The Importance of Freedom
After re-watching V for Vendetta which, on a side-note, is an excellent movie, I was struck by how topical the story was with regards to events of the past few months, from Wikileaks’ Cablegate to the ongoing Egyptian Revolution. This inspired me to throw together the image above.
Although the message is probably painfully clear to the Egyptian people, it is important that we, in the so-called ‘developed’ world, not forget that the unchallenged erosion of civil liberties, and other freedoms that we take for granted, could rapidly make this message ring true for us as well.
The Power of Information: A Critique of Privacy, Wikileaks and Recent Events
The recent explosion of Wikileaks and Cablegate has yet again brought the unique power of information to the forefront of the world’s attention. What makes this different from the usual ‘knowledge is power’ debate, is that it highlights the sensitive balance between those wishing to reveal information to the world, and those who, for whatever reason, want to prevent that from happening. Historically it was the role of investigative journalists to look into the activities of companies and governments, however due to the high costs of long-term investigative stories, political affiliations, the chance of government gag orders, and the threat of lawsuits, these have been in decline. It is not only massive government-focused leaks that have been gagged in the past, smaller journalists and even individuals have been prevented from legally reporting or capturing an event. Read more
Wikileaks Parody Music Video
Came across this parody music video of the whole Wikileaks/Cablegate debacle. It’s actually pretty good, check it out:
Poll: What’s your opinion of the Wikileaks Cablegate?
Those of us involved in security in any form will tend to have strong opinions about things like information control, political agendas, freedom of information, civil liberties, and the impact these may have on the world. I just wanted to get a feel for how the security community feels about Wikileaks Cablegate.
What's your opinion on Wikileaks' Cablegate?
- I'm pro-disclosure. Wikileaks provides a valuable service (77%)
- This information is too dangerous. Wikileaks were reckless to release it (19%)
- I don't care either way (5%)
Loading ...In related news: Poll reveals interesting correlation between Wikileaks’ Julian Assange and cloned foods!
Wikileaks Releases 250k US Embassy Cables (Chinese Gov’t Responsible for Google Attacks)
Wikileaks, who are currently the target of a massive DDoS attack, has just released 251,287 leaked US embassy cables (dubbed Cablegate). Mirrors available here.
The cables, which date from 1966 up until the end of February this year, contain confidential communications between 274 embassies in countries throughout the world and the State Department in Washington DC. 15,652 of the cables are classified Secret.
The embassy cables will be released in stages over the next few months. The subject matter of these cables is of such importance, and the geographical spread so broad, that to do otherwise would not do this material justice.
The cables show the extent of US spying on its allies and the UN; turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in “client states”; backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries; lobbying for US corporations; and the measures US diplomats take to advance those who have access to them.
One cable reveals that China’s Politbureau was responsible for the attacks against Google China back in January 2010.
[Update] A torrent is available to download the entire Cablegate site in a single archive for your personal reading pleasure (magnet links).
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