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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/
AFAIK, this particular award is for UK only (even when there is an entry for US for immigration fingerprints). A similar award ceremony, for US specific things, will be held in US sometime later...
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
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.
We already have cameras logging every vehicle that drives into London, cameras logging the time it take you vehicle to drive between two points and issuing a sumons, car tax cameras that issue a sumons when its out of date, GATSO camera that automaticly issue sumons, Digital GATSOs and so much more! Also in the area I live in (Bristol) the police equip old ladies with speed guns, and they take down your number plate if your speeding, you don't get a fine just a nasty letter.
Are there any things like this in the states?
BTW. Some guy got his fined nulled because they took a picture of him face on and he was in the car with his lover, this played on some european privacy law.
Avontech | Play dirty! They started it!
"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.
I watch 24/7 webcams from dorm girls...
That's what big brother is about, isn't it.
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?
Normally this award is reserved for the British
;)
Yeah, well atleast we can still swear on TV, drink at 18, protest without being pepper sprayed and burn our (and your) flags
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
I agree that British Gas was in the wrong, but how is failure to act "invasive"? Or is "Most Invasive Company" a misnomer for "Worst Company"?
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.
you may have noticed the increase in "Please allow for the short delay in dispensing petrol whilst we record your car registration number" signs at petrol stations in the UK. what you might not realise is that if you're in Birmingham, they're hooked up to the automatic licence plate id scheme, and ALL car regs are sent to the Birmingham Metropolitain Police - 3000 per hour. You don't have to have been doing anything wrong, they just get a free intelligence feed allowing them to further track your progress around the country.
Runner-up in this category [Most Invasive Company] was banking firm 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
:-)
:-)
No, this is a cunning new form of phishing. The address given for their local branch is actually a crude cardboard replica of that branch and when they present their photoID it is run through a scanner and copied so that the picture can be altered and it can be used to access your real account.
Boy, some people are so stupid
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?
It seems odd that there is no mention of this in the FAQ, yet we have a 'YRO' section.
Most Appalling Project was awarded to Britain's National Health Service electronic medical records program, which aims to computerize patient records in a way that some have protested is insecure and will compromise patient privacy.
How is this most appalling project? Sounds to me like a perfectly legitimate move from paper filing to electronic filing. I understand that people are paranoid about hackers, but there are several ways to do this right that would be at least as secure as paper trails. It doesn't help that the site gives no link where we can learn specifics.
Stuff.
Privacy had a different definition 50 years ago because the duality of information sharing had not been realized. When we are able to type a few keystrokes and expect that megabytes of information be returned to us in milliseconds from someone else's hold on data, why shouldn't we expect to sacrifice our hold on data to a proportionate degree? Privacy, as we know it, is not possible now. It is not possible because our growing need as individuals for information and knowledge absolutely and completely overrides what we have known as privacy.
Privacy advocates mean well, and it's good to have a voice saying "No cameras in my bathroom, please" and "No, my social security number should not be tattooed on my forehead" but the line between utility and futility for these arguments is constantly shifting toward futility. As technology progresses there will be more arguments that need to be made, but many traditional arguments will continue to suffer loss of relevance.
Government agencies can know whatever they want about me. I don't care. If I had something to hide from them, then those agencies have the duty (What was it called? Oh yeah, a law) to know and act on that knowledge.
Yes, I use the discount cards at the grocery store. I don't understand why SafeWay needs to know how many bars of soap and frozen pizzas I buy, but I don't care.
If privacy really is such a big necessity, then one must realize that it's a two-way street and that expectations of knowledge-sharing on the part of others needs to be curbed.
When people have a problem with something they go to their government (usually the highest one) and say "Hey Fix it, this is bad!" so after the government hears a lot of people say it is a problem so they find a way to fix it. In many of these cases it requires us to loose rights and privacy. It is not really the governments fault they try to listen to the people and react to their needs.
Lets use an example in America. Americans are going "We Need better education!" And they will wright to their congress person and to president. (While education is primarily controlled by the state and local governments). So these people are hearing a lot of people complaining about different things because in each state and counties there are different issues. Hearing that Education is important to the US Voters and hear that a lot of people want federal control of education. So the federal government makes a set of generic rules, that no one really likes because it mixes a lot of different needs and many are contradictory into one law (No Child left behind act.). This brings up the question on why are all these concerned people not going to their state and local government trying to bring there concerns to them where there is a better chance of getting a better solution, deals with the concerns of the area, which is cheaper, and is enacted a lot quicker.
If people stopped dumping all there problems on big government and start solving it for themselves and if there is really nothing they alone can do about it then go to the local government and work up. Yes it is more work but there is a better chance of finding a solution to the problem that may not be evil.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
"...We are seeing a race to the bottom..."
Sounds familiar...
Every time I read the buggy whip analogy from someone that has a good-paying job I am reminded of Boston and tea for some reason. I'm one of those guys that realizes that a large part of the "white collar" workforce is pretty much daycare for adults.
Face it, high-paying jobs that are not manual labour-related are being eliminated by software (if not yours yet, just wait a bit) because 11 or 13 of the best thinkers sat down and figured out everything about your job and the best way to do it. Then they put all that stuff into software. Push buttons much?
Replacing manual labour is one thing; replacing your thought processes is another (after all, software designed by geniuses in your field can do a better job than you could ever do).
The sooner we come to terms with this the better. It's easier to ostritch though and assume that the displaced will all become rock stars or move onto the mythical future world where people can devote their energies towards inventing stuff and getting creative and get everyone else to make the stuff they imagineer.
I still don't know where I fit in in this new economy. Am I replaceable by a simple shell script as the T-shirt says, and if so, why am I working? To fulfill some antiquated. puritan-inspired notion of work ethic and keep my nose to the grindstone so that I please my masters?
Someone please enlighten me without referencing "want fries with that?" or saying that I (and millions of others) will just "move on to the idea economy". Everyone knows that there can only be so many idea people.
Bah, maybe I'm just being too pessimistic and should lighten-up.
= =
No sig, Pepsi.
Agreed.
It's not just keeping tourists and individuals visiting family out either. It's pushing conferences and conventions away.
My father and his (Belgian) wife visited the US during the recent "Freedom Fries" period. My stepmother was delayed at EACH DOMESTIC AIRPORT for a full luggage and personal search. She got funny looks at cafes when she spoke. It was apparently really creepy.
It wasn't just that either, though. Even when not with my stepmother, my (Australian) father mentioned that he was often made to feel very uncomfortable and "foreign," especially when at hotels, airports, etc.
They left the country three days into their planned three week trip, cancelling attendance at a conference and several workshops. Not that long after they got back (having continued travelling around Europe), the news of the VISIT stuff came out.
Neither they, nor I (who visited in a saner time), intend to visit the USA again. My god, what if Australia does something policically unpopular while I'm there!
My father, before he left, was in the early processes of planning a conference on group psychology and outdoor education, with a tentative venue of Three Springs in the US. They are now seeking a European venue.
This isn't even computer / IT / security related stuff. They're not moving because they're afraid their delegates might be refused entry or arrested and held without charge. Nope, they're moving because they're not willing to go back - and NEITHER ARE MANY OF THE POTENTIAL SPEAKERS.
So yeah, I think this will cause serious, long term harm. I don't think it can harm good will and trust for the USA - that's all gone anyway - but it can help isolate its professional communities more, force Americans to travel overseas more to visit conferences and professional events, and harm tourism severely.
What gets me is that it doesn't even help security. It's like a statement that "we believe that our citizens will feel more secure if we treat all foreigners like criminals."
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.
Our australian friends can read Orwell's 1984 at Project Gutenberg of Australia.
Us poor sods in the USA have to wait, what, another 70 years or so? Who knows anymore. It's safer and easier to assume we can't do something than it is to assume that we can...
-Adam
Since when did the sharing of information guarantee that the use of it would be for the good of all? Someone knew and did nothing, how would sharing make a difference?
There have been well-publicised instances where knowledge of a potentially fatal situation was shared by government departments and their contracted private counterparts, and the only difference was that each party blamed the other instead of claiming they had no information. One example of this fresh in many Australian minds is the story of a nursing-home where complaints by staff were ignored at both private and government levels until an incident forced its closure. Then we had the usual committees and assurances, etc. etc. The government claimed the reporting was slipshod. The company claimed cuts in government subsidies. Yet they clearly shared information.
Now that's what I call having your cake and eating it.
insecurity asks the wrong question irritation gives the wrong answer
Big Brother gets all the attention!
What about lil' Brudder? Doesn't he deserve more?
You just keep scaping along lil' budddy.
*sniff*
Following one of the Homeland Security links, and searching for the particular kind of duct tape that I should run out and buy, I found this (PDF!) page that has a spooky image of Tom Ridge. If you don't see it when the page is loading, then drag the scroll bar up and down.
e _Flag_Full_Page.pdf
Leftover artifact from composing the document, or high-tech method of watching us at our desks? You decide! I think I saw his eyes move!
http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/Flown_th