It took me a while to get to it, but I’ve just released a fresh episode of The Private Citizen and I’m finally covering the renewed efforts by governments in the US and the EU to re-enter the Crypto Wars. Yes indeed, they are again trying to make it so that ordinary citizens can’t use effective cryptography. Because the state must know everything! This goes incredibly well with lockdowns and face masks orders, I feel.

→ The Private Citizen 49: Crypto Wars Redux

Ever since the Cold War, intelligence services and their sympathisers in Western governments have worked tirelessy to prevent everyday citizens from utilising effective encryption to shield their lives from prying eyes. When the Clipper chip failed, these people switched to influencing legislation to get what they want. And now they are at it again.

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I’ve just released a new episode of The Private Citizen. In the promised follow-up to our pre-election coverage, Mike and myself reconvene and discuss the fallout from the US Presidential Election. Warning: It’s another very long episode!

→ The Private Citizen 48: Trump, Biden and the Role of the Media

A conversation about how Joe Biden won the election, how Trump lost it, what the media had to do with it and what this means for the future.

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“With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied chains us all irrevocably. The first time any man’s freedom is trodden on, we’re all damaged.”

   — Captain Jean-Luc Picard, U.S.S. Enterprise

From Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 4, Episode 21: “The Drumhead”. Seems sadly relevant here in Germany today.

Tomorrow, the German Bundestag is set to pass the Drittes Gesetz zum Schutz der Bevölkerung bei einer epidemischen Lage von nationaler Tragweite or as I like to call it: The Total Lockdown Law. Last week, I recorded an episode of The Private Citizen explaining what it is all about.

→ The Private Citizen 47: The German Total Lockdown Law

The German Bundestag is about to debate far-reaching legislation that will permanently enshrine coronavirus-related restrictions into law. In this episode, I examine this law’s privacy and civil liberty implications.

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“Helga Ehlers”

I should listen to more Dylan. He truly is the poet of the age. All ages.

“Up to Me”

Everything went from bad to worse, money never changed a thing
Death kept followin', trackin' us down, at least I heard your bluebird sing
Now somebody’s got to show their hand, time is an enemy
I know you’re long gone
I guess it must be up to me

If I’d thought about it, I never would’ve done it, I guess I would’ve let it slide
If I’d paid attention to what others were were thinkin', the heart inside me would’ve died
I was just too stubborn to ever be governed by enforced insanity
Someone had to reach for the risin' star
I guess it was up to me

Oh the Union Central is pullin' out and the orchids are in bloom
I’m only got me one good shirt left and it smells of stale perfume
In fourteen months I’ve only smiled once and I didn’t do it consciously
Somebody’s got to find your trail
I guess it must be up to me

It was like a revelation when you betrayed me with your touch
I’d just about convinced myself that nothin' had changed that much
The old rounder in the iron mask slipped me the master key
Somebody had to unlock your heart
He said it was up to me

Well, I watched you slowly disappear down into the officers' club
I would’ve followed you in the door but I didn’t have a ticket stub
So I waited all night ‘til the break of day, hopin’ one of us could get free
When the dawn came over the river bridge
I knew it was up to me

The only decent thing I did when I worked as a postal clerk
Was to haul your picture down off the wall near the cage where I used to work
Was I a fool or not to try to protect your identity?
You looked a little burned out, my friend
I thought it might be up to me

Well, I met somebody face to face and I had to remove my hat
She’s everything I need and love but I can’t be swayed by that
It frightens me, the awful truth of how sweet life can be
But she ain’t a-gonna make a move
I guess it must be up to me

We heard the Sermon on the Mount and I knew it was too complex
It didn’t amount to anything more than what the broken glass reflects
When you bite off more than you can chew you pay the penalty
Somebody’s got to tell the tale
I guess it must be up to me

Well, Dupree came in pimpin' tonight to the Thunderbird Café
Crystal wanted to talk to him, I had to look the other way
I just can’t rest without your love, I need your company
But you ain’t a-gonna cross the line
I guess it must be up to me

There’s a note left in the bottle, you can give it to Estelle
She’s the one you been wond’rin' about, but there’s really nothin' much to tell
We both heard voices for a while, now the rest is history
Somebody’s got to cry some tears
I guess it must be up to me

So go on, boys, and play your hands, life is a pantomime
The ringleaders from the county seat say you don’t have all that much time
And the girl with me behind the shades, she ain’t my property
One of us has got to hit the road
I guess it must be up to me

And if we never meet again, baby, remember me
How my lone guitar played sweet for you that old-time melody
And the harmonica around my neck, I blew it for you, free
No one else could play that tune
You know it was up to me

“T3 Night Moves”

I’ve been really busy researching and writing things for the last week or so. And whenever I had some free time, I’ve been streaming on Twitch. I fear this blog is one of the things I’ve neglected a bit. So I have some catching up to do in updating you on all the things I’ve been up to. For starters, here’s a recording of my last stream of The Outer Worlds, where I finished my business on Edgewater and took off in The Unreliable for the first time:

“Hafencity Explorer”

Coming soon. …Maybe. If I can get it off the ground. Website is almost done.

“Lt. Cmdr. Fab”

I’ve got a lot of streaming planned on Twitch this week and over the weekend. Check out my streaming schedule. I have podcast recordings, Elite Dangerous, some art and a Cobi build scheduled. And I might add some more stuff as the week goes on. See you in Twitch chat, I hope!

With all this Joe Biden election malarkey I got kind of distracted from telling you about the latest Private Citizen episode.

So, let’s get you updated before I record a new one this week. Episode 46 was published on Wednesday and in it, I talk about the recent raids against suspects who supposedly spread hate speech online and what these police actions mean for people concerned about their privacy when using the internet.

→ The Private Citizen 46: Fighting Hate Speech vs. Fighting Free Speech

Police raids across Europe to fight hate speech sound like a good idea. But what does “hate speech” actually mean? And does fighting it actually help? Or will it endanger your freedom of speech and maybe even your privacy?

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