Fear-Mongering Alerts - II

Greetings ----

In the previous post, we looked at fearmongering and demonizing groups.  But there's also another dimension to the fear-mongering that's being presented to us, which is: clear threats to our civil liberties.

The Intercept has a very interesting article out. The Pres., intelligence community are really fighting to either stop the spread of end-to-end encryption or mandate that tech companies put in backdoors that intelligence spies and Law enforcement can use.  BAD IDEA!!!  Backdoors just make everyone's data LESS safe.  And that's not just me, but the conclusion of a cyber expert quoted in the article.  And the FBI is calling on tech companies to open backdoors to encryption.  Is anyone paying attention?  Why aren't we howling until this spying is radically scaled back, until mass surveillance is truly stopped???

Then there's Hillary, who in addition to worrying about encrypted apps said:  "And this is complicated. You’re going to hear all of the usual complaints, you know, freedom of speech, et cetera..."    FREEDOM OF SPEECH is now a "complaint?"  I thought it was a portion of The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to our Constitution, which is supposed to be the supreme law of the land.  You know, Hillary, our freedoms are not pesky handcuffs for law enforcement or intelligence spooks.  They were written to ensure liberty and some protections against government abuses. And a certain clown running for President also wants to talk about "closing the internet?"  Trump is really dangerous; more needs to be done to expose his poor fit to be a U. S.  leader.  I find a general lack of respect for civil liberties and human rights that makes me shake my head in dismay when I look over the field of main Presidential contenders.  I'm not optimistic.
 
And look at what's going on outside the U. S., too.  Say, France.  The French are considering some really draconian legislation -- included on the "wish-list" is banning public wi-fi if there is a state of emergency and outlawing TOR browser.  They also have harassed climate change protesters in Paris. Demonstrations have been disallowed and some key protesters placed on house arrest.  From the article: 
Some protesters argue that the permission granted to football matches, trade fairs and Christmas markets in Paris over the summit period suggests that the authorities’ real concern is to suppress dissent.
“We are trying to find grey areas in the law,” said John Jordan, a prominent activist. “At the moment, a demonstration is legally defined as more than two people who share a political message. We are trying to find creative ways around these laws.”

Oh no, the real intent just couldn't be to stifle dissent, now could it?

And the UK is no slouch, either, in the give-the-spooks-what-they-want department.  

It's time to start realizing that this is NOT about keeping us safe.  Not by a long shot.  There is absolutely NO evidence that mass surveillance has foiled ANY large terror plot. Really do some critical thinking, then, about why there is so much push for surveillance and tracking.  Really think about the kind of world we're building.  Really think about not buying into "the internet of things", not buying that new, more invasive gadget, or being so willing to be digitally tracked by ---- whatever site, ad tracker, offered loyalty card, or nefarious government agency wants to.  Wake up, it's getting late.

Related Posts:

My Update on a Classic

Any More Doubts? 

Any More Doubts (2)?