Excellent post. I don't have a cell phone right now, but I am sure that my internet traffic is monitored "just in case". I wrote my manifesto in response. The Democrats are not nervous, they are afraid, and they push their fear on us. Afraid of doing the right thing, instead of doing the "convenient" thing. Disgusting indeed!

I do not expect any of these corporations to protect privacy, even when the claim it is their priority. It isn't their business, but it is their business to collaborate as much as possible with the government, probably their biggest costumer and certainly the most powerful one.

Late year a very disturbing story appeared regarding "roving bugs", which permit authorities like the FBI to turn on the microphone in certain GSM phones even when the phones are turned off. This is hardly surprising but it made me less trustworthy of closed-sourced, corporate technology.

I try to use a common sense approach in communications. If there is something that should not be public, then I don't let it pass through normal, corporate channels, and if I can't avoid it, then at least it should pass through open-source, transparent, encryption systems like Tor. Cell phones are essentially impossible to trust beyond reasonable doubt, but they still have their uses.

thanks rafa

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no, you are right el ahuitzotl. that was sort of an insincere if-then phrase, i admit.

If you're not doing anything illegal, why worry about it? If you are doing something illegal, then you deserve to be caught before your criminal ways do damage to someone else.

did someone drop a tool in here?

Sure seems like it... maybe a troll.

Phil Zimmerman has explained privacy better than I ever could. One of my favorites is "when privacy is outlawed, only outlaws will have privacy." Nice turn on the right-wing phrase du jour.

Eyes, here's a wake-up call for anyone who might be naive enough to believe that "only the guilty have anything to fear." This wake-up call happens to come from the Reagan administration's Paul Craig Roberts.

Trust the authorities, they always do the right thing. They are incorruptible, always seeking truth, justice and the American way! Pedenjo....

This stuff is old hat to someone who grew up in the thick of the Cold War, the Red Scare with a Communist hiding under every rock. Trillions of dollars poured into the Military Industrial Complex over decades because no one wanted to be painted as weak on Communism, a Pinko or a Communist Sympathizer. Wars all over the globe, one after another, as predictable as clockwork. Same song, second verse. To quote that bastion of democracy and freedom, Reichmarshall Hermann Goering:

“… After all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”

so true. i've read that quote a number of times, and it still brings me a chill.

but note how cool MY quote looks.

Perdóname ...

After all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.

-- Reichmarshall Hermann Goering

see? now that has punch.

I had Cingular simply because I didn't want AT&T after the spying was uncovered, but then AT&T came to Puerto Rico and bought up Cingular, so now what?
T-Mobile is supposed to be entering the market here. They are buying out Suncomm.
Carlos Slim bought out Verizon also {calls it Claro now} and the musical chair buyouts keep me dizzy.
I just have boring business conversations on my phone anyway so I hope I put those intercept operators to sleep and they get fired.
I am considering how I could get rid of the phone but haven't come up with an answer yet. I have to operate the biz and get money to pay the vig.
Most of these big cell companies are also VERY involved in eliminating Net Neutrality. There has to be some other way to have a mobile phone without making pendejos rich and allowing them to profit from spying on me and taking the profits and squeezing the little sites out of the net.
Maybe I should just go back to hunting and gathering and the hell with civilization. I have dropped out completely back in 90-91 when I got really fed up. Hmmm. Seems tempting.

““The hardest thing in the world is to assume the mood of a warrior. It is of no use to be sad and complain and feel justified in doing so, believing that someone is always doing something to us. Nobody is doing anything to anybody, much less to a warrior.”” -- Carlos Casteneda

It's a great quote. In regard to this post, it could be interpreted a few ways given no deeper context, so I won't guess at that part. But thanks.

You are right of course- about context and interpretation, that is. It's just that in the context of privacy and communication, I try not to fall into the fright trap that these cabrones try all the time. To assume the "mood of the warrior, to me is to do everything "al medio del camino" - open and in public. Don't misunderstand - I sometimes buy the whole fear trip too - then I want to keep my fear private - but mostly I do and say what I want to say and I'm not scared of none of em. When this fear happens to me I remember to assume the mood once again - after all "fear is the mind killer." (Dune) Sorry to be so full of quotes instead of jsut coming on directly but it feels more like family to be able to practice a worthy philosophy by linking to others...

i'm beginning 2 think dems aren't scared 2 stop the eavesdropping but willing participants.if anyone thinks there using it 2 find terrorists there wrong.it's 2 stop dissent.keep us in line.maybe the dems want 2 do the same.hell i don't know but they sure as hell could b doing something about it and there not.

oh, i see johnlock23. well, for me it is not about fear. it is about sovereignty of my self. you are basically saying the same thing as "what do you have to be afraid of?" and i keep saying, it is not about fear. it is about accepting control or abuse of my person or agreements or personal space. like someone thrusting their foot through my window and telling me "too bad i'm keeping it here." and i'm saying i am not afraid to push their foot back out the window or slam it on them.

yes, jonnyboy. of course they want to keep us in line. but really, i think they are too caught up in the whole game to threaten its workings too much. they are big wind-testers.

Ok Nez,
I see that and the way you put it together teaches me something because to me the whole warrior reference is indeed about personal sovreignty. And yeah, action is the optimal feature of "the mood of the warrior." ("push their foot back out the window or slam it on them.")

Good talkin

right on, amigo. :)