Reply #16: I think... [View All]

it's been common knowledge for a long time that nations have to decide what information they release and what information they protect, and why. What are the benefits, and what are the costs, and what are the principles we use to try and sort out the difference.

Don't you agree?

For instance, we allow the government to have certain information about us, so that it can do its job. In return, we expect that the govt keeps that information private, so that (for example) criminals do not use it against us. In this case, the govt is acting to protect the weak (us) against the strong (criminals).

Now, since we're obviously talking about releasing torture photos, I would observe that in this case, releasing the photos is about protecting the weak (the people we tortured) against the strong (the motherfuckers who used the power of our govt to torture people).

To wit: does hiding these photos protect the weak, or the strong? I think it clearly protects the strong, at the expense of the weak.