5 May 2010

Subject: Mother Jones fact-check questions: WikiLeaks
Date: Wed, 5 May 2010 14:27:58 -0700
From: "Evan James" <ejames[at]motherjones.com>
To: <cryptome[at]earthlink.net>

Dear Mr. Young,
 
I’m a fact-checker at Mother Jones magazine, and I’m working on verifying all of the 
information in an article we’re running about WikiLeaks in our July/August issue. I 
believe you spoke with the writer, David Kushner, who has included quotes and paraphrases 
from you expressing that:
 
- You are the founder of Cryptome.org
- You basically felt you were tricked into registering the WikiLeaks domain when 
  Assange’s team first launched, but that the site is no longer under your name
 
Does this sound accurate? I realize that some time may have passed since you gave 
this interview, so feel free to include additional comments.
 
Thank you Mr. Young. I look forward to hearing from you.
 
Evan James
Mother Jones magazine
222 Sutter Street, Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94108
Phone: 415-321-1700 x244
http://motherjones.com/



Evan,

I did not speak with David Kushner. He used remarks by me and 
others from email messages on a private mail-list concerning 
Wikileaks during its formation. These messages are here:

http://cryptome.org/wikileaks/wikileaks-leak.htm

I am the founder of Cryptome.org.

I was not tricked to serve as domain registrant, I willingly agreed
to do that. During further discussion of the initiative, as described
in the email messages cited above, I disagreed with the fund-raising
ambition, argument ensued, and I was replaced as registrant.
I was then unsubscribed from the private mail list.

However, because the subscriber list included me under a different
email address (not my doing) I continued to receive the private email 
and enjoyed the remarks made about me. Those messages are here:

http://cryptome.org/wikileaks/wikileaks-leak2.htm

However, it is important to understand and report that my early 
criticisms have been supplemented with admiration for Wikileaks, 
as I have said in several public fora since the Collateral Murder video
was released. 

That said, I affirm my criticism of Wikileaks in the email messages 
cited by Mr. Kushner. They remain applicable to Wikileaks and to other
leak-exploiting venues, including Cryptome and Mother Jones. Foul 
as leaks are, commercializing leaks makes them much worse and 
deceptive.

I think Mr. Kushner's article was a juicy smear of Wikileaks not a fair
-- and boring or, worse, adoring -- report. That's okay, too, for smears 
are what leaks are always used for, and what's good for others is good 
for Wikileaks -- and Cryptome and Mother Jones. 

Mother Jones with Kushner's article stooped to an admirable new low 
in green-eyed journalism, worthy of the exemplary low standard set by 
Mother Jones herself, queen of dirty smears.

Smears are truthful in revealing what they are, entertainment, certainly 
moreso than "fair and objective reporting" which brain stuns. 

Wikileaks set out to raise $5 million as soon as possible. That's what
remains its primary mission, as recently demonstrated, and thus totally 
untrustworthy for information but fabulous entertainment in the leakage
vein. Kushner nailed that.

Use any of this you like. It will be published on Cryptome.

Regards,

John