big brother

February 23, 2010 - Two weeks ago today, I wrote an editorial titled Why Does The Government Need To Know If Your Oven Is On? It was picked up by a variety of other websites; many of which are focused on consumer activism. The piece was about the federal government's plan for incorporating smart-grid technology in all home appliances (as described in the Federal Register on February 9^th). The technology has the potential to be highly intrusive and end privacy in your home as you know it today. Since the notification published in the Federal Register asked for comments, I suggested that readers respond by telling the government that any data collected should belong to them and that use by third parties should not be allowed. I can only assume that the government didn't like the comments it was receiving since the White House published a new Federal Register notice on February 19^th and any comments submitted prior to today are nowhere to be found. Is this just a mistake or is it sleazy government in action?

When the original Federal Register notice was published regarding the incorporation of smart grid technology in home appliances, I immediately tried to comment. The first surprise that I ran into was that the website for comments was not actually online. No worries though. Comments could also be submitted by e-mail. Eventually, those comments should have been posted on a working government website; something that doesn’t appear to have happened yet.

February 9, 2010 - Given the myriad of problems facing the United States right now, you can be forgiven for not worrying about what information your water heater is sending to the US government. The fact of the matter is, right now, it is not sending the government any information. But the Obama administration wants to change that. In fact, it wants to know just about everything you are doing with major appliances in your home on a real time basis; an announcement which it made in this morning's Federal Register. More importantly, it wants to control how you use those appliances. If you think about it, the prospect of this is downright frightening and it would mean the end of privacy in your home as you know it.

The Federal Register isn't exactly the publication that most people read every morning. That fact may be exactly what the Obama administration is counting on. It is however the publication in which new government proposals, rules and regulations must be published prior to the time they can be put into effect. In this morning's issue, the Science and Technology Policy Office which reports to the President published a request for public comments that is quite revealing. The request concerns "Consumer Interface With the Smart Grid", which is what the administration is calling the new electric grid for United States.

The archetypal Big Brother might have been pronounced dead this year following abysmal ratings, but that hasn't deterred Sony from jumping onto the bandwagon with a reality competition of its own.

The platform holder has announced it is to host its own gaming-focused reality programme called The Tester to be shown on the PlayStation Network later this year.

In it, entrants will go head-to-head in a series of game-themed elimination challenges designed to test "mental toughness, endurance and videogame knowledge", with the winner being awarded a position as a game tester at PlayStation's QA department in San Diego.

To be in with a chance of winning this "dream job", gamers are invited on the US PlayStation blog to complete an online form and submit a short video, with the best being selected to take part in the eight episode series.

This series will be made in conjunction with reality program specialists 51 Minds Entertainment, confirmed Sony, who are credited with inventing the 'celebreality genre' with US programs such as The Surreal Life, Flavor of Love and Rock of Love under its belt.

Scheduled to be distributed through the PlayStation Store this winter, episodes will be purchasable individually or as a whole series with a season pass, and available in high definition.

News source: www.gamesindustry.biz

The National Sex Offenders Database is a good thing ...

Right?

Isn't it?


Now anybody who knows me would tell you that I am not one to condone criminal actions and some may even say that I have a disposition to really hate sexual predators … and even more so when those crimes are committed against children. That being the case, it would seem reasonable that I would laud something so notable and important as the national registry for sexual offenders right?

It’s a simple question. Who owns the genetic material that makes us human? And for parents, who owns your baby’s DNA?  The proper answer should be that nobody should be able to own or control your DNA, or your child’s DNA, and that you should be able to control access to this information. But reality is quite different. You may be surprised to learn that states have been collecting DNA from newborns and storing it. And they now have millions of samples, with very few controls over what they can use this information for.

The birth of a child is a happy occasion. At some point within a day or so of the birth, a hospital technician is likely to enter the mother’s room and ask to take the newborn for a blood test. Most people simply think that the baby’s new doctor is checking out the health of the baby. But in most cases the blood is actually being collected by the state.

There are a few states that allow parents to opt out of having their children’s DNA taken and stored in some government database. But in most cases those states are not providing the opt-out information to parents unless they ask. Other states don’t give the parents any discretion at all.

The DNA that is being collected is being used for a variety of things, including research.  And worst of all, it is perfectly legal.