Entire internet critiques secret George Bush paintings
Some talented hacker with an hipsterish nym breached the Bush family's private emails. The big hit of his data dump was George W Bush's paintings. Not unexpectedly, this earthshaking expose caused the intertoobz to erupt into a virutal tsunami of snark. For the record, I thought his paintings were rather good. Looking at the work divorced from my feelings about the artist, it's not great art. It's not bad art either. Only saw two others who agreed all day. Atrios and Karen Tumulty.
Also, for the record, I appear to be the only one who finds the hackery more disturbing than amusing. Trying to figure out why I should be less concerned about the government invading my privacy than about a single talented hacker who can do the same and will publish my private life on the internet if he feels like it. Particularly put off by exposing the sister with the AOL account. She's not young. Guessing not that computer savvy much less aware of all internet traditions. The onslaught of on-line mockery will probably terrify her right off the internets. That feels mean.
I understand the urge to expose public figures who game the system. I see how an email from Brit Hume to Bush bemoaning the results of the election serves the public information. Some of the other stuff, not so much.
Of course, an investigation has been launched. No idea how that stuff works in real life but have a feeling the FBI will find this hacker hard to catch. Guessing it's not as easy as it looks on the teevee shows.
Also, for the record, I appear to be the only one who finds the hackery more disturbing than amusing. Trying to figure out why I should be less concerned about the government invading my privacy than about a single talented hacker who can do the same and will publish my private life on the internet if he feels like it. Particularly put off by exposing the sister with the AOL account. She's not young. Guessing not that computer savvy much less aware of all internet traditions. The onslaught of on-line mockery will probably terrify her right off the internets. That feels mean.
I understand the urge to expose public figures who game the system. I see how an email from Brit Hume to Bush bemoaning the results of the election serves the public information. Some of the other stuff, not so much.
Of course, an investigation has been launched. No idea how that stuff works in real life but have a feeling the FBI will find this hacker hard to catch. Guessing it's not as easy as it looks on the teevee shows.
Labels: George Bush, internet, Privacy
posted by Libby Spencer at 10:17 PM
5 Comments:
No Libby, you aren't alone in your discomfort. This hacking business is as frightening in the macro when performed by big business/governments as it is in the micro like when my Yahoo email was taken over by a spammer.
I had my yahoo hacked once as well. Luckily caught it quickly. But those kind of hackers are amateurs compared to this guy.
Amateurs, yes. But the ethic (or lack thereof) is the same. Consider a similar analogy of Bernie Madoff vs the Nigerian phishing scams.
"I had my yahoo hacked once as well"
Musta hurt like hell.
Frankly the sonofabitch gets no sympathy from me since the most successful thing he ever did was to take away our privacy. I can't even begin to think about ethics in his case.
I'm not a Freudian, but these pictures of Bush trying to wash himself clean may well be his inner Lady MacBeth showing. Sorry Tex that damned spot ain't commin' out.
Maybe I'll find a real artist and commission one of Bush on the can using the Constitution as toilet paper.
Admit the Lady MacBeth connection occurred to me as well. But I tried to put my personal feelings aside when I judged the work. As for the hackery, admit I thought it was somehow poetic justice that W's privacy was violated after he violated ours so thoroughly, but not comfortable with the level of public disclosure of the non-public figures. Particularly the sister. The internets were mocking her mercilessly for having an AOL account and if I recall, the hacker even published her personal addresss. I think that goes too far.
Post a Comment
<< Home