I highly recommend those of you interested in the whole WikiLeaks kerfuffle to read Bruce Sterling’s article The Blast Shack. I think he’s hit on some strange socio-political conservation law where the Internet and the New World Order are variables in an equation that is trying to balance out. The problem is there are other terms in the equation that will be irrevocably cancelled and lost. A fairly down-beat assesment but very thought provoking.
I don’t often see eye to eye with Ron Paul (senior or junior) but thank god someone in congress is making sense. Thanks to sean808080 for the toot!
The crux of the WikiLeaks debate via Salon
Glenn Greenwald really understands this issue. The link above points to a page with text and audio. Keep you mind open, read, and listen
Another great article on how terrorism is psychological warfare and how the US has taken the bait.
Bruce Schneier – Close the Washington Monument
Terrorism isn’t a crime against people or property. It’s a crime against our minds, using the death of innocents and destruction of property to make us fearful. Terrorists use the media to magnify their actions and further spread fear. And when we react out of fear, when we change our policy to make our country less open, the terrorists succeed – even if their attacks fail. But when we refuse to be terrorized, when we’re indomitable in the face of terror, the terrorists fail – even if their attacks succeed.
If you are only going to read one article on the TSA, please read this one.
How our “security” obsession costs us
“The terrorists never have to strike an actual target. It’s not even incumbent upon them to build a bomb that works. Just about anything will do. To be successful, they just have to repeatedly send things in our direction, inciting the expectable Pavlovian reaction from the U.S. national security state, causing it to further tighten its grip (grope?) at yet greater taxpayer expense.”
The more I think about WikiLeaks the more convinced I become that this is an organization trying to do good. I believe that in releasing the Iraqi War Papers or the latest dump of State Department Cables Wikileaks is shedding light into the inner workings of our own government. While I do believe there is need for secrecy and confidentiality in many government operations I believe this capability is given by mandate of the people. If the government is operating counter to the will, or in a way detrimental to the well-being of the people, this capability can and should be taken away. The government operating in secrecy, without proper oversight, and accountability to the people becomes a government that is prone to wrong-doing, deceit, and in severe cases treason. When the government operates this way its every citizens duty to repeal the mandate of power by means granted to us in the constitution. That includes whistle-blowing and leaking information to the press. Whistle-blowing helped bring an end to the Viet-nam War, the corrupt Nixon administration, and were instrumental in breaking down the power of tobacco companies. So how different is Daniel Ellsberg leaking the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times from someone in the military leaking the Iraq War papers to Julian Assange? Not much if you think about it.