[stefanp]

Guys, wikileaks is basically fighting for survival against the US government, among others. Can we really suggest they "just" use this or that, or complain that they're not handling thing so well ? They are basically trying to exist in a space that's almost impossible for most countries to exist in.

We're not talking about your average (or even uniquely scalable) startup here.

Seriously, do you have any doubt that anyone involved in this could end up secretly detained for years ? Assange is taking huge personal risks here, so yeah, it is about him, to a very large extent.

[Kadin]

That may be true, but it's not as though Wikileaks has been particularly well-managed, or done much to decrease their (by which I mean 'his') exposure. There has been a lot of what appears to be, to put it bluntly, showboating, intentional or otherwise.

I can't say whether it stems from a desire for celebrity on Assange's part, which would be totally incompatible with the mission of a site like WL, or if it's unintentional and simply the result of accidental mismanagement. But either way I don't think it bodes well for the future of the site.

That said, I don't think that Assange or Wikileaks in general are critical. If nothing else, he proved that there is material out there waiting to be released. The concept, at least in broad strokes, is still sound; it was the execution that was flawed.

I think there is an open opportunity right now for someone to step in and do right -- less politically, less bombastically, more securely and more decentralized -- what WL aimed to do.

[ErrantX]

Guys, wikileaks is basically fighting for survival against the US government,

Seems unlikely; they could well be exploring legal and technical options - but due to where Wikileaks operates from the US government will have a hard time taking it apart. There could be a black bag operation in effect; but I have a feeling if that were the case we would soon be hearing about it from Assange.

Seriously, do you have any doubt that anyone involved in this could end up secretly detained for years ?

Yes, someone in Government would have to be insane to risk that. OR Wikileaks would have to release something extremely critical/damaging. Assange is pretty high profile and his disappearance wouldn't go unnoticed.

We're not talking about your average (or even uniquely scalable) startup here.

No, but as pointed out elsewhere there are a lot of highly evolved models for distributions already in use by illegal enterprises. These are efficient, relatively cheap and difficult to track. The problem is that Wikileaks would lose a lot of editorial control; which, I guess, they don't want.

I have a number of ideas that I suggested to them (when they asked for help) to improve their infrastructure but never heard back...

Assange is taking huge personal risks here, so yeah, it is about him, to a very large extent.

I don't buy that - I think mostly he is a bit of an attention seeker and cries wolf at the slightest hint of a conspiracy :) There's not a lot wrong with that but you must bear it in mind when dealing with Wikileaks. I don't think Assange is taking a huge personal risk in terms of western governments. If they can nail him for something legally I am sure they will jump at it - but the political fall out from taking down a whistleblower is huge.

Besides; Wikileaks doesn't actually leak all that much (well, any more).....

[cjoh]

What evidence is there that this statement is actually true besides second hand evidence and assange's own statements? If there was documented evidence that the pentagon is after assange, wouldn't it be responsible for assange to "leak" that information?

I think we're getting scooped up in the story of a narcissist. A reliable source of information and a drama do not mix.

[Ardit20]

I upvoted you, but shouldn't this be a reply comment rather than a comment on its own.

[Ardit20]

I meant a reply to one of the comments above. It felt so when I read it much earlier, but never mind.

[Volscio]

Just as a counter-point, the posts to Cryptome from Wikileaks "insiders" all are negative towards Assange. It sounds, if those posts are true, that not even the Wikileaks folks approve of him.