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Tor Hires Former EFF Chief As Executive Director (cio.com)

Posted by samzenpus on from the new-boss dept.

itwbennett writes: Shari Steele, a 20-year veteran of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), has been hired as executive director of the Tor Project, the widely used anonymity tool that frequently comes up in debates over encryption and privacy. Steele, who started at EFF as a staff attorney, then legal director and eventually executive director, comes on board at a time when Tor has been embroiled in controversy. In November, the organization accused the FBI of paying Carnegie Mellon University $1 million for information on security issues that later facilitated arrests related to online drug markets.

11 of 33 comments (clear)

  1. Year-End Giving by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Tor Project is a tax-deductable 501(c)(3) for US taxpayers. They have several ways to donate.

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    1. Re:Year-End Giving by whh3 · · Score: 1

      And that makes them "rich"?

      The people who work on Tor, IMO, deserve our support. Perhaps if enough people supported them with donations they wouldn't have to turn to the government for funding to cover their basic operations.

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    2. Re: Year-End Giving by KGIII · · Score: 1

      Hopefully it does. That's why I donate. I'd say not to worry and that I donated enough for you too but, well, they can always use more. Don't confuse the EFF with FSF or the GNU Project. They're not the same nor are they, shall we say, as zealous. The former gets my money, the latter two do not. I see the EFF to be much the same as I see the ACLU.

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    3. Re: Year-End Giving by KGIII · · Score: 2

      Well, it's rather unlikely that my donating to any of those companies will put your family on a watch list so your family should be safe.

      Actually, wait... No, it might. Sometimes I make anonymous donations and you're Anonymous Coward. Err... Please tell Mrs. Coward, Junior Coward, and Sister Coward to be careful and that I'm sorry but some things must be done in the name of freedom. Freedoms do entail risks, after all. If you don't want risks then you don't want freedom. That's okay for you to choose.

      My family, in as much as I know, are quite pleased (proud even) of my behavior and tend to act in similar ways. None of us appear to be on any watch lists. If we are, then we're still allowed to travel. I own a couple of classed firearms and a rather large collection of others. I have a permit to conceal carry. I am, technically, in Washington D.C. right this minute. I have a variety of assets on the internet at large. Worse, I'll be running for State Senate in Maine in 2016.

      So, either they've rightfully concluded that I'm entirely harmless or they're still watching me. They should probably spend fewer dollars watching me and just meander over for a cup of coffee and breakfast. They're far more likely to get information from me that way then they are by looking for a bunch of disparate sources.

      Remember, I'm all about freedom which includes the freedom to tell them anything they're really curious about, if they just ask me nicely. I maintain the right to not give them any information, of course, but a nice little chat would be kind of amusing for a while. It would also save them some tax dollars and time. It's not like I've anything to hide. I just support YOUR right to hide it if you want to. In fact, I support it quite strongly - up to and including this seemingly risky act of donating to worthy charitable causes.

      So don't worry Anonymous Coward... I'll remember you and the next time I donate, I'll donate a little extra on your behalf. I won't even put your name in the comments unless you want me to add, "A little bit added on behalf of Anonymous Coward who was scared that doing so would get him on a government watch list." 'Cause I'll do that, you know. It'll probably be just before or just after tax time (depends on what my accountant tells me I've spent) and I can remember to add it. I can even make a note.

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    4. Re: Year-End Giving by DriveDog · · Score: 1

      If you're not on a watch list, you're not doing anything worthwhile.

    5. Re: Year-End Giving by whh3 · · Score: 1

      Good point -- I was talking about the fact that they take money from the government does not make them "rich". That was the point I was trying to counter from the original author's post.

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  2. Legal Quarterback Heads Off field Team? by retroworks · · Score: 1

    Love EFF, love what TOR wants to be. If TOR is expecting a legal challenge down the road, this makes sense. Otherwise TOR's barrier to acceptance is that it's slow, and lawyers don't speed things up.

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  3. Re:Transgender? by KGIII · · Score: 1

    She does kind of look like a young Kieth Richards in that picture.

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  4. Re:Transgender? by DriveDog · · Score: 1

    Richards??? I'm thinking more like Weird Al.

    Don't mean that in a bad way, and she did a pretty darn good job at EFF.

  5. Probably not, but who cares? by bigsexyjoe · · Score: 1

    There aren't really that many transgender people and she basically looks like a non-transgender woman. And if she is transgender, who cares?

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  6. Microaggressions by bigsexyjoe · · Score: 1

    I have a microagression for you: Fuck off MRA wanker. Go back to Roosh's site and whine there.

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