Bletchley Park accused of airbrushing Edward Snowden from history

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Bletchley Park accused of airbrushing Edward Snowden from history

NSA whistleblower omitted from new exhibition on cyber security
as museum says it does not want to be seen to back his actions

Matthew Weaver
The Guardian, Thursday 26 December 2013

MPs have accused Bletchley Park, the wartime predecessor of GCHQ, of trying to airbrush history after it said it would ignore the whistleblower Edward Snowden's revelations about mass surveillance by the security services in its museum's new gallery on cyber security.

The Buckinghamshire museum, chaired by the former head of MI6, Sir John Scarlett, celebrates the secret work of the second world war codebreakers who cracked the illusive Nazi Enigma code and, in the process, invented modern computing.

But according to the Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert and Tory MPs Rory Stewart and Dominic Raab, its reputation risks being dented by a refusal to acknowledge the impact of Snowden's disclosures about modern-day security services, revealed by the Guardian, and the debate they have provoked.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/26/bletchley-park-accused-airbrushing-edward-snowden

[el_bryanto]

1. I'm not really following the argument; is the exhibit specifically about WW2 codebreakers and the

birth of computing? and if so where does Snowden fit into that?

Or is what Snowden did so important that it needs to be shoehorned into every discussion.

Bryant

[dipsydoodle]

2. In a word

Yes.

I can only suggest that those complaining go back to playing with themselves.

[el_bryanto]

3. Complaining about Snowden? Or complaining about him being shoved into every discussion? nt

[dipsydoodle]

7. You won't get me complaining about Snowden the hero.

It just that the subject is out of place in context with Bletchley which should stick with its own history and not the present.

[MADem]

9. Yep--I think the GUARDIAN has that shoehorn out....

Poutrage, poutrage, rah, rah, rah!

I'll bet they ignored American Admiral Grace Hopper, too....the bassstids!!!!!

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. In a word, no

The exhibition is about far more than just WW2 computers, code breaking and intelligence. Following the link The Guardian gives:

Market leader in security technology sponsors cyber security exhibition and online safety programme at the birthplace of modern computing.
...
The partnership, the largest in McAfee’s history outside of the US, will see McAfee sponsor an international Cyber Security Exhibition and Computer Learning Zone, located in Block C of Bletchley Park, which is currently being restored and is soon to open as the new Visitor Centre,

The partnership brings together two organisations highly committed to keeping people of all ages safe online. Workshops will be run at the new Computer Learning Zone to engage, inspire and educate visitors about the ever-evolving cyber threat. Children and adults alike will learn how the breathtaking achievements of the World War Two Codebreakers remain relevant today.
...
“The Codebreakers at Bletchley Park during World War Two battled against the very real threat of invasion” said Sir John Scarlett KCMG OBE, Chairman of the Bletchley Park Trust. “Today, when we live so much of our lives online, it is vital to understand how best to remain safe in the digital world. Our strategic partnership with McAfee is a fitting tribute to the pioneering men and women who helped to shorten World War Two.”

http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/news/v.rhtm/McAfee_Announces_Major_Partnership_with_Bletchley_Park_Trust-726767.html

And it seems reasonable for GCHQ, the successor to Bletchley Park, to be mentioned as the most likely entity in Europe to break your cyber security, and the NSA as the most likely in the world, as Snowden has shown.

[Octafish]

4. Same thing at Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas.

[ryan_cats]

5. Unless he took a photo in front of Bletchly Park...

Unless he took a photo in front of Bletchly Park and it's a personal photo, I seriously doubt they would 'disappear' someone from a personal photo.
BP, was active in WWII, did Snowden take a time machine?

[treestar]

6. Not everybody worships Eddie

It's their museum. They get to cover what they choose to cover. Eddie'll have to open his own museum. Maybe the Ecuadorian embassy has space.

[stevenleser]

8. I kind of expect nonsense like this from Britain's LD's.

On the one hand they proclaim to be more progressive than Labor, on the other, they join the Conservatives in government.

They are confused a lot, or should I say, they are a confused lot.