Wiki+Leaks

**Overview:**

WikiLeaks is a website providing important information to the public through the use of anonymous sources leaking information. Though they published their first document in late 2006, WikiLeaks blossomed the following year. Upon its creation, WikiLeaks was to be a user edited website, much like its namesake, Wikipedia. Slowly, one that is more traditional, not allowing user editing or comments, replaced this original format. Working in no official headquarters, there were only five full time employees in 2010. Over 800 occasional workers volunteer their time to provide the world with what they believe to be pressing information. The volunteer workers assess tips sent in anonymously, research their legitimacy and write articles to publish on the website. The founder, financer, coder, organizer, spokesperson for and editor in chief of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, believes in a “transparent and scientific approach to journalism” (Wikipedia).


 * Julian Assange:**[[image:http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01688/assange2_1688693c.jpg width="184" height="114" align="right" caption="Assange Leaving Australian Courthouse in 1995 After Being Convicted of Hacking"]]

Born in Queensland, Australia in 1971, Julian spent his early life living on an abandoned pineapple farm with his single mother, Christine. By his fourteenth birthday, Julian had moved over thirty times and by the time of his high school graduation, he had attended thirty-seven schools. At sixteen, he began to hack. He joined online hacking communities, trying to use his talents ethically. At the tender age of twenty, Julian was caught while in the system of a Canadian communications company. After a three-year wait for the case to be introduced into court, Julian was charged with thirty-one counts of hacking. He pleaded guilty to twenty-five. Though his crimes were victimless, the judge was prepared to sentence him to ten years in prison. This penalty was not given as his difficult childhood was put into consideration. Julian took a job after being released on a relatively reasonable bond of $2,100 for good conduct while in holding. Julian dropped out of university in 2005 to create WikiLeaks.


 * Scandals Leaked:**

In July of 2010, WikiLeaks released 91,731 documents in what they would later refer to as the Afghan War Dairy. Most documents were rated the second highest classification, meaning that if they were released to the public, they would cause serious damage to national security. One of the largest leaks in the military history, the American public was finally given the whole truth, not only what their government wanted them to hear. The US Department of Defense had hired male child prostitutes for soldiers, a significant number of friendly fire deaths had gone unreported (or reported as deaths at the hands of “the enemy”) and prisoners were tortured, maimed and treated as animals. These were just a few of the horrific facts, which were exposed.

Four months after the Afghan War Diary was leaked, the largest unapproved military leak in US history was unveiled to the world. The Iraq War Logs consisted of 391,832 documents. These documents ranged in age from 2004 to 2009. Again, citizens were able to have an unedited glimpse at the war. Hundreds of allegations of abuse, rape and murder had gone ignored and uninvestigated by US officials. Over 15,000 civilian deaths had not been admitted, making 80% of the lives lost in the Iraq War to be those of civilians. Cruel tactics used by the US officials include the murder of seven hundred civilians for nearing the guarded checkpoints, including dozens of pregnant women killed while seeking medical aid during the birth of their child. With many fewer lives lost than in previous wars and our uninterrupted life, it is easy to pretend there is no war happening. These chilling facts interrupt our state of ignorant bliss and remind us of the horrors of war.

On April 25th, 2011, WikiLeaks unleashed yet another series of documents: the US government’s recurring nightmare. The Guantanamo Files surrounded details of the prisoners and their treatment in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. The prison, in a small part of American rented Cuba, is known for its illegal treatment of prisoners, as it is far from the vigilant eye of American law. The documents leaked revealed that hundreds of the inmates were innocent civilians or, at least, not at all dangerous. Detainees include a 90-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy. What were euphemistically referred to as “enhanced interrogation techniques” proved to be extreme methods of torture, including hypothermia, water boarding, mutilation, inhumane conditions, brutal force feeding and humiliation.

The United States government has looked upon Assange and his associated website as an annoyance and a threat. Government officials are banned from viewing the site and it has been blocked on government internet portals. Many parts of the United States government, including the Army, FBI and Justice Department are seeking to prosecute Assange for encouraging "the theft of government property" (Wikipedia). Many claim documents leak are a direct threat to public safety, however the majority are only a threat to the ego of the United States.
 * Response:**[[image:http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2010/08/05/wiki103129415.jpg width="335" height="240" align="right" caption="Assange Proudly Displaying His Whistleblowing Journalism"]]

Most have praised the unforgiving website for their honesty, a rarity in our time of government controlled media sources. This praise has come from governments, the United Nations and veterans. The truth is only unwelcome to those who already know, and this rings true as the United States government is the largest opposition Assange faces.

Information Credits: [] [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks#Administration] [] []

Image Credits: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01688/assange2_1688693c.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Camp_x-ray_detainees.jpg/220px-Camp_x-ray_detainees.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IzFbAmrvVWU/TlVEGwsdUQI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/zH2QqJzI-3c/s1600/wikileaks-logo.jpg http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2010/08/05/wiki103129415.jpg