While I believe Schmidt is wrong both in his deference to authority and his simplistic view of privacy, it seems overblown and silly to advance the claim that advocating that classification is a legitimate function of government is tantamount to being a war crimes apologist.
Regardless, Eric Schmidt is the ex-CEO of Google, unless one is of the opinion that CEO is a title of such distinction that it follows one around for the rest of one’s life, like “Senator” or “Colonel” in a southern potboiler.
Schmidt spouts his bullshit to maintain his bottom line, which is disgusting, but understandable. I can only hope you’re trolling – badly – because if you actually believe this crap, that’s the saddest part of all.
When you put it like that, it sounds pretty reasonable IMO.
Schmidt’s not just advocating some secrecy; he’s straw-manning whistleblowers and anyone else who cares about transparency as extremists who deny any need for secrecy; effectively advocating the current level of attempted secrecy despite the litany of atrocities it’s failed to conceal.
@doctorow Mad props for linking to the epub; neat combination of a gesture of disrespect and a subtle bit of evidence demonstrating the futility of persisting with a mindset and economy that’s in denial of digital reality. Well-spotted, @teapot : )
If you and your sockpuppets don’t like Cory’s posts and his headlines attack your fragile sensibilities, then I suggest you avoid them at all costs before you end up with a full-on hissy fit.
Agreed, and even after you ninja-edited your post, your rebuttal is still weak.
I also need to work on my rebuttals, though. Maybe some day I can reach the level of that other poster here that had that strong rebuttal to Cory that said, “Cory sure loves his knee-jerk reactionary clickbait headlines!”. You know, that other poster here with the strong rebuttals? I can only dream of being that strong of a rebutter someday.
I’ve tried that procedure, and it’s super uncomfortable. Again, not sure how it relates to Cory’s click bait trollish post, but hey, thanks for the fun image.
Thanks for your informative and damning post. It’s interesting after how after one slams down these type of hyperbolic posters with facts, they go slithering back under the rocks whence they came.
The zeal in which people come out of the woodwork to defend and apologize for Google all over the Internet and here at boingboing is really interesting. This should be an interesting thread.
You know, I don’t think “knee-jerk” means what that guy thinks it means, but you have to admit Cory’s headlines are sometimes total clickbait, and say things which are not actually true - like calling Schmidt a “war crimes apologist.” That was nowhere in the click-through I read, and if Schmidt acted that way somewhere else, wouldn’t it be good if Cory substantiated that claim before appearing to commit slander of the most irresponsible kind?
