From Beyondborders: WikiLeaks, Open Source of Truth in the Global Matrix

This is an article I wrote a while ago, published in Culture Unplugged.
wikileaks Open Source of truth in the Global Matrix

Like many others, when I was young I looked up to larger than life heroes depicted in animation and films. The world of these super-heroes was made up of both the villains and those that take on evil forces of greed and power to fight for ordinary people. I remember a close friend in college once said "I wish I was independently wealthy, so that I wouldn't have to worry about making money and could become a superman to help humanity." His voice occasionally arises in me when I face the many injustices and social problems in the world.

The release of an explosive 2007 video by a shadowy organization called WikiLeaks titled 'Collateral Murder' recently shook the world. Opening with a quote from Orwell’s 1984, it depicted from the point of view of Americans in an Apache helicopter the gunning down of Iraqi civilians in a Baghdad street. The news of this WikiLeaks group taking on powerful government secrecy and corruption of power somehow reminded me of my childhood heroes.

In its three years of existence, WikiLeaks has begun to change the way governments, media and corporations operate by offering an transnational safe haven for whistle-blowers from all over the world. In the wake of this video release, Julian Assange, the main public face of the organization stepped forward into the limelight. He shared how the purpose of releasing this footage was to show what the face of modern war really looks like (Assange, 2010). The public profile of WikiLeaks was heightened considerably by this event and as the controversy boiled over, it raised questions for many about government secrecy and importance of transparency as well as legal and moral accountability of powerful institutions.

When videos and documentation such as this are leaked that give a glimpse of the vast world of secrets routinely hidden from the public by those in power, one may wonder what else about our world and government is being hidden from us? This uncomfortable question makes the film The Matrix even more real to those that really think about it. “The Matrix is everywhere, it is all around us, even now in this very room …It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth!” said Morpheus to Neo (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999). I began to question why so much of the truth has been systematically being kept from us. What was behind the all pervasive efforts to keep the masses blind to so many important events?

The word matrix means a framework from which something grows. In the film it is portrayed as a system that enslaves and “grows” humanity for its own purposes. What is this Matrix that surrounds us today and that we are so blind to? We believe that we live in a democracy, where the rule of law exists to protect all victims of deceit and crime. Yet we see an ever increasing gap between the poor and rich, perpetual wars and spiraling levels of corruption, which governments and corporations are often party to. How has it come to this?

The rapid industrialization of Western civilization and now materialism in the form of consumerism have been shaping every aspect of our lives. Information itself has become a commodity to be manipulated for private gain. Journalists around the world, especially those who try to expose the root of conflicts in the Middle East are increasingly met with severe censorship. Freedom of expression in Western societies is also becoming somewhat of an illusion in this time of government and corporate secrecy. Assange and others like him began to see how thoroughly the national-security state was embedded in all aspects of life. Leading up to the founding of WikiLeaks, Assange became aware that this institutionalized system intrinsically pushes against altruistic human virtues. “He saw human struggle not as left versus right, or faith versus reason, but as individual versus institution.” and that “truth, creativity, love and compassion are corrupted by institutional hierarchies, and by ‘patronage networks’” (Khatchadourian, 2010). I began to see this interlocking system that Assange referred to as similar to what is portrayed in the Matrix films: a system that depends on keeping the mass of humanity unaware of its true nature, all the while farming their life energy.

"Anyone who hasn’t unplugged is potentially an agent. Inside the Matrix, they are everyone and they are no one …. They are the gatekeepers. They are guarding all the doors. They are holding all the keys” (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999). We are part of this system that holds few options for its members beyond what serves it. It leaves little room to even question the existence of the system itself. After graduation, my college friend struggled with society's expectations of a man's obligation within that narrow prescription. I have now begun to see myself in that same struggle. The system seems to slowly rip off the wings of our humanity, the farther we move into adulthood. He, like many others, became numbed to his pain as he became busy pursuing a career path, preparing to accept what the world handed down to him, and eventually to perform unknowingly as an agent of the system.

In the Matrix film, the protagonist Neo was allegedly the chosen One, whose destiny was to attain freedom from the system and dismantle it, There have been real life heroes in history trying to change its course. Dr. King, Malcolm X and John F. Kennedy revealed that their destinies were to fight against an unjust system. They were heroes that showed a way to imagine a new future. Yet one by one they disappeared from sight. I saw apathy and cynicism spreading in people. I saw the armored shell of fear that many so often put around themselves. It became harder to strive for something higher, as if the death of heroes killed something in them. I realized how important it is to do something.

What can be overwhelming is to realize how so many of our problems have become transnational, especially in light of how the interlocking world economy is teetering on a precipice. Today with the WTO and NAFTA, corporate power has extended its reach beyond borders, transforming economies, cultures and nations on their terms. The Matrix is global, expanding into and transforming whole cultures, consuming local and state economies with debt and monetary control, plugging them one by one into a kind of blood-sucking machine.

The question arose, how can people free themselves from this global Matrix? How can citizens counteract or create an alternative to this system? Sometimes it seems there is little that ordinary people can do. In the darkness that hovers over the world, the actions of that nonprofit truth haven WikiLeaks, shines a light of possibility for a new direction.

This secret group in a way employs a kind of espionage. It is working for the common people from a global perspective and differs from traditional forms like the CIA, which was developed based on security and preservation of the nation state, as against another state. “We’re not interested in national security. We’re interested in justice…. We are a supranational organization.” said Assange (smh.com.au, 2010).

Another liberating aspect of WikiLeaks is that it works on the basis and philosophy of open source principles. The idea of open source is best seen in the philosophy behind an operating system known as Linux, based on an African philosophy known as Ubuntu, a concept which bishop Desmond Tutu defines as a way of being and identity that is formed by community (as cited in Battle, 1997). Here, ancient African wisdom typically dismissed by those on the Western path of progress advocates collaboration and sharing. It now inspires and comes onto the global stage as a vehicle to revitalize the impulse for democracy.

In the film, Neo needed a key-maker who could open certain critical doors. In a sense, in our world, the whistle-blower is the Keymaker, the witness opening the doors to the source, weakening the actual structure of the powerbrokers and conspiracies. WikiLeaks is a sophisticated self-sustaining gate that allows the flow of light in and the flow of damning evidence out, which eventually dissolves the walls of illegitimate secrecy. When technology is used in this sense for sharing ideas, culture, and circulation of critical information and services, open source can serve as a spiritual source that hacks the Matrix.

First and foremost, the battle for each person must be with themselves, freeing their own mind that is programmed by the Matrix. In the combat training scene, Morpheus asked Neo “How did I beat you?” Neo responded, “You’re too fast.” Morpheus asked again “Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? … What are you waiting for? You’re faster than this”. Finally Morpheus reminds Neo of a secret weapon within, “Don’t think you are, know you are...” A dehumanizing system teaches us how we are inwardly powerless and impotent, degraded into passive consumers and always driven by fear. Morpheus teaches Neo to undo the programming of the mind and reclaim ones own power to imagine a new future: “You have to let it all go, Neo, fear, doubt and disbelief. Free your mind” (Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999).

In light of US wars, sweatshops in Asia, the Israeli attack on the Gaza aid ships and the lack of accountability in the BP Gulf oil disaster, the question may arise, are these the actions of a just and civil society? And, if we can't trust the systems, where can we find hope?

In the Matrix film, the Oracle prophesied the arrival of the One who would put an end to war and dismantle the Matrix. The Oracle’s prophecy I see being carried out by ordinary citizens. The work of WikiLeaks is shared and sustained by many volunteers. Assange, on a shoestring budget and with no permanent home works relentlessly, spending most of his time at airports moving to the next destination. In Iceland, after WikiLeaks exposure of the bankers rip-off of ordinary citizens, people stood up for themselves with the aid of a newly invigorated fourth estate. They are now working to draft a law that will create a safe haven for whistle-blowers. It will protect anyone that exposes crimes or corruption by people in power all around the world (Cohen, 2010). It is not powerful leaders and politicians, but everyday people who I see as the heroes. Deeply rooted in local community values such as sharing and transparency, people everywhere have been pooling their collective efforts, becoming the One that arises from the ashes of the unsustainable and crumbling commercial globalization, where economic exploitation and national security trump human concerns to the detriment of all.

I know you’re out there. I can feel you now. I know that you’re afraid. You’re afraid of us. You’re afraid of change. I don’t know the future. I didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it’s going to begin…. Where we go from here is a choice that I leave up to you.(Wachowski & Wachowski, 1999)

WikiLeaks, the open source of truth in a Global Matrix, showed me a door. On the other side lies a truth about the forgotten heroes within. The key to open the door is inside each person and the life of this planet depends us awakening the hero who will bring society into a new era. WikiLeaks is an icon of our time, reaching for the door to tomorrow. It is up to each person to walk through it.

Citations:

Assange, J. (2010, May 16). Unpublished political speech presented at the Oslo freedom forum. Norway.

Battle, M. J. (1997). Reconciliation: The Ubuntu theology of Desmond Tutu. OH: The Pilgrim Press.

Cohen, N. (2010, February 21). A Vision of Iceland as a Haven for Journalist. The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/business/media/22link.html

Khatchadourian, R. (2010, June 7). No Secrets: Julian Assange’s Mission for Total Transparency. The New Yorker. Retrieved June 8, 2010 from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/06/07/no-secrets

Smh.com.au. (2010, May 22). The Secret Life of Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange. Retrieved June 8, 2010, from http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/the-secret-life-of-wiki...

Wachowski, A. (Writer/Director), & Wachowski, L. (Writer/Director). (1999). The Matrix. [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Brothers.

From GeorgieBC: The Chrysalids

This is an article I wrote a while ago, which sums up my reasons for being here:

When I was in high school, there was a book on the required reading curriculum called The Chrysalids, written by John Wyndham in 1955. Like 1984, it was a pretty interesting book that has come to take on the significance of a history book … for the future.

The main character is a boy who lives a very restricted and dull existence among narrow and bigoted people in a post-apocalyptic world. (The Old People were destroyed by “the power of gods in the hands of children”.)

He is a mutant who has vivid dreams and imagination and eventually he discovers the ability to communicate telepathically with other people in the world. At first, his secret is shared with just a few others in his circle, but eventually he makes contact with people he has never met before (from a country called Sealand that appears, at least at first, to be far more open and tolerant). He meets them telepathically and they form an alliance against the establishment who would kill them if they knew about their communication.

In a former life, I was a programmer, and not to be dramatic or anything, but that is exactly how it felt, back in the day of BBS’s when the internet first became widely used. There was no one on BBS systems or the early internet to talk to but the few other people on these systems. Programmers were so used to people who shuddered at the mention of computers, and here was an entire society of people obsessed with them. The society quickly put together rules that were followed by most – sharing of information was always strongly encouraged. At work, we acted as a team with anyone on our networks, whether we knew them or not. Their knowledge was our knowledge, so we could all appear omnipotent at our jobs. When the internet and email first went public, anyone who tried advertising through email would be spammed by everyone so their provider would refuse to provide them service. We made our own laws and planned our own society.

Of course, it wasn’t ours for long. Very soon businesses of all sorts put up web pages and information, and added more and more services. Hacker laws still applied and almost all services were soon free. People had to conform and think of other ways to make money, advertising became acceptable. But the underside of the internet was still ours, it still felt like home, where we could always communicate with the other cells of our Gaia-esque self, where we could still share anything.

This summer has shown us an increasingly accelerated threat on that world. Not just our internet, but our global connection. Watching the world governments intimidate the travel of the Wikileaks founder feels oddly personal and chilling to me. Our internet, our travel, our blackberries … our personal trade? Our skype conversations? Our cell, landline, face to face conversations?

Typically, just as we are in danger of losing it, I think many of us have awoken to how much we would miss that world, even though we were not actually using it effectively before anyway. So maybe, right now before we lose it, is the time for a giant push to see just what our Gaia can do. How many of us are there, and how much do we care? And what were those plans we had for this place anyway?

From JLo: Overcoming Mendacity

"To keep oneself safe does not mean to bury oneself." - Seneca

For almost as long as I can remember, I have been perpetually disenchanted by the disconnect between what our (and non-elected) representatives do, and what they actually tell us.

I have also found myself in a semi-permanent state of embitterment by contemporary journalism's pathological reliance on shameless entertainment, and poisonous PR manipulation, which is the key agent in creating and maintaining this aforementioned disconnect.

Traditional mediums of information dissemination - print, television, radio - relied on the passive assent of their audiences. Even with the advent of the internet, Old Media simply saw this as a convenient channel of convergence - a place to neatly encompass all their existing content production and correlating agendas into a neat little package, with new advertising streams to tie it all together.

Old Media did not account for the fact that there was a pre-existing, vaster realm which was barely visible to them - hackers, programmers, etc - that shaped this cozy new medium which Old Media thought belonged to itself and itself only. Old Media did not see any challenge coming towards them, beyond commercial concerns regarding the science of selling ad space, measuring mouse-clicks and keeping themselves comfortably bloated with tainted money.

Unlike Old Media, the inherent interactivity of the internet means it is the virtual mirror of all town squares, coffee houses, and street corners on Earth. Wikileaks is a reminder that the internet's sociological makeup is adversarial to consensus.

The Western power sphere likes to believe that its public spaces are free of the rhythmic marching of jackboots. Reporters visiting the streets of Pyongyang have remarked on the eeriness of its streets, which are devoid of the bustling energy of people free from fear. The internet, everybody's rightful public space, is being threatened with the same fate in places where at least for the time being, are open and free.

A contraction, a terminal ossification is occurring. The speed with which legislation is being passed in Western countries to hem in the tide of freely circulating information and thought online, under the guise of such relativistic social and political pretexts as prevention of child abuse, pornography, copyright infringement and terrorism, has seen an ominous quickening in the last two years.

A brief period of elation in the sense of community and sharing of knowledge that the internet has wrought now appears to be coming to an end. Coupled with the increasingly sophisticated manipulation of contemporary media, we are witnessing the slow death of liberties we've barely had time to enjoy.

Wikileaks has recognized these threats and called them out by name.

History is cyclical. Ever since the earthquake of the Enlightenment, all we've done ever since is re-arrange the furniture. We need not fear another earthquake - those who believe in justice would rather try to emerge from the rubble rather than stay comfortably and quietly buried alive.

From Rick: WikiLeaks Nation

We are us. We are WikiLeaks Nation. We are the starfish.

We believe we understand how important truth is to our world and how much our world suffers from corruption. The corruption attacked by WikiLeaks is brought about by conspiracies bred inside institutions.

We cannot fight the corruption unless we see its face. We need to uncover the lies. And as wars in so-called democracies always start with lies, we can as a benevolent side-effect stop wars too.

The institutions on the hot seat aren't giving in easily. They never give in easily. It would be easier to give them a secret trap door to disappear through. But that might not solve things in the long run. Until those 'powers that be' figure out how to do a runner without losing face, we're going to be hit hard - simply because we want to know the truth.

There aren't many people who really care. They're more interested in footie games and nighttime television. Those people won't know many of the facts in the WikiLeaks cases - the stories about the major war logs releases and the bizarre story emanating out of idyllic Stockholm Sweden. And so far we're only talking about the journalists!

The mainstream coverage of 'Assange in Sweden' made it patently clear to anyone who did not yet know that journalism may not be fully dead but it sure smells bad. The advent of the Internet together with WikiLeaks shows us how the new world works: people don't look for 'handouts' of truth anymore or someone else's interpretation of the truth. They find the truth themselves and share it with one another - without the media.

Things are happening. People see it everywhere. The journosaurs still don't get it. They really don't get it.

A Fox affiliate in Boston in the US summed up the Iraq War Logs for their viewers by telling them the 391,832 documents basically detailed Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

And so forth.

This site is for truth-seekers and journalists both. The former want to know; we want to make sure the latter know too. So they don't spread inaccurate stories anymore.

Want to be an editor at WikiLeaks Central? PM the site administrator.

This site is hosted by Reston5.

From x7o: Remarks

WikiLeaks isn't new in any linear sense of "new". It is properly new. It is sui generis, despite superficial similarities to other projects. New genera present new possibilities for new possibilities. Considerable capacity for change is generated from its existence.

I dare to hope. In a world of bleak probabilities, that is a radical act. I derive some hope from solidarity.

I believe history is unfolding before us, unfolding with the unique haste and complexity that is native to the Internet. If WL is the first pebble in an avalanche of change, it is proper that there were some of us here to document it.

If WL is to be silenced, its staff removed, and the truths it brought to us expunged from the record, it is all the more important that there were some of us here to document it.

Either way, the risk of regret is greater if I do not lend my efforts.