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Monday, 7 February 2011
Evgeny Morozov: The age of the WikiLeaks-style vigilante geek is over
Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange wear masks featuring the US flag during a protest in front of the of Swedish embassy in Kiev. Photograph: Efrem Lukatsky/APNow that the dust over the US embassy cables is beginning to settle, WikiLeaks finds itself at a crossroads. To effectively continue its war on government secrecy, it will need to make fundamental adjustments to how it operates – with no guarantees that the new, more mainstream WikiLeaks will be in much demand.Its other option is to sidestep its transparency work, delegate it to more nimble and decentralised WikiLeaks-clones, and focus on solving a problem that is likely to be a determining factor in the success of this nascent global transparency movement. It's only by making the publishing of leaked materials insusceptible to the whims of corporate intermediaries such as Amazon or PayPal as well as by increasing its resilience against cyber attacks and other forms of political and legal pressure that this movement can succeed. In other words, Julian Assange's other option is to dedicate himself to campaigning on freedom of expression issues, with the explicit goal of creating technical infrastructure that would allow the next generation of WikiLeaks-clones to remain uncensorable.
Why can't WikiLeaks just continue as it is? If anything, the US embassy cables have made it clear that the success of a WikiLeaks campaign greatly depends on who gets to analyse the leaks and who gets to publicise them.
None of these two activities can currently be done in-house and WikiLeaks has to partner media outlets such as the Guardian and Der Spiegel, borrowing their journalists and essentially making them serve as both "data analysts" (who go through the leaked material to separate the important from the trivial) and "advocacy co-ordinators" (who write articles on issues that WikiLeaks finds important – even though in reality it has little editorial control over what gets written in the end).
As it grows, WikiLeaks will become even more dependent on its partners. Thanks to its easily recognisable global brand, it does have the capacity to attract more leaks – but it doesn't have the matching capacity to make sense of them, let alone identify leaks that might be fake – and this latter type is poised to become more ubiquitous, given WikiLeaks's growing list of enemies. Geeks don't always make suave data analysts.
Similarly, one of the main challenges facing WikiLeaks is learning how to discriminate between different documents: data storage may be getting cheaper and leaks may be becoming more ubiquitous but the events of the past few months have shown that WikiLeaks is a more formidable actor with less data, not more. So while everyone can upload files to its site, these files won't make a difference until someone knowledgeable (and salaried) takes a look at them – and, even better, spends a week or two chasing the characters involved.
In this respect, WikiLeaks (at least in its current incarnation) embodies an ideology that can only be called anti-web 2.0: they value professionals over amateurs and explicitly reject the "anyone can edit" ethos of Wikipedia, believing that waiting for this mystical "anyone" is like waiting for Godot. All of this is for a good reason: unlike Wikipedia, WikiLeaks cannot just crowdsource this process, put all the leaked documents online and solicit help from total strangers – the strangers, after all, might have political agendas of their own (something that WikiLeaks is slowly discovering thanks to its association with Israel Shamir, who has successfully leveraged his status as a "WikiLeaks freelancer" to solicit meetings with the big shots in Moscow and Minsk).
But while WikiLeaks badly needs its media partners, it's not clear that the media partners actually need WikiLeaks. It didn't take al-Jazeera all that long to build a dedicated "transparency unit" on its site, allowing anyone to upload leaked materials directly (and, most importantly, securely) to al-Jazeera's site. This can be done on the cheap and, as the release of the Palestine papers shows, it can generate as much heat as the documents released by WikiLeaks. What future is there for WikiLeaks after other major news organisations create similar "transparency units" on their own websites?
Of course, WikiLeaks can also go its own way: hire a fleet of in-house data analysts, pair them up with in-house reporters, and turn itself into a non-profit news entity competing with the likes of the Guardian or al-Jazeera. In theory, this could be a smart strategic move but it is likely to "domesticate" Julian Assange; running such an NGO would require too many boring meetings with potential funders (many of whom have already been alienated by the organisation) and a nine-to-five office routine – the exact opposite of the glamorous nomadic lifestyle that the founder of WikiLeaks has become famous for.
By becoming a regular NGO, WikiLeaks may still be able to score some scoops but it seems that its real talents lie elsewhere. It has now garnered the unprecedented support of thousands of geeks all around the world – and it would be silly not to capitalise on it. But it's in the realm of free expression – rather than transparency – where the geeks can make the greatest contribution.
While the best way forward may, indeed, be to let a thousand Wiki-clones bloom – with local equivalents of WikiLeaks popping up in Russia, Bulgaria or Azerbaijan and not just on sites of global media outlets – it's important to remember that these clones will only be effective if they manage to resist the immense pressure that is likely to come from organisations and individuals unhappy with the leaked materials that they post.
WikiLeaks itself knows this problem first-hand, having been a target of both cyber attacks and political pressure. Thus, the only way to ensure that these new clone sites deliver is to offer them a platform that would sustain the wrath of politicians, corporations, and fringe hackers. WikiLeaks was relatively successful in fielding off such attacks – but only because it already had a global brand which guaranteed it some protection; its clones, however, do not have the same option.
Finding a way to make online information resistant to censorship has always been an objective for WikiLeaks, even though only a secondary one. Given the high profile it has obtained with the geek community – with plenty of coders willing to work for free to help it stay online – what Assange should do is to make it his primary objective.
This task looks particularly formidable and worthy after last week's internet shutdown in Egypt. This is an area where the WikiLeaks community can achieve progress relatively quickly, as many of the initiatives underway are technology projects that simply need an injection of new coders – and many of them will jump at the opportunity once Assange blesses it.
Would such a shift of focus be disastrous for WikiLeaks's original mission? As the publication of the Palestine papers suggests, leaks will continue, with or without WikiLeaks. So far the playing field is open to big-name players who can afford lawyers or backing by nation states. But who will be the platform to host leaked documents about local corruption in Azerbaijan or Mongolia?
The stakes may be too small for big players – and the small regional players, who are in a much better position to vet and process such documents, may not survive the publication of such leaks, getting bogged down in cyber attacks and other instances of legal and technological harassment. Finding a way to ensure that such local voices get heard may be the single biggest contribution that the WikiLeaks geeks could make to the global fight for transparency.
@'The Guardian'
The Apostate: Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology
Haggis was prominent in both Scientology and Hollywood, two communities that often converge. Although he is less famous than certain other Scientologists, such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, he had been in the organization for nearly thirty-five years. Haggis wrote the screenplay for “Million Dollar Baby,” which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2004, and he wrote and directed “Crash,” which won Best Picture the next year—the only time in Academy history that that has happened.
Davis, too, is part of Hollywood society; his mother is Anne Archer, who starred in “Fatal Attraction” and “Patriot Games,” among other films. Before becoming Scientology’s spokesperson, Davis was a senior vice-president of the church’s Celebrity Centre International network.
In previous correspondence with Davis, Haggis had demanded that the church publicly renounce Proposition 8. “I feel strongly about this for a number of reasons,” he wrote. “You and I both know there has been a hidden anti-gay sentiment in the church for a long time. I have been shocked on too many occasions to hear Scientologists make derogatory remarks about gay people, and then quote L.R.H. in their defense.” The initials stand for L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, whose extensive writings and lectures form the church’s scripture. Haggis related a story about Katy, the youngest of three daughters from his first marriage, who lost the friendship of a fellow-Scientologist after revealing that she was gay. The friend began warning others, “Katy is ‘1.1.’ ” The number refers to a sliding Tone Scale of emotional states that Hubbard published in a 1951 book, “The Science of Survival.” A person classified “1.1” was, Hubbard said, “Covertly Hostile”—“the most dangerous and wicked level”—and he noted that people in this state engaged in such things as casual sex, sadism, and homosexual activity. Hubbard’s Tone Scale, Haggis wrote, equated “homosexuality with being a pervert.” (Such remarks don’t appear in recent editions of the book...)
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Lawrence Wright @'The New Yorker'
Health risks take the gloss off enamel artworks
Changing tack ... Hazel Dooney at work. Photo: Hazel Dooney
But it's a toxic love affair and after almost 15 years of a range of nasty side-effects, Dooney is ditching the medium. Other than already commissioned works, she will no longer produce enamel paintings.
Dooney is not the first artist to abandon enamel paint after suffering rashes, blisters and nosebleeds. But gallery owners say it could make enamel works more sought-after.
The death of Dooney's father, Thomas Dooney, in January, from cancer, was the catalyst for the change, making her think about the health risks of long exposure to the paint and its fumes. Wearing gloves and a face mask helped but did not eradicate all symptoms, she says.
''I would get a red, blotchy rash on my chest and neck, my skin would break out in itchy sores, [the paint fumes] dried out the inside of my nose'', causing nosebleeds.
Exposure to paints and solvents, especially when ventilation is poor, can cause nausea and irritate skin, according to WorkCover NSW. Longer-term effects include asthma and lung cancer.
Safety sheets provided by paint suppliers advise people to wear eye protection and gloves when using high-gloss enamel paint. Some brands warn that prolonged skin contact may lead to dermatitis. Inhaling paint fumes may irritate airways and cause headaches and dizziness, among other things.
One artist, Jeremy Kibel, recognised for the use of enamel in his landscapes and backgrounds, has also suffered serious side effects from the paint and uses it only in small amounts.
''I used to use it because it was cheap,'' Kibel says. ''The stuff is horrid. I was getting smoker's cough from the fumes. When you use it all the time you get blistering in your nose.''
Kibel's GP advised him to stop using the paint but the artist says it has not affected him professionally.
''People did love those enamel paintings but most people are under-standing about why I flicked it.''
Big enamel works by the likes of Dooney and Kibel will remain popular, according to the owner of Melbourne's MARS Gallery, Andy Dinan. Dinan says Dooney's decision to quit the medium won't hurt her reputation.
''Hazel has worked across several mediums - photography, pen and ink drawings, watercolours - but the big collectors have always wanted the enamels,'' she says.
''[Her work] is so glossy it just pops off the wall.''
Wendy Frew @'SMH'
Chelsea 0 VS 1 Liverpool
Meireles strikes as Liverpool win on Fernando Torres's Chelsea debut
Longy - you was robbed! Fifty million AND three points LOL!
#batshitcrazy
johannhari101 Johann Hari
Glenn Beck just claimed India and Ireland are about to fall to Islamic revolution in a wave spreading from Egypt. #batshitcrazy
Massive UN-Supported African Palm Plantations Leading to Oppression, Kidnapping and Murder
Since the 2009 coup that overthrew the government of President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras, the countryside of the lower Aguan Valley, a long embattled region and one of Central America's richest agricultural areas, has undergone a brutal rash of kidnappings, murders, detentions and intimidation.The region has been long marked by conflicts over land and land reform; but today in the Aguan Valley -- prime real estate for plantations of African palm -- the stakes have increased dramatically. With the global biofuel rush, and with the expansion of carbon markets, which can provide massive underwriting for projects that appear "green," but in many cases may be anything but, the promise of carbon credits and free money from climate-financing schemes like the U.N.-backed Clean Development Mechanism, appear to be among the causes of renewed violence.
A signal occurrence was the recent kidnapping of a local campesino (peasant farmer) named Juan Chinchilla. Chinchilla is a leader of the Unified Peasant Movement of the Aguan (MUCA in its Spanish acronym) and a member of the National Front of Popular Resistance (FNRP), a movement that rose up after the 2009 coup that ousted President Zelaya. On January 8, Chinchilla was on the road when his motorcycle was fired on. He was quickly taken captive by men identified as wearing police and military uniforms and uniforms of the private security guards of Miguel Facussé, a Honduran businessman who owns vast plantations of African palm in the Aguan Valley.
By the time Chinchilla managed to escape two days later, he had been burned and beaten, though suffered no critical injuries. When he was interviewed, Chinchilla said his captors included "several foreigners who spoke English, and another language I didn't recognize." When asked why he thought he'd been kidnapped, Chinchilla said, "We're in a war with the landowners. We know that our enemies are Miguel Facussé, Rene Morales, and Reinaldo Cabales, and that the government sides with them, not with the people."
In poring over accounts from the Aguan Valley, including frequent reports by Italian journalist Giorgio Trucchi who has been in the Aguan during much of the past year, the name Facussé comes up again and again. A widely known figure in Honduras, Facussé owns thousands of hectares of African palm, among the fastest-growing biofuel feedstock crops. His agribusiness consortium, Grupo Dinant, has reportedly received millions of dollars from International Financial Institutions. If its registration is approved in coming weeks, one of Grupo Dinant's key projects will become the latest of about sixteen projects in Honduras -- including hydroelectric dams, biomass electricity, and methane capture projects -- to receive financing under the Clean Development Mechanism...
A signal occurrence was the recent kidnapping of a local campesino (peasant farmer) named Juan Chinchilla. Chinchilla is a leader of the Unified Peasant Movement of the Aguan (MUCA in its Spanish acronym) and a member of the National Front of Popular Resistance (FNRP), a movement that rose up after the 2009 coup that ousted President Zelaya. On January 8, Chinchilla was on the road when his motorcycle was fired on. He was quickly taken captive by men identified as wearing police and military uniforms and uniforms of the private security guards of Miguel Facussé, a Honduran businessman who owns vast plantations of African palm in the Aguan Valley.
By the time Chinchilla managed to escape two days later, he had been burned and beaten, though suffered no critical injuries. When he was interviewed, Chinchilla said his captors included "several foreigners who spoke English, and another language I didn't recognize." When asked why he thought he'd been kidnapped, Chinchilla said, "We're in a war with the landowners. We know that our enemies are Miguel Facussé, Rene Morales, and Reinaldo Cabales, and that the government sides with them, not with the people."
In poring over accounts from the Aguan Valley, including frequent reports by Italian journalist Giorgio Trucchi who has been in the Aguan during much of the past year, the name Facussé comes up again and again. A widely known figure in Honduras, Facussé owns thousands of hectares of African palm, among the fastest-growing biofuel feedstock crops. His agribusiness consortium, Grupo Dinant, has reportedly received millions of dollars from International Financial Institutions. If its registration is approved in coming weeks, one of Grupo Dinant's key projects will become the latest of about sixteen projects in Honduras -- including hydroelectric dams, biomass electricity, and methane capture projects -- to receive financing under the Clean Development Mechanism...
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Jeff Conant @'Alternet'
Sunday, 6 February 2011
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