I have been avoiding, and will probably continue to avoid, addressing specific documents in the Wikileaks document-dump. For one thing, I prefer to read and post Secretary Clinton’s own words in context rather than some news org’s interpretation of them. For another, Mme. Secretary is doing a fine job, diplomat that she is, of addressing the situation on her own, and I have posted her remarks at Still4Hill.
This aspect of the story, however, does deserve attention from the Department of Homegirl Security. If you go back in the archives here to June, 2009, you will see a post where yours truly mentions a number of Tweeters expressing undying love for Hillary Clinton based on her extension of benefits to domestic partners of State Department employees. In that post, and in the ensuing comments, Homegirls and Homeboys discussed the obvious: The true champion of the LGBT community in the Obama administration is clearly Hillary Clinton.
If you do a search on this blog for LGBT, you will find posts citing Secretary Clinton’s outreaches and inclusions of this community both within her department and globally. That it was a member of this community, disgruntled perhaps for having been passed over, who targeted our Homegirl, a vocal supporter of LGBT rights and repeal of DADT is the unkindest irony of this situation. He wanted to give her a heart attack. Really? Sad. Very sad.
Man behind the bombshell: A disgruntled US soldier
WASHINGTON: ” Hillary Clinton and several thousand diplomats around the world are going to have a heart attack when they wake up one morning and find an entire repository of classified foreign policy is available, in searchable format, to the public,”Bradley Manning is said to have boasted once. “Everywhere there’s a US post, there’s a diplomatic scandal that will be revealed.”
SNIP
What caused a young man from Oklahoma to undertake a feat of betrayal or whistleblowing that has convulsed the world? One report attributed it to a troubled youth and army service where he was shunned for being gay although he was politically aware and smart. When his career was going nowhere he is said to have become radicalized and anti-government .
Read more: Man behind the bombshell: A disgruntled US soldier – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Man-behind-the-bombshell-A-disgruntled-US-soldier/articleshow/7013059.cms#ixzz16jX6wBpI
I heard that quote today and thought “Still4Hill will have something to say about this.” I know you’re quite protective.
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And, truly, I have been keeping very “still” about this topic. Yes, protective. This confounds me as much as Melissa Etheridge’s attack on her did. I don’t get it.
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I figured you’d be particularly sensitive about the comment given the Husband of State’s medical history.
Melissa Ethridge has a problem with Hillary? Why? I mean, she seems to be pretty up on LGTB issues from what I’ve seen.
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It was on some kind of TV interview during the campaign. I saw the video. Etheridge lit into her, and I was shocked. I mean, Hillary IS the ONE who marched in the parades. I didn;t understand that.
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I remember that about Melissa, being a former fan of hers now! That always bothered me about how she sat with Warren and Obama in another interview.. She sat with them and was sickeningly nice to them, who don’t support gay rights, but attacked Hillary, who fought for gay rights. But you know, I think she could identify with them, because her words have proved to have no true meanings.
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Now that I didn’t see! Confounds me!
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In other news, the appropriately named Dick Morris likened Hillary compared Hillary to a communist.
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“…appropriately named….” 🙂
Hmmmmm … guess Dick is living under a rock. This is so tired. That’s all he could come up with?
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Considering all the work he did with them, wouldn’t he be a sort of communist sympathizer by whatever Pinko Detection Squad the wingnuts on the right dream about?
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But a recovering one. They are ALWAYS the most fanatic.
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He has a weird thing about Hillary. He hates both Clintons, but his distain for her is more mean than it is for Bill.
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Yes, well, there are stories…. as in “How could any real woman EVER turn me down?”
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I don’t like the sound of that. Morris wanted Hillary?! Nasty!
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There have been stories…. I cannot confirm.
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I think it is being ovr reported and reported as much worse that it really is – most of it was on Condi’s watch and none of it is all that “NEW” …
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Actually, aside from the hey-everybody-go-spy-on-Ban-Ki-Moon thing and a few unflattering personal assessments, we don’t really look too bad. This is only the tip of the iceberg – they could be holding onto the really juicy stuff until an more damaging time like when Obama announces he he’s running for re-election – but so far it’snothing devastating.
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All it proves is that Hillary isn’t naive when dealing with other countries because she’s watching for us! Hannity and co. only satanize Hillary, and what about Condi Rice who was also in the WL? They’re on their perpetual campaing against Hillary!Fox news will suffer the same fate of MSNBC, they’re so radical on their views that eventually people will leave them as well! We need a real independent media, not all this crap! Hillary would rise from this mess victorious because she’s working her heart out for this country despite a lot of her detractors! HILLARY FOR EVER!
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She’s the cream of the crop. Cream always rises.
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I have a question: Have other Cabinet Secretaries done the same thing Hillary did when she took office, and extend benefits to same-sex couples? I know a big deal was made when she did it, but how many of her colleagues followed suit?
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None that I know of. Neither have any instituted a quadrennial review. DOD does it and she got the idea from when she was on Armed Services. The WH extended a few bennies a year after Hillary did.
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So once again Hillary leads the way.
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Always. Here’s another thing she did – Town Halls at DOS and USAID. The bikers asked her to intall showers, and she did. Uuummm … have there been any Town Halls with White House staff? I’m sure there are kids there who bike to work. (They’re probably trying to transfer to DOS.)
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I’ve been considering working at the DOS. Unfortunately the process is a bit too long for me, especially considering I’ll have student loans to start paying off.
However, I could work for the CIA and then get transferred to DOS…although, the way people are talking, you could hardly tell the difference! *rolleyes*
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You should BOTH be working at DOS!
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I’m still definitely considering it, but the process is anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. 😦
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Thanks for the vote of confidence.
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You are both exactly what they need!
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I’d also love to work at the DOS, but that won’t ever happen. I think one scandal is more than enough.
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lol.
The motto of both this site, and of Hillary Clinton, should be Faye Dunaway’s quote from the movie “Mommie Dearest”:
“Don’t f**k with me, fellas! This ain’t my first time at the rodeo.”
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LOLOLOL!!!!!! No wire hangers IN…. THIS….HOUSE!!!!!!!!
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Assange: No man threatens a messenger!
Hillary: You insult my office, you threaten my people with slavery and death…
Assange: This is madness!
Hillary: Madness? THIS. IS. STATE DEPARTMENT!
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We need to make it an animation, hack WL site, and put this up.
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Love that comment! Great to see you Sean.
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Maybe we could ask that Lamo guy who turned Manning in…
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LOL!
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You know, I was looking back at the story and about this Manning guy being angry about being mistreated because he was gay, and I’m not sure I really buy it. This is the first I’ve heard this report. Another report, when he was first arrested, said he was convinced that the information showed the First World was mistreating and using the Third World to perpetuate neo-imperialism.
I think that what it comes down to is that Manning, and Assange, are fame-and-glory seeking assholes who like to cause chaos and who don’t really care or even think about the consequences of their actions. And why should they?
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A lot of the information I heard about him came from people who knew hhim all the way back to Jr. High. They said he was bullied and his dad did not show sympathy … that he joined the Army to please his dad. If all that is true, it could well be that he was simply disgruntled. After all, he is a PFC. I am sure he thought he should have been promoted and was passed over. Sociopaths usually think that way.
Assange is another one. They both probably do have delusions of controlling the world.
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I hope they both are put away for a long while, both for what they have done and for sending a clear message to the world to anyone with such weird ideas. I hope Interpol gets a hold of Assange and double on existing charges with some new ones related to this “leak” which is a huge act of terrorism, frankly.
Hey, Sean, great to see you! Long time! S.
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I was watching The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, and he had David Corn on.
They were saying that the diplomatic spying or the cables from Afghanistan would have been front page news for days…if that was all that was being discussed.
So, it’s almost interesting to think that WikiLeaks may be neutering itself *and* the effects of releasing the cables because there are so many that any “juicy” or serious bits sort of get lost in all the noise.
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I was watching that too. TMI!
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Who would have thought that TMI would be a good thing? 😀
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😀
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I keep rewatching the “THIS IS SPARTA!” scene from 300, and more and more I can’t help but replace Assange and Manning with the Persian diplomats and Hillary with Leonidas.
“Choose your next words carefully, Madame Secretary. They may be your last as SoS.”
*Hillary pulls out sword*
“No man threatens a messenger!”
“You bring the cables and messages of foreign ministries to my department’s steps, insult my office, you threaten my people with slavery and death…Oh, I’ve chosen my words carefully, asshole. Perhaps you should have done the same.”
“This is blasphemy! This is madness! I’m doing awesome!”
“Madness? THIS. IS. STATE DEPARTMENT!”
😀
I have an over-active imagination about things like this.
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This rivals the Hillary article where she beheads the Al Qaeda guy and rides bareback shouting war whoops. In the end she throws the head on the Resolute desk in front of Obama.
We all wanted a painting of that. We thought she should be STANDING barefoot on the horse in her green caftan (which, in the story, is covered in blood), holding her sword over her head. The image is especially fetching with he hair flowing behind her.
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“Oh, and by the way, Assange, *I’m. Not. A. Man.*”
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What? =0 What on earth! He is an ALIEN!
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It’s not Spartan or Amazonian, but heres an image for you.
Chalk it up to the Vivaldi I’m enjoying at the moment.
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That’s cute. I like it.
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The Telegraph newspaper has a typical headline:
“Hillary Clinton to face slighted world leaders”
Further:
“Hillary Clinton will on Wednesday face her peers for the first time since Wikileaks’ release of more than 270 classified US diplomatic cables revealed US diplomats’ often disdainful views on many world leaders.”
I guess the past couple of days on the phone and video teleconferencing don’t count.
However, the head of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE, said the following:
“When you become a head of state, you have had to go through a very long process which makes your skin pretty thick. We all know what is in diplomatic cables.”
Jeez. It’s like Hillary said all these things personally about these world leaders.
This is asking for an “Oh, really?” Hillary image
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12/1/10 and 12/2/10
Please go to Lou Dobbs site and vote NO. Let’s stand up for our girl!
http://www.loudobbs.com/
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Thanks for sharing that!
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Just to reinforce how awesome Hillary is in regards to LGBT issues:
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Thank you! I forgot to include that. Once again she preempted Obama by several days and her tone and approach were so respectful and loving – very Mom-like, and also professional. Obama said he didn’t know what it was like to be picked on for being gay. Wow! There’s a supportive statement!
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I think the best parts were how Hillary stressed:
A) That their lives *are* worth staying around for, and that they do have meaning and promise.
B) The awesome work that LGBT personnel do at the State Department, meaning that there’s a place for everyone in the world…almost literally.
C) Even if a person isn’t gay, they still support and care, and, most importantly, it means that LGBT people, especially youth, *are not alone in the world, and not alone in the fight and struggle for acceptance and equality*.
Those three things are also the most important aspects of the message.
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Excellent points. I also liked that she said, “We need you.” She appealed to their sense of patriotism. That is so well-aligned with her opposition to DADT. Everyone who wants to serve should be aloowed to – that’s a powerful message.
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So far Hillary, Gates, and Mullen (as well as several other military and civilian leaders) have called for DADT to be repealed…yet Obama isn’t exactly out there helping them push for it to be removed.
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He’s not pushing for anything – not START, either, or te DREAM act. He hasn’t said whether he’s for the Heat or the Cavaliers – as far as I know.
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Maybe START and DREAM need to have basketballs attached to them. He seems to follow that sport pretty closely.
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Now that you mention it, you would THINK that this would be his big chance to engage Kim Jong-“Dubya” (the son) who is supposed to be a big basketball fan. Another *FAIL*
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I would also think that the Democrats in Congress would have more of a spine. *sigh*
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That might be coming….
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He and Lebron James could open North Korea like Nixon did with China?
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And then they could dribble their way into Iran!
It’s foolproof!
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And slam dunk Ahmadinejad!
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The 5’4″ wonder who runs berween the feet of the opposition!!!!!
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See what I mean? You guys are dynamite! (Or something explosive)
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Only if he had you and Sean as advisers. His own suffer from an stunning lack of imagination.
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Either that, or the more impressive/creative ones are being drowned out by the mediocrity.
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Life would certainly be more interesting.
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http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/04/wikileaks.clinton/
“Clinton: WikiLeaks cables show diplomacy at work”
“But I haven’t seen everybody in the world, and apparently there’s 252,000 of these things out there in cyberspace somewhere,” she said of the documents, “so I think I’ll have some outreach to continue doing over the next weeks just to make sure as things become public, if they raise concerns, I will be prepared to reach out and talk to my counterparts or heads of state of government.”
Asked whether President Obama has had to call any heads of state, Clinton said she wasn’t sure, though he had made recommendations for calls and would raise the issue as he speaks to counterparts on other matters.
“In a way, it should be reassuring, despite the occasional tidbit that is pulled out and unfortunately blown up,” Clinton said. “The work of diplomacy is on display, and you know, it was not our intention for it to be released this way — usually it takes years before such matters are. But I think there’s a lot to be said about what it shows about the foreign policy of the United States.”
Good for you, Hillary!
“Don’t think you’ll get away, I will prove you wrong…”
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Evidently on Sunday, Fareed Zakaria will be taking exactly this stance on these leaks – that they show how well the State Dept. does its job.
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And it does do an excellent job, which is why it consistently is ranked one of the best federal departments/agencies to work for.
That’s in no small thanks to Madame Secretary, of course.
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Particularly now that her QDDR is streamlining the internal machinations. She has brought DOS into the 21st century. No small achievement!
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Yeah. Remember her quest from internet access she mentioned at an event at a ribbon cutting this summer.
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Right! Seems the wireless does not work throughout the State Department headquarters. That is a shame. It is not that big a deal to set that up.
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