Jeanne Shaheen (D), in NYT: Kaspersky Lab, the cybersecurity company, is close to Putin’s government. So why is the U.S. government using its software?
Reportage från Rongcheng. Orwellian? "The party is using both coercion and cooperation to integrate the scheme into people’s lives and have it bring benefits to them. “To me, that’s what makes it Orwellian,” says Hoffman of IISS. The social credit system provides incentives for people to not want to be on a blacklist. “It’s a preemptive way of shaping the way people think and shaping the way people act,” she says. And to the extent that people believe they can benefit socially and economically from the Communist Party staying in power, the system is working."
Military's 'sock puppet' software creates fake online identities to spread pro-American propaganda Jeff Jarvis: Washington shows the morals of a clumsy spammer Nick Fielding and Ian Cobain The Guardian, Thursday 17 March 2011 "The multiple persona contract is thought to have been awarded as part of a programme called Operation Earnest Voice (OEV), which was first developed in Iraq as a psychological warfare weapon against the online presence of al-Qaida supporters and others ranged against coalition forces. Since then, OEV is reported to have expanded into a $200m programme and is thought to have been used against jihadists across Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Middle East."
f the intelligence on the shoot-down is as weak as it appears judging from the fuzzy scraps that have been released, we strongly suggest you call off the propaganda war and await the findings of those charged with investigating the shoot-down. If, on the other hand, your administration has more concrete, probative intelligence, we strongly suggest that you consider approving it for release, even if there may be some risk of damage to “sources and methods.” Too often this consideration is used to prevent information from entering the public domain where, as in this case, it belongs. William Binney, former Technical Director, World Geopolitical & Military Analysis, NSA; co-founder, SIGINT Automation Research Center (ret.) Larry Johnson, CIA & State Department (ret.) etc.
Andreas Whittam Smith 16.12.10: comparison of of al-qaida and anonymous "it is global, it is networked and it is decentralised", but: "Anonymous seems to lack a command structure (al-Qa'ida "central", as it is known, undoubtedly does have one)" "Mr Bobbitt didn't feel the need to explain "informational", but the WikiLeaks publications of US State Department cables and the subsequent so-called cyber war show what he had in mind. Who controls information is now a central issue... Mr Bobbitt's larger point is that the terrorism of the age always closely reflects the existing constitutional arrangements."
Posted: 9 January 14 Martin Upchurch - WBC, Web-based communication - RFID armbands on workers - system for monitoring student performance (SIMS-schools information management system) - the Quantified Self movement whereby individuals constantly self-track their vital health signs - blogging about work - clicktivism
Christian Engström: "The problem is not just an over-reach of the intelligence agencies. The question we must ask ourselves is what good are these steps to counter the much more disturbing trend where our personal information – rather than money – becomes the chief way in which we pay for services – and soon, perhaps, everyday objects – that we use? " "Governments have a duty to protect their citizens’ privacy, not to invade it. "
You Can't Opt Out 10 NSA Myths Debunked 1) NSA surveillance is legal. 2) If I’ve done nothing wrong, I have nothing to hide. So why should I care about any of this? 3) But the media says the NSA only collects my "phone metadata," so I'm safe. 5) But I trust Obama (Bush, the next president) on this. 6) But don't private companies like Facebook already have access to and share a lot of my personal data? So what's wrong with the government having it, too? 7) All this surveillance is distasteful and maybe even illegal, but isn’t it necessary to keep us safe? Isn’t it for our own good? Haven’t times changed and shouldn’t we acknowledge that? 8) Terrorists are everywhere and dangerous. 9) We've stayed safe. Doesn't that just prove all the government efforts have worked? 10) But doesn’t protecting America come first -- before anything?