January 17, 2017

Ever wonder who the real power in the Trump camp is?

Seems like everyone we know about (including the Drumpster himself) has the maturity of a six-year-old overdue for a nap, with the possible exception of Reince Priebus, who's looks to be moving up from his position at the DMV.

If Putin isn't the one who actually calls the shots on a day-to-day basis -- who is?

January 16, 2017

Preparing for American samizdat.

Samizdat

A system in the U.S.S.R. and countries within its orbit by which government-suppressed literature was clandestinely printed and distributed; also : such literature.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samizdat

"We're losing a lot of people because of the Internet. We have to go see Bill Gates and a lot of different people that really understand what's happening. We have to talk to them about, maybe in certain areas, closing that Internet up in some way. Somebody will say, 'Oh freedom of speech, freedom of speech.' These are foolish people. We have a lot of foolish people." -- Donald Trump.

Donald Trump doesn't like to be criticized or contradicted. Donald Trump has no respect for American democratic traditions, the Constitution, or as far as we know, any law. He clearly expects to be obeyed unconditionally.

Censorship is inevitable. Who knows how far it will go, but I believe that we as technically skilled people have an obligation to use our abilities to ensure that information continues to flow freely through our society in the face of efforts to block it.

We have a great advantage over the dissidents in the former USSR. Unlike them, our society is permeated with information handling gadgets. Imagine using those gadgets in a milieu where possessing and promulgating some kinds of information has become a crime. I have a few ideas and I hope people others will feel free to add their own.

* Don't expect what's here today to be here tomorrow. Remember what happened to DU.

* Stock up soon. We can't predict the future. Who knows, maybe recordable CDs and USB thumb drives will become contraband some day.

* Get smart about encryption.

* Consider alternatives to the Internet. All eyes are going to be on the Net and it's likely that every communication will be recorded.

* Learn how to create products without "fingerprints" (or literal fingerprints, for that matter). Get smart about the hidden information that's frequently embedded in data files. remember that Adam Savage of "Mythbusters" fame inadvertently gave up the location of his home embedded in an image.

* Remember that older, less sophisticated technology may be more appropriate at times. Even ink on paper may be the best choice sometime.

* Use open-source stuff without industry-embedded backdoors. It's a well-known fact that Windows 10, for instance, surveills its users, even without censorship issues.

* Pay cash. Buy old stuff at flea markets. Your purchases are much less likely to end up in a database somewhere.

* Be on the lookout for attempts to choke off the free flow of information and increase surveillance. In a Trump government, don't be surprised if people in your local community suddenly get in high dudgeon that PCs in the local library are being used to view pornography and access must be restricted and monitored.

January 11, 2017

Is it technically possible for Trump to be arrested before inauguration?

I mean, you know, for cause. That seems to be more and more plausible these days. What would happen then?

January 6, 2017

Hey Donald, want to go down in history as a truly great man?

Then publicly call for new elections.

Otherwise, the history books will write you up as Putin's toady.

Your call.

December 24, 2016

Just saw "Rogue 1".

Spoiler alert: it's full of politically biased scenes.

They made all of the assholes the bad guys.

December 22, 2016

Donald Trump and dementia

A lot of people, some in jest, some seriously, have suggested that Donald Trump is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's. I have a suggestion: what if we all look for incidents that would show that Trump is capable of acts of concentration, recall, reasoning, and self-restraint that would be inconsistent with dementia.

Suppose we'll see any?

December 19, 2016

Irony: The Wolverines of "Red Dawn" would be Trump fans.

They'd actually be supporting the Russian invaders.