:: Event Horizon ::

:: Friday, June 27, 2003 ::

The Once and Future War?
The New York Times reminds us that it was on this day in history in 1950 that, "President Truman ordered the Air Force and Navy into the Korean War following a call from the United Nations Security Council for member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North." The Korean War ended with an armistice agreement but not a formal peace treaty. There are 36,000 American troops still in South Korea ready to defend the South if hostilities resume. The Korean Peninsula remains a flashpoint where a devastating war could break out at any moment. The United States is already a party to this unresolved conflict and obligated by treaty to defend South Korea. If fighting broke out, it would mean an immediate entry into a state of war for the U.S., with no prior preparation of public opinion or Congressional debate. I suppose we could argue that the debate has already occurred, and a legal basis for war already exists, but that debate happened a generation ago. If the American people wake up tomorrow to find that the United States is at war with North Korea, would they understand what it was about? I think this is an important question, if only because the casualties in the first days of fighting would be more than the U.S. suffered in both Gulf Wars. I would urge all Americans to educate themselves about the Korean War, how it started, how it ended, and why North Korea is still a threat.

:: Joel 2:29 PM [+] ::
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The Road to Oceania, Cont.
Just a follow-up on a previous post in which I was making the point that access to information is not the real concern, rather it is control of information that is the concern. I came across a great example of this in USA Today, an article about the problems being encountered by people as they travel because computers mistakenly flag them as being on a terror watch list. These people know they are on a watch list, but they have no power to change the information that has been entered. Gibson is right, information transparency is a great step forward for society and does indeed limit the scope of coercive state power, but the power to change the information, to add, edit, or delete information is where the real Big Brother power lies. Who decides which names go on a watch list? How long are they on the list? If they are placed on a watch list in error, what recourse do they have? Apparently, every American named David Nelson is being stopped at airports because that name is on a watch list. Let’s talk to him about Big Brother, shall we?

:: Joel 12:27 PM [+] ::
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Supreme Court Strikes Down Gay Sex Ban
It is a great day for liberty in America. No sex police in the bedroom. Now that would have been Orwellian. Orwell is so au currant. Anyway, I’m sure this case will generate a large public debate, and it should, but only if the debate is focused on the proper issues. Many will say this case is about gay rights and perhaps it is, although secondarily. As the Court makes clear in the ruling, this case is primarily about the coercive power of the state to control the private sphere. As I said in a previous entry on this subject, any state powerful enough to tell citizens what they can and can’t do in the privacy of their own home is far too powerful for me. Regulate the public sphere in the name of morality, health and safety, fine, but respect the home, respect the private sphere. If citizens are not free in their homes, then they are not free.

:: Joel 12:56 PM [+] ::
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Trust the computers
And speaking of Orwell, according to USA Today Bill Gates said technology can "prevent the nightmare vision of George Orwell." Yes, it can, or facilitate it. There was a time when human rights workers, missionaries and civil libertarians hoped that the Internet would break down the barriers in oppressed countries and shine the spotlight of public scrutiny on the worst abuses by totalitarian governments. China, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and others have shown that the Internet can readily be tamed by an authoritarian government. Technology can still be enlisted in the service of Big Brother, let there be no doubt about that.

:: Joel 10:29 AM [+] ::
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The Road to Oceania
This is a thoughtful piece from William Gibson, writing in the New York Times, (registration required; this should be noted for the sake of those concerned with barriers to information access; information is not quite as transparent as Mr. Gibson seems to think, anyway, back to the regularly scheduled blog entry) about the meaning of George Orwell’s 1984. Gibson suggests that because Orwell was inspired by his times, and especially the technology (broadcasting) of his times, his projections of a future dominated by Big Brother do not apply to our own times. I wish I could so as certain. I concede that Gibson has a point, universal information transparency would seem to be the death knell for the command and control apparatus of the police state. On the other hand, I feel certain that Orwell would recognize in the friendly fascism of commercial culture and globalization the velvet glove concealing the iron fist of Big Brother. And what would Orwell make of our new war without end against terrorism? Dismissing the relevance of Orwell’s dystopia for our modern times is to invite complacency, to ignore the fact that while technology may be evolving toward universal access to information, it does not necessarily provide universal control of information. As Jefferson said, “the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” We must be vigilant and on guard against the centralization of the control of information, even as access to information becomes more transparent.

:: Joel 2:38 PM [+] ::
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Best in Blogs, Cont.
Another Best of Blogland list, this one from MSNBC’s Blogspotting. It’s is an eclectic list, but for anyone just starting out in the blogosphere, these sites are good resources.

:: Joel 11:32 AM [+] ::
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Colleges Cheer Affirmative Action Decision
I am against racial discrimination in all forms. Therefore I’m greatly saddened that racial discrimination in the name of diversity has been upheld as the law of the land. In America, we are all equal before the law, at least, that is the ideal. The Supreme Court today affirmed the pernicious doctrine that some of us are more equal than others. When did diversity become a cardinal value? The motto on the Great Seal is E Pluribus Unum, which means, Out of Many, One. Our tradition and our heritage as Americans is to celebrate our diversity while affirming our unity. We are one out of many because we are all bound by the same law and held to the same standards, regardless of color or creed. We are all Americans, we are all in this together, and together we work to build that “more perfect union.” Preferences destroy the foundation of equality upon which that unity rests. I am and remain, an American idealist, and hope that someday this ruling will be seen as a modern day Dred Scott, an example of a Court too mired in the politics of the present to affirm the American ideal.

:: Joel 2:30 PM [+] ::
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Blogspot Exodus Continues
I noticed that one of the blogs in my blogroll and made the switch from Blogspot hosting to a new host and I had to update the link. As noted earlier, many bloggers are keeping a tally of who abandons Blogspot. I have admittedly given it some thought. I’ve looked into getting my own domain name but found that both my name and Event Horizon are already registered. So, I think I’ll stay here for a while longer, at least to see what changes Google makes to the Blogger service. I’m expecting that the server load times will improve. I mean, they have to eventually, right? And a lot of frustrations have nothing to do with Blogspot hosting. For example, just today I noticed that my commenting system from Haloscan is offline. Commenting is a ubiquitous feature of blogging and contributes to a sense of community, so when the comments are down it really takes away from the experience. Once comments are back up, perhaps one or two of you might offer you comments on whether or not I should stay with Blogspot hosting?

:: Joel 3:53 PM [+] ::
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DVD Rentals Top Videos
Technology milestones are an important marker in our chronology of civilization, and this one merits attention. When did the DVD format surpass VHS? This may be the date, make a note of it, it will be on the final exam. Ok, maybe it's not that important, but I thought it was interesting.

:: Joel 4:22 PM [+] ::
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Hatch Site Hides X-Rated Link
Here is an interesting discovery from Wired News: "Earlier this week, Utah's Sen. Orrin Hatch was caught using unlicensed software on his website. While his staff scrambled to fix that problem, Web surfers discovered his site had a link to a pornographic website." The media spotlight is indeed a double edged sword. I wonder why he didn't realize he would face such scrutiny once he came out in favor of malicious hacking?

:: Joel 4:17 PM [+] ::
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