While many internet users are fretting about preserving their online privacy in the age of social networking phenomenon Facebook, a new breed of digital natives is actively stripping away the last vestiges of anonymity.
They are broadcasting their thoughts, plans and even their locations and purchases to the web, using new services that post intimate personal information in real time.
What began with status updates on Facebook and Twitter has evolved into services such as Blippy, a website which automatically publishes everything a user buys with a credit card to a short, Twitter-like feed for all to see. Launched in December, Blippy has gathered more than 10,000 users who share information on about $250,000 worth of purchases a day.
"There's a clear value proposition to sharing that data," said Ron Conway, a prolific investor who has backed Blippy. "People are curious about other people's buying habits and choices." Mr Conway said seeing what other people are buying and where they are going serves as a valuable recommendation and discovery tool on the internet.
Another new set of internet services allows users to "check-in" to locations via their mobile phone, broadcasting their whereabouts to the web. One of these, Foursquare, has about 160,000 users, while MyTown, a similar service, attracted 500,000 users in one month of operation.
The new services reflect a growing sense among technology's early adopters that it is safe, and even beneficial, to share private information.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook chief executive, articulated this ethos in a recent interview in front of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. "People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people," he said. "That social norm is just something that has evolved over time."
Mark Hendrickson, chief executive of Plancast, a service which allows users to share their travel plans online, said Mr Zuckerberg's statements "reflected a common perception that people have become a lot more comfortable sharing information about themselves".
Concerns about putting one's itinerary online for public viewing are overblown, he said. "As people put more content about themselves online and push boundaries, they're finding it's not as dangerous as it might have been."
One advantage of these services can be to foster real world interaction, argues Dennis Crowley, Foursquare founder. "You're always in these different spots and missing people by a couple of blocks . . . What if you could see through walls or around corners?"
By knowing where one's friends are in real time - as Foursquare makes possible - or knowing where they are travelling to - as happens on Plancast - people have a better chance of connecting with each other at cafés, clubs and concerts.
The early popularity of the services also suggests that the knowledge of what friends are doing can inspire imitation. When Blippy co-founder Philip Kaplan bought tickets for a Lady Gaga concert, his followers on Blippy saw the purchase and bought tickets for themselves.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Ron Paul wins CPAC presidential straw poll
Talk about your political upsets.
Rep. Ron Paul, hero of a fervant band of libertarians, unexpectedly won the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference today, claiming 31% of the votes cast.
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who has carried the survey for the past three years, was second at 22%.
The straw poll is unscientific but is sometimes seen as a show of organizational strength among presidential hopefuls. However, Paul, who made a longshot bid for the Republican nomination in 2008, has given no indication he plans to run again.
"It is clear that Paul brought a lot of people" to CPAC, said Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio, who ran the straw poll.
Fabrizio said 2,395 of a reported 10,000 attendees voted. It was the most votes in the history of CPAC -- about 40% higher than last year, he said.
Fabrizio noted that Romney's support was about the same as in last year's straw poll but that support for former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and former House speaker Newt Gingrich was cut by about half.
Palin was at 7%, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty at 6%, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence at 6% and Gingrich and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee at 4%.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
TSA Intimidates 4-year-old disabled boy
Another case of TSA overkill
By Daniel Rubin
Just when I thought I was out of the Transportation Security Administration business for a few columns, they pull me back in.
Did you hear about the Camden cop whose disabled son wasn't allowed to pass through airport security unless he took off his leg braces?
Unfortunately, it's no joke. This happened to Bob Thomas, a 53-year-old officer in Camden's emergency crime suppression team, who was flying to Orlando in March with his wife, Leona, and their son, Ryan.
Ryan was taking his first flight, to Walt Disney World, for his fourth birthday.
The boy is developmentally delayed, one of the effects of being born 16 weeks prematurely. His ankles are malformed and his legs have low muscle tone. In March he was just starting to walk.
Mid-morning on March 19, his parents wheeled his stroller to the TSA security point, a couple of hours before their Southwest Airlines flight was to depart.
The boy's father broke down the stroller and put it on the conveyor belt as Leona Thomas walked Ryan through the metal detector.
The alarm went off.
The screener told them to take off the boy's braces.
The Thomases were dumbfounded. "I told them he can't walk without them on his own," Bob Thomas said.
"He said, 'He'll need to take them off.' "
Ryan's mother offered to walk him through the detector after they removed the braces, which are custom-made of metal and hardened plastic.
No, the screener replied. The boy had to walk on his own.
Leona Thomas said she was calm. Bob Thomas said he was starting to burn.
They complied, and Leona went first, followed by Ryan, followed by Bob, so the boy wouldn't be hurt if he fell. Ryan made it through.
By then, Bob Thomas was furious. He demanded to see a supervisor. The supervisor asked what was wrong.
"I told him, 'This is overkill. He's 4 years old. I don't think he's a terrorist.' "
The supervisor replied, "You know why we're doing this," Thomas said.
Thomas said he told the supervisor he was going to file a report, and at that point the man turned and walked away.
A Philadelphia police officer approached and asked what the problem was. Thomas said he identified himself and said he was a Camden officer. The Philadelphia officer suggested he calm down and enjoy his vacation.
Back home in Glassboro a week later, Bob Thomas called the airport manager and left her what he calls a terse message.
He was still angry enough last week to call me after I'd written a couple of columns about travelers' complaints of mistreatment by screeners at the airport.
"This was just stupid," he told me.
At the very least, it was not standard procedure.
On Friday, TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said the boy never should have been told to remove his braces.
TSA policy should have allowed the parents to help the boy to a private screening area where he could have been swabbed for traces of explosive materials.
She said she wished Thomas had reported the matter to TSA immediately. "If screening is not properly done, we need to go back to that officer and offer retraining so it's corrected."
Davis also said TSA's security director at the airport, Bob Ellis, called Thomas last week to apologize. He gave Thomas the name of the agency's customer service representative, in case he has a problem at the airport in the future.
Afterward, Thomas said he appreciated Ellis' call. He said he had no interest in pursuing the matter further or in filing a lawsuit.
"I'm just looking for things to be done right," he said. "And I just want to make sure this isn't done to anyone else. Just abide by your standard operating procedures."
By Daniel Rubin
Just when I thought I was out of the Transportation Security Administration business for a few columns, they pull me back in.
Did you hear about the Camden cop whose disabled son wasn't allowed to pass through airport security unless he took off his leg braces?
Unfortunately, it's no joke. This happened to Bob Thomas, a 53-year-old officer in Camden's emergency crime suppression team, who was flying to Orlando in March with his wife, Leona, and their son, Ryan.
Ryan was taking his first flight, to Walt Disney World, for his fourth birthday.
The boy is developmentally delayed, one of the effects of being born 16 weeks prematurely. His ankles are malformed and his legs have low muscle tone. In March he was just starting to walk.
Mid-morning on March 19, his parents wheeled his stroller to the TSA security point, a couple of hours before their Southwest Airlines flight was to depart.
The boy's father broke down the stroller and put it on the conveyor belt as Leona Thomas walked Ryan through the metal detector.
The alarm went off.
The screener told them to take off the boy's braces.
The Thomases were dumbfounded. "I told them he can't walk without them on his own," Bob Thomas said.
"He said, 'He'll need to take them off.' "
Ryan's mother offered to walk him through the detector after they removed the braces, which are custom-made of metal and hardened plastic.
No, the screener replied. The boy had to walk on his own.
Leona Thomas said she was calm. Bob Thomas said he was starting to burn.
They complied, and Leona went first, followed by Ryan, followed by Bob, so the boy wouldn't be hurt if he fell. Ryan made it through.
By then, Bob Thomas was furious. He demanded to see a supervisor. The supervisor asked what was wrong.
"I told him, 'This is overkill. He's 4 years old. I don't think he's a terrorist.' "
The supervisor replied, "You know why we're doing this," Thomas said.
Thomas said he told the supervisor he was going to file a report, and at that point the man turned and walked away.
A Philadelphia police officer approached and asked what the problem was. Thomas said he identified himself and said he was a Camden officer. The Philadelphia officer suggested he calm down and enjoy his vacation.
Back home in Glassboro a week later, Bob Thomas called the airport manager and left her what he calls a terse message.
He was still angry enough last week to call me after I'd written a couple of columns about travelers' complaints of mistreatment by screeners at the airport.
"This was just stupid," he told me.
At the very least, it was not standard procedure.
On Friday, TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said the boy never should have been told to remove his braces.
TSA policy should have allowed the parents to help the boy to a private screening area where he could have been swabbed for traces of explosive materials.
She said she wished Thomas had reported the matter to TSA immediately. "If screening is not properly done, we need to go back to that officer and offer retraining so it's corrected."
Davis also said TSA's security director at the airport, Bob Ellis, called Thomas last week to apologize. He gave Thomas the name of the agency's customer service representative, in case he has a problem at the airport in the future.
Afterward, Thomas said he appreciated Ellis' call. He said he had no interest in pursuing the matter further or in filing a lawsuit.
"I'm just looking for things to be done right," he said. "And I just want to make sure this isn't done to anyone else. Just abide by your standard operating procedures."
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Bollywood star discovers body-scan printouts at Heathrow
Evidently images can be stored and printed. Airport Security cannot be trusted with these machines.
London, Feb 6 (IANS) Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan isn't intimidated by the full body-scan machines that have been recently installed at London's airports - in fact, he's been signing off printouts of his X-rays.
Khan, appearing on 'Friday Night With Jonathan Ross' - one of British television's most popular weekend shows - revealed he's been turning the controversial security machines into a public relations opportunity at London's Heathrow airport.
'I'm always stopped by the security, because of the name. And I think its okay: the western world is a little bit worried, paranoid and touchy, I guess - and feely when they're frisking you,' Khan told his celebrity chat show host moments after explaining how his new film is about a Muslim named Khan on a mission to tell the US president he is not a terrorist.
'I was in London recently going through the airport and these new machines have come up, the body scans. You've got to see them. It makes you embarrassed - if you're not well endowed.
'You walk into the machine and everything - the whole outline of your body - comes out.'
Khan said he did not know that the body-scans - installed in the wake of last year's abortive Christmas Day bombing of a transatlantic flight over Detroit - showed up every little detail of one's body.
'I was a little scared. Something happens [inside the scans], and I came out.
'Then I saw these girls - they had these printouts. I looked at them. I thought they were some forms you had to fill. I said 'give them to me' - and you could see everything inside. So I autographed them for them.'
Khan became the first Bollywood star to be invited on 'Friday Night With Jonathan Ross' after Shilpa Shetty in 2007, following her controversial appearance on Channel Four's 'Celebrity Big Brother', where the late British reality TV star Jade Goody was accused of bullying her.
But the Indian star, who is here for the London premier of his new film 'My Name is Khan', said he was 'a little tense' because of threats by Shiv Sena activists in Mumbai to stop screenings of the film.
'I didn't say much. All I said was that we are Indians and we should welcome everyone with open arms into our country. We cannot say 'No, this country's people can't come or that country's people can't come',' said Khan.
'It's been blown out of proportion, and now they're stopping my film and not allowing it to be released. I'm a little tense.'
Khan was cheered wildly by the studio audience at the BBC show - an indication of the rising mainstream appeal of Bollywood films in Britain.
London, Feb 6 (IANS) Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan isn't intimidated by the full body-scan machines that have been recently installed at London's airports - in fact, he's been signing off printouts of his X-rays.
Khan, appearing on 'Friday Night With Jonathan Ross' - one of British television's most popular weekend shows - revealed he's been turning the controversial security machines into a public relations opportunity at London's Heathrow airport.
'I'm always stopped by the security, because of the name. And I think its okay: the western world is a little bit worried, paranoid and touchy, I guess - and feely when they're frisking you,' Khan told his celebrity chat show host moments after explaining how his new film is about a Muslim named Khan on a mission to tell the US president he is not a terrorist.
'I was in London recently going through the airport and these new machines have come up, the body scans. You've got to see them. It makes you embarrassed - if you're not well endowed.
'You walk into the machine and everything - the whole outline of your body - comes out.'
Khan said he did not know that the body-scans - installed in the wake of last year's abortive Christmas Day bombing of a transatlantic flight over Detroit - showed up every little detail of one's body.
'I was a little scared. Something happens [inside the scans], and I came out.
'Then I saw these girls - they had these printouts. I looked at them. I thought they were some forms you had to fill. I said 'give them to me' - and you could see everything inside. So I autographed them for them.'
Khan became the first Bollywood star to be invited on 'Friday Night With Jonathan Ross' after Shilpa Shetty in 2007, following her controversial appearance on Channel Four's 'Celebrity Big Brother', where the late British reality TV star Jade Goody was accused of bullying her.
But the Indian star, who is here for the London premier of his new film 'My Name is Khan', said he was 'a little tense' because of threats by Shiv Sena activists in Mumbai to stop screenings of the film.
'I didn't say much. All I said was that we are Indians and we should welcome everyone with open arms into our country. We cannot say 'No, this country's people can't come or that country's people can't come',' said Khan.
'It's been blown out of proportion, and now they're stopping my film and not allowing it to be released. I'm a little tense.'
Khan was cheered wildly by the studio audience at the BBC show - an indication of the rising mainstream appeal of Bollywood films in Britain.
Terror suspect was allowed to keep visa
CIA False-Flag Operation is revealed.
NATHAN HURST
Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington --The State Department didn't revoke the visa of foiled terrorism suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab because federal counterterrorism officials had begged off revocation, a top State Department official revealed Wednesday.
Patrick F. Kennedy, an undersecretary for management at the State Department, said Abdulmutallab's visa wasn't taken away because intelligence officials asked his agency not to deny a visa to the suspected terrorist over concerns that a denial would've foiled a larger investigation into al-Qaida threats against the United States.
"Revocation action would've disclosed what they were doing," Kennedy said in testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security. Allowing Adbulmutallab to keep the visa increased chances federal investigators would be able to get closer to apprehending the terror network he is accused of working with, "rather than simply knocking out one solider in that effort."
The committee's hearing continues a series across Capitol Hill that started last week, all looking into the events leading up to and after the attempted bombing of Flight 253 over Detroit. Law enforcement officials say Abdulmutallab tried to detonate an explosive hidden in his underwear on board the flight from Amsterdam shortly before its landing at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus on Christmas Day.
Since the failed attack, criticism has swirled around leaders of the U.S. intelligence community who have indicated they were warned by the suspect's father about a month before the flight of a potential terror threat, but failed to stop Abdmutallab, despite other warning signs like the fact that he purchased a one-way ticket to Detroit with cash.
Politicians have also criticized the decision to treat Abdulmutallab as a civilian after the arrest in Michigan, with Miranda rights being read to him after less than an hour of interrogation and without input from the intelligence community.
Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, the only Michigan House member on the Homeland Security Committee, said in a Tuesday statement that she planned to question officials on that matter at today's hearing.
NATHAN HURST
Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington --The State Department didn't revoke the visa of foiled terrorism suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab because federal counterterrorism officials had begged off revocation, a top State Department official revealed Wednesday.
Patrick F. Kennedy, an undersecretary for management at the State Department, said Abdulmutallab's visa wasn't taken away because intelligence officials asked his agency not to deny a visa to the suspected terrorist over concerns that a denial would've foiled a larger investigation into al-Qaida threats against the United States.
"Revocation action would've disclosed what they were doing," Kennedy said in testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security. Allowing Adbulmutallab to keep the visa increased chances federal investigators would be able to get closer to apprehending the terror network he is accused of working with, "rather than simply knocking out one solider in that effort."
The committee's hearing continues a series across Capitol Hill that started last week, all looking into the events leading up to and after the attempted bombing of Flight 253 over Detroit. Law enforcement officials say Abdulmutallab tried to detonate an explosive hidden in his underwear on board the flight from Amsterdam shortly before its landing at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus on Christmas Day.
Since the failed attack, criticism has swirled around leaders of the U.S. intelligence community who have indicated they were warned by the suspect's father about a month before the flight of a potential terror threat, but failed to stop Abdmutallab, despite other warning signs like the fact that he purchased a one-way ticket to Detroit with cash.
Politicians have also criticized the decision to treat Abdulmutallab as a civilian after the arrest in Michigan, with Miranda rights being read to him after less than an hour of interrogation and without input from the intelligence community.
Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, the only Michigan House member on the Homeland Security Committee, said in a Tuesday statement that she planned to question officials on that matter at today's hearing.
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