TJ Carolin
tc663706@ohio.edu
The Power of WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks is having a major impact on not only how we receive our news, but how this news comes to the surface. As WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange works very hard to reveal highly classified information relating to government and political issues, the U.S. government works even harder to keep WikiLeaks from releasing secretive documents to the public. Technology has changed the way we attain our news and media information, and WikiLeaks has pushed the envelope even further by not filtering or editing anything when it comes to new, secretive, and rare news material. After reading "The Implications of WikiLeaks" by Mark Feldstein, it is clear that the government is both angry and worried about the impact WikiLeaks is having on our nation and what kind of news it can now receive. In my opinion, WikiLeaks has brought more positive than negative outcomes of government fraud and conspiracies. American taxpayers deserve to have a transparent relationship with the government that their money is directed to, and WikiLeaks has uncovered some dirt. Just look at the U.S. Intelligence's plan to destroy WikiLeaks that WikiLeaks itself revealed. WikiLeaks is a threat to the U.S. government only if they have some things to hide, and I am not talking about war plans or Presidential documents. Rather, instances like the Navy Captain Owen Honors' firing due to his leaked raunchy videos filmed aboard U.S. vessels have been rightfully revealed due to the impact WikiLeaks has had in its few short years of existence.
Captain Honors forgets his Navy Honor
Although WikiLeaks did not break the news regarding Captain Honors and his infamous "XO" movie nights that featured Navy Seals and Captain Honors himself acting out sexual and raunchy activities, the presence of WikiLeaks and the pressure it has put on other news outlets to break the rarest and most classified news may have done Captain Honors in. An anonymous shipmate of Captain Honors leaked the videos to the ship's newspaper, The Virginia-Pilot. The videos were filmed and shown to the sailors in 2006-2007, but the story did not get leaked until January 2011. Back then, WikiLeaks was in its beginner's stage and those who may have thought about leaking this information and going against their Captain may have not been inclined to do so, perhaps because the Captain had not broken any laws and was relatively popular among his shipmates. But in today's age, with WikiLeaks showing that it believes in freedom of speech and complete transparency when it comes to revealing important news to the public, the anonymous sailor was probably more confident and comfortable with his decision to leak the information. Whatever his reasons, WikiLeaks' presence was sure to have an impact, as the non-profit organization with the intangible offices has people more and more curious as to what goes on with their tax money behind closed doors.
WikiLeaks did not break the Captain Honors story, but this video includes some of the footage of the XO Movie Nights videos from Captain Honors, as well as an interview with one of the ship's sailors regarding Captain Honors and his exploits.
Navy Captain Owen Honors Story
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