[liberationtech] [FoRK] Videre: the secretive group on a mission to film human-rights abuses

[Asa Rossoff]

From: Gary Stock <gstock at nexcerpt.com>
> Imagine...
> 
> ...at least half of US surveillance capacity ending its focus on US 
> citizens, and turning toward accomplishing this task:  documenting human 
> rights abuses.
> 
> ...their full, unedited results being released worldwide after the 
> minimum period required to document each overall case, but no longer 
> (perhaps always within three months of gathering).
> 
> That scenario seems likely to make moot Lennon's other verses...
> 
> GS

John Lennon's dream :)

The U.S. doesn't yet have a Department of Peace, but does have the Institute of Peace (with a limited budget and mandate).

A Department of Peace should have a few rules for starters:
(1) The department of Peace gets matching funding to all "Defense", military, and national and international law enforcement, intelligence, "diplomatic" and spy agency (and non-agency) funding, including payments on debt, etc.  Matching budget.  If a "war on terror" is declared for a trillion dollars a year worth of military spending, there's also a trillion of peace spending.  That's the most important rule.
(2) The Dept. of Peace gets equal authority and influence on policy, and equal access to intelligence.  Must be in the cabinet.
(3) The Dept. of Peace possibly would be an appropriate department for military, intelligence, and law enforcement, etc., oversight at the federal level, since they would have unfettered access.  But it should be considered if this could cause moral conflicts of interest, if they knew details of abuses in our government but were prevented from speaking out.  They might at least have legal authority to sue for open access to information inappropriately classified, to ensure abuses are documented, and ease public access to all government documents, enabling private parties to perform some greater degree of oversight.
(4) They spend their money on love, exposés, and humanitarian missions, in consultation with as many humans everywhere as possible.  It is a challenging mission, but a rewarding one.  It is possible to succeed.
(5) They campaign for peace and civil and human rights at home and abroad.  They campaign for mutual understanding.  They organize for people to get to know each other as equals.  They defend the rights of speech, the press, etc., and work to create a condition of safety and security for all excercising those rights.  A "warming effect" if you will.

Dennis Kucinich's proposals (unfortunately now out of Congress) being the most recent and vocal that I am aware of are good, and thought through in greater detail than mine... but he was not so radical as to propose the more reasonable -- in my view -- budget that I have; his was far more modest -- I think 1% of discretionary spending (per Wikipedia; and in FY2008 cf. 53% went to Dept. of Defense), and perhaps a more realistic starting point for the Department and for passage of legislation.

Really, the U.S. should spend MUCH MORE resources dedicated to creating peace than to violence (no matter the purpose of the violence).

*** There is no way to peace.  Peace is the way. *** -- A. J. Muste


Thank you Eugen Leitl and "catchalladdress" for the sharing the inspiring Wired story (http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/09/features/videre) by David James Smith, starting this thread.

Asa