Word for the day: kleptarchy
Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy or kleptarchy, (from Ancient Greek: κλέπτης (thief) and κράτος (rule), "rule by thieves") is a form of political and government corruption where the government exists to increase the personal wealth and political power of its officials and the ruling class at the expense of the wider population, often without pretense of honest service. This type of government corruption is often achieved by the embezzlement of state funds.
How to protect your cell phone and data when you’re protesting
Electronic Frontier Foundation has offered a guide for using and protecting your cell phone and data while you are protesting. Here's the introduction to this helpful article by Eva Galperin:
Protesters of all political persuasions are increasingly documenting their protests -- and encounters with the police -- using electronic devices like cameras and cell phones. The following tips apply to protesters in the United States who are concerned about protecting their electronic devices when questioned, detained, or arrested by police. These are general guidelines; individuals with specific concerns should talk to an attorney.I'm a big fan of EFF. Here's a bit of information from EFF's About page:
From the Internet to the iPod, technologies are transforming our society and empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, and consumers. When our freedoms in the networked world come under attack, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the first line of defense. EFF broke new ground when it was founded in 1990 — well before the Internet was on most people's radar — and continues to confront cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights today. From the beginning, EFF has championed the public interest in every critical battle affecting digital rights. Blending the expertise of lawyers, policy analysts, activists, and technologists, EFF achieves significant victories on behalf of consumers and the general public. EFF fights for freedom primarily in the courts, bringing and defending lawsuits even when that means taking on the US government or large corporations. By mobilizing more than 61,000 concerned citizens through our Action Center, EFF beats back bad legislation. In addition to advising policymakers, EFF educates the press and public. EFF is a donor-funded nonprofit and depends on your support to continue successfully defending your digital rights. Litigation is particularly expensive; because two-thirds of our budget comes from individual donors, every contribution is critical to helping EFF fight — and win — more cases.
Small world
If you're willing to sort through the offerings of Reddit.com, you'll eventually come across quirky headlines like this one. "TIL that a Henry Tandey, a British soldier in WWI, had the chance to kill Hilter but didn't." And sure enough, it is true; it happened back in WWI.
Quotes about engaging in a protest
About a year ago, a DI reader named Mike Baker handed me his extensive collection of quotes and invited me to publish them. Today's quotes from Mike are on the topic right and the duty to engage in a political protest: "A Patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government." Edward R. Abbey "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." Samuel Adams "The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in time of great moral crisis." Dante Alighieri, Italian poet (1265-1321) "Silence never won rights. They are not handed down from above; they are forced by pressures from below.: Roger Nash Baldwin So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we'll be called a democracy. Roger Nash Baldwin "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" Edmund Burke "True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else." Clarence Darrow "No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots." Barbara Ehrenreich "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violen trevolution inevitable." John F. Kennedy “Think for yourself, question authority.” Timothy Leary "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it." Edward R. Murrow "There is one tradition in America I am proud to inherit. It is our first freedom and the truest expression of our Americanism: the ability to dissent without fear. It is our right to utter the words, "I disagree." We must feel at liberty to speak those words to our neighbors, our clergy, our educators, our news media, our lawmakers and, above all, to the one among us we elect President." The Nation (15 July 1991) "First they arrested the communists, but I was not a communist, so I did nothing. Then they came for the social democrats, but I was not a social democrat, so I did nothing. Then they arrested the trade unionists, and I did nothing because I was not one. Then they came for the Jews and the Catholics, but I was neither a Jew nor a Catholic and I did nothing. At last they came and arrested me, and there was no one left to do anything about it." Rev. Martin Niemoller, nazi prison survivor "The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." Plato "Do not... regard the critics as questionable patriots. What were Washington and Jefferson and Adams but profound critics of the colonial status quo?" Adlai Stevenson "If... the machine of government... is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law." Henry David Thoreau "Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man's original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion." Oscar Wilde