Day: June 10, 2013

Categories
Domestic Policies News Politics Technology

The High Tech Flower Children Are High

The naivete of the computer geniuses who thought they were extending the ethos of the counterculture by creating an open, honest, democratic society with the Internet is rather stunning. The tech giants were the ones who promoted connectivity, but were never quite as open as they purported when it came to how they were using our data. A look through history should have warned them that any technology from telegraph, the telephone and video started out unregulated and public, but ultimately was taken over by the hucksters, the monetized and, yes, the government. Never forget that the government can open your mail if they suspect a plot, and always remember that the government has opened mail even if they didn’t have a reason. So it is today with computer technology.

And even when the tech people did warn us, we didn’t listen.

“In 1999, Scott McNealy, the chief executive of Sun Microsystems, summed up the valley’s attitude toward personal data in what became a defining comment of the dot-com boom. “You have zero privacy,” he said. “Get over it.”

But the naive attitude continues:

Mr. McNealy is not retracting that comment, not quite; but like Mr. Metcalfe he is more worried about potential government abuse than he used to be. “Should you be afraid if AT&T has your data? Google?” he asked. “They’re private entities. AT&T can’t hurt me. Jerry Brown and Barack Obama can.”

AT&T and Google can’t hurt me? Think again Scott. They can raise my bill with bogus charges or keep track of ads I click on and use that data against me if they want. It’s then up to me to cleanse my own record. The government can go after me too, but they don’t have the financial incentive to do so. Guess which one I’m more afraid of?

The people who brought us the computer revolution were smart, but were perhaps too smart. Their bias was toward maintaining data and recovering information if the system crashes. That’s why you truly cannot erase the footprints you make on your machine or in cyberspace. Now that the Congress has passed laws and the courts have upheld their legality, it should surprise no one that the government is mining the data in the name of national security.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and on Twitter @rigrundfest

Categories
Featured

Love – Man Caught On Camera Stealing Flowers For His Ex Girlfriend

A Polish news crew reporting live from outside an apartment complex in the north-eastern city of Łomża unwittingly captured some breaking news as their cameras inadvertently recorded a crime in progress.

As the reporter for 24-hour news channel TVN24 went on about two local parents accused of keeping their kids locked indoors for five years, a thief could be seen in the background stealing a bouquet of roses from a flower shop.

Two employees are then seen emerging from the store before quickly returning inside, presumably to phone the police.

Andrzej Czapka was ultimately identified and apprehended, thanks in large part to his appearance on the news.

“I’d broken up with my girlfriend and I wanted to win her back with some flowers but I had no money,” he is quoted as telling the police. “I didn’t even see the film crew.”

h/t Gawker

Categories
News

Body Found in Louisiana Bayou That of Missing Teacher

The decomposed body found this weekend in a Louisiana bayou was identified Monday as that of a teacher missing for three months, the New Orleans Police Department said.

The statement said Terrilynn Monette, who was last seen March 2, was identified through dental records. The death was ruled a drowning, and there were no signs of trauma to the body, police said.

On Saturday, a diver with the Slidell Police Department who was volunteering to dive the waterways in the search for Monette found her Honda Accord in the bayou.

‘I’m in shock’

Monette’s mother, Toni Enclade, told CNN earlier that she had been notified a body was found.

“To know that she could have possibly been there for three months,” she said, overcome with emotion.

Enclade said she does not know when she will be given a final answer.

“I can’t even begin to go there right now,” she said. “I’m in shock. I can’t believe this. I just can’t believe this.”

Monette, 26, was last seen leaving Parlay’s Dream Lounge in New Orleans, where she had been celebrating with friends her nomination for a “Teacher of the Year” award.

Authorities have focused a large part of their search efforts on the waterways because Monette would have had to drive across the bayou to get from the bar to her home.

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics

Mitt Romney Wanted Hurricane Sandy To Come Another Time

Forget the 285 who died because of Hurricane Sandy. As far as Mitt Romney is concerned, they’re not that important. What’s important to the 2012 Republican presidential candidate is the timing of the Hurricane. You see, Mitt thinks Sandy’s timing was wrong. If it was left up to him, Sandy would have made its appearance another time… preferably after the November 7th election.

In an appearance on… wait for it… Fox News, Romney spoke about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and his new found friend in President Obama, after Sandy destroyed the East Coast;

“…I’ve been a governor, and I know what happens when there’s been a national disaster — and that is, you look for help from the federal government. You want the president and you want the other agencies of the federal government to step in and provide help.

“And Gov. Christie did what he thought was best for the people of his state, and I don’t blame him for that at all. He was helpful to me and my campaign every way possible. I consider him a good friend. He has a great future, he’s a terrific governor, he’s doing a good job in New Jersey. I have no ill will.”

When Fox host Neil Cavuto asked Romney if Christie got too “chummy” with Obama after the hurricane struck the east coast, and whether that hurt his campaign, Romney replied;

“I can tell you the Hurricane didn’t come at the right time, that’s not because of Chris Christie. That’s because one of the advantages of incumbency is that when there is an event like that, you get to see the president in a fatherly roll and showing his sympathy for people who were harmed, who had been victims of the storm. And obviously, that gives a little boost to the president’s efforts.”

Categories
Politics twitter

@HillaryClinton Joins Twitter With A Teaser Profile

While many outlets went crazy today trying to decipher what the “TBD” on Hillary Clinton’s new twitter account means, we will let the profile speak for itself.

SIDENOTE: “TBD”… it’s simple. Future President of the United States. Why are they still trying to figure this out? It’s as clear as day!

Categories
Politics trayvon martin

Jury Selection Begins in The George Zimmerman / Trayvon Martin Case

It is the case that shocked the nation, shocked the world for that matter. And today, the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin trial officially began with jury selection.

Zimmerman, 29, is charged with second-degree murder and faces up to life in prison if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty, contending he acted in self-defense during a confrontation with Martin, 17, in a gated community in this central Florida town on February 26, 2012.

After a brief opening session in the courtroom, where Zimmerman was joined by his wife Shellie, Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson called a recess so that she, the prosecutors and defense attorneys could meet briefly with a pool of about 100 potential jurors.

The jurors were then to fill out a questionnaire before being summoned one by one into the courtroom for individual questioning.

It is unclear how long it will take for the judge and lawyers to select a panel of six jurors.

At the time of the Martin killing, Zimmerman, a light-skinned Hispanic, was the self-appointed neighborhood watch captain in the Retreat at Twin Lakes community. During a struggle, he killed Martin with a single shot to the chest from a 9mm handgun.

Categories
Health

Is Sitting Lethal to Health?

In the past few years, the action (or inaction) of sitting for multiple hours a day has received criticism from many sources including the New York Times, personal fitness bloggers, doctors from the Mayo Clinic and several renowned medical journals.

What is it about sitting that causes so much harm (and excitement in the media)?  According to studies, sitting for long periods of time, day after day can lead to:

  • Slower metabolism
  • Weight gain
  • Decreased insulin production leading to increased risk of Diabetes type 2
  • Increased risk of premature death
  • Possible increased risk of cancer

Additionally, Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise Journal reviewed a study by Louisiana researchers at Pennington Medical Research who found people who sit for the majority of the day increase their risk of having a heart attack by 54%.

According to Dr. Hamilton who extensively researches and studies metabolism and was interviewed for the NY times article, sitting is “lethal”.

He has studied weight gain and loss for years and states that sitting is dangerous because, “your muscles go as silent as a dead horse.”  When we sit, the body literally stops working like it normally would.

Even more interesting about Dr. Hamilton’s studies is that a person’s current body weight or exercise routine doesn’t seem to make a difference.  Sitting for several hours each day equally harms the person who is 30 pounds overweight and the ultra-trim runner.

This means the 30 minute daily run probably won’t counteract the poor effects of sitting.  It is the extended time sitting, not the brief periods of exercise at the beginning of the day that cause the problem.

The good news?

Reversing the lethality of sitting can be just as easy as getting up every 30 minutes or so and taking a stretch, a walk down the stairs, strolling to the water fountain or striking up a tree pose in the cubicle (maybe when no one else is around).

Sounds like a great reason to take a few “stretch” breaks during the day.

Not only will it make you more productive by re-awakening your muscles (and your level of alertness), you’ll live longer.

Melissa AuClair blogs at www.launchyourcreativelife.com.  After reading about the extensive harm sitting can cause she integrates activity (and more coffee breaks) into her work day.  Follow her on twitter @melissauclair

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