HBG

I agree that the internet can be an extremely dangerous place, and not just for the people responsible for keeping a country’s secrets secret.

I decided to treat myself to an early Christmas present this morning by downloading a fantastic photo editing programme, for free. I got all my defences up and headed off into one of those dark sites. It was easy, until I had to visit an even darker site for the serial number. I eventually got what I wanted, but curiosity made me go into one of those hacker sites on which they talk to each other, where they boast about their hacking.

If even a tenth of their boasts are true then it’s time to switch off from the internet.

Within seconds of anyone switching on, they know what that user had for breakfast and how much money he’s got in the bank.

And I’ve had a severe ticking off from my anti-virus programme and my firewall has been nasty to me too.

anonimouse

I agree entirely, the internet is now unsafe, I keep nothing in my PC anymore, it's a shame but I guess it had to happen now that nearly every person has one.

Interesting how many people shout about not wanting id cards because of big brother watching them and all that, then they go onto sites such as Face book and twitter and tell the whole world every detail they can think of, it makes me laugh.

Dick Dasterdly

The point is to try and take a much more balanced view with regard to the pros and cons.

Is it more important to know what baccy the last king smoked, than possibly put both personal and national security at risk ?

As previous posters state, the internet and associated files can be a dangerous place, even for those who think they are using it in a cautious and responsible manner.

HBG

I’ve got an expat friend who has complained bitterly about receiving a county court summons at an address in the UK that nobody should have known about because he is so careful.

I had a quick look at his facebook page and it did make me laugh. It gives his old English address in his profile,

Not all of it, of course, because he’s so careful, just his name and postcode!

anonimouse

Well the Wikileaks guy has got his bail, all be it with extra special conditions and a massive 250k bail, I don't think this is normal.

I think they may have been better off letting him be and brushing off all this secret leaks stuff, as now I for one am convinced they want him out of the way.

The big question is, what is it that they really don't want him to uncover, some interesting ideas from Alex Jones on U tube.

HBG

Didn’t I read that the leaker had some sort of ‘life insurance’, some really horrible secrets that would only be released if he met an untimely death? The whole thing is mind-boggling from start to finish – an organisation that releases secrets for all to read, but is also able to protect itself by attacking people opposing them by shutting them down (pay pal).

I use the internet to write to those close to me and I would hate to think that some people can interfere with my freedom to do that.

bil

No, that's not it. Keeping every single thing hidden allows the politicos and so on to literally get away with murder.

There should be a magistrates bench, or something like that and they should have the say as to what was kept silent. At the moment there is something like that but they are not allowed to see what it is that the civil service want kept secret. That's ridiculous. It should have to be demonstrated that it is a security risk.

bil

Yeah,, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this sex case didn't turn out to be a con.

bil

I hope for his sake he has that. In his position, I'd want that.

anonimouse

He is saying he could die in a US jail, hope he tells us more of what he knows first................just kidding

bil

I think that should he ever find himself in such a place, we will be unlikely to ever see him alive again.

HBG

I might be about to change my mind about the wikileaks guy, having read that the contributions to his fund have made him an extremely rich man. It appears that many people with anti-American views are contributing to the fund – the article said that if they all sent just a Dollar each, the guy would be a multi billionaire.

So has he just found one man, the daft young soldier with access to those records, which are not really that secret, and used him to exploit the anti-American feeling in the world to make him stone rich?

I disagree with a lot of American policies, especially in recent years, but the country still compares favourably with Russia and China and a lot of other countries. And their constitution holds my respect, it’s about the best definition of freedom anywhere in the world.

I just wish they hadn’t invaded Iraq and would stop water-boarding people. If they ever get hold of that wikileaks guy he would be well advised to start learning how to breathe through his arse.

bil

OK, that was pretty funny.

Yeah, the yanks are better than the worst, but boy is that ever damning with faint praise!

HBG

I take your point, but I was more serious than that. To be specific, at one stage, over 20 years ago, it was a toss-up between Florida and Spain. Spain won, but it was close.

On more refection, it was the flight time which finally dissuaded me from emigrating to the land of the free, I could have handled the visa problem quite easily at that time.

Perhaps the alligators put me off as well.

bil

Not to mention the people? The further south, the less I tend to like 'em.

Florida is aka Bushville, no?