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When I first heard the name WikiLeaks I thought it was some Hawaiian ritual or gathering like a luau. After recent events we all know what WikiLeaks is and the man who stands behind it. This news website was introduced in 2007 along with its' founder and director, a gentleman by the name of Julian Assange. The purpose or should I say mission of this organization is to provide the international public with leaked information derived from unnamed sources from around the world. Their news coverage is aimed at exposing the truth and expose social injustices. This of course is a noble cause but with it comes a higher responsibility of discretion and being able to discern what should and shouldn't be disclosed. Julian Assange an Australian journalist has been awarded and honored for publishing and exposing atrocities committed around the world such as toxic waste dumping in Africa, killings in Kenya, giving light to the injustices that occur around the world. In 2008 he received the

What some people do not know is that the Korean War has actually been going on since the initial war broke out between North and South Korea in 1950. It has never ended, albeit poor and not-so-eager attempts to stop it. Rather, there was merely a ceasefire that was never resolved. But whatever truce there was between them was not apparent, even to most of the rest of the world. There have been different versions as to the real cause for this conflict between the North and South Korea. Some say that it is just a cover-up for the real raging battle for political and economic power between the United States, which supported South Korea and the Soviet Union, which backed up North Korea. But the more accepted reason was the stern fight for democracy to prevail over communism, and vice versa, which was known to be the cold war between the once wartime allies. Indeed, aside from Russia under Joseph Stalin, North Korea also found huge support from its likewise communist neighbor China headed b

Imagine you're on a trip. You have planned it for quite some time and you're very excited. You love the place and have chosen to visit it because there is something about that country or area that you really love. You've saved your money, maybe sacrificed a little, so you could make the trip. So off you go. Sure you know that there are always certain vulnerabilities when you leave your country of origin, but you have done your due diligence, checked with travel warnings, and feel like the decision to travel was made with common sense so you feel secure. You've arrived! You check in to your hotel room. Everything is going great. But something happened. There has been a change in the atmosphere. People seem to be looking at you strange. What were smiles are now frowns. Where there seemed to be a welcome before, now there are only cold glares. Some people begin to yell, looking at you, speaking in a language you have no idea what they are saying. Imagine you are in an Afri

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - General David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, has been named the "most fascinating person of 2010", beating the cast of MTV reality show "The Jersey Shore" and teen singer Justin Bieber. Veteran journalist Barbara Walters called Petraeus a "true American hero" and placed him top of her annual list of the 10 most fascinating people of 2010 in a TV broadcast on Thursday. Network ABC said on Friday that 12.2 million Americans watched the show. Petraeus, 58, was named in June to head U.S and NATO forces in Afghanistan after serving as head of the U.S. Central Command overseeing Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen. He is also credited with having pulled Iraq back from the brink of an all-out sectarian war in 2007. "In life, it seems, there are people who break things and people who fix them. This man is a fixer, "Walters said. "A lot depends on General Petraeus and his combination of humanity an

BANGKOK: Thousands of Red Shirts anti-government protesters held a peaceful demonstration at the Democracy Monument here today. The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) leader Jatuporn Prompon said they demanded the release of their leaders and colleagues detained since the May 19 military crackdown. About 400 Red Shirts leaders and supporters are still under detention, including 19 who are facing terrorism charges. The rest are being held for violating the Emergency decree. "Release our leaders. Release our colleagues," the protesters shouted and by 6pm, they lit some red candles. Overall, the security situation was under control. The three-hour rally began at 5pm. The Red Shirts have vowed to continue with their rally at Ratchprasong intersection here on Dec 19, to voice out their demands. Eighty civilians and 11 security officers were killed and more than 1,800 people injured in violent clashes between protesters and troops between April 10 and Ma

(CNN) -- Supporters of WikiLeaks were criticizing Amazon.com on Thursday for refusing to host the controversial site while apparently profiting from a book about it. The criticism, over a book available on the internet bookseller's United Kingdom site, comes the same day that a group of anonymous hackers threatened to attack Amazon. Last week, Amazon said WikiLeaks, which recently released thousands of government documents that critics say jeopardize security, violated its terms of service. Best known for selling books, Amazon also has a Web-hosting service and had been home to some WikiLeaks files for about a week. The company was criticized by politicians in the United States and elsewhere but said its own rules, not the pressure, lead to the decision. The company said specifically that WikiLeaks does not own the rights to the information it is posting. On Thursday, however, a user had uploaded a book for sale on Amazon.com called "WikiLeaks Documents Expose U.S. Foreig

A North Korean aircraft, which may be a fighter jet, has crashed in China near the country's shared border, say Chinese and South Korean reports. It is believed the pilot, who was killed, may have been trying to defect to Russia, according to unnamed intelligence sources cited by Yonhap. The crash happened on Tuesday afternoon in Fushun county, Liaoning province. Defections are common but an attempt by plane is highly unusual and would be a source of embarrassment for Pyongyang. China has a repatriation agreement with North Korea, which could explain why the pilot may have been trying to reach Russia, the report added. North Korea has a military airbase in Sinuiju, near the border with China. China's state media confirmed an unidentified small plane had crashed and that it may belong to North Korea. An investigation into the cause of the crash was under way, Xinhua reported. Soviet-era jet Photographs of the wreckage reportedly taken by a local resident and posted on the intern

The deadly suicide bombing outside an Iraqi army recruiting centre in Baghdad will not derail Iraq's transition to democracy, the White House says. At least 59 people, most of them young men lining up to enlist, were killed and more than 100 injured. The withdrawal of thousands of US troops from Iraq would not be halted either, US officials said. Another eight people were killed later when a fuel truck was bombed in Baghdad, the Associated Press reports. Another 44 were wounded in that attack, in which a bomb attached to a truck loaded with kerosene exploded in a Shia neighbourhood of north-eastern Baghdad. The earlier attack was the bloodiest in Iraq for months and comes as the US prepares to end combat operations there by the end of August. It also comes a day after the bloc that won the most seats in March's parliamentary election suspended talks on forming a coalition government. "There obviously are still people who want to derail the advances that the Iraqi people ha

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday that same-sex couples could not marry in California while the court considers the constitutionality of the state's ban on gay marriage. But the panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals set an aggressive schedule for the case, with briefings in the fall and a hearing the week of Dec. 6. California's ban on same-sex marriage, known as Proposition 8, passed in November 2008, setting off emotional reactions among both opponents and supporters of the ban. Liberals questioned how trend-setting California could fall in line with roughly 40 other states that ban same-sex unions, while social conservatives boasted that their cause had national backing. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker ruled earlier this month that the ban was unconstitutional. Last week he said gay marriages could resume while higher courts considered the matter. But the brief ruling by the three-judge appellate panel reverses

An off-road truck plowed into a crowd and scattered "bodies everywhere" moments after sailing off a jump at a California race Saturday, killing eight people and leaving 12 injured, authorities and witnesses said. The crash came shortly after the start of the 8 p.m. PT race called the California 200, said San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman. Bachman said eight people died and 12 were injured, several of them seriously. Seven ambulances and 10 emergency aircraft responded to the scene. Most of the injured were airlifted from the area to Loma Linda University Medical Center or St. Mary's Medical Center. "There was dust everywhere, people screaming, people running," David Conklin, a photographer covering the event for off-road magazines, told The Associated Press. Crash followed jump Conklin said the Prerunner truck was among the first 20 off the line in the race, and had just gone over a jump known as "the rock pile" about three

A judge has awarded a US exhibition company $110m for salvaging artefacts from the wreck of the RMS Titanic. The US federal judge ruled that RMS Titanic Inc, which displays the artefacts in museums across the world, is entitled to their full market value. The court will decide whether to grant the company ownership of the objects or sell them and give it the proceeds. The ship sank on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in April 1912, killing more than 1,500 people. RMS Titanic Inc, a subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions Inc, has undertaken seven expeditions to the wreck site 2.5 miles (4km) below the north Atlantic, and has retrieved more than 5,500 artefacts. The Belfast-built ship sank about 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, two hours after hitting an iceberg. It was discovered in 1985 by an expedition led by Dr Robert Ballard. A US court granted the company salvage rights to the vessel in 1994 but explicitly stated it did not grant ownership of the wreck or t

SEOUL (Reuters) - The U.S. and South Korean militaries will stage their second joint exercise in less than a month from Monday, fuelling tensions with the prickly North and angering regional power China. The annual exercise comes a week after Seoul completed its own drills near a disputed maritime border off the west coast that prompted the North to retaliate by firing a barrage of artillery shells in the same area. Responding with the same rhetoric as it has in the past, the reclusive North said the latest exercise was a "dangerous act to light the fuse of a new war". Pyongyang has often turned to sabre-rattling to make a point but analysts say it is unlikely to risk a full-blown war which would pit it against the combined might of the U.S. and South Korean militaries. But U.S. officials have said further provocations by the North are possible in coming months, especially as Pyongyang tries to build political momentum for the succession to leader Kim Jong-il, expected to

US President Barack Obama has staunchly defended controversial plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York. Opponents have protested against the construction of an Islamic cultural centre and mosque several hundred feet away from the site of the Twin Towers. Mr Obama acknowledged "sensitivities" surround the 9/11 site, but said Muslims have the same right to practise their religion "as anyone else". "Our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable," Mr Obama said. Continue reading the main story Since a New York developer announced plans to build a 13-storey Islamic community centre and mosque about two blocks from the former World Trade Center site, prominent Republican politicians and a host of conservative pundits have attacked the project. Some relatives of people killed in the terror attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 are also opposed to the plan. 'Stab in the heart' In a speech at a White House dinner celebrating Rama

Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Russia will start loading a nuclear reactor in Iran with fuel next week, moving the project closer to being complete, both nations said Friday. The August 21 arrival of fuel at the Bushehr facility, which Iran says will create atomic energy but other nations fear could be used for nuclear weapons, marks a key step toward its completion, Russia said. "This event will symbolize that the period of testing is over and the stage of physical start-up has begun," said Sergei Novikov, spokesman for Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency. The head of that agency will visit Iran next week, said the semi-official Fars News Agency. A Russian group is already in Iran to make the necessary arrangements for his arrival. The reactor in the western Iranian port city of Bushehr will be operational by the third week of September, Fars said, though Novikov said the plant will not be ready to produce energy for another six months. "All the installations and tests a

Brazil's government has ordered its air force to officially record any sighting of unidentified flying objects. A government decree said all military and civilian pilots as well as air traffic controllers should register any UFO sightings with the national aerospace defence command. The information will be stored in the national archives in Rio de Janeiro. It will be made available to researchers, including those seeking evidence of extraterrestrial life. Anything unusual that is seen, photographed or video filmed in Brazil's air space will now have to be reported and catalogued. But the air force said it would limit itself to collecting information, and would not be chasing UFOs. "Air force command does not have a specialized structure to carry out scientific experiments on these phenomena and will limit itself to recording any events" the air force said in a statement. Out there somewhere? There have been several reports of UFOs in Brazil in recent decades. In 1986,

HIROSHIMA, Japan — With the mournful gong of a Buddhist temple bell and the release of a flock of doves, a crowd of 55,000 on Friday solemnly marked the moment 65 years ago when the world’s first atomic attack incinerated this city under a towering mushroom cloud. For first time, a representative of the United States, Ambassador John V. Roos, participated in the annual ceremony, raising hopes here of a visit soon by a more prominent guest, President Obama, who is scheduled to be in Japan in November. Mr. Obama has become a popular figure here since delivering a speech last year in Prague calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons. The mayor and other residents of Hiroshima have repeatedly invited him to come to their city, which — along with Nagasaki — is one of the world’s most recognized symbols of the horrors of nuclear war. Until Friday, American officials had always skipped the annual ceremony, fearing their presence would renew the debate over whether the United States should

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon demanded on Thursday that whistle-blower web site WikiLeaks immediately hand over about 15,000 secret Afghan war records it had not yet published and erase material it had already put online. "We are asking them to do the right thing," said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell in asking WikiLeaks to hand over the U.S. documents and delete material it had put on the Internet. "We hope they will honor our demands," he told reporters, adding that the only rightful owner of all the classified material in WikiLeaks possession was the U.S. government. The whistle-blower site caused an uproar when it published more than 70,000 documents last month, coming at a time when U.S. public and congressional support for the nine-year war in Afghanistan is flagging. The defense department said the leak -- one of the largest in U.S. military history -- put U.S. troops and Afghan informers at risk and WikiLeaks might already have blood on its hands. Wik

KANDAHAR, Aug 5 (Bernama) -- NATO-led forces in south Afghanistan has confirmed that a chopper of the alliance crashed in Taliban birthplace Kandahar in south Afghanistan on Thursday. However, there is no loss of life reported, China's Xinhua news agency reported, quoting a spokesman of the military alliance in southern region Richard McMorton as saying. "A helicopter of NATO-led forces made emergency landing in Panjwai district after developing technical problems and later on caught fire," McMorton told Xinhua. He also emphasised that there were no casualties on the crew and service members aboard. Meantime, a Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi in talks with media via telephone from unknown location claimed responsibility for the incident, saying the insurgents shot the chopper down by a rocket-propelled grenade, killing all aboard. The incident, according an eye witness named Abdul Rahman, occurred at around 02:00 p.m. local time outside Panjwai bazaar and the chopper

WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday rebuffed a call from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for face-to-face talks with his US counterpart Barack Obama, saying Iran was not serious about discussing its nuclear program. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs nonetheless held the door open to US-Iran talks as the State Department saw signs that Tehran may now be seeking a dialogue with Washington under the pain of new sanctions. “We have always said that we’d be willing to sit down and discuss Iran’s illicit nuclear program, if Iran is serious about doing that,” Gibbs told reporters. “To date, that seriousness has not been there.” On Monday, the Iranian leader criticized Obama for missing “historic opportunities” to repair the broken relations with Iran and offered to meet him. “We are hopefully coming for the UN assembly,” Ahmadinejad said in an address to expatriate Iranians which was broadcast live on state television. “We are ready to sit down with Mr. Obama face-to-fa

Now that she’s no longer the Bachelorette, Ali Fedotowsky has a wedding to plan — and she’s on a time crunch if she wants to make it down the aisle before next summer. “In the spring, we’re thinking,” the star of The Bachelorette said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Monday night when asked about when she’d like to marry her new fiancé, Roberto Martinez, who proposed with a Neil Lane diamond engagement ring on Monday’s finale. While their wedding will likely be a big event — “Her mom wants like 700 people,” Martinez said — the couple already extended an invitation to a VIP guest, and we’re not talking about Chris Harrison. When asked by Kimmel if they’d invite President Obama, who was not invited to Chelsea Clinton‘s wedding, and his family, Fedotowsky replied, “Absolutely, if they’ll come.” The couple have only had limited time since the finale taped about three months ago — spending five days together for every 10 days apart, they said, because of demands of the show. But they found some “weird