Oudheid en Middeleeuwen 1501-1600 1601-1700 1701-1800 1801-1900 1901-2000 2001-nu Filosofisch Sociaal en Cultureel Politiek en Economisch Technisch Stalinisme Maoïsme Neoliberalisme Socialisme Neomarxisme en Kritische theorie Complottheorieën Irrationaliteit Irrationaliteit (Bijgeloof en religie) Leugens, desinformatie, propaganda KlokkenluidersEen boek dat Assange op kritiekloze wijze idealiseert. Iemand tot held en krijger bombarderen, werkelijk ... En het is allemaal niet geweldig geschreven ook nog.
Wat er in Menn's Cult of the Dead Cow geschreven wordt over hem is een stuk kritischer en ik denk een heel stuk dichter bij de waarheid, al moet ik wel zeggen dat dit boek over Assange veel voor Assange niet zo vleiende communicaties wel eerlijk en open weergeeft.
Assange is iemand die hard werkte voor een mooi ideaal, maar zich zelfs bij zijn meest naaste medewerkers als een irritante kleine dictator gedroeg. Dat laatste wordt in dit boek pijnlijk duidelijk, maar tegelijkertijd toch ook te gemakkelijk verontschuldigd.
Valerie GUICHAOUA / Sophie RADERMECKER"It seems clear to us that Julian Assange’s actions should elevate him to the level of hero as defined by Joseph Campbell. In fact, since his commitment to the mission of the Internet, Julian Assange has overcome many challenges that make him an extraordinary man. With his determination to open the channels of truth, he has been through a long process of self-discovery and has uncovered his true personality.(...) Does Julian deserve to be judged like an ordinary man or does he deserve to be considered a warrior of truth?"(6)
[Ugh ... De auteurs hebben blijkbaar niet door dat het tamelijk dom en kritiekloos overkomt als je iemand tot een held en krijger wilt bombarderen. Waarom zou je dat willen? Je kunt iemands daden ook op waarde schatten zonder in dat soort lege termen te vervallen. Amerikaans 'He is a genius' - gebrabbel.]
"Even the birth of his son Daniel didn’t pry Julian away from his newly acquired Amiga 500. His neighbors were surprised to see this young girl alone, shopping with a baby in a stroller, going to the laundromat to wash baby clothes. It was so rare to see them together! A little while later, feeling isolated, the little family returned to Melbourne. When the police broke into their apartment, the young mother was shocked. The couple fell apart completely and split up. His wife left with their child and Julian ended up alone."(79)
[Ja, een echte held.]
"A whistleblower’s standard procedure was to expose bad practices by providing evidence of wrongdoing. The whistleblower then investigated using different means that were not divulged, especially not to the media. The risk to informers was high, as the people they accused were sometimes criminals, people in important positions or entire organizations. They often made serious enemies in political parties, state departments and major corporations. As retaliation, the whistleblower was often attacked personally by being called a troublemaker, crazy person or malicious liar. They might have been given the cold shoulder from colleagues and superiors or have been attacked in other ways, even physically."(87-88)
"When Julian started to work for Suburbia in 1993, Brian Martin and his whistleblowers had already been active for two years. As network administrator at Suburbia, he had access to all the information circulating around the site, which gave him a lot of ideas."(89)
"Although he was a brilliant, yet socially inept, geek who would rather interact with machines than humans, he was also determined to change the world."(92)
[Hoe zou zo'n niet sociaal mens de wereld kunnen veranderen? Dat zou alleen maar tot nog meer ellende leiden.]
"Providing trustworthy information takes on meaning because it implies anticipating a view of the future. States lie and manipulate. The media deform everything. Julian now had a mission: provide quality information. The road to WikiLeaks was unfolding before him."(95)
"At the time, Julian Assange and Daniel Ellsberg [de man van de Pentagon Papers - GdG] didn’t know each other personally and had yet to meet, however, Daniel personified Julian’s mentor. Julian very much admired his courage, rigor and righteousness. His actions had served as an example and encouraged him to go down this path."(111)
"The journalist commented that Julian seemed to enjoy humiliating him. He likes to play with fire anytime he can. He’s convinced of his superiority as well as of his intelligence, culture, charisma, and slickness. Women all say they don’t like that kind of man, but many women still fall for him." [mijn nadruk] (161)
[Dat zegt veel over Assange. Het zegt ook veel over vrouwen ... ]
"Everyone who knew him always pointed out his ability to focus on ideas so intensely that he forgot to eat, drink and even sleep. Very few people could actually do the same. Now he had established a personal guard and Rop Gonggrijp was part of it."(213)
[Ook in het vervolg van het verhaal blijkt hoe sociaal ongevoelig Assange is ondanks zijn fraaie ideologie over informatie.]
"On November 28 2010, WikiLeaks exposed the conversations between Hillary Clinton and American diplomats from around the world to the light of day. Suspicions concerning employees of the Department of State spying on other diplomats had already been expressed, but by publishing the American diplomatic cables, WikiLeaks had written irrefutable proof forcing the government to explain itself publicly."(296)
"Julian Assange hates being contradicted and prefers brushing his opponents aside. He also hates justifying himself."(328)
"Julian contacted whistleblowers. When he fought alongside his mother for the custody of his son Daniel, he campaigned within the management to find informers. Later, he rubbed shoulders with a whistleblowers’ association, Whistleblowers Australia. Assange knew people who, just like Ellsberg, realize one day that his professional daily life, which fascinated him for so long, was turning into an increasingly unbearable situation. He created WikiLeaks for them, for a Rudolf Elmer at the brink of incomprehension at work who decided to denounce the fiscal frauds orchestrated by his bank, the Julius Baer Group."(332)
"Assange began a crusade against the forces of manipulation and its web of lies. He led the battle with his WikiLeaks team. His weapons are sources of information and the Internet. Today, he’s counting on himself to confront the last legal battle."(483)