A new low in the publishing industry..
Wikileaks' boss Julian Assange has revealed that he's getting an advance of $502,000 (£325,000) from U.K. publisher Canongate Books Ltd. and $800,000 from U.S. publishing house Alfred A. Knopf, a subsidiary of Random House,( which is in turn owned by Germany's Bertelsmann AG) for writing an autobiography.
Assange told the UK's Sunday Times that he sold the memoir because he needs the money to pay legal fees to keep WikiLeaks afloat. "I don't want to write this book, but I have to," he said.
The book is expected out sometime next year and Knopf and Canongate are to be commended, if that's the right word, for reminding us that some people will wallow in anything for money, no matter how dirty:
(The famous final scene from The Magic Christian..unfortunately part of the sound track's been deleted because it contains Thunderclap Newman's 'Something in the Air')
Some suggested titles fopr Assange's new opus?.."Stealin' it"...."Bareback Riding"..."The Parasite King"..
Your thoughts?
"Your thoughts?"
ReplyDeleteThis is entirely expected. Anti-Americanism is the most profitable profession there is. It is hugely profitable and the cost is minimal to non existent. As such, it comes as no surprise that people engage in it.
Can a convicted rapist enjoy the benefits of the profits? If Mr. Assange were any one else, he would have been extradicted to Sweden by now to face rape charges but since he is a prominent anti-American he is receiving preferential treatment from the British government, the news media, and the power brokers in Europe.
In order for America to do things like ensure its just interests are properly represented, it absolutely MUST change the narrative about things. Right now America is universially despised. The result of this is any calamity that should befall America is looked upon with glee by the Europeans and others. The Americans "had it coming" as they like to say.
If you want to stop the Julian Assagnes of the world, what should be done? I'm not sure. Where I would start would be by studying how the Russians and the Chinese handle things of this nature. I'm not necessarily saying we should do what they do as our situation and theirs may not be exactly the same. But, as I've been told, if you want to be the best, study the best. There are none better at solving a problem like this than the Russians and the Chinese.
1. There is no contention that the book .. as yet very nascent .. is likley to be anti-american , if the book is about wikileaks .. then there isnt anything inherently anti american in that topic area .. because assange has unearthed large scale crimes by the US govt , doesnt make it anti-american , the same as pointing out that an asian held up a bank doesnt make me a racist .. after all the leaks reveal the ACTIONS of the US .. and it goes further .. wikileaks does not focus on material from the US .. it has revealed other information about countries such as IRAN , KENYA , RUSSIA , ISRAEL .. and on
ReplyDelete2. Can a convicted ... ?
Facts : Assange has not been even charged with a crime to date let alone convicted , that 'America' that you are defending upholds freedoms and liberties including the freedom of speech ( 1st amendment ) and of course the presumption of innocence.
3. Preferential treatment ..
Locked in solitary without charge for a week .. mmm not a preference I would welcome .. there is NO Europe V America , left V right debate here - its plain right and wrong ..
4. Universally despised ..
Perhaps , I think again thats hyperbole .. but you would have to ask why ? clearly the unsavoury , illegal wars , the hegemony , the imperialism .. they all contribute .. perhaps America applying Justice may alleviate this .. for example .. there are politicians in the US indignant at wikileaks .. but how many are indignant over the murder of civilians exposed by wikileaks ..
I should think a clean house is a good strategy.
5. We dont want to stop teh assanges of this world .. YES we must be careful not to open a pandoras box .. I can imagine a situation where competition among leak organisations led to bogus material washing around .. we see this in the main stream press .. wikileaks is well controlled .. redacted information filtered through mainstream media ( eg NYT ) and credible .. thats valuable and we should praise assange for his efforts.
6. Arent the Russians and the Chinese regarded as repressive by the US .. doesnt Chinas human rights record come under scrutiny quite often by officials .. so are you arguing AGAINST your administration there ..
Bottom line ... im not looking for a debate .. I would simply ask that you go to primary sources .. listen to Assanges interviews . Get some sources from other parts of the world .. and then make as asessment whether Assange has done Ill or Good ..
Thanks
g
G., your points about Assange not being convicted of anything yet is well taken.
ReplyDeleteFYI, I have correspondents on six continents, and if you spend any time on this site you'll see that mu viewpoint is anything but parochial.
That said, Assange is nothing more than a cyber pimp and a receiver of stolen goods. He has absolutely no right to release this material, no right to endanger or compromise the rights and confidentiality of others and no claim to any sympathy from anyone.
This sort of mentality is quite similar that involved in the widespread pirating of copyrighted works that goes on in some quarters, with the rationale that 'this ought be free for everyone.'
The upshot of course if that those people, creative and non-creative who make their living legitimately creating and selling this material are irreparably injured, just as a number of confidential US sources, diplomats and intel agents have been injured.
Your comment about "the unsavoury , illegal wars , the hegemony , the imperialism" is rather a giveaway of your views on America.
We now have a weak,self-absorbed president in accord with those views, which is exactly why the Wikileaks farce continued until it started hitting close to home in the Obama White House.
If the US position as the sole global superpower is damaged enough as a result, you may get a chance to see what REAL imperialism and unsavory, illegal behavior look like emanating from America's enemies.
I have a feeling you won't like it much.
Selah,
Rob
G,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply to my post. I tried to reply earlier but the reply was to lenghty to post here. I will try and shorten it. To address several of the points you make, you're quite right Mr. Assange has not been convicted. I should have clarified my point. Generally speaking association with an accused rapist does not make for good publicity. As such, book publishers would want to make sure the person is absolved of the crime he is accused of before extending a book deal to someone. In this case I think anti-Americanism trumps every thing and yes Mr. Assange is receiving preferential treatment from the British legal system. Anyone else would have already been extradited right now to stand trial for the charges against them. Being a famous America hater seems to have been very helpful for Mr. Assange here.
As a general rule I would define the term anti-Americanism as holding America to standards that we would not hold other countries with the possible exception of Israel to. Point 4 you make is a good example of this. America's actions are no more or less "unsavory" than those of any other country. In fact, American actions are probably more savory than those of most other nations because of the intense and often hostile media scrutiny the nation faces. Just to cite a few examples, Russian actions in Chechnya and Georgia don't come under the same type of scrutiny that American actions do. Also, Chinese beligerence toward Tawain doesn't face much scrutiny either. As to "hegemony" or "imperialism" we will have to change the dictionary defintion to make America fit these terms. As to "illegal wars" the Russians didn't get permission from the UN to invade Georgia. We should not have to get permission to deal with a far greater threat to us posed by Iraq than Georgia posed to Russia.
Now regarding the "murder of civilians" you reference. Wtih all due respect I don't think you are taking the full context into consideration. Given the propensity of this enemy to positon military assets and soldiers near and among "civilians", it should not surprise us that "civilians" might find themselves on the receiving end of American or allied weapons. Also, given how enemy forces have often used "civilians" as soldiers, it should not surprised us that some might take a jaudiced view toward certain "civilians." This may explain whey some don't necessariy feel "indignant" about it. Also, given that no one is "indignant" over American civilians who have been killed, I'm thinking the 911 attackes, the bombing of our embassies, and the Lockerbie bombing to name a few further enforces the jaundiced view that some may have toward enemy civilians. In fact, it appears that American lives are somehow worth less than the lives of any other in the eyes of the "world."
Now for point 6, the Russians and the Chinese routinely vilify us. It should hardly be surprising that certain American government officials might occasionlly get around to criticizing them.
I do agree with you about the need to get information from sources all around the world to the greatest extent possible. Americans routinely have access to this and as such are the most informed people in the world, generally. In some other countries this is a greater problem, as they do not have access to all sources.
"americans.....are the most informed people in the world, generally"
ReplyDeleteNow this is a perfect example of american megalomania.lol!
Rosh katon, Shiloh. B. Poster has probably not been outside the US much, so be nice.
ReplyDeleteAs we both know, a lot of Americans ( like people all over the globe)could care less about foreign affairs and would have difficulty pointing out some of the more prominent places in the news on a map.
Regards,
Rob