Quote:
Originally Posted by longsuffering
You have much more confidence in the chain of command than I do.
I'd go far as to say you're being a bit naive about these mechanisms and the purpose they are supposed to serve.
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For certain things the whistle blower hotlines are useful and trustworthy. Cases of financial fraud in the US and Canada can be generally relied upon to be dealt with. Really you should go to the press only when something is outright illegal and being covered up like the time that Apache hosed those reporters.
But releasing all these classified diplomatic cables is ridiculous and hazardous and IMHO should not have been done since there was nothing illegal in those cables. It damages international relations on a wide scale that may take years to recover. Say for example now hardliners in the Chinese politburo could use the information in the wikileaks release to figure out who isn't supporting North Korea and just gets rid of them quietly. With no one to reign in NK, this could end up affect the lives of lots of civilians in several countries. etc
From what I understand, Assange did this to save his own hide as "insurance" against the dirty tactics of the US manipulating Interpol with those sex crime charges. This will end up affecting a lot more people than just him.