Welp. We are not only at the stage where the US government is disappearing people, we're at the stage where folks are showing up at places in good faith and getting nicked. Even if you are a US citizen. Especially if you speak out about politics.

It's only a matter of time when it starts happening to folks who were born in the US.

For starters, some hearts-felt advice: Don't come to the United States. It's too dangerous. It doesn't matter if it's for vacation, for a conference, to see family, or what, the risk is too great that you …

20170107: It's not "group name" it's "Group ID."  I don't know how to find that yet.

The communications program Signal by Open Whisper Systems is unique in several respects.  Firstly, its barrier to entry is minimal.  You can search for it in the Google Play online store or Apple iOS appstore and it's waiting there for you at no cost.  Second, it's designed for security by default, i.e., you don't have to mess around with it to make it work, and it does does the right thing automatically and enforces strong encryption by default (unlike a lot of personal …