American Apparel Stocks WikiLeaks' Gift Shop: T-Shirts for the Assassination Target
WikiLeaks has opened a gift shop, proving that even if you're an international man of mystery who believes he will be assassinated for leaking government secrets you still need branded merchandise. Not surprisingly, American Apparel (APP) is supplying some of the products (click images to enlarge).
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange doesn't personally need the cash. He has already signed a $1.3 million deal with Random House to publish his memoirs. But WikiLeaks the organization has struggled. Assange has lost some of the staff closest to him, and credit card companies briefly refused to take donations to his web site. Assange's beef with the credit industry appears to be over, as the WikiLeaks store takes Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Releasing thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables was a step too far, but releasing a T-shirt celebrating that fact is just good business, apparently.
The store mostly consists of T-shirts and hoodies, although there are laptop cases, "not so leaky" umbrellas and tote bags, too. It's designed to appeal to WikiLeaks' core audience, but even they may balk at the ego-trip Assange appears to be on: five of the shirt designs feature Assange's face. One of them depicts him as Che Guevara; another shows him gagged with a U.S. flag and the words, "Truth is not treason."
It'll be interesting to see how many women buy the "Truth Will Out!" hoodie, given that the slogan now carries two meanings in light of charges by Swedish authorities that Assange sexually assaulted two women. (He denies the charges.)
American Apparel has supplied a blue jersey scarf with the "leaking globe" logo, and some of the 
T-shirts. (Interestingly, AA is supplying female slim-fit Ts but not the plus-size Ts -- the company doesn't let politics get in the way of its interest in hot babes.)