Wikileaks and Kevin Rudd...

It must hurt to be Prime Minister of Australia and then be described by the US Ambassador, a close ally, as "a mistake prone control freak". But, to Rudd's credit, he does not give a damn. And, he makes a good point that there has been worse written about him in the past and there is likely to be worse written about him in the future. So, his job is to get on with the job of being Australia's number one diplomat.

Nevertheless, the scathing assessment suggested that he was also abrasive and impulsive while being not up to the task according to this little burst from the former US Ambassador:

''Rudd … undoubtedly believes that with his intellect, his six years as a diplomat in the 1980s and his five years as shadow foreign minister, he has the background and the ability to direct Australia's foreign policy. His performance so far, however, demonstrates that he does not have the staff or the experience to do the job properly.''

And, this was from just over 12 months ago. However, this was generally the gist of most assessments fired off by the former US Ambassador, Richard McCallum, to the former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and more recently the current Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.


The micro-management style of the former Prime Minister and his habit of undertaking large commitments without first consulting those that would be doing the hard yards in getting the initiatives up and running was ultimately his downfall. So, there really is nothing all that surprising or new in the diplomatic cables being leaked by Wikileaks. Perhaps, Kevin Rudd knows himself well enough to know the blunt assessments of him are one interpretation of his manner and style. He might not agree with those assessments, but it is probably true that he does not give a damn.

So, what is next on the Wikileaks front for Australia's diplomats?

"Palinisms"...

The recent post that I did on Sarah Palin describing Julian Assange of Wikileaks fame as a terrorist that must be hunted down in the same manner as the US is supposedly hunting down Osama bin Laden has led me to discover the word "Palinisms".

The word has made it into the Urban Dictionary and is defined as follows:


1. Malapropism, non-sensical verbiage, non-sequitor or other illogical, stream of concious meanderings uttered by Sarah Palin.


2. A form of homespun, Midwestern demagoguery and fear mongering comprised of a stream of logically unrelated and unsupported talking points uttered by an attractive woman with nice cans and a presumably fine ass intended to engender loyalty among those inspired by demagoguery, non-sequitors, a great smile, nice tits and a presumably fine ass.

Or, alternatively, like this:


1. An ambiguous colloquial expression that may cause confusion and be interpreted in different ways depending upon circumstance.


2. A statement that has no known basis in science or reality.


3. A statement of religious identity.


So, what does a Palinism look like (courtesy of The Huffington Post):

“Nuclear weaponry, of course, would be the be-all, end-all of just too many people in too many parts of our planet.” -- CBS interview with Katie Couric, September 25, 2008


"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where – where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border."
-- CBS interview with Katie Couric, September 25, 2008


"So we discussed what was going on in Africa. And never, ever did I talk about, Well, gee, is it a country or is it a continent, I just don't know about this issue."
-- Fox interview with Greta Van Susteren, November 11, 2008

“I don’t know if I should Buenos Aires or Bonjour, or… this is such a melting pot. This is beautiful. I love the diversity. Yeah. There were a whole bunch of guys named Tony in the photo line, I know that.”
-- Addressing a Charity of Hope gathering, Hamilton, Ontario, April 15, 2010

“Obviously we loved sports, and the baby was born during the spring track season.”
--Going Rogue

“Believe it or not – this was in the 60s – we used to hustle on over the border for health care that we would receive in Whitehorse…. Isn’t that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care from Canada.”
-- Speech in Calgary, Alberta, March 6, 2010

"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."
-- Facebook, Aug. 7, 2009

"When the American people elected President Obama they gave him responsibility to handle this disaster. He promised to “heal the earth, and watch the waters recede...” or something far-fetched like that."
-- On the oil spill, May 27, 2010

“I didn’t believe the theory that human beings – thinking, loving beings – originated from fish that sprouted legs and crawled out of the sea. Or that human beings began as single-celled organisms that developed into monkeys who eventually swung down from the trees.”
--Going Rogue

“With the gray Talkeetna Mountains in the distance and the first light covering of snow about to descend on Pioneer Peak, I breathed in an autumn bouquet that combined everything small-town America with rugged splashes of the Last Frontier.”
--Going Rogue

"I think it's appalling and a violation of our freedom of the press."
—On negative media coverage of Republican congressional candidate Vaughn Ward, Boise, Idaho, May 21, 2010

"Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate."
—On plans to build an Islamic community center near Ground Zero, via Twitter, July 18, 2010

"'Refudiate,' 'misunderestimate,' 'wee-wee'd up.' English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!"
—Tweet, July 18, 2010

"I'm not politically correct. I am not one to be a word police."
-- Fox interview with Chris Wallace Feb. 7 , 2010

"I didn't really had a good answer, as so often -- is me."
--On writing notes on her hand for the Tea Party convention address, March 5, 2010

What Do The Indonesian Cables on Wikileaks Reveal?

Tongue in cheek...

Someone asked me whether I thought the 3000+ diplomatic cables that Wikileaks are leaking on Indonesia will be interesting and worth a read. My answer, Yes!

No matter what is in these cables, they are going to make for interesting reading. This is particularly so for those who consider themselves knowledgeable on all things diplomatic and Indonesia / USA relationship wise. For those that are truly in the know, or those that are on the coal-face of this relationship, or those who are passionate about the study of the Indonesian / US bilateral relationship are likely to be more disappointed than anything else. These are secret and confidential cables. They will include some nice tidbits and probably some comments that will cause offense both at home and abroad, but they are unlikely to be earth shattering.

Yet, it is worth putting a modifier on that. For example, if one of the cables included a statement to the effect that there was evidence that SBY was on the Bakrie payroll, now that would be a pearler. It might not be earth-shattering, let's face it, it would be an easy assumption to make considering the ease with which Bakrie gets "passes" on everything that should tarnish and sink him for ever as a political player. Nevertheless, it would be fun to watch the fallout and the subsequent spin.

So, in light of the question, here are a couple of choice cable exchanges that I would be intrigued to read:

"SBY prefers to sing than to lead!"

Or, "the 2009 election was clearly not fair despite what the Carter Center may have said in its report. Evidence suggests that on the orders of SBY, Partai Demokrat spent huge sums of money to manipulate voting in areas outside of Jakarta!"


Or, "SBY: can't sing, can't dance, can't lead, all round waste of time, effort, and space. Indonesians are holding out to 2014 believing something is better just around the corner!"

Or, "despite public protestations to the contrary, SBY has performed poorly on key election promises relating to corruption and terror."

Or "the recent good results on the elimination of terrorists is really nothing more than elements of the national police and military cleaning house and tidying up some 'loose' ends!"

Or, "The Minister for Communication and Information is publicly an avid anti-porn advocate however he is known to frequent massage parlours that offer a plus plus service. Obviously, the man has an insatiable appetite for the bump and grind considering he has four wives and seven known mistresses!"

Or, more on TitS..."the Minister for Communication and Information's staff have been secretly trying to set up a session with Vicky Vette to determine whether she was serious about her offer to 'pleasure' the Minister. It is widely known that the Minister has a 'thing' for blondes with big breasts. One of his staff members noted that the Minister was a 'TitS man'. Maybe he meant that TitS is the man?"

Or cables along those lines. I could go on and on and on with the possibilities. I am sure that you, if anyone reads this, will have some of your own. So, feel free to share.

Once again, this is tongue in cheek. No 'real' offense is intended.

More on Julian Assange and Wikileaks: The Sarah Palin View...

Julian Assange has certainly found more fame than he may have craved in developing Wikileaks into a whistleblower of world renown. The recent release of some 250,000 US diplomatic cables has intensified the hunt for Assange and the "need" to bring him to justice. Assange has some serious legal problems aside from the alleged rape and sexual molestation of which he stands accused of committing in Sweden. There are quite a number of states looking to prosecute him for his part in the publication of the "illegally" obtained diplomatic cables.

Australia is clearly looking to build a case against Assange. However, it would seem that the US is also exploring what options it has in making the case and prosecuting Assange in the US. This has obviously brought the ranting and railing conservative right out. Among them is the former Vice-Presidential candidate from the Grand Old Party (GOP), Sarah Palin. The fact that some might consider her a legitimate contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012 is scary enough, but the latest outburst is indicative as to what lengths this woman will go to try and capitalise on conservative popular opinion. It is also indicative of the fact that she really does not understand the difference between Osama bin Laden and Julian Assange. It is pretty clear that she obviously missed the advocacy class on why not to use exaggeration.

Sarah Palin in her infinite wisdom has taken to Facebook to condemn Assange for his role in releasing to the world some 250,000 confidential and secret diplomatic cables. Fair enough! There are good arguments to be made that it was irresponsible for Assange to publish via Wikileaks. However, Palin was not satisfied stopping there. In order to really ratchet-up the rhetoric she decided to add that Assnage should be hunted down like Osama bin Laden.

Well, after ten years of searching the US has not found or been able to confirm that it has killed bin Laden. So, it would seem that Assange really need not fear the US if it was to mount a similar "search and destroy" campaign that has been mounted for bin Laden. Although, on a more serious note, it would appear that all those who need to know where Assange is, in fact know where he is. It would also appear that an arrest is not that far away once the arrest warrant(s) are in order, assuming Assange decides to surrender to authorities and not seek political asylum in a country favourable to that proposition, Switzerland perhaps.

To further reinforce her point she suggested that Assange is not a journalist in any shape or form and compared this lack of journalistic skill to the current editor of al-Qaeda's English-language magazine, Inspire. Further intensifying the rhetoric saw Assange labeled as anti-American and with blood on his hands.

In any event, this was a political point scoring opportunity that was more about Palin slamming the White House and President Obama by implying that they were complicit in Assange's Wikileaks work because they have not been serious in hunting him down or arresting him.

Yet, this generally fits into the overall rhetoric of US politics with recent claims seeking to force the US government to declare Wikileaks a terrorist organisation. A whistleblower as a terrorist organisation, what an interesting development. However, it is symptomatic of the way the world is post 9/11. Anything that annoys us or possible effects many as opposed to a few is almost immediately labeled a terrorist organisation. I wonder what the Tea Party might need to do to be labeled a terrorist organisation? What about the Republicans or the Democrats?

However, the US is looking to invoke the Espionage Act with a view to criminal prosecution. And, it is imperative in the US view that they do this one by the numbers, and make the case bullet-proof.

The case to shut down sites that release confidential documents needs to be assessed on a merits basis. The reality is that releasing secret or confidential information can always be criminalised, but at what cost?

The question that must be answered here was whether there was any value in the releasing of these particular diplomatic cables? Simply, does the public need to know outweigh the need to maintain confidentiality?

Ho hum...

Assange Entitled to Consular Assistance...

Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks and generally persona non grata, is to be afforded consular assistance if and or when he is arrested. This was confirmed by Robert McClelland, Attorney General of Australia and has been reported widely.

Nevertheless, consular assistance is something Australian citizens arrested abroad are entitled to. I have not heard of any instances where consular assistance was denied. It is also worth noting that the current moves to arrest Assange relate to a warrant that was issued relating to allegations of rape and sexual molestation in Sweden.

In any event, the Australian government went to some lengths to express its displeasure at Assange's work with Wikileaks by condemning the release of the diplomatic cables as something that puts at risk innocent lives of those working for the US and her allies. This displeasure was stated as "grossly irresponsible" behaviour on the part of Wikileaks.

Despite this assurance of consular assistance, it would seem that the Australian government is working at full-steam ahead to assist the US in building a case against Assange for the "illegal" publishing of the 250,000 diplomatic cables. It is also pretty clear that the Australian government would be looking to build a case and prosecute Assange if he were to return to Australia.

It would appear that the freedom Assange once enjoyed is slowly but surely evaporating away before his very own eyes.

The question now is, "if Assange is arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and subsequently jailed, will this stop Wikileaks or other sites that might be tempted to do similar work?"

Are The Charges of Rape Against Julian Assange Fabricated?

I pondered this very question just recently in a post by asking whether or not there were any cables in the 250,000 released by Wikileaks, and founded by Julian Assange, that related to trumping up a few charges such as rape and sexual molestation. I particularly wondered whether these cables might be from and between the US Embassy in Sweden and the State Department in Washington D.C.

It seems I am not the only one wondering such things.

Andrew Wilkie, the recently elected independent MP for Denison in the federal parliament of Australia and a former intelligence officer, has stated today that the charges "could definitely be a set-up".

Wilkie would have to be a kindred spirit of Julian Assange as they are both whistleblowers of some renown. Wilkie, while still an intelligence officer, came into knowledge that lead him to question the reasons and rationale for Australia's commitment to going to war in Iraq. He resigned and went public. He was hounded for his efforts. He is now a federal politician.

I guess time will tell as to what evidence the Swedish police have on Assange. Everyone has a right to a presumption of innocence until such time as a competent court finds otherwise. Until then, Assange finds himself the subject of an Interpol Red Notice. And, this means that he is subject to arrest wherever he is found. Although, the legal hoop-jumping is likely to be long if he is arrested in a state that may be partial to offering some form of protection or asylum. Ecuador made an offer of asylum over the past 24 hours but withdrew it almost as quickly as the offer was made.

The case is an intriguing one!

Wikileaks -- Real Anonymous Whistleblowing

There is a lot of talk about online or cyber-activism but what does that really mean. I should have written about this particular site earlier. Wikileaks is an online activist site plus plus. It is more like a forum for online dissidents. These dissidents are anonymous but are responsible for putting into the public sphere confidential and secret documents.

This ability will ultimately outstrip the need for a freedom of information legislation as people can upload documents almost completely anonymously. I guess though, one should never under-estimate "big brother" and the reach that they have. It might not all be black helicopters and secret troops but it is kind of surprising that the Australian founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, is still able to claim that not one of the leak sources have been uncovered.

There are now some 1.2 million documents on the site and not one has been censored or removed since being uploaded. This suggests that the documents have withstood all critical evaluation. The site had been focused primarily on corporate deals and government. However, there has been a recent shift in focus to the upload of documents that focus on the more shady sides of religion, cult, and celebrity.

This has seen documents uploaded about Wesley Snipe's tax problems, including his tax returns and bill. Other documents about Church of Scientology and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Wikileaks claims to have been responsible for swinging the Kenyan election by releasing document that showed that the then Kenyan leader, Daniel Arap Moi, siphoned off billions of dollars in government money. Other claims that Wikileaks make are that it was the first site to make available the US Rules for Engagement in Iraq and also the Operations Manual for Guantanamo Bay detention facility. This Operations Manual highlighted how the US was going to hide certain detainees from the International Red Cross.

In a mark of credibility, Wikileaks has been referenced 662 times on nytimes.com, 207 times on guardian.co.uk, and 86 times on washingtonpost.com.

Assange, grew up in Australia but moved to East Africa two years ago and has worked as a security consultant, professional hacker, activist and researcher during that time.

So, if any of my readers have documents in their possession that might be considered to blow the lid on some kind of issue, then consider uploading them to Wikileaks. You might not get any credit for exposing the deceit of others but it might just make the world a better place.