Julian Assange. Everyone around the world knows him. Either they hate him or they love him. But you know who hates him the most?
The huge power players in international politics.
They are upset that their gossip and political backstabbing has been unveiled by the notorious Wikileaks.
Wikileaks waged its war on secrecy Nov. 28 two years ago. The Battle is between freedom of speech and its double standard. There is a double standard that allows people of the world to protest against a government’s visible issues but as soon as a group of people shine light on that government’s deepest and darkest secrets, “all hell breaks loose”. Evidently the people of the world were “not supposed to know that.”
Wikileaks purpose is to:
Bring important news and information to the public… One of our most important activities is to publish original source material alongside our news stories so readers and historians alike can see evidence of the truth
In a perfect world there should be no harm in letting the public see the truth. But the truth hurts and in Julian Assange’s case, it hurts bad.
I woke up at around 4:00 AM ET to hear the verdict on Mr. Assange’s appeal. Protesters gathered outside of the court calling for Assange’s release. The big question for the day was whether or not Britain should extradite Assange to Sweden to face the sex crimes he was charged with from abroad.
Assange could have committed the crime or the charges could be trumped up as a way to get rid of him, but all of that was irrelevant during the verdict. The only thing that mattered was the court’s decision.
At 4:42 AM ET London, seven judges at Britain’s highest court dismissed his appeal by a 5-2 majority. Due to a legal loophole Assange was able to buy himself some time from the extradition’s calling. Luckily for Assange and his team of attorneys, they have two weeks to appeal the decision.
Wikileaks has released both controversial and beneficial information to the public. Some of its biggest leaks include:
1. The 250,000 diplomatic cables that affirmed the two-faced masks diplomats wear
2. A list of websites censored by country across the world
3. The Iraq War Logs
Julian Assange has become one of the world’s most dangerous and most influential men. In a TED video he explains how exposing the Kenyan government’s long corruption through his leaks helped change the outcome of the next election for the better. That sounds like something a hero would do. Though in contrast, the US Army has accused Wikileaks of being criminal and placing troops abroad at risk. Wikileaks also helped fuel the recent Arab Spring that led to the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi.
A man who has undoubtedly changed the world is now facing charges of rape from what seems to be out of the blue. Is the world trying to shoot the messenger? Is the truth better left unheard?I ask again: Julian Assange…is he a villain or hero?
Well, there’s a question as to what sort of information is important in the world, what sort of information can achieve reform.
And there’s a lot of information.
So much information that organizations are spending economic effort into concealing.
That’s a really good signal that when the information gets out, there’s a hope of it doing some good.– Julian Assange
Machine Mindz 