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Privacy Concerns Moving Into The Mainstream
Realistic_Dragon writes "The BBC today ran a thoughtful radio article (website, transcript, real audio) on the issues of privacy vs practicality in our modern society. An ideal primer for those that haven't given these things much thought before, with a balanced treatment of the subject and very few technical errors to drive one up the wall.
Listening to the narrator's acerbic comments in reply to those that advocate the innocent have nothing to fear mantra is worth the download alone. Is this the kind of image that is presented in the media in the rest of the world, or are they still running with the 'big brother is your friend' party line?"
They can't invade your privacy unless you let them.
Really?
Try using bugmenot.
Some aim to please, I aim to tease.
Although from the outside it might seem confusing, the BBC is actually far more independent and objective than most commercial broadcasters.
I know this will not go down well with a lot of Americans, who probably conflate the BBC and the old Soviet Russia-era news services in their minds.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
You ought to listen to the "Today" programme. I'm assuming since you mention NPR you are from the US. I doubt any US politician would have the guts to go on the 'Today' programme if it were commonly broadcast in the US. Top politicians of many countries have come in for an intense grilling off John Humprys and James Noughoty. The same goes for the afternoon current affairs programme, 'PM' (5pm-6pm weekdays).
It can be quite entertaining, especially when the politicians try to dodge the questions in the normal way (usually by answering the question they'd rather have been asked) and the interviewer tells them bluntly that they didn't actually answer the question, then ask it again!
Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
Is this the kind of image that is presented in the media in the rest of the world, or are they still running with the 'big brother is your friend' party line?"
Quote from Douglas Adams in Wired.Amendment IV - Search and seizure.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The new bill of rights.
mplayer, with the Codecs package will play it. Use mplayer -playlist http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/radioseq/analysi s.ram
Though I don't see what's wrong with Realplayer 8. I have it installed and I don't find it intrusive in any way.
Allergy advice: Contains eggs.
on Salon: Three Cheers for the Surveillance Society!. I can't say I agree with everything he says but I think there's a lot of merit in it.
Bottom line executive summary: Privacy is dead; get over it. Instead of trying to hide everything we do, we should insist that every citizen has the same access to surveillance technologies that the government does. He offers the Rodney King tapes and the Abu Gharib prison photos as ways in which saturation surveillance has advanced the cause of justice and the empowerment of the citizenry.
Worth a read, in any event.
The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach
The government used to have a say in the appointment of the Chairman and Board of Governors, but this is now done mainly by an independent selection committee.
Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
ACLU came up with an good privacy presentation. Imagine trying to order pizza at a place where they already know everything about you.... http://www.aclu.org/pizza/index.html?orgid=EA07190 4&MX=1414&H=0
Minor nitpicks...
The teenage pregnancy (and abortion) rates in the United States are actually significantly lower now than they have been in the past two decades. (CDC release.) Teen pregnancy fell steeply throughout the 1990s, and continues to decline. Teen pregnancy is still higher in the United States than in other developed countries, but I suspect that that can be largely attributed to the deliberate policy of restricting information about and access to birth control techniques.
Use of most illegal drugs (including marijuana and cocaine) is actually falling. Use of alcohol among young people has also declined. (CDC summaries.
~Idarubicin