Is there a diff when it comes to your privacy?
Wired’s Jennifer Granick has a chilling editorial on what a new decision out of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts on cell-phone records means for you: law enforcement can now gain access to the record of where you’ve taken your cellphone, because “stored data” doesn’t get the same privacy protection that “live data” does…
Police can retroactively bug your phone for your breadcrumb trail - Boing Boing
Worth the read:
In recent weeks, a theme has been emerging to me as I experience life here in Northeast, Ohio — have we completely forgotten about our heritage as a “free” people? Have we become so lazy a citizenry that we’ve abdicated our responsibility to stand up for our constitutional rights; or to even understand what they are and why they are important? I’m beginning to think we have, and it’s starting to tick me off…
Glad to have Roger’s analytical reasoning as part of the Meet.The.Bloggers* network of blogs.
Cleveland Equanimous Philosopher: When Did We Become So Complacent About Our Constitutional Rights?
Hope to hear more stories like these, so, as Chas Rich says, the “victors” can’t write only their side:
Tuesday, July 24th I received an invitation to attend a meeting at Gypsy Beans and Baking Company. I went. I think it may have changed my life. I thought I was through with my days of political activism. Turned out I was wrong. When I went, I did not know the reason for the meeting other than it had something to do with the last public hearing about the convention center/medical mart. Turned out PutItOnTheBallot.com was born that day.
A group of activists and others were concerned that the commissioners were bent on adding 1/4% sales tax to our state tax without a vote…
Apologies to Gloria for the long excerpt, but she raises plenty of good questions about the democratic process in our city:
First, we heard that several people had recieved nasty emails about the initiative and that they should think twice about helping us. Then, we heard that a few people were told that they should stick to what their job was and to not worry about this issue of “the right to vote”. Then, we ventured on over to the Burning River Fest, and as we entered the park, we received a flyer telling people not to sign our petition and that we were not to be believed because it wasn’t about the right to vote, it was to ruin our chances for a medical mart. I didn’t read the rest of it because I was too angry from reading the first little bit.
And, this is why I was so angry. I can tell you for a fact that that is not a true statement because I was at the meeting where fourteen people debated the medical mart issue, the convention center, the use of the tax increase, corruption in government and many other topics before we settled on the one topic that had brought us to the table in the first place–THE RIGHT TO VOTE TO RAISE OUR TAXES. We are all ages, all sides of the county, all political parties, you name it and I can point you to someone who meets those criteria. We knew that we needed to focus on the one issue that we all agreed and that was http://putitontheballot.com. So, to the Tower City employee passing out the literature: You are all wet.
Now back to freedom of speech. Yesterday, we were met with phrases that disturb me greatly. “I don’t think I should sign because I am a County employee”. “I don’t sign anything like that because who knows who sees it”. “I don’t think that the voters of Cuyahoga County should have the right to vote on this issue.” “Yes, I believe in the right to vote but the medical mart is more important”. “I need to know more about the issue before I sign anything”. The issue is the Right to Vote to Raise Your Taxes. How much research is needed before we will have lost that freedom?
Where are we when people are afraid for their jobs if they sign a petition? Where are we when people are afraid if they sign it will jeopradize funding? Where are we when people believe that things shouldn’t be on the ballot because voters aren’t educated enough to make decisions? Where are we when people stand across a parking lot and take pictures of people holding petitions that contain language about a basic right–the right to vote? Where are we when legal teams debate whether or not you will be allowed to circulate petitions…?
Seems like someone is playing for keeps and wants to play dirty too. Please add your comments.
Gloria Ferris » Blog Archive » Is Freedom of Speech At Risk Here?
From the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal:
SAN JUAN DEL SUR, Nicaragua — Eric Volz saw himself as a bridge between American baby boomers looking for beachside dream homes and local families of fishermen and laborers in this languid Pacific village. A surfer turned real-estate broker, Mr. Volz, 27 years old, published a bilingual magazine called El Puente — literally, The Bridge.
But now he’s tumbled deep into Nicaragua’s cultural divide. Mr. Volz is a few weeks into a 30-year sentence for allegedly killing his girlfriend, a ruling he says is ludicrous and he is appealing. Several eyewitnesses said he was in another town at the time …
WSJ 3/19/07: Romance, a Murder And an American In Nicaraguan Jail (Subscription required for full text)
An article from yesterday’s Tennessean:
Since then, she and her family have found themselves in an international nightmare that has landed her son, Eric Volz, in a Nicaraguan prison for 30 years for a murder they say he didn’t commit.
The case has become a tabloid sensation in the Central American country, left the family broke and desperately seeking his release through lobbying members of Congress and other officials in Washington — while also appealing the case through the Nicaraguan courts.
Tennessean.com 3/18/07: From Nashville to Nicaragua, family fights to free son
To learn more, stay up to date and/or to help out through a donation to his defense fund please visit http://www.myspace.com/freeericvolz and http://www.friendsofericvolz.com.
