Can someone PLEASE help me under stand this WikiLEaks thing?

Small Ones wrote:

I understand very little about how this Assange guy gets the information.

He gets the information via leaks. Since you heard about it all over the newspapers, internet, cable news, magazines, etc., I'm surprised you didn't hear mention of the assumed source for much of this latest dump (a disgruntled US Army soldier).

Also, did he really rape someone?

Maybe that's what the Swedish court would like to answer.

Um, yeah wrote:

He gets the information via leaks. Since you heard about it all over the newspapers, internet, cable news, magazines, etc., I'm surprised you didn't hear mention of the assumed source for much of this latest dump (a disgruntled US Army soldier).

I appreciate the response, albeit snarky. Yes, I understand the info comes from random leaks, but how is it verified, etc?

I guess I want to know how he developed any authority.

because you appear to have a solid grasp on the situation, can you address the other questions?

Small Ones wrote:

Um, yeah wrote:

He gets the information via leaks. Since you heard about it all over the newspapers, internet, cable news, magazines, etc., I'm surprised you didn't hear mention of the assumed source for much of this latest dump (a disgruntled US Army soldier).

I appreciate the response, albeit snarky. Yes, I understand the info comes from random leaks, but how is it verified, etc?

I guess I want to know how he developed any authority.

because you appear to have a solid grasp on the situation, can you address the other questions?

The fact that the US is responding the way it is would be a good indication of the veracity (and potential harm) of the information. Assange has claimed that the rape charges are fabricated in an attempt to get him to a country with whom the US has extradition agreements (via treaties or armistices). Many of the current espionage laws people want to apply to Assange technically cannot be applied to him as he is not a US citizen. However, the person who passed him the information can be tried for treason. There is an entirely international different body of laws under which Assange can be tried (international convention on cybercriminality from 2001), but, which, more than likely, he cannot be prosecuted since the US never entered into that convention. He's a smart guy, but, when you play with international power brokers, the rules get bent. They will more than likely end the witch hunt shaking him down but not actually doing anything for fear of the leverage Assange has placed out there with his poison pill.

The source for most or all of the most recent round of leaked papers is a soldier named Bradley Manning. He is a gay soldier and said he leaked it because he was upset at not being able to serve openly.

I don't see that Assange is doing anything wrong. It is not treason. He is a member of the press. I thought we went through all of this with the Pentagon papers.

I have little knowledge of the rape charges but it would not surprise me if they were entirely made up. Maybe that is just my general cynicism about the U.S. government, though.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

I don't see that Assange is doing anything wrong. It is not treason. He is a member of the press. I thought we went through all of this with the Pentagon papers.

Mostly it's not treason because Assange is not a U.S. citizen. An Austrian can't commit treason against the U.S.

Small Ones wrote:

Yes, I understand the info comes from random leaks, but how is it verified, etc?

You mean you think that people who post things on the internet do extensive fact-checking, research and citing other sources? Are you new to the interwebs thing?

I guess I want to know how he developed any authority.

The authority that comes with owning and knowing how to use a computer connected to the internet.

because you appear to have a solid grasp on the situation, can you address the other questions?

Never claimed to have a solid grasp. Then again, there's a lot more about the story I know I could find out before I'd be reduced to asking for information on letsrun about it.

Bear of Bad News wrote:

Mr. Obvious wrote:

I don't see that Assange is doing anything wrong. It is not treason. He is a member of the press. I thought we went through all of this with the Pentagon papers.

Mostly it's not treason because Assange is not a U.S. citizen. An Austrian can't commit treason against the U.S.

... or, more relevantly, neither can an Australian :)

pr100 wrote:

... or, more relevantly, neither can an Australian :)

Ha, yes. That too.