Something Wicked

GoT - all I have to say thus far.

Tyrion and Bronn continue to be my A one team. Especially Bronn. Because Bronn is awesome.

My recomendations to people to read/watch GoT: It’s a great series, very realistic as in people who are traditional Aragorn-esque heroes die, etc. etc. And because Bronn.The end.

Tywin. LORD VETINARI WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Why are you outside of Ankh Morpork? You are hilarious and an excellent BAMF in Westeros. What with your dressing down Jamie while gutting a stag (aha. I see what you did there GRRM), and your “That’s a girl dressed as a boy [you idiots]”. But you left Ankh Morpork and who will take care of it? Vimes? Because that will end well.

Joffrey. Go die.
Mellisandre. Go die.
Theon. Go die. (It would be a blessing in disguise considering what actually happens to you)

Stannis - listen to your Onion Knight! Why are you not listening to Davos who loves you?

I quite like how Bree is turning out. It will be interesting to see her with Jamie.

Hmm. Not much else to say. Bronn needs more love.

CISPA (remember SOPA?)

I do hate to wax on about these things, but they are important. I have posted earlier about this, when it first came up.

And also, because all acronyms are EVIL.

x-posted from an x-post from an x-post.

“CISPA could allow any private company to share vast amounts of sensitive, private data about its customers with the government.

CISPA would override all other federal and state privacy laws, and allow a private company to share nearly anything—from the contents of private emails and Internet browsing history to medical, educational and financial records—as long as it “directly pertains to” a “cyber threat,” which is broadly defined.

(rest is behind the line)

Read More

Quote from Hacks of Valor

A well written article about Anonymous, fair and balanced.

“Anonymous demonstrates one of the new core aspects of power in a networked, democratic society: Individuals are vastly more effective and less susceptible to manipulation, control, and suppression by traditional sources of power than they were even a decade ago. At their worst, Anonymous’ practices range from unpleasant pranksterism to nasty hooliganism; they are not part of a vast criminal or cyberterrorist conspiracy. Instead, Anonymous plays the role of the audacious provocateur, straddling the boundaries between destructive, disruptive, and instructive. Any government or company that fails to recognize this will inevitably find itself at odds with some of the most energetic and wired segments of society. Any society that commits itself to eliminating what makes Anonymous possible and powerful risks losing the openness and uncertainty that have made the Internet home to so much innovation, expression, and creativity.”

Article.

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

Ahem. [dusts off soapbox] Times when I wish Sator Square was real.

Ok, so the latest and greatest from the land of ‘Merica is the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. Also known as CISPA.

It’s much like SOPA which failed to pass last year (thank bloody Jesus) except more draconian. Because evidently people didn’t get the message the first time around.

Torrentfreak summed up the bill pretty succinctly:

“Under CISPA, Internet providers and other companies could be expected to hand user data over to government agencies and even other companies upon request.

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), it “would let companies spy on users and share private information with the federal government and other companies with near-total immunity from civil and criminal liability. It effectively creates a ‘cybersecurity’ exemption to all existing laws.”” (article here)

The thing that always appals me about this sort of thing is how few people know about it. SOPA didn’t get big in the news until the last minute, and even then, it took a lot of effort on behalf of well known websites to make the difference (google, wikipedia, reddit, imgr etc). I’m not sure this if this is deliberate on the side of the mainstream media or they just don’t consider it “news worthy” enough for them. I mean, there are no exciting sound clips and no mud slinging by our favourite politicians. 

It’s getting tiring, this constant call to end this invasion of privacy. And, unfortunately, until the current people in power accept that the world has changed and they need to change with it, it’s going to continue. The simple fact that another bill has come up speaks volumes about the fear and denial of the power of the internet and bored teenagers. So yes, the call is tiring but necessary. I suppose that’s the saddest part. That it’s necessary (that said, it’s not surprising).

Once again, the biggest issue with this bill is the vague wording. It’s not tight enough in its language to offer any protection against potential abuse (and is there ever great potential for abuse).

The EFF writes about some of the potential abuses, “a company like Google, Facebook, Twitter, or AT&T could intercept your emails and text messages, send copies to one another and to the government, and modify those communications or prevent them from reaching their destination if it fits into their plan to stop cyber security threats.”

So what can we do? The usual, spread the word. Tell your friends. Tell even the apathetic ones. Because if there’s one thing our bored, apathetic generation cares about it’s the internet.

Let people know. Call/email/write in to your representative and let them know how you feel. Do your research, become informed, and then inform others.

For those curious: Here’s the Bill.

TL;DR: New bill up for discussion CISPA which, like SOPA, will impact your rights and freedoms on the internet. Language is vague and powers of it can be easily abused. But really, you should go read it.