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David Frum asks a question (in a series of 140-character chunks):

What do we learn from Wikileaks re Iran?

1) Many more govts than you might think back a US military strike.

2) It’s now public knowledge that Iran and North Korea are exchanging deadly military technology.

3) Whole world can see that US has gone every extra mile to reach a negotiated outcome with Iran

4) Nevertheless Iran has pursued nuclear ambitions all-out.

Seems to me the combined effect of this information would be to make US military action more politically acceptable….Both inside US and outside.

Discuss.

Also for discussion: all governments have a legitimate need for a certain amount of secrecy. In particular, embassy officials need to be able to report candidly to their superiors about what’s going on in their sphere of responsibility. So what’s the most likely consequence of the WikiLeaks document dump? That governments around the world realize the error of their ways and become more open about their dealings with the rest of the world? Or that governments around the world — and in particular the United States government — clamp down hard on classified information and restrict its distribution even more than they have in the past?

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A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With only days left until December 31, we've raised about half of our $400,000 goal—but we need a huge surge in reader support to close the remaining gap. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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