Freedom of speech is an essential part of our democracy. It is embedded in the very fabric of our freedom. A part of freedom of speech is freedom of the press. Wiki leaks is a kind of catch 22 that brings freedom of the press into the forefront to be scrutinized by critics and law makers alike on whether freedom of the press or the safety of our government is more important. On one hand, some critics and law makers view Wiki leaks as simply expressing their rights to free press. On the other hand, some critics and law makers view Wiki leaks as a danger tot he safety of our country as a whole by leaking documents that, in the wrong hands, could threaten our government. The former senior Swiss bank executive, Rudolf Elmer's leak of tax evasion and other possible criminal activity on the part of politicians and other prominent society members is a testament to the latter. News about federal crimes committed by elected officials should be brought into the light so the perpetrators could be punished and to detour other officials from partaking in similar activities. However, the former executive has torn a very delicate fabric of secrecy that Swiss banks share with their clients.
I personally have never use “Wiki leaks”, so I don’t know everything about the website, or program, but like you said professor, there is a controversy about the safety of the program, and being able to express are rights like the first amendment. I believe that we as American citizens have the right to express are rights that our four fathers gave us, but if a person exposes top secret information that could put people’s life in danger, than I would easily turn against the program. I do believe strongly in the rights that we obtain, and being able to use them, but I would never put anybody’s life in danger just for the sake of saying something over the internet. As long as there is no danger being done to the lives of people than I am all for the program. I personally would never use the program, unless it was for school, because I would personally rather dispute my opinion openly.
I personally have never use “Wiki leaks”, so I don’t know everything about the website, or program, but like you said professor, there is a controversy about the safety of the program, and being able to express are rights like the first amendment. I believe that we as American citizens have the right to express are rights that our four fathers gave us, but if a person exposes top secret information that could put people’s life in danger, than I would easily turn against the program. I do believe strongly in the rights that we obtain, and being able to use them, but I would never put anybody’s life in danger just for the sake of saying something over the internet. As long as there is no danger being done to the lives of people than I am all for the program. I personally would never use the program, unless it was for school, because I would personally rather dispute my opinion openly.
Well, What do you mean they don't learn? Say that these students think that socializing is more important, or more interesting. But, don't say they don't learn. It's a matter of paying attention, and that, for some, is not an easy task especially if the topic that's being discussed is as stail as it is boring! I personally think that some people can't function in largest classes and for the ones that do, well, they don't always commit to doing well.some people would want to spend a one-on-one with their professor, rather than a tutor.But really, why do most college students "not learn" what's taught to them? Simple. It's not interesting and not worth time. For example, I'm not a mathematics wizard, but I think with time and great patience, I can be one. Someone else may think that mathematics is a waste of time considering that their major has no need for mathematics. Vice versa for english and science. Could you blame the student for being realistic, realistic about what they want out of school? I am a student, so it would sound like I'm siding with my fellow commrades. But I'm not. I'm only pointing out that there is a difference between not wanting to learn, not being interested in learning what the topic is, and just being plain ignorant of the purpose for learning. Critical thinking and so on, those are important for sure, but I'm certain that some learn the importance of these things further up in the future. In my opinion, it's a matter of saying "what's the purpose for learning this?" and "what good is it going to be for me, personally?"
While my experince with the Wikki site is limited, since the infamouse postings I have become increasingly apt with using the site. I believe as long as the information is not putting anyone or the general public at danger they should be allowed to continue to post what they want under the banner of Freedom of Speech. If the new information is pertanant to the bringing down of officials who have been using their pwoer and position to make economic gains then I am for them posting that information. Since the Swiss banks have endured a high level of secrecy over the years, that might have opened up the system for people to abuse it. If those people are public faces they need to be brought to light so those people in the future are held to more responsibility.
WikiLeaks shouldn’t have to be locked and disabled in order to keep a political or high profile identities confidential. If these high ranking politicians commit fraud and get caught there is no justifiable reason for having their story hidden from the world. The people committing the crime know what they are doing, it isn’t like they’re making minor mistakes. For example, Rudolf M. Elmer who was caught evading taxes for the Swiss Bank, he definitely deserves to be put in the spot light, what makes him different than others? The classified documents that WikiLeaks have made public allow the people to know what is really being done behind closed doors. It surprises many of us knowing that even the government has cases where they’ve committed questionable immoral acts. I believe that if big corporations and or the government don’t want to be caught up in scandals, the easiest way to avoid it is by not committing them to begin with. The people deserve to know what is going on, there shouldn’t be a reason for keeping these high profile cases away from the public.
I havent used wikileaks now or in the past but, i think that people have the right to speak on how they feel about things.Question: isnt wikileaks link to wikipedia? I think its just opionions, false information not true facts but i learned that i was wrong.But i agree that there is a controversy about the safety of the program, and being able to express their rights like the first amendment say. To me it seems that wikileaks only express how they feel and to a point not to hurt anyone in anyway just voicing on how they feel.But i like how the classified documents that WikiLeaks have made public allow the people to know what is really being done behind closed doors.Many people seem scared like the government because,they dont want the truth to be exposed but,people seek the truth and they need the truth.But really they cant handle or accept it.Wikileaks shouldnt lead to a down fall.
I havent used wikileaks now or in the past but, i think that people have the right to speak on how they feel about things.Question: isnt wikileaks link to wikipedia? I think its just opinions, false information not true facts but i learned that i was wrong.But i agree that there is a controversy about the safety of the program, and being able to express their rights like the first amendment say. To me it seems that wikileaks only express how they feel and to a point not to hurt anyone in anyway just voicing on how they feel.But i like how the classified documents that WikiLeaks have made public allow the people to know what is really being done behind closed doors.Many people seem scared like the government because,they dont want the truth to be exposed but,people seek the truth and they need the truth.But really they cant handle or accept it.Wikileaks shouldnt lead to a down fall.
You can't trust anyone in this world. You can't trust the people who run it and you can't trust whatever you hear either which makes it very hard to care about anything, especially politics. What is right and wrong is of no consequence to people of power. Wikileaks just exposes these wrongs and secrets. So what? This world was built on lies and there is no justice for peoples' wrong doings. No one will get justice because only more lies and wrong doing will succeed. -KAYLA DELACERDA
I ve never used wikileaks but every time I hear something about them is bad. I don’t agree that wikileaks should be getting so much into peoples business like they have been. I think maybe they are accomplishing what they want and that is destroy the view of government officials. I don’t deny that I am sure that a lot of people would like to know a lot of the things they have published like the Iraq War logs and stuff like that but maybe this website is putting a lot of information out there. Another thing would be that I also do agree that they have the freedom to put what they please out in the open for others to view. We may have freedom of speech but when you are doing something illegal and you are a well known person you better be sure that when something wrong happens it will get out there.
I personally have never used wiki leaks before, but lately they have been a main topic for the news to talk about. I believe that wiki leaks should exist but regulate the things the post to the whole world. It’s very wrong on my point of view to reveal such sensitive information about the United States war with Afghanistan. In addition, many things and people are at stake when these kinds of documents are released to the whole world. Many people are against the founder of wiki leaks Julian Assange after he released about 92,000 really sensitive documents all about the Afghan war. I think freedom of speech is very important but when it comes to national security, no government likes for important information to be released for everyone to know what is going on. I think wiki leaks should be shut down, and create new ideas of how to let the people know what is going on in their country without compromising the government and its people. Patricia Santana
I have only recently learned of the Wikileaks website and personally believe that it is a great medium for people to exercise one of their most essential rights: freedom of speech. I think it s incredible that for once a website that isn't a social network or a celebrity blog is getting so much publicity. Whether the information published on Wikileaks is accurate or a forgery is still a question to be answered, but information that details the fradulent behaviors of companies and their deceptions should be made available to the public, so that we can form more valid, coherent opinions and views about these companies and avoid being mislead. Had Wikileaks been around during the Enron scandal ( a massive nation wide company deception, in which thousands of employees lost their pensions) maybe most of the damage could have been dissipated.
Wikileaks is a non-profit website, so the content that it is releasing is not for increased viewership or monetary gain. Aft6er doing some research on what types of documents and videos have been posted on the website it really appears that we have been waering a blindfold to some of the major events in the world. For instance, on Wikileaks there was a video uploaded that showed American troops klling Iraqi journalist and civillians, an event that had remained fairly clandestine. I am very appreciative of this website because it is not manipulated by the government and therefore its content is not "watered-down" or altered. Also, despite the prefix "Wiki" the website is not allowed to be edited by just anyone, like website like Wikipedia or Wikihow and the founders have also claimed to verify and check all the documents they recieve before posting them and they claim they have never upoloaded a false or inaccurate documents or video.
For a society to be successful and have intellectual citizens its government must be trustworthy and sincere about its actions abroad and internally and because this seems so difficult for most governments and companies, for now our intellectual awakenings will occur because of honest websites like Wikileaks that show us the blatant truth and not some media generated concoction. A website like Wikileaks helps the average person understand the world he lives in and free himself from the puppetry of the government manipulated media.
While I strongly believe in freedom of speech/freedom of the media, I believe that the media has a responsibility to be honest, rather than conniving or manipulative. On many occasions when I've read another news update about Wikileaks issues, it's been negative, and the founder of Wikileaks appears to be relishing in the acts, rather than bearing a heavy weight on his shoulders.
Let's ponder. You are privy to select, elite, utmost secretive information, some of which can destroy lives, the foundations of countries, it's citizens, and the potential future of anyone involved in their trades of information with you. It'd be logical to at least SEEM like you care, but rather he appears to gloat. I'm not sure of what he encountered throughout his lifetime with authority figures, but he reminds me too much of a modernized technological Hitler. I know this appears extreme but bear with me for a moment as I will explain. Hitler used mass media as outlets for providing information he felt would benefit his case against Jews and other figures he sought to oppress. In this case Julian Assange, also has mass media at his fingertips, and he also has vast amounts of information he can provide to anyone he desires for any particular purpose. Meaning, he can sway the public if he can provide a sound enough argument. Let's be logical, who can actually say that he has posted EVERY single bit of information he has come across on the site? Who can say they were there when he received the tip, the trade off, and then posted it as soon as he found out about it? No one can. Because it's the prerogative of Wikileaks to release information at their disclosure, on their time, and for whatever purpose they choose. They can twist pretty much anything for the benefit of whomever pays them the higher bid.
As a history major who pores over obsessively on Historical documents, eras of dis-ambiguity, and more importantly, how the PEOPLE react when they receive information of any sort, I can say that in the past, according to various historical documentation (which I will admit COULD have been altered over time, but at least I've cross referenced my research), whenever someone had so much underhanded information, money was being traded as well, whether they claim it or not. In many of the cases, the information was manipulated by the dis-closer in order to benefit one source and harm another. Think of "The red coats are coming, the red coats are coming!" uttered so very desperately by Paul Revere as he sought to aid his comrades. If he had delayed another 10 minutes, Samuel Adams and John Hancock would never have been warned, the revolution would have taken a drastically violent turn, and today we may have very well been classified as part of the British Empire. It's all a matter of timing. What if he hadn't of been an honourable man who believed in American freedom? What if he had been easily paid off by the Brits? The information given by the individual with the responsibility of bearing it, carries a massive weight on their shoulders. Wikileaks appears to bounce that responsibility like a rubber ducky rather than a bowling ball. They mock it, they manipulate it, they abuse the terms freedom of speech, freedom of the press.
Wikileaks reminds me too much of a bad 1940's back alley drama where a shady corrupt detective finds information out and uses it to his advantage with just about anyone, whether its a housewife he's dying to seduce, a boss he's desperate to humiliate, or a criminal he has a vendetta against. It doesn't matter if the subject of the information is innocent or guilty, as long as Wikileaks lust for fame and wealth is satisfied. But as in many cases like that, wealth and fame are a lust that is never satisfied. It's like catching a raindrop on your tongue in the middle of a desert. You can't even be sure it wasn't an illusion of your mind and as soon as the taste is gone, you crave an entire lake.
Well to begin, I didn’t even know such website existed, nor did I know that confidential government information and war information was on that website. I believe that government information should be kept private due to that everyone that is outside the United States has access if and only if they have internet. That website should be closed down cause it could be a danger for the United States Government if outsiders have knowledge of everything that is going on, especially regarding the war. It’s giving the outsiders against the United States Government like some type of “cheat sheet” as to what can happen, etc.
Well to begin, I didn’t even know such website existed, nor did I know that confidential government information and war information was on that website. I believe that government information should be kept private due to that everyone that is outside the United States has access if and only if they have internet. That website should be closed down because it could be a danger for the United States Government if outsiders have knowledge of everything that is going on, especially regarding the war. It’s giving the outsiders against the United States Government like some type of “cheat sheet” as to what can happen, etc.
I also am not a user of WikiLeaks, so I feel I learned a little bit from reading this article. I will say that judging from the comments against WikiLeaks, that if indeed they are using their so-called sources to post information that was illegally collected, they are violating peoples privacy and confidentiality agreements. Posting information related to certain peoples tax evasion or posting videos that weren't to be released to the public endangers the people involved. People's lives could be threatened, and whats worse, the information published could be altered. People have the right to freedom of speech, but when it comes false information and the possible endangerment to peoples lives, is where I believe freedom of speech crosses a line.
WikiLeaks was in everyones mouth during the month of November when the controversial release of U.S. war logs were leaked onto the world wide web. That was my first time ever hearing of such website, but wouldn't be the last. I am all for freedom of speech, i don't believe anyone should be kept from it. As long as its being used in a proper manner and not in a way that can harm, or put other citizens life in danger. War is very complex subject and too difficult to argue about, but one is for sure; And that is, that war is a very serious matter and everything and anything thats confidential should be kept confidential. A high percentage of the world has access to the world wide web and could easily see anything that was leaked into the website. That puts our U.S. military at risk. Missions, Special Ops logs, etc. were kept in those logs and it is critical information to our military. Freedom of speech should be exercised in a proper manner, and those leaks including the war logs should prohibited from anyone having access too and being allowed to put on the web. With this last note I conclude my message, saying ban WikiLeaks.
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” - George Orwell, 1984
Unfortunately these three points are close to true when we examine the relationship we have with our government. Though we have been in a middle of a war for quite some time now everything in the motherland is peaceful. How free are we when our constitutional rights have been violated and we are only told a portion of the things that go on and things that are done by our nation. We only strengthen the wrong doings around us by remaining ignorant to them. I for one think that Wiki Leaks is a necessary evil. While it does invade privacy and can create dangerous circumstances for some, I believe that everyone is entitled to know the realities of the world around us rather than the slices the traditional media feeds us. This holds especially true when these realities are violations of laws and hidden war documents that bring light on the fallacies the traditional media presents to us. If we are a true democracy under Lincoln’s definition “of the people, by the people, for the people” then it is an crucial that we know as much as we can about what is going on behind the curtains in order to correct the government because after all it is our responsibility as citizens of this nation.
Julian Assange is doing a service to the world by using the internet in a positive way for freedom and justice. He is making the world less ignorant by publishing important evidence of the truth. Truth is the only way to try to reduce corruption. Corruption like illegal financial transaction and tax evasion by the bank among other types of crimes; since, usually the ones who commit such atrocious acts at a bigger scale are the ones in power; such as, politicians then obviously the site Wikileaks will be treat it as a treat to the system. Unfortunately, not all of them are punished in a severe way or at all like an average person would be and should be. But the main focus is to realize how our democracy is falling apart and we are doing nothing all because we keep living under a shadow of what we consider the truth. Then again if we knew the whole truth about how our system works, everything would stop tomorrow. But I still believe this site is helping us to make a difference in our history.
Of course there is an outrage over WikiLeaks but big business, shady world leaders, and groups that don’t want to be exposed seem to be the only ones speaking out. With a war that had been raging on for years (that is no longer talked about), natural disasters, a monumental oil spill, and a media programmed to only give us specific snippets of info, our society is starting to become more and more suspicious. What is the government covering up? How many events are we completely unaware of? Corruption? Greed? We want to know! Enter, Julian Assange. Most newspapers have supporters or sides they favor. You can usually tell right or left undertones. WikiLeaks doesn't seem to have any. A big question is how is Julian acquiring this information? The Swiss bank information was given to him from a former executive. With each release of scandalous information what has caused these high-powered people to give up these secrets?
The news itself and not the source are not very surprising. It’s a given assumption that people, especially wealthy influential people will pull all sorts of scams, tricks, and things of a questionable nature just to avoid losing money. I say WikiLeaks is a good thing because it acts as a balance to keep wayward governments in check. It does this by revealing big bad governments violations of natural rights and laws set up to protect the people. A democracy without a free press is a totalitarian government that oppresses free thinking and reason.
Personally, I have tried to use the wikileaks website because of it's recent news exposure. My opinion is that this site is too complex for the average person to use. There is no way to simply go to the wikileaks website and stumble upon what the computer key for a nuclear bomb is. You need to know exactly what your searching for to take advantage of this website. The argument made by the media is that wikileaks is putting the lives of US military personnel at risk. I find that this is just another act by the USA to "flex it's guns". No single country owns the Internet or the ".com" web link. They do not share how the information was obtained; causing the USA and otter superpowers to believe massive act espionage is going on. I do not doubt this but I do believe this is a great source for the CIA and other intelligence agencies around the world to gather information. This is in no way an anti-America website, they freely post "cables" about all the governments around the world. Cables are what they call government files. This website should stay online and be treated like all other websites that can be found online.
Personally, I try to avoid anything "wiki" because of the fact that anyone can alter the information and there is no guarantee that the information is accurate and valid. However, I feel that WIkileaks is simply another form of freedom of speech and although some of the material may be obtained invalidly it should be up to the person to use the information given or to reject it. A solution to that problem cab be resolved by adding stricter regulations of how the information is obtained and leave it up to the individual person to believe the links posted. As technology progresses internet security should equally be evolving to solve these problems and secure government files. The question is should we have a government that is so hidden that people feel the need to expose it's secrets through internet sources.
Honestly, I didn't know much about this site until Julian Assange released all these delicate documents about the Afghan war, etc. This is complicated. Some people are determined to close this site because it put the country in danger but, if we think about it, the documents that were published are the reality, and we as citizens of the United States have the right to know how our government system work, and thanks to these evidence we are now conscious that this government is not that transparent as we thought it was. This could also be a warning for the people involved because now they realize that internet, and this sites are not secure enough to keep government's top secrets. On the other hand, I believe that the person that brought to light all this controversial documents went too far, because he only thought in unmask the politicians, etc, and he did not think about the effects of this revelations on our country. In spite of that, I keep my opinion that people should know what the government is doing, and we should not avoid it. Amira Sarasola
I did not really know about WikiLeaks until now. After doing some researches, I am a little more familiar about this international non-profit organization. Its goals is to assure the freedom of press by exposing oppressive regimes and also help people of all regions of the World who whish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations.
The fight of Wiki Leaks is very respectable. It is praiseworthy and honourable; especially after the price they have to pay. It is a lot of pressure to be able to put into light some of the biggest Top Secret governments. Indeed, the accusations of WikiLeaks spokesperson and editor in chief, Julian Assange as well as the suicide of a fondant in Marseilles, France are a proof of the pressure that such an organization has to endure. Nevertheless, I doubt that everything should be revealed to the public particularly in the way it is done in the press. To me, these investigations are going too far and this idea of “leak spreading” is too much. The goal of the organization could be questioned: What are they really looking for, transparency or destroy governments with the intention of taking control…? I believe that some information have to stay confidential in order to keep Peace (Isn’t it what most of us do every day?).
On the other hand, Wiki Leaks seems to be a credible warning for the governments all over the World. By knowing that any of their actions can be tracked and exposed might push them to act more ethically. And this could improve the life of a lot of people. It could also avoid any kind of Revolution…
One of democracies' fundamentals is freedom of speech. People have the right to express themselves and communicate vital information. In the case of Wikileaks I believe it is a common good, it is information concerning important people in the political or economical aspects of society. They should be exposed when they commit illegal acts just as when any person is when they do something illegal. Information is power and that is why Wikileaks has been scrutinized since its release to the point of arresting its creator with made up charges.
31 comments:
Professor, there is no place for the Tuesday 5:40 class to comment.
Freedom of speech is an essential part of our democracy. It is embedded in the very fabric of our freedom. A part of freedom of speech is freedom of the press. Wiki leaks is a kind of catch 22 that brings freedom of the press into the forefront to be scrutinized by critics and law makers alike on whether freedom of the press or the safety of our government is more important. On one hand, some critics and law makers view Wiki leaks as simply expressing their rights to free press. On the other hand, some critics and law makers view Wiki leaks as a danger tot he safety of our country as a whole by leaking documents that, in the wrong hands, could threaten our government.
The former senior Swiss bank executive, Rudolf Elmer's leak of tax evasion and other possible criminal activity on the part of politicians and other prominent society members is a testament to the latter. News about federal crimes committed by elected officials should be brought into the light so the perpetrators could be punished and to detour other officials from partaking in similar activities. However, the former executive has torn a very delicate fabric of secrecy that Swiss banks share with their clients.
the andrea bingham post is from tuesday 5:40 clss
I personally have never use “Wiki leaks”, so I don’t know everything about the website, or program, but like you said professor, there is a controversy about the safety of the program, and being able to express are rights like the first amendment. I believe that we as American citizens have the right to express are rights that our four fathers gave us, but if a person exposes top secret information that could put people’s life in danger, than I would easily turn against the program. I do believe strongly in the rights that we obtain, and being able to use them, but I would never put anybody’s life in danger just for the sake of saying something over the internet. As long as there is no danger being done to the lives of people than I am all for the program. I personally would never use the program, unless it was for school, because I would personally rather dispute my opinion openly.
Zachary Frischholz
I personally have never use “Wiki leaks”, so I don’t know everything about the website, or program, but like you said professor, there is a controversy about the safety of the program, and being able to express are rights like the first amendment. I believe that we as American citizens have the right to express are rights that our four fathers gave us, but if a person exposes top secret information that could put people’s life in danger, than I would easily turn against the program. I do believe strongly in the rights that we obtain, and being able to use them, but I would never put anybody’s life in danger just for the sake of saying something over the internet. As long as there is no danger being done to the lives of people than I am all for the program. I personally would never use the program, unless it was for school, because I would personally rather dispute my opinion openly.
Zachary Frischholz
¿Use Wikileaks? You mean, use the information?
Well, What do you mean they don't learn? Say that these students think that socializing is more important, or more interesting. But, don't say they don't learn. It's a matter of paying attention, and that, for some, is not an easy task especially if the topic that's being discussed is as stail as it is boring! I personally think that some people can't function in largest classes and for the ones that do, well, they don't always commit to doing well.some people would want to spend a one-on-one with their professor, rather than a tutor.But really, why do most college students "not learn" what's taught to them? Simple. It's not interesting and not worth time. For example, I'm not a mathematics wizard, but I think with time and great patience, I can be one. Someone else may think that mathematics is a waste of time considering that their major has no need for mathematics. Vice versa for english and science. Could you blame the student for being realistic, realistic about what they want out of school? I am a student, so it would sound like I'm siding with my fellow commrades. But I'm not. I'm only pointing out that there is a difference between not wanting to learn, not being interested in learning what the topic is, and just being plain ignorant of the purpose for learning. Critical thinking and so on, those are important for sure, but I'm certain that some learn the importance of these things further up in the future. In my opinion, it's a matter of saying "what's the purpose for learning this?" and "what good is it going to be for me, personally?"
Dulange Absolu
While my experince with the Wikki site is limited, since the infamouse postings I have become increasingly apt with using the site. I believe as long as the information is not putting anyone or the general public at danger they should be allowed to continue to post what they want under the banner of Freedom of Speech.
If the new information is pertanant to the bringing down of officials who have been using their pwoer and position to make economic gains then I am for them posting that information. Since the Swiss banks have endured a high level of secrecy over the years, that might have opened up the system for people to abuse it. If those people are public faces they need to be brought to light so those people in the future are held to more responsibility.
WikiLeaks shouldn’t have to be locked and disabled in order to keep a political or high profile identities confidential. If these high ranking politicians commit fraud and get caught there is no justifiable reason for having their story hidden from the world. The people committing the crime know what they are doing, it isn’t like they’re making minor mistakes. For example, Rudolf M. Elmer who was caught evading taxes for the Swiss Bank, he definitely deserves to be put in the spot light, what makes him different than others? The classified documents that WikiLeaks have made public allow the people to know what is really being done behind closed doors. It surprises many of us knowing that even the government has cases where they’ve committed questionable immoral acts. I believe that if big corporations and or the government don’t want to be caught up in scandals, the easiest way to avoid it is by not committing them to begin with. The people deserve to know what is going on, there shouldn’t be a reason for keeping these high profile cases away from the public.
-JEFF HUERTAS
I havent used wikileaks now or in the past but, i think that people have the right to speak on how they feel about things.Question: isnt wikileaks link to wikipedia? I think its just opionions, false information not true facts but i learned that i was wrong.But i agree that there is a controversy about the safety of the program, and being able to express their rights like the first amendment say. To me it seems that wikileaks only express how they feel and to a point not to hurt anyone in anyway just voicing on how they feel.But i like how the classified documents that WikiLeaks have made public allow the people to know what is really being done behind closed doors.Many people seem scared like the government because,they dont want the truth to be exposed but,people seek the truth and they need the truth.But really they cant handle or accept it.Wikileaks shouldnt lead to a down fall.
Saine Nicole Stevens
I havent used wikileaks now or in the past but, i think that people have the right to speak on how they feel about things.Question: isnt wikileaks link to wikipedia? I think its just opinions, false information not true facts but i learned that i was wrong.But i agree that there is a controversy about the safety of the program, and being able to express their rights like the first amendment say. To me it seems that wikileaks only express how they feel and to a point not to hurt anyone in anyway just voicing on how they feel.But i like how the classified documents that WikiLeaks have made public allow the people to know what is really being done behind closed doors.Many people seem scared like the government because,they dont want the truth to be exposed but,people seek the truth and they need the truth.But really they cant handle or accept it.Wikileaks shouldnt lead to a down fall.
Saine Nicole Stevens
You can't trust anyone in this world. You can't trust the people who run it and you can't trust whatever you hear either which makes it very hard to care about anything, especially politics. What is right and wrong is of no consequence to people of power. Wikileaks just exposes these wrongs and secrets. So what? This world was built on lies and there is no justice for peoples' wrong doings. No one will get justice because only more lies and wrong doing will succeed.
-KAYLA DELACERDA
I ve never used wikileaks but every time I hear something about them is bad. I don’t agree that wikileaks should be getting so much into peoples business like they have been. I think maybe they are accomplishing what they want and that is destroy the view of government officials. I don’t deny that I am sure that a lot of people would like to know a lot of the things they have published like the Iraq War logs and stuff like that but maybe this website is putting a lot of information out there. Another thing would be that I also do agree that they have the freedom to put what they please out in the open for others to view. We may have freedom of speech but when you are doing something illegal and you are a well known person you better be sure that when something wrong happens it will get out there.
BY CHARLOTTE RUSSELL
I personally have never used wiki leaks before, but lately they have been a main topic for the news to talk about. I believe that wiki leaks should exist but regulate the things the post to the whole world. It’s very wrong on my point of view to reveal such sensitive information about the United States war with Afghanistan. In addition, many things and people are at stake when these kinds of documents are released to the whole world. Many people are against the founder of wiki leaks Julian Assange after he released about 92,000 really sensitive documents all about the Afghan war. I think freedom of speech is very important but when it comes to national security, no government likes for important information to be released for everyone to know what is going on. I think wiki leaks should be shut down, and create new ideas of how to let the people know what is going on in their country without compromising the government and its people.
Patricia Santana
I don't know if my post are showing up because everytime I try to see them they aren't there.
Are they appearing? Can you guys see them?
I have only recently learned of the Wikileaks website and personally believe that it is a great medium for people to exercise one of their most essential rights: freedom of speech. I think it s incredible that for once a website that isn't a social network or a celebrity blog is getting so much publicity. Whether the information published on Wikileaks is accurate or a forgery is still a question to be answered, but information that details the fradulent behaviors of companies and their deceptions should be made available to the public, so that we can form more valid, coherent opinions and views about these companies and avoid being mislead. Had Wikileaks been around during the Enron scandal ( a massive nation wide company deception, in which thousands of employees lost their pensions) maybe most of the damage could have been dissipated.
Wikileaks is a non-profit website, so the content that it is releasing is not for increased viewership or monetary gain. Aft6er doing some research on what types of documents and videos have been posted on the website it really appears that we have been waering a blindfold to some of the major events in the world. For instance, on Wikileaks there was a video uploaded that showed American troops klling Iraqi journalist and civillians, an event that had remained fairly clandestine. I am very appreciative of this website because it is not manipulated by the government and therefore its content is not "watered-down" or altered. Also, despite the prefix "Wiki" the website is not allowed to be edited by just anyone, like website like Wikipedia or Wikihow and the founders have also claimed to verify and check all the documents they recieve before posting them and they claim they have never upoloaded a false or inaccurate documents or video.
For a society to be successful and have intellectual citizens its government must be trustworthy and sincere about its actions abroad and internally and because this seems so difficult for most governments and companies, for now our intellectual awakenings will occur because of honest websites like Wikileaks that show us the blatant truth and not some media generated concoction. A website like Wikileaks helps the average person understand the world he lives in and free himself from the puppetry of the government manipulated media.
While I strongly believe in freedom of speech/freedom of the media, I believe that the media has a responsibility to be honest, rather than conniving or manipulative. On many occasions when I've read another news update about Wikileaks issues, it's been negative, and the founder of Wikileaks appears to be relishing in the acts, rather than bearing a heavy weight on his shoulders.
Let's ponder. You are privy to select, elite, utmost secretive information, some of which can destroy lives, the foundations of countries, it's citizens, and the potential future of anyone involved in their trades of information with you. It'd be logical to at least SEEM like you care, but rather he appears to gloat. I'm not sure of what he encountered throughout his lifetime with authority figures, but he reminds me too much of a modernized technological Hitler. I know this appears extreme but bear with me for a moment as I will explain. Hitler used mass media as outlets for providing information he felt would benefit his case against Jews and other figures he sought to oppress. In this case Julian Assange, also has mass media at his fingertips, and he also has vast amounts of information he can provide to anyone he desires for any particular purpose. Meaning, he can sway the public if he can provide a sound enough argument. Let's be logical, who can actually say that he has posted EVERY single bit of information he has come across on the site? Who can say they were there when he received the tip, the trade off, and then posted it as soon as he found out about it? No one can. Because it's the prerogative of Wikileaks to release information at their disclosure, on their time, and for whatever purpose they choose. They can twist pretty much anything for the benefit of whomever pays them the higher bid.
As a history major who pores over obsessively on Historical documents, eras of dis-ambiguity, and more importantly, how the PEOPLE react when they receive information of any sort, I can say that in the past, according to various historical documentation (which I will admit COULD have been altered over time, but at least I've cross referenced my research), whenever someone had so much underhanded information, money was being traded as well, whether they claim it or not. In many of the cases, the information was manipulated by the dis-closer in order to benefit one source and harm another. Think of "The red coats are coming, the red coats are coming!" uttered so very desperately by Paul Revere as he sought to aid his comrades. If he had delayed another 10 minutes, Samuel Adams and John Hancock would never have been warned, the revolution would have taken a drastically violent turn, and today we may have very well been classified as part of the British Empire. It's all a matter of timing. What if he hadn't of been an honourable man who believed in American freedom? What if he had been easily paid off by the Brits? The information given by the individual with the responsibility of bearing it, carries a massive weight on their shoulders. Wikileaks appears to bounce that responsibility like a rubber ducky rather than a bowling ball. They mock it, they manipulate it, they abuse the terms freedom of speech, freedom of the press.
Wikileaks reminds me too much of a bad 1940's back alley drama where a shady corrupt detective finds information out and uses it to his advantage with just about anyone, whether its a housewife he's dying to seduce, a boss he's desperate to humiliate, or a criminal he has a vendetta against. It doesn't matter if the subject of the information is innocent or guilty, as long as Wikileaks lust for fame and wealth is satisfied. But as in many cases like that, wealth and fame are a lust that is never satisfied. It's like catching a raindrop on your tongue in the middle of a desert. You can't even be sure it wasn't an illusion of your mind and as soon as the taste is gone, you crave an entire lake.
Christine "Nina" Elias
Well to begin, I didn’t even know such website existed, nor did I know that confidential government information and war information was on that website. I believe that government information should be kept private due to that everyone that is outside the United States has access if and only if they have internet. That website should be closed down cause it could be a danger for the United States Government if outsiders have knowledge of everything that is going on, especially regarding the war. It’s giving the outsiders against the United States Government like some type of “cheat sheet” as to what can happen, etc.
-Daniel Melo
Well to begin, I didn’t even know such website existed, nor did I know that confidential government information and war information was on that website. I believe that government information should be kept private due to that everyone that is outside the United States has access if and only if they have internet. That website should be closed down because it could be a danger for the United States Government if outsiders have knowledge of everything that is going on, especially regarding the war. It’s giving the outsiders against the United States Government like some type of “cheat sheet” as to what can happen, etc.
-Daniel Melo
I also am not a user of WikiLeaks, so I feel I learned a little bit from reading this article. I will say that judging from the comments against WikiLeaks, that if indeed they are using their so-called sources to post information that was illegally collected, they are violating peoples privacy and confidentiality agreements. Posting information related to certain peoples tax evasion or posting videos that weren't to be released to the public endangers the people involved. People's lives could be threatened, and whats worse, the information published could be altered. People have the right to freedom of speech, but when it comes false information and the possible endangerment to peoples lives, is where I believe freedom of speech crosses a line.
WikiLeaks was in everyones mouth during the month of November when the controversial release of U.S. war logs were leaked onto the world wide web. That was my first time ever hearing of such website, but wouldn't be the last.
I am all for freedom of speech, i don't believe anyone should be kept from it. As long as its being used in a proper manner and not in a way that can harm, or put other citizens life in danger. War is very complex subject and too difficult to argue about, but one is for sure; And that is, that war is a very serious matter and everything and anything thats confidential should be kept confidential. A high percentage of the world has access to the world wide web and could easily see anything that was leaked into the website. That puts our U.S. military at risk. Missions, Special Ops logs, etc. were kept in those logs and it is critical information to our military.
Freedom of speech should be exercised in a proper manner, and those leaks including the war logs should prohibited from anyone having access too and being allowed to put on the web. With this last note I conclude my message, saying
ban WikiLeaks.
-WALTER NAVARRO
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
- George Orwell, 1984
Unfortunately these three points are close to true when we examine the relationship we have with our government. Though we have been in a middle of a war for quite some time now everything in the motherland is peaceful. How free are we when our constitutional rights have been violated and we are only told a portion of the things that go on and things that are done by our nation. We only strengthen the wrong doings around us by remaining ignorant to them. I for one think that Wiki Leaks is a necessary evil. While it does invade privacy and can create dangerous circumstances for some, I believe that everyone is entitled to know the realities of the world around us rather than the slices the traditional media feeds us. This holds especially true when these realities are violations of laws and hidden war documents that bring light on the fallacies the traditional media presents to us. If we are a true democracy under Lincoln’s definition “of the people, by the people, for the people” then it is an crucial that we know as much as we can about what is going on behind the curtains in order to correct the government because after all it is our responsibility as citizens of this nation.
-Daniel Delgado
Julian Assange is doing a service to the world by using the internet in a positive way for freedom and justice. He is making the world less ignorant by publishing important evidence of the truth. Truth is the only way to try to reduce corruption. Corruption like illegal financial transaction and tax evasion by the bank among other types of crimes; since, usually the ones who commit such atrocious acts at a bigger scale are the ones in power; such as, politicians then obviously the site Wikileaks will be treat it as a treat to the system. Unfortunately, not all of them are punished in a severe way or at all like an average person would be and should be. But the main focus is to realize how our democracy is falling apart and we are doing nothing all because we keep living under a shadow of what we consider the truth. Then again if we knew the whole truth about how our system works, everything would stop tomorrow. But I still believe this site is helping us to make a difference in our history.
Heydy Rejas
Of course there is an outrage over WikiLeaks but big business, shady world leaders, and groups that don’t want to be exposed seem to be the only ones speaking out. With a war that had been raging on for years (that is no longer talked about), natural disasters, a monumental oil spill, and a media programmed to only give us specific snippets of info, our society is starting to become more and more suspicious. What is the government covering up? How many events are we completely unaware of? Corruption? Greed? We want to know! Enter, Julian Assange. Most newspapers have supporters or sides they favor. You can usually tell right or left undertones. WikiLeaks doesn't seem to have any. A big question is how is Julian acquiring this information? The Swiss bank information was given to him from a former executive. With each release of scandalous information what has caused these high-powered people to give up these secrets?
Lydia Lane
The news itself and not the source are not very surprising. It’s a given assumption that people, especially wealthy influential people will pull all sorts of scams, tricks, and things of a questionable nature just to avoid losing money. I say WikiLeaks is a good thing because it acts as a balance to keep wayward governments in check. It does this by revealing big bad governments violations of natural rights and laws set up to protect the people. A democracy without a free press is a totalitarian government that oppresses free thinking and reason.
Personally, I have tried to use the wikileaks website because of it's recent news exposure. My opinion is that this site is too complex for the average person to use. There is no way to simply go to the wikileaks website and stumble upon what the computer key for a nuclear bomb is. You need to know exactly what your searching for to take advantage of this website. The argument made by the media is that wikileaks is putting the lives of US military personnel at risk. I find that this is just another act by the USA to "flex it's guns". No single country owns the Internet or the ".com" web link. They do not share how the information was obtained; causing the USA and otter superpowers to believe massive act espionage is going on. I do not doubt this but I do believe this is a great source for the CIA and other intelligence agencies around the world to gather information. This is in no way an anti-America website, they freely post "cables" about all the governments around the world. Cables are what they call government files. This website should stay online and be treated like all other websites that can be found online.
Eric Langone
Personally, I try to avoid anything "wiki" because of the fact that anyone can alter the information and there is no guarantee that the information is accurate and valid. However, I feel that WIkileaks is simply another form of freedom of speech and although some of the material may be obtained invalidly it should be up to the person to use the information given or to reject it. A solution to that problem cab be resolved by adding stricter regulations of how the information is obtained and leave it up to the individual person to believe the links posted. As technology progresses internet security should equally be evolving to solve these problems and secure government files. The question is should we have a government that is so hidden that people feel the need to expose it's secrets through internet sources.
Honestly, I didn't know much about this site until Julian Assange released all these delicate documents about the Afghan war, etc. This is complicated. Some people are determined to close this site because it put the country in danger but, if we think about it, the documents that were published are the reality, and we as citizens of the United States have the right to know how our government system work, and thanks to these evidence we are now conscious that this government is not that transparent as we thought it was. This could also be a warning for the people involved because now they realize that internet, and this sites are not secure enough to keep government's top secrets. On the other hand, I believe that the person that brought to light all this controversial documents went too far, because he only thought in unmask the politicians, etc, and he did not think about the effects of this revelations on our country. In spite of that, I keep my opinion that people should know what the government is doing, and we should not avoid it.
Amira Sarasola
I did not really know about WikiLeaks until now. After doing some researches, I am a little more familiar about this international non-profit organization.
Its goals is to assure the freedom of press by exposing oppressive regimes and also help people of all regions of the World who whish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations.
The fight of Wiki Leaks is very respectable. It is praiseworthy and honourable; especially after the price they have to pay. It is a lot of pressure to be able to put into light some of the biggest Top Secret governments. Indeed, the accusations of WikiLeaks spokesperson and editor in chief, Julian Assange as well as the suicide of a fondant in Marseilles, France are a proof of the pressure that such an organization has to endure.
Nevertheless, I doubt that everything should be revealed to the public particularly in the way it is done in the press. To me, these investigations are going too far and this idea of “leak spreading” is too much. The goal of the organization could be questioned: What are they really looking for, transparency or destroy governments with the intention of taking control…?
I believe that some information have to stay confidential in order to keep Peace (Isn’t it what most of us do every day?).
On the other hand, Wiki Leaks seems to be a credible warning for the governments all over the World. By knowing that any of their actions can be tracked and exposed might push them to act more ethically. And this could improve the life of a lot of people. It could also avoid any kind of Revolution…
One of democracies' fundamentals is freedom of speech. People have the right to express themselves and communicate vital information. In the case of Wikileaks I believe it is a common good, it is information concerning important people in the political or economical aspects of society. They should be exposed when they commit illegal acts just as when any person is when they do something illegal. Information is power and that is why Wikileaks has been scrutinized since its release to the point of arresting its creator with made up charges.
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