maxomai | Aug. 20th, 2013

What isn't the big headline today, but should be, is the closing of Groklaw over concerns that the NSA is spying on literally everyone with an email account. Between this, and Lavabit's owner probably facing a secret indictment for closing his company, and British intelligence raiding the Guardian over the Snowden leaks (2), and the detainment of a reporter's partner in order to intimidate that reporter from reporting further on Snowden (2), it is now readily apparent that PRISM is scoring direct hits on some of our most basic civil liberties. If you wonder why I consistently give President Obama an F- on civil liberties, this is a big part of the reason why. Nonetheless, there is a silver lining here. Groklaw was on the radar of most of the high flyers in the legal community, especially in intellectual property law. Its closure has been noticed, and by very influential people who might be in a position to turn things around. Meanwhile, please spread the word of what happened. This is a big, flashing warning sign that free speech is about to die off for the sake of security. Of course, Justin Raimondo puts his two cents in here.

Meanwhile, that moron gjohnsit uses the Groklaw incident to once again predict the end of the American economy. The fact that DailyKos keeps putting him on the rec list justifies my continued political blogging. No, the NSA spying scandal doesn't mean the end of the cloud. Not as long as corporations can buy and deploy PGP and encrypt everything that ever touches the cloud.

In the meanwhile, if you want to learn how to keep your email secure, search "GnuPG (favorite email service or client)" and go from there. Or try this. If you're using an iPhone, consider this. If you're using an Android phone, read this.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says that the recent gang-related mass shooting near an Uptown CPS "safe passage route" is a "warning sign." Well, no shit, Sherlock. What did you think would happen when you consolidated public schools across gang boundaries?

The CIA finally admitted the perfectly obvious - that they overthrew Iran's democratic government in 1953. Doesn't this make you wonder what we'll hear about the current Egypt crisis come 2073?

This Thursday, NecronomiCon starts in Providence, RI (2). My wife is participating in the art show at the Providence Art Club, 11 Thomas Street, as part of the festivities. See you there?

Finding God in a Dog