Continuing on Stasi

1 files changed, 40 insertions, 39 deletions

diff --git a/paper.ms b/paper.ms
index eab81ee..dd127c1 100644
--- a/paper.ms
+++ b/paper.ms
@@ -7,33 +7,32 @@ January 2022
 .LP
 A problem (instability), a solution
 
-The Internet offers individuals a potentially Utopian medium of human
-interaction. The nature of computers and the information stored on
-them means that a large file such as a book can be duplicated
-practically instantly. When sharing information on the Internet, it is
-not limited by the physical limitation of traditional methods. To give
-someone a book is either to lose the copy yourself or to obtain or
-produce a copy of that book, which can be a difficult process. With
-the Internet, however, information can exist in a more absolute state,
-separated entirely from any physical media. Millions of people can
-download a single book as easily as one person could, and the
-traditional limitations that lead us to 'own' individual property no
-longer exist. In this way, the Internet eliminates the ownership of
-information in whatever forms it perpetuated through the attachment of
-information to media such as books or celluloid film, and the copying
-of information can take place in its purest state: of literal
-information, and then being stored as pure information, although on a
-physical media such as a hard drive, for all meaningful reasons (due
-to the large capacities and low cost of modern drives) unattached to
-anything physical whatsoever. Although this was true for other methods
-of sharing information, such as through radio broadcasts, information
-received via the Internet can be easily stored, processed, and
-accessed at any time, as well as giving anyone the ability to
-broadcast their own information rather than receive it, as usage of
-broadcasting towers was and remains limited, whereas the internet may
-be used to present new information by anyone. A key example of this
-might be Wikipedia. Wikipedia allows individuals to contribute to
-entries that form a vast encyclopedia.
+The Internet offers an arguable Utopian communication method. The
+nature of computers and the information stored on them means that data
+such as a book or film can be duplicated practically instantly. When
+sharing information on the Internet, the physical limitations of
+traditional methods do not apply. To give someone a book is either to
+lose the copy yourself or to obtain or to produce another physical
+copy of that book. With the Internet, however, information can exist
+in a more absolute state, separated entirely from any physical media.
+Millions of people can download a single book as easily as one person
+could, and the traditional limitations that lead us to 'own'
+individual property no longer exist. In this way, the Internet
+eliminates the ownership of information in whatever forms it
+perpetuated through the attachment of information to media such as
+books or celluloid film, and the copying of information can take place
+in its purest state: of literal information, and then being stored as
+pure information, although on a physical media such as a hard drive,
+for all meaningful reasons (due to the large capacities and low cost
+of modern drives) unattached to anything physical whatsoever. Although
+this was true for other methods of sharing information, such as
+through radio broadcasts, information received via the Internet can be
+easily stored, processed, and accessed at any time, as well as giving
+anyone the ability to broadcast their own information rather than
+receive it, as usage of broadcasting towers was and remains limited,
+whereas the internet may be used to present new information by anyone.
+A key example of this might be Wikipedia. Wikipedia allows individuals
+to contribute to entries that form a vast encyclopedia.
 
 An argument is often made against digital privacy in the interest of
 national security. With access to communications and usage history law
@@ -46,8 +45,8 @@ suspicious activity can be flagged and investigated in order to
 prevent a terror attack or in order to better respond in the case of
 an attack. Graham describes the extensive use of end to end encryption
 used by terrorists in order to avoid interception by the authorities.
-Due to US usage of intercepted communications to uncover and prevent
-a number of al-Qa'ida plots, the terrorist organisation and other
+Due to US usage of intercepted communications to uncover and prevent a
+number of al-Qa'ida plots, the terrorist organisation and other
 terrorist groups have increasingly used encrypted communications (read
 citation from Graham). An significant factor is the use of
 non-mainstreams software in early use of encryption by terrorists,
@@ -91,20 +90,22 @@ GDR (German Democratic Republic) in support of the ruling party
 informants who greatly outnumbered Stasi agents {Bruce 2014}. Whilst
 in Nazi Germany there may have been around 1 Gestapo agent for every
 2300 citizens, in the GDR it was closer to 1 informant or officer for
-every 63 citizens. We gather that there was a sense of someone
-`listening in\' to interactions between individuals and indeed there
-were (cite). In popular culture today we see a similar attitude to the
-idea that there are organisations who are listening to individuals
-about in order to gather intelligence. Although in western society
-today these are often less serious concerns than they were in East
-German society due to the very real threat of repercussions for what
-one says, this collective imagination of people listening in is
-prevalent nonetheless.
+every 63 citizens. Those living in the GDR often had experiences
+involving investigation by the Stasi and there was clearly an
+understanding amongst citizens {funder} of the GDR that one had to be
+wary of an informant or agent listening in. In modern western society
+there is a similar collective understanding that governments
+attempting to carry out surveillance on a massive scale on their own
+citizens. A key distinction, however, is that in societies such as the
+UK, this work is not carried out by a vast network of informants,
+there are no gargantuan gargantuan stores of paper, and there are no
+hundreds of miles of film (cite all) documenting and aiding the
+surveillance of the authorities. Instead, there 
 
 Concerns exist with digital technologies on at a hardware level. The
 Intel Management Engine that exists {Intel Management}
 
-{Stasiland}{firewall}
+{firewall}
 
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