Can We Talk in Confidence? The Death of Candour in the Age of Surveillance.

Most of the recommendations are good ones, and I agree with the main point that society as a whole needs to protect everyone's privacy, and not merely 'protect" data bases.

However, the article does not recognize the issues of free software, and peer-to-peer vs centralization.

After Britain seized a tanker carrying Iranian oil, Iran tried to seize a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.

Makes sense to me. Sooner or later Iran will capture one. Maybe then they can swap captures.

Putin made journalist Ivan Golunov a national hero by framing him and torturing him.

The article also explains how complete the repression of protest is in Russia. Planet roasters in the US are trying to head in that direction now.

Amazingly, the state has backed down and dropped the bogus charges. They must have caused too much international embarrassment.

The high-level political support Golunov has received leads me to suspect that the frame-up was organized by local officials without Putin's approval.

Nicaragua has freed many, but not all, of the people imprisoned for protests in 2018.

"I was blocked from advising on UK drug policy — because I criticised UK drug policy."