The life of a spy can be pretty profitable.
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So why does he do it then? And why doesn't he hack other countries outside the West? I've never seen a Russian or Chinese wikileak, have you?
Also, it's not like no-one has ever faked documents before, especially if they can access the originals.
Again, not saying it's true, just saying you can't assume everything that comes from Assange is the gospel truth just 'cause he projects a certain image.
I don't think I'm following you. It's pretty much the only thing CNN's been covering for days. Also, it isn't at all difficult to prove a negative. It either happened or it didn't. As far as I know every intelligence agency in america is currently investigating it so until someone comes back as fake I have a hard time considering it so.
The Director of National Intelligence said it was not a document that came from the intelligence community. Also BuzzFeedBen, when breaking the "story" also said "there is serious reason to doubt the allegations." Based on everything that has happened so far, the "story" is almost certainly fake, except it hasn't been "proven" fake since that's really hard to do.
Regarding what news source I think isn't fake, none. Every source has a big bias, even the ones that try hard at neutrality. The best I can come up with is consuming sources that disagree with each other and using my brain to the best of my ability. I tend to ignore tabloids like Huffpaint, Certainly Not News, and The Young Communists.
Excellent, succinct rundown of the false allegations on Trump:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ9eNAEbkU4
Buzzfeed owned, CNN owned, the CIA owned, Rick Wilson owned. Owned by whom? The unstoppable tag team of their own bloodlust to de-legitimize Trump at all costs and a 4chan troll.
This is some Oedipus Rex level irony. CNN et al. have been hammering on for over a month about all the fake news that originates from places like 4chan, only for 4chan to feed them enough rope that they hang themselves with their own fake news scandal.
Of course, the life of an ambassador is shit in comparison. Travelling the world, all expenses paid, having your kids' private education fees paid for by the govt, juicy pension, not having to worry about jail etc.
I mean I do appreciate your use of the word "spy" here, it didn't go unnoticed. If Murray is a plant, then "spy" is surely the correct word. But if that's what his job is, then he has the problem of fearing for his life or liberty. These are heavy prices to pay. I mean a spy is not a particularly principled person... one who is willing to betray one's nation. If he's that much of a cunt, then why not just keep his job as ambassador and turn a blind eye to the shit the British Govt get up to?
Well if this is the case, fair enough on your use of the word "hack". Although, it's still worth noting that there remains a distinction between an internal hack and a foreign hack. And it's not merely a question of where the hack came from... it's who's responsible. If I go to Russia and hack the British govt and release compromising material, well that's different to one of Putin's goons doing it. Unless I'm working for Putin, of course. But let's assume I'm doing it from Russia because I feel safer there, and that it's based purely on morality. In this case, Putin is not repsonsible, and has no onus on him to arrest me.
It has bugger all to do with his image, and everything to do with track record. I give Wikileaks a lot more credit today than I did a few years ago.
FYI, there have been leaks relating to China. There are 5000+ govt officials who have bank accounts in Switzerland, with the money being laundered through Hong Kong. There's also something about China being willing to abandon North Korea. I'm not sure about Russia, google results bring up a huge amount of stuff relating to the current climate, and I can't be fucked to trawl through it all.
Also, you use the word "hack" here. Wikileaks doesn't hack. Wikileaks accepts leaks. Whether those leaks were from hacks is another issue, but wikileaks aren't the ones doing the hacking.
Ya, I don't really believe he's a spy, I just think whistleblowers should be treated with the same skepticism as other people.
Also, other diplomats have been found guilty of spying. So apparently some thought it was worth it.
And being a whistleblower is arguably as dangerous as being a spy. You're still more-or-less treated like a traitor.
By the state, sure. But not by people like me.Quote:
Originally Posted by poop
I don't. Spies and whistleblowers are not in the same league. Spies aren't doing what they do based on their moral compass. Not all whistleblowers do either, so I understand why there should be some skepticism. But to argue that the same skepticism should be applied to whistleblowers as there is at spies, well this is not something I agree with at all.Quote:
Ya, I don't really believe he's a spy, I just think whistleblowers should be treated with the same skepticism as other people.
Sure. Of course, it's worth pointing out at this stage that Murray no longer has access to state secrets, and hasn't for a long time. So while it's not out of the question that he was a spy, it's highly unlikely he would still remain one, simply because he wouldn't be a very good one.Quote:
Also, other diplomats have been found guilty of spying. So apparently some thought it was worth it.
I'm sorry, where did I say this? Noone is incapable of lying. But, those who do usually get exposed. When it comes to making allegations of the nature that Wikileaks release, well people tend to get sued when they make false claims on this scale. If Wikileaks have been successfully sued, well please show me when.Quote:
So publishing a bunch of leaked/hacked stuff makes you incapable of lying? I didn't realise that.
A spy can pretend to be a whistleblower, that's my point. (And by 'spy' obviously I'm broadening the definition outside of simply 'passing information' to include other types of espionage).
I already answered this.
Here's a question: How do wikileaks verify what they're publishing is a legitmate document? Shouldn't that be an important part of a whistleblower's agenda?
This is actually a very good question, one that obviously I can't answer, and one that I have pondered myself. That said, they appear to do a very good job of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by poop
Well, you're taking the word "spy" outside of the scope I would use that word. Who is the leaked information going to? Why was the information leaked? The answers to these question determine whether we're talking about a spy or a whistleblower, at least in my view.Quote:
A spy can pretend to be a whistleblower, that's my point. (And by 'spy' obviously I'm broadening the definition outside of simply 'passing information' to include other types of espionage).
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archi...curacy-record/
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig Murray
None of this really gets at the question of why Wikileaks does what it does though. What is their actual purpose- just to tattle on everyone? And who's paying for all this? Maybe they're all just super-idealists. Maybe they're up to something shady. I have no way of knowing.
If you look at the effect their work has it seems basically to undermine gov't in principle, and democratic gov't in particular. In that, they seem to share a common theme with Murray. Thus it's not surprising he's a fan.
Granted, they're not pushing narratives like 'Hillary is an alien', but that just shows they're trying to be taken seriously. Doesn't prove anything they do is legit.
Their goal seems to me to undermine corrupt government, to expose their immoral practises. Who's paying for it all? I was under the impression they took donations, and I am confident there would be no shortage in that regard.
You seem more concerned about the reason why Wikileaks do what they do, than you are about the content of the leaks.
If your brother was caught stealing money from someone's bank account by a bank employee who happened to notice an unusual transaction, would you say that the person who caught them is the one who needs to be analysed?
looooooooolllllllllllllllll
http://redpanels.com/comics/4chan-pol-comic.png
Again, to what end? Just so everyone knows their gov'ts are corrupt? What else is new?
No, I'm saying it's not as simple as trusting the information-giver by dint of the fact that they claim to be a whistleblower. There's other ways the scenario could come about.
But it's not just the fact they claim to be a whistleblower. In Wikileaks' case, it's their track record. And in Murray's case, it's the perceived integrity that he has through blowing his career.Quote:
No, I'm saying it's not as simple as trusting the information-giver by dint of the fact that they claim to be a whistleblower. There's other ways the scenario could come about.
Can I be 100% certain of the integrity of either Wikileaks or Murray? Of course not, this isn't maths or physics we're talking about here. But to dismiss them based on paranoia relating to their intentions is to basically say I trust noone at all. That's a very depressing position to be quite honest.
There must be people out there who just want the world to be a better place. If I were in the position to expose government lies, I would do so without any interest in financial reward. Am I a special kind of person? I don't think so at all.
But if someone showed you the transaction, in black and white, with IP addresses to pinpoint the source of the theft, would you still say the bank employee might merely have an axe to grind?
I'm not suggesting you assume guilt. I'm suggesting you assume the employee was doing what he felt was the right thing to do. Guilt is for the courts to decide. The point of the bank employee tipping off police is to allow the courts to decide if your brother is guilty or not.
The problem we have here is that instead of having people face courts when they are exposed by groups like Wikileaks, people are instead bickering about where the leaks came from and for what motive.
There's other ways to look at these things is my point. What appears to be true is not always true.
There's a difference between questioning and dismissing.
Sure there are, I'm one of them. The problem is you can't necessarily know who they are. The good guys don't necessarily wear white hats.
You really don't need to tell me this. If you think I haven't questioned the sincerity of these guys, you're mistaken.
Well, it boils down to this... people like Murray and Assange are a lot more likely to be good guys than any given politician, or a celebrity. If Assange is gonna spend 5 years or whatever cooped up in some embassy to pull the wool over my eyes, bravo to him, he did it. They've done everything they can to destroy him. To think he's a plant is even more paranoid than any of the theories I do subscribe to.Quote:
Sure there are, I'm one of them. The problem is you can't necessarily know who they are. The good guys don't necessarily wear white hats.
Let me be clear about something... from the way they come across both in type and in media, I don't particularly like Assange, and I do like Murray. Assange seems arrogant. Murray seems compassionate and honest. If it wasn't for Wikileaks' track record, helped along by Murray's endorsement of Assange, I'd be a lot more skeptical about the latter. If Murray is a plant to get close to Assange, well he could just be the world's best spy. I'd probably like him even more. Sadly, I don't think that's the case.
Nicely dismissed.
The point of that analogy is to point out that what matters is that your brother stole some money (allegedly), not that the bank employee dobbed him in. A crime was committed (allegedly).
Wikileaks are exposing crimes, and people are accusing them of having ulterior motives. Who gives a fuck about their motives if what they are exposing is actually true? Why is that the primary concern?
I don't think that. You're confusing my questioning with dismissal and that's not what I've been saying.
They may be. It's also possible Assange is actually a rapist hiding to save his own skin.
Again (and again and again), you're confusing what I consider as a possibility with what I believe. Believing all of these speculations whole-heartedly would indeed be paranoid. Not trusting him 100% is being sensible.
You're adding bits to the story I never even said.
Do you not see the link between these two questions?
If you say 'I don't care why they're putting out all this information that embarrasses gov'ts, I just accept their motives are pure and the information is accurate', then you're not thinking very hard.
And I'm not accusing you of that. But you're accusing me of being paranoid for questioning those same things. Ok then, I'm paranoid.
Yeah I mean out of all the possible outcomes, this is probably the least likely. As far as I can tell, the girl in question has never accused him of rape.Quote:
Originally Posted by poop
Inappropriate.
Indeed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38593513
How mad are you going to be when this works out amazingly Wuf?
In b4 Ong moves to Finland.
People getting a basic income to spend as they please would make like much harder for people like Ong who sponge off loads of different types of benefits.
On a more serious note it strikes me that most places will be going towards a system like that in the future.
Oh wait this is the shitposting thread so I'll assume you being partly tongue in cheek
Current systems < non-ridiculous basic income < no welfare
Clearly the amount of basic income everyone gets would be lower than the benefits people might get now, since it's paid to everyone. The point is that working would not cut your benefits as it does now, creating more incentive to find work.
Sorry bout the somewhat non-shitpost.
What I meant is that this basic income of £490 that they're giving is more or less the same as what I currently claim in total. And yes, you're right, if they had a similar system here, then it would greatly increase the chances of me getting some work, perhaps in a pub.
Of course it's an extra incentive. Just because the vast majority of jobs out there are shit and not jobs I intend to take on, doesn't mean I'll never work again so long as I have benefits.Quote:
Originally Posted by banana
It's not?
Mathematically it must be. Consider the number line as aggregate incentives; negative values are disincentives and positives are incentives. Any subtraction of a negative necessarily moves our aggregate value more positive.
Using a real world example: reducing tax write-offs for healthcare consumption is a disincentive to consume healthcare and an incentive to consume other products (or to invest or save).
Lets not get started on the meanings of similar and the same again.
In context they are the same.
I've got steam left in that one if you wish to continue...
It is still my present, so I can confirm that it is certainly longer than a nanosecond. It's at least the time between since we had that discussion and now.
Time is an illusion.
I need this in my life
http://i.imgur.com/wChr0V7.png
I like quitaly. Also Oui out. And finished. And Swedone.
I like Brexit. Happy memories.
Only because it's an anagram of quality.
oh snap crackle pop i didnt see that
How do you not immediately see that quality and quitaly are anagrams? Are you some kind of word retard?
More, please.
declaration of independence made me chuckle.
literalol
http://i.imgur.com/XhkYkAx.jpg
In class yesterday sitting next to chick who was moaning about how bad a day she was having because it was inauguration day. Other things about this chick:
Obese.
Messy.
Cheats.
Not smart.
Brags about not being attractive.
It's gotten to the point that I just assume the most well put together people in each of my classes is on the Trump Train and all the others are oppressed victims of oppressive mansplaining oppression.
So how many people went to celebrate Trump's grand inauguration? I heard it was the lowest turnout for quite a while.
How about those super low approval ratings? Rigged?