Two of us, Ellsberg and Noam Chomsky, testified for Assange at his extradition hearing last year. In Ellsberg’s words then, the WikiLeaks publications that Assange is being charged for are “amongst the most important truthful revelations of hidden criminal state behavior that have been made public in U.S. history.” The American public “needed urgently to know what was being done routinely in their name, and there was no other way for them to learn it than by unauthorized disclosure.”

    • YaaAsantewaa
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      1 year ago

      That’s called “telling the truth”

      Just because you attempt to hide crimes doesn’t mean people have no right to expose them, it’s simply a matter of being upset someone found out

      And like I said, the US doesn’t even deny any of the leaks, so the only reason they want to persecute an innocent person is an overtly authoritarian show of force. If we’re going to simply abandon our principles willy-nilly whenever we feel like it then we’re not a democratic country

        • YaaAsantewaa
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          1 year ago

          Then you either work for the government or you’re a Trump voter, there’s no other option here

        • davi@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          1 year ago

          you’re misinformed and making a silly argument based on your misinformation.

            • flint5436@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              That the US law forbids such acts is a no brainer. But it’s still “Telling the truth”. imho this qualifies him for the nobel peace price rather than incarceration.

                • flint5436@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  2
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  He isn’t being pursued for sharing the info but rather in directly committing crimes to get the info.

                  Debatable. But even if he did, that means he helped uncover the human rights abuses of the US and it’s allies and their unbelievable collateral damage(~60% of deaths in Irak where civilians). Again maybe legally wrong, but ethically it was the right thing to do.

                  He’s also now a Russian stooge so probably

                  I don’t know where you get that info from, but if I had messed with the largest military industrial complex on the planet, I’d be looking for friends in other contries aswell. Snowden understadably did the same.

                  probably deserves nothing other than what the US prison system will give him.

                  I wouldn’t even want my worst enemy to experience US prisons. They are inhumane and they torture prisoners (extended solitary confinement) on a daily basis as a form of coercion. How could you wish this on anyone?

            • YaaAsantewaa
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              Love that word “alleged”

              Also love the 0 proof of anything you posted

                • YaaAsantewaa
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  2
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  1 year ago

                  You didn’t post sources you just posted your blog with a bunch of random news articles, none of which even supports your claim

              • Maggoty@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                1 year ago

                You’d have to have had your head in the ground for the last decade to not know that stuff.

      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        “Telling the truth” and “Asking someone to steal classified information to be selectively revealed in order to further the interests of Russia” aren’t identical concepts.