By Derek S., Staffwriter

On Nov. 28, 2010, some 251,000 United States diplomatic cables started to be released through the whistle blowing website WikiLeaks. These cables revealed private conversations between U.S. diplomats concerning terrorists, foreign relations, internal government affairs, economic conditions, and UN Security Council matters. Called the political “9/11,” the cable leaks detail the conversations of diplomats, high ranking generals, and spy activities on world leaders. The currently published material is not viewed as extremely life-threatening, but any sense of privacy with people speaking to American diplomats is in jeopardy. U.S. officials believe that if more classified information is leaked, it could endanger the lives of operatives around the world. The United States is not the only government showing disdain for the leaks.  The United Kingdom, Finland, and Canada have publicly spoken against Wikileaks’ sharing of classified documents. Public figures who have shown support for the Wikileaks cause include the American Civil Liberties Union, Reporters Without Borders, and some major news outlets as well the countries of Ecuador and Venezuela. Wikileaks current spokesperson and founder, Julian Assange, is currently fighting extradition to the U.S. from the U.K.  Assange is an Australian journalist, activist, and a graduate of Melbourne University. Assange has had a history of hacking since he was 16 under the alias of “Mendax,” until he was eventually caught in 1991 but released on bond in 1992. Assange has also won awards such as the Amnesty International Media Award for exposing an extrajudicial assassination in Kenya. Wikileaks is also responsible for the “Collateral Murder” video of the accidental killing of 18 civilians in Baghdad, Iraq, Sarah Palin’s e-mail contents, and much more. Wikileaks is currently fighting hacking attempts and has moved servers in order to continue spreading these documents, and is trying to find servers to keep their site online as many companies have refused to allow them theirs.