https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/remembering-daniel-ellsberg
"The world lost an unmistakable voice this week, as Daniel Ellsberg passed away
at 92.
Dan will be remembered for many things, of course most prominently providing
the Pentagon Papers to the
New York Times in 1971. Although he hated being
called one, he was rightly a hero to anyone who believes that we must be in a
position to evaluate our governments and cast our votes based upon truth rather
than lies.
The biggest lesson Dan taught me was to see the dangers arising from
governmental secrecy from the position of those keeping the secrets. Dan talked
about how the government was too often driven by what he called “smart dumb”
people. He talked about how governmental officials' proximity to power and
insider knowledge led them to do stupid things—like continuing a war that was
clearly lost, or lying about weapons of mass destruction—and how these kinds of
terrible misjudgments and mistakes are as inevitable as they are insidious. Dan
was as steadfast in debunking the myths surrounding governmental secrecy as he
was in giving unwavering public support to others who took courageous steps to
tell the truth about illegal, immoral, and improper governmental actions,
especially around matters of national security."
Via Rixty Dixet.
RIP,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
