(The Big Disrupt) The Long Slow Death of Internet Privacy

What do you do online? No, really. What do you do? In addition to the glut of social media we consume, we store and share files, access our banks, fill out forms, buy furniture, and make fun of politicians we don’t like. The reasons for these activities are manifold, but two of the big ones are privacy and anonymity.

Well, the United States just voted to repeal a law that protects that online privacy and anonymity.

If you have not read George Orwell’s book ‘1984’, you may want to pick up a copy so you can brush up on what our future will be like. To sum it up, the government controls everything and is always watching. Even the smallest things are recorded. You can be arrested for ‘thought crime’ which is writing, saying, or alluding to something that the government doesn’t like. Then the whole avalanche of your other transgressions falls upon you as you are shipped off, never to be seen again. But, hey! It’s good for profits right?

Major communication corporations like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon are strong proponents of this action because it means they will be able to use any data they have about you freely (BBC). Get ready for more targeted advertising, folks.

“Today Congress proved once again that they care more about the wishes of the corporations that fund their campaigns than they do about the safety and security of their constituents,” said Evan Greer, campaign director from rights group Fight for the Future (FFTF).

Think of this change as allowing your mail or parcel carrier to snoop through your letters and packages in order to figure out what junk mail to send you (WIRED). Or on a deeper level, allowing the government to do the same thing in order to accomplish whatever secret ends they have in mind. All it takes is for one nation to set a precedent in order for others to think it’s okay. It’s the whole idea of your child whining and saying “Billy did it, why can’t I?” There isn’t much sense to the argument, but it gets many ideas pushed through a governing body in the interest of ‘fairness’.

The point here is that citizens, who are supposed to be cared for by their government, are being pushed aside in the interest of profit. It’s easy for major corporations with plenty of money to play off of the rampant fear many governments have regarding terrorism by giving the government what it wants and getting the profit boost they so desire in the process. Why fix the system if it isn’t broken? Let’s keep our internet free and neutral, the way it always has been.

(Politics) Syria Gives Palestine the Green Light: Israel under Pressure

The tensions between Israel and Palestine over the past year have continually been heating up as disputes between borders have reached pinnacle marks –such as the controversy with the United Nations. Nevertheless, in recent months, with Syria and their constant threat of the use of dangerous chemical weapons, pressure in the Middle-East has been paramount. Although Syria –which is itself engaged in a civil war between the Assad regime and those loyal to his government vs. the Free Syrian Army and other confederate rebel groups –is a threat in and of itself, Bashar Al Assad has recently given the Palestinians the go ahead offering them his support given rising escalation.

Monday evening, two IDF mortar shells exploded in Israel in the Golan Heights area causing anxiety and much reaction out of the Israeli government. Although the two explosions have been written off as friendly fire spillover from the conflict in Syria, many others object to such a notion. Moreover, the Friday and Saturday previously, Israel sent air strikes over key target locations in order to try to diminish political pressure over Lebanon. Although the Israeli government has been pointed about staying out of Syrian air-space, the Syrian government has stated that it may increase the situation near Damascus, the capital of Syria.

Furthermore, notwithstanding all the aforesaid events, President Assad openly gave the Palestinians and the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) a fair card to retaliate against Israel if new increasing circumstances arise. This is a dangerously bold move by Syria which is already internally imploding. Moreover, such an attack could trigger a chain of events given the fact that new alliances have been formed, and old ones reinstated, concerning North Korea and China. Notwithstanding Russia’s alliance with Syria, a full fledged Palestinian attack against Israel could draw in the United States as well.

For instance, the Kuwaiti newspaper entitled the Al Rai, quoting sources near to President Bashar Al Assad, stated that “[the] Syrian leader had used Russian backchannels to tell the Israelis that Damascus would react if Israel struck Syria again. [The] Syrian leader had used Russian backchannels to tell the Israelis that Damascus would react if Israel struck Syria again.” Such statements intensify the rising escalation of the Israel/Palestinian situation concerning Syria –and even Russia.

Other sources have claimed that since the event, Syrian authorities have deployed missile batteries in Damascus aimed at Israel. Any future Israeli provocation could result in a serious reaction from Damascus and quickly ignite the powder keg that is lying so dormant in the Middle-East currently. Israeli ground troops, moreover, were caught operating in the Golan Heights area as well. Regardless of the future events, it can be stated with certainty that tensions in the Middle-East are high as everyone is expected every other country to cooperate with each others demands. Such a scenario brings back the M.A.D. of the Cold War and instills a sense of looming fear and ominous anxiety throughout citizens in Israel, Syria, and Palestine. One can only hope that such a situation, perchance, can be averted in the near future.

The Carnage Report // http://thecarnagereport.blogspot.com // 2013

Brent McCulley on Twitter // http://twitter.com/brentthewalrus