Ukraine cyber cops collar man who allegedly hooked citizens up to Russian internet A 28-year-old Ukrainian is potentially facing up to 15 years in prison for allegedly operating what the war-torn nation's cyber police are calling an illegal VPN service that facilitated access to sanctioned Russian websites. Police described the man, who hasn't been named, as a "self-taught hacker" who created the service, …
During WW1 German newspapers were widely available and read in London, albeit with a couple of days delay as they were mailed through neutral Holland. Nobody thought to suppress them, they were regarded as a useful window on the thinking of the German High Command (and who knows what the personal ads really meant?). I'd guess the reverse position applied.
During WW2 I don't think much effort was spent trying to suppress German 'news' in Britain, it was both predictable and somewhat amusing. The Germans did spend some effort to stop people from listening to Allied broadcasts but despite their best efforts (and some really severe penalties if you were caught) a lot of people did.
Now we're in the age of instant information it seems that we have to exercise total control over information. I've always thought of it as a sign of weakness. Here in the US although the usual cable providers dropped Russia Today (but who watches cable TV anyway?) the domain is readily accessible and the material it contains is -- predictably -- exactly what's said on the tin. The only thing really positive you could say about it is that its not clagged up with innumerable popups, adverts, bits of video and what-have-you -- its like an old school website from years ago.
This is the modern era. Information's going to leak out. The more you try to keep a lid on things the more people are going to suspect you're full of it.
Martin:
This is the modern era. Information's going to leak out. The more you try to keep a lid on things the more people are going to suspect you're full of it.
I'm *mostly* inclined to agree with that statement, however, the ambient stupidity amongst the general public in the last 15 years has become ..... hmmm .... somewhat stifling. And unfortunately, stupidity tends to be subject to bafflegab and bullshit insertion. This is unfortunate, since we've basically spent the last 30 years removing the vaccination of logic and reasoning from our education system.
I think the difference between then and now, is that many people now are ant-establishment. To my recollection the trend began in the 60s (in the UK), and it was fashionable to have a contrary view, especially during our formative years. Back in the 40's and 50s, it was almost unheard of, to criticise authority.
Yeah, but Ukraine in 2024 isn't much like Great Britain in 1914. For one thing Ukraine has a large population of Russian speaking citizens, many with strong Russian cultural ties. When Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 a troubling number of Ukrainian officials and military welcomed the Russians, even actively helped them.
