Slashdot Mirror


The War on Public Knowledge

SnapShot writes "There's a very scary article at slate about the revision and reclassification of public, U.S. Government documents made available over the last thirty years. This is supposedly to protect us from the terrorists. Do you feel safer?"

14 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Why is this surprising? by BoomerSooner · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It seems like McCarthy was a liberal by current standards. Land of the free my ass. Maybe if you're a corporation.

    1. Re:Why is this surprising? by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Oh - I forgot:
      GHW Bush: Documented CIA payroll.

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    2. Re:Why is this surprising? by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 3, Insightful
      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
  2. Anyone else worried? by Richie1984 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    a growing number of these sources are now barred to the public as "sensitive but unclassified" or "for official use only."

    For a start, what does "sensitive but unclassified" actually mean? Does it have any legal status? Or is it simply there because of the connotations? The subtle purposes of the phrase are easily explained; the government isn't hiding the material, but it's in everyone's best interests that you don't and anyone who says otherwise could be dangerous.

    --
    I'm not stressed. I'm just terribly, terribly alert.
    1. Re:Anyone else worried? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Who cares.

      Such a poignant response from a quintessential new generation puppet, with a signature paying homage to the obsession of playing videogames.

      Things are like this because of people like you. Who can't be bothered to divert some of their brain cells away from Halo 2 and contemplate the cause-and-effect that's going on with our society and government.

      Ironically, those of us who aren't so mentally handicapped, continually ask ourselves the same question, why should we care, when we see who we're trying to save.

  3. Who really cares?... nobody by ka9dgx · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Flamebait? Hmmmm.... maybe.... you decide.

    I'm done caring about it... we're now firmly in the shoes of the Germans circa 1935, we're not stopping the cult that siezed power. Protesting on a weekend doesn't count, nor to buttons. (I've done both, too).

    If we really cared, we'd march to the Capital Mall, in DC... and stay, until we got our troops home, and had an honest election, for a change.

    --Mike--

    1. Re:Who really cares?... nobody by HMA2000 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You're disgusting. Suggesting the US is Germany 1935 is an egregious overstatement and shows little regard for those unfortunate enough to actually suffer throught that period.

      Did you think maybe the reason the democrats can't win an election is because you actively promote hatred of those who's votes you wish to capture? Until you learn that a vast majority of the US citizenry is on the same side you will continue to be blasted in "fair elections."

    2. Re:Who really cares?... nobody by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      That's right. The people living in the Axis countries in fact were real big on "support our troops".

    3. Re:Who really cares?... nobody by FidelCatsro · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I live in germany , a couple of my inlaws were alive during that time .You know why most of them did nothing ,It was because it sliped in slowly , most of the changes were great for the standerd of living and the demonisation of the jewish people was not highly promoted at first so it slipped by most people .
      The thing is back then to these people Hittler was a hero , he brought them wealth and rebuilt the nation , it was not untill far too late that some people saw his true nature , he marched into checkoslovakia not fighting an oposing army , but to a parade. He was a very evil monster , but a very evil monster who was a hero to the people

      The Bush administration may well be a problem or perhaps it is not ( i wont state my opinion here as i dont want to bias people against my point)
      This in most ways is very very diffrent to Germany 1935,

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
  4. A long history of information hiding by ClosedSource · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The US government has a long history of hiding information and even classified documents aren't always classified to protect the country.

    A lot of classified documents are classified to avoid embarrassing the military or the current administration. The most famous example was the so-called "Pentagon Papers" which were a secret history of the Vietnam War. They proved that several Presidents had lied about the war (sound familiar?).

  5. Secrecy - because we are at War by dpilot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Most of the nation, including for instance the Supreme Court, accepts that the nation is at War. Not really Iraq, but the War on Terror.

    How does the War on Terror end?

    From whom do we accept surrender? Osama Bin Laden? What if Bin Laden were to surrender, but other terrorists disagree and want to continue fighting the US.

    How and when can a War on Terror possibly end? If you really want to consider this a War, then the answers have to be, "no way" and "never". Terrorism only requires people willing to be terrorists in order to continue, and I forsee no shrinkage in that pool of people in either near or distant futures.

    So we'd probably better get ready for the "temporary restriction of liberties during Wartime" to become permanent, because there is no forseeable way to end that war.

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
    1. Re:Secrecy - because we are at War by SpaceLifeForm · · Score: 4, Insightful
      The 'War on Terror' will only end when the real war against the citizens being orchestrated by the government ends.

      So, figure 20 years or never. It all depends upon when the sheeple wake up.

      --
      You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
  6. I find it odd... by SmurfButcher+Bob · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ... that when confronted with a highly skilled enemy who's ghouls and spooks rivaled our own during the peak of the cold war... we didn't really have this issue.

    --

    help me i've cloned myself and can't remember which one I am

  7. Re:Welcome to Nazi Germany. by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Who needs emblems?

    US can pick outthe dark ones already. They have more than 10% of their black males in prison already.

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."