They say that truth is treason in the empire of lies and yet Bradley Manning seems to have dodged this bullet today in the decision by his Court Marshal, which found him not guilty on the charge of giving information to enemies of the United States of America. However, he was found guilty on the lesser charges that are likely to mean decades, if not life, of incarceration for him. Meanwhile, NSA leaker Edward Snowden is still a fugitive from Federal authorities in Russia after many weeks of attempting to find a nation willing to grant him permanent sanctuary. It seems that the American government has taken on a policy akin to the Mafia's Omerta. Stay silent and you will be rewarded. Open your mouth and suffer the wrath of Uncle Sam, even if it is something that is unethical and/or illegal. What is worse, is that the government will stop at nothing to get you and will pursue you to the ends of the earth. So what can be said of the future of such brave souls who dare to leak such necessary truth to the people of this country when the consequences are so dire? Is there any other way to release this information with fewer risks to the whistleblower? It seems to this writer that there is but one course of action left open to those who seek to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. One word, Anonymous.
This is, of course, the leaderless hacker collective hydra that has made itself famous (or infamous to some) for launching denial of service attacks on offending computer networks and websites as well as conducting data dumps of sensitive information among its many Ops. This amorphous group, with its unknown membership and ability to hack into virtually any computer in the world, including an apparently successful strike on North Korea's civilian and military computer networks recently, they stand poised to lend a hand in this effort to expose the excesses of US Government policies and actions, both foreign and domestic. How do they do it? Well, that seems to be a trade secret that differs from hacktivist to hacktivist. That said, they certainly utilize encryption and onion routing, most notably used in the Tor browser, to break into various computer networks and gather the necessary files for data dumps before knocking the site offline and making a clean escape. Their efforts, combined with WikiLeaks and other groups, can blow the lid off virtually any secret government program or cover up. What is more, they cannot really be stopped as the capture of one results in the creation for four more hackivists to take his/her place.
So, while Emperor Obama may be eventually smite an implacable vengeance on these two for committing the treasonous crime of telling the truth, this can't be done forever. More will dare to shed light on the darker corners of Washington D.C. and expose the dark truths the mainstream media won't tell you about, on account of their fetish for celebrity and dirty laundry, but they will. To those in power, I believe it is wise to remember the Latin proverb and motto, Honi soit qui mal y pense, Evil to him who evil thinks. Those who plot evil acts will have evil acted upon them. However, I think Anonymous says it best; “We are Anonymous! We are a legion! We do not forgive! We do not forget! Expect us!” Indeed they are and they are not going anywhere anytime soon. What they will uncover is uncertain but what is certain is that they are now the vanguard of watchers who will watch the Federal watchers.
