[International Herald Tribune, France]

 

 

Liberation, France

Who Rules Us? Hackers, the Global Press and Our Leadership - in that Order

 

"The decision to disclose one archive rather than another is now, as we all know, more a matter of negotiation between hackers and the press then between the press and global leaders. In this three party game, those in charge are the data thieves, second are those who impose their selections on behalf of their own ethics, and third are those who negotiate with the seconds to try and stay ahead of something they cannot control."

 

By Elisabeth Roudinesco*

 

Translated By Pascaline Jay

 

December 12, 2010

 

France - Liberation - Original Article (French)

The outpouring by the Web site Wikileaks of thousands of mails, e-mails and exchanges that should have remained secret until the opening of the archives by historians, once again raises the question of transparency. Ever since the Internet acquired the power to disclose everything and anything, gifted hackers have taken on the role of modern anti-globalist Robin Hoods, convincing Internet users to believe that all of the world's states have organized a vast conspiracy to enslave their defenseless citizens.

 

These, then, are the unwitting victims of an obscure and undemocratic power based on a reign of crime and corruption. At least that seems to be the thinking of this strange Australian hacker, Julian Assange. He fancies himself a benefactor of humanity, even as he is pursued - perhaps wrongfully - by Swedish justice, in connection with an investigation into rape and sexual assault. So Assange has gone into hiding somewhere in Great Britain and only communicates with the rest of the world via an encrypted e-mail account. “He's my son and I love him” his mother declared on Australian channel ABC.

 

[Editor's Note: Julian Assange is now in custody in Great Britain.]

 

If the hacker has been able to become a global Internet hero and a suspect adored by his mother, he has also become prey to his own machinations, as his "disciples" have now become disaffected. They accuse him of having compromised with the international press - El Pais, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, The New York Times, The Guardian - by accepting that this consortium sort through the documents, giving them control over the “revelations” they contain.

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

In other words, after shaking the world's most powerful leaders, he's getting a dose of his own medicine: he is being accused by his own troops, who are more extreme than he is, of behaving like a dictator and breaking his promise of absolute transparency. The project of Herbert Snorrason, a 25-year-old Icelandic student and leader of the movement against Assange, is dedicated to go even further in terms of organizing disclosures: “We want the organizational structure to be as open as possible. We don’t want to have control by a single person, but rather have a majority of the people involved participate in all of its decisions. We want it to be transparent.”

 

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:

Tal Cual, Venezuela: If Only Wikileaks Would Expose President Chavez

Berliner Zeitung, Germany: Assault on Assange Betrays U.S. Founding Principles

El Universal, Mexico: WikiLeaks Revelations a Devastating Shock to Mexico

L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon: WikiLeaks Makes 'Mockery' of 'U.S. Colossus'

Jornal De Negócios, Portugal: More than We Wanted to Know. Or Maybe Not!

DNA, France: The WikiLeaks Disclosures: A Journalist's Ambivalence

Global Times, China: WikiLeaks Poses Greater Risk to West's 'Enemies'

FAZ, Germany: Ahmadinejad's Chief-of-Staff Calls WikiLeaks Cables 'Lies'

Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Saudis Ask: Who Benefitted from WikiLeaks Disclosure?

Guardian, U.K.: Cables Portray Saudi Arabia as a Cash Machine for Terrorists

El País, Spain: Cables Expose Nuance of U.S. Displeasure with Spain Government

El País, Spain: Thanks to WikiLeaks' Disclosure, Classical Diplomacy is Dead

Guardian, U.K.: Saudi Arabia Urges U.S. Attack on Iran

Hurriyet, Turkey: Erdogan Needs 'Anger Management' Over U.S. Cables

Saudi Gazette, Saudi Arabia: WikiLeaks Reveals 'Feeling, Flawed' Human Beings

Frontier Post, Pakistan: WikiLeaks Reveals 'America's Dark Face' to the World

The Nation: WikiLeaks' Release: An Invaluable Exposure of American Hypocrisy

Buenos Aires Herald, Argentina: Without Hypocrisy, Global Ties Would Be Chaos

Kayhan, Iran: WikiLeaks Release a 'U.S. Plot to Sow Discord'

El Universal, Mexico: WikiLeaks and Mexico's Battle Against Drug Trafficking

Toronto Star, Canada: WikiLeaks Dump Reveals Seamy Side of Diplomacy

Guardian, U.K.: WikiLeaks Cables, Day 3: Summary of Today's Key Points

Guardian, U.K.: Leaked Cables Reveal China is 'Ready to Abandon' North Korea

Hurriyet, Turkey: American Cables Prove Turkish Claims on Missile Defense False

The Nation, Pakistan: WikiLeaks: An Invaluable Exposure of American Hypocrisy

Kayhan, Iran: WikiLeaks Revelations a 'U.S. Intelligence Operation': Ahmadinejad

Novosti, Russia: 'Russia Will be Guided by Actions, Not Leaked Secrets'

Guardian, U.K.: Job of Media is Not to Protect Powerful from Embarrassment

ANSA, Italy: WikiLeaks: 'No Wild Parties' Says Berlusconi

 

 

This escalation is based on well-known logic: a small group splits to create a new splinter group that will also, in turn, split again. The problem in this case is that this process of disclosure isn't limited to a settling of scores between a master seized by conspiratorial madness and groupies seized by the fantasy of impeaching a failed leader. This shows that world leaders are now victims of the same dictatorship of transparency that now affects the private lives of citizens - and that only the law can provide protection. On the other hand, this shows that the media has become as powerful as government leaders in managing global affairs. The decision to disclose one archive rather than another is now, as we all know, more a matter of negotiation between hackers and the press then between the press and global leaders. In this three party game, those in charge are the data thieves, second are those who impose their selections on behalf of their own ethics, and third are those who negotiate with the seconds to try and stay ahead of something they cannot control.

 

Of course, this dictatorship of transparency has two facets, one positive and the other negative. Thanks to this, crimes committed by states can be exposed in real time: acts of torture, military blunders, crimes, rapes, etc. But because of this dictatorship, all kinds of delirious positions can be disguised as rational statements: denial, conspiracy theories, the disclosure of rumors, etc. …   

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

Yet what’s most surprising about this story is that the secrets that have been revealed are nothing other than what we already knew. In exercising their duties, the people who govern us are like all other people: behind the pretense of social and diplomatic relationships, anyone is capable of insulting or showing great severity in their judgments. In this regard, a balance must be restored between the need for secrecy, without which no legally constituted state could long exist; and the need for a rigorous process of information gathering. We have no choice but to find a way to challenge the childish stupidity of these new dictators of transparency.

 

*Elisabeth Roudinesco is a historian and project leader at the University Paris VII

 

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US December 13, 5:29pm]