Ethical View on Wikileaks

After September 11th, Americans looked to the government for protection and reassurance. However, they did not expect to find out thirteen years later that the government did this by using technology to spy on Americans, as well as other countries. George W. Bush began the policy shortly after the terrorist attack and Barack Obama continued it. There have been many confrontations over the years about the extent of the N.S.A.’s spying; however, the most recent whistle-blower, Edward Snowden, leaked information that caused much upset throughout America (EFF). It has also brought many people to question: is he a hero or a traitor?

Edward Snowden isn’t the only person who believes what the U.S. had done was wrong, but also many American leaders, and other nations around the world. The United States had not only been collecting data on their own citizens, but also of other countries leaders and citizens. The release of these documents had strained political relationships between the U.S. and other allied nations. The knowledge and truth other leaders and nations had gained

Julian Assange has been called many names; traitor, anarchist and even a high-tech terrorist, but the proper name for him is hero. WikiLeaks is an organization that truly works for the people. Keeping people informed with the inner workings of government, putting pressure on the press to acknowledge the truth and forcing change within government. WikiLeaks is driving journalism into the future and Assange is the driver.

The First Security Bank (FSB) of Malta, Montana fall victim to a crime of credit card fraud, money laundering, and embezzlement. The crime stared a small city in Montano with a couple thousand, who was startled from the crime. The vice president of operation of the bank was a pillar of the community and the suspect of the bank’s crime. The scheme was committed over a long period of time. This crime weakens the foundation of the bank and possible may run it out of business. The committee was in a frenzy with the bank and the suspect about spending the community’s money. The shareholders gave the president “30 days to clean up the bank or pawn the bank off to another financial institution.” (Volz p.1) However, the bank pulls through the crisis and gains more customer as the business begins the recover period.

Information that could be beneficial or detrimental to the government needs to be released in order for society to make a just verdict. If the public will remain ignorant and uninformed about issues occurring in their homeland, they will not be able to fend for themselves. Transparency between the common-folk and the “higher-ups” will keep the country a safer place, due to the flow of knowledge between the two groups. Disseminating information that can make or break a certain situation that will affect the whole country, such as choosing the next president, will create a more advanced culture. Although knowing fact will not create world peace, it may solve internal conflicts, such as providing evidence for law cases, which are just as important. When a country has greater unity between its citizens and its executives, it is

The ethical issues involving Edward Snowden’s case encompass key issues of morality. Snowden’s actions are to be interpreted as right or wrong based on the circumstances and personal reasoning. The preceding interpretation is this case in every ethical quandary. Once these issues are assimilated to the affected parties we begin to understand the larger picture of morality and ethical reasoning in Snowden’s case.

After completing a book, have you ever said to yourself “Wow, I would never be able to look at the world the same anymore?” All the Presidents’ Bankers: The Hidden Alliances That Drive American Power by Nomi Prins does just that. All the Presidents’ Bankers: The Hidden Alliances That Drive American Power by Nomi Prins changed my view on banks and the United States dollar, I would have never thought that banks had such a big influence on politics to the point where they can determine the outcome of the future. After reading the book, I believe Nomi Prins did an excellent job explaining how banks influence politics in America and thus control our political and economic futures.

Now, many of these banking groups are owned by foreign investors, despite attempted safeguards. This ownership has provided investors leverage and influence over the actions of the government because the government owes an exorbitant amount to these banks (Daniel Lederman). The same argument can be made about the United States’ government. This influence can be seen across the board as many decisions now seem to favor only a select few, forgetting about the ramifications for the many.

Many people have always wondered what the word ethics mean. To me ethics is the feeling of right and wrong. Many people have their own way of defining ethics and but this is what ethics mean to me. Ethics to other people might mean following the laws and some may say ethics is determined by what society is believed is right and wrong. For example Edward Snowden, a 30 year old man was born in North Carolina in 1983 (Edward snowden.biography, 2013, para. 1). Edward Snowden was a security guard that worked for the National Security Agency (NSA), after three months Edward Snowden started to collect NSA files and fled to Hong Kong and leaked the files. China started to print out report of the files that Edward Snowden has leaked to China

The Internet is one of the most widespread ways to exchange data, and a website called WikiLeaks has received a great amount of attention from the knowledge it releases. The details they give are known to be confidential and provide society with an inside view on what is really happening behind of the closed doors of the federal government. The site is based on the “belief that a more transparent government will bring better consequences for all, and that leaking information has an inherent tendency toward greater justice” (Singer 465). WikiLeaks gives its readers a way to honestly know all the significant facts and records that are purposefully kept away from

At 5pm eastern standard time on a Friday in late October, 2010, an independent website publisher named wikilieaks.org released documents alleging government and corporate misconduct as told by soldiers in the United States Army. This marked the single largest classified documentation leak that the United States government has ever encountered. This leak included 391,832 classified documents that covered a span of five years, from 2004-2009. I would like to take a second to dive deep into the five ethical examinations that our textbook covers including the utilitarian perspective, rights perspective, fairness or justice perspective, common good perspective and virtuous perspective.

Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the nation. It is a multinational company and it is recognized by its high revenue value. Unfortunately, Bank of America has endured many complaints and harsh views regarding their lack of ethics. Ethical issues occur when there is a blatant disregard to implement integrity, trust, and responsibility. In some financial institutions, ethical matters are displayed in the way the consumers are treated. Within the past nine years, Bank of America has diminished all of their ethical promises by revealing customer information without their permission; discriminating against consumers based on their race; and manipulating overdraft fees in order to benefit the bank. In order to assess these problems, it is vital to recognize what Bank of America claims to stand for and determine where their most concerning issues are generated from.

Everyone is entitled to confidentiality unless they give permission for someone else to see their information or they can no longer make decisions on their own (for example, if they are confused or comatose). A federal law, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act applies to most health care physicians and its guideline, known as the Privacy Rule. The Privacy Rule sets specific rules regarding privacy, access, and disclosure of information. For example, HIPAA specifies the following:

The fact Snowden chose to leak only information he and his media connections felt would not be detrimental to the public or government, yet would provide enough information that the public as to start an open debate on “big brother” oversight and privacy laws, shows that Snowden was in good faith and conscious leaking information for good and not for personal gains.

The bank's main owner, Ramón Báez Figueroa, was accused of operating a secret “bank within the bank” by officials for more than ten years (Economist, 2003).