Spying

Not to make today Facebook Day or anything, but I just read another interesting article regarding Facebook's new email integration.

It looks like there are quite a few things to not like about Facebook's new email integration.

First of all, it's not email. It's an integration to email, but it is not email. Basically, if I sent you an email, it would start a conversation in your messages box with me. Then if I send you a second email with a different subject, it would still combine that with the already created conversation. Subjects become meaningless.

But that's not all. Worse is that Facebook doesn't care about your privacy (see my previous post). So go ahead, throw all your emails to your Facebook account and watch them gather and sell your information.

Facebook sucks.

I'm sure you're not surprised. I know I'm not. Facebook doesn't care about privacy. I know people who've been affected by Facebook's notorious updates that change all of the privacy settings in place. I'm one of them.

At this point, I figure that I've had the account for so long, I might as well keep it. I know better than to share truly private information. I refuse to play any (and I mean ANY) of the stupid games such as Steal-Your-Information-Ville (aka Farmville) or Mafia nonsense or whatever bullshit the kids these days are playing.

Still, the article's speculation on whether Zuckerman is misguided or is operating out of malice is interesting. Is it that he doesn't care, or that he cares and is invigorated by the power?

Honestly, it doesn't matter. Facebook, because of its popularity, seems to garner a certain amount of trust from its users. I remember recently the phone number sharing fiasco.

The only safety is to either not use it, or to be extremely judicious about what you share. However, the problem arises in other people.

Anyone can post an image of you pulling a huge bong load. Is it fair? No. Other people are in control of your privacy. It's unsettling, but it's the world we live in. Make good choices, be careful, and keep the bong and the camera in separate rooms.

"You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide."
Oh yeah? Fuck you.

So Pennsylvania's office of Homeland Security has been tracking groups engaged in lawful, peaceful protests, including groups opposed to natural gas drilling, peace activists and gay rights groups. Apparently, these groups are akin to Al Qaeda.

Back the truck the fuck up. What? Are you kidding me? The group who claims responsibility for destroying the WTC towers is the same thing as those who think gay people should be allowed the same rights as straight people, people who are against drilling for natural gas, and peace activists?

For fuck's sake. I guess I'm #1 on the list, then, because I am in favor of all of those. Governor Rendell had this to say:

"Uh, oops. Didn't know about that. I'll, uh... get back to you." (paraphrased)

Pennsylvania is sneaky like that. You see, on the east side you have Philly and the west you have Pittsburgh, and bringing up the center is State College... the city of Penn State University. Those three points are plenty liberal, but everywhere else in the state may as well be Arkansas.

Ugh.

via e-mail:

Yesterday was a sad day for the United States Senate.

It is my hope that the courts will undo the damage done to the Constitution.

But let us stand tall, knowing that by working together we were able to make wiretapping and retroactive immunity part of the national discourse these last number of months.

We came together – all of you, Senator Feingold, bloggers like Jane Hamsher and Glenn Greenwald, organizations like the EFF and ACLU, and untold hundreds of thousands of Americans who simply wanted to make sure that this one, last insult did not happen with ease.

I'm sorry we weren't successful.

I just hope I'm lucky enough to have you by my side in the next fight, whatever that may be.

Thanks for all you've done.

Chris Dodd

Barack Obama campaign's official stance on filibustering telecom immunity, before he won the nomination:

"To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies."

Today, Barack Obama voted with the Republicans against filibustering a bill containing telecom immunity.

Looks like the yoonitary executive is here to stay.

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 accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.

But where says some is the King of America? I’ll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal Brute of Britain. Yet that we may not appear to be defective even in earthly honors, let a day be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the charter; let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve as monarchy, that in America the law is King. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other. But lest any ill use should afterwards arise, let the crown at the conclusion of the ceremony be demolished, and scattered among the people whose right it is.

"When the president does it that means that it is not illegal."