Comments on: WikiLeaks and the problem of too much information

By: Dave Bonta

Dave Bonta — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 03:06:23 +0000

In reply to Bluegrass Poet. LOL!

By: Bluegrass Poet

Bluegrass Poet — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:26:11 +0000

On this edition of Fresh Air, NYTimes reporter David Sanger (I think I got that right) claims that people need to have this information filtered because Assange has a political agenda but the NYTimes does not. I found that statement somewhat amusing.

By: Dave Bonta

Dave Bonta — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 03:49:05 +0000

In reply to Matt.

Thanks. Yes, it’s a well-argued post, and there’s a strong argument to be made against total transparency, but I’m not convinced that that’s really what’s at stake. I guess I need to read more of Wikileaks’s and Assange’s writings about that. In any case, if the risk of total transparency is that we no longer get to wage wars and try to run the world, I think I can live with that.

OT: that’s the first time I’ve seen someone use asterisks for links. Strikes me as poor usability, both because you dont know where the link is going, and because the expected behavior is for asterisks to go to footnotes/position links, not external pages.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 21:58:26 +0000

Have you seen Clay Shirky’s thoughts on the whole WikiLeaks affair? Good reading, and nicely nuanced.

http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2010/12/wikileaks-and-the-long-haul/

By: Dave Bonta

Dave Bonta — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:38:48 +0000

In reply to Bob BrueckL. Oh gosh! I'll have to do something to commemorate it.

By: Bob BrueckL

Bob BrueckL — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:28:15 +0000

Dave:
You’re right on the money on this issue. On an unrelated topic: Tomorrow is the 180th Birthday of Emily Dickinson!
Born: Dec. 10, 1830.
Died: May 15, 1886.

By: Dave Bonta

Dave Bonta — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:02:22 +0000

In reply to Natalie. I don't read newspaper comments too often, so I missed that. Heartwarming indeed!

By: Natalie

Natalie — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 11:53:46 +0000

Dave, I am on FBook, it’s just that I don’t check in there very often!
I agree that Bradley Manning is a hero – there must be, and probably is – a campaign to free him. But Assange too, I think, deserves tremendous respect for WeeWeeleaks.
Did you see the comments on the Guardian news site, where all these people wrote “I am Julian Assange” (imitating the Spartacus movie) when he was hiding in the UK? All offering to stand up for him.There’s a heartwarming feeling of fellowship, and not just among geeks, and not simply about J.A. personally but about the whole concept that ‘we the people’ are actually entitled to transparency from all the authorities, in all areas affecting the lives of everyone on this planet.

By: marly youmans

marly youmans — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 03:51:11 +0000

In reply to Dave Bonta. Nathan! Double heehee.

By: Dave Bonta

Dave Bonta — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:44:03 +0000

In reply to Natalie.

Natalie, see, if you were on Facebook, you’d know just how worked up I and some of my friends have been. And as you know, geeks of every nationality are up in arms.

As I was just saying to a Facebook friend a few moments ago, Assange doesn’t deserve hero status — Pfc. Bradley Manning does. He will spend the best decades of his life in military prison for this, if he isn’t executed.