In recent months there has been considerable discussion about the WikiLeaks phenomenon, and understandably so, given the volume and sensitivity of the documents the website has released. What this discussion has revealed, however, is that the media and government agencies believe there is a single protagonist to be concerned with—something of a James Bond villain, if you will—when in fact the protagonist is something altogether different: an informal network of revolutionary individuals bound by a shared ethic and culture.
According to conventional wisdom, the alleged protagonist is, of course, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and the discussion of him has ranged from Raffi Khatchadourian's June portrait in The New Yorker, which makes Assange sound like a master spy in a John le Carré novel, to Tunku Varadarajan's epic ad hominem bloviation in The Daily Beast: "With his bloodless, sallow face, his lank hair drained of all color, his languorous, very un-Australian limbs, and his aura of blinding pallor that appears to admit no nuance, Assange looks every inch the amoral, uber-nerd villain."
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Showing posts with label Assange. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Assange. Show all posts
The Dramatic Face of Wikileaks / Biella Coleman
Wikileaks: It has caused a firestorm of debate among very different sectors of the population and about different topics: from the state of journalism (is it broken is it not?); to how much secrecy is acceptable for diplomatic negotiations, the role of the leak in changing diplomacy and a question as to whether it will be good for scholarship (I think it will be but for different reasons parlayed there).
It has induced rage, growing support among Internet enthusiasts, including anonymous who have/has kicked off Operation Avenge Assange and among liberals it has caused "soul-searching" crisis and confusion as they can't fully support, nor fully decry Wikileaks. Thankfully some of commentary comes in the form of video humor and of course, one of the staples of the Internet, sad kittens.
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