Leaked military files elevate mystery about Wikileaks founder Assange

Updated on Monday, July 26, 2010 at 8:55PM by Kay B. Day, Editor

Updated on Monday, November 29, 2010 at 10:03AM by Kay B. Day, Editor

Photo of Julian Assange from Wikipedia. At first glance, I was reminded for some reason of David McCallum who played Russian-born spy Illya Kuryakin on the TV series The Man From UNCLE.Wikileaks has published 75,000 US military documents about the war in Afghanistan and thousands more about other US military matters. No one knows the extent of the damage yet. But behind this new media coup is the Wikileaks founder who goes by the name of Julian Assange. And his public biography sounds more like fiction than fact.

The early years information in Assange’s bio is attributed to a single source—a New Yorker article by Raffi Khatchadourian. We have to assume there was a viable means of checking facts about Assange, but with media nowadays, it’s really hard to know what you can trust.

Start with Assange’s early life documented in the publicly-composed Wikipedia. Assange is said to be the child of a couple who ran a touring theatre company and that “he was enrolled in 37 schools and six universities in Australia over his early life.” He “lived on the run with his mom and half-brother.”

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Obama's ahead in polls, but supporters just can't get away from racism

"I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face," he said. [Sen. Barack Obama, Las Vegas, 9-17-08]

Once again, racism rears its politically profitable head, with Georgia Democrat Rep. John Lewis accusing Sen. John McCain of ‘sowing seeds of hatred.’ Lewis was referring to anger expressed by some who spoke up at recent rallies.

Memo to David Axelrod: these people, like your own constituents, are angry at Washington. And let me assure you it has nothing to do with race. Let me add I also realize race is a valuable card for Democratic Party supporters. And let me make a case for who the real race-baiters are.

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