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There’s been a rash of Big News Stories in the last few days that are probably worth commenting on, but I’m a little pressed for time, so please enjoy these unsolicited and ill-informed capsule opinions.
1. That Sony hack
A lot of people have blasted Sony for pulling The Interview after being threatened by hackers (allegedly from North Korea). I would generally agree with that. It sets a bad precedent when you give in to the demands of hackers who don’t approve of yr content. But I also think that’s a minor story compared to the fact that Sony’s online security measures are as bad as they are.
The censorship angle is the least troubling aspect of all this. Sony isn’t the first company – and won’t be the last – to be subjected to hacking and cyberblackmail, and that’s a problem in this day and age when everything is online. Bruce Schneier has a good breakdown of the real issues at stake here and what companies need to do to get ready. He also explains the futility (and inevitability) of overreacting to this.
As far as the censorship angle goes, well, you can always count on Larry Flynt to lead by example.
2. Cop killers
Two cops dead in Brooklyn, another shot and run over in FLA. When I heard the news, I didn’t even have to go on Facebook to know that all the people who supported Darren Wilson were going to offer this as “proof” that black people were wrong to cry racism and protest on the streets because now look what you’ve gone and done.
Which really just illustrates the extent of the very problem that protesters have been complaining about. The message is basically, “If cops are shooting unarmed black people, don’t complain or someone might shoot a cop and then it will be all yr fault for criticizing cops for shooting unarmed black people.”
Besides, there's nothing lazier or more expedient in the world than using the actions of one crackpot to blame an entire group of people he/she claimed to represent by his/her crackpot actions. Any idiot can do that.
3. Havana affair
I’m kind of ambivalent towards this, but I see no good reason not to start lifting restrictions. The naysayers are rolling out the usual arguments, and they might be right in the sense that Cuba won’t become a free(er) nation as a result of Obama’s policy.
But let’s not pretend the previous policy was working, or making any real difference. It might have made sense during the Cold War. That ended 25 years ago. Critics have been recycling the same 50-year-old old arguments out of habit, and also because Obama is for it. (And because Cuban exiles vote.) These arguments do not impress me.
I think the worst that will happen is nothing will change in Cuba, so why not try something different? And anyway, it’s hard to argue that we shouldn't normalize relations with dictatorships when we’ve been doing that with China since the 1970s.
Our man in Havana,
This is dF
1. That Sony hack
A lot of people have blasted Sony for pulling The Interview after being threatened by hackers (allegedly from North Korea). I would generally agree with that. It sets a bad precedent when you give in to the demands of hackers who don’t approve of yr content. But I also think that’s a minor story compared to the fact that Sony’s online security measures are as bad as they are.
The censorship angle is the least troubling aspect of all this. Sony isn’t the first company – and won’t be the last – to be subjected to hacking and cyberblackmail, and that’s a problem in this day and age when everything is online. Bruce Schneier has a good breakdown of the real issues at stake here and what companies need to do to get ready. He also explains the futility (and inevitability) of overreacting to this.
As far as the censorship angle goes, well, you can always count on Larry Flynt to lead by example.
2. Cop killers
Two cops dead in Brooklyn, another shot and run over in FLA. When I heard the news, I didn’t even have to go on Facebook to know that all the people who supported Darren Wilson were going to offer this as “proof” that black people were wrong to cry racism and protest on the streets because now look what you’ve gone and done.
Which really just illustrates the extent of the very problem that protesters have been complaining about. The message is basically, “If cops are shooting unarmed black people, don’t complain or someone might shoot a cop and then it will be all yr fault for criticizing cops for shooting unarmed black people.”
Besides, there's nothing lazier or more expedient in the world than using the actions of one crackpot to blame an entire group of people he/she claimed to represent by his/her crackpot actions. Any idiot can do that.
3. Havana affair
I’m kind of ambivalent towards this, but I see no good reason not to start lifting restrictions. The naysayers are rolling out the usual arguments, and they might be right in the sense that Cuba won’t become a free(er) nation as a result of Obama’s policy.
But let’s not pretend the previous policy was working, or making any real difference. It might have made sense during the Cold War. That ended 25 years ago. Critics have been recycling the same 50-year-old old arguments out of habit, and also because Obama is for it. (And because Cuban exiles vote.) These arguments do not impress me.
I think the worst that will happen is nothing will change in Cuba, so why not try something different? And anyway, it’s hard to argue that we shouldn't normalize relations with dictatorships when we’ve been doing that with China since the 1970s.
Our man in Havana,
This is dF
