Friday, 3 December 2010
Hallucinogens as Medicine
Sandy Lundahl, a 50-year-old health educator, reported to the behavioral biology research center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine one spring morning in 2004. She had volunteered to become a subject in one of the first studies of hallucinogenic drugs in the U.S. in more than three decades. She completed questionnaires, chatted with the two monitors who would be with her throughout the eight hours ahead, and settled herself in the comfortable, living-room-like space where the session would take place. She then swallowed two blue capsules and reclined on a couch. To help her relax and focus inward, she donned eyeshades and headphones, through which a program of specially selected classical music played.
The capsules contained a high dose of psilocybin, the principal constituent of “magic” mushrooms, which, like LSD and mescaline, produces changes in mood and perception yet only very rarely actual hallucinations. At the end of the session, when the psilocybin effects had dissipated, Lundahl, who had never before taken a hallucinogen, completed more questionnaires. Her responses indicated that during the time spent in the session room she had gone through a profound mystical-like experience similar to those reported by spiritual seekers in many cultures and across the ages—one characterized by a sense of interconnectedness with all people and things, accompanied by the feeling of transcending time and space, and of sacredness and joy.
DOH!
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has few places to hide
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange had a reputation for being suspicious and paranoid even before everyone was out to get him.
Everyone, in this case, is the US - where government lawyers are hoping to prosecute on espionage charges - and the European Union, where he is wanted for questioning about an allegation of rape.
As of Tuesday, Mr Assange has also been liable to arrest in any of the 188 member countries of Interpol - from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe - in connection with the Swedish case.
Last seen in London, he is widely assumed to be in the UK now, though remaining continuously on the move.
If he appeared in public, British police would be obliged to arrest him under a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Swedish authorities - though it's not clear that anyone is going to go out of their way to find him.
"If there is no indication that the accused is in a particular region, you won't expect a police force to investigate," said a spokesman for the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).
So, supposing Mr Assange is still in the UK, and he lies low, he may be able to avoid arrest. In spring, however, his six-month visa will run out, creating additional problems for him...
Continue reading
HA!
davidhepworth RT @rob_fitzpatrick: Perhaps echo and the bunnymen can cheer us up with one of their football songs. Spare Us The Qatar. #besticandosorry
Grateful Dead: 30 days of the Dead (Archive)
The music of The Grateful Dead is meant to be shared and enjoyed by everyone. That's why we created the 30 Days of Dead. We at Dead.net realize that it was sometimes a little tougher than it should have been for you to download the music (especially that first week - sorry!), so we thought it only right that we give everyone a second chance to get every minute of the music. It's the kind thing to do.
Until the evening of December 8, 2010, we will keep this page and all of the links to the music live so that everyone has the chance to get and enjoy all of the songs. Just click on the song title to download the song.
NB: Most of these are previously unissued SBD recordings.
| 1 | New Speedway Boogie | 09.20.1970 | Fillmore East | 23.6 MB | ||
| 2 | Dark Star | 06.05.1969 | Fillmore West | 49.7 MB | ||
| 3 | Althea | 03.14.1981 | Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT | 20.6 MB | ||
| 4 | Playin' in the Band | 05.13.1973 | Iowa St. Fairgrounds, Des Moines, IA | 68.3 MB | ||
| 5 | Easy Wind A | 01.16.1970 | Springer's Inn, Portland, OR | 23.1 MB | ||
| 6 | Sugaree | 10.13.1980 | Warfield | 24.1 MB | ||
| 7 | He's Gone A | 03.26.1987 | Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT | 30.3 MB | ||
| 8 | Estimated Prophet | 10.07.1980 | Warfield | 28.8 MB | ||
| 9 | China Cat Rider | 02.01.1970 | The Warehouse, New Orleans, LA | 28.3 MB | ||
| 10 | Cream Puff War | 03.18.1967 | Winterland | 14.3 MB | ||
| 11 | St. Stephen | 10.15.1983 | Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT | 18.04 MB | ||
| 12 | The Music Never Stopped | 04.24.1978 | Horton Field House, Illinois St. U. | 20.3 MB | ||
| 13 | Truckin' | 05.30.1971 | Winterland | 19.4 MB | ||
| 14 | New MinglewoodBlues | 12.26.1970 | Legion Stadium, El Monte, CA | 12.5 MB | ||
| 15 | Sailor/Saint | 10.25.1980 | Radio City Music Hall, NY, NY | 30.4 MB | ||
| 16 | New Potato Caboose | 08.04.1967 | O'Keefe Toronto, ON | 15.6MB | ||
| 17 | Cold Rain & Snow | 12.28.1970 | Legion Stadium, El Monte, CA | 15.3 MB | ||
| 18 | So Many Roads | 03.28.1993 | Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY | 16.9 MB | ||
| 19 | Sugar Magnolia | 02.24.1971 | Capitol Theater, Port Chester, NY | 13.3 MB | ||
| 20 | Alligator | 08.05.1967 | O'Keefe Toronto, ON | 25.6 MB | ||
| 21 | Cassidy -> Don't Ease Me In | 08.31.1983 | Silva Hall, Eugene, OR | 22.5 MB | ||
| 22 | Tennessee Jed > Let it Grow | 10.23.1989 | Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, NC | 49.8 MB | ||
| 23 | Dupree's Diamond Blues | 01.25.1969 | Venuee: Avalon Ballroom, SF | 9.4 MB | ||
| 24 | Help->Slipknot!->Franklins | 05.05.1991 | Venu: Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA | 58.2 MB | ||
| 25 | My Brother Esau | 04.14.1984 | Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA | 13.4 MB | ||
| 26 | Shakedown Street | 04.06.1982 | Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA | 30.5 MB | ||
| 27 | Mason's Children | 01.10.1970 | Golden Hall, San Diego, CA | 10.9 MB | ||
| 28 | Let it Grow | 07.16.1990 | Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY | 27.3 MB | ||
| 29 | Uncle John's Band | 02.11.1970 | Fillmore East, NY | 13.0 MB | ||
| 30 | Sugar Magnolia | 6.4.1978 | UCSB Stadium, Santa Barbara | 19.2 MB |
British Foreign Office's guidance for travelling to Qatar.
It is a punishable offence to drink alcohol or be drunk in public. Offenders may incur a prison sentence or deportation. Alcohol is, however, available at licensed hotel restaurants and bars, and expatriates living in Qatar can obtain alcohol on a permit system. You should not carry alcohol with you, including in your car (except to take it on the day of collection from the warehouse to your home).
You should dress modestly when in public, including whilst driving. Women should cover their shoulders and avoid wearing short skirts. You should behave courteously at all times. Any intimacy in public between men and women (including between teenagers) can lead to arrest. Homosexual behaviour is illegal in Qatar.
More good advice here
You should dress modestly when in public, including whilst driving. Women should cover their shoulders and avoid wearing short skirts. You should behave courteously at all times. Any intimacy in public between men and women (including between teenagers) can lead to arrest. Homosexual behaviour is illegal in Qatar.
More good advice here
The Votes
2018 FIFA World Cup™
Round 1: England 2(!) votes, Netherlands/Belgium 4 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes and Russia 9 votes
(as no absolute majority was reached, the candidate with least amount of votes, England, was eliminated)
Round 2: Netherlands/Belgium 2 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes and Russia 13 votes (Russia obtained an absolute majority)
2022 FIFA World Cup™
Round 1: Australia 1 vote, Japan 3 votes, Korea Republic 4 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 3 votes (Australia eliminated)
Round 2: Japan 2 votes, Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 10 votes and USA 5 votes (Japan eliminated)
Round 3: Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 6 votes (Korea Republic eliminated)
Round 4: Qatar 14 votes and USA 8 votes (Qatar obtained an absolute mayority)
That means England spent 15 million pounds for one vote (the other coming from the FA president)
Round 1: England 2(!) votes, Netherlands/Belgium 4 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes and Russia 9 votes
(as no absolute majority was reached, the candidate with least amount of votes, England, was eliminated)
Round 2: Netherlands/Belgium 2 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes and Russia 13 votes (Russia obtained an absolute majority)
2022 FIFA World Cup™
Round 1: Australia 1 vote, Japan 3 votes, Korea Republic 4 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 3 votes (Australia eliminated)
Round 2: Japan 2 votes, Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 10 votes and USA 5 votes (Japan eliminated)
Round 3: Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 6 votes (Korea Republic eliminated)
Round 4: Qatar 14 votes and USA 8 votes (Qatar obtained an absolute mayority)
That means England spent 15 million pounds for one vote (the other coming from the FA president)
Football WM 2018/2022
Host 2018: Russia (!)
Host 2022: Qatar (!!!)
sponsored by Gazprom & petrodollars
what a corrupt bunch of bastards!!
Thursday, 2 December 2010
50 Greatest Merseyside Albums
We asked. And you voted. Over 2000 of you. Thank you. Liverpool.com presents our 50 Greatest Merseyside Albums of all time. As voted for by you... and with an introduction by Paul Du Noyer, author of Liverpool - Wondrous Place:
In a logical world we would see a chart topped by ten Beatle albums. With Atomic Kitten at Number 11. But this is not a logical world - this is Liverpool. So what we get, instead, is something much more interesting. Mere commercial success is not very important here. What Liverpool seems to like are its local mavericks and its lost legends. It definitely prefers acts who have stayed in the city. Those who were lured to that faraway nest of vipers, that London, are often forgotten. Something to ponder, all you young Wombats and Rascals...
"Still not enough room for acts lesser cities could only dream of..."
The trouble with Scousers, people tell me, is that you think you're God's gift to music. To which I reply: Well, let's look at the evidence, shall we? Here is a chart of fifty albums and there's still not enough room for acts that lesser cities could only dream of producing. A few omissions that spring to mind: Pete Burns' Dead Or Alive, Ian Broudie's Lightning Seeds, Billy Fury, Cilla Black, The Christians, the aforesaid Atomic Kitten, China Crisis, George Melly, The Scaffold, Space, A Flock Of Seagulls, It's Immaterial and Gerry & The Pacemakers.
"This is not a list of Easy Listening..."
More surprising than the overlooked oldies, though, are the missing modern acts. Where are The Wombats and The Rascals? And no Ladytron? Or Candi Payne? But as for what is here, few could really complain. Your Beatle choices follow the music critics' consensus, with Revolver riding high. Lennon's stark solo album, Plastic Ono Band, is a much hipper option than the more predictable Imagine, which does not feature. Macca's Band On The Run seems about right, and George's All Things Must Pass is definitely on the money. Elvis Costello's brooding Blood And Chocolate does well - this is not a list of Easy Listening. Pete Wylie of Wah!, Michael Head (Pale Fountains, Shack and The Strands), Edgar Jones (The Stairs and The Joneses), Ian McNabb (solo and Icicle Works) and Ian Prowse (Pele and Amsterdam) all show our loyalty to locally-based talent.
You see, Ringo? If only you'd come back to the Dingle you could have been a contender. But you're nowhere, man. Peace and Love...
1. The La's, The La's
(Go! Discs, 1990)
2. The Beatles, Revolver
(Parlophone, 1966)
3. Echo & The Bunnymen, Ocean Rain
(Korova, 1984)
4. Michael Head, The Magical World of the Strands
(Megaphone, 1998)
5. The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's ...
(Parlophone, 1967)
=5. The Coral, The Coral
(Deltasonic, 2002)
7. The Beatles, Abbey Road
(Parlophone, 1969)
8. Shack, Waterpistol
(Marina, 1995)
9. The Beatles, The Beatles (White Album)
(Parlophone, 1968)
10. Teardrop Explodes, Kilimanjaro
(Fontana, 1980)
11. Elvis Costello, Blood & Chocolate
(Demon, 1986)
12. Deaf School, 2nd Honeymoon
(Warner Bros, 1976)
13. Shack, HMS Fable
(London, 1999)
14. Amsterdam, Arm In Arm
(CIA/Universal, 2008)
=14. Ian McNabb, Merseybeast
(This Way Up, 1996)
16. Echo & The Bunnymen, Heaven Up Here
(Korova, 1981)
17. Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Welcome to the Pleasuredome
(ZTT/Island, 1984)
=17. Cast, All Change
(Polydor, 1995)
=17. Echo & The Bunnymen, Crocodiles
(Korova, 1980)
=17. The Stands, All Years Leaving
(Echo, 2004)
21. The Real People, What's On The Outside
(Columbia, 1996)
22. Pete Wylie & The Mighty WAH!, Songs of Strength & Heartbreak
(Castle/When!, 2000)
=22. The Zutons, Who Killed The Zutons?
(Deltasonic, 2004)
=22. The Coral, Magic & Medicine
(Deltasonic, 2003)
25. The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night
(Parlophone, 1964)
26. Pale Fountains, Pacific Street
(Virgin, 1984)
27. Pele, Fireworks
(Polydor, 1991)
28. Half Man Half Biscuit, Back in the DHSS
(Probe Plus, 1985)
29. Ian McNabb, Head Like A Rock
(This Way Up, 1994)
30. Gomez, Bring It On
(Hut, 1998)
31. The Icicle Works, The Small Price of A Bicycle
(Beggars Banquet, 1985)
32. John Lennon, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
(Apple/EMI, 1970)
=32. The Beatles, Please Please Me
(Parlophone, 1963)
=32. The Zutons, Tired of Hanging Around
(Deltasonic, 2006)
=32. The Coral, Roots & Echoes
(Deltasonic, 2007)
36. The Beatles, Let It Be
(Parlophone, 1970)
37. Shack, Here's Tom With the Weather
(North Country, 2003)
38. The Icicle Works, The Icicle Works
(Beggars Banquet, 1984)
39. Wings, Band on the Run
(Apple/EMI, 1973)
40. WAH!, Nah=Pooh! - The Art of Bluff
(Eternal/WEA, 1981)
41. OMD, Architecture & Morality
(Virgin, 1981)
42. Hot Club de Paris, Drop It 'til It Pops
(Moshi Moshi, 2006)
43. The Beatles, Help!
(Parlophone, 1965)
44. The Wild Swans, Bringing Home The Ashes
(Sire/Reprise, 1988)
45. The Stairs, Mexican R'n'B
(Go! Discs, 1992)
46. George Harrison, All Things Must Pass
(Apple/EMI, 1970)
47. The Beatles, Magical Mystery Tour
(Parlophone, 1967)
48. Elvis Costello, My Aim Is True
(Stiff, 1977)
49. The Farm, Spartacus
(Sire, 1991)
50. Edgar Jones & The Jones', Soothing Music for Stray Cats
(Viper, 2005)
(Go! Discs, 1990)
2. The Beatles, Revolver
(Parlophone, 1966)
3. Echo & The Bunnymen, Ocean Rain
(Korova, 1984)
4. Michael Head, The Magical World of the Strands
(Megaphone, 1998)
5. The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's ...
(Parlophone, 1967)
=5. The Coral, The Coral
(Deltasonic, 2002)
7. The Beatles, Abbey Road
(Parlophone, 1969)
8. Shack, Waterpistol
(Marina, 1995)
9. The Beatles, The Beatles (White Album)
(Parlophone, 1968)
10. Teardrop Explodes, Kilimanjaro
(Fontana, 1980)
11. Elvis Costello, Blood & Chocolate
(Demon, 1986)
12. Deaf School, 2nd Honeymoon
(Warner Bros, 1976)
13. Shack, HMS Fable
(London, 1999)
14. Amsterdam, Arm In Arm
(CIA/Universal, 2008)
=14. Ian McNabb, Merseybeast
(This Way Up, 1996)
16. Echo & The Bunnymen, Heaven Up Here
(Korova, 1981)
17. Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Welcome to the Pleasuredome
(ZTT/Island, 1984)
=17. Cast, All Change
(Polydor, 1995)
=17. Echo & The Bunnymen, Crocodiles
(Korova, 1980)
=17. The Stands, All Years Leaving
(Echo, 2004)
21. The Real People, What's On The Outside
(Columbia, 1996)
22. Pete Wylie & The Mighty WAH!, Songs of Strength & Heartbreak
(Castle/When!, 2000)
=22. The Zutons, Who Killed The Zutons?
(Deltasonic, 2004)
=22. The Coral, Magic & Medicine
(Deltasonic, 2003)
25. The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night
(Parlophone, 1964)
26. Pale Fountains, Pacific Street
(Virgin, 1984)
27. Pele, Fireworks
(Polydor, 1991)
28. Half Man Half Biscuit, Back in the DHSS
(Probe Plus, 1985)
29. Ian McNabb, Head Like A Rock
(This Way Up, 1994)
30. Gomez, Bring It On
(Hut, 1998)
31. The Icicle Works, The Small Price of A Bicycle
(Beggars Banquet, 1985)
32. John Lennon, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
(Apple/EMI, 1970)
=32. The Beatles, Please Please Me
(Parlophone, 1963)
=32. The Zutons, Tired of Hanging Around
(Deltasonic, 2006)
=32. The Coral, Roots & Echoes
(Deltasonic, 2007)
36. The Beatles, Let It Be
(Parlophone, 1970)
37. Shack, Here's Tom With the Weather
(North Country, 2003)
38. The Icicle Works, The Icicle Works
(Beggars Banquet, 1984)
39. Wings, Band on the Run
(Apple/EMI, 1973)
40. WAH!, Nah=Pooh! - The Art of Bluff
(Eternal/WEA, 1981)
41. OMD, Architecture & Morality
(Virgin, 1981)
42. Hot Club de Paris, Drop It 'til It Pops
(Moshi Moshi, 2006)
43. The Beatles, Help!
(Parlophone, 1965)
44. The Wild Swans, Bringing Home The Ashes
(Sire/Reprise, 1988)
45. The Stairs, Mexican R'n'B
(Go! Discs, 1992)
46. George Harrison, All Things Must Pass
(Apple/EMI, 1970)
47. The Beatles, Magical Mystery Tour
(Parlophone, 1967)
48. Elvis Costello, My Aim Is True
(Stiff, 1977)
49. The Farm, Spartacus
(Sire, 1991)
50. Edgar Jones & The Jones', Soothing Music for Stray Cats
(Viper, 2005)
(Thanx Stan!)
NME Top 75 Albums Of 2010
30 Klaxons – Surfing The Void
29 No Age – Everything In Between
28 New Young Pony Club – The Optimist
27 Best Coast – Crazy For You
26 Les Savy Fav – Root For Ruin
25 Avi Buffalo – Avi Buffalo
24 Vampire Weekend – Contra
23 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
22 Swans – My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
21 Janelle Monae – The ArchAndroid
20 Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
19 MGMT – Congratulations
18 Warpaint – The Fool
17 Factory Floor – Untitled
16 Grinderman – Grinderman 2
15 Yeasayer – Odd Blood
14 The Fall – Your Future, Our Clutter
13 Gayngs – Relayted
12 Caribou – Swim
11 The National – High Violet
10 The Drums – The Drums
09 Liars – Sisterworld
08 Salem – King Night
07 Zola Jesus – Stridulum II
06 Foals – Total Life Forever
05 Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
04 LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
03 Beach House – Teen Dream
02 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
01 These New Puritans – Hidden
# 31 - 75 here
29 No Age – Everything In Between
28 New Young Pony Club – The Optimist
27 Best Coast – Crazy For You
26 Les Savy Fav – Root For Ruin
25 Avi Buffalo – Avi Buffalo
24 Vampire Weekend – Contra
23 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
22 Swans – My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
21 Janelle Monae – The ArchAndroid
20 Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
19 MGMT – Congratulations
18 Warpaint – The Fool
17 Factory Floor – Untitled
16 Grinderman – Grinderman 2
15 Yeasayer – Odd Blood
14 The Fall – Your Future, Our Clutter
13 Gayngs – Relayted
12 Caribou – Swim
11 The National – High Violet
10 The Drums – The Drums
09 Liars – Sisterworld
08 Salem – King Night
07 Zola Jesus – Stridulum II
06 Foals – Total Life Forever
05 Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
04 LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
03 Beach House – Teen Dream
02 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
01 These New Puritans – Hidden
# 31 - 75 here
The State of The Music Industry & the Delegitimization of Artists
Part I: Music Purchases and Net Revenue For Artists Are Up, Gross Revenue for Labels is Down
Upcoming chapters:
Part II: The Impact of DMCA Streams and why they should be considered
Part III: How a skewed perspective delegitimizes artists
Part IV: The Growth Phase is Over? Improved Label Margins.
Part V: When Good Laws Turn Bad
Part VI: The Hills are alive…..
Did you hear? The success artists are having doesn't count. The music industry is over. Fewer albums are selling; revenue is down; the music being released is “crap”; everyone just steals music; the subscription services didn't take off; the RIAA is suing music fans; there are huge layoffs at the major labels; artists sell no music and make no money….it's a broken record.
The problem is, most of this is simply not true. Even worse, this perspective delegitimizes and hurts artists and the music industry. There is a lot “right” going on.
Based on what we have been hearing, most have no idea that music purchases are up over 50% from 2006 to 2009...
Continue reading.
Jeff Price @'tunecore'
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on WikiLeaks
But let me – let me just offer some perspective as somebody who’s been at this a long time. Every other government in the world knows the United States government leaks like a sieve, and it has for a long time. And I dragged this up the other day when I was looking at some of these prospective releases. And this is a quote from John Adams: “How can a government go on, publishing all of their negotiations with foreign nations, I know not. To me, it appears as dangerous and pernicious as it is novel.”
When we went to real congressional oversight of intelligence in the mid-’70s, there was a broad view that no other foreign intelligence service would ever share information with us again if we were going to share it all with the Congress. Those fears all proved unfounded.
Now, I’ve heard the impact of these releases on our foreign policy described as a meltdown, as a game-changer, and so on. I think – I think those descriptions are fairly significantly overwrought. The fact is, governments deal with the United States because it’s in their interest, not because they like us, not because they trust us, and not because they believe we can keep secrets.
Many governments – some governments deal with us because they fear us, some because they respect us, most because they need us. We are still essentially, as has been said before, the indispensable nation. So other nations will continue to deal with us. They will continue to work with us. We will continue to share sensitive information with one another. Is this embarrassing? Yes. Is it awkward? Yes. Consequences for U.S. foreign policy? I think fairly modest.
Full transcript
(Thanx Son#1!)
HA!
jeremyscahill Shit. Amazon just canceled my order of 250,000 classified cables. Should have bought the Kindle version. #cablegate
The bacteria in your gut can store more data than your hard drive
Bacteria have the potential to store a lot of data. One single gram of e.coli could theoretically hold something like a million gigabytes of information, while one gram of the stuff that your computer's hard drive is made of can store about four gigs, if you're lucky. The way that the data gets stored is basically the same, though: your hard drive stores data magnetically by converting them into zeros and ones, while bacteria store data chemically by converting them into nucleotides and making DNA.
The problem with storing DNA data in bacteria is that there's a physical limit to the amount of data that each DNA strand (and each bacterium) can hold. The solution, of course, is to chop your data up into lots of little pieces of DNA, and give each piece to a different individual bacterium. When you do this, you also have to give each piece an address of sorts, so that you'll know how to put all the random pieces back together the right way. This sounds like a pain to have to do, and it is, but it has the side effect of encrypting your data pretty well, since without the address key, there's no way to put all the DNA snippets back in the right order.
Once you've got your DNA-encoded data inside your bacteria, it doesn't bother them in the least. They'll just go about their happy little bacteria lives, oblivious to the fact that they're being hijacked as hard drives. And when they reproduce, they'll duplicate your data at the same time, providing a massive amount of redundancy.
So now that you've got a couple million bacteria wandering around with all of your data in their tummies, how do you actually get it back out again? It's not so hard, as long as you have a fancy next-generation high-throughput DNA sequencer. The poor e.coli who have been loyally storing your data for you get all squished up and run through a machine that can read their DNA, and it spits out a big long list of all of those individually addressed pieces. Put them back together, and there you go, it's your data.
Now, the important question: what, exactly, are the chances of this random DNA causing the e.coli to mutate into some superbacteria that will destroy all life as we know it? Apparently, pretty low. Not nonexistent, mind you, but it most likely won't happen.
Most likely.
Evan Ackerman @'Dvice'
WikiLeaks: Secrets shared with millions are not secret
But that was another century. The leaker then, Daniel Ellsberg, was not breaching secrecy for its own sake, unlike the WikiLeakers of today; he was looking to defeat a specific government policy. Moreover, he was acutely conscious of the risks of disclosure and did not distribute documents betraying live diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting. And it took him years to find a credible medium of distribution, which is now available at the push of a button. The government cried damage and suffered almost none; Ellsberg wanted to hasten peace and failed.
This week's dump of documents seems more likely to complicate America's diplomacy and may more surely damage some national interests. But damage is a two-sided coin. Secrecy can also hurt mightily and information is a volatile commodity: its effects are simply unpredictable. Disclosure may defeat a worthy policy but a secret may protect unworthy ends. Government should not be gratuitously hampered but its discomfort should never shield it from accountability.
The right standard for managing this uneasy balance was asserted in the Pentagon papers case by the late Justice Potter Stewart, when he wrote for the decisive centre of the US supreme court. He was sure the Pentagon papers' publication was not in the national interest, he said, but he could not find that it would "surely result in direct, immediate and irreparable harm to our Nation or its people". So despite repeated demands that we emulate Britain and criminalise the publication of official secrets, Stewart's tough test still governs the tense collaboration and competition between the American government and press.
Whatever any leaker's official culpability, the New York Times has prevailed in America's courts by proving that sophisticated reportage of foreign affairs routinely requires officials and reporters to traffic in classified secrets. The sad fact is that these technical breaches of security are essential to public understanding of current events and also to government's achievement of public support. So government has acquired the habit of classifying everything it does, thinks, plans or contemplates in the realm of foreign policy and must then break its vows and help to unravel those secrets to advance its purposes.
As Justice Stewart shrewdly observed, the checks and balances governing domestic politics are sadly absent in the realm of foreign affairs. Congress is easily browbeaten into patriotic silence when the war drums roll. Even our courts are thoughtlessly deferential to presidential prerogative when the national interest is invoked. That is why Stewart held that "the only effective restraint upon executive policy and power in the areas of national defense and international affairs may lie in an enlightened citizenry – in an informed and critical public opinion which alone can here protect the values of democratic government".
A wise government would therefore decide – for moral, political and practical reasons – to insist on avoiding secrecy for its own sake. "For when everything is classified, then nothing is classified, and the system becomes one to be disregarded by the cynical or the careless, and to be manipulated by those intent on self-protection or self-promotion ... Secrecy can best be preserved only when credibility is truly maintained."
And here we are at his predicted destination. Lead us secretly into one war too many, and see how we wallow in one or another disclosure too many.
Of course it will sting if some foreign leaders hesitate for a time before exchanging confidences with US officials. Diplomats may lose face, or even careers, for having written indiscreetly about their hosts. But there are few facts or observations in these leaks that a US official would not confide, without attribution, to a respected journalist.
As Dean Rusk, a former secretary of state, once told me, there was really little in his cables that he had not already read in the Times. It is hardly news that Pakistan's nuclear weapons are not securely held; or that Sunni Arabs dread a nuclear-armed Shiite regime and would gladly hold our coats while we fight Iran; or that China covets Iran's oil more than it fears North Korea's military sales. It is mainly the direct quotation or loose formulation of those confidential messages that risks some damage.
Mindful of such possible damage to foreign informants or intelligence methods, the papers given the WikiLeaks files censored certain passages and heeded some concerns of the US government. But facing a flood of documents on the internet, the papers had an obligation to publish well-digested accounts of the material. Information once lost to a government cannot be returned like stolen goods; by definition it informs those who receive it.
So the theft of secrets may be deplorable, and their massive concerted distribution may appear irresponsible. While the journalist in me recognises a clear duty to publish and be damned, the citizen in me also recognises a mess too far. I well know that no family, business or government can function without some genuine secrets. The trick is to focus on the genuine and to treat truly essential secrets accordingly.
Governments must finally acknowledge that secrets shared with millions of "cleared" officials, including lowly army clerks, are not secret. They must decide that the random rubber-stamping of millions of papers and computer files each year does not a security system make. What common sense has so far failed to teach, technology will surely now command. Chase away the WikiLeaks enterprise and another web-savvy crowd will reopen for business within hours. The threat of massive leaks will persist so long as there are massive secrets. An ambassador needing to protect a confidence needs to limit his audience to a few superiors. A diplomat looking to educate the government at large needs to hide his authorship of widely circulated reportage.
It is up to government, not the press, to guard its secrets as long as it can, and to adjust to a new reality when it fails. It is the duty of the press to publish what it learns, and to find news where it can when it is denied.
Max Frankel @'The Guardian'
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