Today a great blow was dealt to the establishment, thanks to a strong dose of tech-enable transparency.
As promised, digital activist group Anonymous, with the help of Wikileaks, released over 5 million confidential emails from the intelligence & security company Stratfor. While much of it has yet to be parsed, some amazing tidbits have already surfaced from the handful of emails released: (more…)
Whistle blowers and freedom fighters extraordinaire – Wikileaks – have just released 35000 classified documents originating from U.S. embassies from around the world.
But this time, instead of slowly sifting through the heaping pile themselves, they are doing something new – opening up the classified cables to the public, letting crowdsourcing handle the brunt of the painstaking work.
The entire cache of cables made freely available online in searchable format, making it easy to scour. And whenever any intrepid investigator finds a juicy tidbit they need only tweet about it with the hashtag #wlfind to share it with the world.
Finally, Assange and his gang are embracing a bit of that transparency they so vehemently espouse – something I’ve been lamenting about since January.
Well, better late than never. Plus, with plans to expose more nations – like Israel and Russia – to the dreaded transparency treatment, it is high time Wikileaks distributed some of their burden to the rest of us.
You may recall reading about a group of demonstrators who were brutally arrested for silently dancing at the Thomas Jefferson memorial last week.
As planned, a follow-up demonstration was held today, this time with hundreds taking part. There were no arrests reported, despite large numbers of law enforcement present. Eventually, officers did forcefully disperse the activists.
So, a good turn out with no arrests. Successful protest, it seems. But what can we learn from this?
Well, for one, it shows the power of groups. When Kokesh and his cohorts were arrested last week, hundreds of angry phone calls to the police department ensured a prompt release. These same complaints probably warranted the light touch used by security forces earlier today.
As well, the protest went on mostly unabated because there were hundreds of dancers. This shows that if you want to take action against unjust laws by breaking them, it’s best to make sure there’s a lot of people are doing it alongside you.
And it doesn’t hurt to get it all on video, either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGTJq8LnIQg
(Gripping musical score? Check. Moving imagery? Check. Enticing speaker? Check. Well then, must be a powerful video.)
Having lived in Iraq as a young girl, and raised by a Jewish mother and Muslim father, peace activist Dr. Dahlia Wasfi has a unique perspective on the conflicts in the Middle East. As an advocate of “immediate, unconditional withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan”, her insights should garner more gravitas than that of many outsiders.
Here’s a few more of her thoughts:
“We have an obligation to every last victim of this illegal aggression because all of this carnage has been done in our name. Since World War II, 90% of the casualties of war have been unarmed civilians, 1/3 of them children. Our victims have done nothing to us.”
“They don’t hate us because of our freedom. They hate us because everyday we are funding and committing crimes against humanity. To most of the world, we are the terrorists.”
“Remaining silent on our responsibility to the world and its future of the world is criminal.”
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. Never has, never will.”
He’s been in custody since July of last year, but Pfc. Bradley Manning – the man who leaked a huge pile of classified US documents – still hasn’t been convicted of any crime.
But that won’t stop his jailers from assuming he’s guilty. Openly abused by fellow inmates. Kept in isolation 23 hours a day. Forced to strip naked at night.
Pfc. Manning is enduring torture to serve as warning to other freedom fighters as to what can happen if they attempt to promote transparency and truth in the land of the free.
There’s a large petition here if your interested in a way to help.
Today’s posting comes in the form of a two part interview with Professor Noam Chomsky, where he discusses the revolutions in the Middle East and the uprisings happening across the US.
My favorite part was the response given by Professor Chomsky, who is now 82, to the question “Why haven’t you mellowed?”:
“Because I look at the world and there’s too much, there’s things happening in the world which should lead anyone to become indignant, outraged, active and engaged.”
Right on, Chomsky. Right on.
