15 Oct, 2013
Truthdiggers of the Week: Editors and Reporters of The Guardian
Since 2009, investigations by The Guardian have sent shock waves through the halls of power across the world. Like others devoted to the principles of their profession, I suspect its editors and reporters would demur at the suggestion that they’re engaged in anything more than journalism. In a strictly technical sense, they’d be right. But no action is deliberately taken without some expectation of consequence, and the thoughtful efforts of Guardian staff, operating in Britain, the United States and now Australia, have had history-determining effects that are decidedly not apolitical.
The impact of the NSA revelations so far has been to force governments and businesses into a stilted conversation with journalists, scholars and civil society about the proper limits on their power to monitor people. The U.S. government’s response was predictable: Surveillance is an essential tool, abuses are limited or prevented by adequate oversight, and the release of Snowden’s documents jeopardized national security and the lives of officials and service members. In short: Trust us. This stuff is complicated. We’re the only ones who understand what we’re doing, and it’s in the public’s best interest to keep it that way. All unauthorized parties in possession of the files were ordered to return them immediately. The British government responded similarly.
Many who value liberty and democracy disagreed.
Read the rest: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/truthdiggers_of_the_week_the_guardian_20131012
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