WIKILEAKS REPRISED – A WHIFF… OF WHAT?

[katty]

more: http://www.opinion-maker.org/2010/12/wikileaks-reprised-a-whiff-of-what/

I have followed the unfolding teapot-tempest drama of the latest Wikileaks release with a certain bemusement, accompanied by a growing suspicion shared with others that all is not as it seems with these supposed revelations.

But my initial impression, based of course on what I am reading in the mainstream and alternative media and not in the cables themselves, is that it is surprising how little damaging material is there about much of the world.

Secretary Clinton cannot be happy at having the UN people know what she told her people there to do, of course, and there is a great deal to whet assorted salacious appetites. More substantive issues will doubtless emerge, but I expect most if not all to be embarrassing rather than destructive.

The Cables...

[jpgray]

1. DynCorp trading in sex slaves again on our dime? Who yawns at that?

:(

[KansDem]

3. And under-aged ones, at that!

Sex slaves are bad enough, but 15-year-old boys? :grr:

[subsuelo]

2. Documents showing how Shell infiltrated Nigeria's govt is damaging.

What we're not seeing is enough coverage and discussion of these various issues. Instead we get stories about the drama of hacked websites, the celebrity of Assange, and all this attention on what to do about Wikileaks. This is to be expected from mainstream media, but I haven't been that impressed with alternative media just yet. To a certain extent it's been decent, but I still find it could be even more hard-hitting.

I mean, take the Shell issue. This should be one of the top headliners right now. This is seriously damning stuff that's coming out. Granted, one could argue that we "already knew" (or thought we knew but could only speculate about until now). But the point is, it still should be a major focus of discussion right now. That oil belongs to the people of Nigeria, and they should profit from it. Why aren't they? Maybe because Shell has so much control over Nigeria's government? This just isn't right. It should be talked about. But it isn't. That's my problem in all this.

You head over to CNN or something and all you see regarding wikileaks is the hackers big fight against corporate websites. Really - who freaking cares about that. It's pure sensationalism. What I care about instead is an issue like a major corporation taking over a government in order to extract/steal the natural resources of a country, while the people of that country are left in poverty. The scale of that issue compared to wikileaks hackers taking down websites is off the charts, in my opinion. But where's the focus? Look over here! Now look over there! That's what I'm getting out of the mainstream media right now. Alternative definitely has better focus, but still is coming up a bit short in my view.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. That site gives me a not-so-good vibe.

Go to their Home page and take a look.