Wikileaks, Schmwikileaks

A couple of good smackdowns of the 'Assange of Arabia' meme: here and here.

Nonetheless, it is true that the Innertoobz played a part in the Tunisian revolution/revolt/uprising/whatever.

Because the Internet plays a part in everyfuckingthing in this century.

This bit, though, is extremely cool.

After weeks of public protests on- and offline the Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali resigned and escaped the country last Friday. Today, the head of the transitional government, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi, announced his new cabinet members which include a familiar name. Slim Amamou, the Pirate Party member and freedom of speech activist who was arrested just a few days ago, is now the new Minister of Youth and Sports.

Slim's Twitter feed and blog.

That's some outta da box thinking, innit?

I remain hopeful.

BP covered up past platform blow-out.

Thanks to Wikileaks, the world now knows that BP has had previous problems with its drilling equipment, before its MASSIVE oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, on its Azerbaijan gas platform.

Also revealed is the fact that BP covered it up so successfully not even its business partners knew about it.

The constant truthiness and lying lies of corporate executives and political leaders, all exposed by Wikileaks.

Wikileaks is vital.

In a world where this kind of bald-faced lying and covering-up has become the standard modus operandi, where our own public broadcaster is subverted by the odious antics of millionaire spouting his vile rightwing spleen, Wikileaks is vital.

Fatwa Flanagan continues to perform his stupid aw-shucks schtick.

As Buckdog said:

If Mr. Flanagan joked about a bomb in his shorts at the Edmonton Airport, should we expect the security guards to merely laugh and slap good old Tom Flanagan on the back for being such a funny joker?

Fatwa Flanagan and other members of the Old Con Boys Club keep behaving like this because their sense of entitlement ensures they can get away with hoodwinking the public.

Until Wikileaks pulls back the curtain and the whole world can see the 'bomb' Fatwa Flanagan's concealing is a smelly old dud that a mega-dose of Viagra couldn't revive.

Here's one blowhard who's really funny and who gets what's comin' to him.



Bonus: Go read Alison at Creekside. Now.

Extra bonus added by fh: Go sign another fun Avaaz petition. Because it gets up the rightwingnutz's noses. Organizers are aiming for one million signatures this week.

'Fatwa' Flanagan crawls back under his rock.

Many Canadians would rather not look at what's living under the ReformaTory rock. Then Wikileaks comes along and does the heavy lifting.

'Fatwa' Flanagan's perorations were disgusting propaganda but typical of that fundamentalist mindset. Also illegal - incitation to murder someone is crime - so 'Fatwa' Flanagan' coughed up some desultory regrets. And thanks to Buckdog, we learn from the Calgary Herald that 'Fatwa' Flanagan's academic career won't be squashed like a bug.

University of Calgary spokesman Grady Semmens said the school had received numerous complaints about the comments. "At this point, the university is not considering any disciplinary action. We had discussions with department and faculty heads, but that's all we can really say," he said.

Flanagan was representing himself, not the university, when he made the comments and had a right to his opinion, said Semmens. "He has publicly backed down from statements and said he regrets making them in such an offhanded way," he said.

And that's the way to avoid criminal charges under a supposedly "Tough On Crime" Harper's New©™ Government because it's okay to break the law if you're a ReformaTory Conservative.

Grand merci to our blogging pal Blevkog for further fanning the 'Fatwa' Flanagan fire.

Sarah and Tim, er, Tom

In an interview with Democracy Now, Julian Assange's lawyer confirms that he's in the UK.

And. Also. Tim Tom Flanagan finds himself in exalted *cough* company. From the rush transcript:

AMY GOODMAN: I want to ask you about the growing number of threats against Julian Assange. The former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has said Assange should be, quote, "hunted down," and a former campaign aide of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper went a step further in a recent interview on the Canadian Broadcasting, CBC.

TIM FLANAGAN: Well, I think Assange should be assassinated, actually. I think Obama should put out a contract and maybe use a drone or something. You know, there’s no good coming of this.

AMY GOODMAN: That was University of Calgary professor Tim Flanagan, who served as the Conservative Party’s campaign manager in Canada’s general election in 2004 and 2006. Jennifer Robinson, as Julian Assange’s attorney, your response?

JENNIFER ROBINSON: These calls for his assassination are absolutely outrageous and, indeed, illegal. I think that the prosecuting authorities ought to consider prosecuting these individuals for incitement to violence. Obviously assassination is illegal, and we take these concerns very seriously. Now, the press around the fact that my client is in hiding to evade arrest is absolutely incorrect. And one can imagine that when you have very public officials making these sorts of serious calls for assassination, that one would be concerned for their personal safety. I also think that it raises genuine concerns when you have Sarah Palin making such allegations for the prospect of my client receiving any sort of due process in the U.S.

Great publicity for the UofC, too, eh?

Wikileaks: Whacking and Wackiness

Tom 'Fatwa' Flanagan claims he regrets calling for the assassination of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

He did so 3 times on the CBC infotainment show "Power'n'Politics". He could be charged under the criminal code for inciting to murder. No surprise 'Fatwa' Flanagan is regretful.

He is not alone. Others, particularly in the US, are shrieeeking for blood. And the moral puffery of Joe Klein is neatly eviscerated by Glenn Greenwald.

On a merrier note, our blogging colleague Alison has discovered that the spook assigned to Canada is a TV critic manqué.

EKOS pollster Frank Graves told Poloff he thought that at this point such shows are reflective and not causal in determining attitudes in Canada. They play on the deep-seated caution most Canadians feel toward their large neighbor to the south, a sort of zeitgeist that has been in the background for decades. As one example, a December 2007 Strategic Counsel poll showed that nine percent of Canadians thought U.S. foreign policy was the greatest threat to the world - twice as high as those who were concerned about weapons of mass destruction. What Graves does find disturbing - and here he believes that the causal or reflective question is not important - is that support for a less porous border is increasing in both Canada and the U.S. - in the U.S. because of generalized fear of terrorism and in Canada because of concern over guns, sovereignty, and the impact that a terrorist attack on the U.S. would have on trade.

From here.

Where are Wayne and Shuster when we need them?

Aawww, they like us, they really, really like us ...

NOT!

Too, too funny - go read Curiosity Cat, now!

Man-love for Stevie

and unbridled admiration for Harper's bullies.

That neatly sums up the observations Jim Judd, director of the CSIS, shares with his fellow spooks in the US - now available here, thanks to the latest Wikileaks.

Judd expresses derision and contempt for ordinary Canadians who have shown empathy for Omar Khadr. As well he complains about the legal challenges becoming a "distraction" that could have a major "chill effect" on the work his intelligence officials do.

Judd credited Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government for "taking it on the chin and pressing ahead" with common sense measures despite court challenges and political knocks from the opposition and interest groups.

Why Jim, we didn't know how deeply you cared.

Wikileaks and the wet spot.

The Guy Who Kicked Hornets' Nests Meets His Bareback Waterloo?

In a so-called newsgathering environment where the sexual shenanigans of Tiger Woods dominated several info-tainment cycles for several weeks, it's no surprise this story is emerging as the latest frisson du jour.

Many progressives are obsessed with this event, some even declaring that the fingerprints of the Pentagon, the CIA and perhaps M16 are all over this foiled attempt to smear Julian Assange and thus discredit Wikileaks.

Others are dissecting the institutionalized environment of sexual politics and gender-stalinism that apparently monitors all carnal interactions in Sweden.

Far from seeing in this imbroglio Andrea Dworkin's posthumous reach, I suspect that sexuality, like pretty much everything else in Sweden, has been codified in the most minute detail by the hygienic IKEA mindset.

The (possibly) bare facts of the event:

There's a tumescent cyber-mob of Assange groupies who use any and every web-based instrument to follow him and drool over his every move.

Assange stopped in Stockholm pour y mouiller l'ancre and in time-honoured tradition availed himself of the bounty of female pulchritude flinging itself at his feet, his head or some anatomical target in between.

There were sexual interludes in multitudes. Assange left town, still very much The Lone Ranger.

There was disappointment, and perhaps even a desire for revenge. Given that one of the complainants once blogged a manifesto for scorned lovers - her blueprint on how to wreak revenge - the result was predictable.

The method of inquiring about a possible sexual assault, the timing and the unofficial release of information regarding charges of Assange's alleged criminal behaviour are malodorous.

The contention at the crux of the alleged "sexual molestation" would be Assange eschewed the use of a condom.

Two things: If the conspiracy theorists are correct, and "They" are out to neutralize Assange, it would seem that his Achilles' ... ah, ... heel is now common knowledge.

And notwithstanding the immeasurable and heroic contributions Assange has made by developing Wikileaks and facilitating the dissemination of critical documents, he appears to be a common garden variety cad - et profiteur - when it comes to the nature of his interactions with women.

This contemporary Peter Pan fits the profile of a risk-chasing adrenaline junkie. With regard to his sexual practices, he would not be a role model to emulate. Sexually communicated diseases are on the rise and some variants on the original diseases have become resistant to antibiotic therapy.

For many die-hard admirers of Assange, his (rumoured*) cavalier attitude towards responsible, safe-sex choices only serves to heighten his allure and his charm.

This reasoned observation by arborman posted at Bread'n'Roses says it best:

"Whatever the truth of the case, none of it takes away from the importance of Wikileaks and what it is doing. And sadly, every single time anyone ever mentions anything that has been released by Wikileaks, the crazies will immediately mention the rape in Sweden that didn't happen. And the first sentence of my post will be endlessly repeated, to no avail.

Of course I hope he didn't do anything untoward. I find it unlikely that he would make such a colossal mistake, now of all times, without having done so in the past. But I also find it worrisome how quickly people are eviscerating the accusers."

Update: Assange and his supporters respond to the media event, as does the media.

* This is still speculative.