Nicolas' Current Events Project

What’s Going on With WikiLeaks : 

What’s Going on With WikiLeaks By Nicolas

Sources : 

Sources Time, “The War on Secrecy,” by Massimo Calabresi, 12-13-2010 The New York Times, “U.S. Prosecutors, Weighing WikiLeaks Charges, Hit the Law Books,” by Charlie Savage, 12-8-2010

What Is WikiLeaks? : 

What Is WikiLeaks? WikiLeaks is a site where Julian Assanage posts national secrets. He acquires government documents from his workers and posts them for the world to see. “WikiLeaks’ publication starting Nov. 28 of more than 250,000 diplomatic cables was the largest unauthorized release of contemporary classified information in history.” (Time)

Current Events : 

Current Events These articles are considered current events because they give information on a subject that is going on now. For example, U.S. officials are currently trying to find ways to arrest Julian Assanage. “The repercussions of the WikiDump are just beginning to play out.” (Time)

People That Play a Role in the Story : 

People That Play a Role in the Story Julian Assanage - The founder of WikiLeaks. He thinks the government should have no secrets. “(WikiLeaks) tries to make the world more civil and act against abusive organizations that are pushing it in the opposite direction,” he told Time. Hillary Clinton - U.S. secretary of state. She believes that agencies rely on secrets to get jobs done. “In almost every profession, people rely on confidential communications to do their jobs,” she said. (Time) Bradley Manning - Private First Class in the U.S. Army. He delivered the first documents to WikiLeaks. By the time he got arrested, they were already posted.

Time Magazine-“The War On Secrecy” : 

Time Magazine-“The War On Secrecy” This article clearly explains, from both sides, the decent and awful effects of WikiLeaks. This article states that the national secrets that Julian Assanage posts can cause damage to National Security. The article also tells how the number of U.S. secret documents has gone up since 1996. Even though the number of people who can classify documents has gone down from 4,420 to 2,557, the number of documents made secret has multiplied almost 10 times! “Governments have designated so much information secret that you wonder if they intend the time of day to be classified.”

The New York Times-“U.S. Prosecutors, Weighing WikiLeaks Charges, Hit the Law Books” : 

The New York Times-“U.S. Prosecutors, Weighing WikiLeaks Charges, Hit the Law Books” This article explains possible charges for Julian Assanage. It explains each possible charge, the law, and why he can be charged with it. “The Justice department, in considering whether and how it might indict Julian Assanage, is looking beyond the Espionage Act of 1917 to other possible offenses…”

Differences : 

Differences Time Magazine Talks about why Julian Assanage posts the leaks. Tells the story from two points of view -- the government and Julian Assanage. “Some information really should be secret, and some leaks really do have consequences…” The New York Times Talks about how Julian Assanage can be charged and why. Tells the story from only one point of view - the government.

My Opinion : 

My Opinion I think that what Julian Assanage is doing is unnecessary. I think that if you have a site that posts worldwide, you can use it to say that there are too many government secrets without giving them away. I agree that there are too many government secrets. If the government makes secrets out of things that don’t have to be secret, people won’t trust the government and the nation might fall apart. Julian Assanage believes that there should be no secrets. This is dangerous because some things should be secret -- things like military strategy or threats from terrorists. Nicolas Ryan