I can’t believe I have to say any of this stuff. I shouldn’t have to. Nobody should have to say any of this. But I want to be on record. I want the world to know where I stand. When I first started writing this, there were two points I wanted to make. The first was […]
Tag Archives: politics
I Feel Like Part of the Problem
Sunday, July 12th, 2015 – 8:00 pm
In San Francisco now, I no longer feel like a useful, contributing member of The City’s social or cultural scene. Merely by virtue of being “a developer”, I feel like I’ve become Part Of the Problem. I sure as hell try not to be. I try to encourage the arts; I try to defend and promote […]
How Do We Stop the Spying?
Friday, September 6th, 2013 – 1:49 pm
I should really write something about the ongoing — and increasingly horrifying — revelations of NSA spying. The latest round of news basically boils down to: The NSA can now say, “I’m in ur crypto readin ur comms — all of them!” Every time I try to write about this, my heart pounds faster and I feel overwhelmed by sorrow, […]
To Stop “Six Strikes”, Declare Broadband a Public Utility
Monday, March 25th, 2013 – 7:16 am
Earlier this month, major ISPs started their “Six Strikes” program. By any rational measure, it’s a horrible idea. Yahoo! dubbed the plan“six strikes and you’re screwed”. Comcast’s implementation, using browser alert pop-ups, has been described as “a security disaster”. Among other problems, it costs nothing for a copyright holder to file a complaint or accusation, […]
The Problem With “Objectify A Man In Tech Day”
Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 – 8:46 am
Update: While putting the finishing touches on this post, I found out that its creator is cancelling Objectify Day, for a host of very good reasons. I think much of what I wrote here can still be useful, so I’m posting this piece anyway. I’m glad to see that the purpose I had in mind […]
DDoSes Aren’t Free Speech
Sunday, January 13th, 2013 – 9:17 pm
Anonymous is an interesting and problematic group. I often agree with their aims and goals. I have a much more varied reaction to their tactics and methods — their street protests have often been masterpieces of surrealism, and also quite effective at lampooning their targets, but their online intrusions and DDoSes annoy me with their legal […]
COICA Is Dead, Long Live the PROTECT IP Act
Thursday, May 12th, 2011 – 8:34 pm
And by “long live the PROTECT IP Act”, I really mean, “let’s kill the PROTECT IP Act, as quickly and as dead as possible”. [Update: At least one petition to the US Congress opposing this bill can be found at Demand Progress; I will update with others as I find out about them.] Back when COICA was winding its […]
Ada Lovelace Day Is Not Enough
Monday, January 24th, 2011 – 8:04 am
In two months, the third international Ada Lovelace Day will take place, on March 24th. Bloggers around the world will devote posts to writing about the achievements of women in technology and science. This is wonderful, and I highly support it, but… What about the other 364 days of the year? Setting aside one day […]
About WikiLeaks, DDoSes, Rape, and Justice
Monday, December 27th, 2010 – 2:44 pm
Why I’m In Favor of WikiLeaks’ Professed Ideals and Aims I am not a fan of government secrecy. Maybe some things should be kept secret, but by and large? Our government has overused that excuse to the point of absurdity. We can no longer trust the government to keep its citizens informed about what it’s […]
Facebook and Privacy
Saturday, May 15th, 2010 – 2:22 pm
Okay, so I’m a little late to the party in posting this. All the professional bloggers have already written about it, while I’ve been busy with my day job. Nonetheless, something that’s been on my mind since the beginning of the week, when it would have been timely: I think Facebook has now hit its […]