Without civil liberties…

“The only difference between a Nation State and a Mafioso protection racket is the letterhead and the rituals — and the series of concessions, hard-won over eight centuries, that we call ‘civil liberties’.”

That’s the start of my guest post today for Electronic Frontiers Australia, entitled Without civil liberties, government is just a criminal racket.

It’s an essay that combines some thoughts about the constant battle for civil liberties with my reaction to the video posted by Wikileaks at Collateral Murder. It’s footage from 2007 showing a Reuters photojournalist and his driver and others being killed by US helicopter gunfire in Baghdad. It’s footage the US Department of Defence didn’t want you to see. It’s challenging to watch.

This is one of a series of guest posts for the EFA as part of their current fundraising campaign.

2 Replies to “Without civil liberties…”

  1. Why do you bother with the label “civil liberties”.

    We’re talking about liberty and freedom here.

    Freedom of speech, freedom of association..

  2. @Jono: Well, the term “civil liberties” has certain established meanings, so I’m using the words. I could perhaps have gone for “human rights” or some other terminology. I don’t think that’s the important aspect to this.

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