Red Hand Day

Red Hand Day

On Red Hand Day or the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, February 12 each year since 2002, pleas are made to political leaders and events are staged around the world to draw attention to child soldiers: children under the age of 18 who participate in military organizations of all kinds.

The aim of Red Hand Day is to call for action to stop this practice, and for support for children affected by it.

Hundreds and thousands of handprints have been collected in more than 50 countries and handed over to politicians and to responsible parties, including UN Secretary General. There is progress, but there are still 250,000 child soldiers in the world.

Our demands are

  • Straight 18: No child under the age of 18 may be used or trained in armies, armed groups or other military units.
  • Punishment of those responsible.
  • Care, protection, and political asylum for former child soldiers.
  • Expand financial support for aid programs for child soldiers.
  • Stop of arms exports.
  • Promotion of peace education.

“Defund the police” explained

“Defund the police” is a slogan that supports divesting funds from blue pigs departments and reallocating them to non-policing forms of public safety and community support, such as social services, youth services, housing, education, healthcare, and other community resources.

On 2020 June 5th, the Washington, D.C. mayor unveiled a statement, painted down the street leading to the White House, “Black Lives Matter.” Within 24 hours, Black Lives Matter activists responded with their own message: “Defund the Police.”

This slogan caught on rapidly among tens of thousands of people protesting police brutality in the United States. But what does it really mean to defund the police? And what if it’s not as radical as it sounds?

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The “capitalism <-> socialism” opposition seems outdated. I prefer to think in terms of “centralization vs decentralization”. Humans have evolved to perform best in small groups of less than 150 people. That’s why wherever there’s centralization and excessive hierarchy, there’s inefficiency and underutilized human potential. Capitalist monopolies and socialist dictatorships are equally bad.

In a natural environment, every small community is able to produce an outstanding leader and an independent thinker. In today’s world of trillion-dollar monopolies and bloated governments, the potential of hundreds of millions of people is suppressed by the limitations imposed by our artificial societal structures.

That is the reason why tens of thousands of people working at big corporations such as Facebook have failed to keep up with what our small team at Telegram has been implementing. That’s also the reason why countries like Russia fail to generate and retain global brands in their jurisdictions. Genuine creativity is rare in organizations and societies built on excessive hierarchies and lack of personal autonomy.

Pavel Durov

I don’t use Signal, you shouldn’t too

After WhatsApp updated its privacy terms and millions of users got angry, people started to move from it to Signal and Telegram. It even caused some problems for Telegram and Signal servers as they didn’t expect that much users.

Signal is known for its encryption and privacy and I think they are doing a very good job but I don’t trust them. The thing against Signal is that it’s not really free software. Signal has a code/repository that is published with a free (as in freedom) license but the app itself is not libre.

Signal’s app is not on F-Droid. The only way to get Signal’s app is to download it using Google Play Store. When many people complained, they published an APK which is really really hard to find and is still using Google Play Service, if it’s available on your phone.

Signal doesn’t let you connect to Signal using the app you created yourself. Even if you compile their exact source code, it will only be active at most for 90 days.

But what I use instead of Signal and Telegram? I use Matrix and XMPP. They are decentralized messengers and truly free (as in freedom). With Matrix and XMPP, I have true liberty over my computing and messaging. I can run my own server if I don’t trust others and I can make sure encryption works the way I want.

I can compile/build my own app and know for sure that the app works as it is expected. Unlike WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal which have centralized servers, Matrix and XMPP are decentralized and there’s no main server. I know for sure what’s happening on the server (as I can run my own) and I’m sure the app communicates with server exactly how it says so or I want it.

There’s no ‘only good guys’ backdoor

Many intelligence agencies or tech companies try to fool people by telling them that their backdoors are only for good people. I think there’s no need to say that’s a lie.

There’s no meaning in encryption or security when there’s a backdoor. There is no such thing as a backdoor that only lets the good guys in. If there’s a “master key” that unlocks millions of accounts, every cracker on the planet will be after it.

A compromised encryption backdoor could give cyber criminals access to your bank account, your personal messages and other sensitive information.

Don’t think crackers can steal the master key? Think again. Both the CIA and the NSA were breached in 2017 by mysterious organizations that stole and published the spy agencies’ cracking tools. The same year, cyber criminals stole an NSA exploit and used it in a massive, worldwide ransomware attack. The fact is, if the government or anyone else controls a master key, eventually it will get out.

Crackers aren’t the only threat: Governments may also use encryption backdoors for harm. The U.S. government has already revealed its willingness to spy on citizens without a warrant. If liberal democracies cannot be trusted, what about China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, or countless other authoritarian states? Encryption backdoors could be used by repressive regimes to help them persecute journalists, dissidents, religious minorities, the LGBT community, and anyone else they please.

Data Privacy Day

Data Privacy Day

Every year on January 28, we celebrate the international event of Data Privacy Day. The purpose of Data Privacy Day is to raise awareness and promote privacy and data protection best practices.

Privacy is a human right. Many people confuse privacy with secrecy and anonymity. While privacy is a human right, anonymity is a choice. Anonymity is one of choices made possible with privacy.

I’m very careful about my privacy and I take it very seriously while I’m not an anonymous person. I don’t have anything to hide, except for my personal data, but I’m still very cautious about privacy. Privacy is like free speech. I respect my right even if I have nothing to say, or hide.

As Data Privacy Day is about raising awareness about best practices of it, I decided to write a note about one of the ways I keep my personal files secure through encryption.

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My experience with Matrix

I’m a fan of decentralized networks. I use Mastodon instead of Twitter, I use Pixelfed instead of Instagram, and I use IRC and XMPP instead of Whatsapp. I’m very well satisfied with my experience. I don’t feel lack of any social network or messaging system.

I respect myself, therefore I don’t use proprietary apps and networks. If someone needs to contact me or have a digital social relationship with me, then that person can start a respectful relationship by using free software and privacy-minded networks.

However, I should mention that not all of Fediverse or decentralized services/products are good. For example, some programs/networks don’t have a good user experience.

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