Prefatory Note Given the subject matter discussed below, I believe it prudent to state at the outset that I am not at all opposed to vaccinations themselves: indeed, I have received a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as all other normal-course vaccinations recommended for someone my age. Yet there are, it seems to me, interesting, difficult questions surrounding the state’s role in promoting or mandating vaccines. The goal here is to start a conversation not about the effectiveness of vaccines, but about the individual’s sphere of autonomy and what kinds of medical decisions are within it, and...
data
WATCH: Dozens of NYPD Remove Child Without Vaccine Passport from Restaurant
As TFTP reported, earlier this month, New York mayor Bill de Blasio expanded the already-tyrannical “Key to NYC” program which imposed a vaccination mandate for workers and customers at indoor dining, fitness, entertainment and performance venues. Anyone who wished to enter a public place would first be required to give that place a glimpse into their personal medical records by providing proof that they had taken a covid-19 vaccination. Beginning last week, this discriminatory and unscientific practice was expanded to include children, ages 5-11, who are now also forced to show proof of...
Your Data For Sale – Who’s Buying?
There are 160 apps on my phone. What they’re actually doing, I don’t know. But I decided to find out. I have a feeling these apps are spying on me. Well, not listening in, but that they’re keeping track of where I am at all times. That my every move is shared on. When I am shopping for groceries, having a drink, or hanging out with friends. I know there are those that buy and sell such information. How are they tracking us, and what do they want with our data? To try to get to the bottom of this, I started an experiment in February. I installed lots of apps on a spare phone. I would then...
Silence
Waiting for all the Russiagate kooks to start crying about "obstruction of justice" in the case of all the Mueller men wiping their phones. Hey, Russia, if you're reading this, there's a bunch of missing phone data out there somewhere that Wikileaks.org would be happy to publish, I...
How to Misuse Global COVID-19 Statistics
Have you heard about Somalia's COVID-19 policy? In the official statistics, Somalia has just 3,362 confirmed infections and 97 confirmed deaths from COVID-19. On a per capita basis, the country has a death toll just barely above New Zealand, and below other widely reported success stories like South Korea, Japan, Norway, Germany, etc. Yet, my guess is you probably have not heard much about how Somalia defeated the coronavirus. Why is that? The reason is that, implicitly, no one thinks Somalia's statistics reflect the underlying reality. Still the recurring target of US drone strikes and...
Three Ways Not To Analyze COVID-19 Statistics
The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns continue to cause unprecedented devastation of everyday life in the United States--approximately 100,000 deaths, tens of millions unemployed, and countless plans, activities, and goals put on an indefinite hold. In this context, news outlets, politicians, and consumers are closely following the trends in the COVID-19 statistics, trying to answer the most pressing questions. Are things getting better or worse in the US? Have we succeeded in the flattening the curve? Are the reopened states seeing a surge in new cases that many have feared? These are...
Using Bad Math, Media Claims No State Has Met the Reopening Guidelines on New Cases
As the debate over lifting the lockdowns in the US intensifies, key data points on testing and infections are routinely mischaracterized. Consider this summary from Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday on May 3: As we said, about half the states -- more than half the states have started in some way, shape, or form, reopening. But we've crunched the numbers, Doctor, and not a single state has met the White House gating guidelines of two weeks of steady decline in new cases. It's not just Fox News that is describing the data in this way. Here's how NBC News reported it on April 28: As a handful...
The Future is Facebook
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new "digital living room" where you can have more "intimate conversations" and I promise (this time I really mean it) we won't be harvesting your data. and war is peace, slavery is freedom, ignorance is strength
Use of Facial Recognition in Airports Draws Anger
Eoin Higgins at Common Dreams: We're basically capturing that picture at the boarding gate, providing it to U.S. Customs and Border Protection," said Farrell. "They're identifying the traveler." "It's actually the U.S. government that's implementing the biometric matching system that does all the hard analysis and crunching of the data," Farrell added." Oh, I thought this was another evil corporation behind this. Now that I know the government is involved I'm OK with it. After all, what do I have to hide. I'm sure the're doing it for our safety....
2/15/17 George Joseph on the cell phone spying tools being used by American police departments
George Joseph, an editorial fellow at CityLab, discusses the widespread use of powerful cell phone interception and extraction equipment by police departments, and their collection of phone location data and even the content of texts and calls with devices like "Stingrays" and "Dirtboxes" that vacuum up private information and don't discriminate between suspected criminals and ordinary people.