Cav's Place

Picked this up from Ami, who posted it in two versions nearly two years apart. There were four differences between the versions, so I picked what I thought was the most relevant option for each of those four places and then filled it. For each part, I tried to rank according to importance, frequency or relevance and then list in reverse order, but of course such ranking is far from perfect. I’ll probably start linking to this when I’m asked to write a profile somewhere, because there are a whole lot of things about myself listed here, a few of them actually being a little difficult to write. But I make a point of being an open book, so here it is.

I. Ten things you want to say to ten different people right now.
Taking Ami’s advice and filling in positions with things I want to say to people I don’t personally know, since I wouldn’t have ten to list otherwise.
10. You become like them when you try to work with them, not when you use their own methods, and worse, against them. Yes, it’s very easy to do way more harm than good that way, but violence and terrorism can be very effective if used carefully. It’s talking that hardly ever gets us anywhere when it comes to such issues.
9. Nice ideals, but your approach will never see them turned into reality. When, while fighting people who care nothing for fairness, you reject any method that violates your strict sense of ethics, you can at best lose gracefully. But it’s highly unlikely that they’ll allow you even that much.
8. I do, shall we say, pray for you, but I’m not quite sure what I’m praying for. So no, I didn’t forget you, but any knowledge of a man even slightly less than the only one I respected and felt I learned so much from way back then would soil that image beyond repair. Many problems of the body can be managed, but life becomes a complete waste as soon as the mind starts to fail.
7. Stop being so damn controlling! And have your head checked out. Thanks.
6. I still want to know what the hell that was about and why didn’t you actually talk to me. I really thought that we were friends once and hoped we could be friends again someday, perhaps when your life would become less hectic. It’s a real pity that it seems you didn’t.
5. I’ll always wonder if any part of what happened back then was real, won’t I? Wish you’ll somehow drop me a message someday to at least answer that one question, if only so I’ll know whether it’s even possible for me to have a best friend or something like that is only possible if it’s all an act. But now I keep wondering if you’re even still alive…
4. I know it’s very hard for you to believe this, but I don’t want to hurt you. The problem is that I can’t help you in any way either if you don’t let me in. I may be patient, but you’re extremely difficult to talk to.
3. I still want to know what exactly made you come to this decision, as the fact that we very firmly disagree on pretty much all the “important things in life” has been obvious ever since we started talking.
2. No, I most certainly will never see you as you see yourself. It’s a logical fallacy and your stance on this pisses me off to no end, especially since it also causes significant harm to some of the causes you claim to be fighting for!
1. I’m quite aware that I couldn’t actually be happy with you anymore, but it’d be infinitely better than anything without you, because nothing can change in what I feel. So I must hope against hope that what I fear didn’t, doesn’t and won’t happen and that someday you’ll first talk to me again and then allow things to move up from there. I love you and I’m patient, but also way too hurt and frightened…

II. Nine things about yourself.
I’m trying to make this interesting and relevant, so I’ll list mostly things that I didn’t post in a public place until now, and even a few that I never told anyone before.
9. I have extremely poor short-term memory. I can’t keep something in mind, but must usually first memorize and then recall it some time later. You wouldn’t believe the number of times I meant to pick something up but turned to do something else first and forgot all about the first thing until I realized that I needed it at some later point and remembered the entire scene. Please don’t think I’m not paying attention if I can’t remember what you just told me.
8. I clearly support ecoterrorism, as long as those who commit it are careful not to hurt the environment even more through their actions and innocents are removed from the area first, even if by force. Unlike the major ecoterrorist organizations, who tend to take pride in never harming any person, I view harming and killing those directly responsible for significant environmental damage or for suffering caused to a significant number of animals as simply an act of justice.
7. I wouldn’t say that I “suffer from” social anxiety, as it also provides me with a decent excuse not to do all those things that pretty much everyone considers “normal” and even mandatory but that most of the time I wouldn’t want to do. The fact that it also stops me from doing some things on the rare occasions when I would want to do them seems like a fair price to pay for that.
6. I’ve always wanted to be friends with a prostitute, though only with one of a very specific kind, being perhaps as far removed from those who earn their living on the streets as from the “luxury” ones. I’m talking about one who works alone and quite likes what she does, offers, shall we say, quality services and can pick her clients to a certain extent, usually having a small number who seek her out pretty regularly and only rarely dealing with others, looking to earn just enough to live in decent conditions and otherwise behaving in a way that’d never tip you off regarding what she does for a living. Now I imagine that this type, fulfilling all these conditions and even those I didn’t write here, is extremely rare, but really think she’d have a lot of interesting things to say.
5. My sexual fantasies seem to involve actually having something done to me less and less. If my mind drifts to sex when I’m really tired, it’s usually a brief image of slipping inside her while we’re both sleepy and otherwise fully dressed and thrusting a few times for a quick orgasm, promising to make it up to her later. The rest of the time, it’s often me doing something, usually oral, to her until she has a couple of orgasms, or at least one really good one, and then either slipping inside, putting my cock between her breasts or even just rubbing it against her belly and coming instantly while she’s still trying to recover her breath. Granted that this is often followed by proper intercourse, which can range from so gentle that it can basically be described as me just happening to be inside her while we cuddle to way rougher than I could possibly even tolerate, much less actually desire, in practice, but that doesn’t exactly count as something done to me either.
4. I have many worries and fears regarding my health, but by far the worst is cancer. Whenever I notice anything that could in any way be related to that, I immediately panic and assume I have it. That’s probably in part also because I’m quite convinced that the moment I’ll notice such a thing and think it’s not that, it actually will be.
3. I find that I can have little to nothing to do with people who are not depressed and emotionally hurt and don’t intend to do anything about that. In fact, it seems pretty much exactly how it should be.
2. As much as I support the concept and honestly desire to be in one, I also fear being in a polyamorous relationship to a certain extent. Blame insecurities, I guess. And yes, I was afraid back then too, though what actually ended up happening was certainly way worse than my fears.
1. It may seem that I have none, but in fact I’m quite aware of my own reproductive instinct. It’s not just that, at some point in my teens, I wanted to have three children, but that I’m still very much aware that such a perceived need still exists at some instinctive level. In fact, alongside a strong mind, I think that such awareness is necessary to ensure that such instinctive urges will never be acted on. And yes, I firmly believe that anyone who can’t or won’t do something like this is vastly inferior to anyone who does.

III. Eight ways to win your heart.
8. Never try to change me or push me past what I say my limits are, but help me be the best that I can be, help me advance more quickly along my chosen path. This usually means helping me do more for a cause I believe in, teaching me how to live a “greener” and healthier life, fully taking my situation into account, or perhaps even teaching me some useful programming language at an advanced level. However, at times it can mean something as little as pointing me towards a new band, book or perhaps even TV series that I’ll really like, especially if I’ll also find that it contains something meaningful on a larger scale.
7. Be passionate about a cause that I also support. This generally means a cause other than overpopulation, since some degree of passion about that falls under the top condition, but that can count here as well if you’re extremely passionate about it. Either way, do more than I currently do for that cause and help me do more as well.
6. Value physical touch way above everything else when it comes to expressing affection. To some extent, this can apply even on-line, with frequent text hugs that you actually mean and a general atmosphere that makes it clear that if we were to have that conversation face to face we’d most likely be cuddling whenever the topic is something personal. If we’re to meet, then of course that means real hugs, holding hands, cuddling if we’re inside and so on. And yes, this also implies being very sexual and completely open about it, not in any slutty or vulgar way but making it clear that sex is important to you and talking about it quite a lot, very seriously as well as jokingly.
5. Be natural and true to yourself. Dress simply and comfortably, don’t use make-up and basically don’t spend time, effort or money trying to look a certain way. Say what you think and act how you feel, without caring what others say or think about you. Don’t wear masks and don’t play roles.
4. Be very intelligent and think for yourself at all times. Never take what a state official, a religious authority, the media, your parent, your boss or anyone else, except your significant other and your closest friends, says at face value. Always question, always challenge, always pass everything through your own filters. Don’t shy away from conflict. And yes, challenge me too, make me feel that I really need to get my facts straight before discussing something with you. If you somehow manage to get me to add an important exception to one of my ideas, not to mention actually getting me to change a concept entirely, I’ll really put you on a pedestal.
3. Don’t live in the “real world”. Dream of something different and work towards it, and not by going on the idea that you’ll change the system from within. Refuse to do what society says you should do, such as having a career or getting married, and focus on what could and should be in the future. If all else fails, cut yourself off from the world, but never ever give in!
2. Be lonely and vulnerable. Depressed, emotionally hurt, dejected, yes, but if these things make you keep people away out of fear of being hurt even more I’ll only pity you. However, if you let me in, tell me everything and leave yourself open like that, I’ll immediately feel that we share something truly special.
1. To end with the obvious, don’t have and be determined to never have children. Be absolutely certain that this is the right thing to do and do something meant to greatly reduce the number of births worldwide. Direct action would be great, but even just pestering everyone who’ll listen and most of those who won’t counts.

IV. Seven things that cross your mind a lot.
Not counting memories and regrets…
7. Details of new political systems. That includes better ways to govern and elect officials, but also an entirely new way of defining and creating countries.
6. Details of a new economic system that’d ensure that everyone has the right to a decent life and only those who truly derive satisfaction from having a career and are also skilled enough for it work.
5. How to make people live in harmony with the environment and all the other creatures they share this planet with.
4. Worries about my health.
3. Lots of bleak thoughts about the future, both mine and the world’s.
2. How to force the tremendous majority of people to stop having children until the world’s population will be back within sustainable levels.
1. Fear that Andra may have or adopt a child.

V. Six things you wish you’d never done.
This is very difficult, as my regrets are usually things I didn’t do. But some can be worded in such a way as to fit…
6. Opening myself up to Diana like I did way back then. For obvious reasons. Not that the outcome actually hurt me, in fact in some ways it perhaps even helped, but it clearly was a very bad decision.
5. Turning around and going back home after finding Elena P.’s place again, just taking the address so I could send her an Easter card (and a letter) instead of boldly going up, ringing the doorbell and demanding an explanation for her vanishing from my life like she did. We met once right after she came from school and she wanted to drop off her bag first, so we went to her place and I waited outside while she quickly went up to do just that, so I sort of knew how to get there, but only knew her apartment number, as she happened to mention it once during conversation, and not the rest of the address. Of course, it’d be basically impossible for me to do something like that, and even more so at that moment, as I had dad drive me to that area, but I doesn’t mean I regret it any less. (See what I said about wording things differently?)
4. Sending that “diary” to Andra, the one I started writing after being thrown back here. Actually, I don’t regret sending the rest of it at all, but only a certain “bargaining” part. That was just awful. Then again, she probably never read any of it.
3. Dismissing the obvious red flag and going right back to playing Knights of the Old Republic II when she snapped at me after I asked what if I didn’t want to move to England. I was playing and she just suddenly said that she’s actually considering going to England to him and, if things work out, staying there for some six months or so and use that time to arrange for me to come live with them as well. I casually asked what if I didn’t want to live in England and she snapped at me, saying that in that case I can do whatever the hell I please, but that’s the only way. I stared at her, she lowered her eyes and shrugged, and then I just went back to playing. It probably wouldn’t have changed a damn thing, but that certainly was a very good time for a long talk…
2. Stepping back after putting one foot on the ledge of the balcony and looking down. It was the evening Andra got back from England the first time and I was still living there, being kicked out the next day. She went to Tudor’s old room, after a while I went there after her, we exchanged a few words and then she left, I think called by her mother, and I went out on the balcony and did that. But of course was too much of a coward to go through with it. Not worthy enough to live, not brave enough to die. Maybe something will happen someday that’ll make me say that was the best decision I ever made, but so far it’s clearly one of the worst.
1. Saying something the last time Andra seemed willing to do something sexual with me, shortly before leaving. I just asked what did she want me to do, but it made her start crying and stop me. Later she explained that she wanted to do it with me at first but once she got really worked up she sort of drifted into fantasy and imagined I was him, so my voice shocked her. I can’t really say that I was completely unaware of where her mind was at the time, was to be expected under the circumstances, so that makes it doubly stupid.

VI. Five things that frustrate you.
5. Being unable to shop for everything on-line. I’m mainly talking about not having any way to purchase books from abroad, digital versions of games and perhaps even some music from independent artists that I’d like to encourage, but this can extend to other things as well. Over here, you can quite easily purchase electronics, software, some office supplies and, somewhat more recently, books on-line in good conditions and at good prices, but anything else is in short supply and usually very expensive, because it’s considered a luxury to purchase, say, food or cleaning products on-line instead of going to the store “like a normal person”.
4. Unnecessary changes. Let’s get something straight: If something doesn’t work, it obviously needs to be changed. But if something works well enough as it is and doesn’t show signs of breaking down in the very near future, it should only be changed if said change will certainly bring about significant improvements in all relevant aspects. Changes that only bring very minor improvements aren’t worth the trouble, while those that improve some aspects but significantly worsen others, and especially those that simply make things different, without them becoming any better or worse, are really bad. Yes, this also applies to people who constantly want things to be different and interesting instead of looking for a comfortable routine and then settling in it, and especially to those who even think that the terms “comfortable” and “routine” are mutually exclusive.
3. Not getting replies to my messages! I’m not talking about new people who don’t reply after I send them something the first time, but about those I like to consider friends. Yes, I’m looking at you! It’s bad enough that hardly anyone thinks to send me something unless I struggle to keep a conversation going or start a new one myself, but not even replying when I do is just rude. And when what I write is important to me, or even simply rather long, even if it’s just random babble, it’s even worse. Seems like someone made a rule stating that I need to send at least several messages before earning the right to a reply. For me there can never be more than two or three things more important than the people I talk to on-line, yet they, in case they don’t ignore me completely, only get around to perhaps send me a few lines once they’re done with all the other 217 things that are way higher on their respective priority lists! And let’s not even mention all those who stopped talking to me completely…
2. The way most people think and act. How they don’t act when they should but do when they shouldn’t, and often in the worst way possible. How stupid, selfish, greedy, materialistic, unfair, unnecessarily violent and simply evil they are. It’s awfully hard to find one good thing to say about them! Just take a look around and see what they did and what they’re doing to this world, for fuck’s sake!
1. People who claim to fight for a cause but refuse to get their hands dirty. Those who think the world’s problems can be solved just through peaceful resistance, diplomacy, negotiations and education. Even worse, those who believe that most people will make the right choices on their own if given accurate information despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Pacifists, people who reject the use of violence, subterfuge, dirty tactics, manipulation, propaganda and other such methods proven to work even when more ethical ones are clearly ineffective. In general, those who somehow seem to believe that you can defeat those who start from the higher ground and care nothing for fairness by being fair yourself.

VII. Four turnoffs.
4. Being all too traditional, or noticeably more vanilla than me. When it comes to the purely physical part, my main focus is oral, so it’s not going to work if you shy away from that. In fact, not being keen on oral is the most important thing listed in this paragraph. Also, I’m very visual, so don’t insist on only doing it in the dark and don’t even mention wanting to keep any item of clothing on. And, while I certainly don’t want to do it in public or in any unusual place, if you only want it in bed and not also in the bathtub, on the living room couch and maybe even on the floor, we’ll have a problem. And I do prefer the girl to be on top, in more ways than one. Experience proves that I can do well enough even if I’m nearly always on top, but it does make me uncomfortable if it happens all too often.
3. Being fake in any way. I certainly want everyone to be natural and themselves at all times, but during sex it seems even more important. Sex should be about consenting individuals who throw away anything and everything they may cover themselves with at other times and explore, pleasure and enjoy each other as they truly are, from skin-deep to deep inside. Take that phrase both literally and figuratively. Yes, this also means that roleplaying and even simply wanting to wear anything for sexual purposes is out of the question! And as a rule, not counting anything done for health reasons, temporary intentional changes in appearance are usually a big issue, but permanent ones may be all right if they don’t add something that wasn’t there before. So, for example, a breast reduction can be all right, but a breast implant won’t be unless done to reconstruct a breast that had to be removed.
2. Being too much for me to handle. Being slightly less vanilla than me is very much desirable, but if the difference is too great it won’t work. This can mean a huge number of things, such as making so much noise that the neighbors are likely to know what we’re doing, wanting it in public or in really weird places, wanting to try too many different or any really difficult positions, having a foot fetish, being too pushy or too dominating, but also too submissive, desiring heavy bondage, anything that causes significant pain, leaves marks in places that aren’t covered by clothes even in summer, draws blood or simply makes me feel very uncomfortable. The latter includes, but is not limited to, wanting or needing to say or to hear certain words or phrases during sex, needing specific items to be used or at least nearby too often and so on. And let’s not even mention stranger or more dangerous fetishes…
1. Not counting serious deformities, missing body parts or very large scars, the physical deal breakers are moles and short hair. The hair part is simple: It should at the very least settle nicely on the shoulders. Being a little shorter may sometimes not be too much of an issue, but being only a few centimeters long or not even that is a clear deal breaker. As for moles, the problems are either large ones, even if they’re flat, or raised ones, even if they’re small, though areas of slightly raised skin that’s not in any way different in color don’t count. Exceptions can be made for flat ones that, while perhaps of significant size, are relatively light and out of the way, as well as for pretty much anything below the knees, but if they’re anywhere else, and especially on or around areas that my mouth will focus on, namely lips, neck, earlobes, breasts and pussy… Well, let’s just say that getting close to a raised mole literally makes me nauseous. And yes, this means that this one on my nose seriously bothers me, even if it’s little.

VIII. Three turnons.
3. A well-proportioned body. I could say plenty of things about specific physical features, but what matters most is that they fit nicely together, as women can look good in plenty of different ways. For example, I’d say that I prefer straight or slightly curly hair that reaches halfway down the back, or even the waist if healthy enough, but slightly shorter hair, likely caught in a ponytail, is what fits other features that’d be described as cute. Or, though until then I said I preferred smaller ones, since Andra I’d certainly say that I prefer large breasts, but only on women that are otherwise rather overweight too, while if the woman’s thin the breasts should be small as well. There’s also some sort of ratio between height, weight and the cuteness of the facial features. There are many factors and it’s hard to explain, but I know it when I see it. Pretty eyes and really white skin are always a plus, but I’ll say those things matter less when it actually comes to sex. But, well, regardless of any of this, let’s just say that things rise to the occasion instantly if I see a woman with a body similar to Andra’s when we first met.
2. A pretty high libido, confidence in your sexual abilities and a desire to take charge. Each of these things can become way too much for me past a certain level, so let me explain: Don’t be anything like a nymphomaniac, but do want somewhat more sex than would be considered “normal”. Don’t get cocky or think you’re some sort of sexual master, but unless I somehow complain don’t hesitate and don’t worry about your “performance” either. And I do have some noticeable submissive tendencies and really like to please, but have an even stronger need to rebel against authority, so initiate sex often, sort of lead the sex act most of the time and guide me towards pleasing you better, but don’t even think of actually ordering or forcing me to do something!
1. Emotional bonding and intimacy. The physical turnoffs I mentioned ruin any such attraction instantly, but if they’re not present then this is pretty much the only real rule: The closer I feel to a girl emotionally, the more attracted I am to her sexually as well, regardless of anything else.

IX. Two things you want to do before you die.
I actually made such a list of things to do before I die once, several years ago, though it didn’t include the major goals. It had eight things on it and I did three since. The other five looked at least somewhat possible at the time, but now they’re all basically impossible. Either way, since this asks for just two things, I’ll list the major goals instead.
2. Do something relevant towards creating the changes I want to see in the world. Something that’d help drastically reduce the number of babies being born is an absolutely necessary condition, but far from sufficient. Either way, I wouldn’t want the general public to know I was the one who did those things, especially if my actions will end up being seen as good, simply because I believe that what matters is what happens, not who does it.
1. Be once again in a solid and comfortable long-term relationship, if possible polyamorous, that would somehow include Andra as well. Lately I seem to be in a process of sort of starting to accept the idea of us being only secondary partners, but the rule remains that I must first somehow end up in some sort of relationship with her once again and only then will there be any chance of me looking into the possibility of having someone else in my life in that way.

X. One confession.
1. Well… For the first time, I really don’t want to die. Don’t think that I found a reason to live, as there hasn’t been one ever since Andra left and there won’t be one as long as things stay as they are from that point of view, but I’ve really been suffering here for far too long and something really needs to happen to make it all have a point, and that’s not particularly likely to happen if I’m dead, is it? Of course, it’s highly unlikely to happen if I’m alive either, so this will just translate into even more suffering and an even greater need for something to happen to change all that. Either way, the fact that I really don’t want to die anymore probably means that I quite likely will in the foreseeable future. That’s how things work for me, isn’t it?

Congratulations if you got this far. It’s the longest post I ever wrote…

Though some find innovative ways to shine a light on what’s going on, mainstream media is starting to look away from WikiLeaks. That’s certainly no surprise, because they basically never focus on a single story for so long, but it’s still very troubling. That’s because this media attention kept people informed of what was going on, drawing some towards the cause and helping those who already were involved actually do something about it, while the lack of it causes many people to focus on other things, a good example of that being the Avaaz petition, which didn’t even gather 700000 signatures in two weeks since it was launched, despite gathering about half that number in the first day alone, when everyone was linking to it. That only serves the powers that be, who fear the public’s attention and will therefore see this as a sign that they finally can step up their efforts. But events are still unfolding and battles are still being fought in this war, so I’ll do my best to update you on what happened since I wrote the last post.

I’ll start with the negative developments, since these first need to be known by as many as possible in order to be efficiently countered. More specifically, I’ll start with Joe Biden calling Julian Assange a high-tech terrorist, which reveals just how the United States is seeing this situation and what they intend to do about it. Not that we didn’t already know what they think of it and what they plan to do about it, but it’s another little piece of the puzzle and it should be on the table.
But political pressure and scaremongering tactics keep having very visible effects on corporations, who continue to distance themselves from WikiLeaks. The latest example would be Bank of America no longer handling payments for WikiLeaks, joining a pretty long list of financial institutions that have already done the same thing despite the lack of any good explanation.
However, this retaliation is no longer just against WikiLeaks. Despite not being developed by WikiLeaks, Apple has removed the WikiLeaks application from iTunes. Sure, said application apparently wasn’t even useful in any way, but the reason given for the removal is what’s worrying, along with the fact that the developer claims that half of the earnings went to WikiLeaks, which means that yet another method of donating was taken away. In addition, a WikiLeaks mirror was taken down, the explanation given being absolutely ludicrous: The host had received a complaint from an upstream provider, which was apparently worried that such a site may, at some point in the future, be the target of attacks! Now I’d sure like to know which site couldn’t possibly be the target of an attack at some point in the future, especially in light of what’s been going on lately…

Next come a couple of developments that may go either way. The first is that the CIA has launched a task force to assess the impact of WikiLeaks. Probably because they haven’t really been affected by the leaks, their approach seems to be somewhat different, a fact also outlined by the acronym for this task force: WTF. This is something to keep an eye on, so we wait and see how it’ll develop. And the same goes for the fact that, despite not being one of the publications that WikiLeaks works with, major Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten has obtained the cables through their own means and will start publishing those they see fit, as they stress that they’re under no agreement with WikiLeaks. This may help if they’ll release more things that need to be released sooner, but could certainly also harm, mainly by reducing potential whistleblowers’ confidence in WikiLeaks’ handling of what they send them.

But enough about that… There have been good developments as well, and those will be the ones outlined in the next part of this post, starting with a list of new whistleblowing sites that have recently been or will soon be launched. Too many options may confuse whistleblowers and even mainstream media, but each of them, assuming they’re legitimate, acts as one more hand pulling at the veil of secrecy governments, corporations and perhaps even more obscure powers that be like to shroud themselves in. Yes, some of them may actually be attempts by just those powers that be to catch potential whistleblowers and others may be completely unwise in what they’ll eventually publish, even releasing those very few things that governments do need to keep secret in order to be able to undertake risky, but fully justifiable and desirable, operations, but I’m quite convinced that the overall result of these sites, assuming they’ll get off the ground and actually become more than so many promises, will be a positive one.
Moving on to a more, shall we say, diplomatic front, the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have released a joint statement in support of WikiLeaks, while human rights organizations worldwide also keep appealing for the attacks against freedom of expression in general and WikiLeaks in particular to stop. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has also launched a campaign against on-line censorship in light of these attacks. You can see on the right side of the page that I obviously also joined this campaign and urge you to do the same.
And, as an interesting side note, Reporters Without Borders is now hosting a WikiLeaks mirror site, to show their support for investigative journalism in general and WikiLeaks’ actions up to this point in particular, though they mention that “this partnership will be constantly reassessed in the light of WikiLeaks’ activities and the content it offers in the future”.

As for Assange himself, he is now a member in good standing of the Australian journalists’ union and even his union fees have been waived, since his accounts have been frozen. He has also been picked as Person of the Year by the readers of Crikey, as well as Man of the Year by the readers of Le Monde.

It’s time for another update about WikiLeaks, who even got the original domain name back. This post’ll be quite crazy because a lot of things have happened since the last one. Excuse me if I’ll be jumping from topic to topic quite a lot. Not that I don’t usually do that, or that anyone reads these posts, but I had to mention it before starting.
I’ll be writing this in bits and pieces, so it’ll take even longer than such a post usually takes, which is way too long anyway. That said, there will likely be further developments while I’m writing it and I may or may not learn of them, since I won’t be actively looking for them. If I’ll learn of them, I’ll try to include them, but otherwise they’ll probably make it into the next post on this issue, which you’ll likely see in the first half of next week.

Obviously, the biggest story was that Julian Assange was finally granted bail, after the appeal to the original decision was also dismissed. It’s actually still unclear whether Swedish or British prosecutors appealed, but I guess it doesn’t really matter anymore. What matters is that the leader of this operation is once again able to take the helm, even if his freedom of movement is severely restricted. The judge warned him that he’s likely to be extradited to Sweden anyway, but for the moment this is one battle we won.
Speaking of battles, we should expect to lose one as well, as the United States is very likely to find a way to charge him of a serious crime, despite the fact that even Human Rights Watch released a statement asking them not to prosecute him. Under these circumstances, being extradited to Sweden could even be in his advantage, as Sweden could prove less willing than the United Kingdom to accept their extradition request. It would certainly be far better if both requests would be denied and he’d be cleared of all charges, but only those that will soon be pressed by the United States are actually relevant to the matter at hand, so what’s important to the cause is for him to be cleared of those. Or for the United States to never charge him of anything, of course, but that’s really a battle I don’t expect us to win.
Either way, all these legal battles are taking a toll on his finances, especially since his Swiss bank account has been blocked ever since the start of this scandal and, at least so far, he doesn’t seem to be using the donations made for WikiLeaks in order to cover these costs as well. His lawyers must be quite unhappy with that, though I imagine that they value the publicity at least as much as the money, since winning such a case would greatly increase their reputation and is therefore likely to make more important cases go their way in the future. But money are certain and winning the case is not, so they’ll probably find a way to allow people to donate to cover their fees.
And speaking of donations, the Wau Holland Foundation, which is likely the main WikiLeaks funding channel, reports that they’re still going strong, despite all attempts to stop them. As you can see from that interview, WikiLeaks shouldn’t have any problems covering its operating costs for quite some time, as they apparently received more than twice the amount they required so far. Yes, said operating costs are likely to increase significantly now, considering the efforts they are required to make, but donations are also on the rise thanks to all the publicity, so the only financial problem has to do with Assange’s legal fees.

Moving on to the front lines of the on-line war, Assange has called on the world to protect WikiLeaks, though I’m not sure how much such a call counts, considering the nature of the group that is behind most of these efforts. I actually can’t say that I heard of any new successful attacks on the sites of governments or companies that oppose WikiLeaks, so it’s possible that new strategies are being developed, and there do appear to be some really good ideas on that front. All that remains is to see how much of it will actually be put in practice, especially since these new strategies require people who were used to only act on-line to make the streets their new theater of operations.
But I started talking about the on-line war and ended up somewhere else, so let me get back to it by pointing out an interesting article published by The Economist. I generally agree with that view, namely that such actions should be legal if they’re meant as a protest and do not cause direct damage but that those behind them shouldn’t hide their identities, but there is one problem: As the article points out, such actions are not legal, regardless of circumstances, while their off-line equivalents are. I also very often berate people for hiding their identity and not taking full responsibility for their actions, but there are times when you have to do what you have to do in order to be able to continue the fight…

More good news are coming in from Australia, where it was finally determined that WikiLeaks did not break any law. This puts prime minister Julia Gillard in a very uncomfortable position, as she now has to figure out a way to make everyone else forget the fact that she pretty much demanded charges against Assange, despite knowing that even her own party was against such a course of action. What’s more, the Australian media rallied in support of WikiLeaks and foreign minister Kevin Rudd promised assistance to Assange even if he’ll have to go against the prime minister’s wishes, so it certainly looks as if Australia is on our side in this war, at least for the moment.

Now I’d like to point out a pretty good analysis of the potential consequences of this situation. I take it as a good sign that a source of such good repute basically says that, while this scandal could theoretically make things better for the world, the governments will do everything they can to use it to gain even more control and drastically worsen the situation. But they won’t be able to do that if we won’t allow them, so it’s basically what I keep saying: It will never be the same after this, so we either win and change some things for the better, at least for a while, or lose and have others change a whole lot of things for the worse. So we can’t afford to lose, no matter what!
Oh, in case you’re not convinced, here’s a little example of how this is being used to make things worse: The French government has granted itself the right to censor the Internet. Yes, just like that. Of course, this isn’t exactly a new development, as child pornography has been used as an excuse to do that for years, but it is rather interesting that such a law is being passed just when said government is struggling to block WikiLeaks and has so far been unable to do so, isn’t it?

Otherwise, even though Assange very comfortably won the readers’ vote, he was only selected as a runner-up, Mark Zuckerberg being the TIME Person of the Year 2010, despite quite frankly not doing anything this year to justify such an award in any way, unless you count the fact that someone released a movie about him in his favor. Obviously, even such a publication is afraid to do something that’d bother the powers that be, so they pushed back the one nominee who’d have created the worst problems for them and selected someone who was quite likely harmless from that point of view… But, if you want an odd piece of related news, at least Rolling Stone Italy has named Assange Rockstar of the Year.

Let me also point you to a profile for Julian Assange that I thought was pretty nicely put together, so it should prove interesting for those who want to know more about him. That doesn’t mean that I changed my mind: It’s still all about the cause, not particularly about WikiLeaks and certainly not at all about Assange himself. But knowledge always helps, and he is the leader after all, at least until the powers that be will find a way to silence him, at which point another will need to pick up from where he left off, and then another, and then another… But we’re not there yet.
Still on the topic of Assange, you may also learn something more about him from what appears to be his profile on OkCupid. Not used in four years, but certainly seems to be his, doesn’t it?

Let’s take a little break from the “regular programming” for a moment. I picked this up from somewhere, so here goes:
– Write a post. The post should contain your list of ten holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple to really big. The important thing is to make sure that these wishes are things you really, truly want.
– If you wish for “real life” things, make sure you include some sort of contact information in your post, whether it’s your address or just your e-mail address, so Santa (or one of his elves) will be able to get in touch with you.
– Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines so that the holiday joy will spread.
– Surf around to see who has posted their list. And now here’s the important part:
– If you see a wish you can grant, and it’s in your heart to do so, make someone’s wish come true. Sometimes someone’s trash is another’s treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don’t want or a gift certificate you won’t use, or even know where you could get someone’s dream purebred Basset Hound for free, do it.
– You needn’t spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn’t to put people out, but to provide everyone a chance to be someone else’s holiday elf, to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not; it’s your call.
– There are no rules with this project, no guarantees and no strings attached. Just wish and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you’ll have the joy of knowing you made someone’s holiday special.

“Some version of these guidelines” posted just in case someone else will pick it up from me, because I’m not in a position to give anything and obviously don’t expect anything either, and either way I hate it when people give gifts on such occasions when current social norms state that gifts are expected. But let’s see if I can come up with ten things that I want and can be bought with money…
1. The Born Queen (Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone 4) – Greg Keyes, because I really, really want to finish this series.
2. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director’s Cut, because I’ve been wanting to play this ever since it was still in development and it’s up there on the list of games I’d really rather not play “pirated”.
3. Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition, since there’s finally a point in getting it now that they bundled everything in a single package.
4. Victory of Eagles (Temeraire 5) – Naomi Novik, because I want to continue this series.
5. His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman, simply out of curiosity.
6. Mount & Blade: Warband, hoping that it really is sort of an enhanced version of the original and I won’t lose anything because I didn’t play that one.
7. The Creators (Shanji 3) – James C. Glass, if anyone could actually still find a copy anywhere, because I read the first two in the series several years ago, thought they were interesting and didn’t even know there was a third until relatively recently.
8. Epiphany of the Long Sun (The Book of the Long Sun 3 and 4) – Gene Wolfe, because it’s the only part of the Solar Cycle that I’m yet to read.
9. King’s Bounty: Crossworlds Game of the Year Edition, though I’m extremely bothered by the use of StarForce, so I’m not particularly keen on getting it legally.
10. Babylon 5: The Complete Universe, because I’ve been struggling to come up with a tenth item for the past 30 minutes and, since all the other books I’m interested in are series that I haven’t started yet, meaning that I couldn’t pick just one more item, it looked like I would pick Risen, but then somehow the idea that I’m still so awed by this series that I really should actually have it someday, legally, crept up on me and won the spot.

Not counting the box set, all I have are books and games, and that’s pretty much what I always have on such wishlists. I may need a couple of new articles of clothing, but I never accept clothes as gifts, so that’s out of the question and either way it’s nothing I’d care to look for on-line, and my computer is still powerful enough for everything I need, so there’s no point in replacing or upgrading anything in the near future, unless of course some component would need replacement due to failing. And other than that I can’t really think of anything I’d really want or need that could be bought with money…
Of course, the really important things are those that money can’t buy, and those can’t be given to me by anyone who might read this, but they’re known well enough to anyone who knows me, so there’s no point in mentioning them again either. The really sad part is that I have far better odds of getting a pretty significant number of things that money can buy than even a single one of the others. Then again, it’s probably more likely for the Moon to be kicked out of orbit than for me to get what I really need, isn’t it?

But enough about that. Getting back to the matter at hand, a reminder: Use your money to speak your mind! Make a statement through your purchases! Boycott Amazon, PayPal, MasterCard and Visa for the way they handled the WikiLeaks situation! Hit them where it hurts the most, to make sure they’ll think really long and hard before doing anything like this again! (Incidentally, you may have noticed that I didn’t link to anything on Amazon, even though it’d certainly have been the easiest thing to do.)

Oh, I was supposed to add some contact information, wasn’t I? Well, if you don’t already know how to contact me there’s certainly no point in me writing it here, but let me just follow the rules and say there’s an e-mail link at the bottom of the page, if you click on “Cavalary”.

It’s about time to wrap up the week’s news regarding WikiLeaks and prepare for the next one, which will certainly also see a lot of action and further developments in all related areas. I can only hope that the developments will be positive, which is to say that I hope support for WikiLeaks and, more importantly, the concepts it stands for will grow significantly both on-line and off-line, but also that the movement will become more organized and focused, because our opponents certainly are and we won’t be able to properly fight against them if we pull in all directions at once.
I’m saying that because, despite some pretty good new strategy ideas, there is simply no focus anymore and trying to organize these efforts seems to become quite similar to trying to herd cats. And that’s a huge problem, because without focus and discipline their skills and enthusiasm are being completely wasted, no matter how useful they’d otherwise be. Not that anyone thought it’d be easy to organize such a group, if it can even be called a group, but good leaders know how to make the best use of the people they have available. We sure need a few of those to step up if we are to have a good chance at winning this…

Yet, even though the Avaaz petition, despite the very good start, is now gathering signatures far slower than expected and is certain to fail reaching the goal of one million by the end of the week by a large margin, we do have good news as well. What’s more, said good news are about off-line efforts, which are certainly much needed in our repertoire. There are plans for protests in several countries around the world and those that took place in Spain and, most notably, Australia already managed to gather a significant number of participants. This is very important not only for the issue at hand but also as a way to show the powers that be that we can still see what’s going on in the world at large, think with our own heads and fight for important causes no matter how much they try to beat us into submission with the economic crisis and scare us into inaction with the threat of terrorism.
It’s very important to start piling up the pressure at street level as well, so this will become a battle that the society at large is interested and involved in and not just an “infowar”. Not that the on-line component is any less important, far from it, but those in charge often react faster to one thousand people marching in the streets than to one million signing a petition, plus that many other people are more likely to notice such a protest than an on-line campaign, which means they could also decide to join. Or they could decide to fight for the other side, of course, but that’s always a risk you have to take.
If each such protest could manage to gather at least one thousand people, it would already be a victory, though of course even much smaller numbers can make a difference as well. If something like this would take place in all the countries where officials have expressed views against WikiLeaks and similar projects, as well as in front of as many embassies of such countries as possible everywhere else in the world, it would send an extremely powerful message. The United States, United Kingdom and Australia are of course of particular importance, but the pressure must be maintained at high levels everywhere. No matter where you are, follow what your elected representatives have to say about the issue, ask them if they don’t volunteer their opinion, and react accordingly.
What worries me is that I’m yet to see anything about protests actually taking place in the United States. I see that they’re planned, but I can’t readily find information about any that already took place. Does anyone know of any? How many people showed up? How did they behave? How did the authorities react? I don’t think I need to point out how important it is to send a particularly strong message there…

In other good news, some companies do have some backbone and choose to support WikiLeaks despite the pressure. And that list sould also include EasyDNS, which was at first wrongly accused of dropping WikiLeaks even though they never had anything to do with the site in the first place and then ended up actually providing services for them.
While certain authority figures keep stressing the dangers, this situation also outlines the benefits of helping WikiLeaks, as the people who approve of WikiLeaks will, as shown in the EasyDNS statement, fully appreciate this course of action and possibly show that appreciation by choosing that company’s services over those of its competitors. So if you know of any other companies that should be listed here alongside DataCell, EasyDNS, Flattr, OVH, XIPWIRE and, at least for the time being, possibly also Facebook and Twitter, show your support and at least promote them. Such gestures serve to simply make it good business to support such controversial projects despite the pressure coming from the authorities, and that can really go a long way.

Finally, it seems that some former members of the WikiLeaks team will launch a competing project called OpenLeaks. Normally I’d say that any such projects, like the new Balkan Leaks and perhaps also the older Cryptome, can only be a good thing, because they promote transparency and freedom of speech and information, fighting against those who want to control everything themselves. However, the fact that OpenLeaks will obviously refuse to take responsibility for their actions, instead choosing to hide behind the other companies or organizations chosen to publish the information they’ll receive, makes the concept questionable at best, and most likely detrimental.
While I’m at it, I need to mention that Cryptome seems to have recently turned itself into a conduit for opinions and information shining a bad light on WikiLeaks. As long as it’s accurate information, it should obviously be revealed, but the opinions are the part I have a problem with when it comes to such a service. Still, it certainly could be true and Assange and WikiLeaks may have some dirt to hide as well, but it wouldn’t make any difference. As I keep saying, this war is about way more than WikiLeaks and pretty much not at all about Assange himself, as you may have noticed that I didn’t even mention his name in this post until now. That means that we need to stop bickering and fight together for the common cause. If some bad apples need to be thrown out of the basket, they will be, no matter who they are, but that must never be allowed to jeopardize our real quest.