Julian Assange, founder of infamous internet site Wikileaks, punched his ticket to stardom with the release of videos showing U.S. soldiers accidentally killing civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan; cables from soldiers in the field, deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan; 250,000 U.S. State Department cables; and -- most recently -- a host of prisoner records from Guantánamo Bay.

Now that he's in the spotlight, he's relishing the attention and opportunity to air his thoughts on technology and what he perceives as a vast international conspiracy, headed by the United States.

In an interview with Russia Today, Russia's first all-digital TV network, Mr. Assange claims that when it comes to the U.S., "We only released secret, classified, confidential material. We didn’t have any top secret cables. The really embarrassing stuff, the really serious stuff wasn’t in our collection to release. But it is still out there."

He doesn't waste much time making his thoughts known on the world's largest social network and most used website, Facebook.  He thinks it's a shill for the U.S. government and complicit in a vast conspiracy (catch the theme?).  

He states:

Facebook in particular is the most appalling spying machine that has ever been invented. Here we have the world’s most comprehensive database about people, their relationships, their names, their addresses, their locations and the communications with each other, their relatives, all sitting within the United States, all accessible to US intelligence. Facebook, Google, Yahoo – all these major US organizations have built-in interfaces for US intelligence. It’s not a matter of serving a subpoena. They have an interface that they have developed for US intelligence to use.

Now, is it the case that Facebook is actually run by US intelligence? No, it’s not like that. It’s simply that US intelligence is able to bring to bear legal and political pressure on them. And it’s costly for them to hand out records one by one, so they have automated the process. Everyone should understand that when they add their friends to Facebook, they are doing free work for United States intelligence agencies in building this database for them.

On the topic of Libya Mr. Assange seems to have mixed thoughts, first complaining of French, U.S., and British involvement, stating, "When outside forces from very, very far-flung countries start to take an aggressive role in a regional affair, then we have to look a bit more and say that what is going on is not normal. So, what’s happening in Libya, for example, is not normal."

He then turns around and complains that Britain is doing wrong by harboring the sons of controversial leader Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, stating, "It’s an example of true liberalism in the United Kingdom: everyone come here, and we’ll protect you. On the other hand, there does seem to be a disconnect. Is it really supporting free-speech activists like me who come to the UK? But, on the other hand, it is supporting people like sons of Gaddafi."

He also complains about what he says is a profit-driven conspiracy at The New York Times and his former ally turned foe, British newspaper Guardian.  He explains:

What they have done with this cable-cooking in this incredible over-redaction of cables is they have pushed the right of the people to know to the very, very edge. And what they are concerned about is any possible attack on them.

But we have seen this sort of abuse of the material that we have provided several times. The Guardian is the worst offender, but we saw it also by The New York Times. The New York Times redacted a 62-page cable down to two paragraphs. And this is completely against the agreement that we originally set up with them on November 1, 2010. That agreement was that the only redactions that should take place are to protect people's lives. There should be no other redaction, not to protect reputation, not to protect The Guardian's profits, but only to protect lives.

After a discussion of his possible extradition to Sweden to face sex crimes charges, and the possible effort by the U.S. to extradite him to face trial on some sort of espionage charge, Mr. Assange turns back to his old talking point -- conspiracy.  He concludes:

One of the hopeful things that I’ve discovered is that nearly every war that has started in the past 50 years has been a result of media lies. The media could've stopped it if they had searched deep enough; if they hadn't reprinted government propaganda they could've stopped it. But what does that mean? Well, that means that basically populations don't like wars, and populations have to be fooled into wars. Populations don't willingly, with open eyes, go into a war. So if we have a good media environment, then we also have a peaceful environment.

Let's just hope Facebook and the war-mongering media don't join forces.  Or then Mr. Assange might really lose some sleep.