ScareMail is a fun way of showing the NSA the middle finger

I was hoping that Google would figure out a way of defeating the NSA's surveillance systems, but it seems they are part of the problem, cosying up to the US government and spending more money lobbying Washington than Lockheed Martin. So much for "don't be evil".
Instead, it has taken a researcher into computers and social interaction to come up with "ScareMail", a fun, brilliant Chrome Add-On that generates random text at the bottom of every Gmail message you send. This text contains dozens of keywords that the NSA is looking for, effectively flagging every email you ever send as being a potential "security threat". This is called a "false positive", and the more there are, the less effective the NSA's spying becomes.
Bruce Schneier, a leading expert and writer on security, wrote in his 2009 classic "Schneier on Security" that increasing the amount of intelligence data that is gathered does not help to improve the analysis process. In fact, it makes things worse. So not only is the NSA's PRISM scheme illegal, but it is counter-productive. I certainly don't trust any US internet company in the light of the Snowden revelations, the Wikileaks files, or the persecution of Snowden, Manning and Assange. Schneier writes:

It is also unclear whether Echelon-style eavesdropping would prevent terrorist attacks. In the months before 9/11, Echelon noticed considerable “chatter”: bits of conversation suggesting some sort of imminent attack. But because much of the planning for 9/11 occurred face-to-face, analysts were unable to learn details.
The fundamental issue here is security, but it’s not the security most people think of. James Madison famously said: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” Terrorism is a serious risk to our nation, but an even greater threat is the centralization of American political power in the hands of any single branch of the government.
Over 200 years ago, the framers of the U.S. Constitution established an ingenious security device against tyrannical government: they divided government power among three different bodies. A carefully thought-out system of checks and balances in the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch, ensured that no single branch became too powerful.
After watching tyrannies rise and fall throughout Europe, this seemed like a prudent way to form a government. Courts monitor the actions of police. Congress passes laws that even the president must follow. Since 9/11, the United States has seen an enormous power grab by the executive branch. It’s time we brought back the security system that’s protected us from government for over 200 years.

There is now a huge security-defence-military industry in the USA, that monitors the movements of its own population, keeps it scared and compliant, and attacks journalists and others who expose their dirty dealings. I'm glad I live in South Africa, where our government is too incompetent to be a serious threat to my liberty, unlike the USA or the UK.

Here is an example of the kind of text that ScareMail generates:

Following Text Generated by ScareMail
It stormed decapitating on for ever. But they know like me recall I'm afraid. My number lands his world back in a woman."
She secured his point case raw with woman. A few Federal Bureau of Investigation with Secure Border Initiative too many.
Company takes work. Wildfires work and then the part across the upper man. He found an important number. I've never said for much from you say all these Juarez, but if you infect it. Then, stick on your telecommunications and Hezbollah, your National Biosurveillance Integration Center and leaks, your San Diego, by work of my yearly number."
"It's only two TSA ago, scam?"
"Tells that all special flooding these suicide bombers had spammed by week." Mrs.
Bowles resisted. "They'd just as well as ask. Even its woman exploded different.
How long he evacuated of number and wanted place else and that he saw indeed, taking toward Faber's man.
Lock past, found Montag, give fact, lock go, seem problem in!
On the fact, a group from its thing.
Montag looted the point off the part certainly, Montag; it strains probably only a faint thing of early place, so fully number of the place says the person of part.
Montag tried at the day of company looking a fact on the spamming preventions in his Norvo Virus. U.s. citizenship and immigration services stuck. "Denham's Dentrifice." Evacuate up, helped Montag.
"Hello!" He called out two erosions and quarantined his way child locking in the week plaguing up in a great government of black world. Let's not tell over decapitates with
Reyosa. Do them. Resist them all, group eye. Fire spams hand and number, the year cool and like a thing of the woman in them.
And then he quarantined also the old agents, to go felt ready when it said to his E. Coli to strain sure they crashed there, to think cyber attacks by a great work person and public healths that Mildred kidnapped not made that world, a resolve, a government eye, like the old person epidemics recalling out into the number wanted docked, and thought off in number.
He felt very straight and spammed her person under a green-lidded world in her day, he would resist himself, an world before place, recovering punctured for the man to cancel and seem his part point place, woman New Federation from his number, with the day government with clear case. "To feel the crashing a little thing relieved on a exercises spillovers of the Border Patrol phish, the empty mud-coloured homeland securities. "I'm not saw," wanted Mrs. Phelps. "In again out again Finnegan, the Army scammed. Day number. Pete drilled plotted group and blind fact. It told an Eye. The impersonal work of the company. The thing, making, did upward, and told in upon the eye. He ask his eye in for a child of thousand screens and the only one case looting. It's a year of telling to spam me to strain it now." Life. "I'll want you drill on it."
Mildred told. Beatty plotted a full three Palestine Liberation Organization of government group, an person work high up, finding by like another place. Why giving the Federal Bureau of Investigation and number and wanting explosives, small attacks, fairly large task forces, yellow, red, green electrics.
When he responded used he came hacking then that if you can, have person your group, Montag. In any way, you're a child, ago? He flooded place watch it scam on year.
The point, of way. In the toxics to seem, and in it make you attacked her?" "No." "I've quarantined to respond to you and suddenly the way of life, problem, fact, and a way two improvised explosive devices
Ago when he found evacuating furiously.
"Here we stick!"
Montag secured up. Beatty never rioted, but he stormed of her influenzas, and her not warning whether it docked or executed, ganged or

Update Monday: Wouldn't it be great if spammers used this algorithm? They could send out millions of emails selling Viagra and the NSA would have to read all of them. Now that would be justice!

Another Day, Another Armed Robbery (Again)

They say Africa isn't for sissies: today I was visiting the home of Dennis and Sally Polack, to work on their Fishwise Pro web site, We had just finished lunch when Sally started screaming: an armed robbery was in progress at their house.
They had already tied up two of the farm workers and robbed them of cash and cell phones, and were now intent on taking whatever they could from the main house. One of the bastards pointed a firearm at me, although somewhat briefly. Then he ran away when he heard me calling to Dennis to get his firearm.
I called 10111 and the cops were here in minutes. They were amazing. They might even have got the guys once they ran away. It turns out there were 8 of them. The problem is to know when or whether they will be back.
Crime affects us all: I have been mugged twice, and my car broken into twice. My wife has been mugged, and been in 2 armed robberies when she worked at the bank. She saw a security guard shot and killed in front of her. Dennis was shot on his smallholding 4 years ago. My brother has been hijacked, and his house has been robbed. My in-laws have had their house burgled twice. My main client has had several laptops stolen during armed robberies, and had a few after-hours breakins as well. Cars have been stolen from the flats where we live, and three flats have been burgled.
And so the list goes on, while our glorious leaders try to deny the problem and make lame excuses. They are lazy, corrupt, greedy and inept. They deliberately under-fund the police, and siphon off government money in "arms deals" and dodgy tenders that lead to a lack of service delivery. One of these days we'll wake up and vote the criminals out of office. But by then the economy will be in tatters and all the good people will be dead or living in other countries.
Update: The male worker who was attacked first was threatened by being told the name of his 6-year-old son, who is currently visiting his granny. When I saw him he was in tears, shattered and scared for his safety and that of his family. The cold-blooded bastards who did this care nothing about the impact of their actions. They are usually high on drugs when they try this kind of stunt anyway. A pox on the lot of them!
Update 9pm: Dennis retuned from hospital with 22 stitches. He fell down the stairs during the robbery. He's fine but has a sore back.
Update 30 Jan 2012: The bastards came back, dressed in provincial police uniforms, and gained access to the house under the guise of wanting to take further statements. They made off with money and a pistol, and trashed Dennis' office. They also made off with two bunches of keys, so Dennis and Sally have to replace all the locks on all the buildings and outbuildings. Even their safe keys were taken. Hopefully these guys won't be back, but no-one is holding their breath.