#1. it would have never been published first of all bc the us govt is not the only one that doesn't tolerate outright criticism

[piduai]

honestly my only complaints about the gk ending are and will always be tsurumi and tsukishima surviving, first one was unnecessary second one was plain weird and character assassination. but like whatever nothing is perfect, everything else was too good to focus that much on what wasn't. i'm still baffled with how vocal and negative people seemed to be about the ending otherwise though, particularly with the main characters & the ainu question, because not only i can't imagine more fitting endings for any of them, all of that has been... extensively foreshadowed during the whole course of the manga.

sugimoto's survival was a make it or break it situation, while i *personally* would have preferred him to die because i'm a sucker for classic sad endings and stories culminating in tragedy, golden kamuy was obviously trying to ultimately be an uplifting, optimistic story, so the main character making it through is only natural. like it's about preference, from a technical and creative pov there's no reproach here, acting like keeping sugimoto alive was "bad writing" or "unrealistic" or what have you is simply ludicrous. shiraishi's ending was also perfectly fitting, his whole deal is that he's never been sedentary and kept chasing a hilarious dream his whole life, jumping from prison to prison; of course he wouldn't settle with his two friends after all is said and done like in your stupid infantile found family fanfiction or whatever. like why would he. why would he. that guy is a fucking gambler, although a bad one when it comes to racing horses.

asirpa is the most severe case with how much cretinism she ended up stirring. like you really have to lack a sense of foresight entirely to not figure that that's where her character has been going from the very beginning. she meets sugimoto and she says that she doesn't want to see people die, much less see them die for her goals. asirpa's story arc is accepting her father's legacy, respecting it, accepting her father's at times questionable actions because she loved him, but doing things her own way because she's not her father. she meets people she grows to love and she loses them in pursue of her father's dream - which he ultimately also chased because he wanted asirpa to be strong and happy and for her people to prosper. she prioritizes her own values because she's her own person. it's the pursuit of the golden ratio, of the middle ground, which is how most things in life are reasonably resolved. this "all or nothing" mentality that people seemed to force on her is just so very childish, especially for *asirpa* who has always been defined by rationality, frugality, and diplomacy.

but no because the story didn't go the alternative history approach with a full-blown revolutionary movement it's suddenly bad for western liberals. and asirpa is a shit character for having her own values and priorities and seeking to resolve conflict in a way pertinent to her consistent characterization. like you guys always are the first ones to raise the question of cultural sensitivity, but it somehow went out of the window immediately in the end. because clearly the historical revisionism and bizarre revenge fantasy fulfillment would have been so much better than respecting a culture's actual history lol

[nchyinotes]

War, Journalism and Whistleblowers: 15 years after Katharine Gun's truth telling on the verge of the Iraq War

March 2 2018

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/war-journalism-and-whistleblowers-15-years-after-katharine-guns-truth-telling-on-the-verge-of-the-tickets-42350362073#

“15 years ago, as a GCHQ employee, Katharine Gun leaked a memo revealing US spying operations on UN security council members. This simple act of bravery helped to galvanise the mass movement of opposition to the Iraq War. It also served as a telling reminder of the essential role played by the press in speaking truth to power and upholding the fabric of democratic life. A generation on, the legacy of that leak is writ large in a resurgent politics of resistance to the warfare and surveillance state on both sides of the Atlantic. This unique event brings together a panel, including Katharine herself, to discuss the lessons of that leak, and ask: What can and should we be doing - journalists, scholars, activists, citizens, policymakers - to do justice to the immeasurable public service performed by whistleblowers?

Speakers include: Katharine Gun (former GCHQ linguist and analyst responsible for the 2003 leak); Thomas Drake (former senior executive of the US National Security Agency); Duncan Campbell (award winning journalist, author and TV producer); Matthew Hoh (former US Marine and State Department official serving in Afghanistan and Iraq); Jesselyn Radack (national security and human rights attorney representing Ed Snowden among other whistleblowers); Silkie Carlo (Director of Big Brother Watch and leading voice in the campaign against the UK's repressive surveillance and official secrecy laws). We will also be airing an exclusive video message from Dan Ellsberg who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971.”

Thoughts: This was easily the best event I’ve been to on this gap year so far (and i’ve been to A LOT). I had actually come in with no expectations and not much knowledge of whistleblowers or any of the speaker's, and I had decided to come based on curiosity and proximity of location. So I definitely didn’t expect to be so overwhelmed by how emotional and intense this night was. Hearing everyone’s stories (for the first time) was inspiring, and left a deep impression on me. And it was amazing to be in the company of the supportive community that was gathered there - people respect and believe in human rights and equality, and people who are dedicating their lives to putting forth the truth, who truly care and are fighting for a better world and future. The audience engagement was actually what made this night so emotional. When the third question was asked by a young woman, who was an Iraqi journalist, she began to cry when asking what she could do as a journalist to stop the destruction in her country. Katharine started crying as well, and said that she had failed. She cried several more times throughout. There was also an audience member at the end who about how he tried to blow the whistle at the UN, who has been chronically unemployed for 24 years since. Listening to the people talk about the consequences whistleblowing had for them, and the injustices they faced (Jesselyn had a miscarriage, chronic unemployment despite extremely qualified), there is also what they said about what we can all do, and it all felt very pessimistic, and I felt slightly overcome with a feeling of dread and despair. It was hard not to feel utterly depressed at the world / what I was hearing. But I think events like these are so important because they’re inspiring, and they lend support and renewed motivation and validation hopefully, for people who have blown the whistle and who may need the courage in the future. The solidarity between the panel members was palpable. And it was hard for me not to feel like tearing up when Tom Drake said that he wouldn’t be here with Jesselyn. Before this, I think I had taken for granted all the major whistleblowers I had heard about and what they had given for the public interest - Snowden, Wikileaks, Panama Papers, #metoo, NHS. I never thought much about the individuals themselves, and the toll this would take on them or the emotional resilience required. Really eye opening, and I hope to educate myself further about whistleblowers protections (which was barely touched on in my employment law module!), and to look for volunteering options where I can help.

NOTES

Act of truth telling by people (not apps or systems)

People willing to risk their lives and jobs to speak truth to power (telling secret stories of surveillance)

Free press + whistleblowing under threat

Duncan

Katherine: Difficulties in the way journalists interpreted/presented her material

Dnotices (?) - used to terrify journalists until reforms of 1980s, penalty for journalists to receive info (as heavy as source)

1960s - gave us daniel ellsberg (vietnam war) - from the post!!

British official secrets act

Tom kiok - appalling agreements between blair & bush after afghanistan invasion??, never published, both sides were jailed (journalist + source)

Reality winner - compromised by magazine set up by snowden ??

Newspapers: NYT published disinformation supporting iraq war and didn’t publish stories brought to them around tom

Espionage act, the daily telegraph ?

Katharine

Why didn’t 100s of other people who received the email at GCHQ do the same thing?

Memory has important part in people’s decision making processes

Remembered horrific scenes of retreating iraqi soldiers waving white flags in surrender and being blitzed by US aircraft (turkey shoot?) - when she was 13

Despair at the lack of humanity

Iraq suffered 10 years of sanctions

Poor people of iraq had suffered 10 years of war, then 10 years of sanctions = terrible sanctions

When bush/blair suddenly focused on iraq, everyone was just like what, why? What does it have to do with 9/11 stuff?

While at GCHQ, conference in san diego - invited to board US aircraft carrier, was told by extremely young naval officers that they would deploy this in 3 days to iraq

Started some personal investigation into realities of what was going on in iraq

Saw target iraq + war plan iraq books in local bookshop

Clearly there was no case whatsoever

Duplicitous nature - lots of fudging on the issue

Jan 31 2003 - memo from NSA, asked for all domestic and diplomatic nations on UN council, for all gambit of knowledge that would be favourable to US goals (“not GBR of course, haha”)

Assumption that of course GCHQ would do it, this is what we want you to do. Not even an ask.

Thought about it over the weekend, but already made up her mind because felt like an impending train of disaster and she had to stop the wheels from turning.

Printed it off next monday in office

Creedence to journalists that took a punt on the email, because they were very concerned about reality of it (she did it anonymously) - brave step in publishing

Govt held her on ?? without bail / charge

Liberty found out who she was and gave her lots of support/advice

Lost all her friends immediately

Couldn’t go to work

Did deliberately to make life miserable for her

Charged in nov 2003 - plead guilty or not guilty?

Didn’t feel guilty, felt justified in what she’d done → pleaded not guilty

Only defence: public interest/necessity

Asked AG for all his legal advice

Dropped charges in 3 weeks, claimed they had no evidence (but she had confessed?)

Wasn’t willing to have legality of war discussed in war room.

15 years on, don’t feel any safer - what has the war on terror achieved? Even more concerned, raising a child in this world.

We need to support whistleblowers bc they’re really under attack, journalists who are doing their job, investigatory powers act (challenged in court) - prevent them from grabbing more power because they’ve taken so much already

Norman

Daniel ellsberg - pentagon papers

Someone unknown made it possible for observer newspaper to illuminate truth about manipulations, deceptions, extent to which US/GB are willing to go to drive the war train to get the dogs to war (poodle??) in iraq

Became a huge admirer of katharine gun before we knew what her name was

Daniel ellsberg speaking about katharine gun

First person prosecuted in US (espionage act), don’t have an act like UK (official secrets act)

1) Clearly higher than top secret classification document

Someone very high in GCHQ was clearly dissenting progress toward an illegal war

Cable from NSA asking GCHQ to help in intercepting of communications of every member of security council of UN

Rely on british to commit criminal acts for them (bc they were explicitly not allowed to)

2) This was not history, this was a current cable, and before the iraq war had actually started

Intimidation, blackmail, knowing private wants - intention was to coerce UN security council vote, with material tapped

She only actually had accidental access, wasn’t that high ranking

She acted almost immediately on pursuit of illegal war on illegal means

Dan regrets not putting out the documents available to him in 1964, years before he actually gave them - of bombing, war

Didn’t have precedent to instruct him on that

Could have been much more constructive in preventing that war if acted immediately

If US had gotten wind of it before, would have probably gotten an injunction. Was hardly covered in the US, whereas lots of

US had to give up plan of getting supporting vote in UN

Blair and govt went against earlier promise to not go ahead with war unless it was supported by the council, without legitimating precedent

One of the only few whistleblowers who didn’t wait, and wasn’t dealing with historical material. Judgment that what she was being asked to do was wrong, revealing what she knew was wrong.

“Information that bears on deception or illegality in pursuing wrongful policies or an aggressive war. Consider acting in a timely way to whatever cost to yourself.“

Tom drake

9/11 was a seminal event for many people (probably up on this panel)

Shadowy beast - had joined this system (the NSA)

9/11 triggered a whole host of secret decisions at highest levels of government, and he happened to be there.

Chosen to go there due to NSA outside stakeholders saying you need new blood - is generally quite inbred??

Became the justification for public consumption (esp by dick cheney)

“never let a crisis go to waste”

C change occurred in secret

Very first priority after 9/11 was this was the excuse to invade iraq

He began to inquire as to what was the intelligence, as plans for war were basically set

Part of job is to understand what was going on

Crypto Linguist background - asked arab linguist what we have on iraq, bc intelligence is supposed to be non political, not manipulated or framed, or made up lol

NSA itself had blanket surveillance of basically any electronic signal in iraq at this time

Kept coming back to him that there was no intelligence (threats) on iraq

Culminated in someone who shared with him later that the intelligence between invasion of iraq was a lie ??

Culminating meeting? Before formal decision was made, clearly a pretence, where general colmon powell made trip to UN and proceed with what US knew was slam dunk intelligence

Made clear that despite doubts of powell, intelligence regarding weapons of mass description was absolute/etc/slam dunk

Those on the outside to give expertise stayed silent

Crucial to get passage of second resolution as ultimate cover for US led coalition in invading iraq

Jesselyn

Representing hacktivists, journalists, whistleblowers

Was a whistleblower herself, same era as Katharine, on info that had been suppressed on war on terror, and prosecution of first so called american taliban

Justice department attorney in ethics office

Placed under investigation but no reason why, placed under bar’s no fly list

Miscarriage, 100k money she didn’t have

Prosecuting tom drake for espionage - one of the most serious charges against an american, 4th time someone who wasn’t a spy had been prosecuted for it (3rd was dan ellsberg)

Over a dozen people under obama ended up being pursued under this act

Trump has renewed this with vigour, going after reality winter (25) to make an example of her

Tries to keep these cases very secret, that’s why espionage act is being used to keep behind

Matthew

She tried to save the lives of millions of people, many of whom were his friends

Wars in syria, libya, yemen

Thanked her parents in the audience - Strength, integrity

Whistleblowing is continuous, you don’t need state secrets on your computer screen to

VFP carrying banner of “never again”

Aligned against a media that takes part in glorification of war, honours militarism

Deification that occurs - has to stand up and get clapped at all sports games

It’s standing up and speaking the truth about the greeds of war + who’s profiting from them

By choosing to come here and tweet out a picture of katharine is participating in standing up for the truth

Back end - if you don’t act on your conscious or do what is right, moral injury/guilt of it is devastating, and it’s seen in US veterans community (iraq/afghanistan 6x likelier for suicide) - need to do something rectify your mind and soul (for participating in an unjust/wrong organised killing)

PTSD is the lowest rate of suicide, it’s by combat related guilt, v well documented

Silkie

Prev. on legal team for liberty

Campaigner

Met & was inspired by tom + jess 5 years ago in holland, was just starting out as a journalist, couple months after snowden

Change from public & govt since snowden - to reinstate same abuses of power

Necessary for a free society, whistleblowers as last resort to protect those values. We don’t have a democracy otherwise.

Official Secrets Act - v punitive legislation that protects power for sake of power (no accountability), no balancing of whether state secrets need to be protected for national security

We need accountability for good governance

Reaction in UK to snowden has been the worst

Law commission suggested new legislation to punish/deter whistleblowers, sentences increased, journalists punished too

Investigatory powers act - new surveillance legislation, most authoritarian surveillance regime of any in history, almost limitless power

To collect data, intercept communications, hack devices on a bulk basis (potentially population wide)

BBW has ongoing legal action against mass interception, mostly passive

Optic nerve program 2008, GCHQ - to train facial recognition program

Hard to envision more enabling program for state to commit abuses of power

State surveillance framework is one of easiest ways for govt to grow & expand its power, its one of the symbols of power in digital age - information is power

Bulk surveillance regime after 9/11 isn’t really effective / doesn’t really work - there was actionable intelligence recorded before the plot, but it wasn’t seen or picked up (probably because of millions of info being processed all the time)

If we protect, maintain, uphold democratic values within us

Changing political futures

Court of public opinion is what always wins, despite government

Panel

Journalists that do justice in the stories that whistleblowers have to tell, esp. In UK, are few and far between

Guardian editorial published today against Leveson inquiry - serious questions about so called free press

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/01/the-guardian-view-on-leveson-part-two-look-ahead-not-behind

Julian assange never mentioned

Iraqi journalist - she was only 13 when iraq war happened, what she can do to prevent further destruction in her country as a journalist

Refuse to accept continuous lies churned out by so called humanitarian about protecting ME from despotic leaders - if that was such a concern, why not in Yemen or saudi arabia

Katharine feels like she’s failed

Appalled at people anti iraq that are pro syria

Destruction isn’t being reported the way war policy is now - subjugation + punishment for people in ME (who will not be subjected to american control)

Implications of military men with no political responsibility, risen in ranks of organised murder - now in civilian posts (of government)

Organise + demand an end to it

Anyone voting for Clinton or Trump was voting for war, they were both war parties

Continue to resist on the ME people behalf

Observer failed as well - only published memo 1.5 months after it was given to them?

This is an ongoing story - katharine was not called by any inquiry, we don’t know who authorised the memo or the GCHQ operation, why the case was dropped, who made those decisions + on what basis

Funding model for whistleblowing organisations

Work way below what a normal lawyer/advocate’s salary would be

Desperately need the funding

Liberty - legal representation to whistleblowers

Public funding + support

Immediate danger of safety, employment opportunities after?

Tried to blow the whistle on UN, and hasn’t had paid employment for 24 years

Often bankrupted, blacklisted, broken - chronic unemployment despite degrees, resumes, experience in govt. People best serving the government are the whistleblowers.

Hard to get through airport security

If you have the opportunity to employ a whistleblower, please do so

After you going through the government ringer of being called a traitor, terrorist sympathiser

Tom drake works full time at Apple, had total support from them

Trying to find professorship

Business he started failed bc no one willing to partner

People have tried to help him - as an engineer, consulting in silicon valley

In severe debt, 2nd mortgage, was a senior exec

Tom would not be here today without jesselyn.

Life goes on

You can choose your conscience > career, freedom

We are all in this together

I hear the bells of history in my years each and everyday

Power does tend to corrupt, absolute power corrupts. You want to keep, expand power. It’s a pathology.

At risk from these power structures

Many people who profit from power - literally and figuratively

Those who are expendable, doesn’t matter that they’re human, they deserve what they get. Collateral damage. Form of organised genocide.

UK-US, deep transnational state relationship [1946, secret signal intelligence relationship], work in tandem and have for years

Permanent war and conflict society/economy

Nurses & care workers on abuse of elderly, office workers on accounting fraud, bank staff on banking things - don’t get publicity that we give them. We need more publicity to be given at every level, show that this is the right thing they do, support them at whatever low level. We assume whistleblowing has to be at highest hierarchy.

Doomsday book - nuclear war leaks dan ellsberg never got to dump?

US proposed complete annihilation of china even if they had nothing to do with war ??

Hire a firm to discredit you

Rawest, emotionally charged meeting - duncan

I did what i could, and you can be proud of that

People who tried to tell the truth about palestine has been silenced in the most systematic way (labour party) - has to do with military us policy. Mortecai monunu??? Whistleblower

Ted (theodore) hall

Manhattan project, scientists

Katharine: Depriving them of their moral authority

Save the world club

Intellectual struggle when choosing to whistleblow/reveal things

Jesselyn - when she whistleblew was the first time she slept soundly. How to do it, who to go to - how to do it most successfully, safely, loudly.

Most whistleblowers don’t have internal debates about what to do, have known in their gut what they should do.

Moral responsibility of journalist or editor? Haven’t even trained journalist to look at that.

Support & looking at long term consequences of putting everything on the line - who are your personal support networks, what would life actually look like?

USA has destroyed 3 generations of iraqi lives

When your own country has become an empire and engages in the utter destruction/insanity

After 9/11, USA declared the whole world a battlefield

Media democracy festival