[pp.int.general] Support for Julian Assange and Wikileaks

[Radosław Nadstawny]

On Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:22:25 +0100
Boris Turovskiy <tourovski at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Erik,
> > Wikileaks is a representation of the belief in Free-speech,
> > Transparency and Democracy.
> In my opinion, Wikileaks is also a representation of the belief in
> lawlesness, digital right of the strongest, and violation of every
> right to privacy imaginable.
> I would ask you not to try silencing the people in the Pirate movement
> who are sceptical towards Wikileaks by stating that our support of
> Wikileaks is an axiom and should not be discussed. I'd be happy if we
> could lead a constructive dialogue on the topic as it does indeed
> touch many of our core political ideas (including transparency and
> privacy, two concepts which often contradict each other, as we have
> learned the hard way in the German Pirate Party), but I decline to
> participate in a discussion where one side considers itself right by
> definition.
> 
> Best regards,
> Boris


In my opinion, there are too many rules protecting those who break
other, more basic rules. They lead to situations in which a person can
break the law freely, because in order to prove his crime, one would
need to break the law himself.

As for the privacy vs. transparency issue, I think it's a false
dichotomy. This is how I see it: Privacy refers to private issues.
Transparency is concerned with authorities' decision making. Keep those
two separate, and you're good to go. Just like you wouldn't expect
privacy at your workplace, the officials shouldn't expect privacy while
carrying out their public responsibilities.

What do you think?