At first I was amazed, then, on reflection the reactions I'm reading on this site make sense. Not in a good way. As a retired American military officer it saddens me that an *unproven* assertion about the so called "Russian perpetrators of the Solar Winds attack results in a maddening rush to believe what may well be a complete bullshit story of who actually did the hack. Has anyone ever learned from the Tonkin Gulf incident in the early 1960's to the complete lies that brought on the Iraq invasion? American assertions are met by full throated acceptance by what I had hoped was a more critically thinking readership. There are mountains of dead bodies that past and current American policy has created throughout the world. Small comfort then that at least initially, some of the dead this time will be inanimate Venture Capital funded companies that rely on a functioning Internet. What goes around, comes around and all that. Martin Luther King and Rev. Wright's prophecies about America's fate may yet come to pass in the limited time I've got left on this planet.

Damn your comment. I'll have you know the Pacer was a thing of beauty. I bought a Pacer under the magical spell its looks cast. You're agreeing with my ex-wife who ran off with a Marine aftewr I bought the Pacer. That's strike two. And furthermore, if you're the Marine that ran off with her, that's strike three.

Thanks for putting this so plainly, honestly and so very spot on!

You need to be getting some info from the wierd alternative sites I follow such as "Zerohedge", "Moon of Alabama", "Vineyard of the Saker", and "Counterpunch". Only there will you read about William Binney of the NSA's "Open letter to Angela Merkel." You'll be able to answer a whole lot of questions about the narrative and spin we're being presented.

The United State overthrew the elected government of Ukraine in a coup. I am a retired U.S. Naval Officer, with the attitudes and habits of mind that come with it. I say this action by my own government is the last straw for me. William Binney's recent "Open Letter to Angela Merkel" should be a good starting point in this Ukraine/Russia/CIA/State Department fiasco.

How come no where (yet) in this discussion -- or your comment -- is there any mention of the "open letter to Angela Merkel" just published by NSA's Bill Binney and four othjer intelligence officers? That letter -- you have to google for it an alternative news sites - gives me great pause as to the legitimacy of the narrative about the Ukraine "story".

Yep. Military officers in the Abwher were also horrified by the criminatity of their elected government and did something about it. They were indeed shot, as you recommend. I am a retired Naval Officer. Early in this decade I realized I can't wear my old uniform again, even for ceremonies. The reason is that the stench of criminality and war crimes by this government has permeated the fabric of the uniform I once wore to "protect the weak and liberate the oppressed." Take that as my "liberal" answer. It's about time somebody besides me and my like-minded progressive/liberal buddies starts loving on all ten amendments in the Constitution's Bill of Rights. The first good step would be shipping Messrs. Bush and Obama to the International War Crimes Tribunal for "waging agressive war."

Mr. Manning -- and Mr. Assange -- helped bring about the uprisings of the "Arab Spring." Here's hoping to more information coming out to make our American masters ever more embarrassed and fearful for their position. Manning did great honor to the spirits of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson.

I am a former prison Monitor for the State of Arkansas. Not jiust the United Nations rapporteur, but me -- yes this former prison official -- knows stone cold that Manning's treatment was blatently, massively wrong. No self-respecting prison offical could get away with treating any prisoner in that fashion. Except under the "special regime" at Quantico...

Yep. You're right. Military officers in the Abwehr did conspire against the elected government. Fortunately as I take it by my understanding of the reasoning, they were shot for their crimes. Early in this decade I could no longer think of putting on my old uniform again. The stench of crimes against humanity committed by my elected government had begun to permeate the fabric of the uniform I once wore to "protect the weak and liberate the oppressed."

I'm nobody, but at least my voice can bear witness. That matters. If this makes the NSA waste time on me, then it has been a good thing. At the age of 16 I worked on a labor crew in Saudi Arabia composed of Yemeni's and Pakistani's. We dug ditches for laying telephone lines. They were just like you and me, though without our advantages of money and education. I'm ashamed of what the United States is doing to their grandchildren. I realize more and more how great and good the White Rose resistance movement was in Germany. Their backgrounds and habits of mind are so startlingly similar to my own. As they did so can you bear witness to your neighbors and community. I do in my day to day interactions. You can too.

I'm Spartacus and I'm glad Anonymous is too. Power to the people!

A government which has the consent of the governed doesn't face the sort of widespread opposition these ddos attacks represent. I've felt that we have a "predator state" on our hands. Some of this predator's cronies are being attacked by mass consent. Seems a reasonable thing to have happen, given the disparity in power between we, the people and our oligarchs. I, for one, welcome our new consent of the people overlords. I'm 59 years old and a retired naval reserve officer. The government *I* faithfully served has been hijacked by despicable predators. It's time to take basic human decency and the Bill of Rights back. Screw these oligarchs and their enablers.

** note to NSA/CIA/White House/RNC/DNC/Goldman Sachs: If you've overlooked my name, please add me to all your various watchlists. ** The campaign against Wikileaks insults the dignity of the people of the United States and the world. It is long past time for the United States to become a good neighbor in the world instead of continuing to become a nakedly imperial power. p.s. to Mr. Gibbs and Obama: I'm a human being, a former naval office and I vote.