WikiLeaks

In my opinion, WikiLeaks is a new form of investigative journalism aiming to bring transparency to the deceitful antics of the troubled and competitive world. WikiLeaks provides the truth behind the lies, the real facts.

WikiLeaks "Could become as important a journalistic tool as the Freedom of Information Act." - Time Magazine

Some of this information that WikiLeaks is producing may not be surprisingly new to insiders, but seeing it in black and white these reports describing tactics, strategies and considerable double-dealing  may have beneficial effects on behaviour.

WikiLeaks is part of a changing communications culture that is reshaping the relationship between citizens and the government. New technologies have flattened the information world. Members of the public with access to a myriad of information snippets and critical opinion have become skeptical about public communications from the government and from corporations. They insist on transparency and i believe is what the people deserve. Now that there have been leaks, official and business  institutions are racing to try to understand the implications and to change their behaviour accordingly.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has asserted the leak “puts people’s lives in danger, threatens our national security, and undermines US efforts to work with other countries to solve

shared problems.” 
I believe this is the rationale to shut WikiLeaks down, and ultimiately bring Assange to his knees and bring him before the US courts.

The publication of confidential information isn't going to make the world a safer or more peaceful place, however it will certainly make it more transparent. If the leaks cease to emerge, society will never have a chance to get rid of dominances like endless political insincerity, lack of respect by politicians towards the citizens of any country, the real truth behind what the government is involved in and the real facts of what takes place, not just what they think the people need to hear. For instance the leaks that have come of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. An example of this is the secret video that WikiLeaks released showing journalists and civilians being killed in Baghdad.
 

 

WikiLeaks has provided citizens with an insight as to what truly goes on. People have a right to know what their leaders do as their representatives. But these leaders keep people in the dark so that they might remain unknowing about important issues that affect their understanding, their beliefs and their lives.

Bluffing seems to be the main way of moving forward, proving that the world to this day remains a major battleground. Wikileaks is certainly trying to put a halt to this bluffing and secrecy and their investigative form of journalism is proving to have a positive effect aiming to bring transparency and i believe that this is certainly a step in the right direction to make change.

60 Minutes interviews Julian Assange

                                  

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Extremists extremely extreme!

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information resources and services.

There are an extensive variety of groups taking advantage of the current worldwide internet available. One class of group is the extremist groups taking full advantage of the internet and social media that is available to them utilising it to their advantage to spread messages and recruit new members. 

a term used to describe the actions or ideologies of individuals or groups outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards.

 It is argued whether or not the ‘Australian First Party’ fits into the category of an extremist group, in my opinion it does.

The Australia First Party (AFP) is an incorporated body, and as such, has become a federally registered political party under the auspices of the Australian Electoral Act. The Australia First Party has far-right ideals which can be seen as nationalistic and anti-multicultural.The party stands to abolish multiculturalism, and introduce a ‘zero net’ immigration policy meaning that the number of immigrants will be decided by how many Australians leave each year.

The Australian First Party has eight core policies:

1. Ensure Australia retains full independence 
2. Rebuild Australian manufacturing industries 
3. Control foreign ownership
4. Reduce and limit immigration
5. Abolish multiculturalism
6. Introduce Citizen's Initiated Referendums
7. Strengthen the family
8. Strive to rebuild a united Australia

It doesn’t take long to work out that Australia is built on being a very multicultural nation. The mix of different nationalities and the various cultures and backgrounds that come with this is what makes Australia’s culture what it is today. Take a walk down to your local shops and you are guaranteed to see many different races from many different countries all over the world.

To have a federally registered political party to contain core policies like reduce and limit immigration and abolish multiculturalism I think stinks. I believe these to be extreme policies and place the AFP under the banner of an extremist group with ideologies outside the perceived political centre of society. Who does this party think they are. We are so blessed to have a country like we do. Fresh water, health system, houses with heating and cooling, freedom of speech, and education just to name a few luxuries. Our nation is blessed, why shouldn’t we share it with those less fortunate, or those fleeing war torn countries of the world.

In saying this, out of many extremist groups I would say the AFP is mild compared to some extremist groups polluting the internet with their propaganda. Some common groups are National Alliance, Stormfront and Aryan Nations, and Ku Klux Klan. These groups are embracing the technological advances to spread their messages of hate and recruit members.

These extremists along with the AFP are utilising the resources at their disposal. Their own websites and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and blog posts, and Youtube many of these extremist groups are projecting their messages and views with the aim of recruiting new members to their groups. Internet provides freedom of speech with the option to remain anonymous.

I believe this to be a serious concern when the internet is so readily available and there are many young people, uneducated and often naïve that could be negatively influenced from these extremist groups.

Below is a promotional video that the AFP has on Youtube: 

 

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Twitter

Twitter in Emergency

Social Media and social networks are being used increasingly for fundraising, communication updates and at times of disaster – from posting updates on Twitter to sharing information on You Tube.

I can’t say I’m a twitter user, I’ve never felt the need to use such a program. Some could say that there's something wrong with me and I'm not taking advantage of what social media has to offer. Nonetheless i can say i have a Facebook account. I personally don’t see the need to also have twitter and to inform my friends or the wider community about some minor detail that may be going on in my life or what I’m having for dinner.

In saying this though, I believe it has a place in the social media network and one great example is no natural disaster or revolt can pass without an examination of Twitter, the free internet social media service that lets users type out news, rants, ideas or cries for help in 140 characters or less.

After the 8.9 magnitude Earthquake hit the North East Coast of Japan Twitter erupted with activity from the major Japanese cities after local and national phone and Internet services were disrupted. It also became a source of further information that other networks and media outlets didn’t cover. Twitter immediately became the emergency epicenter for spreading news and communicating with friends and family. One headline I saw was ‘As Japan scrambles, Twitter reigns.’ Social media playing a leading role in a disaster. 

Spatial analysis service CASA's Tweet-o-meter was reading over 1200 tweets per minute coming from Japan, with the likes of the UK also topping the scales with equal numbers of Tweets as the country woke up to news of the earthquake. Japan is the record-holding nation for most Tweets ever in one second: nearly 7,000 were fired off in a moment on the most recent New Year’s Eve.

It seems social media is even quicker at spreading news than news agencies. Twitter users spread news of the "tsunami's estimated time of arrival on U.S. shores" even before an official government warning went out.

Since the crisis began, Twitter has proved indispensable in a country with downed phone lines and cell networks crashing from an enormous volume of calls. In addition to e-mail, many Japanese have turned to Twitter to find missing loved ones.

I believe social media will continue to grow; with the likes of Twitter coming to the forefront of social media in times of disasters as it is so easily accessible as well as a incredibly supportive tool. Just about everyone carries mobile phones in today’s society and online media networks are capturing this market.

After writing this I can’t say I feel the urge to set up a twitter account; however I can see that it can be a useful source of social media in a time of need and not merely just a place to tell your friends and family what you’re having for dinner. 

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