Julian Assange is Wiki-Leaking All Over Town

Fox, CNN and all the sleezy tabloids  are  just having a ball with the gory details of Julian Assange's  sexual indescretions-- It is all just too tacky and TMI, and while Assange was pretty stupid to step into what may or may not have been a honey trap, set for him by God only knows who, this is certainly not rape and does not justify all the hoopla and attention it is getting.  The New York Times account at least makes an attempt at dignified journalistic reportage.

"The Swedish report traces events over a four-day period in August when Mr. Assange, a 39-year-old Australian, had what he has described as consensual sexual relationships with two Swedish women. Their accounts, which form the basis of an extradition case against Mr. Assange, state that their encounters with him began consensually, but became nonconsensual when he persisted in having unprotected sex with them in defiance of their insistence that he use a condom."

and here comes the good part

"The case has prompted widespread controversy, with supporters of Mr. Assange alleging that he is the victim, and the women are complicit, in an American-inspired vendetta seeking to punish WikiLeaks for posting hundreds of thousands of secret American documents on the Internet."

Don't we all just love a juicy sex scandal?  Yes, we do and that's what sells advertising-- and in America, that's what shapes public opinion.  Whether or not it is a conspiracy theory as Assange-ites assert or just an unfortunate confluence of circumstance only time will tell.

Wiki-Leaks has been sharing secrets online and embarrassing the rich and powerful for years-- it is a kind of Robin Hood site that reflects the new reality of the transparency and reach of the internet.  Anybody can send stuff to Wiki-Leaks for publication and lots of people do-- some of it is important and some of it not.  While America may be embarrassed by the gossipy political revelations of Cablegate, it is not, for the most part, being endangered. On the other hand, some powerful egos are being bruised  and there is definitely a new, internet based,  information paradigm in town

Whatever you think of Julian Assange, he is one smart cookie and clearly not doing what he is doing for personal gain-- I am sure that if he could be bought, he would have been by now.   Whether it is idealism or ego, he is totally changing the information landscape in a way that benefits the ordinary person.  In this internet age, information is power and Assange has the ability to give power to the people and THAT is perhaps what makes him seem so dangerous to the powers that be.

The fat lady hasn't even opened her mouth yet, but it is clear that this whole bruhaha is about a lot more than sex in Sweden and broken condoms. Julian Assange is taking a wiki-leak all over the global power elite and it is making them a little nervous. Fasten your seatbelts folks -- it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Wiki-Leaks and American Healthcare

photo source

Just read a post by Donna Smith at commondreams.org  that is so moving I had to share it with you. The American healthcare debacle is no longer in the news much these days, having been most recently eclipsed by the Wiki-Leaks excitement.

But just because the public is fickle, doesn't mean that Americans  aren't  still dying out there  because they cannot afford decent health care in a dollar driven system.


Here's an excerpt from the post:

Today, in cites and states across the United States, 123 people died because they lacked enough money to buy healthcare services.  That brings the annual death toll for 2010 to 41,082. 

WikiLeaks had nothing to do with the deaths of the 123 people who died today or any of the 41,082 who died so far this year.

The 123 who died today did so with the full knowledge of all who allowed their deaths.  The 123 who died today might have lived if they had access to appropriate healthcare.  The 123 who died got no mention on any news program or website – liberal, conservative or otherwise.  So much for the value of 123 human lives.

 We Americans have become so conditioned to the cruelty of our profit-driven healthcare system that the death of 123 of our fellow human beings doesn’t even warrant the same coverage as the potential sale of Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics for “The Times They are a Changing.”   Something is ridiculous about thinking that Dylan’s lyrics might bring $200,000 - $300,000 from some wealthy buyer who might have funded some healthcare and saved a few lives today.  What’s changed, Bob?

Oh, we’re ready to throw the whole terrorist plot arsenal at the WikiLeaks folks because of the potential for lost lives based on the leaking of government diplomatic documents.  Yes, we are.  But no one stands accountable for the 123 dead today without access to healthcare they would have if only they had money.  No one stands accountable for the 41,082 healthcare dead so far in 2010.....

here's a link to the original post  It's worth taking the time to read the whole thing.