I talked to xname (who is this week blogging the Transmediale 08 in Berlin) already in December during the 24c3.
Our conversation touched questions such as who or what the ‚war on terror‘ is really aiming at (in Germany) and how it is used to create more fear in order to create public acceptance of more control. We talked about the history of anti-terror legislation in Germany, whether control actually makes sense from the point of view of those who exercise it – can all the data be evaluated or does full-scale surveillance rather create chaos? What sense does it make?
What possible strategies are there against being controlled by fear and what can blogging do for you? We also talked about some details of the case against Andrej – why was he made a terrorist by the police and what role did ‚conspiratorial behaviour‘ play in the investigations. Rather than panicking and thinking that now anyone will be made a terrorist – at random, so to say – it’s important to realise who is being targeted to understand what is going on. And finally we touched privacy and why it should be protected, precisely because some people are subjected to police action because of it.