Monday, November 29, 2010

On Palin and the Ongoing Wikileaks Dump

I'm getting ready to go through some old photos and videos from the 1990s, hoping to help some people making a documentary on aspects of Sarah Palin's real real Alaska. Summer parade, school event pictures and so on. At the same time, the radio, the web radio, emails and blogs are commenting on the ongoing Wikileaks dump.

Less than 1% of the current crop have been released. They seem to be targeted on several countries' views of Iran. This morning in Tehran, two Iranian nuclear scientists were attacked by motorcyclists, who attached bombs to the engineers' cars, pulled away, and then the devices were remotely detonated. One scientist was killed, another injured, and both men's wives were badly hurt. It wasn't a big news item.

Palin tweeted and facebooked away as she signed book after book in Texas and Louisiana. Talk about multitasking.

She was being filmed by the TLC crews as she did all this. I can't wait until Palin allows TLC to sit through the entire process between when Palin cooks up one of those terse facebook missives and then posts it, cameras rolling the whole time.

Palin has supported every single government measure that seeks to be able to look into every aspect of Americans' electronic lives. She's never spoken out about the immense growth in automatic information gathering on all Americans, which flourished under Bush II and seems to be accelerating under Obama.

The government can look at us, but we can't look at them. That theme is consistent through her political and celebrity careers.

She has complained every time someone wanted to legally look into any aspect of her performance as a public official, even though she grew to state prominence by hacking a colleague's computer while he was out of his office. She continues to secretly support Joe Miller, who tried to oust the same guy Palin hacked - Randy Reudrich. That's the same Joe Miller who illegally hacked into a bunch of colleague's computers to try to oust Reudrich from his last bastion, state GOP chair. Probably at the behest of, or in attempt to curry favor with, Palin.

Has Palin condemned Miller for his illegal hacking? Of course not.

Hackers. It's OK to be one, if you are Palin or Miller.

Hack Palin's emails though? Go to jail.

Hack her book? Get sued by Harper-Collins.

Hack her book and ask questions about TriG? You get a pass.

At least until she becomes president. Then it's "find the nearest bunker" for bloggers like the ones at Palingates.

Some on the right, and on the neoliberal left want Obama to send a hit squad, like the ones who attacked in Tehran this morning, off to Sweden to deal with Julian Assange, the face of Wikileaks. Others are fitting Palin's Wikileaks rant into a more complex, baffling narrative:


Here's Palin on what to do with Mr. Assange, who lives in the neutral country where my wife's ancestors came from:
He is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands. His past posting of classified documents revealed the identity of more than 100 Afghan sources to the Taliban.

Why was he not pursued with the same urgency we pursue al Qaeda and Taliban leaders?
Palin called Assange a "traitor" in one of today's tweets, no doubt twitted out between rows of books. Assange isn't an American citizen. Someone should ask her what she thinks of Jonathan Pollard, a real American traitor.

I doubt Palin has Daniel Ellsberg on her "to do" list. Yet.

The Wikileaks case is just a harbinger of what is to come. Not only have we only gotten 1% of the current document dump, but other Wilileaks copycats are sure to emerge.

If Palin gets elected, we'll be running out of drones to fire at Stockholm, London, places that aren't in "the real America," towns that didn't vote heavily enough for Bristol, Paul Jenkins' office, Taproots, Levi Johnson's workplace ("they hired him - collateral damage, you betcha") and Joe McGinniss' car, before you can say "I want to help clean up the state that is so sorry today of journalism," or "I think it's appalling and a violation of our freedom of the press."

image - Palin's City of Wasilla City Council portrait, reading a John Birch Society-linked newsletter in her official binder

21 comments:

AKPetMom said...

She was eviscerated in effigy by the band GWAR.

http://gawker.com/5701617/weird-rock-band-disembowels-sarah-palin-on-stage

Hope this is part of the freedoms that she lauds our troops for fighting for. I'm sure that this counts, right Sarah?

This perhaps is Palin fatigue in the maximum.

honestyinGov said...

Thanks for the post Phil,
" Palin Hypocrisy " covers so many subjects these days. Or in WGE's own words " All of them " applies. I saw a nice post on the same subject ( Wikileaks )that I retweeted today. She writes her own Blog.. I think you will enjoy it.Wraps it up nicely.
http://kyrafrost.blogspot.com/2010/11/someone-please-explain-pentagon-papers.html

Anonymous said...

Guessing someones password to their email account is much different than "hacking".

Check it out, go look it up for yourself, I dare you.

Anonymous said...

"Check it out, go look it up for yourself, I dare you."

David Kernell guessed Palin's yahoo mail password and was convicted of unlawful access to a protected computer. But it's OK when it's Sarah Palin. I wish this connection had been made during Kernell's trial: Palin did exactly what she was insisting Kernell be prosecuted for. Hypocrisy much?

Anonymous said...

I am waiting for the day when Ruedrich comes out from behind the shadows to tell what he knows about Sarah hacking into the email system to bring him down (not that he did not deserve the result) - supposedly at the behest of the AG/Knowles administration. I am hoping also for a feature article investigating what the heck else she did during her short, quitty-pants tenure on the Oil and Gas Board - not much as far as I can tell, other than dressing Ruedrich down.

It seems to me that Palin herself, in the beginning, was supporting the very same group, Evergreen, for which Ruedrich was convicted.

Did the AG/Knowles administration threaten Sarah for her own improper involvement? Is this the stick they used to get her to hack into the email system, to save her own neck?

Palin is too dumb to have put that all together. I think there is a story there. I'd like to know more about her own initial involvement with Evergreen from which Ruedrich made a tidy bundle until he was convicted.

Someone needs to shed some light on Sarah's undeserved reputation as a 'corruption buster.' Check into one of those wilderness land purchases - the 'seller' was Clyde Treybig, of oil and gas fame. Did the Palins actually buy this land, or was it 'gifted' to them???

MicMac

Anonymous said...

>> reading a John Birch Society-linked newsletter in her official binder

Why would that be in her "Official binder"?? JBS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birch_Society is a radical right-wing group. Besides, isnt that office supposed to be a non-political office??

Anonymous said...

>> Hack her book and ask questions about TriG? You get a pass.

Interesting! She does not want much talk of that anymore, eh?

sallyngarland,tx said...

I thought her series was 8 parts and she was finished. If that's true, then recent filming would mean to extend her show(??). I hope--I hope she just turns into a reality show person.

In her mind, don't you know she sees an Emmy?

It would be nice if someone actually made a "travelogue" about Alaska. Can't see much in this one except the blood of fish and hear those weird little, reality show music things(I know know what you call them)

sallyngarland,tx said...

@7:11

Meant "don't know" not know know--

Anonymous said...

TLC is filming the new Sarah show: "The Making of a President 2012".
For exclusive rights to this show she has signed...


Wish I was joking as I post this- but I think it is actually true.

Anonymous said...

yeah, well why would they be shooting outside of Alaska???

Anonymous said...

BTW, I just read this.

WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange Wants To Spill Your Corporate Secrets
http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/11/29/wikileaks-julian-assange-wants-to-spill-your-corporate-secrets/

Who knows, this can actually get interesting. LOL

Anonymous said...

Or not! Well he wants Hillary to resign. Now we know the rest of the story.. on what is really driving this all.

But here's some news for him and others.

What Hillary Clinton Didn't Do
http://www.nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/hillary-clinton-didn-t-turn-diplomats-into-spies-20101130

Quote:
The secretary of State didn't turn diplomats into spies.

So be sure to defend Hillary. She has been the strong person in this administration doing the correct things.

Anonymous said...

Judge Paul Lyle might have something to say about the AOGCC goings on.

Are AOGCC agendas,minutes and decisions available online? The AOGCC site seems to be missing most of what needs to be checked. Reports are that Sarah was a corruption fighter in this episode. As Reagan said " trust but verify".

status:sceptical

Anonymous said...

I suggest that people actually look at Wikileaks and see what kinds of expose there is. Understand what it is.
Lots of interesting stuff that I know I want to see! And I wouldn't get to otherwise.

Look at Nazi David Irving's emails, for example.

Anonymous said...

MicMac-
whatzername was on the Oil and Gas Commission during the Murkowski adminstration- NOT Knowles'
This is the event she parlayed into her whole slaying-corruption-in-government story.
It was merely SP starting her internal Republican party power struggle...
And riding to the R nomination for governor shortly thereafter...

http://www.adn.com/2003/11/08/513772/ruedrich-resigns-post-as-regulator.html

She showed her sly ability to frame things to her own advantage through that set of events and Alaskans were asleep at the switch when they bought the BS about her cleaning up corruption in the state there.
Equally worrisome is assumimg there was anything else operating there beyond her own penchant for opportunistic self-aggrandizement.
She's not intelligent but she is self assured and confident when she sees an opportunity to play St Joan.
She invited the investigation of Ruedrich and participated at the level of hacking into his email account for evidence to prove her allegations. Always seemed stupid to me that the AG's office would enlist the complainer as an investigator but perhaps her being the chair made it/them comfortable with it being an internal matter at first ... similar to your boss going through your email on your work computer which said boss owns to see if you are conduscting personal business on company time and equipment...
Or perhaps the AG's office hoped to keep it all inhouse if nothing turned up... who knows?
This has been one of the few things I disgree with the AK progressive bloggers general take on... the so-called importance of her hacking into an employee's computer for evidence of wrong doing within an actual investigation.
It's always seemed more important to me that she got away with her spin that she cleaned up corruption in the whole state with her little power play within her party.
All the crap she has pulled since boils down to something similar.

alaskapi

Makabit Bat Guriel said...

Phil, I was wondering when you would compare Pollard to Assange.
You stupid Jews that back up Munger or allow Munger to use you better wake the hell up! He will turn you into ash falling on the house tops eventually. boneheads...

Makabit Bat Guriel said...

Here is one for you, Akpetmom.
How many kids got so excited after watching the disemboweling went home, lured the neighbors dog in their backyard while mommy and daddy were not home and disemboweled it for shits and giggles?
You post this shit because it makes you laugh and believe you can use it to rub Palin's nose in but in reality the little freaks out there take it very serious and find it entertaining. You are just as guilty when you repost the crap. Freak.
Have a good day you old hag.

Anonymous said...

Let's stand up for Hillary! Please go to Lou Dobbs site and vote NO on question whether she should resign. Thanks!

http://www.loudobbs.com/

Anonymous said...

Alaskapi

It is an interesting topic-but I don't completely agree with your analysis, start with
"It was merely SP starting her internal Republican party power struggle...
And riding to the R nomination for governor shortly thereafter"


I don't believe she thought this up all by herself, or executed this AOGCC episode by herself. The plan to challenge a Murkowski (either Senator Palin or Governor Palin) was probably already in operation when this AOGCC thing got started, but not probably the immediate cause of the AOGCC events.

As far as watching for an opportunity rearing into her space- she was ready for sure.


As far as what a rill journalist might want to know about the AOGCC events- the roles that Palin and Ruedrich played have been mostly explained by Palin and Ruedrich.

Some of these statements appear contradictory of other statements made by others. The investigatory techniques used are straight out of the Beverley Hillbillies. It is hard to believe that the descriptions of what happened are correct and anywhere near complete.

At the root of the questions are the persons and issues involved. That list begins with Ruedrich who played no small role in F. Murkowski's election as Governor (and was then appointed by Murkowski to the AOGCC under loud protest ), Murkowski's Attorney General Renkes- (who knew for sure that it takes more than $100,000 of stock in a decision to cause a conflict of interest), and a future short term attorney general appointee (Wayne Anthony Ross)under WGE Palin (representing Palin in some capacity in the AOGCC goings on).

Issues? Oil,Gas,regulators,campaign fundraising,and the well documented corruption issues exposed (partially) just a few years later.

The list goes on and on, and as reported later after Ruedrich resigned "She and others at the commission said Ruedrich's questionable activities involved more issues than the partisan matters cited in the ethics charges and made public." She in this quote being Sarah Palin. LINK

Your conclusion is however imo entirely correct. Spinning and twisting herself into a rill dill gyro.

Anonymous said...

Phil and bloggers,
thought you might enjoy this one.

Finally, the FOREIGN press puts together a great summary of SP.

Foreign Press Says What America’s Won’t: Sarah Palin is a Traitor (PoliticuUSA 12/1/10)

Original article in Pravda:

Spankin' Sarah Palin: A clown short of a circus (Pravda 11/30/10)
http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/30-11-2010/115998-spankin_sarah-0/

I think this is the best and most accurate critique of SP persona (and political profile) I've read.


And this little gem of a youtube clip

Sarah Palin's Homer Moment-D'Oh!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKflKzmfRCw
She is so condescending, and so fascitious (sp). LOL