Re: [liberationtech] Silent Circle for human rights orgs..
This form's been there for a while, and more importantly, months before they released any source code. NK On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 5:19 PM, Kate Krauss wrote: > Hi, > > I haven't been following this thread and do not know anything about > "Silent Circle." This is why I'm responding--I'm a human rights activist > and I don't know the backstory to this group, good or bad. I'm responding > to a number of off-putting aspects of the Silent Circle web site, most of > which might be easily fixed. > > So to play the devil's advocate--why would a human rights group that is > not focused on infosec and doesn't already know these people be interested > in participating in this? > > The bombastic text below seems to say, "Join us in our nebulous project. > If you are lucky to receive a free subscription (unclear why you would want > one) we will investigate you." The "bona fides" that are "established" here > are that somebody is very arrogant. The tone of the web site is very > cloak-and-dagger. Compare it to the Tor Project web site, which actually > can protect human rights activists: that web site is upbeat, generally > unpretentious, and the logo is a cartoon vegetable. It is publicly allied > with EFF, which has a great reputation. In contrast, the logo for this > company Silent Circle reminds me of "The Ring." > > Also, in my experience--the risk, and so the investigation, would be on > the other foot--human rights groups would be investigating Silent > Circle--the biggest risk is for the human rights organization and its staff > and members. The Silent Circle web site makes a lot of promises and asks > people to take a lot of risks with their information and possibly their > lives. And when you go to "About us" they seem to be founded by US Navy > Seal--which raises questions that are not answered. A "melting pot" of > talent is a concern when one person is all it takes to endanger lives. > > Some possible fixes: Friendlier, less pretentious content on the "human > rights" page (the all-black is a little goofy)--a specific person to > telephone or OTR instead of filling out this form to send to a stranger, > and the logos of endorsing organizations that people already trust. Does > the Tor Project endorse it? > > Unfortunately for them, human rights groups supply--or at least > endure--the cloak and dagger. Their encryption software shouldn't. > > > Kate Krauss > AIDS Policy Project > (I also work with non-US, at-risk human rights activists) > > > On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 2:55 PM, Ali-Reza Anghaie wrote: > >> I believe this is new from them and perhaps in response to libtech's >> ongoing discussions. >> >> https://silentcircle.com/web/human-rights/ >> >> "*If you are a leader, executive or organizer within an active human >> rights group, which we can gather information on to establish bona fides, >> then please fill out the form below. We are interested in providing you >> with a limited number of free subscription packages for dissemination >> amongst your network in order to protect individual privacy and anonymity. >> We would like to build a relationship with you in order to best understand >> your constraints and requirements. We will use the information that you >> provide in this form to conduct open-source research upon your >> organization, its affiliates, your areas of activity and your open-source >> history.*" >> >> Cheers, -Ali >> >> >> -- >> Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: >> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech >> > > > -- > Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech > -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] Silent Circle for human rights orgs..
Hi, I haven't been following this thread and do not know anything about "Silent Circle." This is why I'm responding--I'm a human rights activist and I don't know the backstory to this group, good or bad. I'm responding to a number of off-putting aspects of the Silent Circle web site, most of which might be easily fixed. So to play the devil's advocate--why would a human rights group that is not focused on infosec and doesn't already know these people be interested in participating in this? The bombastic text below seems to say, "Join us in our nebulous project. If you are lucky to receive a free subscription (unclear why you would want one) we will investigate you." The "bona fides" that are "established" here are that somebody is very arrogant. The tone of the web site is very cloak-and-dagger. Compare it to the Tor Project web site, which actually can protect human rights activists: that web site is upbeat, generally unpretentious, and the logo is a cartoon vegetable. It is publicly allied with EFF, which has a great reputation. In contrast, the logo for this company Silent Circle reminds me of "The Ring." Also, in my experience--the risk, and so the investigation, would be on the other foot--human rights groups would be investigating Silent Circle--the biggest risk is for the human rights organization and its staff and members. The Silent Circle web site makes a lot of promises and asks people to take a lot of risks with their information and possibly their lives. And when you go to "About us" they seem to be founded by US Navy Seal--which raises questions that are not answered. A "melting pot" of talent is a concern when one person is all it takes to endanger lives. Some possible fixes: Friendlier, less pretentious content on the "human rights" page (the all-black is a little goofy)--a specific person to telephone or OTR instead of filling out this form to send to a stranger, and the logos of endorsing organizations that people already trust. Does the Tor Project endorse it? Unfortunately for them, human rights groups supply--or at least endure--the cloak and dagger. Their encryption software shouldn't. Kate Krauss AIDS Policy Project (I also work with non-US, at-risk human rights activists) On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 2:55 PM, Ali-Reza Anghaie wrote: > I believe this is new from them and perhaps in response to libtech's > ongoing discussions. > > https://silentcircle.com/web/human-rights/ > > "*If you are a leader, executive or organizer within an active human > rights group, which we can gather information on to establish bona fides, > then please fill out the form below. We are interested in providing you > with a limited number of free subscription packages for dissemination > amongst your network in order to protect individual privacy and anonymity. > We would like to build a relationship with you in order to best understand > your constraints and requirements. We will use the information that you > provide in this form to conduct open-source research upon your > organization, its affiliates, your areas of activity and your open-source > history.*" > > Cheers, -Ali > > > -- > Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech > -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
[liberationtech] Silent Circle for human rights orgs..
I believe this is new from them and perhaps in response to libtech's ongoing discussions. https://silentcircle.com/web/human-rights/ "*If you are a leader, executive or organizer within an active human rights group, which we can gather information on to establish bona fides, then please fill out the form below. We are interested in providing you with a limited number of free subscription packages for dissemination amongst your network in order to protect individual privacy and anonymity. We would like to build a relationship with you in order to best understand your constraints and requirements. We will use the information that you provide in this form to conduct open-source research upon your organization, its affiliates, your areas of activity and your open-source history.*" Cheers, -Ali -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
[liberationtech] Iceland leading the way towards a ban on violent online porn
I found this article on Iceland trying to ban pornography on the internet fascinating: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/16/iceland-online-pornography Can Iceland lead the way towards a ban on violent online pornography?The country prides itself on its progressive attitudes, but anti-censorship campaigners say move is a backward stepTracy McVeighThe Observer, Saturday 16 February 2013 17.46 ESTIceland is famous for its Blue Lagoon – now it wants to make headlines as the first western country to stop internet pornography. Photograph: David Brabiner/AlamySmall, volcanic, with a proud Viking heritage and run by an openly gay prime minister,Iceland is now considering becoming the first democracy in the western world to try to ban online pornography.A nationwide consultation has found wide support for the move from police and lawyers working in the field of sexual violence, along with health and education professionals, according to Halla Gunnarsdóttir, adviser to the interior minister Ögmundur Jónasson. Ministers are now looking at the results."We are a progressive, liberal society when it comes to nudity, to sexual relations, so our approach is not anti-sex but anti-violence. This is about children and gender equality, not about limiting free speech," she said. "Research shows that the average age of children who see online porn is 11 in Iceland and we are concerned about that and about the increasingly violent nature of what they are exposed to. This is concern coming to us from professionals since mainstream porn has become very brutal."A strong consensus has been building, with people agreeing that something has to be done. The internet is a part of our society, not separate from it, and should be treated as such. No one is talking about closing down exchange of information. We have a thriving democracy here in our small country and what is under discussion is the welfare of our children and their rights to grow and develop in a non-violent environment."There are some who say it can't be done technically – but we want to explore all possibilities and take a political decision on what can be done and how."Gender equality is highly valued in Iceland and by its prime minister, Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir. In the Global Gender Gap Report 2012, Iceland holds the top spot, closely followed by Finland, Norway and Sweden.An online ban would complement Iceland's existing law against printing and distributing porn, and follow on from 2010 legislation that closed strip clubs and 2009 prostitution laws that criminalised the customer rather than the sex worker.Web filters, blocked addresses and making it a crime to use Icelandic credit cards to access pay-per-view pornography, are among the plans being devised by internet and legal experts.Hildur Fjóla Antonsdóttir, a gender specialist at Iceland University, said: "This initiative is about narrowing the definition of porn so it does not include all sexually explicit material but rather material that can be described as portraying sexual activity in a violent or hateful way."The issue of censorship is indeed a concern and it is important to tread carefully when it comes to possible ways of restricting such material. For example, we have a new political party, the Pirate party, that is very concerned about all forms of restrictions on the internet. It is very important not to rush into anything but rather have constructive dialogues and try to find the best solutions. I see the initiative of the interior ministry on this issue as a part of that process. Otherwise we leave it to the porn industry to define our sexuality and why would we want to do that?"Not all the experts agree with the idea that porn is bad. Studies are often small and it is now impossible to find large numbers of young males who have never watched porn. But one 2009 study conducted by Montreal University found that porn did not change men's perception of women.Another, however, by Dr Tim Jones, a psychologist at Worcester University, concluded: "The internet is fuelling more extreme fantasies and the danger is that they could be played out in real life."There is evidence of a massive rise in internet porn addictions and in the type of porn available becoming more hardcore. Women are reporting more relationship problems caused by their partners' porn habits and the number of indecent images involving children is escalating.Iceland's move has been welcomed by Dr Gail Dines, a professor of sociology at Wheelock College in Boston and the author of Pornland: How Porn has Hijacked Our Sexuality. "Of course internet porn is damaging," she said. "We have years of empirical evidence. It's like global warming – you will always find some global warming deniers out there who can quote some little piece of research they have found somewhere, some science junk, but the consensus is there."We are not saying you see porn and go out and rape, but we are
Re: [liberationtech] Using Intellectual Property to Advance Human Rights on 2/21
Am 16.02.2013 23:53, schrieb Yosem Companys: > > Madhavi Sunder calls for a richer understanding of intellectual > property law’s effects on social and cultural life. Intellectual > property law does more than incentivize the production of more goods - > it fundamentally affects the ability of citizens to live a good life. > Does that meet scientific standards at Davis? X does more than speculative effect Y, it affects emotive Z. --- A -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
Re: [liberationtech] UNDERGRADS: Stanford Undergrad LibTech Club-
This sounds like a great idea, and we'd be happy to brainstorm projects with you. Have you already connected with someone at EFF about this? Rainey Reitman Activism Director 415.436.9333 ext 140 Electronic Frontier Foundation www.eff.org 454 Shotwell Street San Francisco CA 94110 Defending your rights in the digital world! Stay informed! twitter.com/eff facebook.com/eff On Feb 13, 2013, at 5:48 PM, Zak Whittington wrote: > Stanford Undergrads (if there are any others out there...), > > I'm considering starting a Liberation Tech club sometime soon, and I wanted > to gauge your support. Would any of you be interested in joining? > > The primary focus would be networking- we'd be trying to increase the number > of students interested in Liberation Tech by reaching out to incoming > freshman, CS majors, and PoliSci majors, as well as others. The club would be > a base of support for the members, where we could share news about relevant > internships, classes, guest lectures, and other resources. > > The other goal, perhaps once we get the club set up, would be to reach out to > LibTech research labs and companies (EFF, NDI, etc.) to see if they would > give us projects to work on as a club. Sort of similar to Code the Change, > but would be based on regular meetings, not hackathons, and would (probably, > this is still up in the air) focus on a small number of long(ish) term > projects. > > Totally open to other ideas too! -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech
