tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post2447574294280421742..comments2023-11-17T03:55:40.736-05:00Comments on Ink Spots: Wikileaks Files are Still ClassifiedLilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373158801523577733noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-71713715443161856132010-12-07T17:05:06.941-05:002010-12-07T17:05:06.941-05:00gmail usually deletes stupid comments, that's ...gmail usually deletes stupid comments, that's probably what happened, AJK. not that yours was a stupid comment per se, but Huawei is somehow tapped into google and the Chinese don't mess around with stupid comments.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-70195300311595450072010-12-06T16:50:36.824-05:002010-12-06T16:50:36.824-05:00Heh, weird that writing from a Google Account woul...Heh, weird that writing from a Google Account would go into spam. Again: computers are scary. I'll write my next comment snail mail.<br /><br />And yeah, I've kind of made the decision a while ago that gov't work is probably not for me. Which is a whole other story, because everyone assumes I'm a recovering addict or otherwise unhirable, and not that I've made the conscious decision not to do it.AJKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08456979365708815896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-57948759485590161362010-12-06T16:47:27.248-05:002010-12-06T16:47:27.248-05:00Ok, there was obviously some kind of a spam issue ...Ok, there was obviously some kind of a spam issue that I don't understand. Ignore my last bit about State's intimidation campaign being successful.Gulliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12558335790019565924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-46896964727212527522010-12-06T16:45:33.994-05:002010-12-06T16:45:33.994-05:00AJK -- Yeah, I actually have two of your comments ...AJK -- Yeah, I actually have two of your comments in my email, but I don't see them here. Let me check if they got spammed. Otherwise, I suppose it's possible my colleagues deleted them out of an abundance of caution for your future! (LULZ)Gulliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12558335790019565924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-10698354435611923042010-12-06T16:43:18.883-05:002010-12-06T16:43:18.883-05:00Gulliver:
Are you talking about the comment I mad...Gulliver:<br /><br />Are you talking about the comment I made? Because I swore I made a comment on this, and now it's not here. So either<br /><br />a) it was really late and I didn't successfully hit "Post Comment" or...<br /><br />b) computers are weird and scary and don't always do what I want them to do.<br /><br />Either way, I didn't mean to delete my comment. So if you're talking about mine, well, do YOU know where it went?<br /><br />And if you're not talking about mine, well, mock me for being part of the Me Generation.AJKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08456979365708815896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-63538160540621399642010-12-06T16:31:29.741-05:002010-12-06T16:31:29.741-05:00Everything you've written here is true, but it...Everything you've written here is true, but it is COMPLETELY INSANE for the State Department to try to spook students and other potential job-seekers into not viewing the leaked cables. <br /><br />For one thing, the level of interest one exhibits in this subject is less likely to usefully inform judgment of one's ability to safeguard classified information than one's ability to keep their head firmly lodged in the sand. Reading documents that are now in the public domain has absolutely no bearing on one's ability to safeguard classified information. NONE. You can say "but the documents are still classified!", and that's correct. And you can say that it's a bad idea to view them from government (or school) computers, and that's probably also correct. But you CAN'T say with a straight face that someone who stays current on the most talked-about foreign policy/national security story of the year is a diversion/disclosure risk. It's just stupid, and it's not even remotely true.<br /><br />The government uses all manner of security-clearance related threats to try to keep people from breaking the law or otherwise behaving badly, and most of the time it's utter nonsense. Just ask every former pot-head you know with a SECRET clearance.<br /><br />Jason, you say that "this is one of the few ways the government has any leverage over leaked info," and that's true. It's also true that one of the few ways I can exert leverage on the sea level is to piss in the ocean, but that doesn't make it meaningful action, and it doesn't make it anything but totally idiotic barn-door slamming once the horse has already run out and emigrated to a different continent.<br /><br />All that said, you can't say the warning hasn't had an effect: a thoughtful and well-reasoned comment on this topic has already been deleted (presumably by the individual who left it, and presumably because of second thoughts about the goverment tracking down his IP address).Gulliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12558335790019565924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-58937192684340078022010-12-05T18:20:52.333-05:002010-12-05T18:20:52.333-05:00I should say they explain like you do, except in o...I should say they explain like you do, except in obscure bureaucratic language...Lilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18373158801523577733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-52615168344011755772010-12-05T16:32:41.638-05:002010-12-05T16:32:41.638-05:00I mean, I understand this, sure, but isn't thi...I mean, I understand this, sure, but isn't this sort of why they invented the cliche "closing the barn door after the horses."?<br /><br />I understand why companies after contracts, like Amazon, would do what they did. But to tell grad students not to share information if they want a job comes off a bit more like asshole-future-employer then concerned-gvt-official. <br /><br />The news is out there, its kind of bizarre to tell people fascinated by this sort of stuff to not share it with their friends. No?<br /><br />When I saw the e-mail disseminated to grad schools, it just reminded me of when law firms send out reminders that light-colored suits, facial hair, and hair over the ears is strictly forbidden. It just doesn't ring with the audience the way they want it to.<br /><br />That said, I don't hang out at wikileaks mostly because I don't like Assange giving me bedroom eyes and their website architecture sucks.AJKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08456979365708815896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-3480882551679003322010-12-05T14:04:51.921-05:002010-12-05T14:04:51.921-05:00My future thanks you.My future thanks you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-50710760926029682152010-12-04T21:09:16.374-05:002010-12-04T21:09:16.374-05:00Jason--good points. I've been getting about an...Jason--good points. I've been getting about an email a day on my work email about all of this. They explain things in the same way that you do...<br /><br />LilAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-51455835163515264892010-12-04T20:03:16.642-05:002010-12-04T20:03:16.642-05:00It appears as though the State Department only wan...It appears as though the State Department only wants to recruit people who have been living under a rock. While I agree that State has more leverage if the cables are classified, it would be idiotic to penalize prospective employees for reading/commenting on the cables. <br /><br />Whatever the official stance, the information is public. Ignoring this information puts one at a disadvantage relative to one's peers, and removes one from the discussion of them. Does State really want the conversations on Wikileaks to be driven by people who have no interest in government service, and are therefore likely to be less informed on these issues?<br /><br />Furthermore, State is ignoring the difference between reading information that is de facto public and upholding a commitment to maintain confidentiality. By definition, none (or maybe just a very small number) of the prospective employees have security clearances, and the confidentiality obligations that come with them. The fact that I have read and commented on these cables says nothing about my ability to not divulge state secrets I may learn at some future time.<br /><br />This effort seems like a last-ditch attempt at damage control by the State department, and a misguided one at that.AJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08100951128340462315noreply@blogger.com