Whats Julian Assange/Wikileaks?

So I was on a different forum here on sythe and there was a thread about julian assange and wiki leaks. Whats this about and I never heard of "wikileaks". I googled wiki leaks and it showed up a website with uninteresting things to read what exactly did he leak that wasn't suppose to be read by the public?

 

He leaked classified information from different governments on a website called wikileaks.
That's pretty much all I remember, I think hes being held in Ecuador or something right now.

 

He leaked classified documents concerning troop movements, incidents, and stuff like that as well as global communication cabals. (they're like messages between diplomats and communications of a sensitive nature between embassies.) Wikileaks is the site he runs which is a governmental whistle blowing site.

 

Anyone correct me if I'm wrong. Julian Assange is the owner of Wikileaks, they make leaks that are given to them public because they feel we should know (freedom of information act). These leaks range from Syria files, diplomatic cables, a US military video showing the slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraq, etc. A lot of people want to see him in jail, and he's currently in the Ecuadorian embassy, we'll see what happens later on.

 

Julian Assange is currently being held in the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK, and if he leaves he will be arrested by the British government. As the others have stated he is the creator of Wikileaks which gathers classified information on a number of things from countries around the world, and then leaks them to the public. Countries such as the USA have been "targeted" by Wikileaks more than anyone, and therefore many powerful people want him locked up.

The charges they are attempting to arrest him for involve sexual assault in Sweden, but it's quite apparent the only reason they want him is so that they can eliminate him and wikileaks once and for all. I am ashamed of my country (USA) and others who are trying to have him locked up as well. We have the right to know the information he is leaking, and by silencing him it becomes quite apparent where the world is heading. I wouldn't be surprised if the sexual assault charges were fabricated just to have a reason to arrest him (and frankly I think he is homosexual).

It will be interesting to see how things turn out, and I really do wish him the best of luck. Hopefully he isn't silenced, and hopefully he continues to "leak" more vital information to the public.

 

where exactly does he get the leaked information and its illegal to publish information that was classified information??

 

He received it from anonymous sources. Wikileaks even had a tutorial on the site on how you could send information securely so that it couldn't be traced. It is being hailed as freedom of the press, and I personally think that the world governments being held accountable for their actions is a good thing. The legality is sort of ambiguous.

 

I hate this. If we're in a democratic nation, I don't believe governments have the right to hide information from us, let alone punish those who spread it.

There's some information (Well, more or less debating) taking place on this in the SFA section. http://sythe.org/showthread.php?p=11379214#post11379214

 

Its not ambiguous, they are legally considered the press and therefore have the freedom of the press which is why they are trumping up sexual assault charges, (paying off some swedish lady(ies) to say that he did something wrong) because he hasn't technically done anything illegal. It is illegal to actually give the documents to Wikileaks, but its not illegal to for wikileaks to receive them.

 

Like Emperor_Nero stated, it's from mostly anonymous sources. If caught, there are severe consequences, though. Correct me if I'm wrong on any of the following; Bradley Manning, a military officer who passed classified information to Wikileaks (Videos of airstrikes, 250,000 United States diplomatic cables, and 500,000 army reports) is currently being detained and is awaiting trail.

 

how do you even get caught like bradley manning for leaking classified info to wikileaks? don't they have a guide to prevent you from being caught

 

As Wulf said he sent millions of documents to Assange. It is difficult to not get caught when these documents get published and they're only certain people who have access to them.

 

Hah right

makes sense.

Damn i seen the before and after photos of him, he looks pretty bad in shape

 

Not exactly, he got it from Bradley Manning, a US Army specialist with a Top Secret clearance. Manning blatantly broke US law, and Assange technically broke US law (the Espionage Act), but so did the New York Times, among other publications, that published certain wikileaks.

It's technically illegal, freedom of speech does not apply to TS/SCI level classified information, but I certainly doubt it would ever make it to trial (see above).
Also, I doubt the sexual assault charges are trumped up. If you read into the issue it sounds pretty reasonable. Additionally, he is only wanted for questioning in Sweden; he has not been charged. Furthermore, Sweden has explicitly stated they would not extradite him to the United States.

 

His only source was not Manning though. He received and I assume still receives numerous leaked documents from all over the world from anonymous sources.

 

Wasn't there a link to wikileaks on wikipedia and stuff like that once upon a time?

 

Yes, I was talking about the major diplomatic cables leak, which is when he gained notoriety.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks