[ExI] the ambiguously evil british have leaked julian assange's address

Jeff Davis jrd1415 at gmail.com
Fri Dec 17 02:05:23 UTC 2010


First, let me say Darren, that I appreciate your participation here,
and though we may at times disagree, that's a good thing.  It provokes
a spirited discourse and keeps us all on our toes.

Olive branch.  Not personal.

I say this because the last time we disagreed, I was fierce and as is
sometimes the case, harsh.  But I've calmed down and gotten over it.
Welcome.  Merry Christmas, and I've got your back.

Best, Jeff Davis

"Enjoying being insulting is a youthful corruption
        of power. You lose your taste for it when you
             realize how hard people try, how much they
                    mind, and how long they remember."
                                            Martin Amis

...now to substance


2010/12/16 Darren Greer <darren.greer3 at gmail.com>:
> What these papers reveal is that the whole system is so
> hopelessly corrupt and devoid of ethics that, short of revolution,
> people are powerless to do anything about it.

I'm torn.  Cynicism is a kind of drug for easing the discomfort of
despair and seeming-powerlessness .  I'm a regular user.  It helps me
feel better but never persuades.  The anger always rises again.
Consider the old saying, "Know the truth and the truth shall set you
free."  Well, yes and no.  No, in the sense that it's only the first
step.  Grabbing the liars by the scruff of the neck, and holding them
accountable, well that might be the more difficult part of the
truth-leads-to-freedom process.

When the anger returns, I have the energy to imagine a way out short
of revolution.  Currently, I still see a way out.  Maybe it's a false
hope, maybe not.

Anyway, it's the holiday season, so save your cynicism for after the
new congress is convened in January.  That's the season of despair.

                     <snip>

> If I had any doubt about this, it disappeared when I started checking public
> opinion polls. The majority of people interviewed in a poll in the U.S. over
> the August Afghanistan leaks think that governments should be allowed to
> keep secrets and we should do just keep quiet and support them.
> http://www.aolnews.com/2010/08/03/poll-more-americans-view-afghan-war-docs-leak-as-harmful/

AOL is as MSM as you can get.  No credibility there.  And take a look
at the comments section following that article.  Nine of ten of the
respondents are emphatic in their contempt for the poll results.  They
think it's a crock.  Which "poll" ya gonna believe?

> In another more recent on-going poll on MSNBC,
> slightly under 50 percent
> think Wikileaks should be declared a terrorist organization.
> http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/11/poll-is-wikileaks-terrorist.html

I took a look at that poll.  Incredible.  They ask if Wikileaks is a
terrorist organization, and then they give the argument in support of
that contention, and THEN they ask what the reader thinks.  And they
still couldn't get a majority to say yes.

I must confess however that the recent characterization of Wikileaks
and Assange as "terrorists" is quite scary to me.  Because it
resonates.  Falsely.  But resonates nevertheless, I suppose because
the right has used "terrorist" so widely and loosely tha tnow, anyone
or anything in active opposition to US Govt authority -- dissent,
activism, independent journalism --is a candidate for the label, and
the consequences.  But even the MSM is now pushing back against that.

Anyway, don't give up hope just yet.  I'm still betting that the tech
wizardry that has given us the internet and changed the world, will
lead us to a solution.

<snip>

> Sorry if I seem a bit cynical. I'm putting up Christmas decorations and I'm trying to get in the mood. :)

Meeeeeeeeerry Christmas, ho ho ho.

Best, Jeff Davis

 "And I think to myself, what a wonderful world!"
                  Louie Armstrong



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