Can we get rid of the Olympics now and for ever – please?

August 3, 2012 — xanthippa

As if the misogyny and sexism which permeates the Olympics were not enough…

(Where are the men’s synchronized swimmers?  Where were the women ski jumpers?  Why are women not permitted to compete as equals, but are relegated to second-class competitions? Gender apartheid is wrong and immoral – always and everywhere, including in athletics!)

As if the excusing of animal cruelty in order to cater to delusional beliefs were not enough…

(The Femen have it right:  the next Olympic sports likely to be introduced are stoning and speed raping!)

As if the clear corruption of the IOC were not so blatant (and thus did not render all ‘judged’ sports meaningless)…

But the fascism that are the very foundation of these ‘games’ is so appalling, it is beyond belief that it is tolerated!

And, yes – a government or, as is the case with IOC, a government-empowered organ – selling commercial monopoly rights to the highest bidder and then rigorously enforcing them is the very definition of fascism…

Why are we still tolerating this?

Why are we normalizing this form of corporate thuggery?  Why is this unholy alliance of international racketeering with corporate entities given government protection?

Shame on us all!

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RIM lays down for the Indian government

August 3, 2012 — xanthippa

Once upon a time, RIM, the maker of Blackberry, was known for excellent security in communications.

So much so that unscrupulous governments sought to ban it – lest they not be able to spy on their citizens.

Now, RIM seems to have rolled over and decided to let governments trample over its users’ civil liberties:

‘RIM recently demonstrated a solution developed by a firm called Verint that can intercept messages and emails exchanged between BlackBerry handsets, and make these encrypted communications available in a readable format to Indian security agencies, according to an exchange of communications between the Canadian company and the Indian government.’

 

RIM had originally built its reputation – and marketshare – based on the security the encryption it put all messages through provided.  Its encryption was so secure, governments that would like to monitor their citizens’ communication threatened to shut them out of their marketplace.

Hence the flop.

Without this enhanced security, however, there is little to elevate their product over cheaper or ‘sexier’ smart phones.

This, therefore, is a serious gamble on the part of RIM:  will access to the Indian market permit them to grow, or will this latest corruption of the security of its communications be the last nail in their coffin?

Posted in corruption, freedoms, politics, society, technology. Tags: , , , , , , . 1 Comment »