As a libertarian I would hope you would be against the taking of private property, especially when that property has value. It's really easy to cheer this guy on, but it's the principle I'm against. If he was exposing one's trading code or formula for efficient energy or code for some valuable software, most on here would be against that on the basis of property rights. But guys like this just show how easy our values and principles break down. I may not agree with the actions of this country, but that does not mean I want property laws broken all in the name of "exposing" something. By that definition I could "expose" Rearden metal's" secret trading strategies, you know in the benefit of the greater good for all the struggling ET traders. I don't know I would want to use the word villain to describe this guy, he simply took something that wasn't his and broke the law. And no, I don't think he is being a good Samaritan, I think the guy is just trying to pee all over the world.
As a Libertarian, I actually voted 'Probably more hero than villain'. In his career as a hacker I have no doubt that Assange has done wrong by stealing private property, and I can easily condemn him for those actions. But that's not what Assange is famous for at all. Wikileaks isn't about stealing/exposing private property, but rather <b>U.S. government property</b>, which is an entirely different matter! With the de facto collapse of the Bill of Rights, every last penny the U.S. government now 'owns' is loot/booty/forcibly extorted stolen property. They take away our money at gunpoint and use it to take away our medications at gunpoint. Having to pay millions in income taxes was bad enough, but from the moment the federal government (DEA/FBI HIDTA task force) literally carjacked me at gunpoint (and kept my car), it became crystal clear to me that they are all nothing but a gang of thieves- The biggest criminal street gang in the world, in fact. Just because they perform some useful functions like building roads and imprisoning <i>some</i> of the real criminals to keep us safe, doesn't mean much. Even the mafia/modern street gangs give back little tokens here and there to the communities they've pilfered it from. From a moral standpoint I (or anyone else) could steal back <b>anything</b> from the U.S. government and sleep easily with a clear conscience. <i>We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.</i>
I can't really disagree with any of what you just said however, being a stickler for details, I will remind you that the government doesn't have any property. Whatever you call government property is actually "ours". It is owned by we the taxpayers. We "pay" for it with your taxes and some of us pay for it in blood. The government has "no" property that is their own. So when some guy who is a suspected rapist from Sweden takes data that "we"' actually paid for and will now be used against us causing even more death and harm and cost to the US taxpayer, it's difficult for me to call this guy a hero.
I couldn't win an election for county dog-catcher, because I'm really not very good at lying. To win elections you need to lie your ass off, and do it convincingly.
Rearden, before on the thread of the silver short trade, you say you think all people do what is for their profit. So the wikileak man is really not the villian, not the hero. He just know he can have fame and money from attention from the USA media. Is very much like Sara Palin, She really not care or undersand what she talk about. But she know this attention to her can make so much money for her.
I see your point. To clarify though, I said that all human actions and behaviors can be traced to just two possible core motives: Instinct and self-interest. But that doesn't mean that genuine heroism can't exist. Oskar Schindler was a true hero... but if you think about it enough, you can figure out how even Schindler's apparently selfless actions were rooted in a combination of instinct and self-interest. The man had an overwhelmingly kind & benevolent natural <i><b>instinct</i></b>, so to stand back and allow his assigned slaves to be gassed to death would have caused him immeasurable guilt & internal torment. Thus it was in his <i><b>self interest</i></b> to do whatever was necessary to save their lives. That doesn't make him any less of a hero, of course. See what I mean? (Edit: I hope there aren't any slow learners out there who think I've just compared Julian Assange to Oskar Schindler! I've done nothing of the sort.)
Sorry but I don't buy the argument that sticking it to the man is a blanket justification for wrongdoing. After all, Al Capone certainly took a libertarian position on taxes, liquor, and interstate commerce.