03 November 2014

Reporting on the warfront: The problem with ISIS

November 2, 2014 One wonders why there is not much reporting on the warfront, but from a distance and because of that we do not know very much about ISIS and what is really happening on the ground.  Journalists do not have many choices in reporting on this conflict, the options are to pledge allegiance with ISIS and go through their approval for release and at the same time risk your life with the U.S. drones that the US government has imposed that okay to have civilian casualties in Syria and Iraq. This means, even if they know that you are there, they will shoot anyway. Reporting from the front would be going on a suicide mission.

With increasing kidnappings and deaths of journalists worldwide, the respect for journalism and telling the story is just about a bye gone and that is dangerous for global citizens.

Here is a great article:
The Things we won't know about ISIS

02 November 2014

Guantanamo, smuggle secrets, Snowden

1 November 2014 Back in the days, someone asked if I release incriminating images and information about abuse in a Cuban prison. Back in the days, we did not have super encryption to protect the journalists or identity of another person leaking the information. Still today, I do not understand the technology needed to protect the whistle blower or myself from our governments view on journalism crime. Although, I must insert here, most of the information that whistle blowers decide to "leak out" are things that we the taxpayers and citizens of our world should know. You know, to help fight corruptions and be the "good" people and expose the "bad" As a good journalist, I felt that I needed to know my whistle blowers and verify his/her and information before I would write anything up and "leak" that information to major media outlets. Yet, there was nothing to protect us...at that time, at least that I was aware of. As a response, the person asked me again if I could help but I needed to meet him/her and see what they had. I did not have any protection to offer and as a result the person just sort of disappeared. A few months later, the images were released all over the world. Of course I thought to myself, dang...I could have been famous from that what did I do wrong? Yet, I was scared to move forward without protection, I knew what the government was capable of. If this happened to me, and I must insert I was more "visible" in those days during the pre-independent journalism phase of journalism which made me a person that someone like that would approach. What is it like for the independent journalist today? How do we learn to release information that we feel the public should know without having to move to another country and risk going to jail? I stumbled onto this great article: ED SNOWDEN TAUGHT ME TO SMUGGLE SECRETS PAST INCREDIBLE DANGER. NOW I TEACH YOU. Please read, if you are interested in this information