I am Jennifer Dales, a writer and bodhrán player living in Ottawa. I’ve written a series of nonfiction works exploring the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and settlers in Canada. I’m inspired by Mohawk Elder Rarihokwats’ question, “why are you still settlers?”
My book and art reviews, as well as editorials, have appeared in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Arc Poetry Magazine, Rabble.ca and The Danforth Review. My poetry has appeared in several journals, including Prairie Fire and Arc.
I play bodhrán at local sessions and have travelled to Ireland to expand my musical and cultural horizons.
Thanks for writing your op-ed, “After Snowden: Expressing love in a world
without privacy”. I am a long-time privacy activist, and I winced when I
read the words:
“My email is now Hushmail — it costs actual money, but there
is no advertising or data mining, and since it’s encrypted,
it’s more difficult for spies to get into, should they wish.”
Hushmail, really?!!! I don’t know whether to laugh or cry — this is truly
entering the realm of the theater of the absurd.
Please forgive me for being so harsh, but anyone with a *genuine* interest
in privacy wouldn’t touch Hushmail with a barge-pole. That goes double when
you have (in Harper’s Conservatives) the most privacy-hostile government in
power in Canadian history.
Let’s not forget that, under Harper, the national security state has been
widened beyond anything that we have ever seen in Canada previously. It also
should not be forgotten that Harper has referred to environmental activists
as ‘terrorists’.
Given the recent murders of Canadian Forces personnel, I have little doubt
that Harper will only be accelerating his anti-privacy agenda. Hushmail will
provide little to no protection against these measures. Why do I say this?
The answer is: because I know how Hushmail works, and because I also am well
aware of its past history.
I don’t think there’s enough room to get into that here, but I would be more
than happy to explain what I mean in detail, if you would be so kind as to
email me at the address supplied when I posted this reply. (Please also
include your PGP key.)
Thank you.
I don’t have a problem with the fact that Hushmail turned over some emails to the police upon receipt of a warrant from a judge. That is the way things are supposed to work. Lavabit was required to turn over everything with no warrant, which is illegal and unconstitutional, according to the laws of the US. If CSEC demands everything that Hushmail has, then Hushmail will shut down, since it will no longer have a product to sell – namely security. In any case, the reality is, no one that I correspond with actually uses encryption – not even the activists I know who are on the RCMP’s watch lists. I have asked them for their keys and they don’t have them. So Hushmail is good enough for me right now. As for how it works, well, I live with a techie, so I don’t need any extra information in that regard. Thanks for the comment.
I just wanted to tell you about some superior alternatives, but if you’re not interested, that’s ok.