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In reply to the discussion: For Whom Do You Lobby, Madame Secretary? [View all]Octafish
(55,745 posts)37. What has Wikileaks ever taught us?
A blast from the DU past that has relevance for today and tomorrow:
How often have we been told in world-weary tones that Wikileaks has revealed nothing new - especially by those who want to appear to be in the know? Here is an aide-mémoire of a few of the highest profile revelations.
by Ryan Gallagher
17 February 2011
OpenDemocracy.net
Since 2006, whistleblower website WikiLeaks has published a mass of information we would otherwise not have known. The leaks have exposed dubious procedures at Guantanamo Bay and detailed meticulously the Iraq War's unprecedented civilian death-toll. They have highlighted the dumping of toxic waste in Africa as well as revealed America's clandestine military actions in Yemen and Pakistan.
The sheer scope and significance of the revelations is shocking. Among them are great abuses of power, corruption, lies and war crimes. Yet there are still some who insist WikiLeaks has "told us nothing new". This collection, sourced from a range of publications across the web, illustrates nothing could be further from the truth. Here, if there is still a grain of doubt in your mind, is just some of what WikiLeaks has told us:
SNIP...
The Obama administration worked with Republicans to protect Bush administration officials facing a criminal investigation into torture (see Mother Jones)
SNIP...
More than 66,000 civilians suffered violent deaths in Iraq between 2004 and the end of 2009 (see the Telegraph)
CONTINUED with LINKS...
http://www.opendemocracy.net/ryan-gallagher/what-has-wikileaks-ever-taught-us-read-on
Gee. No wonder they want to shut up Assange and the Internet he rode in on.
PS: The picture above is of Jose Padilla in his sensory deprivation goggles.
PPS: You are most welcome, LiberalLovinLug! Thank you for caring about stuff like Democracy and the First Amendment and the future of the nation and planet.
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For some, the truth is greatly overrated. For some, having a big "D" and a certain gender is enough.
AnotherMcIntosh
Dec 2012
#1
Toshiba is a reminder of the relationship of money to loyalty - corporate, national, personal.
Octafish
Dec 2012
#4
Thanks for remind me, Robb. How many jobs does Westinghouse provide in the United States?
Octafish
Dec 2012
#20
watch it, Octafish, or you will be called a "hater" or something. Thanks for that. nt
antigop
Dec 2012
#6
Who? The Senator from Tata? The same people she has always worked for. K&R n/t
Egalitarian Thug
Dec 2012
#13
When it comes to promoting the nation's interest, odd how often it coincides with one's own.
Octafish
Dec 2012
#27
Just a series of wild and random coincidences. Nobody could possibly be that clever. n/t
Egalitarian Thug
Dec 2012
#33
what good would it do to break up the soviet union if the satellites stay within the russian orbit?
HiPointDem
Dec 2012
#21