Maybe there's something I didn't know about cameras, but I think this is a dramatic misconception.
Maybe there's something I didn't know about cameras, but I think this is a dramatic misconception.
When I set foot in Ireland, I was somewhat aware of it being ‘more conservative’. But coming from basically Catholic-free northern Germany, what does that mean anyway?
‘Not that much, obviously’, I thought, when I couldn’t see too much everyday-Catholicism in the way most girls in Dublin dress up when they’re going out. In other words: Religion seems to be really heart-warming and therefore allowing for even shorter skirts. Even another way to put it: Since prostitution is illegal in Ireland (Thanks, conservatism), girls don’t know that they dress like German prostitutes.
But then I learned that there are only a few mixed schools here. And that drinking in public is illegal also. Points that may have an interesting (read: not positive) effect on society (I’m inclined to think that separate schools are the best way to disturb children’s upbringing and general development), but they don’t come close to what I learned when we looked at the ‘X Case’ in class: Here in Ireland, there’s a disturbing position on abortion, to say the least.
I will quit the jokes here and make the connection to current events for anybody wondering: This topic began to gain tragic attention a few days ago when a woman was refused an abortion, and died. An article from Human Rights Watch expands further on the details:
Savita Halappanavar went to University Hospital Galway with pregnancy-related pains on October 21, and when she began to miscarry sought an abortion but was refused. She suffered a miscarriage and several days later died of blood poisoning.
This is tragic, and also inhumane. The medically necessary abortion was refused with the explanation that ‘this is a Catholic country’, the Irish Times reports. There are no words for this. This seems like a case from the middle ages, but it’s Ireland in 2012.
The problem doesn’t lie ‘just’ with the medical staff, it is the legislation. Under the Irish Constitution, it is legal to get an abortion, but only in cases in which the life of the mother is at risk. In relation to the X case the Supreme Court established a test to determine whether an abortion complies with the Irish Constitution or not. But a process allowing women to exercise that right has not been implemented. The X case was 1992.
In the ABC v Ireland case from 2010, that lack actually was acknowledged as a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.
This documentary was made this year, but before Savita Halappanavar’s case happened. Tragically, it names and addresses exactly the failure in legislation that led to her death. The Expert Panel’s report it mentioned was handed to Health Minister James O’Reilly by November 13, as the HRW article says.
For Ireland and Irish women, a liberal society and so on I sincerely hope that the current protests going on put enough pressure on the Parliament to end what has to be the longest legislative failure in history.
And I hope the so-called ‘pro life’ activists aren’t successful in their ongoing campaign to keep up a medieval worldview - and somehow the majority of Irish people on their side.
(Thanks to Clare for bringing the documentary to my attention.)
As a Greek, I’ve known these people all my life: middle-aged women with coiffed hair and well-upholstered bosoms, men in clean white shirts and neatly belted trousers. They’re the people who run the cafes and corner shops; who work hard every day, often at two or three jobs; who pinch children’s cheeks and won’t let you pay for your coffee; who were always cynical about politicians’ promises. I never thought they could fall prey to fascist oratory. Yet here they are, applauding Michaloliakos as he barks and roars, floodlit against a low white building next to the petrol station.
“I heard Michaloliakos say on TV that their sign isn’t Hitler’s sign but a patriotic one,” she says, and then looks down at her feet. “It does upset me a bit. But I haven’t heard of anyone else giving out food.”
MP Panagiotaros owns a shop called Phalanga that sells military memorabilia; bovver boots and black gloves; ultra football shirts; kit by Pit Bull and Hooligan. Members of the military junta beam from photos on the wall. The heavy stuff is said to be kept in a back room.
Any password-reset system that will be acceptable to a 65-year-old user will fall in seconds to a 14-year-old hacker.
Remember Mat Honan? Yeah, the Wired guy who got hacked. In the aftermath of somebody somewhat popular and well-known on the Internet, guides on how not to get hacked popped up. Most of them weren’t that good, so I wrote up what I felt they were lacking.
Now Mat Honan’s back and campaigns for password-less systems. Why?
He says he could get into your account. He’s probably right. Truth is, what makes you and me ‘safe’ nowadays ist mostly that people capable of messing with our data in a sophisticated way find well-paid employment in some state department/agency or organised crime and work on juicier targets. But that’s not what you could call a real ‘defense’, so back to topic:
After the mandatory mentioning of how stupid it is to use unsafe or the same passwords over and over again, and how it has been shown that’s what everybody does anyway, it gets interesting.
Honan says we have to go beyond safe passwords, safe secondary email addresses, two factor authentication and all the measures that make life online safer, but not really safe. He pledges for more than one or two factors, throws in biometrics and behavioral data, and social factors like confirmation through friends by photo if you suddenly log into your bank account from the bahamas.
Yes, why not use location data? This is a good example for another point Honan makes: Increased security will only come with decreased privacy and/or convenience.
The other thing that’s clear about our future password system is which trade-off—convenience or privacy—we’ll need to make. It’s true that a multifactor system will involve some minor sacrifices in convenience as we jump through various hoops to access our accounts. But it will involve far more significant sacrifices in privacy. The security system will need to draw upon your location and habits, perhaps even your patterns of speech or your very DNA.
We should acknowledge that and use whatever new security system is made available. And be smart by using the established ones to be as safe as possible. Honan’s article raises awareness of the fact that we have to live with drawbacks in coomfort if we want to stay safe, which is very important.