OMG! the us is assassinating taliban leaders? that is SHOCKING news, to everyone who's been living under a rock for the past decade. certainly, educating that strata of americans who are unable to point at pakistan on a map of asia is well worth the risk of exposing U.S. allies to deadly risk... equally shocking is this expose about civilians being mistakenly killed. during a war. that's lasted 8 years. key lesson from all this: curing illiterats of their magical bunny land dilusions is not a good enough reason to publish military secrets for all the world to see what happens if (when) a couple of people actually are killed as the result of this bs? the fact that we all suddenly feel compelled momentarily to change the topic of our public discourse isn't a good enough reason for wikileaks. and the fact that they can't even get their act together enough to redact properly just goes to show how amateur they are. whats at stake here really is freedom of the press. if we start assigning the label and the priveledge that goes with it to jerk offs like the wikileaks guy, there is a pretty good chance that actual whistleblowers and real news reporting may suffer. that is all the lesson for today, bobby.

Lets assume something completely crazy for a moment: that there really is information that ought to be kept secret. for example, launch codes for nukes. let's continue with the mental exercise so far as to say other facts may similarly be in the legitimate national interest to conceal. I'll even give you that in some rare cases, THE TRUTH may be so shocking / valuable / topical / money making that that PUBLIC INTEREST demands disclosure. so, bobby, wtf is the one new thing you learnt from this leak? seriously? whats the one new piece of public interest type of info that you got from this? I sure as hell havent seen anything new. and why on earth couldnt someone have just REDACTED THE NAMES AND ADDRESSES of the informers?

im so sick of this fallacious comparison of derivatives to gambling. just because YOU are TOO STUPID to understand what derivatives are, or how they work, or how to make money using them, doesnt mean that "derivates are gambling"

"plant trees not burn them" Dear faquino. Please, do be the 1st to start. Next time you get cold in winter, just go plant a tree instead of burning one, for warmth. And naturally, I assume your use of electricity to post on /. means you've generated at least that much energy via some "non tree burning" means, yes? Otherwise you might be a hypocrite, and you don't want to be a hypocrite, do you? In general, the "truism" that "conservation of energy" is somehow a virtue in itself has gotten so ffin old. A physicist will tell you energy is not some kind of precious nonrenewable resource. There are so many ways to generate energy and to use it to make life better for everyone & everywhere. pushing "plant trees not burn them" is like proposing going back to cave dwelling, and about as practical. id expect a comment like this on nyt, but not as a +5 insightful on /.

These are not stupid people. What you think is an oversight, or misunderstanding of the medium is not what's happening here. This is all motivated by the sherif's desire for a few minutes in the spotlight. naturally, those minutes of attention can and often will lead to $$$ in the form of interviews, possible future political campaigns, etc. afterall, we ARE talking about the dude, arent we?