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Annual Big Brother Award Winners Announced
SteamyMobile writes "Privacy International announced its Sixth Annual Big Brother awards today. These are awards given to the governments, business and individuals who are doing the most to bring us closer to Orwell's world of 1984. Normally this award is reserved for the British, but there are so many great candidates from other countries this year that they had to acknowledge that. So, who won, and who shall we nominate for next year? This certainly is an area with some tough competition lately."
that John Ashcroft didn't take the "Worst Public Servant" prize.
I realize that this is an international competition, and certainly the idea of tracking kids and trying to determine which of them are most likely to become criminals (this was covered previously on Slashdot, but I can't manage to find a link) is abhorrent. But I believe Ashcroft is most deserving of "Worst Public Servant," worldwide.
"BSD: Free as in speech. Linux: Free as in beer. Windows 10: Free as in herpes." --Man On Pink Corner in #52607549.
#1: US-Visit . This security program requires that most foreign visitors traveling to the United States on a visa have their index fingers digitally scanned and a digital photograph taken, so that immigration officers can verify their identity before the visitors are allowed entry into the United States - yeah right! that should stop Osama Bin Laden from getting in !!
#2: British gas - privacy rules prevented it from helping an elderly couple who were found dead of hypothermia in their home last winter, weeks after their gas service was cut off due to nonpayment of a 140-pound ($255) bill. - yes, this can happen only in good ol' england
Also rans:
1. Vodafone - which blocks customers from logging onto adult websites through their phone handsets
2. Lloyds TSB - which has been demanding that customers present themselves at their local branch office with proper photo ID or face having their bank accounts frozen.
http://efil.blogspot.com/
How is this "big brother"ish? We are just supposed to let foriegners in willy-nilly to trapse about and not know anything about them? Hello!! Defense of borders is part of maintaining soverignty...since when is that "orwellian?" The fact that the US has computers to help just means that we have a better chance than the Roman Empire. This is not a troll, I really believe this is a basic, common-sense thing. Maintaining the integrity of the borders is a basic function of ALL government.
The More Laws, the less Justice --Marcus Tullius Cicero
"British Gas was cited as the Most Invasive Company, after it declared that U.K. privacy rules prevented it from helping an elderly couple who were found dead of hypothermia in their home last winter, weeks after their gas service was cut off due to nonpayment of a 140-pound ($255) bill."
How is this invasive? It sounds like the exact opposite. I'll admit it's a bit obsessive, but behavior like this is exactly what privacy is all about.
Turn it around - would it be better if British Gas had notified all the welfare groups when the bill didn't arrive? "Hello, welfare groups! These people might be poor! Sic 'em!" Isn't this just a step away from notifying alcoholics-anonymous and drug rehab clinics whenever they see evidence of beer or pot?
I have to admit, I really don't see what British Gas could have done here better, aside from keep providing gas despite these people not paying.
Now, "most unfeeling", sure, I'll buy that. But this is about as far from invasive as it gets.
Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
Don't worry. In my eyes they are all winners. It's like the person playing with his gun and accidently shoots himself. But he misses and survives so can't be a "Darwin Award" recipient. You either make it closed to 1984 or you don't.
Why don't you guys have friends or journals?
The Department for Transport won runner-up for its electronic vehicle-identification program, currently under development. Known as the Spy in the Dashboard, the program will embed microprocessor chips into cars. The chips would automatically report any instances of speeding, illegal parking and other grievous offenses to authorities, who would follow up with a summons.
Most cars have electronic injection, instead of sneakily lurking on them until they commit a money-costing fault, it'd be much more intelligent AND educative to use the already embarked electronics to slow the vehicle down.
The day my car works as suggested by the Dept of Transport, I'll sell my driving license on the black market and willingly refuse to drive again.
Trolling using another account since 2005.
I thought this competition was for breaches of privacy? It seems the whole problem with the British Gas situation was that they obeyed the privacy laws. As negligent as it may be, they shouldn't have gotten this particular "honor".
Hint: the post you are replying to is not the article. If you read that, it says that they got the award for blaming the Data Protection Act - that is, for using a good law as an excuse for their own negligence.
Big companies don't like the Data Protection Act, because it limits what they can do with our private information. Big companies do things like using the tragic deaths of an elderly couple - due to that big company's penny-pinching and negligence - as a way of trying to get the Data Protection Act changed, to help them violate our privacy more.
Doesn't that deserve a Big Brother award, perhaps?
Basically - tough shit.
If any part of your car touches the yellow lines, you are in breech of parking regulations.
These are NOT hazy lines. It is a clear distinction between legal parking and illegal parking.
Doesn't matter how long it was for, or how much obstruction was being caused, or how much of an infringement there was of the regulations.
If you want to bitch at someone, bitch at the local council. THEY are the ones who approve the parking regulations.
I look upon speeding similarly. 72mph on the motorway is SPEEDING. Under ANY circumstances. Until the law ALLOWS 72mph, 72mph is SPEEDING.
THERE IS NO GREY AREA HERE PEOPLE.
If you are caught, you are caught. Your only recourse is to drive slower and park in proper places.
But that doesn't mean you have to play by them.
There are lots of ways out. If you have locked yourself into a certain set of parameters which you feel are impossible to break, then you are probably chumped. But if you have a working brain, a back, two legs and a set of hands, then you can pretty much do whatever you want. I'm an example, and I know of many others who have worked out the puzzle and live their light comfortably and without fear. --Little known secret; the economy is so big and complex that long ago it became a matter of belief; the health of the economy is based entirely on what people believe. This is true whether everybody agrees or not.
Anyway, just ask yourself, "What do you want to do?" Pick the creative endeavor which fascinates you and takes the least effort; (and by effort, I'm not talking about elbow grease, which you'll need; I'm talking about the get-up-and-go factor. That which you are supposed to be doing in this life will drive you and not the other way around. Once you find it, everything will run smoothly.)
Once you settle down and figure out which way your internal loadstone is pointing, go out and follow it. Couldn't be simpler.
The universe will provide you with the means. I see it work like this every day. You have to have faith, and you have to recognize that opportunity isn't just knocking, it's pounding at the door. Don Juan called it the, 'cubic centimeter of opportunity'. True; being able to jump at the moment is important, but Don Juan was always a little too morbid for me; it's also true that there are lots of cubic centimeters flying around all the time. And slow-moving cubic meters, too. The trick is believing that you are worthy, which the instant you move to get involved in your path, you are.
Intent and Faith are two of the most powerful and misunderstood tools humanity has ever had access to. Part of the control system has been to fool all the nerds into believing that such things don't exist. Once that was achieved, people instantly became cattle.
Are you a man or a burger? Make up your mind, because whether you want to hear it or not, somebody is going to want fries with that. And they'll get them too if you don't wake up and get the heck off the grill.
Oh, and the clue you have that I'm not full of shit is that I'm not asking for $29.95
I'd wish you good luck, but you don't need it.
-FL
It sometimes amazes me the bullshit that I read on a daily basis. Lately, there has been this odd reoccurrence in the media that has left me a bit aghast. It seems that the old fear of Orwell's (in the book 1984) was that jack-booted government thugs would come down and "re-educate" the masses who did not go along with their ideology. It was a common theme that has been analyzed repeatedly over the past 20 years.
But what is really amazing to me is the group responsible for the actual indoctrination and re-education of the masses. Twenty years ago, it was the government and some vast right-wing organization who were painted as the evil ones. But in reality it is the lefties and their hydra-like organizations. Just look at two instances of political correctness and the big-brother speak that flourishes:
CSULB students angered by flyer - In this instance, the students are to under go cultural sensitivity indoctrination. "...mandatory attendance for all organizations at the Cultural Awareness Fair."
Mascot Mishap - This is a similar instance of a politically correct "no-no". The people involved wiil be re-educated and shown the true meaning of happiness through being politically correct. "Members of the foundation agreed to...attend a sensitivity training session to learn about diversity."
It seems that if you don't think and act like the hive mind on the left...you are doomed to "re-education" and indoctrination of some sort. For those that do not follow these PC rules...you will be branded a harbinger of hate and a bigot.
Here is another example...
"At the conference, students in the college learned the importance of firm handshakes and direct eye contact when meeting with potential employers. When a student of color raised concerns that her culture does not encourage such interactions, a comment by Springfield school district's Director of Human Resources Roger Jordan was perceived to be culturally insensitive. Jordan said he had explained what he calls "the blemish effect," which is something that might distract a potential employer during the interviewing process, such as cultural differences. He said the meaning was misconstrued and that he did not intend to propose that the student's culture was a blemish."
I really don't get it. They are being taught how to conduct themselves in an interview and possibly land a job here in the States. They don't like the fact that what they are being taught does not jibe with their culture in their own country, so they take offense and are probably hyper-sensitive about the entire situation. Of course, the school will use the following tactics to "right any wrong" that was committed:
* The creation of a 5-year plan to address the issues;
* standardized and enforced procedures for handling complaints;
* and diversity training for staff and faculty.
I think that my biggest problem with the whole situation is that the school actually has a "Bias Response Team". Political correctness run amok. Common sense is missing in this whole situation and the diversity police (or the Bias Response Team, in this case) come to the rescue and mandate forced re-education. Lovely.
no china, north korea? cuba? vietnam? belarus? this is a joke right?
The war with islam is a war on the beast
The war on terror is a war for peace
Makes you wonder about this organizations credibility in the other awards...
"It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance." - Thomas Sowell