Paul Barratt is on the money!

Again today most of the media is soaking up the Assange story.

Two articles I decided were particularly interesting.  The first tells us that the USA is about to formulate charges against Assange.  No surprises there, that has been expected for some time.

The second article, by Paul Barratt, a former intelligence analyst and a former secretary to the Defence Department, looks at the future. The article is headlined “The net will win against deception“.

In closing, he observes:

Julian Assange will no doubt pay a heavy price for his role in this inevitable development, but in the long sweep of history he will be seen more as hero than as villain.

I agree with him.  His opening sentence is also very telling:

Governments had better get used to WikiLeaks and realise that feeding the public misleading drivel has become much harder.

Yep.

From what I have read that has been released (I make no claim to have read anywhere near all of the news reports) I can’t say the media seem to have published anything likely to have risked lives.  The USA has a fairly lowly ranked military person in custody for the major leak.  I am still left wondering how important those 250,000 cables really could have been if they were easily available to one of such low rank.  If they really were SO critical to the safety of the lives of Americans, and presumably the lives of allies of America (e.g. Australia), then America had no business making them available to the person in question.  Either way, there is a problem somewhere and it doesn’t seem to be Julian’s problem.

As I observed in an earlier post on this topic, perhaps what we are really seeing here is that too many emporers have no clothes.  Naturally, that is a little upsetting for said emporers, I am sure.   Hell hath no fury like diplomats and politicians laid bare, it seems.

I encourage everyone to read Paul’s article.  He has some very interesting observations and facts about this whole saga.  I will be keeping a watch for further commentary by Paul.

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Assange or Oprah: that’s the news!

Source:The Australian Pic: Brian Cassey

If you live in Australia right now, your choice of news coverage is rather limited.  We have our usual spattering of murders, Arbib is apparently thought to be spying for the USA despite being an elected representative of the Australian people, the Facebook founder is fending off the twins again and England cricket star Kevin Pietersen has been caught speeding in a Lamborghini.

Those are news stories you have to dig for.  Everything is either Julian, WikiLeaks (one and the same) or Oprah.  No links to those stories, folks – just look at any Australian newspaper: The Age, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, HeraldSun; take your pick.  Actually, the SMH did manage to give other coverage. More power to the SMH.   Not a word about the locusts – and I have yet to see one.  Wonder what happened to them?

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in Stockholm before he was denied Swedish residency. Source: AP

I’m actually starting to like Julian.  He is certainly stirring things up.  Amazing what is coming out and very interesting that no-one is denying anything.  There is a lot of jumping up and down and thumping of chests about how WikiLeaks threatens peoples lives, but no denials.  Am I the only one that wonders about this?  I think not.  Maybe Julian is actually going to save lives by bringing people to account!

Oprah visiting downunder.  Tourism advertising like no other, most certainly.  People are jumping up and down about the cost (Australia are paying) but there seems to be some discrepancy in the reports.  $4 million? $6 million?  Who knows.  Perhaps Julian can find out for us when he gets out of jail – assuming he does get out of jail and doesn’t disappear in the  USA somewhere, as some reports are suggesting might happen.

Mind you, I do have to wonder about the timing.  Americans are not exactly flush with the cash these days.  Many only get two weeks annual leave a year.  So we are advertising to people with a lousy economy and not enough annual leave to make the trip.

Why am I wondering if a cost benefit analysis of this advertising investment was ever done?

I am also wondering how the USA are feeling about Oprah spuiking the wonders of downunder when the USA is also hellbent on silencing an Australian citizen?

Locusts swarm and Rudd leaks

WikiLeaks, that is.   He urged, so it has been leaked, the USA to use force against China if necessary.  Might upset our relationship with our neighbours a little.

Today’s Age web site has the Rudd story just slightly ahead of the locusts. I’m wondering which I should worry about, if indeed either. After all, there are quite a few high profile personalities that have copped a bit of international flack as a result of WikiLeaks. Should he or shouldn’t he? Assange, that is. Whether he should or shouldn’t is now not worth the discussion. The fact is, he has and there may well be some unexpected fallout as a result.

As for the locusts, they are coming in search of food. Can we blame them? They are doing what surely any species does – fighting for survival. Their fight may well inconvenience us all powerful humans who feel the planet is ours to control at the expense of all other creatures, in perhaps a similar way to Assange inconveniencing the world of international diplomacy.

Both, it seems, are being driven by a need: the locusts to eat to survive and Assange by his principles. With the locusts there can be no debate about the right or wrong of their need to feed. Assange is another issue, for irrespective of his personal principles it can be argued he has a responsibility to not destabilise fragile international relations.

As Hilary Clinton was reported as saying last week, one world leader she called to forewarn of the leaks said (I may not have this verbatim, I’m running on memory here) “Don’t worry about it, you should see what we say about you.” So they are all running around ripping each other to shreads in diplomatic cables the world over, telling tales to their besties. It sounds like primary school, but I’m sure it isn’t. It couldn’t be…… or could it?  Perhaps Assange is doing us all a favour by showing us too many emporers have no clothes.