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Bot to tweet Chilcot Report 140 characters at a time

Finally, after 7 years of investigation, the British government has released the Chilcot Report, the UK’s official inquiry into its participation in the Iraq War (coverage at the Guardian, NY Times, and the Intercept). We’ve purchased a copy, and are also in the process of storing a digital copy in the Stanford Digital Repository.

Now there’s word that the 12 volumes and 2.6 million words will be tweeted by the Chilcot Bot 140 characters at a time. I’m not sure how exactly 140 characters every 4.5 minutes is “more digestible,” but it does bring about an interesting thought experiment: how does one collect a document published as a year’s worth of tweets?!

The Chilcot report is long—2.6 million words long. It takes the form of 12 hefty volumes that occupy a table measuring several meters in length, in print form. 

Now, you can savor the document, which took 7 years to produce and find that the United Kingdom joined the invasion of Iraq under dubious circumstances, in tweet-sized bursts.

The bot issues a new tweet every 4.5 minutes or so, according to a calculation by Motherboard. It was created by BuzzFeed to reproduce the text in a more “digestible” form, according to Chris Applegate, a U.K.-based developer who worked on it.

via This Bot Will Spend the Next Year Tweeting the Chilcot Report – Nextgov.com.

Errol Morris’ “Unknown Known” — Rumsfeld and the psychopathology of war

I’ve seen bits of Errol Morris’ new documentary [[The Unknown Known]] on the career of former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. This is an important piece for our understanding of US’ recent history and a stark reminder about the adage that “1 person making a difference” can actually cut both ways.

Errol Morris, Oscar-winning filmmaker talks with Rachel Maddow about his new documentary “The Unknown Known,” examining Donald Rumsfeld’s perspective on the war in Iraq, and the rewriting of history by former Bush staffers.

via The Rachel Maddow Show on msnbc.

U.S. and British Documents Give No Indication Alternatives Were Seriously Considered

In its second “electronic briefing book” of three, the National Security Archive re-examines several aspects of the run-up to the Iraq war.

THE IRAQ WAR — PART II: Was There Even a Decision?, National Security Archive, George Washington University, October 1, 2010.

Contrary to statements by President George W. Bush or Prime Minister Tony Blair, declassified records from both governments posted on the Web today reflect an early and focused push to prepare war plans and enlist allies regardless of conflicting intelligence about Iraq’s threat and the evident difficulties in garnering global support.

Perhaps most revealing about today’s posting on the National Security Archive’s Web site is what is missing — any indication whatsoever from the declassified record to date that top Bush administration officials seriously considered an alternative to war.

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