On 05/15/2002 09:28 PM, did Abhi write (doodah! doodah!):
> From: "Sudhakar Chandra" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>I would first like to make it clear that I am totally against this sort
>>of jack-booted dictatorship. If your employer does not trust their
>>employees, maybe they should consider hiring employees that they /can/
>>trust. And you and other employees should consider moving to an
>>employer who treats you more like assets than liabilities.
> You may do very well to be against the said "dictatorship". But you are
> thinking of only private companies and organisations. On the other hand,
> they *don't* trust the users in a military setting that deals with sensitive
> data. And I doubt the army has the fine option of hiring employees that they
> "can" trust... Please go ahead and tell us that protecting the nation's
> security is the highest order of jack-booted dictatorship. :)
All through history, tons of hogwash has been justified at the time of
its happening in the name of national security. A healthy dose of
scepticism about all secrecy, especially in government, is most
important. Should national security be a fig leaf to cover up the naked
truth behind kicksbacks in buying armaments? Should national security
be a cover to cover incompetence?
Besides, I am not against security, per se. If you are /that/ serious
about security, use secure software and encrypt your data. I am against
short sighted pseudo-security measures.
>>You can never
>>block every avenue out. What about people copying the so called
>>sensitive information into floppy disks and taking them outside? Or
>>does your employer strip search everyone on your way from work? In
>>which case, who strip searches the strip searcher?
> Au contraire, walk down to the south block or CDB in delhi etc. if you ever
> have an appointment with someone inside. They will routinely ask you if you
> had a floppy or CD(or a camera etc. after the tehalka episode). If they are
> suspicious of you, they will check your bags for the same. They realize that
> this is a not a fool-prrof security measure, yet they do it to just to scare
> off any folks with funny ideas in their heads.
Such, non-fool-proof "security measures" have two problems with them:
1. They are frequently used by the jack booted thugs to make the weaker
fear them. I.e. is it used a way of controlling the masses. And the
masses are you and I.
2. They often lead to a false sense of security when all it is in the
first place is, as you yourself indicated, a pretence.
> No one strip searched the guards afaik. What is your point ?
Perhaps you have not heard of the saying "who polices the police". My
point was who supervises these people who are supposed to supervise us
lowly mortals? How can an employer trust the enforcers of such
"security" mechanisms? And what are the checks and blances?
>>Also look for a new, more rewarding job.
> So if he is working for the Indian army, he should quit ? You are a regular
> patriot. :)
Patriotism, as Benjamin Disareli put it, is the last resort of
scoundrels. There has been more evil perpetrated in Indian under the
name of national security, patriotism and religion than everything else
combined.
Thaths
--
"Homer, your theory of a donut-shaped universe is intriguing."
-- Stephen Hawking
thaths at aunet.org Slacker At Large http://www.aunet.org/~thaths/
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