Loss of Privacy

An interesting use of drones.

The use of drones facilitates our efforts to define the geology and to find oil, says researcher Aleksandra Sima at CIPR about the drone that she and her fellow researchers have just acquired to take aerial shots of rocks.

Sima is a member of CIPR’s Virtual Outcrop Geology (VOG) group. The group’s main task is to create digital maps in 3D of potential oil fields. Using laser scanners, infrared sensors and digital cameras, the researchers create realistic, virtual models. Every tiny pixel of an image can store information on minerals and rocks.

These high-tech models help the geologists to criss-cross the landscape, not unlike what you will find on Google Earth. This virtual fieldwork enables the researchers to gather information on anything from the type of rock to the thickness of the sedimentation; all with the help of a few mouse clicks on the computer.

– A landscape’s surface often reflects what lies beneath ground and corresponds with the rocks below the seabed. When we have an overview of the rocks and minerals in one area, it is far easier to make estimates about where to find oil and how the oil flows, says Simon Buckley, senior researcher at CIPR and head of the VOG group.

Dronejakt på olje from UiB – Universitetet i Bergen on Vimeo.

Florida has activated its 13-county system in which they say regular citizens will be able to report suspicious activity related to terrorism. The new systems stresses the “see something, say something” mantra to Floridians. The iWATCH system, individuals have the convenience of making the report online.

The site provides examples of red flags to watch for, such as people with an unusual interest in building plans or who are purchasing materials useful in bomb making. Important places to watch include hobby stores and dive shops.

The list also includes malls, hotels and motels, financial institutions, and rental properties. We all know that if you rent something, you’re probably a terrorist.

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Unfortunately, most individuals don’t have the expertise to know if their neighbor is simply buying the something because it is a part of their hobby or because they have nefarious intentions. Law enforcement encourages you to report them anyway. This way, their name is in a database and can be watched in the future.

Reports entered in the iWATCH system are sent to the individual counties through a central clearing house. It is also passed to other counties, in case the information can be connected to something similar or related. The program was set up using a $150,000 state grant and piggybacks on an existing information-sharing system law enforcement uses now.

The sites combine iWATCH with the county name, or in Jacksonville’s case the city, to direct the report. The site for Jacksonville is www.iwatchjax.com.

Other counties in the program are: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Flagler, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns and Union.

While the police must show that the are doing something to prevent terrorism, this system has the potential to cause more problems than it solves.

Individual citizens do not pick out terrorists as their neighbors. Those that have been caught were either set up by the FBI or caught after they committed their crimes. Although not considered terrorism, neighbors in Cleveland had no idea their neighbor had three girls in his home for years. How would they pick out a careful, methodical terrorist?

Those making reports must provide their name and contact information.

For iWATCH, people are less likely to be targeted by rumors or malicious accusations. Also, it gives investigators the opportunity to further interview the person reporting the activity.

This is a good thing. If law enforcement pays attention, they may be able to catch a person who is abusing the system. Hopefully, that will happen before some innocent person’s life is ruined.

In the long run, this program is about the government continuing its pressure upon the people of the United States to live in a constant state of fear. Ordinary citizens will believe that there are numerous terrorists in the United States simply because this program exists. They will then begin to second guess every single purchase they make and begin looking upon their neighbors as suspicious because they purchased something that could be used for terrorism (Hint: Most things you purchase could be used for crimes. It doesn’t mean it will be.). As an American, I would still rather be a victim of terrorism than live in a society where everyone lives in fear, reports on their friends, family, and neighbors, and is generally not allowed to do anything without the government saying it’s suspicious.

Despite the fact that it has been proven that red light cameras don’t work, the State of Florida tweaked its rules on traffic signals, reducing the time of a yellow light by a fraction of a second, resulting in millions more in revenue for the state.

Hernando County officials recalibrated the signals after this story aired to make their intersections less dangerous.

Last week, the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Forces conducted hearings entitled Oversight: The Law of Armed Conflict, the Use of Military Force, and the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force in which the Pentagon admitted that we are in an endless war against terrorism.

Senator Angus King tells the Pentagon officials that they have essentially rewritten the constitution.

Pentagon officials today claimed President Obama and future presidents have the power to send troops anywhere in the world to fight groups linked to al-Qaeda, based in part on the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), passed by Congress days after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Speaking at the first Senate hearing on rewriting the AUMF, Pentagon officials specifically said troops could be sent to Syria, Yemen and the Congo without new congressional authorization. Michael Sheehan, the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, predicted the war against al-Qaeda would last at least 10 to 20 more years. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) challenged the Pentagon’s interpretation of the Constitution and that the entire world is a battlefield. “This is the most astounding and most astoundingly disturbing hearing I’ve been to since I’ve been here. You guys have essentially rewritten the Constitution here today,” King said. “You guys have invented this term ‘associated forces’ that’s nowhere in this document. … It’s the justification for everything, and it renders the war powers of Congress null and void.”

Read more at Common Dreams and Democracy Now!

Larry Page has announced that Americans should stop worrying over keeping their medical records private. He claims that the only legitimate reason not to disclose the information is fear of being denied medical insurance. Unfortunately, Page lives in a world unlike 99% of Americans who have everything to fear if their private medical information was released.

“At least in my case I feel I should have done it sooner and I’m not sure that answer isn’t true for most people, so I ask why are people so focused on keeping your medical history private?”

Page doesn’t have to worry about his employer firing him if they find out about medical ailments that he may have. For most Americans, once an employer finds out that you’re going to cost them a lot of money or your illness/ailment might one day prevent you from performing your job, you will be let go. They won’t give you a reason. They don’t have to. But, if they know your medical condition, they will find a reason.

The Google CEO guessed most people are guarded about their medical history because of insurance reasons.

“You’re very worried that you’re going to be denied insurance. That makes no sense, so maybe we should change the rules around insurance so that they have to insure people,” he said to a round of applause.

The ACA is already doing this. You’re put into a higher risk pool and, starting next year, everyone must have health insurance and no one can be denied. Maybe Page, and the entire room that applauded, need to pay more attention to the news.

Page spoke of a frustration with laws that were preventing Google from doing some experiments. Health records was just one such area where legal restrictions ultimately led to the closure of its Google Health service.

“We haven’t built mechanisms to allow experimentation. There are many things, exciting things that you could do that you just can’t do because they are illegal or they are not allowed by regulation. And that makes sense, we don’t want our world to change too fast,” he said.

Many people don’t want to discuss their medical history. It really is no one else’s business and they aren’t going to help Page and Google to open that up to scrutiny because he has an agenda and wants to conduct experiments.

Page’s condition is minor when it comes to revealing an illness. Not many people would want the world to know that they only have one testicle, have had an abortion, are infertile, have diabetes, herpes, AIDS, a family history of heart disease, Chron’s disease, mental illness, or any other host of conditions that the general public does not need to know. Many of these conditions could put a person’s employment at risk as well as making it difficult to find adequate housing.

Page admits that he doesn’t fully understand the situation. So, instead of getting up in front of the media and blurting out whatever comes to mind, he should have researched his position ahead of time. His ignorance of the situation is clear, yet he doesn’t care because he doesn’t have to worry about his own private medical situation. HIPAA may not be perfect, but it’s the best thing Americans have to protect their medical privacy. It shouldn’t be so easy to obtain because someone has an agenda and thinks everyone should think as he does.

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