Sunday, December 02, 2007

Perhaps they could ask an identity thief?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=499136&in_page_id=1770

Virgin Media faces £400million fine over customer database error which could have "fatal consequences"

Last updated at 23:46pm on 1st December 2007

Virgin Media could be hit with a £400million fine after failing to provide accurate details of 1.5million of its customers' addresses for the emergency services.

The firm, Britain's second biggest phone company, was in urgent talks with industry watchdog Ofcom last week to explain why its customers were missed off or inaccurately listed on the database, which is used by police, fire and ambulance services responding to 999 calls.

If Ofcom begins a full investigation, it could impose a fine up to £400million – ten per cent of the firm's £4billion annual turnover.



Start using the technology now, worry about all that other stuff later? (Isn't DHS paying for all these cameras as part of their search for Osama?)

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20071202073101642

California Government Surveillance Cameras Thrive Without Safeguards

Sunday, December 02 2007 @ 07:31 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Surveillance

California cities are moving quickly to install video surveillance cameras on public streets and plazas without regulations, with little or no public debate, and without an evaluation of their effectiveness, according to an ACLU report released earlier this year.

A public records survey done by the ACLU disclosed that, even though 37 cities have some type of video surveillance program and 10 are considering expansive programs, none has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the cameras’ effectiveness [full list of cities and their responses]. Only 11 police departments have policies that even purport to regulate the use of video surveillance. The ACLU sent Public Records Act requests to 131 jurisdictions statewide and received responses from 119 cities.

Source - California Progress Report



Includes a summary of the laws requiring SSN

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20071201182253985

FTC Staff Issues Summary of Comments on Private-sector Use of Social Security Numbers

Saturday, December 01 2007 @ 06:22 PM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Fed. Govt.

The Division of Privacy and Identity Protection of the Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection has issued a summary of information it has obtained in preparation for an upcoming FTC workshop on private-sector use of Social Security numbers (SSNs).

[...] In July 2007, FTC staff invited interested parties to comment on the issues surrounding private sector usage of SSNs. More than 300 individuals and entities provided comments. The staff summary of the public comments and the information the staff obtained through its interviews can be found at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/ssn/staffsummary.pdf [pdf]

The issues will be addressed at an FTC workshop on December 10-11, 2007. More information about the workshop can be found at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/ssn/index.shtml.

Source - FTC Press Release



This is becoming a popular theme...

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/monitor/2007/11/terror-presidency-duke-law-school.php

The Terror Presidency [Duke Law School]

Monday, November 12, 2007 9:43 PM ET

The Terror Presidency, Jack Goldsmith, Duke Law School, November 12, 2007 [discussing the legal issues raised by the Bush administration's approach to the war on terror]. RealPlayer, 1 hr. Watch recorded video.



Facts is facts

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/016687.html

November 30, 2007

Immigrants in the United States, 2007

Center for Immigration Studies, Immigrants in the United States, 2007
A Profile of America’s Foreign-Born Population, November 2007
, Steven A. Camarota. "This Backgrounder provides a detailed picture of the number and socio-economic status of the nation’s immigrant or foreign-born population, both legal and illegal. The data was collected by the Census Bureau in March 2007. Among the report’s findings: The nation’s immigrant population (legal and illegal) reached a record of 37.9 million in 2007;Immigrants account for one in eight U.S. residents, the highest level in 80 years. In 1970 it was one in 21; in 1980 it was one in 16; and in 1990 it was one in 13...Since 2000, 10.3 million immigrants have arrived — the highest seven-year period of immigration in U.S. history. More than half of post-2000 arrivals (5.6 million) are estimated to be illegal aliens; The largest increases in immigrants were in California, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Arizona, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania."



Interesting site that claims to have 11,421 journals online, but they also generate citations for each article. (Yes, It's a cite site!)

http://www.citeulike.org/news

Wednesday 31 October, 17:30

Copy-and-Paste formatted citations from CiteULike

We've added a new feature to format citations in some commonly-used bibliography styles. You should see a citation box on each article page, the contents of which can be copied and pasted into your word processor.

There's a drop-down menu which lets you choose which style you want. Currently this contains:

* Chicago

* Elsevier

* Harvard

* MLA

* Nature

* Oxford

* Science

* Turabian

* Vancouver

... although it's remarkably easy to add other formats on demand. If there's a particular journal style you need then please just drop us a note in the discussion forum and we'll do our best to add it.



Who funded this research? There are other body parts (and wholes) that I'd like to be paid to study.)\

http://digg.com/health/Staring_at_Boobs_Daily_Prolongs_Men_s_Life_by_5_Years_Science_says_so_WTF

Staring at Boobs Daily Prolongs Men's Life by 5 Years, Science says so WTF!

"Just 10 minutes of staring at the charms of a well-endowed female such as Baywatch actress Pamela Lee is equivalent to a 30-minute aerobics work-out," said author Dr. Karen Weatherby, a gerontologist. If only the women would co-operate in this noble endeavour to increase our lifespan...

http://news.softpedia.com/news/10-Minutes-Of-Staring-Boobs-Daily-Prolongs-Man-039-s-Life-by-5-Years-72490.shtml

[Of course it's phony, but the comments are amusing... Bob]

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