Your Daily Digest for Wednesday, Dec. 1:
The biggest government whistle-blower in decades is a candidate for Time’s Person of the Year. This isn’t the only short list Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was recently added to, however — he’s also on Interpol’s most wanted list for alleged rape and sexual molestation in Sweden. The “red notice list” does not equate to an international arrest warrant, as nations still have their own jurisdictions, according to the New York Times. Assange’s organization has released hundreds of thousands of confidential and classified documents connected with the American foreign policy, one batch in July and one batch just last week. The releases have lead to both attacks, claiming national security was put in jeopardy, and compliments, from those who see the leaks as the epitome of free speech and holding government accountable. Assange, 39, has granted sparse interviews from undisclosed locations. An October New York Times article illustrates how he lives in secrecy.
A highly anticipated report released yesterday on troops’ views of serving with gay men and women showed the majority of troops are not affected by it. 78.7 percent of troops surveyed said a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would have a positive, mixed or no effect on “unit readiness,” the Los Angeles Times reported. “We are convinced the U.S. military can make this change, even during this time of war,” the report, administered by the Defense Department, concluded. You can read the survey, which 115,000 troops and 44,200 military spouses took, here, and the complete study and results here.
The South Korean director of the National Intelligence Service has predicted North Korea will follow up on its Nov. 23 attack that left four South Koreans dead, the New York Times reported. The U.S. and South Korea recently completed four days of naval exercises together off the North Korean coast, and a South Korean defense minister also warned of the “ample possibility” of North Korea striking again now. The attack late last month was the first attack on South Korean civilians since the Korean War in the early 1950s.
