Big Brother want to know it all.

[dolf250]

The new government in Canada is brining back some legislation that had died before the election. They want to give police access to all of our Internet activities. It may just be me, but that is the equivalent of opening my mail and searching my house whenever they want without a search warrant. My banking info, which stocks I own, which friends I keep, which names I use (Dolf250 is not my name) right down to my political ideologies would be visible at the click of their mouse. It scares the hell out of me. And worse yet, Bell has already decided as of yesterday that they will give law enforcement and government agencies access to their customers accounts (likely in preparation for the future.)

I can only imagine the the abuse that this will lead to. In Calgary our (Deputy?) police chief is being investigated for mishandling a case. They allege that a few years back to get a warrant he allowed some documents to be doctored. I can only imagine how easy it will be to tailor electronic information to fit the case. Hey, a successful investigation can lead you up the ladder (even to deputy chief.) A crooked cop or two could easily take a bit of cash to tell you if you husband/wife is cheating. Just print off an e-mail or two and hand it over to their spouse. Business records and what people would otherwise hope would be confidential business negotiations and documents would be open to the police and, again, one crooked cop and the competition would know what they needed.

I am left to wonder with the “chat” features, and the trend towards VOIP if it will allow the police unfettered access to conversations without the need for trivial warrants for wiretaps. (As I understand it your president has decided that the need for court permission to tap phone lines is nothing more than an unnecessary and bothersome idea.) I keep loosing freedom in my democracy and they keep telling me that the only way to keep us safe from terrorists is to take my privacy, freedom and rights from me. I can't help but to think that Orwell my have only been off by three or four decades.

 

[DC_DEEP]

Dolf, my friend, I can sympathize with you. I have started several similar threads over the last few weeks, but you know, some people just don't get it. A terrifying number have responded to me that "if you don't have anything to hide, you don't have anything to worry about." That scares me almost as much as the violations themselves. An even greater number just gives a shrug and says "well, I can't do anything about it" or "it's been going on so long we can never change it."

I don't know as much about Canadian politics as I should, (the fellows south of the 49th keep me pretty occupied) but sounds like we have some problems in common. You aren't alone. There are at least a few of us here in the USA who are fighting this sort of thing, I'm glad to see that we have some gentle neighbors to the north who are doing the same. Do not give up, do not give in. Fight for your rights, freedoms, and privacy. Write to whomever represents you in your government, and tell them, repeatedly, that this is unacceptable. There are more effective, less intrusive methods of fighting against terrorism.

 

[digitalninja]

Yeah that def is not cool. Fuck the man! They just try to bring us down.
Lets start a revolution.

Or maybe we should just sit back while they create a "world police" after all in the bible it says it IS going to happen. Its not like we can stop it or anything.

 

[dudepiston]

Dolf250 Isn't your real name??? How *confusing*?

But seriously folks. Yeah I'm very much in agreement with you. There was an editorial in our paper, here locally this morning in fact about how US Congress has been asleep @ the wheel and hasn't done enough to negate Pres. Bush's infringements of Americans' privacy rights. As far as I'm concerned, why are we over in Iraq, losing our young men & women almost daily in the name of a democracy that day by day, hour by hour has become weakened here on our own soil by the actions of an unfortunate minority who seem to THINK they're doing the right thing.

 

[B_big dirigible]

There was an editorial in our paper, here locally this morning in fact about how US Congress has been asleep @ the wheel and hasn't done enough to negate Pres. Bush's infringements of Americans' privacy rights.

One of his major failings is that he hasn't blocked Congressional attempts to do the same.

 

[DC_DEEP]

...As far as I'm concerned, why are we over in Iraq, losing our young men & women almost daily in the name of a democracy that day by day, hour by hour has become weakened here on our own soil by the actions of an unfortunate minority who seem to THINK they're doing the right thing.

Oh, I can tell you why, very briefly. Our citizenship, as a whole, has an exceptionally short attention span, and is incapable of thinking of more than a couple of issues at one time. You keep changing the focus (Katrina, Iraq, Social Security, Guantanamo, Mexico border, Jack Abramoff, executive order, signing statement, Marriage Amendment, election reform, inflation, petroleum price gouging, wait until tomorrow, we'll have a whole new set) and whatever 3 issues are in the headlines, all others will be forgotten in a couple of days. Change the focus every few days, you'll have them in a dither in no time, totally incapable of making any thoughts or decisions on their own. That's when you move in and dismantle all constitutional and legal protections that the citizens have - and they will thank you for it. After all you ARE keeping them safe from terrorism.

 

[dong20]

I don't know as much about Canadian politics as I should, (the fellows south of the 49th keep me pretty occupied) but sounds like we have some problems in common. You aren't alone. There are at least a few of us here in the USA who are fighting this sort of thing, I'm glad to see that we have some gentle neighbors to the north who are doing the same..

Not to steal your thunder guys but Governmental invasion of privacy is not restricted to the North American continent, despite the apparent belief by a few here that it (and the world) starts and stops there.

We're pretty good at this shit over here in Europe as well I'm sorry to say.

'Legalised' access to Email and Internet records by Government was enacted in the UK years ago. Primarily through the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act 2000, which incidentally also includes regular mail:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000023.htm

The RIP (one day, I hope) Act itself supercedes the Interception of Communications Act 1985 to take account of the Internet etc...decades out? Orwell was spot on!

The problem of overcoming such draconian legisalation is as you rightly say: Overcoming:

1. Denial - My government wouldn't spy one me, it's only doing this for my protection - Sure it is.
2. Ignorance that it even exists - It does.
3. Apathy - won't affect me I'm not a terrorist...It will....one day
4. Paralysis - What can I do? - vote, lobby, 'obsuscate' personal information, encryption (limited but why make it easy)

If a large enough number of motivated people reject and systematically fight a system that system will be defeated. History proves it.

DC your SSN stand was a good example of how the abuse spreads even beyond the rules, infecting all systems we interact with, like a virus. I'm glad you stood up for your rights and got a good result.

Destruction of our way of life as a means to protect it?....is truly a non sequitur of grand order. It is not only idiotic it's almost entirely uneccessary. Yet, as we do so, the 'terrorists' sit back and watch us do that hard part for them, after all, the killing is the easy part.

 

[diego]

This is a serious talking. What the governmment are doing it's just wrong! They can't do that. what i am saying?? Powerful like their are, they can and they do it. But civil people have to fight, make protest. Did you know about poetic terror??? (i dont know if is thre right name in english) . Sometimes i like terror, sometimes violence is necessary. WOW! I am sound like osama! if CIA is reading my messages i am fucked!! Try know more about poetic terrorism

 

[faceking]

If you haven't done anything wrong.... then what's the problem?

You aren't, um, breaking the law are you?

Should the crime be by committing it, or getting caught? (don't answer that if you are actually a teenager).

 

[dong20]

If you haven't done anything wrong.... then what's the problem?

You aren't, um, breaking the law are you?

Should the crime be by committing it, or getting caught? (don't answer that if you are actually a teenager).

And you accused me of missing the point. :biggrin1:

You post your last 500 emails and a months internet history and phone call transcripts here, and we'll let you know if we think you're a threat to national security....after all you have nothing to hide, do you?

 

[SpeedoGuy]

Like I've said in a few other posts...

Just wait until a sufficient number of middle class white guys are asked to explain their magazine subscriptions, their web viewing habits. their video collections or their Viagra purchases before the local Department of Homeland Security Citizenship Review Board. Then we'll see some kickback against big brother's prying eyes.

 

[10.5andproudofit]

i worry about our brothers and sisters in the great white north. im in ny relatively close to the border so once in a while we get some filter down from you guys. (i'll admit it since the dollar went in the tank canadians have really helped the economy in a lot of upstate)

sometimes i fear you guys drift a bit too far for your own good, and i really don't think that some of the legislation that passes really has the majority of canada behind it. (not that our system is better) but i really feel like you guys get fuck'd doubly sometimes.

 

[JustAsking]

If you haven't done anything wrong.... then what's the problem?

You aren't, um, breaking the law are you?

Should the crime be by committing it, or getting caught? (don't answer that if you are actually a teenager).

Faceking, why do you hate America so much?

 

[madame_zora]

Faceking, why do you hate America so much?

Comprehension and reading level:

Well-designed materials provide information that is easy for audience members to understand and to relate to their own interests and needs. Research tells us that to communicate effectively with a general audience in the U.S., we need to write at a 6th-8th grade reading level.
1992
The National Adult Literacy Survey, National Center for Education Statistics
Nearly 50% of the Americans surveyed cannot read well enough to find a single piece of information in a short publication, nor can they make low level inferences based on what they read
1993
The National Adult Literacy Survey, Educational Testing Service
75% of adult Americans with chronic health conditions scored in the lowest two literacy levels assessed
1994
Pediatrics, 3-94
The average reading level of American parents of young children is 7th or 8th grade, but 80% of pediatric materials for parents are written at the 10th grade level or above
1995
Emory University/UCLA study, reported in JAMA, 12-95
41.6% of American patients could not comprehend directions for taking medication on an empty stomach
26% were unable to understand information regarding when their next appointment was scheduled
50.5% could not understand a standard informed consent form
1996
"Physical Assessment: The Pharmacist and the Self-medicating Patient," Drug Newsletter
About 20% of the US population are functionally illiterate; for some subsets of our population, that rises to 40%.
1999
Education levels in the U.S.
About one in every four Americans (25%) is a high school dropout
About half (45%) have gone to college for some period of time, but fewer than one in six (15%) have a college degree



Writing to increase comprehension doesn't mean, "dumbing down" the information, it means writing as clearly and accessibly as you can. Comprehension is greatest with materials that are written at least two grade levels lower than the education level of the audience. For complex information, and for information that can be expected to cause an emotional response, writing at more easily comprehended reading levels is more effective.

STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING COMPREHENSION Strategies in materials targeted to the general public

Examples
Keep sentences short. Sentence length is the single greatest factor affecting comprehension.
Grade level 5-8: Families often find it hard to follow treatment recommendations. They are short of time. They may also doubt their skills.
Grade level >12.0: Adhering to treatment recommendations is often fraught with difficulties, for families have a multitude of scheduling commitments, and may also be highly insecure about their abilities.
Avoid jargon.
New Rules of Healthcare Marketing (1998) recommends:
For -- Use
morbidity -- sickness
mortality -- death
outcomes data -- our experience shows
continuum of care -- our many resources
customer-centered care -- keeping the focus on the customer
healthcare system partnership -- program
Avoid: gatekeeper, access, paradigm
Design your message around the needs and experiences of your audience.
Do your research before you begin brainstorming about your materials
Use terminology that is familiar to your audience.
Key considerations: Gender, age, education, emotional status, economic status, literacy
Write to inform rather than impress.
Hyperfloridity is an egregious offender in the obfuscation of organizational communication. Right?
Use the active voice.





Avoid the passive voice.
Use active voice, so that the subject of the sentence acts:
Leigh opened the book.
FAS caused Tony's learning disability. His parents contacted UHS to discuss assistive technology.

Avoid passive voice, with the subject of the sentence being acted upon:
The book was opened by Leigh.
Tony's learning disability was caused by FAS. UHS was contacted by his parents; a discussion of assistive technology was desired.
Use 1st or 2nd person:
First person: I, we (speaker)
2nd person: you (spoken to)
Avoid:
3rd person: he, she, it , they (spoken of)
Use:
1st: At UHS, we know that staff members are caring as well as highly skilled.
2nd: At UHS, you know that staff members are caring as well as highly skilled.
Avoid:
3rd: At UHS, one knows that staff members are caring as well as highly skilled.
Use simple declarative sentences most frequently, while varying sentence structure as needed to maintain interest of reader.
Simple declarative = subject verb object
/ / /
The team membersmet the parents.
Express statements in positive form.
Yes: More than 50% of the patients reported a satisfactory outcome.
No: Less than 50% of the patients were not happy with the outcomes.
Use carefully chosen verbs; avoid overuse of modifiers.
Yes: The communication device helped this child learn.
[F-K reading level: 6.7]
No: The utilization of a high-tech communication device was decidedly beneficial to the learning process for this child.
[F-K reading level: >12]

 

[SpeedoGuy]

1999
Education levels in the U.S.
About one in every four Americans (25%) is a high school dropout
About half (45%) have gone to college for some period of time, but fewer than one in six (15%) have a college degree

Yah, yah, whatever, mz.

What young American guy is going to aspire to spending his evenings and weekends studying in a library when everything in pop culture tells him he should be shooting hoops, busting heads or roaring around on a Harley?

What young American lady is going spend her valuable time in a boring old classroom when she could be shopping at the mall, listening to her ipod or chatting on her cell phone?

Say, when's the next round of "American Idol" going to begin?

 

[B_Stronzo]

Yah, yah, whatever, mz.

What young American guy is going to aspire to spending his evenings and weekends studying in a library when everything in pop culture tells him he should be shooting hoops, busting heads or roaring around on a Harley?

This is a revelation. I dunno SpeedoGuy (maybe it's the gay in me... ) but I was never tempted by pop culture to any immense degree. Also, I was raised around other guys who weren't consumed with the innate mediocrity of the things to which you refer.

What young American lady is going spend her valuable time in a boring old classroom when she could be shopping at the mall, listening to her ipod or chatting on her cell phone?

One of substance. They still exist you know. You underestimate the women and men of this world. I maintain they're not all vapid little morons.

Wait! One got into the Oval Office. The country's simply having a brain fart I'm sure of it.

Say, when's the next round of "American Idol" going to begin?

Haven't a clue. I've never seen it.

 

[jakeatolla]

The new government in Canada is brining back some legislation that had died before the election. They want to give police access to all of our Internet activities. It may just be me, but that is the equivalent of opening my mail and searching my house whenever they want without a search warrant. My banking info, which stocks I own, which friends I keep, which names I use (Dolf250 is not my name) right down to my political ideologies would be visible at the click of their mouse. It scares the hell out of me. And worse yet, Bell has already decided as of yesterday that they will give law enforcement and government agencies access to their customers accounts (likely in preparation for the future.)

Actually Bell has said that they will only give access
if the police have a legitimate Search Warrant.

 

[dong20]

Actually Bell has said that they will only give access
if the police have a legitimate Search Warrant.

Well, that's ok then, now you can rest easy. :tongue:

 

[dong20]

This is a revelation. I dunno SpeedoGuy (maybe it's the gay in me... ) but I was never tempted by pop culture to any immense degree. Also, I was raised around other guys who weren't consumed with the innate mediocrity of the things to which you refer.

I think it's called having a mind of ones own and, more importantly; using it. I didn't really follow 'pop culture' either. I still don't and it's largely because of the expectation that I should. But then I always was a contrary SOB.

Remember, us heteros have minds too :tongue: though mine is seldom what it once was and may never be what it could be.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

This is a revelation. I dunno SpeedoGuy (maybe it's the gay in me... ) but I was never tempted by pop culture to any immense degree. Also, I was raised around other guys who weren't consumed with the innate mediocrity of the things to which you refer.

I failed to make it clear I was being facetious in those comments.

I've never been tempted much by the banality and lowbrowism of pop culture. Even when I was a teenager I was my own man with my own tastes (and, believe me, I was made to pay for it). But, regardless, I'm still amazed and disappointed at how many people are immersed in the world of the boob tube and other trivial phoniness. Just last night I was at a bar where everyone within earshot was droning on and on about, you guessed it, popular TV shows including American Idol. Depressing.

You underestimate the women and men of this world. I maintain they're not all vapid little morons.

I hope you are right. I guess that why I spend more time here at LPSG than in front of the boob tube.

cheers