Julian Assange Does Not Matter

I remember the moment I first became aware of WikiLeaks.org. Admittedly, I was a bit behind the times and had heard nothing of the site or its bizarre founder, Julian Assange, until one unassuming night as I sat down to watch the Daily Show. Jon Stewart told me about the 250,000 new leaks and the potential ramifications, all the while playing it cool and keeping an air of sarcasm, but I did not find the issue at hand to be quite as common.

The power of the internet compelled me and I hopped online to find some shocking reports: Assange is a terrorist, a cyberpunk revolutionary, a dangerous and powerful hacker who was breaking the game of government by publishing classified documents. This was big. Bigger than big. My immediate reaction was one of nervous fear that America would be exposed for a lying, scheming, two-faced mafia, and the foundation of international diplomacy would crumble.

But then some time passed and the world kept turning and I got to thinking. I read up and poked around and let my thoughts settle, and eventually, I came to a very clear and definite conclusion: Julian Assange is not as important as the media says he is.

There is a tug-o-war out for Assange's soul at the moment, half the journalistic world claiming him to be the glorious bringer of transparency and clarity to the masses, and the other half condemning him as an evil and twisted man who should be arrested on numerous accounts.

Where he has made a contribution to the digital world by establishing such a controversial website, and that is not to be overlooked, Assange is little more than the Post Secret of international government whistle blowers, trafficking the information of others for the public's amusement with no actual contributed content of his own.

That sounds bitter, but it shouldn't. I have nothing against Assange, in fact, with a little perspective, I now think what he's done with WikiLeaks is good, but that hardly makes him a villain or a revolutionary. Assange and WikiLeaks are just another media button that will soon be reduced to yesterday's news, a faint “remember when” on minds of just a few of the more informed, the Sega DreamCast of the information age.

Let's be clear, the internet has been around for a while, but it hasn't quite yet figured itself out. It has always been about information, but how that information is posted, how it is ingested, and what it has been about has continued to evolve over time. The transformation from file share to email to web browsing to Google has trended users in the same constant direction, but it was the advent of sites such as Facebook and celebrity blogs and Wikipedia (along with it's millions of micro spawn wikis, including everything from video games to beer to Fur) that the seeds of WikiLeaks were planted; a one stop shop for government secrets.

An organization like WikiLeaks was an inevitability, and though it was Assange who made the first move, it will certainly not be the last. Already, there are dozens of followers, becoming ever more specific. Projects like the OSA Parallel Archive system allows users to volunteer in sorting and posting recently declassified documents for public viewing. Leak sites are becoming more specific, such as Brussels Leaks, specifically targeting the European Union, or the ever growing TradeLeaks, applying the same model to the commerce world. Daniel Domscheit-Berg, one of Assange's former deputies, has even branched off to start his own site, Open Leaks, which aims to refocus the idea behind WikiLeaks into a safer, more open source community. WikiLeaks is already becoming obsolete at the speed of broadband. Edwin Birdsong was relevant for a while too, but in the long run, he only matters in relation to Daft Punk.

But let's set that all aside. Let's imagine for a moment that there will never be another website like WikiLeaks from now until eternity, and that it was a holistically original idea to begin with. Surely, now Assange is the supremely relevant, nay, undeniably important, right? Conditionally, the best I can do is a solid “sort of”.

The truth is Julian Assange and WikiLeaks would be worthy of opinion would it be that anyone took the time to actually read through the documents that are being posted. The term “WikiLeaks” is a hot-word that is pretty well recognized these days, but to many millions of Americans, the name Julian Assange still means nothing. Furthermore, of the people who actually do know of Assange, fewer still have actually read a single post off of the WikiLeaks site.

As intriguing as the information may be, the general populous is, quite frankly, disinterested in sifting through thousands of text wires and it always will be. In the modern click happy, link euphoric age, instant gratification reigns supreme. I would imagine the percentage of people who are now more informed thanks to WikiLeaks to be quite low.

The page rank for WikiLeaks is a meager digit, plopping in just barely under 19,000 with a United States traffic ranking of just under 300,000. The Onion is just over 700. In fact, legitimate news sites such as CNN and BBC trumped it across the board by extreme margins. It wasn't until reducing the search to C-SPAN that the numbers from the WikiLeaks traffic even made it on the same chart. People are way too interested in Warcraft and baseball to even care about some little old war crimes, and when they do actually take a time out and focus on some scandal, Alexa calculates their average time spent at WikiLeaks to be a stingy 42 seconds. That's not even enough time to take a leak, much less read one online.

The infamous video of reporters being gunned down by an Apache helicopter has 11 million views on youtube (let's be generous and give it 12 with all of the re-posts). The Auto Tune the News videos have a collective 255 million. Lady Gaga has 8 music videos that each have more hits than the helicopter footage (the Bad Romance video alone has over 354 million hits). Even a fan video about how to look like Gaga in the Bad Romance video pulled in over 18 million hits. Where it's tough beat a pop star, it says a lot that the general web goer is over 20 times more inclined to watch politicians sound like T-Pain than be exposed to content of relevance from WikiLeaks.

So if internet surfers aren't flocking to WikiLeaks en mass, why all the rigamarole? It is fair to say that real global events have occurred and many of the higher-ups have found themselves in hot water because of some of the documents posted on WikiLeaks, but isn't it the fault of government that there were even skeletons in the closet to begin with? Political secrecy and its evolution is a much greater problem, and really the much more relevant one, yet Assange has been made to be an empowered scape goat to distract from the real issue; that most of the behavior on the part of the United States that is currently being exposed by WikiLeaks, as well as the behavior of other governments around the world, is plainly unacceptable. At the end of the day, everyone wants someone to blame for their problems, self inflicted or otherwise.

Assange isn't even a journalist. He didn't go report on government corruption, he didn't write a story, and based on the reactions of those in office, he certainly hasn't fabricated any leaks. All Assange has done is served as a webmaster and publisher, only using his discretion on what to post and what to throw out.

The United States government blaming Assange for the spot they're in because of the information posted on WikiLeaks is like LeBron blaming a referee for calling a travel after having taken 5 steps. The ref doesn't matter, and maybe his name gets in the paper the next day, but 10 years down the line, nobody will remember him, even as LeBron's legacy lives on. The moral in the WikiLeaks saga is simple: play by the rules and there's nothing to hide.

Assange: The Patriot?

Assange: The Patriot?

Julian Assange is no terrorist or threat to America but rather he fulfills the American idealism. America was built on freedom of press and speech, and Assange is merely giving the American people and people of other countries the truth.

Assange has been called everything from “hi-tech terrorist” to “global threat” but why is it that no one seems to be calling him patriotic, at least under the American idealism? –Alright I agree, maybe patriotic is a bit much but are his actions not what our country was founded on and what people come to America in hope of?--> freedom. Just recently the Supreme Court passed a ruling 8 to 1 in favor of anti-gay activist, allowing them to hold public rallies against gay soldiers. This radical group has gone to multiple military funeral services to praise the death of recently deceased gay soldiers. The supreme court did not pass this movement because the radical groups actions are right, but rather because freedom of speech is one of the foundational pillars of America. The same goes for Assange, in the aspect that what he is doing and has done is an American right.

This freedom America was built on has been stripped away from much of modern day America, with the government withholding information from its inhabitants. This information being withheld leads to actions Assange has taken, to make those who are entitled to know what is happening in and with ones country available. In so many words Assange is a vigilante, one who did so by giving what most of the American public wants, information and incite. Assange challenged a broken system, a corrupt one that needs to be held accountable and in check.

Are there other ways this check could be executed?...Yes. However Assange has made such waves within the media and our government that he has absolutely achieved what was set out, to make people aware. Bringing these topics into the public and creating knowledge in order to hopefully repair the corrupt system. When reading about Assange and seeing what he has done I can't help but compare him to a pop culture icon, Batman.

Assange is "The Dark Knight" He creates this sense of commotion, he gives the people what they want but not in a manner in which is often appropriate. Assamges ‘mask’ is Wiki leaks, however in recent times he has been identified a prosecuted, but for what? For turning things upside down and empowering people with knowledge and truth, even if that truth isn't a positive. These defaults and holes in the American government cannot be filled by prosecuting Assange, although those running our country seem to think so. Attacking and prosecuting Assange personally due to actions not regarding the Wiki leaks uproar shows the fear he has instilled in those who know the truth, those who run our country.

Aside from altering what people know about our government and its secret actions, Assange has forever altered the future. His actions served as a stepping stone in the leaking of information on the world wide accessible web. He has opened the flood gates of information that is rightfully the peoples, creating a sense of fear of the unknown that the government is keeping from its citizens. Assange is guilty of providing confidential information to people, but he is not responsible for the actions within that information, and the consequence should not be shed onto him.

The consequences should be shed onto those who have made these poor decisions and decided to keep them withheld from the public, and as Assange explains in a video explanation on the leak of the Afghanistan war logs that these leaks merely ‘show the true nature of the war’. His decision to publish the information he did on wiki leaks is deeply rooted in good journalism as he says in the video:

“If journalism is good, it is controversial by is nature. It is the role of good journalism to take on powerful abusers, and when powerful abusers are taken on there is always a back reaction. So we see that controversy and believe there is a good thing to engage in. In this case it will show the true nature of this war and then the public from Afghanistan and other nations can see what’s really going on and take steps to address the problems.”

So what is to happen now?

If this country hopes to keep believers in the American idealism then the media and the governing body in place needs to recognize that this is the American right to incite. we deserve to know what is happening and the only true people responsible for this controversy are those in power, our own ruling powers.

Assange: Changing Governments Around the World

Many governments are built upon undisclosed facts not meant for the people to see. Julian Assange has changed that in just a few years. Julian Assange is an Australian publicist, journalist, and computer hacker. He is the man behind WikiLeaks, a website publicizing worldwide news leaks. WikiLeaks was founded in 2006 with the purpose to create more open governments. Assange stated "the more secretive or unjust an organization is, the more leaks induce fear and paranoia in its leadership and planning coterie.... Since unjust systems, by their nature induce opponents, and in many places barely have the upper hand, mass leaking leaves them exquisitely vulnerable to those who seek to replace them with more open forms of governance." He has caused a whirlwind of criticism, from good to bad to ugly. Although Julian Assange may have hurt covert sources personally, on a larger scale he has greatly helped stop fraud and deception in government.

Julian Assange is exemplary for going against governments and exposing the truth that George W. Bush blurred. Not any person would stand up and go against the government to spread the truth. George Bush’s book “Decision Points”, highlights many facets of the war in Iraq while omitting information such as the Arab world despising Iran and the staggering death tolls. Bush justifies the war in Iraq by saying the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein. Saudi King Abdullah expressed that the war had given Iraq to Iran as a “gift on a golden platter”. Without Julian Assange we would not have the same insight into the truths of the war and what exactly goes on between other countries.

The current revolution in Tunisia shows what can happen to a government that is corrupt. Some reasons for the revolt are corruption, a lack of freedom of speech, and other political freedom. There have been 223 plus deaths and at least 94 injured in the Tunisian revolution. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia and officially resigned after 23 years in power. This revolt has sparked revolts in other countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Yemen, Libya and many more.

America is currently not in a revolution and it should be kept that way. If America becomes more corrupt and continues to conceal information, things could get ugly and we could soon too be in a revolution.

The American people deserve to know the reality of what is going on in the world right now and Assange has made that possible. Governments hide their flaws or mistakes which is understandable, however in some instances the people should know when corrupt events are occurring. People do not need to know every little detail but they should know about things such as American soldiers killing innocent civilians and reporters in Iraq.

Named Project B, Julian Assange publicized a 38 minute video taken from the cockpit of an Apache military helicopter in Iraq in 2007. This video contained footage of American Soldiers killing innocent people and laughing about it.

This was a closely guarded military secret, so obviously the government would not come out and tell the people but it is better that we know the truth. America presents itself as such a noble and caring, free country, yet our soldiers are making a joke of firing down innocent Iraqi’s. Assange has allowed us to understand the facts not what is conveyed to us.

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts." -Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was a revolutionary in the development of justice in America. Julian Assange is providing the truth to the people. Without the truth, the problems cannot be fixed. The current issues will just be swept under the rug, and that is what is happening right now. Everybody is so worried about stopping and prosecuting Assange when in reality he is helping. He cannot be stopped and should not be stopped.

It is regrettable that Assange has failed to redact the names of sources. A prime example of this is Rudolf Elmer. Elmer, a previous employee of Julius Baer Group Ltd., gave two compact discs to Assange and previously offered files to WikiLeaks on financial activities in the Cayman Islands. "I do think as a banker I have the right to stand up if something is wrong," said Elmer, who addressed reporters alongside Assange.

Just yesterday, USA Today reported that Bradley Manning is being charged with 22 additional counts for allegedly leaking documents and video published by WikiLeaks. Some of the material released by WikiLeaks contained the names of informants and others who had aided U.S. military forces in Afghanistan.

Some have suffered for leaking information to WikiLeaks but that is what they get for doing so. It is a risk that is taken when exposing governments and the truth. Assange did not force anybody to leak information, he only published it and made it public. What Assange is doing is for the greater good of the public.

Assange’s focus has always been international, rather than targeting a particular country. Some view him as an enemy of America, however that is definitely not true. Assange has exposed information about leaders in foreign countries as well as in America. The Libyan Leader Moammar Gaddafi is psychologically impaired with neurotic tics and cannot travel without his Ukrainian nurse. Also, Afghanistan’s vice president took 52 million dollars in cash out of the country and got it through customs in the United Arab Emirates.

If Assange was solely conspiring against America he would not uncover secrets of other countries. In fact, knowing these secrets could potentially assist America against those countries at war if need be.

It is seen that Julian Assange is surpassing the rights that go along with the First Amendment, which is false. He states, "We in the West have deluded ourselves into believing that we actually have a truly free press. We don't. And we can see that in the difference between what Wikileaks does and what the rest of the press does.” Assange is exemplifying true freedom of press and half the world wants to arrest him for that.

Assange also commented, “What does censorship reveal? It reveals fear.” America and countries around the world fear the power Assange has gained in exploiting confidential material, when in reality he is fighting censorship.

Ultimately, Julian Assange has been correct in publicizing government secrets. From Bush pretending there is actually pure reasoning behind the war to the military shooting video to facts about foreign leaders, Assange has exposed it all. He is a bold, wise man who has changed society. Technology is advancing and Julian Assange has taken advantage of that to change the political world. He is not perfect in the sense of whistleblowers getting jailed, but more importantly, he has increased transparency in government systems.

Old Habits Die Hard (and So Do Innocent People)

As Phoebe states, everything Julian Assange has
posted is brand new information that just continues
to shock the world.

Everyone knows who the infamous Julian Assange is. Known mainly as the man behind Wikileaks, governments are eager to prosecute him in hopes of stopping Wikileaks before more information is posted on the internet. Julian Assange has exposed the human rights violations around the work and is making a point to hold governments accountable for their actions instead of covering it up.

In Kenya, corruption has filled been instilled in its police force causing people to just disappear without a trace. Families of the missing victims have come together with to form petitions with evidence leading the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) to see “patterns of conduct by the Kenya Police that may constitute crimes against humanity" as stated in the report, The Cry of Blood. People would go missing left and right after they were arrested by the police several days later. Oscar Kingara and John Oulu were two major contributors to the KNCHR report died several months after the report was distributed online through Wikileaks. The release of this report has brought the world’s attention in terms of how corrupt the Kenyan police force was during the time of the heightened Mungiki gangs crackdown. If this report was not made public, the world would have not known how deep the corruption was within the police force and how many innocent lives have been killed for no apparent reason.

In the photos above are what the Kenya National Commission
on Human Rights find as the traces left of the missing people.

Geoffrey Kung’u had been accused of being associated with the Mungiki gang and arrested twice as a result. His wife, had paid ransom twice to the Kwekwe police in exchange for her husband’s life, 2,000 Kshs the first time and 10,000 the second time. The pathologist that examined Kung’u’s body concluded that the cause of dead was “severe head injury due to double gunshots to the head. These gunshots were fired at a very close range suggesting execution” as stated in The Cry of Blood. Without this Julian Assange’s help in publishing this report to inform the world, the corruption within the Kenyan police may still be extremely prominent. The extrajudicial killings itself is a violation of human rights, death without a justification as to why it had to be done or even due process for the victims. The moment this had been brought up to the UN, investigations were formally conducted in order to stop the extrajudicial killings by the Kenyan police force.

Above are two pathologist reports on the dead bodies that are found by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, with one on Geoffrey Kung’u's body.

In America, the idea that every person’s life is important is prominent, yet in the Baghdad Airstrike Video that was posted online by Wikileaks clearly shows a violation of human rights. In the video the United States’ military failed to take proper steps in confirming the identity of their targets and if they were armed. Instead, the pilots saw what they identified as AK 47’s on the 2 Reuters news reporters who were just carrying equipment. The mistake of identifying the camera equipment as AK 47’s are understandable at first in a glance. Under such high circumstances the mentality the soldiers had is out of fear of terrorists coming together. However, the pilots had more than a minute with their equipment to make a better judgment if what the civilians were carrying were indeed weapons. From the video, the equipment bags look nothing similar to AK 47’s after staring at the equipment bag for a good 30 seconds. If anything, the pilots should have questioned their judgment, but instead they just continued with their error. You would think that after military experience, the pilots would start to question the calmness of the civilians. Psychologically, if the civilians were armed, they would act in a suspicious manner, but in the video, the civilians are completely unaware of the air crafts and acting in a calm demeanor.

In the youtube video above, a pilot made the comment of “fucking prick” at 3:31, clearly showing the prejudice the pilot had towards the civilians. It definitely showed how the prejudice clouded the pilot's judgment, unable to see the actual truth and seeing what he wanted to see, also known as the observer effect. He was just so sure that the people were terrorists that he actually believed that and killed innocent people.

Above is a map of Camp Delta, a camp from Guantanamo Bay.

Furthermore, the Guantanamo Bay manual that was leaked, provides more insight as to how the detention camp is ran. The manual describes the 4 levels of imprisonment with no access being the worst. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) would not be able to go and treat those prisoners whose security is at risk level 4. Inside the manual there is a guide on how to manipulate the new prisoners, exposing the hypocrisy of the United States government. Although the United States has told the world that the ICRC would have full access to treat the prisoners, some are actually not allowed to have any sort of medical treatment from the Red Cross. Not only that, but some prisoners would be rewarded with such items, while others were tortured for various things. Before the situation in Guantanamo Bay becomes something similar like the extrajudicial killings in Kenya, the detainees should be granted habeas corpus. Not all of the prisoners know why they are being detained and habeas corpus is their hope of being able to return back home.

Above is an image of the prisoners that are held at one of the Guantanamo Bay camps.

The torture that is done at Guantanamo Bay is nothing different from the extrajudicial killings that took place in Kenya. The torture that takes place inside the Guantanamo Bay camps violate human rights. Not only does the military mess with the detainees physically, they also manipulate with their minds. The prisoners that were badly abused by the military are hidden from the Red Cross, not letting anyone know what is actually going on behind the doors. The prisoners have no way of getting proper help with how they are treated by the military. The Red Cross is only able to see so much and what they see is not the worse. The International Center of the Red Cross’ goal is to make sure that the treatment of the prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay camps are treated within the reasonable parameters that have been set throughout the world. Julian Assange’s release of the manuals is trying to let the government know that they can’t always keep their unjust activities a secret. Evidence also states that Major General Geoffrey Miller introduced the idea of shackling the prisoners in stress positions to get information out of them. Clearly, the US military has not complied with the international standard of what is humane in interrogating a suspect.

Innocent citizens killed in order for the death count to go up and as a result, bring a Colombian party into power.

Colombia is politically unstable as of right now with two parties fighting in order to take control. Both parties pressure communities into choosing sides, giving the communities and its people a hard time. Human right activists have been working hard in Colombia in hopes that one day both parties can come to a settlement and its citizens would no longer have to live in fear. However with the recent leak known as the Cablegate, the leak of the US Embassy Cables, is an eye opener. The cable shows that the US has known about these extrajudicial killings and have just stood there. The amount of evidence in that one cable is enough to get those officials and people brought to trial and let the world know that there is progress with the human rights violations that are happening in Colombia. Instead, the US is there pretending to care about the international human rights laws that the world has agreed upon. The amount of knowledge that the US holds is enough to make a statement to the 2 parties in Colombia to stop, but instead the US is funding these extrajudicial killings. This connection has been brought up before, but the US has managed to dodge the accusation without much credible evidence. The leak of this cable alone provides a significant amount of evidence how the US decided to turn a blind eye to the human right violations in Colombia and also help but funding them too.

There are those who firmly believed that what Julian Assange did with the government documents created a great security risk for the countries involved. Secrets were known and enemies have an insight as to how things worked. I agree that the materials published may have been a great risk to security, but at the same time he exposed the wrong doings of governments and how human rights are being violated by those governments. It seems like Julian Assange is doing thing as a reminder for governments to remember what they stand for and that their actions are not completely secretive as initially thought. Julian Assange is just bringing to the world's attention as to how rights are being violated and where it is happening. The trade off for the world to continue to know where the violations of human rights are at is to expose the corruption in the country. In the end, the protection of human rights trumps government secrecy. If the governments had not abused human rights, then they would not need to worry about being exposed.

I feel that we are now at a time where we tend to believe most if not all of what we see on the news and from our politicians. There’s very little skepticism because the government’s role in our every day lives is greater than the founding fathers had intended. In a way it’s handicapped us from being able to think properly for ourselves and the world. We just expect help in everything without putting much effort. Julian Assange just challenged our trust in the government and brought to our attention how countries ignore what the world has deem as the standard of human rights. He has made us question as to how much should the government really keep secret and what they are doing behind the doors. In that aspect, Julian Assange is just trying to tell the governments that nothing is ever confidential and that if the governments cannot own up to their actions then they should be wary as to what information Wikileaks may have.

The Man with the Muck-Rake

“The man who never does anything else, who never thinks or speaks or writes save of his feats with the muck-rake, speedily becomes, not a help to society, not an incitement to good, but one of the most potent forces for evil. There are, in the body politic, economic, and social, many and grave evils, and there

is urgent necessity for the sternest war upon them. There should be relentless exposure of and attack upon every evil man, whether politician or business man, every evil practice, whether in politics, in business, or in social life.”

-Theodore Rosevelt

Julian Assange is man of the year (runner-up, close enough). He is a hero, he is a villain, and he is now front and center in the media spotlight. That is what every publicist dreams of. Assange is certainly worthy of a pat on the back.

However, his methods of inducing this fame are far from admirable. By ducking in and out of countries, running from the authority and exposing his so called “game changing” information and sources, Assange established himself as a publishing crusader. Many people see his methods as courageous and bold. In reality per contra, Julian Assange has endangered national and international security through his own selfish desire for publishing fame and immortality.

Granted, Assange has helped boost publishing prerogative by putting himself in immediate danger. The Wikileaks founder is constantly on the move. He has to cover up his tracks, living the life of a vigilante to avoid the suspicion and attention he has aroused from governments and corporations around the world. Several controversial Wikileaks postings on the extrajudicial killings in Kenya , the church of scientology, Guantanamo Bay procedures and the famous Bradley Manning helicopter clip (couldn't find a copy of the original video) have exposed valuable truths to the public eye. Assange has played a roll in deciding an election, starting a revolution, and exposing bank fraud. This I am all for. The line between informer and muck-raker began graying, however, when Assange decided to post classified U.S. cables for the public eye in attempt to “open the government”.

Several factors must be brought up when taking into account the legitimacy of Assange’s recent posts on the U.S. cables. Back in November of 2010, Assange began posting the cables. This radically changed my perspective on Assange and his motives. Assange is not merely interested in exposing said corruptions (that he obtained from whistleblowers with their own desires). Assange wants to change what he views as a corrupt institute. He is trying to publicize all information. He wants governments, specifically the U.S. government, to stop withholding information from the public. Now this all sounds fine and dandy. “Yeah, down with the government and their evil cheating ways! We want to know everything!” My friends, it is not that simple.

Why would a government cover its tracks? Could it be to hide a politician’s scamming or cheating ways? Possibly to cover up an illegal or seemingly scandalous deal between governments? Certainly both of these are true. Be that as it may, I believe there are also legitimate reasons as to why a government would keep its information classified. Let me paint the picture for you.

Suppose I knew what was hiding over in the pentagon right now. I am sure I would find more and more reasons to question our government. Maybe I would feel ashamed to be an American, outraged that I am being lied to, and eager to rise against power. It just so happens that everyone else now has access to this information. People are infuriated. Riots start to break out, chaos hits the streets, countries around the world watch as the most prominent and powerful country in existence crumbles internally. However bad this information is, I am sure it is worth keeping hidden for the sake of our society.

The United States Government does not have a perfect track record. Not by a long shot. Yet we are the most powerful, respected, and reputed government in the world. Our government does not exist to sneak and deal under the table. It exists to protect and serve its citizens, something that any proud American can agree on. How that happens is up to the employed members of that government. As long as my best interests are being met and the world is not dissolving into chaos, I am okay with allowing the people who run my country to do what they do best. Politicians may be sleazy, power hungry, slime balls but most know what it takes to run a country, and in our case a world. If all the classified information that the government posses were somehow flung into our grasp, the effect would be disastrous. It is not the duty of a vigilante reporter with a grudge to jeopardize U.S. security.

Despite the constant plea of “exposing the worlds truths”, Julian Assange and Wikileaks seem to have taken a particularly anti-American stance. But then again, who hasn’t? It is very hard not to make enemies while trying to make the world a better place. I feel that this is why so many whistleblowers come to Assange with classified U.S. government documents. We have many enemies, all of which will do anything they can do bring us down. But what happens when this becomes a reality?

Julian Assange is not a villian par say. Assange does not have a sinister motive to destroy all societies or take over the world. He is being admirable by withholding thousands of apparently “game-changing” cables from public eyes.

That being said, Julian Assange is a catalyst for worse things to come. Think, If Assange and his crew have so easily gained access to strictly classified information now, who knows what other, more evil, people are capable of. Say someone where to post what Assange has access to now without any discretion. The United States government could find itself in grave danger. Classified information is made classified for a reason. We have no way of knowing what types of documents are locked up in the pentagon as of now, but I am sure that is for the better.

By making a mockery of the United States technological security and its ability to control the information that is sent out into the public, Assange has demonstrated that we are not as powerful, or as safe, as we thought.

Assange also endangers his sources. For example, Bradley Manning is now being held in solitary confinement. Manning is currently threatened with the death penalty for “aiding the enemy” (video included). Other names have been posted in the Afghan war documents as well as the U.S. cables, despite Julian Assange claiming that no sources would be revealed. The United States justice department has been trying to charge Assange for endangering his sources, as well as espionage. View Assange’s response here

Some view Julian Assange as an anarchist. Others a revolutionary. Still more a muck-raker, hero, villain, vigilante, etc. Name calling aside, Julian Assange is making himself into a martyr through his civil disobedience. His eagerness to prove that freedom of the press and publishing is more important than international security directly endangers our nation as a whole. I agree with some of the message that he is trying to send. Corruption is not okay; necessary evils must be exposed. However when it comes at the cost of destroying a society based around freedom of thought and expression, there are invaluable lines that must not be crossed. Assange is trying (all too successfully) to prove that one man can stand up against the most powerful government in the world, that of the United States of America.

The popularity that the wikileaks controversy has received is scary. The world should hold its breath. There is a solid chance that a revolution is boiling in the muck-raker’s pot.

“To radically shift regime behavior we must think clearly and boldly for if we have learned anything, it is that regimes do not want to be changed. We must think beyond those who have gone before us, and discover technological changes that embolden us with ways to act in which our forebears could not. Firstly we must understand what aspect of government or neocorporatist behavior we wish to change or remove. Secondly we must develop a way of thinking about this behavior that is strong enough carry us through the mire of politically distorted language, and into a position of clarity. Finally must use these insights to inspire within us and others a course of ennobling, and effective action.”

–Julian Assange, State and Terrorist Conspiracies

Julian Assange: Terrorist? Spy? Try Pirate

by Nathan Ng

In the past few months Julian Assange has made headlines across the world as he revealed potentially damaging information about world governments and officials. Many label Assange as a Terrorist, spreading fear across the world, or a Spy, sneaking into top government databases, stealing confidential information and overthrowing governments. Indeed, recently Assange’s organization, Wikileaks, has leaked thousands of US documents as well as thousands of countries around the world, indirectly starting revolutions in the Middle East. Assange may embody traits of a terrorist, and maybe a spy, what most people don’t know is that Assange most resembles a pirate.

Somali Pirate? Not Exactly; Assange symbolizes the ideology of the modern information “Pirate”

There are many views of the modern day pirate, here are but 2 examples of them:

Internet Pirate

Recently in the last 5 years, there was an incredible surge in group of people known as pirates, those who illegally download copyrighted works such as movies, games and software. Aside from those pirating for a free meal, an ideology of pirates emerged. Hailing from the ideals of open source software, these pirates believed that information should be free to the world. Instead of limiting information to a select few, it should be spread around for the betterment of others. This is the basis of peer to peer sharing, a main tool for pirates. An anonymous source shares information to the collective, where it is shared among thousands around the world. Although used for different purposes, Julian Assange uses and believes in the ideology of piratism. Julian Assange believes in the distribution of information to the world, and has no qualms about the subject material. He gathers his information from anonymous sources and spreads them across the world. Disregarding the blatant media piracy, internet pirates use the same methods as Julian Assange to disseminate information to the world.

Political Pirate

Politically, Julian Assange can relate to one particular party: the Pirate Party. The Pirate party is a political party in Switzerland whose goals includes support for a strengthening of the right to privacy, both on the Internet and in everyday life, and the transparency of state administration. In other words, they embody the right to privacy, free speech, and more government transparency in the military and politics. Julian Assange is a firm believer is these beliefs. Wikileaks is about the release of secret corporation and government documents to the world. Assange’s goal is to create a transparent world where governments and enormous corporations are held accountable for everything they do, and not hide potentially incriminating details under the rug. But at the same time, Assange wants to protect the wellbeing of private citizens. As such, he frequently removes the identities of sources, double agents and personal information from his releases.

So as an information pirate, what does Julian Assange achieve? Julian Assange wants to create a perfect world of government transparency and transfer of information across the world. To do this, he has tapped into the modern day pirate, and has used their methods and ideals to change the world. Revolutions and uprisings have occurred because of the corruption of governments being brought to light. As governments begin to fear the power of Wikileaks and Julian Assange, they will become more honest and accountable for their actions.

And Assange is not alone in this endeavor. He receives constant support from his supporters, which include Internet pirates as well as the Pirate party.

Early December 2010, Wikileaks’s host terminated the website, due to a constant barrage of Direct Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks to the site. Soon after, Wikileaks.org moved to its new domain, Wikileaks.ch. This was significant because the .ch domain is registered domain of the Swiss Pirate Party. And this act of goodwill is not the first extended to Wikileaks by the Pirate party. Pirate parties from Switzerland and around the world have provided mirrors to the site, offered hosting and servers, and even helped relocate one of the Wikileaks’ data centers into a former underground nuclear bunker. With the Pirate party slowly gaining recognition in Europe, gaining 1-2 seats in EU parliament in 2009, its support in Julian Assange and Wikileaks will become a powerful adversary in the future. As governments from around the world try and shut Wikileaks down, a strong political ally can help quell these attempts.

One of things a group standing against social order is the support of the people. Without it, these groups are labeled as terrorists, arsonists, and other ‘hate’ labels. Politicians, reporters, and governments around the world have condemned Wikileaks as terrorism and espionage. Without the support of the people, government can do any action it pleases to any group that threatens its power. Luckily Wikileaks has the support of powerful groups on the internet, mainly the pirate group as well as the influential ‘Anonymous’.

Sharing goals of free information, users of peer to peer networks (of both legal and illegal nature) have banded its support to Wikileaks. Assange, fearing his eventual arrest, released a ‘Poison pill’ of encrypted documents to the p2p world for all to download and backup. This ‘Poison pill’ file contained thousands of potentially damaging information to governments and corporations all around the world. In the eventual case of his death, or the permanent shutdown of Wikileaks, the encryption code would be released, and with the file backed up to thousands of computers around the world, it would be impossible to prevent the information from being revealed. Thanks to the support of thousands of pirates around the world, Assange has a powerful trump card to use against authoritarian powers around the world prevent him from enlightening the world.

The group ‘Anonymous’ has gained notoriety in the last few years, from its DDoS attacks against the MPAA and other powerful groups, to its recent confrontation with the Westboro Church, ‘Anonymous’ is a collection of individuals on the internet, using its anonymous nature to react to events in any way possible. Recently, ‘Anonymous’ had unleashed ‘Operation Payback’, originally a protest to the website takedowns from the MPAA, which later changed into a protest against credit cards refusing to send donations to Wikileaks. Under Operation Payback, thousands of Anonymous users attacked PayPal, MasterCard and Visa websites, causing them to go offline for hours. In an orthodox way, ‘Anonymous’ is sending a message to the world: ‘We of the internet approve of Wikileaks, and we do not approve of corporations trying to stifle the growth of it’.

Big Business as well as Governments fear their secrets being revealed, and thus slander Wikileaks in an attempt to silence it. But despite the negative press Wikileaks receives on a daily basis, the general public generally supports the idea of Wikileaks, of more government and big business transparency. People want to know if their being taken advantage of, and support Wikileaks by any means possible. Wikileaks is run by volunteers and all its information is freely given to Julian Assange. The real driving force behind Wikileaks is not Julian Assange; it is people who believe in the idea of free information.

In Conclusion?

As Julian Assange’s trial for sexual misconduct continues on, it politically becomes less about the initial allegations, and more about the potential this man’s actions will hold in the future. Indeed, there has been many speculating the framing of Assange in an attempt to extradite him to the United States and charge him for espionage. As one of the leaders of Wikileaks, Assange has changed the world several times over, inciting revolutions in Tunisia and in Egypt. If put in jail, Assange’s conviction could put a stop to, or at least hinder Wikileak’s operations.

But for the most part, Wikileaks will still remain.

Although Julian Assange believes and supports the ideals of free information and government transparency, he is not the only person who does. Legions of pirates, Anonymous all over the internet support his goals. Political parties have allied and offered support to Wikileaks itself. With or without Julian Assange, Wikileaks will continue its goal of information transparency. The ideals of Pirates will reign supreme in the face of corrupt authority and big business.

What does this mean for the world?

The world is in for some changes. Governments now more than ever must choose between 2 extremes. They can become more secretive with documents, tightening security and closely selecting trusted personnel with this information. However, there is no guarantee that this information can be fully secure. There are thousands of people able to read and release information to Wikileaks. On the other hand, governments can be less secretive, publically releasing state documents in a suitable manner. Wikileaks’ releases are no longer ‘leaks’ and the relevancy is diminished. But no matter what course the world takes, the goals of Pirates and Julian Assange will be carried out: a world with governments cleaning up their acts fearing Wikileaks, and a global distribution of information around the world.