Surveillance

Video of the Day – Introducing “iDouches,” The Google Glass Wearers Who Claim Discrimination

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Screen Shot 2014-06-13 at 3.29.42 PMIf you follow me on Twitter, you will know that I harbor a great degree of derision for Google Glass. Beyond the fact that I think the contraption is essentially expensive birth control, the privacy infringing aspects of this device are dizzying. If you are my friend and start wearing Google Glass we can pretty much terminate the relationship right then and there.

Apparently, I’m not the only one, and in this hilarious segment by Jason Jones on the Daily Show, we are introduced to a new, and apropos term, “iDouche.” What is so amazing is the delusional mindset that pervades all of the “glass” wearers, to the point that one of them calls the act of being discriminated for wearing the monstrous headset a “hate crime.”

A great laugh heading into the weekend.

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An Open Letter to Skype

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I’ve known about security concerns related to Skype for quite some time, but I never really understood the details.  Thanks to this letter, signed by a large number of organizations and individuals, I now know quite a bit more.  For those as ignorant as me on this topic, here is some background:

In June 2008, Skype stated it could not eavesdrop on user conversations due to its peer-to-peer architecture and encryption techniques. Additionally, Skype claimed it was not required to comply with expanded CALEA rules on lawful interception as long as it was based in Europe. As a result of the service being acquired by Microsoft in 2011, it may now be required to comply with CALEA due to the company being headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Furthermore, as a US-based communication provider, Skype would therefore be required to comply with the secretive practice of National Security Letters.

Since Skype was acquired by Microsoft, both entities have refused to answer questions about exactly what kinds of user data can be intercepted, what user data is retained, or whether eavesdropping on Skype conversations may take place.  In 2012, the FBI stated that it had issued a warrant for chats going back to 2007, and that it had utilized those chats as evidence as the basis for criminal charges. This contradicts Skype’s own policy stating that chats are retained for a maximum of 30 days.

The letter begins as follows:

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The FDA is Caught Spying on its Employees and Creating an “Enemies List”

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Ah, so now we see the surveillance state is indeed everywhere.  This is what happens when the government itself claims the right the tear up the supreme law of the land – The U.S. Constitution – and just track anyone they want anytime they want.  When I first woke up to the gigantic fraud that is the global monetary system I thought I had figured it all out.  Boy was I wrong.  The more stones I overturn, the more I see the syndicate is indeed everywhere.  The food industry and the healthcare industry are indeed as corrupt as the financial system.  Just like the “regulators” in the financial markets simply serve as gatekeepers for the bankster oligarchs, so too does the FDA serve as a gatekeeper to the pharmaceutical elite.  You know the corporations that in many cases are more interested in keeping you sick and selling you medicine than actually curing disease.

Key quotes from this NY Time article:

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