There appears to be some new, subversive organization whose name escapes me, but they’re apparently into releasing highly classified information through what can best be described as “wicked leaks.” So, for the sake of expediency, let’s just refer to the organization as “Wicked Leaks.”
Wicked Leaks has been raising a lot of eyebrows in the name of “freedom of speech.” Its leader … I think his name is Julian Estranged … has, in fact, estranged a lot of people. He encourages well-meaning individuals to gather sensitive information and share it with the public. Most of these “do-gooders” are apparently outdoorsmen. They all seem to have some sort of ax-to-grind along with a broken moral compass.
Of course, there are those who see Mr. Estranged as a crusader for truth. After all, he tells us that he is doing this to ferret out the secrets of the unjust. Come to think of it, he does look a little bit like a ferret!
Mr. Estranged and his supporters routinely invoke the First Amendment to justify their altruistic ideals. When Amazon stopped hosting Wicked Leaks today (possibly at the behest of Congress), the site went down for several hours before it became available through its previous host in Bahnhof, Sweden. Wicked Leaks was quick to tweet: “… servers at Amazon ousted. Free speech the land of the free--fine our $ are now spent to employ people in Europe.” Wow! That “free speech” zinger really hurts, and the economic threat could further damage the U.S. economy … particularly in light of the fact that Wicked Leaks professes that all of its employees are unpaid volunteers.
Then, it really slammed Amazon by tweeting: “If Amazon are so uncomfortable with the first amendment, they should get out of the business of selling books.” Poor grammar aside, I’ll bet that Amazon is quaking in its boots. That being said, my books are still available on Amazon, so let’s hope that it survives! If I’ve offended any Wicked Leaks supporters, I suggest that they all buy my books and burn them in a powerful act of defiance. In fact, they should do it daily until I surrender my will and take a more favorable view of their cause.
Of course, once the Constitution is invoked, as the Common Sense Czar, I have no alternative but to address the subject. I find it interesting that Mr. Estranged wraps himself in the protection of the Constitution of the United States … since he’s an Australian. Perhaps, had he been raise here as our President was … okay, bad example … he would know that the First Amendment does not protect all forms of speech. I address this very issue in The National Platform of Common Sense in more detail, but suffice it to say that speech is not protected when it is either untrue or creates an undo threat.
With regard to the former, let’s give Mr. Estranged and Wicked Leaks a pass and assume that everything they publish is “true.” Let’s restrict our discussion to whether their actions pose a threat; and to do that, let’s put a few things into perspective. If you worked for a company and published its “trade secrets,” you’d be subject to prosecution because your actions would potentially have damaged the company. Now, let’s make it a little more personal. Let’s say you were running for President and someone released your birth certificate or college transcripts against your wishes. That would be almost treasonous! Now, let’s bring the concept a little closer to home. Let’s say someone released some extremely embarrassing information about you. How would you feel about that? Perhaps you made a glaring mistake at some point in your life: an incident involving alcohol … adultery … drugs … or even voting for someone who wasn’t on your party’s ticket. Would you really want that type of information being globally disseminated without your permission or knowledge? What if some clinical Narcissist decided to play God and put your life at risk? How would you feel about that?
You see, there are laws against what Mr. Estranged and Wicked Leaks are doing … even if Attorney General Holder doesn’t seem to be able to find them. 18 USC 793(e) states: “Whoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control over any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted, or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it ... Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.” That seems to accurately describe the behavior in question. And by the way, those who gave Wicked Leaks the classified information are subject to a similar fine and twenty years in jail under the Espionage Act of 1917.
Okay, so it’s almost certainly illegal activity, but what’s the real harm … assuming you can overlook putting our troops, hundreds of operatives, and a few diplomats needlessly in harm’s way? We found out that the Saudi government would like the United States to intervene and aggressively end Iran’s nuclear program. Does it surprise you that they would like to live in a more stable region? Would you be shocked and appalled if I were to suggest that the Saudi’s might even condemn our actions after the fact. Wow! That would be a bombshell (no pun intended).
And what about the revelation that even the Chinese government thinks that North Korea’s leadership is a card short of a full deck? Similarly, was anyone really astonished to learn that Pakistan’s government might be corrupt or that there are a lot of “backroom deals” going on around the world?
Today, Mr. Estranged challenged Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to resign. "She should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up," said Estranged. There are those of us who live in the real world who might think she should resign if she didn’t order “U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations.” News flash for Mr. Estranged: the United Nations is filled with diplomatic figures who routinely engage in espionage. Are you kidding me? You didn’t know that? Then again, in retrospect, I might actually be inclined to side with Mr. Estranged on this one. Think about it! If we applied his resignation mandate equally to every country (not just the ones that Mr. Estranged doesn’t like), the United Nations might rapidly fade away like its predecessor, the League of Nations. There wouldn’t be anyone left. If you’ve read The National Platform of Common Sense, you know that’s a plan I could readily support.
I’m beginning to feel that maybe I’ve been too harsh on Mr. Estranged and Wicked Leaks. Perhaps I should reconsider the value that their “intellectual incontinence” brings to the world. I actually read several articles and blogs (along with their associated comments) that were wildly supportive of this crew. Many “journalists” praise him as a brave new hero who is standing up to the establishment and defying censorship for the good of mankind. That sounds like a worthy goal … particularly since those same journalists don’t seem to be as keen to pursue it on their own. I guess it’s easier for them to embrace the ambition when someone else is placed at risk … sort of as Mr. Estranged and Wicked Leaks are comfortable doing to others.
These same pundits also laud Mr. Estranged and Wicked Leaks for their commitment to “transparency and accountability” … regardless of the cost. That must be why Mr. Estranged lives in several countries and is constantly moving about in a clandestine manner. That must also be why Wicked Leaks may have to relocate to Switzerland or Iceland; the only countries in which Mr. Estranged feels Wicked Leaks may be safe to operate. Better yet, why not try Antarctica? Then, no one will question whether you’re presenting the cold, hard facts.
It seems to me that Mr. Estranged and Wicked Leaks have become what they profess to oppose: a non-transparent individual and organization that do everything they can to avoid accountability. I find it to be somewhat ironic that Mr. Estranged supposedly fears for his life and, as a result, suppresses information about his own whereabouts; yet, he has no problem “outing” others for whom such risks might be far more probable.
In honor of Wicked Leaks, I looked up “accountability” on Dictionary.com (I thought it should be done online), which says that “accountability” is “the state of being accountable, liable, or answerable.” So, what could be more perfect than for Mr. Estranged to surface in the United States and test the waters of whether his (and Wicked Leaks’) speech is indeed protected? Would he prefer to test the waters in Iran … or Afghanistan … or, perhaps, China? At least in the U.S., he won’t be stoned to death, have his tongue cut out, or just “disappear” for being a dissident. Our current Administration ran on the promise of being completely transparent and accountable; and besides, it doesn’t like to prosecute people anyway … just States. This has got to be his best chance.
Otherwise, it would be interesting if someone were to “leak” embarrassing information about Mr. Estranged and identify where he is. Maybe, in a weak moment, he drew a derogatory picture of a religious prophet. Or, perhaps, he released information that was damaging to a drug cartel. Who knows? It’s easy to treat the lives of real people as if they were expendable inanimate objects when you don’t know them … and don’t care. It’s even easier if you can hide behind a “cause” to justify your cognitive dissonance. But when you experience it directly, it elevates your personal appreciation for the consequences of your actions. I can only hope that Mr. Estranged finds a more productive way to “expose” the establishment without needlessly sacrificing the careers and lives of others. Until then, it’s common sense to believe that all of his leaks will be wicked.
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Copyright © 2010 T.J. O’Hara. To support viral distribution, this article may be copied, reprinted, forwarded, linked, or published in any form as long as proper attribution is given to the author and no changes are made.
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