"One of the things I find offensive about their operations is their willingness to disclose confidential records of religious and social organisations. If you are a Mormon or a Mason or a college girl who is a member of a sorority with a secret initiation ritual then WikiLeaks is not your friend. They will violate your privacy and your freedom of association without a second thought. That has nothing to do with whistleblowing or accountability. It's simply disclosure for disclosure's sake." Aftergood's criticism has angered WikiLeaks. The site's legal advisor, Jay Lim, wrote to Aftergood two years ago warning him to stop. "Who's side are you on here Stephen? It is time this constant harping stopped," Lim said. "We are very disappointed in your lack of support and suggest you cool it. If you don't, we will, with great reluctance, be forced to respond."Me, I would be more concerned about the disclosure of an airport security manual than the initiation rituals of sororities, more interesting though the latter might be. Still, Steven Aftegood has a point; the people behind Wikileaks seem as obsessed with violating everybody else's privacy as they are with protecting their own. Well, they were: at present the site offers only a selection of its greatest hits and many demands for money, in advance of a promised relaunch. Will we see it again? Will we be able to read the story of the secret agreement between two of New Zealand's most prominent corporations, forced on them by the government? Are the Wikileaks people becoming paranoid? I think we should be told.
Meanwhile in 1978, David "Kid" Jensen relaxes while Howard Devoto works his way into the heart of the crowd:
2 comments:
In 1979, my fellow punk rockers used to tease me saying I looked like Howard Devoto
Mine used to tell me I looked like Jimmy Page.
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