Jeanne Shaheen (D), in NYT: Kaspersky Lab, the cybersecurity company, is close to Putin’s government. So why is the U.S. government using its software?
Reportage från Rongcheng. Orwellian? "The party is using both coercion and cooperation to integrate the scheme into people’s lives and have it bring benefits to them. “To me, that’s what makes it Orwellian,” says Hoffman of IISS. The social credit system provides incentives for people to not want to be on a blacklist. “It’s a preemptive way of shaping the way people think and shaping the way people act,” she says. And to the extent that people believe they can benefit socially and economically from the Communist Party staying in power, the system is working."
Andreas Whittam Smith 16.12.10: comparison of of al-qaida and anonymous "it is global, it is networked and it is decentralised", but: "Anonymous seems to lack a command structure (al-Qa'ida "central", as it is known, undoubtedly does have one)" "Mr Bobbitt didn't feel the need to explain "informational", but the WikiLeaks publications of US State Department cables and the subsequent so-called cyber war show what he had in mind. Who controls information is now a central issue... Mr Bobbitt's larger point is that the terrorism of the age always closely reflects the existing constitutional arrangements."
Posted: 9 January 14 Martin Upchurch - WBC, Web-based communication - RFID armbands on workers - system for monitoring student performance (SIMS-schools information management system) - the Quantified Self movement whereby individuals constantly self-track their vital health signs - blogging about work - clicktivism
Christian Engström: "The problem is not just an over-reach of the intelligence agencies. The question we must ask ourselves is what good are these steps to counter the much more disturbing trend where our personal information – rather than money – becomes the chief way in which we pay for services – and soon, perhaps, everyday objects – that we use? " "Governments have a duty to protect their citizens’ privacy, not to invade it. "
You Can't Opt Out 10 NSA Myths Debunked 1) NSA surveillance is legal. 2) If I’ve done nothing wrong, I have nothing to hide. So why should I care about any of this? 3) But the media says the NSA only collects my "phone metadata," so I'm safe. 5) But I trust Obama (Bush, the next president) on this. 6) But don't private companies like Facebook already have access to and share a lot of my personal data? So what's wrong with the government having it, too? 7) All this surveillance is distasteful and maybe even illegal, but isn’t it necessary to keep us safe? Isn’t it for our own good? Haven’t times changed and shouldn’t we acknowledge that? 8) Terrorists are everywhere and dangerous. 9) We've stayed safe. Doesn't that just prove all the government efforts have worked? 10) But doesn’t protecting America come first -- before anything?
SvD 6.9.2013: "Runt 80 procent av rysk internettrafik till utlandet passerar Sverige. Mikael Holmström säger att avlyssningen av rysk trafik är FRA:s huvuduppgift - och Sveriges expertområde. - Spaningen som FRA-lagen legaliserade var i första hand till för att avlyssna trafiken från Ryssland. Men det var för politiskt känsligt för regeringen att erkänna. "
Pamela Jones 20 August 2013: "The owner of Lavabit tells us that he's stopped using email and if we knew what he knew, we'd stop too. Oddly, if everyone did that, leap off the Internet, the world's economy would collapse, I suppose. I can't really hope for that. But for me, the Internet is over... So this is the last Groklaw article. I won't turn on comments. Thank you for all you've done. I will never forget you and our work together. I hope you'll remember me too. I'm sorry I can't overcome these feelings, but I yam what I yam, and I tried, but I can't. "