| HappySqurriel said: You don't seem to understand how much there is to gain and lose from the government ... There are elections and bills, the budgets of massive pseudo-governmental bodies, gigantic unions, and hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts to corporations that can be impacted by the release of sensitive information. The release of documents that suggest inappropriate dealings with Lockheed Martin would impact the $34 Billion in contracts they have, and this would produce substantial opportunity to make money for someone who was motivated. You live in a country with a remarkably corrupt government that is full of rent-seeking special interest groups and you believe the bullshit you're fed that the "leaked" information is for ethical reasons rather than personal gain; and you foolishly believe these people remain anonymous because of the consequences, rather than the obvious reason that they can't continue to gain from the knowledge they leak if they don't continue to work in their current job. Until you demand transparency from your government the only information you will get is information that someone decided to give you; which will (more often than not) be to suit their needs not yours. |
Take yourtheoretical example that has nothing to do with actual leaks from WikiLeaks: There is a simple ward against leaks about governmental contracts for personal gain - make the contracts public from the beginning. It's taxpayers money that is used here, the one paying should know what he is paying for. If all governmental contracts are open, an possible leaker has nothing to gain.
