Freedom

How the Manx Government used sneaky tricks to sell its budget

After I was interviewed by Paul Moulton at Manx Telecom TV the other day about the Manx Government’s sneaky budget, I spoke to him off-camera about how the Manx Government uses some pretty simple but sneaky moves to manipulate the public by fiddling with graphs in its public communications campaign.

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Freedom, Politics, Regulation, Security

Mass Databases Create Personal Surveillance Risks

I shared a post yesterday about a new effort to enable people to better secure their personal information. I think there is an obvious benefit to people having access to information about themselves: being able to record my weight, for example, has helped me to better manage it.

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Computer Security, Security

Solid Pods to Improve Privacy & Control

This sounds like a promising idea to restore personal control of your data: The idea behind Solid is both simple and extraordinarily powerful. Your data lives in a pod that is controlled by you. Data generated by your things — your computer, your phone, your IoT whatever — is written to your pod. You authorize granular access to that pod to whoever you want for … Continue reading Solid Pods to Improve Privacy & Control

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Books

Book Review: My Father Left Me Ireland

Nations can be complex things. They are not just communities. They are not just cultures. They are not just geographic regions. They are not just a shared language. They are not just a bureaucratic jurisdiction. They are all those things – and so much more. Nations represent the heritage that our predecessors have bequeathed to us, and they represent the heritage that we will pass along to our successors. Michael Brendan Dougherty’s book, ‘My Father Left Me … Continue reading Book Review: My Father Left Me Ireland

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Freedom

A tunnel from the Isle of Man to Britain makes no sense

Every now and then, various people seem to take the idea of a tunnel between the Isle of Man and Great Britain seriously. The idea makes no sense, it’s completely nonsensical, and it will never happen. This is why. The “Possible” Routes Point of Ayre to Whithorn (~30km) This route makes no sense because there is such a small population in South Western Scotland, and … Continue reading A tunnel from the Isle of Man to Britain makes no sense

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Isle of Man, Wastewatch

Isle of Man Police spend over £6k on diversity and customer service assessments

A new freedom of information response has revealed that the Isle of Man Constabulary has spent at least £6,399.98 in fees to assess its performance in diversity and customer service skills so far during the 2019 calendar year. The just-released documents show that the Police spent £1,800 for “Diversity and Inclusion” accreditation by the Centre for Assessment, a UK-based assessment organisation. The resulting report found … Continue reading Isle of Man Police spend over £6k on diversity and customer service assessments

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