Monday, June 20, 2016

Privacy and Encryption - Politicizing gun violence for the wrong reasons - Not "Dems to take our guns," but Republicans to deny our privacy. [UPDATED]

This EFF item: "June 17, 2016 | By Shahid Buttar -- House Leaders Politicize a Tragedy to Block Bipartisan Surveillance Reforms."

EFF, again, a bit more than a year ago. More background, WaPo, Sept. 2015.

WaPo in 1997, and its posted log of Bubba's regime's Clipper Chip counter-encryption putsch. (The war on encryption is older than W's War on Terror, and indeed older than some readers of this blog. Dating to the early '90's.)

A recent ComputerWorld item reflecting back to Clipper Chip days, and noting that the encryption disabling aims of the FBI against Apple went well beyond the needs of the San Bernadino phone decryption situation. It was government wants far outstripping government needs; an assault on citizen privacy - the right to protection from intrusion upon who you are.

Is there any sense whatsoever that you must surrender your rightful security because of some bureaucratic notions of security of "the homeland." That position of the government is an absurdity. Worse, and insult. Little different than wanting the power to, without a warrent, enter your home and read your mail - in this case entry unneeded with a compliant web service provider's complicit remote enabling, as your email transits the provider's hardware.

Why would citizens want any such thing, and why have our elected officials done as they have, given sensible citizen moods and beliefs.

If your right to privacy is breached, what rights do you really have?

________________UPDATE______________
Mischief afoot, dateline June 22, in of all places, the houses of Congress.