Archive for March 21st, 2008


Expelled!

Posted on March 21, 2008 by Samuel Smith under Religion [ Comments: 6 ]

There’s not much that needs adding to this. And yeah, I’m going to be laughing over it for awhile.

Thanks to Debby Levinson for calling this to our attention.


Privacy vs. technology, freedom vs. convenience: it’s only going to get worse

Posted on March 21, 2008 by Samuel Smith under Economy, Freedom, Internet, Telecom & Social Media, Media & Entertainment, Politics, Law & Government, Science & Technology [ Comments: 10 ]

Item: Citizens are concerned about online privacy and security. According to a new report from USC’s Center for the Digital Future, “Sixty-one percent of adult Americans said they were very or extremely concerned about the privacy of personal information when buying online, an increase from 47 percent in 2006. Before last year, that figure had largely been dropping since 2001.” These fears are well-founded.

The study, to be released Thursday, comes as privacy and security groups report that an increasing number of personal records are being compromised because of data breaches at online retailers, banks, government agencies and corporations. Full story »


Blackwater fades into the men in the Greystone suits…

Posted on March 21, 2008 by Jim Booth under Business & Finance, Religion, War & Security [ Comments: 10 ]

erikprince.jpg

After the debacle of last September’s murder of Iraqi civilians, many Americans held out hope that Blackwater, former Navy Seal and right wing evangelical Erik Prince’s guns-for-hire to the Busheviks operation located in the Great Dismal Swamp of eastern North Carolina had been exposed and might be forced into decline and eventual disenfranchisement.

A new article in Mother Jones warns us not to be sanguine – or naive about such a happy possibility occurring. Like Phillip Morris, Blackwater has simply devised another name and plans to continue business – and, like Altria (not to be confused with nutria, although such plagues abound all around us, it seems), that business will be same as it ever was. Full story »