The Red Brick Times

"For most of human history, people have lived in small tribes where everything they did was known by everyone they knew," Dr. Malone said. "In some sense we're becoming a global village. Privacy may turn out to have become an anomaly."
Posted 4:41 AM by whatley (2) comments

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[abstracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy]
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively. The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures and individuals, but share basic common themes. Privacy is sometimes related to anonymity, the wish to remain unnoticed or unidentified in the public realm.

Privacy uses the theory of natural rights.There have been attempts to reframe privacy as a fundamental human right, whose social value is an essential component in the functioning of democratic societies.Priscilla Regan [Dr. Regan is a Professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University]... supports a social value of privacy with three dimensions: shared perceptions, public values, and collective components. Shared ideas about privacy allows freedom of conscience and diversity in thought. Public values guarantee democratic participation, including freedoms of speech and association, and limits government power. Collective elements describe privacy as collective good that cannot be divided.

[from http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&s=privacy&h=00&j=0#c]
Noun

* S: (n) privacy (the quality of being secluded from the presence or view of others)
* S: (n) privacy (the condition of being concealed or hidden)

Question: at what point does the right of individual privacy supercede the collective right to insure social cohesion through conformance to behavioral norms?

Is the substance of social organization and the exchange of protective rights undermined by extreme application of individual privacy? Do we, the collective, have an equal right to know when person(s) are behaving in ways outside the norm. Is that collective right limited only to those actions that can be legimately viewed as violating the 'natural rights' of others.

I worry when the standard is legal versus ethical. Law is the social construct that defines the least acceptable behavior and while much more easier to objectify it also lowers the standard of conduct.

# posted by  jeichenlaub : November 30, 2008 12:32 PM
 
The older I have become, the fewer fences of social normalcy I wish to publically jump. Although in the larger scheme of sociopathic venality and mendacity I probably have nothing to hide, my furtive, darting need for selective revelation springs from fear. The few little bits of my life that I can manipulate within the walls of my mind I want to keep clutched to my chest, hidden from the bottomless public maw of drooling hunger for private details about others. Reality TV stuns me to my toes by portraying the worst of human traits planted in a tropical hothouse of selfishness and greed. Even troops of gibbons have more dependable social structures. Not only am I anti-entertained, I cringe, I shudder, I flinch and feel nauseated by these strip shows of ugly obscenity more prurient than any mechanical or pandering celluloid procreative act. The animal rage on the faces of my fellow motorists when imaginary space is violated also scares me beyond normal limits, partly because I have felt it myself and have been ashamed afterward. What is our optimal density? How much space do we need before we turn and eat each other like rats on a pogrom? No doubt about it. The worse things get, the more suspicious, furtive eyes peer through the dark fog, seeking advantage and slights, real or imagined. Woe. Woe, for winter is apon us and its teeth are cold.

# posted by  Andy : December 01, 2008 9:25 AM
 
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Posted 6:48 AM by whatley (1) comments

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Makes me wonder if we shouldn't have listened to Ben Franklin and made our national bird a turkey. Although the 'toon' looks a lot more like pork.

Happy Thanksgiving ...

# posted by  jeichenlaub : November 27, 2008 7:52 PM
 
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How do you get bailout money? You prime the pump baby!

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, in the past year alone "DaimlerChrysler has spent $5.3 million on federal lobbying, GM has spent $10 million and Ford has spent $5.8 million." The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, meanwhile, has forked over nearly $5 million in lobbying fees.

Posted 5:04 AM by whatley (3) comments

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Considering the execs 'warm' response I think I'd be calling my friendly lobbyist and ask for a refund.

# posted by  jeichenlaub : November 22, 2008 12:10 AM
 
That was all for show. In the end they'll get what they want (and keep their $10mil/yr salary + bonus).

# posted by  whatley : November 22, 2008 7:51 AM
 
The presidential election was totally lobbying. Lobbying = advertising. Machiavelli's "The Prince" is still studied in business school as a handbook for influence peddling.

# posted by  Andy : November 22, 2008 9:12 AM
 
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If you're going to Washington to beg for billions of dollars to save your cash strapped company you should probably set a good example by flying coach. Or not.
Posted 3:36 PM by whatley (1) comments

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Its true. They really, really don't get it. All the interaction I ever had upwards in the automotive world left me floundering and confused. Delusional is the best description. I was always taken to task for being "unrealistic" or for having poor judgment when I tried to confront practices that hurt the business from an end customer perspective. The financial, short-term and administrative goals always trumped the agenda. As a lowly engineer, I once had my job threatened by the assistant plant manager with my silent supervisor and several other managers looking on when I tried to point out how one of our assembly practices was damaging a supplier's part. I was supposed to beat up the supplier to solve the problem and get the most leverage for the plant out of the situation. But when I elevated a dealership's problem in getting service support in the wake of hurricane Katrina, I exceeded the tolerance of, not just an assistant plant manager, but a director, one hungry for the next step, vice presidency, and who felt embarrassed by my pointing out a hole in the organization that happened to be in a time and place that the world was watching closely. Even that may not have been bad enough, except that one of his director peers took the opportunity to slip the shiv to him over the issue, thereby costing him internal political capital and embarrassment. Intolerable! So when the next round of involuntary separations coincided with a directive to reduce costs and work positions, my job was neatly eliminated, with no direct link to my uncorporatelike, disrespectful and pragmatic (to borrow a presidential elect descriptor) attitude. There is no room for pragmatic, simple, direct or effective action in the automotive industry. Every action must be so insulated and layered that no criticism or analysis or backlash can penetrate. Not just plausible deniability, but "who, me?"-ability to the ultimate degree. They may all go down, but it will be the American Consumer's fault for daring to doubt and question the management's god-like judgement and far-sighted vision of The Way Things Will Be. Truly so removed from reality that only evisceration will serve. And woe unto us for being so deeply in automotive's debt for the money that still keeps beer in the icebox and plasma screens flickering far into the economically chilling night.

# posted by  Andy : November 20, 2008 7:05 AM
 
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Are you concerned about the bailouts and what may lie ahead for us all? No? Then don't read this.

Feeling left out bailout-wise? Here ya go.
Posted 5:16 AM by whatley (0) comments

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Here's a site I've spent some time on lately: The Dog Food Project. Because I'm lazy (and that's on my good days) I expected a site like this to tell me what brands are good and what brands are not and that'd be an end to it. No such luck. This author just gives you the (birds eye) lowdown on how to read package information and from that point on you have to figure it out for yourself. At first I was irritated by that approach. "Hey, c'mon, make it easy," sez I, but then realized that on this site no way was that gonna happen and got into the spirit of the thing. Ya gotta do the work. Educate yourself then go be a conscientious consumer. I've been feeding Niki what I thought was a very high quality food but, after bouncing around here, maybe I can do better for her.

And just in case I find a better food (and, let me guess, it'll cost a bit more) here's how I can make up the difference: Hillbilly Housewife (.com). Nice!
Posted 4:49 PM by whatley (0) comments

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My understanding is that Social Security recipients will be getting a small increase in their monthly payments after the first of the year. Also after the first automatic deductions for Medicare part B (a required program that entails a monthly payment) will go up. Sort of a catch 22. The right hand giveth, the left hand taketh away. Compare this to the bank bailouts where the right hand giveth (WAY over the $700 billion we're told about) and the left hand secretly giveth more. Fucking unbelievable.
Posted 4:24 AM by whatley (3) comments

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Remember how AIG was criticized for spending $100's of thousands of bailout money at a posh California spa? They learned from that experience. Kind of.

# posted by  whatley : November 11, 2008 4:27 AM
 
The Free Island Republic of Bob is looking really, really good right now. The dark side of the capitalism force is living in all the financial and insurance and automotive and oil and, well, every huge business struggling for the involuntary "loan" that we little people, through our taxes, have put up, courtesy of our elected attorneys in Congress. As we fight to keep our own lights on, graft (I mean, taxes) paid, and edible food in hand, a mob of businesses are clawing all over each other like a king of the hill scramble, to grab golden pork chops. How will this change the practices that landed them in the soup? How will they survive once the cash IV bottle is empty and they are booted out of the hospital? I fear that the final gasp practices of the Bush administration will hamstring us for a generation and will yield results that block the necessary fundamental change of our government and our business practices. Smaller and more flexible have been buzzwords in business for two decades, but the legacy of military-style management that we inherited from WWII is dying a bloody slow death. The financial bail-outs that seem to be the only tool available to the poorly-trained mechanics in congress may block healthy growth for some time to come.

# posted by  Andy : November 11, 2008 7:09 AM
 
I've decided that the capital markets invented a whole pantload of fantasy wealth and used it as leverage to acquire the real stuff that the rest of us actually made then screamed in horror when the little dog pulled back the curtain revealing the fantasy wealth to be a bad acid trip and are now insisting that another picture of money be painted so they can justify keeping the stuff. So they have commissioned Henry "Jackson Pollack" Paulson and his sidekick Ben "Kandinski" Bernanke to do the job and then sell it to the rest of us boobs as a work of art that will make our lives better. And we aspiring intellectuals will stand around cooing and nodding to give the impression that we understand what it is the artist is trying to convey when in fact its abstract art and even the artist doesn't have a clue what it means. Of course they will keep the stuff they traded the painting for and everyone else gets to think they are cool for having the balls to outwit us while turning our attention, once again, to figuring out an angle to get in on the action.

As Bobby Burns said in A Man's A Man " . . . dare be poor . . ."

# posted by  A. O. : November 11, 2008 11:36 AM
 
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Well all right! And, in related news, maybe there is a god.
Posted 4:24 AM by whatley (3) comments

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I must admit that I went to bed (early) and dreamed of waking up to see a clean sweep by Obama (sugar plums dancing in my head). Silly I know but hey, dreams are. At leasr Ohio didn't embarrass itself this time.

In the state races my only disappointment was that the Ohio Supreme Court stayed 100% Republican. Two very good Democratic challengers to the incumbents both lost. Bummer.

# posted by  whatley : November 05, 2008 5:42 AM
 
Tralalalalala.

# posted by  whatley : November 06, 2008 3:43 AM
 
Oh ye of little faith. Americans were duped twice, not something that they are inclined to let pass easily. Current counts: Poplar Vote 53% - 45%, biggest margin since '64. Electoral college 364-174.... landslide !! I was in bed by 11:30. It smoke cleared and the fat lady sang at 11:01 PM EDT !!! Now the fun starts, turning back 14 years of revision crap.

# posted by  jeichenlaub : November 07, 2008 9:58 PM
 
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The score today (so far): Two McCain robocalls, Two Obama robocalls and (just now) an Obama house call. Please God, make it all stop.
Posted 4:33 PM by whatley (1) comments

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I've been getting a couple a day Republican messages from various celebrities, and got three Obama importunations yesterday alone. One more day. Just one more day. Then the 22-month-long nightmare will be over. I hope. Or eight more years. We need to recreate the "Free Island Republic of Bob."

# posted by  Andy : November 03, 2008 6:18 AM
 
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