Richard Moore's Straight Talk Columns

Leaks show two faces of leading politicians

30/11/2010

WIKIlEAKS chief Julian Assange is a marked man.

In fact, he's probably a dead man walking.

He knows it and the security services of at least 20 nations - including leading Western democracies - know that too. T

heir governments have had their diplomatic noses rubbed in it by the WikiLeaks website, which has released millions of secret documents on to the internet, and they want it to stop.

Quickly.

There were plenty of embarrassing messages, some interesting ones, masses of boring who-cares and quite a number of comments that would have politicians and diplomats turning grey-faced at their publication.

The Saudis cop a bit of flak from the United States over funding of terrorist groups, they in turn have biffed muck at Iran as being the head of the terror snake and have been prodding America to knock out Tehran's nuclear programme as soon as possible.

The US' worry at the spectacular rise of China has now been made public and it shows Washington is hamstrung to oppose Beijing's expansion because it owes Chinese bankers so much dosh.

Russia is touted as a mafia state, Mexico is not fighting the drugs war hard enough, Pakistan is a basket case too focused on India instead of its biggest threat - Islamic terrorists - and Britain was happy to break international law by stockpiling America's cluster bombs.

And Australia's ex-PM Kevin Rudd has shown he was a very clever guy by saying while China should become part of the world community, the West need to ``prepare to deploy force if everything goes wrong''.

Rudd described Chinese leaders as ``sub-rational and deeply emotional'' in their reactions to Taiwan, which they still claim despite it being a sovereign country, and pushed the building up of Australia's Navy _ including a dozen attack submarines - as ``a response to China's growing ability to project force''.

And while we all know that the United Nations is a pack of leftie ratbags, that won't stop the US' secret order to spy on UN officials making a few faces in Washington blush.

Already WikiLeaks has been closed down courtesy of hack attacks, no doubt officially authorised ones, and Assange has been nobbled in Sweden on sex assault charges - that just so happened to come up after the latest release of documents.

If he gets off those charges my bet is that he will meet his untimely end in a road accident or possibly at the end of a poisoned umbrella tip.

Then again, the spies may want to kill him in an obvious manner to warn others about messing around in secret business.

If Assange does go then you can guarantee some really juicy releases will come out - because he is sure to have some super dirt with which to try to protect himself.

********

I'VE just worked out Ricky Ponting's brilliant strategy to grab the glorious Ashes off the England test team.

While it looks like his opponents are batting themselves to a million-run win in the second test, they are in fact falling into his trap.

Ponting is obviously out to exhaust them by letting them run between the stumps so often.

********

MY, my my there are some wonderful parents in south Auckland.

This week had a report that teens in that societal armpit are being forced into prostitution by their parents.

The idea is horrendous to most, but when you find out that they are selling their bodies to pay for mum and dad's drugs that takes it to a whole new level.

The girls - and boys - were as young as 13.

Former Manukau City councillor Colleen Brown, told of an incident where she received a phone call from a ``very distressed'' gentleman who had come out of his RSA only to be propositioned by a young girl in nothing more than a coat.

``He said to her, `Young woman, you should be ashamed of yourself. What would your mother think?'

``She replied, `My mother's on the other side of the street'.''

richard@richardmoore.com..