Tuesday 7 December 2010

Wiki, wiki, little bat! How I wonder what you're at.

I have noted over the last few weeks that Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales, of Wikipedia founding fame, has been prominently fronting a Wikipedia campaign seeking donations on a header added to every Wikipedia entry I have looked at. As the 'fountain of all knowledge' perhaps he has had the foresight and happy timing to clarify resoundingly that Wikipedia is NOT WikiLeaks and that he is NOT Julian Assange.

Julian Assange may appear to be being dragged around the floor as revenge for WikiLeaks' recent and ongoing US diplomatic cable leaks but these rape allegations have been ongoing for over three months - although he clearly appeared to be no friend of the US administration since before then too. Is Assange a victim of reprisal false allegations or honey trap?

Nothing WikiLeaks revealed yet has looked like a knock-out blow to this US administration or to its Bush/NeoCon predecessors. Indeed nothing has greatly tarnished the US diplomatic service or whispered squat-diddle of its uglier underbelly - the CIA. Funny that!

In a world of smoke and mirrors I would ignore the relevance and veracity or these cables or selection thereof. Even Assange's lawyer admitted on BBC News-Night that WikiLeaks were being careful to 'redact' details that may damage individual's security. (who, one may wonder, are they troubling to lookout for; Americans or everybody).

Bitter pills they may appear to be but every cable leaked so far can be seen also to assert the US view on the world, mostly at the expense of other leaders and nations.

If these documents had found their way directly into the hands of say a UK National newspaper they may have been resistant to publishing them. Now they know it would meet with the wrath of the US.

If independent news media publishers are confronted with leaked information to publish or whistle-blower's information, they too have now seen the writing on the wall. Indeed the US will use this episode to help them justify tighter controls of the internet.

As Franklin D. Roosevelt is attributed to have said "In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way."

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