Showing posts with label Debates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Debates. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Intelligence Squared U.S.: Has The Cyberwar Threat Been Exaggerated?
Has The Cyberwar Threat Been Exaggerated?
Intelligence Squared U.S. (NPR)
As succeeding presidential administrations and leaders in the Pentagon devote increasing resources to defending U.S. computer networks and planning for potential cyber warfare, some observers are questioning whether the cyber threat has been overstated.
While risks do exist, they say, most of them don't truly rise to the level of war. And framing the debate in war terms could provide justification for the U.S. intelligence community to assert greater authority over what people can do on the Internet, they argue.
But those who warn of the country's cyber vulnerabilities argue that criminals, hackers and other nations pose a great threat to disrupt and destroy the data networks the U.S. relies on so heavily — and strong defenses are essential.
Those debating were:
FOR THE MOTION
Marc Rotenberg is executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C. He teaches information privacy law at Georgetown University Law Center and has testified before Congress on many issues, including access to information, encryption policy, consumer protection, computer security and communications privacy. He testified before the 9/11 Commission on "Security and Liberty: Protecting Privacy, Preventing Terrorism." He has served on several national and international advisory panels, including the expert panel on cryptography policy and computer security for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Bruce Schneier is an internationally renowned security technologist, referred to by The Economist as a "security guru." He is the author of nine books — including the best-sellers Beyond Fear, Secrets and Lies and Applied Cryptography — as well as hundreds of articles and essays, and many more academic papers. His influential newsletter Crypto-Gram and his blog Schneier on Security are read by more than 250,000 people. Schneier is the chief security technology officer of BT.
AGAINST THE MOTION
John M. "Mike" McConnell, a retired vice admiral, is executive vice president and leader of the national security business for Booz Allen Hamilton and is a member of the firm's leadership team. McConnell previously served from 2007-09 as U.S. director of national intelligence, a position of Cabinet rank under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. As DNI, he served as the principal intelligence adviser to the president and as a member of the U.S. National Security Council. McConnell's career has spanned more than 40 years, focusing on international developments and foreign intelligence issues, including 29 years as a career intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy.
Jonathan Zittrain is professor of law at Harvard Law School, where he co-founded its Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Internet Society. Previously, he was professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University. He performed the first large-scale tests of Internet filtering in China and Saudi Arabia in 2002, and now as part of the OpenNet Initiative, he has co-edited a study of Internet filtering by national governments, "Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering."
To Listen to the Debate
Intelligence Squared U.S. (NPR)
As succeeding presidential administrations and leaders in the Pentagon devote increasing resources to defending U.S. computer networks and planning for potential cyber warfare, some observers are questioning whether the cyber threat has been overstated.
While risks do exist, they say, most of them don't truly rise to the level of war. And framing the debate in war terms could provide justification for the U.S. intelligence community to assert greater authority over what people can do on the Internet, they argue.
But those who warn of the country's cyber vulnerabilities argue that criminals, hackers and other nations pose a great threat to disrupt and destroy the data networks the U.S. relies on so heavily — and strong defenses are essential.
Those debating were:
FOR THE MOTION
Marc Rotenberg is executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C. He teaches information privacy law at Georgetown University Law Center and has testified before Congress on many issues, including access to information, encryption policy, consumer protection, computer security and communications privacy. He testified before the 9/11 Commission on "Security and Liberty: Protecting Privacy, Preventing Terrorism." He has served on several national and international advisory panels, including the expert panel on cryptography policy and computer security for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Bruce Schneier is an internationally renowned security technologist, referred to by The Economist as a "security guru." He is the author of nine books — including the best-sellers Beyond Fear, Secrets and Lies and Applied Cryptography — as well as hundreds of articles and essays, and many more academic papers. His influential newsletter Crypto-Gram and his blog Schneier on Security are read by more than 250,000 people. Schneier is the chief security technology officer of BT.
AGAINST THE MOTION
John M. "Mike" McConnell, a retired vice admiral, is executive vice president and leader of the national security business for Booz Allen Hamilton and is a member of the firm's leadership team. McConnell previously served from 2007-09 as U.S. director of national intelligence, a position of Cabinet rank under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. As DNI, he served as the principal intelligence adviser to the president and as a member of the U.S. National Security Council. McConnell's career has spanned more than 40 years, focusing on international developments and foreign intelligence issues, including 29 years as a career intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy.
Jonathan Zittrain is professor of law at Harvard Law School, where he co-founded its Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Internet Society. Previously, he was professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University. He performed the first large-scale tests of Internet filtering in China and Saudi Arabia in 2002, and now as part of the OpenNet Initiative, he has co-edited a study of Internet filtering by national governments, "Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering."
To Listen to the Debate
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Intelligence Squared U.S.: Is paying extra money for organic food really worth it?
Is paying extra money for organic food really worth it?
Intelligence Squared U.S. (NPR)
Some argue that the label "organic" confers real value — marking healthier food produced without the use of synthetic pesticides and antibiotics. But others claim it's just marketing hype — that organic food hasn't been proven healthier and that it comes with its own environmental trade-offs, like requiring more land.
A group of experts recently went head-to-head on the topic in an Oxford-style debate, the latest in the Intelligence Squared U.S. series. Three argued in favor of the motion "Organic Food Is Marketing Hype" and three argued against.
Before the debate, the audience at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts voted 21 percent in favor of the motion and 45 percent against, with 34 percent undecided. After the debate, the percentage who agreed "Organic Food Is Marketing Hype" remained the same, while 69 percent of the audience opposed it. Ten percent remained undecided.
The April 13 debate was moderated by John Donvan, correspondent for ABC News' Nightline. Those debating were:
FOR THE MOTION
Dennis Avery is director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Global Food Issues. From 1980-88, he served as an agricultural analyst for the State Department, where he was responsible for assessing the foreign policy implications of food and farming developments worldwide. At Hudson, Avery continues to monitor developments in world food production, farm product demand, the safety and security of food supplies, and the sustainability of world agriculture.
Blake Hurst raises corn and soybeans with his wife, Julie, and other family members on a farm in northwest Missouri. The Hursts have farmed for over 30 years and also own and operate a greenhouse business with their daughter and son-in-law. Hurst, a freelance writer, has had articles published in The Wall Street Journal, The Wilson Quarterly, The American and other periodicals.
John Krebs is the principal of Jesus College, Oxford, and is the former chairman of the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom. He was appointed to the House of Lords as an independent crossbencher in 2007. Krebs is a trustee of the Nuffield Foundation; chairman of the U.K. Science and Technology Honours Committee; and chairman of the Royal Society's Science Policy Advisory Group. He sits on the U.K. Climate Change Committee and chairs its Adaptation Sub-Committee.
AGAINST THE MOTION
Charles Benbrook serves as the chief scientist of The Organic Center. He worked in Washington, D.C., on agricultural policy, science and regulatory issues from 1979 through 1997. Benbrook has served as agricultural staff expert on the Council for Environmental Quality; executive director of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research and Foreign Agriculture; executive director of the Board on Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences; and he ran Benbrook Consulting Services.
Urvashi Rangan is the director of technical policy for Consumers Union, which she joined in 1999. She developed its ratings system, database and website for evaluating environmental labels. She serves as a spokesperson for Consumer Reports in the areas of sustainable production and consumption practices, organic food standards, food safety issues, pollution and environmental health concerns.
Jeffrey Steingarten is the food critic for Vogue magazine. He is also the author of It Must've Been Something I Ate and The Man Who Ate Everything, named food book of the year by the British Guild of Food Writers and awarded the 1998 Julia Child Book Award for literary food writing.
To Listen to the Debate
Intelligence Squared U.S. (NPR)
Some argue that the label "organic" confers real value — marking healthier food produced without the use of synthetic pesticides and antibiotics. But others claim it's just marketing hype — that organic food hasn't been proven healthier and that it comes with its own environmental trade-offs, like requiring more land.
A group of experts recently went head-to-head on the topic in an Oxford-style debate, the latest in the Intelligence Squared U.S. series. Three argued in favor of the motion "Organic Food Is Marketing Hype" and three argued against.
Before the debate, the audience at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts voted 21 percent in favor of the motion and 45 percent against, with 34 percent undecided. After the debate, the percentage who agreed "Organic Food Is Marketing Hype" remained the same, while 69 percent of the audience opposed it. Ten percent remained undecided.
The April 13 debate was moderated by John Donvan, correspondent for ABC News' Nightline. Those debating were:
FOR THE MOTION
Dennis Avery is director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Global Food Issues. From 1980-88, he served as an agricultural analyst for the State Department, where he was responsible for assessing the foreign policy implications of food and farming developments worldwide. At Hudson, Avery continues to monitor developments in world food production, farm product demand, the safety and security of food supplies, and the sustainability of world agriculture.
Blake Hurst raises corn and soybeans with his wife, Julie, and other family members on a farm in northwest Missouri. The Hursts have farmed for over 30 years and also own and operate a greenhouse business with their daughter and son-in-law. Hurst, a freelance writer, has had articles published in The Wall Street Journal, The Wilson Quarterly, The American and other periodicals.
John Krebs is the principal of Jesus College, Oxford, and is the former chairman of the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom. He was appointed to the House of Lords as an independent crossbencher in 2007. Krebs is a trustee of the Nuffield Foundation; chairman of the U.K. Science and Technology Honours Committee; and chairman of the Royal Society's Science Policy Advisory Group. He sits on the U.K. Climate Change Committee and chairs its Adaptation Sub-Committee.
AGAINST THE MOTION
Charles Benbrook serves as the chief scientist of The Organic Center. He worked in Washington, D.C., on agricultural policy, science and regulatory issues from 1979 through 1997. Benbrook has served as agricultural staff expert on the Council for Environmental Quality; executive director of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research and Foreign Agriculture; executive director of the Board on Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences; and he ran Benbrook Consulting Services.
Urvashi Rangan is the director of technical policy for Consumers Union, which she joined in 1999. She developed its ratings system, database and website for evaluating environmental labels. She serves as a spokesperson for Consumer Reports in the areas of sustainable production and consumption practices, organic food standards, food safety issues, pollution and environmental health concerns.
Jeffrey Steingarten is the food critic for Vogue magazine. He is also the author of It Must've Been Something I Ate and The Man Who Ate Everything, named food book of the year by the British Guild of Food Writers and awarded the 1998 Julia Child Book Award for literary food writing.
To Listen to the Debate
Thursday, June 03, 2010
On the Media: Command and Control
Command and Control
On the Media (NPR)
As a practical matter, who controls the internet is whoever enables you to access it -- and in the U.S. that would be service providers like Comcast, Verizon and Time Warner. The only check on their power has been the Federal Communications Commission. That is, until [April] when a court invalidated that power. Bob speaks with two advocates about the pros and cons of an unregulated net.
To Listen to the Debate
On the Media (NPR)
As a practical matter, who controls the internet is whoever enables you to access it -- and in the U.S. that would be service providers like Comcast, Verizon and Time Warner. The only check on their power has been the Federal Communications Commission. That is, until [April] when a court invalidated that power. Bob speaks with two advocates about the pros and cons of an unregulated net.
To Listen to the Debate
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Democracy Now: Glenn Greenwald v. Lawrence Lessig: A Debate on Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court Nomination
(This is a great debate, thorough exploration of the implications, problems and/or promise of Kagan's nomination.)
Glenn Greenwald v. Lawrence Lessig: A Debate on Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court Nomination
Democracy Now
If confirmed, the fifty-year-old Elena Kagan would be the Court’s youngest member. She would become the fourth female Supreme Court justice in US history and the third on the Court’s current bench. She would also be the first justice in nearly four decades without any prior judicial experience. Kagan’s nomination has divided progressives in part because so little is known about her judicial views. Her nomination sparked a heated debate between two noted legal commentators: Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig and constitutional law attorney and Salon blogger, Glenn Greenwald. Greenwald first appeared on Democracy Now! last month making his case against Kagan’s nomination. On Monday, he was interviewed on The Rachel Maddow Show. Right after Greenwald, Rachel Maddow interviewed Lawrence Lessig, who criticized some of Greenwald’s comments. This led to them both penning articles online yesterday criticizing each other and defending their position on Kagan’s nomination.
To Read/Listen/Watch
Glenn Greenwald v. Lawrence Lessig: A Debate on Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court Nomination
Democracy Now
If confirmed, the fifty-year-old Elena Kagan would be the Court’s youngest member. She would become the fourth female Supreme Court justice in US history and the third on the Court’s current bench. She would also be the first justice in nearly four decades without any prior judicial experience. Kagan’s nomination has divided progressives in part because so little is known about her judicial views. Her nomination sparked a heated debate between two noted legal commentators: Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig and constitutional law attorney and Salon blogger, Glenn Greenwald. Greenwald first appeared on Democracy Now! last month making his case against Kagan’s nomination. On Monday, he was interviewed on The Rachel Maddow Show. Right after Greenwald, Rachel Maddow interviewed Lawrence Lessig, who criticized some of Greenwald’s comments. This led to them both penning articles online yesterday criticizing each other and defending their position on Kagan’s nomination.
To Read/Listen/Watch
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