Why is my ~/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist "damaged"?

I'm trying to edit my Safari bookmarks programmatically. When I try to open the file ~/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist, I get an pop-up with the error:

“Bookmarks.plist” is damaged and can’t be opened. You should move it to the Trash.

If I try to preview it by pressing space, it shows thousands of lines of this kind of nonsensical content:

Despite of this my Safari bookmarks are working normally though.

I am using FileVault, but shouldn't all the files be unencrypted when the computer is open?

Solution 1:

Mine bookmarks preview looks the same as yours; in finder or from terminal you do not have the rights to do something with. However, with Safari | Bookmarks | Edit Bookmarks you can do anything you need with it - deleting an item, renaming, modifying the address. If you need to export it, you can do it from File | Export Bookmarks... - and will be exported as .html (while you are in Edit page).