Wikileakes released the largest classified military leak in history

Oct 22, 2023 News

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Kaieteur News – On 22nd October 2010 WikiLeaks released the largest classified military leak in history. Julian Assange, an Australian computer programmer who founded the media organization WikiLeaks. Practicing what he called “scientific journalism”—i.e., providing primary source materials with a minimum of editorial commentary—Assange, through WikiLeaks, released thousands of internal or classified documents from an assortment of government and corporate entities.

Assange’s family moved frequently when he was a child, and he was educated with a combination of homeschooling and correspondence courses. As a teenager, he demonstrated an uncanny aptitude with computers, and, using the hacking nickname “Mendax,” he infiltrated a number of secure systems, including those at NASA and the Pentagon. In 1991 Australian authorities charged him with 31 counts of cybercrime; he pleaded guilty to most of them. At sentencing, however, he received only a small fine as punishment, and the judge ruled that his actions were the result of youthful inquisitiveness. Over the next decade, Assange traveled, studied physics at the University of Melbourne (he withdrew before earning a degree), and worked as a computer security consultant.

Assange created WikiLeaks in 2006 to serve as a clearinghouse for sensitive or classified documents. Its first publication, posted to the WikiLeaks Web site in December 2006, was a message from a Somali rebel leader encouraging the use of hired gunmen to assassinate government officials. The document’s authenticity was never verified, but the story of WikiLeaks and questions regarding the ethics of its methods soon overshadowed it. WikiLeaks published a number of other scoops, including details about the U.S. military’s detention facility at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, a secret membership roster of the British National Party, internal documents from the Scientology movement, and private e-mails from the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit.

October 23

Disney’s animated musical film Dumbo was released

Dumbo, American animated musical film, was released on October 23, 1941.

The film produced by Walt Disney was based on a children’s book of the same name written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl.

The film centres on Dumbo, a baby circus elephant who is constantly taunted by other animals because of his abnormally large ears. When a boy at the circus pulls on his ears, Dumbo’s protective mother spanks the child and, as a result, is separated from the rest of the animals. Still an outcast, Dumbo becomes friends with a mouse named Timothy, who persuades the ringmaster to showcase the young elephant in a circus act. Dumbo’s clumsiness causes the big top to collapse, however, and he is thereafter forced to perform with the clowns. One night, he and Timothy inadvertently become intoxicated on champagne, and the next morning Dumbo wakes up in a tree. Timothy realizes that Dumbo’s ears must have allowed him to fly. This newfound ability, coupled with a boost of self-confidence, allows Dumbo to become a hero in the circus and to reunite with his mother.

Britney Spears’ (Hit me) Baby One More Time was released

In 1998, she released American pop star Britney Spears released her first single, “…Baby One More Time.” The song soon became the subject of controversy, both for its lyrics (“Hit me baby one more time”) as well as for its Lolita-like video, in which Spears appeared as a provocative schoolgirl. The attention, however, only helped the song, and when the album (…Baby One More Time) was released in 1999, it quickly went to number one on the charts and eventually sold more than 10 million copies in the United States. In 2000, she released her second album, Oops!…I Did It Again. It sold 1.3 million copies in its first week of release, setting a record for first-week sales by a solo artist. Although Spears drew criticism for her revealing attire—often imitated by her female fans—she was able to convey a wholesomeness that proved highly profitable. In 2001, she signed a multimillion-dollar deal to be a spokesperson for Pepsi and released her third album, Britney, which sold more than four million copies domestically. Its follow-up, In the Zone (2003), sold nearly three million, partly on the strength of the hit single “Toxic.”

October 24

American civil rights activist Rosa Parks dies

Rosa Parks, née Rosa Louise McCauley, civil rights activist whose refusal to relinquish her seat on a public bus precipitated the 1955–56 Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama, which became the spark that ignited the civil rights movement in the United States, died October 24, 2005.

Born to parents James McCauley, a skilled stonemason and carpenter, and Leona Edwards McCauley, a teacher, in Tuskegee, Alabama, Rosa Louise McCauley spent much of her childhood and youth ill with chronic tonsillitis. When she was two years old, shortly after the birth of her younger brother, Sylvester, her parents chose to separate. Estranged from their father from then on, the children moved with their mother to live on their maternal grandparents’ farm in Pine Level, Alabama, outside Montgomery. The children’s great-grandfather, a former indentured servant, also lived there; he died when Rosa was six.

For much of her childhood, Rosa was educated at home by her mother, who also worked as a teacher at a nearby school. Rosa helped with chores on the farm and learned to cook and sew. Farm life, though, was less than idyllic. The Ku Klux Klan was a constant threat, as she later recalled, “burning Negro churches, schools, flogging and killing” Black families. Rosa’s grandfather would often keep watch at night, rifle in hand, awaiting a mob of violent white men.

United Nations founded

United Nations Day, on 24 October, marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. With the ratification of this founding document by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations officially came into being.

There is no other global organization with the legitimacy, convening power and normative impact of the United Nations. No other global organization gives hope to so many people for a better world and can deliver the future we want. Today, the urgency for all countries to come together, to fulfil the promise of the nations united, has rarely been greater.

UN Day, celebrated every year, offers the opportunity to amplify our common agenda and reaffirm the purposes and principles of the UN Charter that have guided us for the past 78 years.

October 26

The Terminator was released on October 26, 1984

The Terminator science fiction action film directed by James Cameron was released on October 26, 1984. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose unborn son will one day save mankind from extinction by Skynet, a hostile artificial intelligence in a post-apocalyptic future. Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) is a soldier sent back in time to protect Sarah. The screenplay is credited to Cameron and producer Gale Anne Hurd, while co-writer William Wisher Jr. received an “additional dialogue” credit.

Filming, which took place mostly at night on location in Los Angeles, was delayed because of Schwarzenegger’s commitments to Conan the Destroyer (1984), during which Cameron found time to work on the scripts for Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Aliens (1986).

The film’s special effects, which included miniatures and stop-motion animation, were created by a team of artists led by Stan Winston and Gene Warren Jr.

Defying low pre-release expectations, The Terminator topped the United States box office for two weeks, eventually grossing $78.3 million against a modest $6.4 million budget. It is credited with launching Cameron’s film career and solidifying Schwarzenegger’s status as a leading man. The film’s success led to a franchise consisting of several sequels, a television series, comic books, novels and video games. In 2008, The Terminator was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

October 27

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gained Independence

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, island country lying within the Lesser Antilles, in the eastern Caribbean Sea gained independence on October 27, 1979.

It consists of the island of Saint Vincent and the northern Grenadine Islands, which stretch southward toward Grenada. The island of Saint Vincent lies about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Saint Lucia and 100 miles (160 km) west of Barbados. It is 18 miles (30 km) long and has a maximum width of 11 miles (18 km). The larger islands of the Grenadines associated with Saint Vincent are Bequia, Canouan, Mayreau, Mustique, Prune (Palm) Island, Petit Saint Vincent Island, and Union Island. The Tobago Cays, just to the east of Mayreau, have been designated a wildlife reserve.

October 28

The Statue of Liberty was officially dedicated

On  October 28 in 1886 U.S. President Grover Cleveland officially dedicated the Statue of Liberty—a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States—on Bedloe’s (later Liberty) Island in Upper New York Bay. “The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World” was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States and is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886.

The national monument is located in Upper New York Bay, east of Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, and southwest of Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan in New York City. Entrance is free, but there is a charge for the ferry service that all visitors must use.

In 2007, a concession was granted to Statue Cruises to operate the transportation and ticketing facilities, replacing the Circle Line which had operated the service since 1953. The waters are patrolled by the U.S. Park Police [26][27] to enforce the restriction on private boat landings. Ferries depart from both parks and all boats stop at both islands, enabling passengers to visit both islands and choose either destination on the return trip.

 

 

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• 1984, American civil rights activist Rosa Parks dies, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gained Independence, The Terminator was released on October 26, United Nations founded

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