Everyone’s favorite National Security Agency whistleblower has released a Christmas message to the people of the world. Cheers!
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/82666985]
Hi, and Merry Christmas. I’m honored to have a chance to speak with you and your family this year. Recently, we learned that our governments, working in concert, have created a system of worldwide, mass surveillance, watching everything we do. Great Britain’s George Orwell warned us of the danger of this kind of information. The types of collections in the book — microphones and videocameras, TVs that watch us — are nothing compared to what we have available today. We have sensors in our pocket that track us everywhere we go. Think about what this means for the privacy of the average person. A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. They’ll never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves — an unrecorded, unanalyzed thought. And that’s a problem, because privacy matters. Privacy is what allows us to determine who we are, and who we want to be. The conversation occurring today will determine the amount of trust we can place both in the technology that surrounds us, and the government that regulates it. Together we can find a better balance, end mass surveillance, and remind the government that if it really wants to know how we feel, asking is always cheaper than spying. For everyone out there listening, thank you, and Merry Christmas.
In this special holiday presentation airing during the AKPF #1 time slot, Official DPRK takes an educational excursion to unofficial DPRK. Opening with an exquisite press symposium hosted by the honorable NHUSA governor Maggie Hassan, who is premiering a new official vodka for the people. In order to promote harmonious relations with similar other portions of the world, leaders of Official DPRK have pieced together an anthology of uplifting and timely musical arrangements. This installment signals a cultural and political alliance between the two geographically-based factions contending for the Official DPRK designation. Happy holidays from the Democratic People’s Republic of Keene!
1. 00:00 Special message to the viewers of Cheshire TV disclaimer
2. 00:10 DPRK face of state media AKPF promo
3. 00:20 Official NHUSA governor’s vodka sales pitch
4. 02:41 Jingle Bells, Unofficial DPRK Style
5. 05:03 Hail North Korean Communist Party ballad
6. 08:10 Glorious and Admirable, by Moranbong Chorus
7. 12:43 Please, Let The Snow Fall, by Moranbong Band
8. 17:23 Let’s Study!, by Moranbong Band
9. 20:51 Children of DPRK present classical guitar arrangements
10. 24:18 Our Father (Kim Jong Il dedication) by Song & Oungum
Late last evening, David E. Wheelock, a 48 year old resident of Pearl Street, was found dead with at least one gunshot wound in his home. An investigation into the homicide was being carried out today by New Hampshire state police with assistance of the Keene police. Pearl Street was closed to vehicular traffic between Meadow Road and West Street, and pedestrians were prohibited from crossing the area on foot surrounding the address. State police detectives entered and exited the scene with evidence that was analyzed in a mobile lab operated by the major crimes unit. With the killing believed to have occurred between 9:00 and 9:30pm on Saturday, investigators are requesting information regarding any happenings in the area around that time.
According to the facebook page New Hampshire’s Law Enforcement, the victim in this case was notably listed on the state’s sex offender registry due to a 28-count conviction in 2005 for charges of possession of child pornography. Demonstrating the dehumanizing effect placement on the list elicits from some individuals, a handful of morbid comments were posted to an announcement of the homicide on the facebook page, including one from a man named Joel which reads, “No sympathy. Good riddance.” Another from a woman named Jenny expresses, “I hope he died terribly.”
This week: Vice covers the DPRK, the State’s war on Snuggeries, communication through smiling and Keene’s hired attorneys attempt to appeal the Robin Hood case. Show notes at: BlackSheepRising.org
Melody is a college junior who apparently had heard some rumors about the Free State Project. Rather than believing what she was told, she decided to check it out for herself and went to a meeting of the Concord Porcupines. Here’s her detailed report as posted to her blog:
In Liberty: The Free State Project
“Thank you for contacting the Free State Project and your interest in our efforts to ‘achieve liberty in our lifetime.’” Finally, a response, I say to myself, scrolling though the e-mail. I was getting worried that they didn’t want to be bothered; my e-mail was sent five days ago.
The message was full of basic information; when and where meetings are taking place, links to blog posts and forums, along with what the organization stands for: life, liberty, and property.
“I would suggest going to the Concord Porcupine meeting this coming Saturday. They meet at Tandy’s around noon.” Porcupines? Is that really what they call themselves? (more…)
warned us of the danger of this kind of information. The types of collections in the book — microphones and videocameras, TVs that watch us — are nothing compared to what we have available today. We have sensors in our pocket that track us everywhere we go. Think about what this means for the privacy of the average person. A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. They’ll never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves — an unrecorded, unanalyzed thought. And that’s a problem, because privacy matters. Privacy is what allows us to determine who we are, and who we want to be. The conversation occurring today will determine the amount of trust we can place both in the technology that surrounds us, and the government that regulates it. Together we can find a better balance, end mass surveillance, and remind the government that if it really wants to know how we feel, asking is always cheaper than spying. For everyone out there listening, thank you, and Merry Christmas.
