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It's hardly comparable unless you believe that anything a journalist discovers through illegal means is publishable.
by ketamine__ 6y ago
It's hardly comparable unless you believe that anything a journalist discovers through illegal means is publishable.
- pizza234 6y agoJournalists are arrested in China on legal grounds as well. Such laws are arguable/unjust from a typically western perspective, but are formally legal nonetheless. The question is therefore not legality in itself, but whether the (US) laws themselves are sensible and/or egalitarian. It's implied by the OP that they aren't (and I personally agree).
- ketamine__ 6y agoJournalists are arrested in China purely because they criticize the government. Can you provide a case in China where a journalist stole troves of information and published it?
- che_shirecat 6y agoThey are arrested in China because certain journalistic actions are illegal under Chinese law, under the (given) justification (stated or unstated) that it destabilizes civil society. For example, in the case of HK, journalists are prosecuted under Article 38 of the National Security law. That's the whole point of GP's post - legality by itself has no prima facie moral weight, an observation that applies also to whatever US laws the fed gov. is charging Assange of violating. Here's the wording of the HK-specific law: "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organisations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organisations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organisations or bodies."
- mLuby 6y agoIf it's illegal to know a thing ("it's classified") then you're kind of stuck, right? Governments hold a monopoly on Force, not a monopoly on Truth.
- ketamine__ 6y agoIs it important for the public to know the exact coordinates of troop movement in Syria? No, but the journalist can say there are troops operating in eastern Syria. A journalist without many scruples like Assange would publish the coordinates.
- h_anna_h 6y agoYou seem to be implying that it would be immoral for Assange to publish such a thing but don't justify it.
- ketamine__ 6y agoIt is immoral but do you think that is something Assange cares about?
- h_anna_h 6y agoIt is debatable that "It is immoral". Me and clearly Assange disagree with you about it.
- ketamine__ 6y agoGiving terrorists the tools to kill US troops is morally ambiguous?
- h_anna_h 6y agoNice way of phrasing it. Guess inventing cars gave the tools to the terrorists to kill people by driving into them.
- boibombeiro 6y agoI think this changes from country to country. For instance, Gleen Greenwald published illegally obtained conversation in Brazil and had any investigation on how he obtained the data suspended by supreme court. Later was found out that his source was a politician that had interest in the leak, and she also claimed was doing "jornalism work" to avoid legal repercussions. As long you claim to be journalist you have carte blanche. Not sure if this would play the same in America.