Truth and consequences
December 8th 2010 04:13
Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.
-- Commissioner Pravin Lal, “U.N. Declaration of Rights”
From Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri
I don’t have any particular affection or enmity for Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. But I’m a little surprised how many news outlets are reporting his sudden arrest, apparently on a warrant issued in Sweden and related to alleged sexual assault and misconduct, with a straight face. The crimes the warrant accuses him of may be deadly serious, but the timing of the investigation into them is almost farcical, coming as it does in the same week where Eric Holder has been publicly scrambling to find a crime Assange can be charged with.
Holder is at best exaggerating and at worst patently wrong when he claims that the latest leak “put lives at risk.” Based on reports from people who read its contents, the most that could be said about it is that it paints parts of the American diplomatic corps in an unflattering light. Once upon a time, America prided itself on not arresting people who hadn’t committed a crime – or at least, told itself that it did. The attitude that certain enemies of the government must be taken down at all costs, even if it involves thumbing our collective nose at the rule of law, is older than we would like to believe. But it is rapidly becoming more blatant – and much more dangerous – than we had ever imagined.
-- Commissioner Pravin Lal, “U.N. Declaration of Rights”
From Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri
I don’t have any particular affection or enmity for Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. But I’m a little surprised how many news outlets are reporting his sudden arrest, apparently on a warrant issued in Sweden and related to alleged sexual assault and misconduct, with a straight face. The crimes the warrant accuses him of may be deadly serious, but the timing of the investigation into them is almost farcical, coming as it does in the same week where Eric Holder has been publicly scrambling to find a crime Assange can be charged with.
Holder is at best exaggerating and at worst patently wrong when he claims that the latest leak “put lives at risk.” Based on reports from people who read its contents, the most that could be said about it is that it paints parts of the American diplomatic corps in an unflattering light. Once upon a time, America prided itself on not arresting people who hadn’t committed a crime – or at least, told itself that it did. The attitude that certain enemies of the government must be taken down at all costs, even if it involves thumbing our collective nose at the rule of law, is older than we would like to believe. But it is rapidly becoming more blatant – and much more dangerous – than we had ever imagined.
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