World Politics

[Spare Tyre]

What did you think about the greens vote in the state election, SpareTyre?

btw, do any australians on here watch the 7pm report? Watched it for the first time. Bunch of labor fans on there which just mock any liberal leader at any chance. I guess that is Channel 10 for you.

I thought they would get more of a rise on the 2006 vote, so I'm a little disappointed, but I didn't expect them to win any seats, so meh.

Will wait to see an analysis by someone like Antony Green before I form any opinion as to why things panned out the way they did.

 

[The Hitch]

For the wikileaks, the most interesting one for me, as a student of Russian history and politics, is the revelation that Putin is SOOO close to organised crime, it is effectively a "mafia state". I knew that already, but glad to see the US knows it to, and hopefully the rest of the world does as well.

Problem for the wikileaks guy is that he now has to be wary of polonium 210.

at least those of us who pay attention and don't subscribe to tabloid media.

A species going the way of the dodo unfortunately. If the people dont change broadsheets for tabloids, the broadsheets are turning themselves into tabloids instead.

 

[rhubroma]

For the wikileaks, the most interesting one for me, as a student of Russian history and politics, is the revelation that Putin is SOOO close to organised crime, it is effectively a "mafia state". I knew that already, but glad to see the US knows it to, and hopefully the rest of the world does as well.

Problem for the wikileaks guy is that he now has to be wary of polonium 210.



A species going the way of the dodo unfortunately. If the people dont change broadsheets for tabloids, the broadsheets are turning themselves into tabloids instead.

Problem is, which power isn't a "mafia" State in the world of today.

Read Gamora by Roberto Saviano if you want some info regarding how America too has had intimate ties with organized crime in the sense of how much organized crime impacts on the global economy.

 

[The Hitch]

Problem is, which power isn't a "mafia" State in the world of today.

Read Gamora by Roberto Saviano if you want some info regarding how America too has had intimate ties with organized crime in the sense of how much organized crime impacts on the global economy.

in Russia, journalists or even non journalists who speak out against the "Prime Minister" have a habit of ending up dead.

thats a different animal altogether.

 

[rhubroma]

in Russia, journalists or even non journalists who speak out against the "Prime Minister" have a habit of ending up dead.

thats a different animal altogether.

I know, it's true. But you'd probably be surprised, Hitch, about the historical connections between US politics and the mafia. Just look at the Kennedy assassination case. And then there were a number of Sicilian mafioso given entrance into the US in exchange for controling the Southern vote in Italy during the Cold War.

I'm not making this stuff up.

 

[The Hitch]

I know, it's true. But you'd probably be surprised, Hitch, about the historical connections between US politics and the mafia. Just look at the Kennedy assassination case. And then there were a number of Sicilian mafioso given entrance into the US in exchange for controling the Southern vote in Italy during the Cold War.

I'm not making this stuff up.

Oh of course. I know all about the US connections with the mafia. Half of the fiction i read is touches on the subject, especially the 50's 60's and 70's and especially mafia connections with John Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

Also theres a nice little hbo straight to tv film called "the rat pack" which looks into Frank Sinatra and his roll in connecting chicago criminals to john Kennedy.

 

[redtreviso]

wikileaks makes some people nervous

""In a Contract dated March 21, 1983 N6308F was leased by Continental Desert Properties to Seal's firm Baton Rouge Aviation . Insurance policies found in Seal's private papers confirm that Barry Seal subsequently purchased an insurance policy on the aircraft.

What, exactly, was the purpose of this convoluted ownership record? What was it designed to conceal? The answer lies in the very definition of "tradecraft," a term for what it is that spies and covert operators do to operate in the dark. The "front" companies were in place to act as "cut-outs," layers of insulation, between the spy agency -- in this case Bill Casey's CIA--and the covert operative--, in this case, Barry Seal.""

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ciadrugs/W_plane.html

 

[auscyclefan94]

I thought they would get more of a rise on the 2006 vote, so I'm a little disappointed, but I didn't expect them to win any seats, so meh.

Will wait to see an analysis by someone like Antony Green before I form any opinion as to why things panned out the way they did.

I think Antony Green has had christmas come twice in one year. He's really good!

Spot on. If George Negus is on, you are sure to get a balanced view... not. He just can't hide his left wing bias. The others aren't too bad, but there is a distinct lean to the left. I used to watch it occasionally, but they gloss over too many issues and don't get into any depth on anything... That's channel 7, 9 & 10 for you..!
They did a feature on cyclists vs cars a few months ago, and interviewed a very talented guy by the name of Michael Forbes, who became paralyzed when hit by a car on beach road a few years back. Again-the story had potential, but not enough depth.

Yeah true, except I find the male host and dave hughes very much biased towards labor. The segment didn't take long for them to take shots at baillieu and then Abbott. And then they just blame time and not labor's imcompetence for Brumby's defeat (again)!

 

[Nick777]

It's not only them. If you look at the papers over the last few days, there were more photos of Brumby than Baillieu...

 

[auscyclefan94]

Your right Nick777. Kirstie marshall for example refused to speak to the press on election day and only came out to for 20 minutes to hand out how to vote cards and went into hiding for the rest of it. She should cop it in the media especially because how many letters she sent out. She generally likes talking to the press or in public because she can start talking about herself. Anyway, on a herald sun poll, they polled on who should be the next labor leader and somehow Justin Madden was the 3rd best choice.

 

[Cobblestones]

Absolutely stunning what comes out of Wikileak. And with only 1/4 of one percent published so far.

 

[redtreviso]

Phil and Wendy(R-ENRON)

""There probably was no single greater influence on banking, leading to the Ponzi housing scam than manifested in Gramm both by his actions and through the actions of his wife. Phil Gramm led the repeal of Glass Steagall, and his wife worked to get derivatives disconnected with gambling legal issues and the mandate that they be traded on regulated exchanges.

So, Gramm essentially broke down the barriers of banking, insurance, and mortgages, while through his wife derivatives were to be used like a casino hedge, permitting the banks to bet massively on bad mortgages. These mortgages were then securitized and sold as if they were sound AAA bonds when they weren't. His wife Wendy used the CFTC to exempt OTC derivatives from regulation."""

http://www.businessinsider.com/phil-gramm-legacy-mccains-evil-twin-2010-12

 

[Spare Tyre]

Absolutely stunning what comes out of Wikileak. And with only 1/4 of one percent published so far.

I'm a bit concerned about the efforts to which various governments are going to shut WikiLeaks and/or Julian Assange down.

Not surprised, just concerned.

 

[redtreviso]

I'm a bit concerned about the efforts to which various governments are going to shut WikiLeaks and/or Julian Assange down.

Not surprised, just concerned.

State Department warns

""State Dept. Bars Staffers from WikiLeaks, Warns Students

The U.S. State Department has imposed an order barring employees from reading the leaked WikiLeaks cables. State Department staffers have been told not to read cables because they were classified and subject to security clearances. The State Department’s WikiLeaks censorship has even been extended to university students. An email to students at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs says: "The documents released during the past few months through Wikileaks are still considered classified documents. recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter. Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government."
""

I wonder how many congressional staffers, defense contractors, lobbyists or teabaggers have already proved their inability to deal with confidential information..

 

[Cobblestones]

State Department warns

""State Dept. Bars Staffers from WikiLeaks, Warns Students

The U.S. State Department has imposed an order barring employees from reading the leaked WikiLeaks cables. State Department staffers have been told not to read cables because they were classified and subject to security clearances. The State Department’s WikiLeaks censorship has even been extended to university students. An email to students at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs says: "The documents released during the past few months through Wikileaks are still considered classified documents. recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter. Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government."
""

I wonder how many congressional staffers, defense contractors, lobbyists or teabaggers have already proved their inability to deal with confidential information..

I guess in China, photos from the Tiananmen massacre are also confidential information? The US is rapidly descending to the level of a fascistoid kleptocracy.

 

[simo1733]

Who do you think will assasinate Julian Assange? CIA,KGB,James Bond,Sepp Blater or who else?

 

[auscyclefan94]

Who do you think will assasinate Julian Assange? CIA,KGB,James Bond,Sepp Blater or who else?

ASIO (The aussies should clean up the mess an aussie created)

 

[Spare Tyre]

I guess in China, photos from the Tiananmen massacre are also confidential information? The US is rapidly descending to the level of a fascistoid kleptocracy.

Yeah, I'm stepping up my support of WikiLeaks now. I was only mildly interested in the material until the US government started cranking up efforts to shut it all down. The US has been on this path for awhile, of course, but it's very rarely challenged in such a direct way.

And Australia has yet again proved itself a brown-nosing toady.

 

[Anonymous]

ASIO (The aussies should clean up the mess an aussie created)

How is producing information an executable offense? I think the guy is a voice of truth, and hope he keeps posting what he is sent. I cannot wait for him to post the info he has on Bank of America. Free speech is a good thing. Repeat that over and over.

 

[The Hitch]

Who do you think will assasinate Julian Assange? CIA,KGB,James Bond,Sepp Blater or who else?

I do realise you are joking, and its funny, but nevertheless, i will make the point that the KGB/NKVD/Checka is now known as the FSB - federalna sluzhba bezopasnosti, so it does still exist.

Along the lines of which, i wont be surprised if Mr Assange finds himself stricken down, in an unfortunate case of radioactive- polonium 210.

Otherwise, this thing will die down. I dont think anything catastrophic has come out.

After all, werent these wikileaks only taken by someone with a certain clearence level? Surely the real bad stuff is protected at a higher clearence level.

As Spare tyre says, the reaction is almost as bad as the leaks themselves.

THe US should learn from this mistake, and just leave the thing for now. Grant mr assanage amnesty, its not like he told Iran how to make a bomb. Let the revelations, half of which simply cover the personalities of foreign leaders, keep coming. Once they are all out, people will move on to other things. And to be honest, almost every country has other bigger news stories at the moment anyway while the leaks take a back seat.

 

[simo1733]

I do realise you are joking, and its funny, but nevertheless, i will make the point that the KGB/NKVD/Checka is now known as the FSB - federalna sluzhba bezopasnosti, so it does still exist.

Along the lines of which, i wont be surprised if Mr Assange finds himself stricken down, in an unfortunate case of radioactive- polonium 210.

Otherwise, this thing will die down. I dont think anything catastrophic has come out.

After all, werent these wikileaks only taken by someone with a certain clearence level? Surely the real bad stuff is protected at a higher clearence level.

As Spare tyre says, the reaction is almost as bad as the leaks themselves.

THe US should learn from this mistake, and just leave the thing for now. Grant mr assanage amnesty, its not like he told Iran how to make a bomb. Let the revelations, half of which simply cover the personalities of foreign leaders, keep coming. Once they are all out, people will move on to other things. And to be honest, almost every country has other bigger news stories at the moment anyway while the leaks take a back seat.

I'm not sure if he is an heroic crusader for truth and justice.or just a s##t stirrer of epic proportions.Either way if he does meet with misfortune he will be replaced by someone else.

 

[fatandfast]

Once Julian is taken into custody for his multi sex assalt/rape charges. The US government will put the wheels in motion to have him brought to the US on some charge(s) related to the military wiki leaks. He will do 10 years for messing with the industrial military complex. The ebay payment pressure was brilliant without his main payment method he found himself in a weakened position

 

[straydog]

Once Julian is taken into custody for his multi sex assalt/rape charges. The US government will put the wheels in motion to have him brought to the US on some charge(s) related to the military wiki leaks. He will do 10 years for messing with the industrial military complex. The ebay payment pressure was brilliant without his main payment method he found himself in a weakened position

wow....you really don't research your "opinions" much do you?

Interesting.... no mention of rape from the swedish prosecutors...interesting too that his being called as a "witness" to an incident of sexual assault refers to a split condom and unprotected consensual sex, which in sweden can both lead to charges of "sexual assault"

I'd like to see how the US government try to fabricate a "treason" charge against an Australian Citizen....do the Tea party circle jerkers not own one dictionary between them?

And as merely, the "publisher" of the contentious material it will be interesting to see how they charge him with any "crime" against the military.

What wikileaks...and Assange are doing...(who by the way is only the mouthpiece of the organisation that includes a fairly sizeable volunteer workforce and advisory panel) is one of the most important advances in in Democracy in the last 50 years...perhaps even longer.

They have let the cat out of the bag...and no matter what happens to JA...it aint going back in. Public Servants are just that...they work for us remember and wikileaks is encouraging them to remember that they can and should be held responsible for what they do.

the hitch....Otherwise, this thing will die down. I dont think anything catastrophic has come out. ....WTF? Berlusconi's personal profiteering with Putin? Clinton sanctioning the illegal surveillance of UN officials? The indiscriminate slaughter and maiming of journalists and children in Iraq?

Why the hell do you think Palin and Huckerbee and others have been so upset by it that they have publicly stated they want him "hunted down" and "assasinated"? Cos they aint bothered? Open your eyes dude.

My favourite quote so far...Palin..."we should hunt him down like Bin Laden"...what? as in not find him?....Wow....she is gonna be so much more fun than Bush

 

[straydog]

Also....if you think nothing catastrophic has come out....wait until you see what is coming next....

 

[The Hitch]

Why the hell do you think Palin and Huckerbee and others have been so upset by it that they have publicly stated they want him "hunted down" and "assasinated"? Cos they aint bothered? Open your eyes dude.

Wow, you really make a good argument regarding US outrage on the subject when you quote Palin and Huckabee talking crap

Also....if you think nothing catastrophic has come out....wait until you see what is coming next....

And what would that be?