redmoddata/lines_train_2M · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 1 330k
$link = "<a href=\"google.com\"> Clicky </a>";
The datagrid would display Clicky and not the actual html link... Is there anyway to pass back html?
share\|improve this question
add comment
2 Answers
I would suggest passing the link URL and the link text separately, then reconstructing them into an anchor link in JavaScript on the client-side.
You could also try escaping the HTML, then unescaping on the client-side.
I have no idea why it won't send links- perhaps the browser is trying to parse the sent HTML too early?
share\|improve this answer
add comment
You can use formatter in dojo grid to format the HTML displayed in each cell. When creating the grid, you can set a formatter for each column. The formatter is a JavaScript function that takes two parameters, the first one value means the value of the cell, the second one rowIndex means the index of current row. The return value of the formatter function is the HTML content displayed in the cell.
For your case, I would suggest that you use a single column for both the link URL and anchor text. You can use a simple encoding, like http://www.google.com$$$Clicky, where $$$ is used to separate these two fields. The PHP code would be:
$link = "http://www.google.com$$$Clicky";
Then in your formatter function, you can use :
function(value, rowIndex) {
var parts = value.split('$$$');
return "<a href='" + parts[0] + "'>" + parts[1] + "</a>";
If you prefer to use one column for each field, e.g. url for URL and anchorText for the anchor text. Then you need to get the value of another column when formatting the cell. Suppose the grid uses the url field. Then the formatter function may look like below:
function(value, rowIndex) {
var item = grid.getItem(rowIndex); // Get the store item by index, need the reference of the grid.
var anchorText = grid.store.getValue(item, 'anchorText');
return "<a href='" + value + "'>" + anchorText + "</a>";
share\|improve this answer
Thanks for the awesome explanation. I ended up using the escapeHTMLInData="false", however.. but will keep the formatter function in mind for later! :) – Paul Dec 1 '10 at 22:48
Ah, escapeHTMLInData='false', I didn't know that before. Thanks for the information. :) – Alex Cheng Dec 2 '10 at 9:38
add comment
Your Answer
Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm collecting some basic stats from a Google Calendar feed with DOM and Php. I have been trying to get the event endTime using the following:
`$times = $entry->getElementsByTagName( "when" );
$startTime = $times->item(0)->getAttributeNode( "startTime" )->value;
$endTime = $times->item(0)->getAttributeNode("endTime" )->value;`
Which results in an end time of 04:00:00 for every appointment.
I was trying different things and entered 1 instead of 0 in item() this results in a correct end time, but only three of the 50 appointments are displayed.
My feed is private, full, ordered by start time, singleevents=true, and start-min/start-max are set.
Is there a different way to get event endTime?
share\|improve this question
add comment
1 Answer
up vote 0 down vote accepted
Never did find the answer to this question. Went ahead and went the Zend/Gdata route. Took a little to get up to speed but it works now.
share\|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
Upscale Denver hotel installs new surveillance system
Visao, NUUO solutions used in CCTV upgrade project
How does a premier luxury hotel with 241 rooms and 6 restaurants salute their guests while offering the finest in modern luxury accommodations and personalized service? With a high degree of internal security, the Brown Palace Hotel seated in Denver, Colorado, makes their guests feel like being at home, which is already far from common service. From the Spa, dinning, lobby and seating areas the Brown Palace imbues a sense of security while allowing guests the freedom to relax and enjoy the luxurious surroundings. The Brown Palace Hotel has hosted nearly all US presidents since itâ€™s inception in the late 1800â€™s â€“ Including Heads of State, Kings and Queens from over 50 Countries, numerous dignitaries and celebrities. Including Tzu-Hsi (Empress Dowager) during her trip across the US, who said it was the finest Hotel she had visited. It is considered one of the Grandest Hotels in the US.
Forty channels of analog cameras are installed around the lobby, restaurants, check-in areas, and ballrooms. All cameras are managed by a Visao DVR with NUUO H.264 DVR cards & software, featuring NUUOâ€™s innovative I-guard video analysis, intuitive and broad applications that are very useful for hotel surveillance environments. In the main lobby and entrance, foreign and missing object detection react at once with on screen and audio alarms, especially during night hours. Once an "I-guard event" is detected it is recorded on all selected cameras in the software and played easily through the graphical user interface (GUI). Finally, another very useful function that deserves mention is "motion detection", simple to use and powerful. Select a specific area to detect motion and the software will react to that motion in any one of 8 user defined ways.
"Before there were only 16 cameras with low quality video in CIF resolution, unreliable operation really straightened our surveillance job, in a grand hotel our mission is to assist to avert any possible fraud or offense before it really occurs , and gladly we did it." said Gene Frailey, the chief technical officer of Visao. Hotel management is very happy about the added level of security. Security personnel have expressed great confidence in the new system, and believe it has strengthened their ability to respond to an incident quickly and more efficiently. The Brown Palace anticipates adding 4 external IP PTZ cameras located at the four mains entrances, for additional security during the Democratic National Convention (DNC). DNC VIP guests will stay at the Brown Palace Hotel for the duration of the Convention. The Hotel plans to expand the use of Visao DVRsâ€™ using NUUO cards & Software in the future, adding at least one more DVR this year.
Traveling in your reliable car with no working lamp switch is undesirable. If your Buick Skylark headlight switch acts up, you won't have power over your headlights and this also poses numerous complications specifically if you frequently drive in the evening.
Driving with no control over your system lights under any condition is extremely unsafe and makes your trusty vehicle an disaster ready to happen. In order to keep you and your passengers safe, better get a fresh new headlight switch for Buick Skylark immediately before something horrific happens.
At present, you'll find many headlight switches for your swell ride traded in the market and they come in diverse forms. When finding a brandnew automotive part, it is good to acquire a component that matches all the requirements of your ride to ensure a painless and stress-free set up. In case you're seeking for a spankin' new Buick Skylark headlight switch that features effortless installation and is going to operate for a very long time, don't check anyplace else because Parts Train undoubtedly offers just what you're in search of. Backed by the most popular names in the automotive market like Lucas, Vemo, and OE Aftermarket, our webpage provides you nothing else but the most reliable parts in the marketplace immediately. Do not put off your upgrades anymore and begin looking around our store to see the Buick Skylark headlight switch that you have to have.
Bully for Us
You talkin' to me, world? You talkin' to me? I'm the only empire around.
These are the three key elements of Republican belief and election strategy. Bush wants to expand the military into the major instrument in foreign policy. When you come right down to it, there probably is not that much difference between Kerry and Bush on Iraq. Because of tradition, Democrats ought to be able to take the initiative on jobs, but this is difficult because Clinton-Gore basically dissed what's left of the rank-and-file labor movement and scorned the assorted mix of liberals and leftists because they were, as the Democratic Leadership Council never fails to point out, a bunch of sorehead losers who caused the party to crumble during the 1980s. Instead of instituting bold programs to revive manufacturing and directly seeking to stop outsourcing, Clinton introduced a tax write-off here and there.
Women, on the other hand, hold out real promise for Kerry in the election. In recognition of their importance, the Bush strategists at last week's convention in New York went out of their way to offer a smidgeon of enticement to women, allowing that there was room to discuss abortion within the party and offering up their admiring support for a parade of the plutocratic women of the Bush family at a reception at the Waldorf-Astoria. Laura Bush came forward to explain what a vulnerable guy her husband really is and how much he cares. The press took this as a gesture to married women—who might be wavering because of the war—to see just what a terribly conflicted man her husband has been on this subject.
In the 2000 election, women represented 52 percent of the total electorate, but the Kerry campaign says 22 million unmarried women didn't vote. The Democratic campaign claims that nearly three-quarters of this group of nonvoters are for Kerry this time around. A survey of Gallup polls over the first half of 2004 shows that registered women voters are pretty much split between Kerry and Bush, with married women tending to favor the president and unmarried women going for Kerry.
On the face of it, women ought to be fed up with Bush, in part because of his attacks on abortion and stem cell research and his continuing assault on women who don't fit into the social-policy niche of the nuclear family—on all aspects of choices for women, including health care issues and the problem of poverty and ill health among elderly women. In this jobless "recovery," more women than men are unemployed and stay unemployed longer than men. Perhaps the most insidious attacks on women have come from Bush's clever manipulation of government reports, which on issues such as health care simply have cut women out of the loop. Information that might help them figure out matters relating to health has disappeared from federal websites.
This is one area where Kerry appears to be consistent and focused, and where the DLC, the center left, minorities, and labor—the party's foundations—seem to be united.
Additional reporting: Laurie Anne Agnese
« Previous Page
My Voice Nation Help
Checks and balances? What checks and balances?
I. Cybersecurity Bill - Down, But Not Out
Homeland Security
[Image Source: CyTalk]
II. Continuing the FDR Legacy
Executive orders per year
[Image Source: Jason Mick/DailyTech]
Source: The Hill
Comments Threshold
RE: I fear for the future...
By JPForums on 8/8/2012 11:42:34 AM , Rating: 2
What about instead of money being handed out, they are simply given the food needed to survive - fresh vegetables, fruits, milk, bread. Then if they want to live better, they need to work for it.
Unfortunately, because it would cost more per person to do it that way. I'm almost convinced that it would be cheaper in the end, though, as those who think TV, cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, etc. are indispensable necessities would find a way to work. Also, presuming higher quality food (you said fresh) is provided, some formerly obese recipients could conceivably get themselves back into working shape. Believe it or not, it is hard to shake obesity with the quality of food many welfare recipients eat in the name of saving money.
I am sure the great majority use the money for what they need, but if even 10% blow the money, it is too much.
Honestly, I thing your estimate is low. While I know people who try to act as responsibly as they can, I see far to many people buying large quantities of Tenderloin, Fillet Mignon, or other pricy items entirely off of their EBT card. I can't even afford to do that and I'm not exactly struggling. There is apparently also a way to pull cash off of the EBT card to buy things you can't purchase with the EBT (for instance, alcohol).
By anti-painkilla on 8/8/2012 5:19:58 PM , Rating: 2
I would imagine the easiest way is buying something, returning it and being given a cash refund, not sure if they can refund to the EBT card.
RE: I fear for the future...
By MentalVirus on 8/8/2012 7:02:55 PM , Rating: 2
My parents own a business in the ghetto.
There is a family of 10 that lived around there who would purchase food (product to sell) for the small local market WITH their EBT card in exchange for cash.
With 8 kids, we're talking an upward of $2500 in food stamps a month. That's just a bit short of my monthly salary after taxes.
If that is not the most perfect way of jerking off the system, I don't know what is.
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks
Dir/scr: Alex Gibney. US. 2012. 127mins
One of the surprises in We Steal Secrets, the latest nonfiction movie from the ever-prolific filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side), is that it’s not the story of Julian Assange. While the infamous white-haired Australian hacktivist and Wikileaks founder is the star of this political documentary thriller, the film expands its reach to feature two important supporting players, most notably Bradley Manning, the US private who leaked massive amounts of classified documents to Wikileaks, as well as Adrian Lamo, the hacker who betrayed Manning’s trust.
Fans of Assange might be surprised to find that We Steal Secrets comes down fairly hard on the revolutionary figure, ostensibly blaming him on the organisation’s downfall.
We Steal Secrets lacks the emotional weight of Gibney’s Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, about child abuse and cover-ups in the Catholic Church, but it has the same high level of exhaustive research and engaging storytelling (though a few minutes could be shaved off the two-hour-plus running time.)
When Focus World releases the movie day-and-date on digital platforms and in cineamas in the US, it could generate some moderate interest and sales online, though piracy could be an issue for a film with this subject matter. Likewise, international audiences—particularly in Europe and Australia, where Assange is renown—will also take an interest in the documentary on television and other outlets. (And the material promises to only get more topical, with Manning’s trial date set for this summer.)
Gibney follows a largely chronological account of Wikileaks, which conveniently follows the neat narrative trajectory of a classic rise-and-fall story. Beginning even before the founding of the information-sharing website, the film starts off with a terrific pre-title prologue about the early “WANK worm” cyberattack in 1989 against the launch of NASA’s Galileo spacecraft. While no one has ever been held responsible for the computer virus, Gibney, pumping up the intrigue, speculates that Assange may have been involved.
The movie, then, explores several key incidents in Wikileaks’ ascent, from the releasing of bank documents in Iceland in 2009-2010, which revealed the wide extent of financial corruption within the country, to the dissemination of the infamous U.S. Apache helicopter kill video in Iraq, titled “Collateral Murder,” which fueled anti-war sentiment and brought wider international attention to Wikileaks and Assange, whose reputation seems to build at the same rate as his ego and paranoia.
But then the film pivots to the story of Manning. A troubled young Midwestern boy with gender identity issues, Manning gets sent to Iraq, despite his superior’s better judgment, and becomes further isolated and disgruntled, while wishing he could be a woman. Gibney effectively employs text messages exchanged between Manning and Adrian Lamo to get into the young soldier’s troubled mind. Manning comes across as a sad and lonely person, using the emoticon of a crying face ;’( and seeking out companionship even if it means getting caught.
Returning to Wikileaks, Gibney recounts other mammoth leaks, from the Afghan and Iraq War logs to the State Department diplomatic cables, while also probing the sensationalistic Swedish rape allegations against Assange that coincidentally erupted at the same time. But the film shrewdly squashes the conspiracy theories and reveals the banal truths behind the sex case.
We Steal Secrets is impressively researched, including interviews with nearly everyone involved, from a former CIA director to Assange’s second-in-command to one of the Swedish women who accused Assange of rape. However, the filmmakers did not have direct access to Manning, who is in a military prison, and Assange, who is hiding out in Ecuador’s consulate in the UK.
For a story about “information,” Gibney successfully keeps the story moving, both narratively and cinematically. There’s a great bit, for example, when Manning relates how he exfiltrated hundreds of thousands of documents, while listening to Lady Gaga’s song “Telephone”—which Gibney cranks on the soundtrack along with a dazzling digital display of transferring data.
Fans of Assange might be surprised to find that We Steal Secrets comes down fairly hard on the revolutionary figure, ostensibly blaming him on the organisation’s downfall. Still, at the same time, Gibney’s film remains sympathetic to the cause. Indeed, it’s this complexity that makes We Steal Secrets more than just a standard profile of a famous man and his infamous and celebrated mission.
Production companies: Global Produce, Jigsaw Productions
International sales: Universal International

$link = "<a href=\"google.com\"> Clicky </a>";

The datagrid would display Clicky and not the actual html link... Is there anyway to pass back html?

share|improve this question

add comment

2 Answers

I would suggest passing the link URL and the link text separately, then reconstructing them into an anchor link in JavaScript on the client-side.

You could also try escaping the HTML, then unescaping on the client-side.

I have no idea why it won't send links- perhaps the browser is trying to parse the sent HTML too early?

share|improve this answer

add comment

You can use formatter in dojo grid to format the HTML displayed in each cell. When creating the grid, you can set a formatter for each column. The formatter is a JavaScript function that takes two parameters, the first one value means the value of the cell, the second one rowIndex means the index of current row. The return value of the formatter function is the HTML content displayed in the cell.

For your case, I would suggest that you use a single column for both the link URL and anchor text. You can use a simple encoding, like http://www.google.com$$$Clicky, where $$$ is used to separate these two fields. The PHP code would be:

$link = "http://www.google.com$$$Clicky";

Then in your formatter function, you can use :

function(value, rowIndex) {

var parts = value.split('$$$');

return "<a href='" + parts[0] + "'>" + parts[1] + "</a>";

If you prefer to use one column for each field, e.g. url for URL and anchorText for the anchor text. Then you need to get the value of another column when formatting the cell. Suppose the grid uses the url field. Then the formatter function may look like below:

function(value, rowIndex) {

var item = grid.getItem(rowIndex); // Get the store item by index, need the reference of the grid.

var anchorText = grid.store.getValue(item, 'anchorText');

return "<a href='" + value + "'>" + anchorText + "</a>";

share|improve this answer

Thanks for the awesome explanation. I ended up using the escapeHTMLInData="false", however.. but will keep the formatter function in mind for later! :) – Paul Dec 1 '10 at 22:48

Ah, escapeHTMLInData='false', I didn't know that before. Thanks for the information. :) – Alex Cheng Dec 2 '10 at 9:38

add comment

Your Answer

Take the 2-minute tour ×

I'm collecting some basic stats from a Google Calendar feed with DOM and Php. I have been trying to get the event endTime using the following:

`$times = $entry->getElementsByTagName( "when" );

$startTime = $times->item(0)->getAttributeNode( "startTime" )->value;

$endTime = $times->item(0)->getAttributeNode("endTime" )->value;`

Which results in an end time of 04:00:00 for every appointment.

I was trying different things and entered 1 instead of 0 in item() this results in a correct end time, but only three of the 50 appointments are displayed.

My feed is private, full, ordered by start time, singleevents=true, and start-min/start-max are set.

Is there a different way to get event endTime?

share|improve this question

add comment

1 Answer

up vote 0 down vote accepted

Never did find the answer to this question. Went ahead and went the Zend/Gdata route. Took a little to get up to speed but it works now.

share|improve this answer

add comment

Your Answer

Upscale Denver hotel installs new surveillance system

Visao, NUUO solutions used in CCTV upgrade project

How does a premier luxury hotel with 241 rooms and 6 restaurants salute their guests while offering the finest in modern luxury accommodations and personalized service? With a high degree of internal security, the Brown Palace Hotel seated in Denver, Colorado, makes their guests feel like being at home, which is already far from common service. From the Spa, dinning, lobby and seating areas the Brown Palace imbues a sense of security while allowing guests the freedom to relax and enjoy the luxurious surroundings. The Brown Palace Hotel has hosted nearly all US presidents since itâ€™s inception in the late 1800â€™s â€“ Including Heads of State, Kings and Queens from over 50 Countries, numerous dignitaries and celebrities. Including Tzu-Hsi (Empress Dowager) during her trip across the US, who said it was the finest Hotel she had visited. It is considered one of the Grandest Hotels in the US.

Forty channels of analog cameras are installed around the lobby, restaurants, check-in areas, and ballrooms. All cameras are managed by a Visao DVR with NUUO H.264 DVR cards & software, featuring NUUOâ€™s innovative I-guard video analysis, intuitive and broad applications that are very useful for hotel surveillance environments. In the main lobby and entrance, foreign and missing object detection react at once with on screen and audio alarms, especially during night hours. Once an "I-guard event" is detected it is recorded on all selected cameras in the software and played easily through the graphical user interface (GUI). Finally, another very useful function that deserves mention is "motion detection", simple to use and powerful. Select a specific area to detect motion and the software will react to that motion in any one of 8 user defined ways.

"Before there were only 16 cameras with low quality video in CIF resolution, unreliable operation really straightened our surveillance job, in a grand hotel our mission is to assist to avert any possible fraud or offense before it really occurs , and gladly we did it." said Gene Frailey, the chief technical officer of Visao. Hotel management is very happy about the added level of security. Security personnel have expressed great confidence in the new system, and believe it has strengthened their ability to respond to an incident quickly and more efficiently. The Brown Palace anticipates adding 4 external IP PTZ cameras located at the four mains entrances, for additional security during the Democratic National Convention (DNC). DNC VIP guests will stay at the Brown Palace Hotel for the duration of the Convention. The Hotel plans to expand the use of Visao DVRsâ€™ using NUUO cards & Software in the future, adding at least one more DVR this year.

Traveling in your reliable car with no working lamp switch is undesirable. If your Buick Skylark headlight switch acts up, you won't have power over your headlights and this also poses numerous complications specifically if you frequently drive in the evening.

Driving with no control over your system lights under any condition is extremely unsafe and makes your trusty vehicle an disaster ready to happen. In order to keep you and your passengers safe, better get a fresh new headlight switch for Buick Skylark immediately before something horrific happens.

At present, you'll find many headlight switches for your swell ride traded in the market and they come in diverse forms. When finding a brandnew automotive part, it is good to acquire a component that matches all the requirements of your ride to ensure a painless and stress-free set up. In case you're seeking for a spankin' new Buick Skylark headlight switch that features effortless installation and is going to operate for a very long time, don't check anyplace else because Parts Train undoubtedly offers just what you're in search of. Backed by the most popular names in the automotive market like Lucas, Vemo, and OE Aftermarket, our webpage provides you nothing else but the most reliable parts in the marketplace immediately. Do not put off your upgrades anymore and begin looking around our store to see the Buick Skylark headlight switch that you have to have.

Bully for Us

You talkin' to me, world? You talkin' to me? I'm the only empire around.

These are the three key elements of Republican belief and election strategy. Bush wants to expand the military into the major instrument in foreign policy. When you come right down to it, there probably is not that much difference between Kerry and Bush on Iraq. Because of tradition, Democrats ought to be able to take the initiative on jobs, but this is difficult because Clinton-Gore basically dissed what's left of the rank-and-file labor movement and scorned the assorted mix of liberals and leftists because they were, as the Democratic Leadership Council never fails to point out, a bunch of sorehead losers who caused the party to crumble during the 1980s. Instead of instituting bold programs to revive manufacturing and directly seeking to stop outsourcing, Clinton introduced a tax write-off here and there.

Women, on the other hand, hold out real promise for Kerry in the election. In recognition of their importance, the Bush strategists at last week's convention in New York went out of their way to offer a smidgeon of enticement to women, allowing that there was room to discuss abortion within the party and offering up their admiring support for a parade of the plutocratic women of the Bush family at a reception at the Waldorf-Astoria. Laura Bush came forward to explain what a vulnerable guy her husband really is and how much he cares. The press took this as a gesture to married women—who might be wavering because of the war—to see just what a terribly conflicted man her husband has been on this subject.

In the 2000 election, women represented 52 percent of the total electorate, but the Kerry campaign says 22 million unmarried women didn't vote. The Democratic campaign claims that nearly three-quarters of this group of nonvoters are for Kerry this time around. A survey of Gallup polls over the first half of 2004 shows that registered women voters are pretty much split between Kerry and Bush, with married women tending to favor the president and unmarried women going for Kerry.

On the face of it, women ought to be fed up with Bush, in part because of his attacks on abortion and stem cell research and his continuing assault on women who don't fit into the social-policy niche of the nuclear family—on all aspects of choices for women, including health care issues and the problem of poverty and ill health among elderly women. In this jobless "recovery," more women than men are unemployed and stay unemployed longer than men. Perhaps the most insidious attacks on women have come from Bush's clever manipulation of government reports, which on issues such as health care simply have cut women out of the loop. Information that might help them figure out matters relating to health has disappeared from federal websites.

This is one area where Kerry appears to be consistent and focused, and where the DLC, the center left, minorities, and labor—the party's foundations—seem to be united.

Additional reporting: Laurie Anne Agnese

« Previous Page

My Voice Nation Help

Checks and balances? What checks and balances?

I. Cybersecurity Bill - Down, But Not Out

Homeland Security

[Image Source: CyTalk]

II. Continuing the FDR Legacy

Executive orders per year

[Image Source: Jason Mick/DailyTech]

Source: The Hill

Comments Threshold

RE: I fear for the future...

By JPForums on 8/8/2012 11:42:34 AM , Rating: 2

What about instead of money being handed out, they are simply given the food needed to survive - fresh vegetables, fruits, milk, bread. Then if they want to live better, they need to work for it.

Unfortunately, because it would cost more per person to do it that way. I'm almost convinced that it would be cheaper in the end, though, as those who think TV, cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, etc. are indispensable necessities would find a way to work. Also, presuming higher quality food (you said fresh) is provided, some formerly obese recipients could conceivably get themselves back into working shape. Believe it or not, it is hard to shake obesity with the quality of food many welfare recipients eat in the name of saving money.

I am sure the great majority use the money for what they need, but if even 10% blow the money, it is too much.

Honestly, I thing your estimate is low. While I know people who try to act as responsibly as they can, I see far to many people buying large quantities of Tenderloin, Fillet Mignon, or other pricy items entirely off of their EBT card. I can't even afford to do that and I'm not exactly struggling. There is apparently also a way to pull cash off of the EBT card to buy things you can't purchase with the EBT (for instance, alcohol).

By anti-painkilla on 8/8/2012 5:19:58 PM , Rating: 2

I would imagine the easiest way is buying something, returning it and being given a cash refund, not sure if they can refund to the EBT card.

RE: I fear for the future...

By MentalVirus on 8/8/2012 7:02:55 PM , Rating: 2

My parents own a business in the ghetto.

There is a family of 10 that lived around there who would purchase food (product to sell) for the small local market WITH their EBT card in exchange for cash.

With 8 kids, we're talking an upward of $2500 in food stamps a month. That's just a bit short of my monthly salary after taxes.

If that is not the most perfect way of jerking off the system, I don't know what is.

We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks

Dir/scr: Alex Gibney. US. 2012. 127mins

One of the surprises in We Steal Secrets, the latest nonfiction movie from the ever-prolific filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side), is that it’s not the story of Julian Assange. While the infamous white-haired Australian hacktivist and Wikileaks founder is the star of this political documentary thriller, the film expands its reach to feature two important supporting players, most notably Bradley Manning, the US private who leaked massive amounts of classified documents to Wikileaks, as well as Adrian Lamo, the hacker who betrayed Manning’s trust.

Fans of Assange might be surprised to find that We Steal Secrets comes down fairly hard on the revolutionary figure, ostensibly blaming him on the organisation’s downfall.

We Steal Secrets lacks the emotional weight of Gibney’s Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, about child abuse and cover-ups in the Catholic Church, but it has the same high level of exhaustive research and engaging storytelling (though a few minutes could be shaved off the two-hour-plus running time.)

When Focus World releases the movie day-and-date on digital platforms and in cineamas in the US, it could generate some moderate interest and sales online, though piracy could be an issue for a film with this subject matter. Likewise, international audiences—particularly in Europe and Australia, where Assange is renown—will also take an interest in the documentary on television and other outlets. (And the material promises to only get more topical, with Manning’s trial date set for this summer.)

Gibney follows a largely chronological account of Wikileaks, which conveniently follows the neat narrative trajectory of a classic rise-and-fall story. Beginning even before the founding of the information-sharing website, the film starts off with a terrific pre-title prologue about the early “WANK worm” cyberattack in 1989 against the launch of NASA’s Galileo spacecraft. While no one has ever been held responsible for the computer virus, Gibney, pumping up the intrigue, speculates that Assange may have been involved.

The movie, then, explores several key incidents in Wikileaks’ ascent, from the releasing of bank documents in Iceland in 2009-2010, which revealed the wide extent of financial corruption within the country, to the dissemination of the infamous U.S. Apache helicopter kill video in Iraq, titled “Collateral Murder,” which fueled anti-war sentiment and brought wider international attention to Wikileaks and Assange, whose reputation seems to build at the same rate as his ego and paranoia.

But then the film pivots to the story of Manning. A troubled young Midwestern boy with gender identity issues, Manning gets sent to Iraq, despite his superior’s better judgment, and becomes further isolated and disgruntled, while wishing he could be a woman. Gibney effectively employs text messages exchanged between Manning and Adrian Lamo to get into the young soldier’s troubled mind. Manning comes across as a sad and lonely person, using the emoticon of a crying face ;’( and seeking out companionship even if it means getting caught.

Returning to Wikileaks, Gibney recounts other mammoth leaks, from the Afghan and Iraq War logs to the State Department diplomatic cables, while also probing the sensationalistic Swedish rape allegations against Assange that coincidentally erupted at the same time. But the film shrewdly squashes the conspiracy theories and reveals the banal truths behind the sex case.

We Steal Secrets is impressively researched, including interviews with nearly everyone involved, from a former CIA director to Assange’s second-in-command to one of the Swedish women who accused Assange of rape. However, the filmmakers did not have direct access to Manning, who is in a military prison, and Assange, who is hiding out in Ecuador’s consulate in the UK.

For a story about “information,” Gibney successfully keeps the story moving, both narratively and cinematically. There’s a great bit, for example, when Manning relates how he exfiltrated hundreds of thousands of documents, while listening to Lady Gaga’s song “Telephone”—which Gibney cranks on the soundtrack along with a dazzling digital display of transferring data.

Fans of Assange might be surprised to find that We Steal Secrets comes down fairly hard on the revolutionary figure, ostensibly blaming him on the organisation’s downfall. Still, at the same time, Gibney’s film remains sympathetic to the cause. Indeed, it’s this complexity that makes We Steal Secrets more than just a standard profile of a famous man and his infamous and celebrated mission.

Production companies: Global Produce, Jigsaw Productions

International sales: Universal International