WikiLeaks . . .

ACCORDING TO THE NYT, in a report by Kim Severson and Robbie Brown, "WikiLeaks Cables Make Appearance in a Tale of Sunken Treasure and Nazi Theft". Like Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler, but this is real. Sumbitch. The US gov't. seems mendacious. It appears Spain wants a big chunk of a treasure galleon found by some Americans off the coast of Portugal, and State is against the Americans. Then there's the Nazi swag . . .

State Dept Wiki-Newspeak

U.S. to Host World Press Freedom Day in 2011
Press Statement
Philip J. Crowley Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs
Washington, DC December 7, 2010

"The United States is pleased to announce that it will host UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day event in 2011, from May 1 - May 3 in Washington, D.C.

UNESCO is the only UN agency with the mandate to promote freedom of expression and its corollary, freedom of the press.The theme for next year’s commemoration will be 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers. The United States places
technology and innovation at the forefront of its diplomatic and development efforts. New media has empowered citizens around the world to report on their circumstances, express opinions on world events, and exchange information in environments sometimes hostile to such exercises of individuals’ right to freedom of expression.

At the same time, we are concerned about the determination of some governments to censor and silence individuals, and to restrict the free flow of information. We mark events such as World Press Freedom Day in the context of our enduring commitment to support and expand press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age.

Highlighting the many events surrounding the celebration will be the awarding of the UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize at the National Press Club on May 3rd. This prize, determined by an independent jury of international journalists, honors a person, organization or institution that has notably contributed to the defense and/or promotion of press freedom, especially where risks have been undertaken."

Same State Dept. dude, same day ...

ABC News :

"State Department spokesman P J Crowley said the WikiLeaks was inviting terrorist attacks by releasing the cable that mention some of the key infrastructures projects across the globe identified by the US as vital for its national security interest. Without discussing any particular cable, the release of this kind of information gives a group like al Qaeda a targeting list. This is why we have condemned WikiLeaks for what it has done."

So. No UNESCO prize likely to be forthcoming for Wikileaks for "promotion of press freedom, especially where risks have been undertaken" in "environments sometimes hostile" then.

Because prior to these latest leaks, no one could possibly have guessed where the Canadian border crossings are or that an Israeli weapons manufacturer that makes components for US cluster bombs would be considered by the US to be "vital for its national security interest".

h/t Glenn Greenwald for the State Dept link.
.

Be Careful 'Bout Cryin' Wolf . . . .

With today's release of 400,000+ Department of Defense documents on the Iraq war by WikiLeaks, once again the MSM is playing the Pentagon's mouthpiece quite well.

Reuters: (Lead paragraph.) The Pentagon said on Friday it does not expect big surprises from an imminent release of up to 500,000 Iraq war files by WikiLeaks, but warned that U.S. troops and Iraqis could be endangered by the file dump.

CBC: (Hillary Clinton) "We should condemn in the most clear terms the disclosure of any classified information by individuals and organizations which puts the lives of United States and partner service members and civilians at risk," she said in Washington, D.C.

CNN: "This is all classified secret information never designed to be exposed to the public," Morrell told CNN. "Our greatest fear is that it puts our troops in even greater danger than they inherently are on these battlefields. "

Hmmmmm.

Didn't we hear the same dire warnings back when Wikileaks released the 70,000+ documents on the Afghan war?

Yes, we did.

How'd that come out, you may ask?

Well, to CNN and FoxNoise's (fer krise sake!) credit, buried down in their stories we read this:

CNN: Friday, Lapan said they know of no case where anyone in Afghanistan had been harmed because their name was in the leaked documents, but he made clear that doesn't mean such people couldn't be killed in the future.

FoxNoise: Lapan said that so far no Afghans have been killed as a direct result of WikiLeaks releasing the same type of information over the summer, but he characterized the leak as deplorable.

The Pentagon and State Department crowd might start stocking up on wolf spray and protective gear. Perhaps one day their dire warnings will go unheeded and ignored.

We'll probably have to clue the MSM in, though. It appears they're still drinking the Kool-aid and asking for refills . . . .

She's Not Happy . . . .

Methinks Hillary is not happy with the question . . . .



(Cross-posted from Moved to Vancouver)

"That Was Easy ! ! ! ! "

Obama's Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was attempting to signal a new direction in relations between the US and Russia during her visit with her counterpart this week.

There was a bit of a problem, however.

Per Bloomberg:

Clinton’s ‘Reset’ Joke for Lavrov Lost in Translation
By Viola Gienger - March 6

(Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to use humor today to improve relations with Russia, only to inadvertently invite her Russian counterpart to get the better of her.

Presenting Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with a green- wrapped box decorated with a bow and containing a mock “reset” button, Clinton said with a laugh that her “little gift” represents what President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have been saying.

“We want to reset our relationship,” she said before she and Lavrov began closed-door talks in Geneva as the Obama administration seeks to thaw a relationship that had been at its iciest since the Cold War.

Yet a glitch in Clinton’s presentation might have symbolized the frequent disconnects. The word on the button was intended to say “reset” in Russian.

“We worked hard to get the right Russian word,” Clinton told Lavrov. “Do you think we got it?”

“You got it wrong,” Lavrov said as they both laughed. He said the word on the button actually means “overcharge.”

“We won’t let you do that to us,” Clinton said in response, before getting more serious. “We mean it and we look forward to it.”

Lavrov smiled.

“Thank you very much,” he said. “It’s very kind of you.”

Clinton’s staff promised to fix the error on the gift.

Wouldn't you think that out of the thousands of employees in the foreign service arm of "the most powerful nation on earth" a competent translator of the Russian language could have been found?


As Aretha Franklin (you remember her memorable haberdashery at the inauguration, right?) would say:



"All I'm askin' is for a little r-e-s-p-e-c-t. Just a little bit . . . . "




(Cross-posted from Moved to Vancouver)

US State Department. Slackers, plagiarists and... ohhh! Nice shoes Condi!

The US State Department produces the Iraq Weekly Status Report which is described, on Foggy Bottom's website in this way:

This comprehensive status report on Iraq provides weekly updates in the eight key areas identified as pillars of U.S. Government policy.

So one could visualize teams of people working diligently for hours each day, gathering in information from a variety of official sources in preparation for a complete, concise weekly briefing on all that is important in Iraq.

One could visualize that, but it would be wrong. You can read the Iraq Weekly Status Report for November 21, 2007 here, or you can go to the following sources and get the same information, virtually word for word:

- The Washington Post - Nov 15, 2007

- Associated Press - Nov 14, 2007

- United Press International - Nov 19, 2007

- Voices of Iraq - Nov 18, 2007

- United Press International - Nov 16, 2007

- The New York Times - Nov 16, 2007

- Reuters - Nov 16, 2007

- Yahoo! News - Nov 16, 2007

Interestingly, the State Department authors of this "report" didn't bother to footnote each article they plagiarized, although they do cite sources on the last page of the report.

Kind of makes moot the idea of posting any State Department personnel to Iraq. I mean, hell, the major media outlets are already doing everything the State Department can do. Why take the risk?

You must now go to AmericaBlog who is the sole origin of this story for more information and where you can see the word for word comparisons.

Condi. You go too. You'll learn something.