Comments on: Julian Assange: The 60 Minutes Interview
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- Am I the only person who caught the phrase appropriated by Steve Kroft during his interview of Julian Assange on 60 Minutes last night? In the context of describing Assanges conflict with the US State Department, Kroft said "You have screwed with the primal forces of nature." As any fan of the film Network will remember, this phrase is from Ned Beattys famous Petrodollar speech to Peter Finch, as he tries to convince the mad anchorman that the interests of the international corporate owner of the network are sacrosanct. The phrase Beatty opens his speech with is: "You have tampered with the primal forces of nature and there will have to be atonement." I find it extremely unlikely that Kroft knowingly used that phrase as an ironic statement within his Assange interview, nevertheless, ironic it is and ironic it shall ever be.
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- It is sad to see Kroft and many of those commenting be deferential to the Asange portrayal of Don Quixhote de la Mancha -- jousting at windmills for his own delusional purposes. The man has exposed thousands to reprisals, weakened our diplomatic abilities and broken US law. He belongs in jail side by side with the leakers who profess patriotism but are at best misguided. The interview gave him a platfrom for his holier than thou blackmail -- we will release the codes if you come at us -- rather than calling him out on what is pure treason.
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- Thanks Sixty Minutes. Good to see a mainstream news organization show such integrity.
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- Free Bradley Manning
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- Now he will tackle China and it's brutal supression of Tibet; and Saudi Arabia and the brutal treatment of women as subhuman citizens; and Iran, and the murderous treatment of dissidents; and Mexican government collusion with mass-murdering cartels...oh, no he won't. That'd be risky. That would actually take courage.
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- Perhaps I missed it, but has anyone asked how he verifies the "leaks" sent to him to publish ? Does he really have the facts and all sides of an issue? Misinformation could easily be a tool of sabotage. His suspicious nature must have some method of confirming veracity. He may find his intentions of exposing governments and individuals who don't act in a way he judges proper, despite conditions that often make for no easy solution, to be very dangerous to those he intends to enlighten. Assange is a messenger, albeit a very subjective one. The people who submit the leaks or hack into classified files are the ones to question for motives.
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- Funny at 60 Minutes had such a difficult time. Frontline didn't.
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- I just finished watching Kroft's interview of Assange for a second time. My first impression still resonates.
Kroft comes across as smug as he conveys the impression the US government can do no wrong. Assange, on the other hand, presents as a sincere individual who offers an answer to the question "who's policing the police?" Assange's answers were frank and poignant, and unlike Kroft's supposedly clever, gotcha questions, unrehearsed.
If Kroft represents 60 Minutes' perception of authority, the program has lost its way. The old 60 Minutes would have gone after the bureaucrats whose wrongdoing is exposed by the secrets Assange brings to light. The new 60 Minutes is apparently a shill for those in power who "filter" what reaches an unsuspecting public. For example, the fact at least 15,000 civilian deaths have gone unreported in Afghanistan caused Kroft less angst than the fact Assange exposes the truth!
Given America has clearly abrogated freedom of the press and freedom of speech, the elaborate case protecting America's Constitution is in fact a sarcophagus. - Reply to this comment
- OMG - I am an avid watcher of 60 minutes and have been for many years. Watching the Julian Assange piece moved me. I live in Northern Ireland most of my life where I witnessed terrible atrocities. I wish he had been around for us. America and Great Britain, along with many other Countries, i.e. Libya etc. need to realize that NOTHING can be kept secret any longer - people just won't tolerate it. I don't like to put peoples' lives at risk, such as the Afganistani informers, but we do need to know why our young people and those of Countries like Afganistan, Iraq are being lied too and slaughtered while the Government sit in beautiful offices deciding where to send them to die and to kill. Good for 60 minutes and Wikileaks.....
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- I appreciate this story and to hear from Julian Assange and Steve's opinion of him. I understand more of the "why" behind this effort. Although I did not like the idea of sharing secrets, I do now see he is striving to take more of a moral high ground in the way he is doing it. I'm not happy with the New York Times sharing of secrets either, but I uphold the importance of an independent press as the one critical sign that this is still a government of the people and by the people. And so I have to support his efforts as long as he is not crossing the line. I also appreciate that the Assange team has taken steps to no longer identify people that could fall into harms way innocently. That means to me they are learning and are not a reckless for the cause as they started out. That's important too. I will be listening with more of an open mind in the future.
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