User:Book/BlogEntry: 2011 March 10 09:19:07 EST
From KLAMediaWiki
(Created page with "A lot of books have appeared, or are coming, about WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. I read one of them, namely, “WikiLeaks and the Age of Transparency”, by Micah L. Sifry (OR Bo...") |
|||
| Line 17: | Line 17: | ||
World War II: | World War II: | ||
| - | “Since each country’s intelligence service was forbidden by local law to | + | ''“Since each country’s intelligence service was forbidden by local law to |
spy on its own citizens, but nothing prevented each service from spying on | spy on its own citizens, but nothing prevented each service from spying on | ||
other countries, the five members of what is known as UKUSA agreed to | other countries, the five members of what is known as UKUSA agreed to | ||
share information on each other’s citizens, essentially going around their | share information on each other’s citizens, essentially going around their | ||
| - | own local laws.” | + | own local laws.”'' |
Wikileaks, too, has found a way to route around the laws of the singular | Wikileaks, too, has found a way to route around the laws of the singular | ||
| Line 27: | Line 27: | ||
at the following conclusion: | at the following conclusion: | ||
| - | “If anything, Assange’s greatest contribution to global enlightenment is | + | ''“If anything, Assange’s greatest contribution to global enlightenment is |
that the idea of a viable “stateless news organisation”, to use Jay | that the idea of a viable “stateless news organisation”, to use Jay | ||
Rosen’s phrase, beholden to no country’s laws and dedicated to bringing | Rosen’s phrase, beholden to no country’s laws and dedicated to bringing | ||
| - | government information into public view, has been set loose in the world”. | + | government information into public view, has been set loose in the world”.'' |
The way of WikiLeaks leads to what one might call the dilemma of the | The way of WikiLeaks leads to what one might call the dilemma of the | ||
| Line 43: | Line 43: | ||
says that | says that | ||
| - | “What’s needed is a much more robust discussion of how the internet might | + | ''“What’s needed is a much more robust discussion of how the internet might |
become a genuinely free public arena, a global town square where anyone | become a genuinely free public arena, a global town square where anyone | ||
can speak. Or, to be more precise, an Internet whose underlying | can speak. Or, to be more precise, an Internet whose underlying | ||
architecture is really free of governmental or corporate control, as | architecture is really free of governmental or corporate control, as | ||
| - | decentralized and uncontrollable as life itself.” | + | decentralized and uncontrollable as life itself.”'' |
We should probably ask whether that “global town square” really differs | We should probably ask whether that “global town square” really differs | ||
from the “world social forum”. Will the the WSF and the internet be | from the “world social forum”. Will the the WSF and the internet be | ||
| - | genuinely connected to each other by 2013? (About the WSF 2013, see | + | genuinely connected to each other by 2013? (About the WSF 2013, see |
Teivo Teivainen's message ''"World Social Forum 2013: Where? In Montreal?"'' at | Teivo Teivainen's message ''"World Social Forum 2013: Where? In Montreal?"'' at | ||
| - | http://www.nigd.org/?p=75. | + | http://www.nigd.org/?p=75.) |
| - | And which is the missing link between the WSF and the internet? | + | And which is the missing link between the WSF and the internet? |
You may have guessed my answer: the library. But then, how | You may have guessed my answer: the library. But then, how | ||
can the library be “as decentralized and uncontrollable as life itself”? | can the library be “as decentralized and uncontrollable as life itself”? | ||
| Line 65: | Line 65: | ||
official records'''*. Today at 18 pm, at the Old Cable Factory in Helsinki, | official records'''*. Today at 18 pm, at the Old Cable Factory in Helsinki, | ||
we shall discuss this at the AGM of the cooperative “Katto-Meny”, which, | we shall discuss this at the AGM of the cooperative “Katto-Meny”, which, | ||
| - | incidentally, is also the internet service provider of NIGD. | + | incidentally, is also the internet service provider of NIGD. |
* Footnote about ''“the principle of public access to official records”'';read more at | * Footnote about ''“the principle of public access to official records”'';read more at | ||
| Line 71: | Line 71: | ||
[[Category:WSF 2013]] | [[Category:WSF 2013]] | ||
| - | |||
[[Category:WSF 2013]] | [[Category:WSF 2013]] | ||
Revision as of 07:16, 10 March 2011
A lot of books have appeared, or are coming, about WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. I read one of them, namely, “WikiLeaks and the Age of Transparency”, by Micah L. Sifry (OR Books 2011, http://www.orbooks.com/our-books/wikileaks/).
This author, who is a social entrepreneur and who seems to have some links to the risk capitalists, does in my opinion quite successfully present the WikiLeaks as an important and positive phenomenon in the development of the internet. As the title says, Sifry sees the Net as a movement towards “transparency”, which, of course, he links to global (although mostly only American) democratization and democracy. “Transparency may be the best medicine for a healthy democracy”, he writes, “but the problem with the WikiLeaks revelations from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, plus the State Department Cables, may well be that they expose too much”. One of Sifry’s peers, Clay Shirky, has compared WikiLeaks to the secret pact, known as “UKUSA”, which the USA, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand formed after World War II:
“Since each country’s intelligence service was forbidden by local law to spy on its own citizens, but nothing prevented each service from spying on other countries, the five members of what is known as UKUSA agreed to share information on each other’s citizens, essentially going around their own local laws.”
Wikileaks, too, has found a way to route around the laws of the singular states. Commenting more specifically on the role of Assange, Sifry arrives at the following conclusion:
“If anything, Assange’s greatest contribution to global enlightenment is that the idea of a viable “stateless news organisation”, to use Jay Rosen’s phrase, beholden to no country’s laws and dedicated to bringing government information into public view, has been set loose in the world”.
The way of WikiLeaks leads to what one might call the dilemma of the ethical pirate, and which actually concerns not only news organisations. Big corporations like Google Inc., for instance, also must consider this problem. And so must certain institutions, e.g. the institution of the library. I have a dream about the librarians of the world acting like ethical pirates.
Sifry does perhaps not have so much to say about how we shall continue on the road of WikiLeaks, but he surely points in the right direction when he says that
“What’s needed is a much more robust discussion of how the internet might become a genuinely free public arena, a global town square where anyone can speak. Or, to be more precise, an Internet whose underlying architecture is really free of governmental or corporate control, as decentralized and uncontrollable as life itself.”
We should probably ask whether that “global town square” really differs from the “world social forum”. Will the the WSF and the internet be genuinely connected to each other by 2013? (About the WSF 2013, see Teivo Teivainen's message "World Social Forum 2013: Where? In Montreal?" at http://www.nigd.org/?p=75.)
And which is the missing link between the WSF and the internet? You may have guessed my answer: the library. But then, how can the library be “as decentralized and uncontrollable as life itself”?
Instead of contemplating eternally whether there can be such things as black swans, or ethical pirates, let’s do something together. Heikki Patomäki and others, including myself, are going to set up a Citizens’ Committee to support WikiLeaks and the the principle of public access to official records*. Today at 18 pm, at the Old Cable Factory in Helsinki, we shall discuss this at the AGM of the cooperative “Katto-Meny”, which, incidentally, is also the internet service provider of NIGD.
- Footnote about “the principle of public access to official records”;read more at
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2039996,00.html#ixzz1GAyB5avG
