[-empyre-] Our missing guest

[Simon Biggs]

I have just heard that one of discussants for this week, Simon Yuill, has
been ill and will be unable to be involved in our discussion. We send our
best wishes to Simon and hope he gets well soon.

In the meantime, Magnus, Michel and myself can, and will, further engage
this months topic, which has, over the past few weeks, brought up many
important issues.

Tonight BBC2's Newsnight picked up on and reported something that Michel,
Magnus and myself were discussing last week, which is the explicit
connection between the hacking at News International and the arrest of
hackers who are involved with Lulz and Anonymous. Newsnight rightly focused
on the ethics of each of these activities and, not surprisingly, left the
answer tantalisingly hanging. They know their audience...

Tonight a 19 year old hacker (Topiary) from Shetland is in police custody
for allegedly being part of Lulz. As anybody who knows anything about Lulz,
it isn't something you can be a member of. It is not an organisation. It is
not even a club or assembly. Neither is it a flock or herd. It is an idea
and, if you pursue it, then you are Lulz. But it is not something you are
part of, even if you feel you are. It isn't there. That is a strength.

Tonight James Murdoch has been re-confirmed as Chairman of BSkyB, the
largest commercial broadcaster in Europe. His role as an executive at News
International is also confirmed. That his dad owns 39% of BSkyB, a publicly
listed company, is overlooked (Chairs are meant to be independent of
specific shareholders and to represent the interests of all, including the
smallest). That he is being queried both sides of the Atlantic on criminal
hacking charges (that are not morally driven but only about making money and
destroying people) is overlooked. That BSkyB's shareholders are in uproar
over what they see as the corruption of the company they own is overlooked.
James Murdoch is not only free but continues to be one of the most powerful
and profitable people on the planet.

For me there is little moral confusion here. I know that the wrong person is
being held at Paddington Police station. But I look to our government, our
police, our media - and I do not see that on the radar (other than on
Newsnight, in the Guardian and a handful of other outlets than only a few
hundred thousand people read or watch). The problem exists not only at NI
but also in our government, in our media organisations, in our banks and our
most fundamental social institutions.

What is to be done? What can a pirate do?

Best

Simon


Simon Biggs | simon at littlepig.org.uk | www.littlepig.org.uk

my new work email address from August 1 2011 is s.biggs at ed.ac.uk

s.biggs at eca.ac.uk | Edinburgh College of Art
www.eca.ac.uk/circle | www.elmcip.net | www.movingtargets.co.uk



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