On whistleblowers and secrecy: What author Barry Eisler said to a room of ex-intelligence officers

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“I think it’s a shame our discussion today isn’t being recorded and made available”

I admit, I did not read T(original)FA, but this struck me as a bit ironic. :slightly_smiling:

Oh, and bravo! Well said!

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the spooks got the dirt on the politicians and thus NO ONE will speak out !!

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Is anyone reproducing these patches for sale?

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What a compelling, direct, and proportionate speech. Eisler has bared actions and issues without resorting to snark and framed the necessary conversation for democratic debate. I hope that many can read this and form a more accurate understanding and wiser path forward. He is to be saluted for saying it & kudos to you Xeni for sharing it.

The bit on oaths vs agreements is alone a significant clarification regarding Snowden.

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If only the larger media had any interest in explaining the issues over which we have our pro wrestling style political and philosophical debates…

…the audience might notice both sides working together to create the spectacle.

  • article is out-of-the-park brilliant, thank you!
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I did mis the Q&A though, anyone know if that has been made available? Would love to see what kind of questions insiders have for him.

Long read, but brilliant, and absolutely worth the time!

quote"First, the reality is that the government classifies far too much information,…(snip)"unquote

quote"Second, the reality is that if we really are worried about the unauthorized disclosure of secrets, we should be prosecuting the thousands of officials who incessantly leak secrets favorable to the government."unquote

quote"Instead, secrecy is enforced selectively, with the government prosecuting the few leaks it doesn’t like while smiling benignly on the thousands it does."unquote

wait…wait. Let me get this straight. A “non-human entity” called “government”, uses rational thought to make life and death decisions that effect millions of people yet suffers no consequence of those decisions, right? Un unh. Nuuu nuuu nuuu. Wrong.
This is why “government” never, ever gets held accountable. Moreover, supposedly, “government” does things to keep itself from being embarrassed, right? Un unh. Wrong.
Government does NOT exist as an entity that makes decisions. PEOPLE in government do. People in government “decide” who, and who not, to prosecute. People in government “over-classify”. People in government decide to vaporize innocent human beings by the thousands. People in government decide to invade a sovereign nation based on lies. People in government, use vindictiveness to destroy peoples lives who run afoul of those same peoples interests. People in government decide to torture human beings with impunity, and detain human beings indefinately on a remote island.
And this is the problem. NO ONE in government is held accountable, because everyone blames the government as if they could slap it’s face. And this is the point. QUIT CLAIMING IT IS “GOVERNMENT” DOING THESE THINGS. IT IS PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT!!!

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