Privacy

I have not been writing much because I have been so livid about a number of privacy issues that I have not known where to begin.

The large number of anti-women laws being proposed has me at my wit's end (link). Why is it that old, white, male politicians feel they have any right to address any aspect of a woman's reproduction? It would be just as easy to introduce laws that require chemical or medical sterilization, neutering, or castration of men, so why not do that? And using religion or faith as an excuse absurd. No law that is founded on a specific religion's belief system, even if 80% of Americans follow that religion, will stand in the Supreme Court. That's the whole point of the separation of church and state; so that no one religion (or religious ideals) will be promoted above another.

I have no issues with having religious freedom clauses to some reproductive health laws. For example, "Obamacare" wants every health plan to offer reproductive health to women. Some companies/groups cry foul, like churches. If their faith specifically says providing condoms, birth control, and abortions are against their faith, and they actively teach that in their ministry, I have no issue with them asking for and being granted an exception. What will happen is that those companies that then hire women will find that the women will not stick around very long once they learn their heath care is compromised, unless they are of the same faith as the owners/operators and agree with having no coverage in this area. I have female friends in nearly every religion and of both stronger and weaker faiths and my experience tells me these companies will have to do away with this exemption or lose workers. Women will not stand for this.

As an addendum to this issue, many lawmakers are also proposing cutting funding to Planned Parenthood because "it provides abortions." Well, any quick search on the Internet can provide you with a variety of sources that show that, of all the funding provided to Planned Parenthood, only about 3% goes toward abortions. And even then only certain locations provide it. So, these lawmakers are planning to cease funding one of the nation's most effective and critical providers of reproductive health care and advice, that actively promotes ALL types of birth control (including abstinence and adoption, two favorites of most of these lawmakers) because of certain Planned Parenthood facilities in specific locations that are, frankly, just providing the services that the community in which they reside require.

The flaw in these lawmakers' plan is that they seem to only care for the child before it is born. Once born, they do not seem to care that it goes into an incredibly overtaxed adoption system that cannot handle the children it already has, let alone the thousands more that will inundate and overwhelm the system if abortion is made illegal. Why are they not proposing more funding for adoption services, foster care practices, and schools?

Another privacy-related article caught my attention (link). Basically, these companies have policies that say the first action you must do for them is break a binding legal agreement (the Facebook EULA) in order to gain employment there. If you are willing to break that legally binding agreement, why would you worry about what you say, following their edicts while working for them, or adhere to any stipulations with them if and when you leave their company? Do they give password access to you of all of the other people that work there, so that you can see if anyone there is saying anything that you do not agree with? Maybe you are Jewish and the owner constantly posts anti-Semitic jokes on his Facebook page. Knowing this could profoundly influence whether you want to work there. What you say and do outside of work, when on your own time, is none of their business.

I do like that Facebook posted a response to this, and told its users not to do what these HR people are asking (link).

Lastly, while America managed to (momentarily) stop the SOPA/PIPA laws, much of the rest of the world is still steaming ahead with similar laws. ACTA, Bill C-30, and Bill C-11 are still being pushed forward in various places, including much of western Europe (ACTA) and Canada (C-30, C-11). Each is just as horrible for internet privacy as SOPA/PIPA. In Canada, enough people mobilized that C-30 is at least momentarily stopped, and the lawmakers have made changes to C-11 but it still moves forward. (So many links, I won't even post. Just search on any of these bill names.)

It is funny how the entertainment industry has fought (and eventually lost) each time a new technology has come about that has "threatened [their] way of business." And yet, the business has always been more profitable afterward and continues to be incredibly profitable now. They do not need these laws, they need to use the technology to get their products out to the people in a cost efficient and equitable manner. What these industries really fear is that the Internet makes them obsolete. Artists can now produce their own albums and make their own movies, post them online for free or put them on eBay or Amazon for a fee and make money without them. These laws are, in essence, ways to stymie free enterprise and keep artists only options to be under draconian contracts to the MPAA and the RIAA.

Even the Trayvon Williams case breaks down to a privacy issue. This neighborhood was a gated community, but it still felt the need for a neighborhood watch. One watch member felt threatened enough by a kid about 100 lbs smaller and lighter than him, wearing a hoodie and carrying candy and a drink walking through "his" private domain that he decided to chase the boy (against the explicit request of the police), stop him, and shoot him. And, because of the way the laws are written in Florida, he may just get away with murder. All because he felt threatened by a boy who was a different color than he is.

When 9/11 happened, people gave up some of their right to privacy in order to "catch the terrorists." And the government took those rights and asked for more. After ten years of taking, the people have had enough and are fighting back. The government (and the corporations that practically are the government these days) are shocked and surprised at the backlash. So much so that the new verb "SOPAed" has been introduced into the vernacular. It basically means "to be unexpectedly assaulted by large public backlash." After a decade of whitewashing the theft of our rights, the people are fighting back and government is frightened. And that is GOOD. As Thomas Jefferson said, "When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When people fear the government, there is tyranny."

It is time for governments and corporations to start fearing the people again. It is time to take back our rights. It is time for a revolution.

Addendum
This article will make you never want to use a PC again! Basically it tells you that every IT and company on the planet is trying to subvert your PC and allow spying. The part about the PA school was particularly disturbing; who thought taking photos of nude, under-aged students was a good idea?