I’m really disapointed how things are developing with wikileaks and julian assange. What really anger me is that they are freezing wikileaks funds and preventing donations to them. I’m wondering is there anything blender community could do to help julian or wikileaks?
I have always felt that Blender is somehow part of the movement making world free and better place. Don’t know why, sounds bit silly I gues… What do you think?
It’s an outrage. I’m a thousand times more afraid of the cynical, lying, old-boy-networking protagonists of our current system who are crying alarm over Wikileaks than I am of the problems it’s supposed to cause. I hope there will be gazillions of mirror sites and plenty of new Julian Assanges to continue the mission.
I would provide a server myself but I’m not really a techie/equipped. 
I wasn’t aware of the freezing of their accounts, so I think donating via any official channel or money order doesn’t seem to be an option.
Just to note, I did read in my local paper today that he was planning to visit the police in London with his lawyer for questioning over the alleged sex-crimes, I suspected that would end in his arrest, so no big surprise there as it would be almost the same thing as turning yourself in.
At this point, better just let the Blender Institute obtain your money, at least you get new features and faster development that would help you express your ideas.
Blargh…I too am just kind of stewing in my own political impotency right now.
It reminds me of the Iran thing two years ago, where everyone rose up and fought for ideals about information, only to see it be a meaningless struggle that, most likely, pushed Iran into being more totalitarian. Except this time it’s democratic societies getting forced to shut up.
Anyway, if you (like me) are wasting too many evenings doing nothing but reading the news and getting depressed, check out http://visitsteve.com/work/selfcontrol/
and
The “freedoms” being aludded to here are not one in the same, and seeing them as such is misleading. Think hard. Placing them as the same, I rapidly see this thread spinning out of control. I offer no opinion beyond that.
I gotta agree with Quandtum, everyone should think hard about this. How would anyone feel if they spoke confidentially to a co-worker negative feelings about other co-workers, boss, or work place. Then that co-worker turned around and made your feelings know to everyone else at the company? Does everyone really want that kind of transparency? What about the freedom of privacy?
BTW, I thought he was seeking Switzerland’s help… Did they turn him away? Refuse to help him? After all, Switzerland arrested then freed Roman Polanski, who was wanted in the United States for similar charges…
Randy
If my Government is breaking any laws and violating treaties it has signed that the elected representation has ratified, I want to know about it and I want those responsible for the law breaking and treaty violations held accountable. Why don’t you?
BTW, I thought he was seeking Switzerland’s help… Did they turn him away? Refuse to help him? After all, Switzerland arrested then freed Roman Polanski, who was wanted in the United States for similar charges…
Randy
He just attempted to move the domain there.
revolt_randy: You need to differentiate. In a democracy, the government should be YOU (ie. the people), so government representatives should not have any secrets from you. On the other hand you, the individual, needs to be protected from the interests of forces more mighty than you (corporations, executive branch of government)…
The most interesting aspect about the Rape accusation is that the women had sex with him
and later went to the police and mentioned that they had unprotected sex.
I do not want to claim that this is forget but it is also close to a loop hole.
This whole story sounds strange. If two women got raped dont you go to the police ASAP
in particular to show any proof of physical force ???
Welcome back Varis - and it is true somewhat strange what is going on right now with Wiki Leaks
and the accounts / servers being shut down. This is not normal.
Until this week I was under illusion that internet is still free and open… I thought that sites like thepiratebay.org are proof that one cannot just suppress a website. Now I’m not so sure anymore. I feel that freedom of internet, our first and last oppoturnity to a better world is falling under censorship. We will see how things will develop, but if this gets worse I’m ready to go to the streets… In my opinion transparency and openness are fundamental if we are to live in peaceful equal world.
So privacy is a one way street? Only us, the little people should have our privacy protected? Governments shouldn’t have any secrets? The American government should share it’s secrets on plutonium enrichment with the people, while keeping it a secret from the rest of the world? The American government should have shared with the people in 1978 it started to develop stealth aircraft, while keeping it a secret from the rest of the world?
True, a democracy shouldn’t have any secrets from it’s citizens. I’d like to know how that would be accomplished… How can any government share all it’s classified information with it’s people without it leaking out to the rest of the world?
As a side note, no the internet is not a free place void of censorship… Just look to China for proof of that…
The attack on the USS Cole and the World Trade Center were focused on the ideals the American government stands for. Physical terrorism… The wikileaks could be considered poltical terrorism… One form of terrorism is ok and another isn’t? Where is the line drawn?? Please enlighten me???
Randy
Revolt_Randy: Amen!
I think Assange fully deserves arrest, but under the Espionage Act, not some suspiciously-timed rape charges.
The attack on the USS Cole and the World Trade Center were focused on the ideals the American government stands for.
I believe they weren’t attack against ideals but a desperate act provoked by USA. I’m not smart enough to say why it happened but I suspect a revenge from something? I think majority here agrees with me.
Don’t you believe that’s more likely than “they hate our freedoms?” right?
There possibly wasn’t even any reason, world will always have its share of sick individuals that will kill and murder without reason. You just cannot fight against that kind of enemy.
Nobody isn’t releasing recipe for nuclear weapons. And why do you need a stealth aircraft in free and open world? In free and open world nobody would develop killing machines because public would be against it because there wouldn’t be nothing to fear in first place. Secrets create fear and fear leads to us building our fortresses and arming ourselves against each other.
Without wikileaks we would have never know about countles civilian deaths in afganistan and iraq. Don’t you think people have right to know that?
I’m going to find some ironic humor when a “violation of freedom” is invoked by this thread getting locked.
you aren’t very good arguing against me are you?
A woman named Anna Ardin is one of the accusers. She apparently has/had ties to the CIA:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/assange-rape-accuser-cia-ties/
… BTW: This would make for an awesome porn movie.
Assange hacking away at his PC.
Anna >> Mr Assange, I’m here on a mission, assigned to me directly by the Secretary of State.
Assange >> What?! So it’s true! Hilary is planning to have me killed!
Anna >> No Mr Assange, she just wants a DNA sample; I’m here to collect, by any means necessary.
Assange >> I will endure … for freedom. 
I believe they weren’t attack against ideals but a desperate act provoked by USA. I’m not smart enough to say why it happened but I suspect a revenge from something? I think majority here agrees with me.
Yes, perhaps it was revenge for the American led Middle East peace talks of the late '70’s…
Don’t you believe that’s more likely than “they hate our freedoms?” right?
Could very well be that. One of the founding principals of America was separation of church and state. The government won’t interfere with people’s choices of religion. If that is the freedom they (whoever ‘they’ are) hate, then why attack a foreign country instead of starting a revolution in their own native country?
There possibly wasn’t even any reason, world will always have its share of sick individuals that will kill and murder without reason. You just cannot fight against that kind of enemy.
Nobody isn’t releasing recipe for nuclear weapons. And why do you need a stealth aircraft in free and open world?
I’m thinking you just answered your own question there. Why would America need a stealth aircraft? Perhaps it could be to protect America from leaders of countries who “kill and murder without reason” who refuse to adhere to this thought of a “free and open world”…
Hey, look, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a “free and open world”. Don’t convince me, convince the people who will “kill and murder without reason”
Without wikileaks we would have never know about countles civilian deaths in afganistan and iraq. Don’t you think people have right to know that?
I was watching, thanks to the internet, recorded tv broadcasts from the Vietnam war at the fall of Saigon, a police officer shot a citizen, I saw the back of his head blow out and he fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood. There was quite a bit of outrage over video of American soldiers caskets covered with the American flag returning home 2 years ago…
Point is, people don’t want to know about the violence and brutality that occurs during military conflicts in this day and age, but it was shown on American tv in the early 70’s.
Hey, I am all for freedom and transparency, don’t get me wrong. Convince the rest of the world we should all live in peace and not keep secrets from each other and I’ll bow down at your feet…
Randy
Hell, Dude, who doesn’t have/had ties to the CIA?
I know I do if someone were to dig hard enough but that wouldn’t mean that whatever scandal I managed to get myself involved in was orchestrated by them.
“Yeah, the Uncle Entity guy was trained by a Vietnam-era spook on a job 12 years ago – he’s definitely a tool for America’s War on Unsafe Sex.”
Care to provide concrete evidence this event you speak of took place? Do you have video of this? Do you have audio of this?
Show me the facts…not speculation…
Randy
I believe that’s called “a joke”.
Though I wouldn’t mind seeing the video…