The NSA Scandal is a Gift that keeps on Giving

So, let’s get started. No particular order here.

The NSA is apparently tracking a lot of information about where people are based on their cell phones. I’m not sure whether this makes it better or worse, but this appears to be a big deal overseas, where Bad Guys might want to follow American spies “case officers.”

More and more people of note are publicly saying that “surveillance” of personal data is wrong, and that would include what the NSA’s been up to. In fact, 8 major American tech companies have asked the Feds to please stop already. Couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that they stand to lose money. Security experts have already said they can no longer trust Intel’s crypto technology, and that means companies that actually need secure data have to migrate off systems that use it — potentially migrate off Intel hardware altogether.

I think the Feds honestly want to catch some terrorists. Even though the job is tough. Even though so far, they’ve had to manufacture terrorists in order to actually catch one. Of course maybe if they stopped playing World Of Warcraft it would be easier.

Despite all this controversy, it looks like the Government wants to do as much as possible to make it look like they are making changes, while in fact changing as little as possible.

Merry Freaking Christmas.

In Closing: Some thoughts on the minimum wage and the wages of workers in general (and lookie here, education turns out not to be a magic bullet); Duhpartment of Research says keeping your body healthy might keep your mind healthy; food lies; shadow inventory is a crock; funny how you have to have money for taxes to matter; the stimulus did work, but not like you can tell; good analogy; about time.

But the CEO might not be able to afford a second Bentley!

You’re going to have a hard time convincing me that raising wages a few dollars an hour is going to result in massive inflation in an environment where every fast food joint I can think of is highly profitable and introducing new low-price options on a regular basis. On the other hand, I can see where raising wages a few dollars an hour might relieve strain on the safety net and result in increased spending in general, which will in turn raise GDP without the government having to perform voodoo rituals on the actual economic data or gasp spend money.

That is all.

In Closing: There’s always more room for NSA, spying, privacy, and general stupidity links (go on and sign that ACLU petition like I did this morning); I hope nobody thinks this is good for the flying public; if only the anti-vax morons were the ones reaping the folly of their actions instead of their children and communities; kill it; interesting notion; not buying it; stupid breeder tricks; right on, Dave; and pet tigers turn out to be a bad idea.

Music Monday: The Old Apartment

 

Last week I noticed a banner up at an apartment complex reading “Free Turkey.” I thought it was a fine idea. A turkey is a whole lot cheaper than giving $50 off a month’s rent. Further, this can be used as a retention tool for current residents. Give a turkey in exchange for a years lease and you have a chance to update their contract, maybe raise their rent. Plus their lease will be up next year right around the holidays, and who wants to move during the holidays? The banner is even reusable next year.

Better banner than “Now pLeasing.” Leasing pee? If they’re pleasing now, what were they before??

In Closing: last thing we need; on Social Security; a few items on Iran; a follow up; “Common” Core; filibuster; crime, racism, and grammar; a few relatively random items about the internet, privacy, spying, the NSA and FBI, yadda yadda yadda; oatmeal; wrong way; yoga; not a bad idea; TV is dying; and lying presidents.

50 Years

I was not alive 50 years ago. I wasn’t even conceived yet. Therefore I bring you a repost of an item on JFK from 2009. Oddly enough, I was reading today about Nevada in the 1960s. Some of the people mentioned included John Kennedy, his brother Robert (Attorney General and keen on stamping out the mob and to hell with Vegas), Frank Sinatra (in hot water with the Gaming Commission over the Cal-Neva and certain guests they had and JFK wasn’t happy about it), Marilyn Monroe (who supposedly used to get visits from JFK at the Cal-Neva), and Arthur Miller (in Nevada while divorcing Marilyn). By the way, there was a plot between the mob and CIA to kill a world leader — Fidel Castro! New bits In Closing.

First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. We propose to accelerate the development of the appropriate lunar space craft. We propose to develop alternate liquid and solid fuel boosters, much larger than any now being developed, until certain which is superior. We propose additional funds for other engine development and for unmanned explorations–explorations which are particularly important for one purpose which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the man who first makes this daring flight. But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the Moon–if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.

In 1961, President Kennedy laid out a goal so powerful that it captured the imagination of a nation, survived his death, and finally came to pass.

A lot of people talk about the importance of goal setting, and they approach it in almost magical tones. They quote Paul J. Meyer and Napoleon Hill (sometimes they mistake one for the other), or perhaps more recently they talk about The Secret, and yet how many of them can say they have had a goal that was so powerful it was taken up and executed by other people?

Say what you want about Mr. Kennedy. The man knew how to set a goal.

On this day, the 40th anniversary of the first manned flight to the moon lifting off, let’s look at what he did right. Edit: it was at the time!

The goal was specific, and broken into parts. Both get a man to the moon and bring him home. And do it safely. No “it sure would be  nice if,” no “maybe we could.” Everybody would know when it was achieved, and there would never be a “close enough.”

It had a time limit. By the end of the decade. Not someday.

It was ambitious yet attainable. That goal must have seemed quite daunting in 1961, but they did it in 1969.

He was aware of the obstacles. It was going to cost a lot of money. The technology to do it didn’t actually exist yet. But he knew where to get the money, and how to get the research done to invent the technology.

He had the resources to tackle the obstacles. This is one of those cases where it helps to be in a position of power. The President can make research programs happen; Joe Average not so much. Having a million dollar idea doesn’t mean much if you don’t have the funding and ability to make it happen.

He outlined some of the steps it would take to get there. This is crucial with ambitious goals. He knew that to get there, they would have to develop spacecraft and better fuels and a bunch of other things. If a goal is like a travel brochure, a plan is like a map or plane tickets. You can’t get to the goal without a plan.

He expected the goal to lead to bigger and better things. Namely, the further exploration of space. Perhaps if he were still alive in 1969, he would have urged us to go to Mars, or develop space colonies, or maybe something we haven’t thought about.

He made sure everyone knew about the goal. He made that speech in front of millions of people. In 1962, he reiterated his ideas in another speech before millions of people. He got everybody on board, and got an entire nation excited about his amazing goal.

There is more to goal setting than scribbling “I want to be a millionaire” on a picture of a Porsche and putting it on your bathroom mirror. You can’t achieve goals by hoping and wishing. It takes a plan, hard work, and just a little luck too.

In Closing: hope nobody is surprised by Colorado raids; this NSA thing is just a writing gift that keeps on giving!; a few nice Affordable Care Act links (I’m choosing to stop calling it Obamacare much as I’ve stopped using Conservative and Republican framing elsewhere, and how exactly would people die from actually getting healthcare??); some food and food regimen related links; heat or rent?; and build a better condom.

 

A Bucket of Shorties

Department of Education: It looks like textbook publishers have decided to call a Texas-sized bluff and print science books that only have science in them. Elsewhere, Arne Duncan has realized that insulting “white suburban moms” might not be a winning strategy.

Defiance: Apparently you have to be ready to retire from Congress to actually work for We The People. That’s funny, because I have yet to see a corporation vote!

Poor Little Prince: Apparently it’s all our fault that Blackwater oops that’s Xe wait no now it’s Academi is not wildly successful. Couldn’t have anything to do with all the bad things they did.

It will do in a pinch: Cooking with nothing more than a coffee maker.

NSA, DHS, Snowden, yadda yadda yadda: I don’t think anybody really believes that they need all that information to catch terrorists (they’re “solving” the needle in a haystack problem by collecting more hay!). There is international concern over the security of banking data (hey, if they can get it then so can a Bad Guy). But at least it is raising concern among Americans, who are flooding the NSA for FOIA requests. Even the courts are saying “hey, wait a minute” to the DHS.

Turnabout is fair play: What happened to “If you’ve done nothing wrong you have nothing to hide”? Well, Boston PD?

The Old Fashioned Way: 200 pounds down through mundane diet and exercise. Perhaps Beachbody should start making Spanish editions of P90X.

Social Security: Does not have to be cut. Period.

Low Wages, Everyday: Robert Reich on Walmart employees who can’t afford Walmart prices.

Not Down With TPP (Yeah, you know me): Why did it have to be “leaked“? Because outrage would ensue. Remember that international treaties effectively force national laws to change.

And Finally, Food for Thought: In the most well off of states, 7% of the population is on food stamps. In the worst off, it’s 1 out of every 5. Random group of 20 people, children or adults? 4 of them on food stamps. Remember, Thanksgiving is next week.

What does Google know about me?

I’ve been using Google well over a decade now. That’s how I learned that someone skilled and diligent can find out a surprising amount of information about almost anybody. Google therefore has a detailed history of my searches for as long as they actually keep data. This data is potentially available to law enforcement — maybe. It worries me that they might be tailoring search results to give users what are potentially biased links. This might contribute to various ideological “echo chambers” across the nation. Web history can be turned off in Google, and I recommend you use the settings to do so.

I use Gmail. It is very good at filtering spam, I can access it from computers other than my home computer easily, and emails arrive at my phone (more on that in a bit). Just by keeping track of senders and subject lines of emails, Google knows of several places I shop, what mailing lists I am subscribed to, that I receive some emails in Japanese, what sorts of political views and charities I am likely to support, that I have a Twitter account, that I have historically had an interest in real estate, and what colleges I have attended. Remember, they only know more if they are actually reading my email and analyzing it in any way. I’m not as worried as I probably ought to be about this, because my attitude is “Don’t put anything on the internet you wouldn’t read out loud to your mother, your boss, and a judge.” Hi mom!

Thanks to Google Calendar, they also know the rough outline of my schedule and the first names of friends I routinely meet for lunch. Services like Schedulicity are very good at syncing with Google Calendar, so the mothership also knows of certain service providers, how often I see them, and what services they perform for me.

Via Google+, they know of several people with whom I have personal, familial, or professional relationships.

I also use an Android phone. Here’s another way they know oodles about me. It syncs with all those services above, which is horribly convenient since I don’t have to carry a date book or sit at my computer; my phone has my calendar and contact information for people I know, and I can update things on the spot. My phone also has a GPS in it, and can inform me of weather or even how long it will take me to get home. Is this information relayed to the mothership? I must assume it does until proven otherwise. I have a bunch of apps on my phone, of course. The easiest way to get apps onto an Android phone is of course to get them through the Android store. Therefore Google has a very, very good idea what apps I have and am likely to be using, whether they are productivity apps or little time wasters.

If I used Blogger, they would know even more about me and my views!

And this is all information I have handed over more or less willingly. Even if they are not a CIA front, a surveillance minded government would be looking at how to mine that internet gold.

 

In Closing: I have a whole bunch of health and diet links today; a few random education links too; ok, here’s some NSA and privacy news, special up-is-down edition; Putin; pro-choice and pro-actual-life; that’s kinda what I thought; at least the White House got one thing right; sure sounds like an excuse to write more prescriptions and make more money to me; gravity and evolution are both theories; keep riding your Congressmouse’s butt on this and that; trolled; on wages and poverty; science fiction; snowplow parents; I doubt the Pope gives a hoot about the views of the “liberal media.”