[Reader-list] The Secret Agent

[Menso Heus]

On Thu, Jul 18, 2002 at 02:48:01AM +0000, Lachlan Brown wrote:
> This 'tactical' thinking surrenders the 'strategic' terrain 
> to enemies, real or imagined. It leads to paranoia. It leads 
> to disempowerment.
> 
> menso wrote:
> >You are really not understanding this at all, are you? 
> 
> >It is not a question of 'an agent that might be listening in', 
> there is one, always listening and storing all that he hears.
> 
> Would you like to tell us about this 'agent' Menso? Would you
> like to tell us about where all keystrokes, all communication,
> all digital culture has its repository? 

I suggest you read this: http://cryptome.org/cryptout.htm#Echelon

> Would you like to
> outline a technical programme to counter this accumulation
> of information on all our lives? 

We can't really do anything about it, besides encrypting our 
communications or to have them somewhere away from prying eyes.
And even encrypting might not be such a good solution since new,
faster cpu's are discovered all the time.

> More to the point, would you
> like to tell us about the kind of society it might be where
> such accumulation of digital culture might be employed to the 
> detriment of individual and collective rights? 

That would be 'any society' Mr Brown, whenever the authorities think
it's necessary. I believe 60% of the police officers that are fired 
from the Dutch police are fired because of 'abuse of the system', and
these are just the people that do it for their own fun & profit.

> As I say, a more successful strategy (one more fully worked out 
> in a range of civil rights issues during the past several decades 
> at least) is to counter through clearly articulated argument for rights, 
> for policies that protect rights, and for legislation that upholds rights 
> vis a vis State as well as private sector. I think 
> this is the more productive way to go.

Yes, it is, but it isn't working. The general public doesn't care (the 'I have
nothing to hide so why should I worry' syndrome) and our privacy rights vanish
with each mention of the word 'terrorist'.

> Paranoia leads to disempowerment. 

Trying to keep your private life private is not paranoia.

Menso
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      War is peace.  Freedom is slavery.  Ketchup is a vegetable.
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