Nov 15, 2013 4 min read

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad as compiled by the Associated Press:

On Nov. 11, 1921, an American soldier killed in World War I whose identity was not known was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on a hill overlooking the Potomac River. The date was significant: the armistice ending World War I took effect at 11 a.m. Nov. 11, 1918 – the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

Armistice Day, as it became known was given unofficial recognition by a Congressional resolution in 1926. It was declared an official holiday 12 years later to honor the 16.5 million Americans who took part in “the war to end all wars.”

Unfortunately, World War I did not end all wars and in 1941 Americans were again asked to answer the call of duty in World War II. This was followed by war in Korea. Armistice Day did not seem broad enough to recognize the new veterans created by these two wars, and in 1954 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill changing the name of this holiday to Veterans Day.

Since the 1950s, Americans have continued to serve – and die – in many places far from home. The call has gone out and Americans have answered it. That call to duty is still going out and being answered. To those veterans of past wars and to the fighting men and women of today, we say thank you for your sacrifices.

If it were mostly men being raped in our military, it’s hard to imagine the Pentagon fighting for its farcical in-house prosecutions, in which perpetrators are almost never punished.

But that’s where we stand today, as one in five women serving our country suffers sexual assault, and fewer than 6 percent of their attackers are brought to justice.

The need to remove these cases from the military chain of command is clear. Yet Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is still facing an uphill battle to pass this reform, thanks to stiff opposition from the Pentagon. As the Senate prepares to take up the issue in coming weeks, she’s taking her case to the public.

Sexual assault cases should be tried by impartial military prosecutors, she argues, instead of allowing the accuser’s commander to oversee the investigation and decide whether anyone should be charged.

That’s basic common sense. Yet top brass refuses to budge. In response, she invited former U.S. Marine Ben Klay, the husband of a rape victim, to testify on Capitol Hill last week. His wife, Ariana Klay, was a Marine herself, and an Iraq War veteran – but whose perspective do you think carries more weight with these military men?

“I’m lucky I married someone so strong,” he said, choking up as Gillibrand and Sen. Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, stood by. “Even though she still suffers.”

Last month, U.S. authorities arrested Ross William Ulbricht and charged him with running an online marketplace for a cornucopia of illegal goods and deals. That online bazaar was called The Silk Road, which, like its fabled namesake, offered visitors just about anything they desired.

The arrest has thrown light on two disturbing elements of the Internet – the existence of the so-called Deep Web, a massive virtual world that is not visible to most Web users or search engines, and the use of Bitcoin, a rapidly expanding digital currency that allows for anonymous transactions.

These revelations are a reminder that despite fears of living in a surveillance state, substantial parts of the digital world remain unobserved and unregulated – perhaps dangerously so.

Law enforcement is waking up to these new challenges, but technology continues to outpace the detectives. The bigger question remains, however: How can we ensure privacy while guaranteeing accountability?