is a threat to the security of United States.

----Besides that, i doubt if any country will be willing to extradite him to the United States, most countries extradition treaties do not cover crimes viewed as political.

Though you might be right, the point I was trying to make with the piece of post you quoted there is there is a punishment for espionage, it is not new. There have been many similar cases in the past and people have had to face the legal ramifications of such acts. So, there is no point for people to pretend now that Assange is a victim in all this. I leave the technicals for the US government to deal with. If it can prosecute, why not?

~Bluetooth:

Don't be too skeptical.
why is the US engaging secret diplomacy in the first instance ?

Let me turn this around so many you can do your own research and help yourselves answer some of your own out-of-this-world questions. Are there are rules against this type of diplomacy? Please do some research on this, figure it out and let us know what you find.

~Bluetooth:

Don't be too skeptical.
why is the US engaging secret diplomacy in the first instance ?

Are you really serious?

The U.S. doesn't have a case against him, because he was just a middle man. A simple disseminator, who got his information from another person. Nothing more and nothing less.

Omenani:

The U.S. doesn't have a case against him, because he was just a middle man. A simple disseminator, who got his information from another person. Nothing more and nothing less.

Really? Is handling a stolen goods a crime?

I knew that some moronic Nigerians on NL would be in support of Assange. As Nigerians we have two main problems; 1, we are the biggest hipocrite in the world. who among you would like anyone spilling your secrets for the whole world to hear about. There is a reason they call it secret you know. And 2, we never like to tell ourselves the truth. Fracking country. The fracking guy is threatening to plunge the world into chaos and morons are supporting his actions. Kail. . . . . . . .   You have never seen war thats why. . . . . . . .

Assange was wrong in publishing those cables. No sane person should willingly threaten world peace just because he has the power to do it or that there are no laws in place against waht he has done. He should have utilised his skills to help build a more peaceful world than what we have now. Between countries, there are no real friends, every country spies on her friends and foes alike. Russia and US have on many occasions exchanged captured spies. it's not new that diplomats spy on their host countries for the benefit of their home countries.

justwise:

Really? Is handling a stolen goods a crime?

goods and information are as far from themselves as day is from night.

i believe the US government will have to tread carefully in this scenario. . . .you can't really prosecute me if i tell the world about an information i heard/got from someone. . .especially when Assange isn't a US citizen, he owes America no obligation.

bidemi12:

I knew that some moronic Nigerians on NL would be in support of Assange. As Nigerians we have two main problems; 1, we are the biggest hipocrite in the world. who among you would like anyone spilling your secrets for the whole world to hear about. There is a reason they call it secret you know. And 2, we never like to tell ourselves the truth. Fracking country. The fracking guy is threatening to plunge the world into chaos and morons are supporting his actions. Kail. . . . . . . .   You have never seen war thats why. . . . . . . .

Its very wrong of you to call folks who take an opposing point of view from yours "morons". . .we can't entirely condemn everything released by the whistle blower, the fact remains, that there are things in those documents that people of the world need to know about. . . .the collateral murder video lands a big punch on everything America preached against,. . . . Nigerians wouldn't have known about the pfizer and shell indictments of it hadn't been for Wikileaks---in these a scenarios, Julian scored a point with me.

come to think of it, for all those in support of Assange, why keep your identity on NL a secret? delete you ID's and input your real names for all to see. shebi you like openness and truth,  . . . .let's see how that works for you,

^^^ roflmao!!

violent:

goods and information are as far from themselves as day is from night.[/b]In as much as i condemn Julian Assange for his cheap attempt at fame, i believe the US government will have to tread carefully in this scenario. . . .[b]you can't really prosecute me if i tell the world about an information i heard/got from someone. . .especially when Assange isn't a US citizen, he owes America no obligation.

Goods can be tangiable or intangiable, information is an intangiable 'goods'

You will be prosecuted if you distribute stolen secret information. We are not talking about just any imformation, we are talking about classified secret diplomatic information.

Smh @bluetooth.

I am reading all these debates and boy, I dey laugh and vex at the same time.  Bluetooth have no idea as to how to debate. He changes course, makes Shiite up as he goes and then turn around to accuse another poster of having an Americanized view. Wtf.  Wetin be yah own view Bluetooth?  Bullshitkanized?  


How the heck is Asange a modern day hero? Jesus wept. What is heroic about his actions directly or indirectly? Smh.


Information is not free, no matter how much people try to argue that it should be. Period. Some things are best kept off public domain and the leaking of classified information into public domain is irresponsible at least. I won't even go into the possible laws it may have breached.



Well said Bidemi12 .

If you support Asange and your know say yah papa born you well. Oya put up your passport and result papers and qualifications. After all, information should be free and made available in public domain. Yeye mentality.

bidemi12:

come to think of it, for all those in support of Assange, why keep your identity on NL a secret? delete you ID's and input your real names for all to see. shebi you like openness and truth,  . . . .let's see how that works for you,

or what will happen?. . .search facebook for wikileaks, and you'd be amazed by the number of real people with real faces pledging support for Julian Assange.

Is it a surprise that he was nominated New York times "man of the year"?

justwise:

Goods can be tangiable or intangiable, information is an intangiable 'goods'

You will be prosecuted if you distribute stolen secret information. We are not talking about just any imformation, we are talking about classified secret diplomatic information.

where did you get this from?. . .if that's the case, then why is Guardian/BBC/Independent publishing these "stolen information"?. . .This is not China political information can't be classified as secrets

violent:

where did you get this from?. . .if that's the case, then why is Guardian/BBC/Independent publishing these "stolen information"?. . .This is not China political information can't be classified as secrets

Just wait and see how this case will end

violent:


or what will happen?. . .search facebook for wikileaks, and you'd be amazed by the number of real people with real faces pledging support for Julian Assange.

Is it a surprise that he was nominated New York times "man of the year"?

That is like Osama bin laden giving a suicide bomber an award

justwise:

That is like Osama bin laden giving a suicide bomber an award

The undeniable truth is, the justification of wikileaks will continue to be a debatable topic, not with governments such as Russia and South America  supporting him, many people need just a reason to hate America, and Julian is providing 250,000 of such reasons, you can hardly castigate such a man.

If he died of mysterious circumstances tomorrow, the US will witness a massive wave of criticisms and condemnation from across the world and in America.