Anyone even remotely interested in your own freedom needs to see this.
John Oliver's Edward Snowden Interview
Monday 6 April 2015
Sleepwalking into Facism?
Sleepwalking into
Fascism (George Brandis and the Panopticon)
Morals
reformed—health preserved—industry invigorated—instruction
diffused—public burthens lightened—Economy seated, as it were,
upon a rock—the gordian
knot of the poor-law
not cut, but untied—all by a simple idea in Architecture!
—Jeremy Bentham
In
1791 architect Willey
Reveley drew
up plans for a revolutionary type of Prison. The prison was designed
by British Philosopher Jeremy Bentham. It was conceived as cheaper,
more efficient and morally superior to the prisons of the day. What he had in mind was this.
The Central Guard Tower ensures that all prisoners can be seen, but
tinted windows mean that a prisoner cant tell when he/she is being
watched and so will tend to behave as if they are being watched, even
if the guard tower is empty.
It's genius really, the inmates enslave themselves to a "being
watched" mindset, even if the Guard Tower is empty.
Technological
Panopticon
George Orwell famously took the idea of the Panopticon and applied it
society wide, envisioning it as a means of control over the
population. A television that watches you back was comfortably far
away in 1948, the year that 1984 was written, but now in the modern
world, it's your cyber activity that big brother wants to watch.
What's
really going on?
Metadata is the record of who you call, who you message and what
websites you visit. I am certain the George Brandis really isn't
driving this push for Metadata. Why do I say that? Check this 2014
interview on Sky News. It's clear he can't articulate what metadata
is with regard to web surfing
It's likely that Brandis is recieving advice from the security
agencies that we need to do this. However the threat remains highly
overblown.
In an article by Bernard Keane published by crikey.com
Bernard Keane points out that 113 Australians were killed by
terrorism in the years 2003 – 12.
In the same time more people were killed by tractors than at the
hands of terrorists. So why have we not declared a "War on
Tractors"?
In truth the security agencies will always ask for more powers. Its
in their nature and positive that someone will ask "wouldn't it
be easier if we could do x". Another problem is mission creep.
Agencies always tell us that x laws will only be used to go after
terrorists. 2 Years later its being used to go after drug crimes.
Then the next category. Then the next. It is up to a moral and
democratic government to dispassionately weigh the sometimes obvious
need for more power with the need for us to remain a free society.
This is a responsibility that this government is failing us on and
the consequences down the road could be very dire indeed.
Sleepwalking
into Fascism/Stalinism
I am not saying that George Brandis and Tony Abbott are fascist.
However with the power that intelligence organisations now have
ostensibly to combat terrorism, have you ever hesitated to make a
particular google search? I know I have. How would it look to have
my private thoughts and questions displayed for the world to see?
Maybe its an interest in Mein Kampf. Maybe you have a peculiar
interest in criminology. Or what about a spiritual interest? What if
you are interested in Islam?
Any or all of these searches could cause the eye of big brother to
fall on you, so many of us prefer to remain in ignorance. That's the
power of the Panopticon. It is us who police our own behaviour because
we can never know if we are being watched or not.
Big
Brother Sees All
What is certain is that if you become known to the powers that be as
a subversive, the eye of Big Brother will fall upon you and you can
bet all of your intimate details will be made public. This is already
happening.
Julian
Assange tweaked the nose of the powerful once too often and found his
dating profile made public.
Syrian Leader Bashar
Al-Assad had his music tastes laid bare when he came into conflict
with the USA with the embarrassing (and amusing) revelation that he
enjoys the music of Right Said Fred. Remember that song "I'm too
Sexy". Bashar does. He bought it on Itunes.
This is how the leaders of
the future will be bought and sold. Co-operate with us or that affair
you are having will be made public. Girls remember those nudes you
sent to your boyfriend? They'll have them too. And if you make
trouble for us, the world will see them too.
What Can we Do?
We
need to explain to our politicians that this state of affairs wont
do. Explain to them the ramifications of these decisions, not just
today, but for their children's future. I'll bet that most of our
politicians have no idea what we are trading away today in fear of
terrorism could bite back tomorrow by taking our freedom.
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