On Sunday 09 Sep 2007 9:13 pm, Eugen Leitl wrote:
> There's an EU directive requiring all ISPs to log connection info
> by law (it must become law 2008). This includes which IP
> made which connection to which other IP at which time -- more
> than enough noose to hang ya.


Lovely. Lovely.

In fact I believe that cybercafes afforded more anonymity than this, which is 
why cybercafes are considered a "security threat". It is the loss of this 
freedom that is now being lamented.

Let me take a  quote out of one of the links Gautam provided:
http://indiauncut.com/iublog/article/indias-cops-get-orwellian/

quote:
"The Mumbai police, like all police in India, consists of underpaid people 
given excessive powers over others, with little accountability. So how do you 
expect them to behave? 
 Unless a policeman’s self-interest is perfectly aligned with the public 
interest, which is not the case in our system of government, it is inevitable 
that he will feel tempted to use his power for personal gain."

What a naive and child like statement to make. There is an implicit faith in 
the system in which the writer assumes that the (poor poor) Mumbai cop be 
"led into temptation" while all those credit card company employees who have 
access to your details will not be similarly tempted.

I believe there is a social lesson here. Educated, well paid, computer savvy 
individuals are generally seen as honest and upright. The fact that you trust 
your personal and financial details, including credit card numbers with bank 
employees who fit this description suggests that they are not considered a 
problem. 

But Oh! Mumbai cops! Those underpaid, ill educated louts! How can you trust 
them? At best it is " it is inevitable that he will feel tempted to use his 
power for personal gain"

Sometimes such open betrayal of naive biases are a source of great amusement 
to me.

shiv





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