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Government The Media United States News Politics Games

Cablegate, the Game 90

An anonymous reader writes "Cablegate: The Game is a game where players can read, tag and summarize the recently released US Embassy Cables. Points are awarded for finding the most tags in a cable." I wish this game were extended to more news sources generally — automated scans are nice, but can't (yet) make all the connections humans can.
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Cablegate, the Game

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  • by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 19, 2010 @02:55PM (#34609326)

    Lawyers cry foul over leak of Julian Assange sex-case papers [theaustralian.com.au]

    Incriminating police files were published in the British newspaper that has used him as its source for hundreds of leaked US embassy cables.

    In a move that surprised many of Mr Assange's closest supporters on Saturday, The Guardian newspaper published previously unseen police documents that accused Mr Assange in graphic detail of sexually assaulting two Swedish women. One witness is said to have stated: "Not only had it been the world's worst screw, it had also been violent."

    Oh, the irony.

    • One witness is said to have stated: "Not only had it been the world's worst screw, it had also been violent."

      It's clear to me that this statement and others like it made by the alleged victim are an insult to actual rape victims everywhere. It gets worse [guardian.co.uk]:

      According to her statement she "tried to put on some articles of clothing as it was going too quickly and uncomfortably but Assange ripped them off again". Miss A told police that she didn't want to go any further "but that it was too late to stop Assange as she had gone along with it so far", and so she allowed him to undress her.

      Too late to stop because she had gone along with it so far? And later she goes to lunch with him, and afterwards complains only that he was "the world's worst screw". Unbelievable.

      Without exaggeration: this statement reads like a stereotypical straw man argument trotted out by misogynists who deride and demean rape allegations. This woman did not even have the decency to simply add a line stating at the very least "I told him to stop and he didn't". Today alone, there are women who have arrived bruised and bloody into rape crisis centres, who have had their integrity questioned in court, who have to live with their attackers not only going free, but re-offending; I can't imagine how those women must feel about these patently ridiculous allegations being taken seriously.

      The impact of these farcical complaints in such a high profile sex-offence case is going to set back rape victims' rights by a decade or more. Expect to see the Sweedish Assange case trotted out in every sexual assault legislation debate for twenty years, as the foremost example of how rape allegations can be trivial and how rape victims' testimony is unreliable. I suspect quite a few "mens' rights" groups have made a song and dance over this already.

      Unfortunately, the biggest fallout from the entire Cablegate scandal is going to be in justice for rape victims the world over. So congratulations Miss A.; your actions have changed the world. I hope you're proud of yourself.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward

        What's with the implication that "men's rights" groups (scare quotes and all) are delighted about "injustice for rape victims"? Is your worldview so polarised?

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward

        I suspect quite a few "mens' rights" groups have made a song and dance over this already.

        But have they?

        I find it ironic that our friends on the right, who have been warning for years of the dangers of allowing feminists near our rape laws (and I don't necessarily disagree), now have a concrete example of one of their predicted worst-case scenarios, --the (ab)use of the criminal law by women dealing with emotional disappointment --and all they are asking is that the man in question be executed.

        Just one of

      • by Shauni ( 1164077 ) on Sunday December 19, 2010 @09:12PM (#34611946)
        There is no "victim script" someone follows after a rape. Never. You watch too many Lifetime movies if you think that is so.

        They may turn up at a crisis center bloody. They may throw a party for their attacker. They may just cover their bruises and pretend it never happened. They may make a joke about it later. They may call it "bad sex" afterward. They may participate during the event, or stop resisting. They may have even agreed until a point, before withdrawing consent. They may do everything "right," and find out that it doesn't even matter.

        That is the nature of sexual abuse of all forms. Often there is an attempt to deny the assault after it happened, because admitting it happened would compel them to act on it. To go to a complete stranger, and relive the event, who more often than not will deride them, blame them, or mishandle their case.

        Then the second they stray from the Lifetime account, it provides a reason to take the man's side.

        The only way to escape the circle of injustice, just understand: no means no.

        Today alone, there are women who have arrived bruised and bloody into rape crisis centres, who have had their integrity questioned in court, who have to live with their attackers not only going free, but re-offending; I can't imagine how those women must feel about these patently ridiculous allegations being taken seriously.

        I would imagine what they feel is something like, "Hey, Glenn Beck sounds just like that asshole defense attorney, or my 'friend' who told me it wasn't a big deal." Alternatively, if they know a little more about the situation, "As usual, the only time a complaint gets taken seriously is when there's a bigger political motive."

        In fact, I don't have to imagine, as I have talked to several, including one about this very event.
        • by JumperCable ( 673155 ) on Monday December 20, 2010 @05:20AM (#34614032)

          The only way to escape the circle of injustice, just understand: no means no.

          It usually helps if the woman actually says no instead of bitching about it later after she discovers he has slept with another woman.

          • whats worse, none violent violations.

            Or being beatem up like the nazis on a jewish piniata party?

            Being heavily beaten by cops is worse, as many many people and the law will never prosecute their own 'brothers'.

            Saying no to a cop beating is the same as being raped.

            Now if a cop tazers are pregnant lady (it has happened) thats worse than raping a baby.

        • by definate ( 876684 ) on Monday December 20, 2010 @05:34AM (#34614082)

          You are correct, there is no script or formula which a victim follows. However, given there is no significant evidence to the contrary, we can not be expected to take someones word for it, given they essentially looked like anyone else would.

          If you do not agree with this, then you're essentially opening up anyone to put anyone else in jail for rape, as you're saying we require no substantiative proof, other than 'a participant said so a week later'.

          "no means no" is totally irrelevant here, and is just a strawman argument. The question is whether its reasonable to take only one persons word, later on, in the face of other evidence, as evidence with which to convict a man, and destroy his life.

          I don't think it is.

          I've been following this reasonably closely, and I don't believe there has been ANY other substantiative evidence, has there?

          • by Shauni ( 1164077 )
            Given that there hasn't been so much as a police interview yet, let alone a trial, I don't see how there could be.

            Whether there is or not though (or even whether the person is guilty or not), it's ridiculous to cross-examine a victim's behavior to determine guilt or innocence.
      • by Anonymous Coward

        So you say this may help men that are falsely accused of rape? That's great! Rape vs getting accused of rape is pretty much a matter of (usually) non-permanent non-lethal bodily injury vs. a rather permanently ruined reputation and career. Either also has a psychological side to it, but the latter has far more effects overall.

        Rape is one of these "guilty unless proven innocent" accusations for males in most of society (even though not in court), as long as people think you may look the part, witch h

      • by nyri ( 132206 )

        The impact of these farcical complaints in such a high profile sex-offence case is going to set back rape victims' rights by a decade or more. Expect to see the Sweedish Assange case trotted out in every sexual assault legislation debate for twenty years, as the foremost example of how rape allegations can be trivial and how rape victims' testimony is unreliable. I suspect quite a few "mens' rights" groups have made a song and dance over this already.

        You make this sound this as if these "mens' right" groups do not have a case. I think this sad saga proves that rape allegations could be and are used as a tool of revenge by scorned women. The set back you are speaking of is basically the reintroduction presumption of innocence to rape cases. A set back, indeed.

        By the way, why the quotes around "mens' right"?

      • by Nyder ( 754090 )

        ...And later she goes to lunch with him, and afterwards complains only that he was "the world's worst screw". Unbelievable.

        ...

        wow, to think about all the times I really sucked in bed yet didn't get rape charges for it.

        I must be the luckiest man alive.

      • I suspect quite a few "mens' rights" groups have made a song and dance over this already.

        You know, men can get raped too. Asshole.

    • Re: (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Why is it so hard to understand the difference between individual privacy and government secrecy, and that what applies to one doesn't necessarily apply to the other?

  • by arcite ( 661011 ) on Sunday December 19, 2010 @03:00PM (#34609354)
    IF you play this game the CIA will record your IP and sexy left leaning Swedish intellectual feminists will pick you up in the bar for drinks then invite you to their house, let you have sex with them, cook you breakfast, and then accuse you rape a month later.

    They'll put out international 'red notices' for your arrest; Pursue you across international boundaries, and spread insidious false rumours of your poor performance in bed.

    • by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 19, 2010 @03:02PM (#34609374)

      You will also be guilty of some of those things.

      • You will also be ecstatic from some of those things.

        This is slashdot. FTFY.(*)

        (*) except for gay slashdotters, who would feel instead absolute horror at being invited for bed and breakfast by two ladies. (**)

        (**) unless the ladies turned out to be men in disguise. (***)

        (***) in that case, the non-gay slashdotters will no longer feel ecstatic, and may lock themselves into the shower to moisturize their clothes while wearing them. (****)

        (****) Curse you, evil, evil CIA!

    • by Anonymous Coward

      IF you play this game the CIA will record your IP and sexy left leaning Swedish intellectual feminists will pick you up

      Count me in.

    • IF you play this game the CIA will record your IP and sexy left leaning Swedish intellectual feminists will pick you up in the bar for drinks then invite you to their house, let you have sex with them, cook you breakfast, and then accuse you rape a month later.

      They'll put out international 'red notices' for your arrest; Pursue you across international boundaries, and spread insidious false rumours of your poor performance in bed.

      Instead of waiting a month walk into the police station yourself the following morning and "ask for advice" while explaining that you wanted to keep the condom on but she intentionally ripped it by deviously moving during intercourse, it would be interesting watching Sweden attempt to extradite her from her new home near Langley, I wonder if it would be pursued just as vigorously after all there is this nasty setting a precedent thing.

    • ...this game should only be played on public terminals in internet cafes without security cameras.

      BTW, is spoofing your identity fair game play at the feminists house?

    • by mrmeval ( 662166 )

      It might be or you are but I know I am cause I'm hot and sticky sweet from my head down to my feet.

      I want a way to be able to kill the karma of a tagger for bad tags. I suppose a slashdot style system could be set up. The firehose can weed out the obvious crap and then come the taggers spraying graphiti on the cables, then come the karma killers....

      • by migla ( 1099771 )

        >I suppose a slashdot style system could be set up.

        How about Slashdot adds a section for this purpose? You know you want to! You're not chicken, are you, Taco?

        (j/k. Slashdot is hosted in the US, right? That would not be a pragmatic place to host wikileaks.)

        Someone should definitely put up a server with slashcode (or similar) somewhere else, though,

    • This is a problem how?

      Personally, I think I could manage more than two sexy left-leaning Swedish intellectual feminists before the end of a month. Perhaps as high as 31 if I didn't try for twice a night.

      At the end, I'd be so blissfully exhausted I probably wouldn't notice the rest.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Read, tag, summarize and go to jail!

  • We're gonna get another one of these [melchersystem.com]!

  • by splerdu ( 187709 ) on Sunday December 19, 2010 @03:09PM (#34609422)

    ...for every article you tag "nothing to see here, move along"

  • by EnsilZah ( 575600 ) <EnsilZahNO@SPAMGmail.com> on Sunday December 19, 2010 @03:15PM (#34609472)

    You might win an all-expenses-payed trip to sunny Cuba.

  • will be "ego". I kid! I kid! This is a good thing. Maybe now we'll find out how many Brits are descendants of Rebecca Rolfe, or was it Smith?

  • by Anonymous Coward

    First, if Assange is being considered the most vile and evil person in the world for facilitating the release of this information (and yet commercial news outlets who work with him to do it and then publish it to a huge audience are *not* treated as evil and horrible or culpable at all), then I can only imagine what they might do to the average john Doe. After all, they could construe this as aiding and abetting "the enemy" (ie, terr'ists).

    More importantly, I work with the government through my company whic

    • by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 19, 2010 @03:26PM (#34609556)
      Don't worry, there are another 5+ billion people out there who aren't US citizens and don't have to worry about intimidation by the feds. It may not be the best, and our government may be full of crazies too right now, but I'm proud to be Canadian anyway.
    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Actually, I'm getting rather tired of the bias slashdot editors have shown for wikileaks.

      For those of us who do have to worry about clearances sticking a god damned link straight to the applet in the article is a bit too much. I'm fairly used to the lazy or awful links which are three sites away from the actual source. They finally get it right on the one material I don't to go anywhere near.

      It's just too much for me and if the point was to alienate those on the other side then job well done. Too bad I was

      • by billsayswow ( 1681722 ) on Sunday December 19, 2010 @03:36PM (#34609628)
        We are saddened to hear about the loss of your support, Mr... Anonymous Coward.
      • by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 19, 2010 @03:39PM (#34609638)

        Actually, I'm getting rather tired of the bias slashdot editors have shown for wikileaks.

        What bias? Slasdhot editors support Wikileaks. Show me one good reason why they shouldn't? It's not Slashdot's fault all the arguments for NOT supporting Wikileaks are shitty arguments. Doing what's right is not the same as showing bias.

        For those of us who do have to worry about clearances sticking a god damned link straight to the applet in the article is a bit too much...They finally get it right on the one material I don't to go anywhere near.

        How the fuck did you get US security clearance if you can't even use basic English?

        Too bad I was actually a slashdot supporter and funded this horseshit. Thankfully everyone has choices and can choose where to provide support. For instance, I no longer choose to support this website and consequently I will not be renewing my subscription.

        Liar.

        • What bias? Slasdhot editors support Wikileaks. Show me one good reason why they shouldn't?
           
          Joe Biden called Assange a terrorist! We all know that Joe Biden is a genius who knows everything and he wasn't picked as VP just to make Obama look good so that's good enough for me.

        • If a US president can get by with not being able to use English, why would it be surprising that other people with US security clearances are not familiar with the English language?
        • by Nyder ( 754090 )

          ...

          How the fuck did you get US security clearance if you can't even use basic English?

          ....

          Probably had public school education.

          • God are you a moron, you know theres an iphone app that takes your perfect english comments, and makes em look like , joe bloggs after 6 beers.

            This is fucking slashdot, no one cares for spelling, only geeks with ties and no friends.

            This isnt a fucking .gov science nobel peace prize nominations board.

            Now fuck off, and take some LSD and get to know the universe outside your govt approved scope. :)

            The logo of LSD

      • by Anonymous Coward

        Bye! Don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out.

      • Actually, I'm getting rather tired of the bias slashdot editors have shown for wikileaks.

        For those of us who do have to worry about clearances sticking a god damned link straight to...one material I don't to go anywhere near.

        When your government dictates that you actively avoid learning the truth, perhaps it's time to re-evaluate the demands made on you, rather than rail against others for inadvertently exposing you to it. Your life must be made very difficult by the mental gymnastics required in avoiding what are now commonplace discussions, and telling yourself that others must be 'biased' for exposing you to them.

        I hope you haven't been reading the New York Times either, or other international newspapers^^^^^^^^^^^^ terroris

        • I hope you haven't been reading the New York Times either, or other international newspapers^^^^^^^^^^^^ terrorist journals, otherwise you might be guilty of learning the truth about your government and others around the world (many of which are far worse than the US government, if perhaps less hypocritical in their actions).

          So reading New York Times = learning the truth, right? Just like when NYT was the leading voice in support of the invasion of Iraq in 2003 based on its own fabricated stories a

          • by Serious Callers Only ( 1022605 ) on Sunday December 19, 2010 @05:23PM (#34610396)

            So reading New York Times = learning the truth, right?

            Wrong. Evidently, I'm not claiming the NYT has always and will forever print exclusively the truth, only that it did, along with wikileaks, and now Slashdot, reproduce the particular truths the grandparent is complaining about being exposed to (things that were said by American diplomats in cables). In those particular instances the NYT was reproducing the truth about the USG and its diplomats' views of the world - that was what I meant by 'learning the truth about your government'.

            I hope that puts your mind at rest as to whether I believe the NYT is eternally and universally true!

      • by arcite ( 661011 ) on Sunday December 19, 2010 @04:12PM (#34609888)
        Working for the US gov, only I'm not a chicken-shit, brainwashed, sorry excuse for a human being who feels that the truth should be covered up. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

        If you really are working for the US Gov (and you're not just a simpleton soldier following orders) you have a responsibility to make the world a better place. Now, please go back to the safety of silence and obedience with the knowledge that your next pay-check from the good American People is on its way.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Duradin ( 1261418 )

          "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

          Actually, if you're not part of the solution you are part of the precipitate. Saying someone is either part of the solution (x)or part of the problem ignores people that are completely neutral to the situation. Of course narrow-mindedness and binary thinking is the new enlightened so maybe I should just get with the times.

          • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

            by xavdeman ( 946931 )
            If enough people are neutral a solution would never come to fruition. The saying holds as long as the proposed solution and problem are correctly defined.
          • by Anonymous Coward

            His point is that the massive quantity of purportedly "neutral" people aren't. By the very nature of "ignoring" or "not caring" about the issue, they tacitly participate in making it worse. Now, you don't have to agree, but that doesn't make him short-sighted.

        • by Rayonic ( 462789 )

          If you really are working for the US Gov (and you're not just a simpleton soldier following orders) you have a responsibility to make the world a better place.

          And here I thought it was your job to make the U.S. a better place. My bad! Does this apply to government workers in other nations too?

          IMHO, there's all sorts of "the truth" that should be covered up. Like how negotiations with China about North Korea are going, or what the U.K. diplomat really thinks of the Prime Minister.

    • to all those millions of people who helped and worked for the nazis in the 40's , well no one cares for their asses now do they.

      Govt workers can stay in the closet as the North Korean employees do all their lives.

      But history exposes the traitors and evil.

  • In general I feel like more things should be crowd-sourced. There is a lot of power in making things fun.
  • Shooting the messenger will become too expensive and evident if the movement have too much messengers to shoot. Of course, they could start taking other ways of action.
  • I think Wikileaks should host this game*. Would be really helpful to have a central place with summaries on the cables and ratings on the summaries/cables etc. Good example of crowd-sourcing, this is. Also: publicity, popularity, awareness, lead to a higher probability of change. *In before: "But who will host Wikileaks? xD"
    • I don't know if you've noticed or not, but ISPs, DNSs, and a number of governments have been banning and attacking wikileaks.* . Diversifying shows that wikileaks does not stand alone. They should definitely link to it (and there should be a reciprocal link), but hosting is not only unnecessary, but probably counter-productive. People should just help publicize it.
  • Winner gets a free trip to Gitmo!

  • A great presentation about human computation.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtFroEJN1nI [youtube.com]

  • I saw the "word" cablegate and was hoping it was some big scandal that would make life very uncomfortable for the cable television industry.

  • Apparently many people had the same idea. The tetalab (a French fablab) proposes a similar thing to tag all the subjects of the cables : http://leakspin.tetalab.org/ [tetalab.org]
  • Sorry to be the party poop, but what is the point of this? Not for political motivation or statement, certainly.
  • if Google takes down this "game" hosted on its servers.
    • Posting on the 22nd of Dec at 23:01 UTC...

      Well, it appears someone, possibly Google, has taken down this game. It's the reason I read this far, and I'm quite surprised that nobody cared enough about this issue 3 days later that nobody checked and posted this fact before me. Therefore, I should get more Insightful mods than anybody else on this thread, but we'll see...

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