Great post! Most people really do not have a clue how much information is being gathered about them. And now, with Google getting ready to purchase Nest , (smart thermostat company) for $3.2 billion, Google will literally be able to track you in your home. Google is all about knowing what we do when we are on the internet. Nest is all about knowing what we do when we are NOT on the internet, that is when we are at home. Now, imagine the information that Google will be able to accumulate about individuals with the marriage of these two companies. They will know when you are online, who you talk to, what you say, when you say it, when you are at home, not at home, the temp of your house, all the little things in your life that make up the individual that you are. Privacy? Forget it. When interviewing Nest's CEO, he promised to stand by Nest's privacy agreement, which in part states that Nest “clearly limits the use of customer information to providing and improving Nest’s products and services.” What the CEO would NOT promise, when pressed about sharing that data with Google, was that the privacy policy would not change. Which of course means that the privacy policy means nothing. Google's company motto used to be "Don't be Evil". Many people don't know that when Google's CEO Eric Schimdt took over, he stated that he though that the "Don't be evil" motto was stupid.
Their hope, Nest's and Google, is that we as consumers will be stupid about the implications of their merger, and let them take over our lives for the benefit of their bottom line.
Good article. It seems to me that one key factor was missing in this discussion however. Israel. Sad as it may be, you cannot discuss anything having to do with Middle East or near East politics and the US government without including Israel. Of course this resolution is being driven by pro Israeli members of the Senate. As the author points out here, any further sanctions make no sense. If the US government continues its blind support of Israel in whatever they do, we are only going to further isolate and demean ourselves, and drive Iran further into the embrace of China. You would think that those idiot Senators and the Israeli hardliners would think this through, and realize that if Iran becomes a close ally and trading partner of both China and Europe, they will lose any ability to effect Iran at all.
Juan, you are right, civil liberties are terrible here in the US. American exceptionalism has gotten way out of hand. The US attorney Preet Bharara and the US Marshals service strengthened your argument by confirming that the way she was treated are "standard arrestee intake procedures". One has to wonder why they are "standard". Sure, this "diplomat" probably did lie on a visa application and underpaid her nanny. That is deplorable. However, an offense like this does not rise to the level of strip searching someone and throwing them in a holding cell. What makes this incident so laughable is the last paragraph in the statement issued by the US Attorney about this matter; "Finally, this Office’s sole motivation in this case, as in all cases, is to uphold the rule of law, protect victims, and hold accountable anyone who breaks the law – no matter what their societal status and no matter how powerful, rich or connected they are." Does anyone, anyone, really believe that statement?
I would take anything this companies do with a grain of salt. This latest round of "complaints" to the government about their spying comes only because they are losing money. Until their bottom line was effected, they didn't say much. And as the article mentioned, Google is a privacy violator of the first sort. I would at this at public grandstanding to save face. We as individuals need to pressure our government to end this. Unfortunately, a recent poll showed that over half of Americans still think it is ok what the government is doing.
It amazes me that anyone with any education or sense could spout this nonsense. While I have doubts about the cause of climate change (from a scientific viewpoint), to state that its ok to trash the environment because God said its ok is ridiculous. They make it sound like God is some school janitor who comes along behind man and cleans up his messes. Let's see, just a short list of what God hasn't cleaned up; Bhopal, Exxon Valdez, BP Gulf, Chernobyl, Fukushima, Hanford Site. And the list goes on.
Dr. Cole, your new website is not displaying properly. I tried it in both Firefox and IE. No margins. It was even worse yesterday with the actual posts being cutoff.
Great post! Most people really do not have a clue how much information is being gathered about them. And now, with Google getting ready to purchase Nest , (smart thermostat company) for $3.2 billion, Google will literally be able to track you in your home. Google is all about knowing what we do when we are on the internet. Nest is all about knowing what we do when we are NOT on the internet, that is when we are at home. Now, imagine the information that Google will be able to accumulate about individuals with the marriage of these two companies. They will know when you are online, who you talk to, what you say, when you say it, when you are at home, not at home, the temp of your house, all the little things in your life that make up the individual that you are. Privacy? Forget it. When interviewing Nest's CEO, he promised to stand by Nest's privacy agreement, which in part states that Nest “clearly limits the use of customer information to providing and improving Nest’s products and services.” What the CEO would NOT promise, when pressed about sharing that data with Google, was that the privacy policy would not change. Which of course means that the privacy policy means nothing. Google's company motto used to be "Don't be Evil". Many people don't know that when Google's CEO Eric Schimdt took over, he stated that he though that the "Don't be evil" motto was stupid.
Their hope, Nest's and Google, is that we as consumers will be stupid about the implications of their merger, and let them take over our lives for the benefit of their bottom line.
Good article. It seems to me that one key factor was missing in this discussion however. Israel. Sad as it may be, you cannot discuss anything having to do with Middle East or near East politics and the US government without including Israel. Of course this resolution is being driven by pro Israeli members of the Senate. As the author points out here, any further sanctions make no sense. If the US government continues its blind support of Israel in whatever they do, we are only going to further isolate and demean ourselves, and drive Iran further into the embrace of China. You would think that those idiot Senators and the Israeli hardliners would think this through, and realize that if Iran becomes a close ally and trading partner of both China and Europe, they will lose any ability to effect Iran at all.
Juan, you are right, civil liberties are terrible here in the US. American exceptionalism has gotten way out of hand. The US attorney Preet Bharara and the US Marshals service strengthened your argument by confirming that the way she was treated are "standard arrestee intake procedures". One has to wonder why they are "standard". Sure, this "diplomat" probably did lie on a visa application and underpaid her nanny. That is deplorable. However, an offense like this does not rise to the level of strip searching someone and throwing them in a holding cell. What makes this incident so laughable is the last paragraph in the statement issued by the US Attorney about this matter; "Finally, this Office’s sole motivation in this case, as in all cases, is to uphold the rule of law, protect victims, and hold accountable anyone who breaks the law – no matter what their societal status and no matter how powerful, rich or connected they are." Does anyone, anyone, really believe that statement?
I would take anything this companies do with a grain of salt. This latest round of "complaints" to the government about their spying comes only because they are losing money. Until their bottom line was effected, they didn't say much. And as the article mentioned, Google is a privacy violator of the first sort. I would at this at public grandstanding to save face. We as individuals need to pressure our government to end this. Unfortunately, a recent poll showed that over half of Americans still think it is ok what the government is doing.
It amazes me that anyone with any education or sense could spout this nonsense. While I have doubts about the cause of climate change (from a scientific viewpoint), to state that its ok to trash the environment because God said its ok is ridiculous. They make it sound like God is some school janitor who comes along behind man and cleans up his messes. Let's see, just a short list of what God hasn't cleaned up; Bhopal, Exxon Valdez, BP Gulf, Chernobyl, Fukushima, Hanford Site. And the list goes on.
Dr. Cole, your new website is not displaying properly. I tried it in both Firefox and IE. No margins. It was even worse yesterday with the actual posts being cutoff.