Video pretty thin on providing policy rationale for the Tories
The video provides more political cover than it does policy rationale for the government’s anti-terror agenda.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/03/06/video-pretty-thin-on-provi...
Mulcair opposes Harper's police state bill while Trudeau folds like a cheap suit
Sat, 2015-03-07 11:28
#402
Sat, 2015-03-07 11:40
#403
Conservative Party fights fear with fear with Bill C-51
Is the cynical, totalitarian bent of the government’s anti-terror legislation just really, really dark satire?
http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2015/03/06/conservative-party-fights...
Sat, 2015-03-07 14:32
#404
radiorahim
Thanks, RR, for a very good presentation of the case for everyone using encryption. I agree with all your points. What we need more of are easy to use applications for email, chat, and so on that are encrypted by default.
The mobile tools i.e. "Red Phone" and "Text Secure" are really easy to install/use.
The others take more work. But, there are lots of free software developers that are taking on the task of trying to make security/privacy tools easier to use.
Sat, 2015-03-07 16:16
#405
As for bulk surveillance, that's a totally different story. That's where we can make a difference by using commonly available free software encryption tools.
If larger numbers of people (it doesn't even have to be a majority)...let's say 15-20% of people start using encryption that accomplishes two things.
Agree 100%. The commodification of encryption would hamper efforts toward passive/bulk surveillance. You made a strong, well-articulated case for it.
The reason I encrypt my communications (aside from the desire to get US content on Netflix) is simply because it is prudent. My intent is not to hide my tracks from government inasmuch as it is to secure myself against other organizations or individuals that have no business observing my business, whether for marketing purposes or other more nefarious reasons.
With respect to government snooping, I am well aware that if they want in to see my communications, they will find a way in. In all honesty, I don't feel I have anything to hide and it would not frighten me to find myself being surveilled by government, but I have no intention of making it easy. I nevertheless figure I make it less likely, since the effort to do so would far exceed any value they would obtain from the information. This amount of encryption suffices for me.
Other than my home internet connection and my email transmission, I do not encrypt much else. Good, secure encryption carries a lot of overhead, in terms of processing and routing. This is bound to have a negative impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of one's communications. I tried TOR (more out of curiosity than anything else), but I'm really not that worried about my browsing habits that I am willing to forgo a 100 Mbps connection to browse at landline-modem speeds. Likewise, with things like redphone. Digital cellphone calls are already encrypted. Is the encryption secure enough to keep the spooks or your service provider from listening in? Nope, but I'm not willing enough to deal with the bandwidth overhead, garbled sound, and dropped calls that proper encryption would entail to prevent the spooks from hearing about my dad's gout.
Are there people that truly require such levels of encryption for perfectly justifiable reasons? Absolutely. This is why such means exist. While I believe it certainly behooves such people to be aware of these measures, I don't necessarily think they need to be commodified. While the "herd immunity" argument seems compelling, I am not entirely certain it is valid.
Sat, 2015-03-07 17:29
#406
Whether the NDP or any other opposition party wins the next election and amends or even scraps the elements of Bill C-51 that make it into 14 different pieces of legislation, that will only barely scratch the surface of rolling back the surveillance state.
As Edward Snowden pointed out just yesterday speaking to Canadian Journalists for Free Expression at Ryerson University, Canada has the weakest oversight mechanisms of any of the "five eyes" spy agencies.
The other thing that needs to change is that our own personal electronic communications habits have to change. How many of us encrypt our e-mail, our internet chats or our mobile phone and text messaging?
It's time to start. And if you don't know how, learn.
This is a great point, thanks. You've inspired me to try to browse and email more privately. To dwell more on the tech aspects, the nuts and bolts, of setting such things up rather than the social/political aspects that we discuss here, I started another thread in the Technology/Science category: http://rabble.ca/babble/science-technology/internet-privacy
I anticipate having a lot of tech questions while setting stuff up.
Sat, 2015-03-07 17:58
#407
Digital cellphone calls are already encrypted. Is the encryption secure enough to keep the spooks or your service provider from listening in? Nope, but I'm not willing enough to deal with the bandwidth overhead, garbled sound, and dropped calls that proper encryption would entail to prevent the spooks from hearing about my dad's gout.Are there people that truly require such levels of encryption for perfectly justifiable reasons? Absolutely. This is why such means exist. While I believe it certainly behooves such people to be aware of these measures, I don't necessarily think they need to be commodified. While the "herd immunity" argument seems compelling, I am not entirely certain it is valid.
Interesting. The argument that it's too tedious a task for a benefit that's too intangible to comprehend is a compelling argument. That said, I'm still going to try for more privacy in what I do on computers (and perhaps my cell-phone).
Sat, 2015-03-07 20:11
#408
Day of Action on March 14th against Bill C-51, all across Canada. For information, see https://openmedia.org/stopc51/
Sun, 2015-03-08 19:51
#409
I thought Harper/Kenney said our troops are not in combat.
Canadian soldier killed in Iraq appeared at front line unannounced: Kurdish officials
http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1306562/canadian-soldier-killed-in-iraq-...
Sun, 2015-03-08 22:04
#410
Who has seen Citizenfour?
Snowden is indeed fortunate that Greenwald assisted him as Greenwald who speaks at least 2 languages, he is fluent in Portuguese as well as English, is a very effective communicator.
Sun, 2015-03-08 22:24
#411
B.C. premier Christy Clark says anti-terror bill could ‘impinge’ rights
http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2015/03/08/b-c-premier-christy-clark-sa...
Mon, 2015-03-09 15:55
#412
New Keeney, same as the old Kenney.
Kenney tweets misleading photos of Muslim women in chains
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/the-gargoyle-kenney-tweets-mislea...
Mon, 2015-03-09 16:02
#413
Incident that killed Canadian soldier could have been worse, Kurd commander says
Cdr. Gardi told BasNews that “if it wasn’t for [the Canadians’] driver all three may have been shot dead” in the melee. It was this man who convinced the Peshmerga that the soldiers they were attacking were “Canadian advisers and not Islamic State militants.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/incident-that-killed-canadi...
Mon, 2015-03-09 16:06
#414
ON TARGET: Canadians must know end game before mission in Iraq is extended
http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1273485-on-target-canadians-must-kn...
- see next post
Mon, 2015-03-09 16:30
#415
When PM Pushed the Panic Button, Cheerleader's Mom Pushed Back
'It wasn't even an option not to go,' parent says.
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/03/09/Prime-Minister-Presses-Panic-Button/
Mon, 2015-03-09 21:38
#416
Who has seen Citizenfour?
Tue, 2015-03-10 00:31
#417
Looks like Kenney is up to his ole sleazy political tricks.
NDP accuse Jason Kenney, DND post of showing ‘potentially reckless’ images of special forces:
http://www.ipolitics.ca/2015/03/09/jason-kenney-dnd-post-potentially-rec...
Tue, 2015-03-10 00:56
#418
radiorahim
This is a great point, thanks. You've inspired me to try to browse and email more privately. To dwell more on the tech aspects, the nuts and bolts, of setting such things up rather than the social/political aspects that we discuss here, I started another thread in the Technology/Science category: http://rabble.ca/babble/science-technology/internet-privacyI anticipate having a lot of tech questions while setting stuff up.
That's a good idea. However the trick is to keep the thread "busy" with activity to keep it near the top of the "Active Topics". 
While the "herd immunity" argument seems compelling, I am not entirely certain it is valid.
Protecting the herd was one of Edward Snowden's important points.
And yes, privacy tools can be a bit of a hassle, but they will get better the more people use them and the more there is popular pressure to engineer privacy into our internet tools.
Tue, 2015-03-10 01:03
#419
SO MUCH FOR THE PLEDGE NEVER TO GO NEG
http://warrenkinsella.com/2015/03/so-much-for-the-pledge-never-to-go-neg/
Tue, 2015-03-10 02:20
#420
Karl Nerenberg reports on Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien's concerns about the Cons' terror bill.
http://accidentaldeliberations.blogspot.ca/2015/03/monday-morning-links_...
Tue, 2015-03-10 03:15
#421
This is a great point, thanks. You've inspired me to try to browse and email more privately. To dwell more on the tech aspects, the nuts and bolts, of setting such things up rather than the social/political aspects that we discuss here, I started another thread in the Technology/Science category: http://rabble.ca/babble/science-technology/internet-privacyI anticipate having a lot of tech questions while setting stuff up.
That's a good idea. However the trick is to keep the thread "busy" with activity to keep it near the top of the "Active Topics".
Yeah, may have been better to just post here. Anyway, I'm now almost exclusively using Tor Browser. It's quite good. PGP for email I'm set up to use, but it requires recipients who also use it. I have a cell-phone, but no smart-phone. Is there some way to encrypt regular cellphone texts?