Ignorance is Strength

"If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened—that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death."
1984

After listening to a discussion on NPR I decided today to focus on web privacy. The internet has grown over the past fifteen years, as of March 31st, 2006, over 1.02 billion people use the Internet* , moving from a file sharing network for the tech savvy to an generally accessible commodity. With it the business of consumer information trading and monitoring has exploded. Ever wonder how Google's stock can trade at $382.01 per share? It is not simply because they have a huge amount of traffic move through their site, visitors contribute no profits, however, when ads are placed on the site Google can stand to make huge profits. This may not seem sinister on first glance but the way in which Google selects what sites we see and the ads which we are exposed to on their site is worrisome, more on this later.

I will focus on a few pieces of software that can help protect your privacy while making use of the infinitely useful internet.

ScatterChat, as their website informs us, “is a HACKTIVIST WEAPON designed to allow non-technical human rights activists and political dissidents to communicate securely and anonymously while operating in hostile territory.” However, it can also be used by the everyday internet user to communicate through an Instant Messenger type interface without having to worry about privacy issues. It works by bouncing encrypted versions of your messages around the world so that your IP address cannot be traced. It can be downloaded here.

The next piece of software is a well known web browser called Mozilla Firefox. Unlike most browsers, Firefox is free shareware and allows users to modify its contents with a variety of add-ons created by other individuals. Easy to install and use, Firefox is a great alternative to Internet Explorer. It can be downloaded here.

For those of you who want an even more anonymous internet surfing experience check out The Anonymizer web site, for a fee they will block your IP address as well as other things I don’t really understand but seem pretty neat. For you frugal types I found a free service they offer here. You will start at Phantasy Tour(my choice), and pages will take a while to load, but by entering web addresses in the upper left corner you will be able to surf anonymously.

Email is another area of privacy concerns, Hushmail and MyTrashMail both offer free services that can protect you from prying eyes. MyTrashMail also offers temporary email accounts for one time use.

And now we return to Google, a site which I have frequented for years and am becoming increasingly wary of. The site Googlewatch is a non-profit which highlights some of the growing concerns with the way Google is doing business. Here are some of the most disturbing facts about Google:

1. Google's immortal cookie
Google was the first search engine to use a cookie that expires in 2038. This cookie places a unique ID number on your hard disk. Anytime you navigate to a Google page, you get a Google cookie if you don't already have one. If you have one, they read and record your unique ID number.

2. Google records everything they can
For all searches they record the cookie ID, your Internet IP address, the time and date, your search terms, and your browser configuration. Increasingly, Google is customizing results based on your IP number. This is referred to in the industry as "IP delivery based on geolocation."

3. Google retains all data indefinitely
Google has no data retention policies. There is evidence that they are able to easily access all the user information they collect and save.

4. Google won't say why they need this data
Inquiries to Google about their privacy policies are ignored. When the New York Times (read article here) asked Sergey Brin about whether Google ever gets subpoenaed for this information, he had no comment.

5. Google's toolbar is spyware:
With the advanced features enabled, Google's free toolbar for Explorer records every page you surf, and reads your cookie too. Another concern is that Google's toolbar updates to new versions without asking whether you want to or not. This means that if you have the toolbar installed, Google essentially has complete access to your hard disk every time you connect to Google, and for most of us that is many times a day. Any software that updates automatically presents a massive security risk.




For a safer way to search the internet try one of the lesser used search engines, or if you are serious about privacy, this site is a great choice.

Well, I hope some of this helps, even if only to alert you of the innumerable privacy risks out there. And as always remember Big Brother is Watching!

We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane.

Music on the first day, death on the second. This entry was inspired by a Daily Show segment in which President Bush’s comments on stem cell research were juxtaposed with his seemingly dismissive comments about civilian casualties in Iraq, the clip can be viewed below.



I will first echo the segments consternation with President Bush over the moral hypocrisy of his statements. When asked how many Iraqi civilians have been killed in the war Bush responded, “I would say 30,000, more or less, have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis.”* This seeming indifference and lack of respect flies directly in the face of early comments in which he has said, “I also believe human life is a sacred gift from our Creator. I worry about a culture that devalues life, and believe as your President I have an important obligation to foster and encourage respect for life in America and throughout the world."* The difference is that this statement is in regard to stem cell research, clearly for Mr. Bush there is a difference in worth between an undeveloped American and a Iraqi civilian.
Mr. Stewart did not touch upon another hypocrisy I believe President Bush, as well as a great deal of conservatives and liberals alike share in, namely the death penalty. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said President Bush "strongly supports" the death penalty because "ultimately it helps save innocent lives". Speaking to reporters in Washington, Mr. McClellan said, "When it's administered fairly and swiftly and surely, it serves as a deterrent."*

This is troubling on two fronts, the first of which is Bush’s own comments on the sacredness of human life. This life that we have, the only one we will ever have is sacred and the death penalty is the destruction of life. This cannot be rectified with President Bush’s supposed religious beliefs. Secondly, reports have been published again and again showing that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent. A September 2000 New York Times survey found that during the last 20 years, the homicide rate in states with the death penalty has been 48 to 101 percent higher than in states without the death penalty. FBI data showed that 10 of the 12 states without capital punishment have homicide rates below the national average.*



Researchers did a comparison of murder rates and rates of sub-types of murder in Oklahoma between 1989 and 1991, and found a significant increase in murders, both felony and non-felony, after Oklahoma resumed executions after a 25-year moratorium.* Another saddening fact is that, according the American Civil Liberties Union, almost all people on death row could not afford to hire an attorney.* The quality of legal representation is a better predictor of whether or not someone will be sentenced to death than the facts of the crime.

In the end I feel that to dismiss embryonic stem cell research based on an opposition to a life for a life argument seems to minimize the momentous opportunity we have to alleviate incurable diseases, while turning a blind eye to other aspects of our government in which such life is discounted.

Found Sound #1 My Morning Jacket

For the music posts I will attempt to highlight the bands who are currently filling my ears with their sound and making my life more interesting. I will begin with a band which, until recently, had stayed below my radar. My Morning Jacket are a five piece band from Louisville, Kentucky and are known for their reverb-soaked sound. I had the chance to see them live at this year’s Bonnaroo festival and was blown away. The energy of the band, combined with their lead singer Jim Jame’s voice, not to mention the beautiful jammed out space rock made for the most enjoyable and consuming show at the festival. Beginning at around 12:30 and lasting at least three hours, it combined their southern jam rock originals with some flawless covers by the Flying Burrito Bros., Velvet Underground, The Who, the Rolling Stones, and the Misfits. Without a doubt the Who’s “A Quick One” stands as one of the best covers I have ever heard. As you listen to the show you can almost feel the band commanding the emotions of the audience, and as the jams build the energy of the crowd is electric, listen especially during Mahgeetah. Do yourself a favor, download and listen to this concert, you will not regret it. Keep in mind you will need Winzip to unzip the file once it is done downloading, below is a link to get it for free as well as a link to download the show. Below is also a video for one of my favorite MMJ songs “One Big Holiday”, enjoy.

WinZip
MMJ 2006-06-16

To whom it may concern: It is summertime. It is late afternoon.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said that, "the great majority of men are bundles of beginnings," and it is my hope that I and this blog will not be limited to a beginning. It is my expectation that I can last longer than I did with the first ill-fated http://ihatenickhennen.blogspot.com/ and add something of value to the world wide web, or at least provide a space for dialogue amongst friends. My goals are to write about current events, as well as any multimedia I am interested in at the time. I look forward to hearing from you all, ting-a-ling.