There is nothing wrong with this, I guess government propaganda is really scaring some people. If it were like this arms manufacturing should be a crime and the billionaires behind those factories should be in jail, you still live under democracy so government should fear you and not the other way round.
One could, however, argue that Thomas Jefferson had some valid points on democracies and the running therof. And it's him that V for Vendetta was riffing off:
“A government afraid of its citizens is a Democracy. Citizens afraid of government is tyranny!”
On the other hand, a point could be made that it's totalitarian regimes where governments are afraid of their citizens (those in fear of losing their powers, especially illegitimately obtained, start suppressing freedoms and surveilling everyone).
They recently published an article suggesting people surrepticiously feed animal products to vegans, so I don't read their site anymore. I realize that not everybody will agree with that, but I'm not comfortable giving a site like that page views and ad impressions.
To make people understand what I mean I tell them about Martin Luther King and how the FBI concerned him as a threat to the public, he was kept under strict surveillance to collect information that would be used to blackmail him. The FBI collected information about Dr. King's plans and activities through and extensive surveillance program, from wiretapped telephones to hidden microphones in hotels and motel rooms.
Then aI ask: What if your kid is the next dissident, can you guarantee she/he won't have to step up and fight some absurdities? What will happen with she/he under the surveillance state we live today?
The problem with "normal people", those who have nothing to hide, is mainly one: you are telling the power what is important for you. I know this seems silly if we only think about ourselves (micro view), but it became a real problem when we realise the whole society is doing the same at the same time (macro view), telling the power what is important, where they should invest, make money, find/manipulate our geniuses, blackmail, incarcerate or kill our dissidents is just non-sense.
I agree with you, there are many truths in this letter that can't be ignored.
I think many people would get upset with it because Putin is using the same propaganda the US government (and many others) has always used, both hypocrites governing through lies, manipulation, intimidation, coercion, persecution of activists, violence etc. All in the name of "Democracy".
Honestly I don't think the "write to your MP" action would have any result, for me this is just another tool to make people think that Democracy is being exercised, anyway, I am not saying that you shouldn't do it, please do it, but don't stop your actions there because it is just not enough.
It's a piece of the puzzle, it's a way for them to know what the concerns are and they can choose to act or ignore. You're right, it shouldn't just stop there but people should shout from every rooftop even if it's potentially ineffective.
Gene Sharp is excellent, I am reading From Dictatorship to Democracy.
On the subject, I think the biggest problem is how to make people understand how serious this is, make them see that the similarities between what is happening and totalitarianism and even fascism is to disturbing.
Today I was speaking with a friend about faceCrap and he just doesn't care about it, he doesn't even try to get properly informed and said that no one would do anything against him because the information he shares is not relevant. I tried to explain the problems with the greed ones controlling the information (hence truth) of the planet, the political and economical advantages it brings to people that doesn't care about society and how his data could say a lot about him but at the end he told me I am paranoid :).
So the political problem we are facing, in my opinion, is a consequence of lack of interest and even selfishness.
"As Gestapo chief of operations and later (after 1939) its chief, Müller played a leading role in the detection and suppression of all forms of resistance to the Nazi regime.[12] Under his leadership, the Gestapo succeeded in infiltrating and to a large extent destroying the underground networks of the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party by the end of 1935."
oh yes absolutely. just like the Gestapo. and the NKWD. i mean this is like a photocopy. sending people to concentration camps/gulags, murdering families. it is so 1:1 it is downright scary. you're so brave. so brave.
Partaking in arguably illegal wars. Killing and torturing innocents at military bases. Kidnapping people and flying them off to be tortured (mainly a US hobby, but helped by the UK), lying to press and parliament about what is happening, helping out dictators etc. There are parallels to be found.
boi_v2 noted a similarity between specific actions. No reasonably intelligent adult could read his comment and come to the conclusion that he thinks they are gassing Jews; the exaggeration is your own. Take your "bravery" bullshit back to reddit.
bullshit. you don't bring up the specific example of the gestapo for comparison on how they filed their reports. his intent was to align the current actions of the UK/US intelligence services with the Gestapo, conjuring a very specific image.
which is laughable in the very redditesque way you just brought up.
> "sending people to concentration camps/gulags, murdering families."
Those are things you said, not him. You uncharitably read an absurd statement of equivalence where he merely made a comparison.
The refusal to see parallels or accept comparisons to dark periods in recent history unless they are 100% equivalent is a disease that threatens our ability to learn lessons from the past. If we only accept comparisons to the Gestapo when they begin gassing people en-masse, then it is too late.
so if someone mentions the Gestapo they explicitely do not mean to bring up the overall context of the third reich, gotcha.
i am an austrian of polish decent. for me bringing up the fucking nazis in this context is completely laughable.
the securitate? maybe. the stasi? same. but only internet nerd rage immediately brings up nazis, fascism, etc. the whole discussion here at HN is an exercise in hyperbolic bullshit.
My point was to emphasise the similarities between the text and what is actually happening. The text talks about how Gestapo suppressed all forms of resistance and how they've done that by destroying the network of communications of these resistances, a quite alarming similarity that in my opinion has to be observed.
I find awesome when this kind of thing happen, It makes pretty clear how the law is manipulated to protect those in power, the fear politics is obviously a strategy to intimidate and control the masses but fortunately, with this kind of abuses, it is becoming more and more apparently.
People elect representatives that were supposed to represent them, these representatives are, in reality, puppets fabricated and promoted by the corporate and elite's money, and once elected, the power and influence obtained are not being used to defend the common but the interest of those already in power.
So in practice Democracy has a backdoor that allows it to be hijacked and until it is fixed we will keep being represented by no one.
Maybe democracy would be "more real" if we forbid the corporate money in political campaigns and also limit the amount of money each individual can donate, bringing everybody to the same level could result in no masters of puppets.
I wish people would get involved with projects like Cryptocat instead of pointing the finger with some kind of superiority that will never construct anything, at least this is what I would do if I were a Cryptographer, but why bother? It is better to work for a bank and use others mistakes to make some self-promotion and maybe feel better with myself.
You missed a excellent opportunity to make some good.
If I were to write a book that pretended to teach laymen how to perform major surgery in their own kitchen, would it be reasonable for real surgeons to tell me to knock it the fuck off, or should they "get involved" and attempt to provide me with constructive criticism?
Your analogy means that people shouldn't expect to have secure group chatting capability. It would be more like (groan) saying "I want to perform surgery in my kitchen so I'll just read some books while I'm opening the person up, but real surgeons are telling me to knock it the fuck off and read all the books before trying it".
It's legitimate and commendable to try to write your own cryptosystem, but winging it is not going to end well.
People can expect secure communications, just like they can expect lung transplants. They should should not expect either done by an amature rejecting supervision.
There was nothing wrong with what they wanted done, only with who was doing it and how.
* Knock it (writing the book) the fuck off = stop developing cryptocat.
* Real surgeons = cryptographers.
* Teach laymen how to perform major surgery in their kitchen = communicate securely.
If people "can expect secure communications", then, by your analogy, people "can expect to be taught how to perform major surgery in their kitchen". They cannot both be expected "to be taught how to perform major surgery in their kitchen" and not expect to have it "done by an amateur rejecting supervision".
* Teach laymen to .... in their kitchen (ie, the shit that is hopelessly wrong about my surgery book) = the shit that is hopelessly wrong about cryptocat.
