Faaaayyyyccceeeebuuuuhhhhkkkkk

This is another filler post until I'm less angry about everything.

Everyone knows or has heard of this site called Facebook. It's MySpace all grown-up; social networking with all the restrictions and computerized moderation that that immature upstart doesn't have.

MySpace is like the local pub where all the kids hang out and pitchers are 5$. Facebook is the snooty afterhours club that charges 25$ cover and has two angry Russian bouncers.

Anyway, I spent the 15-20 minutes it takes to look over the Facebook Privacy Policy, since nobody has as empty and dull of a life as I do, therefore skipping reading website privacy polices.

Here are some highlights I dug up that I wish to share to those of you who choose to use Facebook. Pay attention.

Excerpt One:

By default, we [Facebook] use a persistent cookie that stores your login ID (but not your password) to make it easier for you to login when you come back to Facebook. You can remove or block this cookie using the settings in your browser if you want to disable this convenience feature.

Ok, so that's not terrible. In fact, I'm sure most users find it convenient. But consider this: the lion's share of Facebook's users and core audience are college students. College students have a habit of using public, shared labs with public, shared internet terminals (except the rich kids with their MacBooks). Those terminals are already bad enough in that most of them don't log you out automatically should you forget to do so.

In general, sensitive internet work like online banking and such should not be done on publicly-accessible terminals at all.

So by default, keeping your login ID (which inconveniently is your e-mail address) stored in the little box lets the next user know a key piece of information. Facebook says if you don't like it, change the browser settings. Yeah, try that on any college computer and you'll get a big fat "Administrator priviliges" warning. Moving on... Excerpt Two:

Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (e.g., photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience.

This little idea reoccurs a number of times in the privacy policy. I'd probably have to send an e-mail to them or talk to my lawyer to know exactly what they mean by this, but like, ain't it sort of creepy that a website tells you that it might essentially wanna cyberstalk you?
Excerpt Three:

By using Facebook, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.

Self-explanatory. Caveat emptor, my Iranian and North Korean comrades. Excerpt Four:

Facebook may use information in your profile without identifying you as an individual to third parties. We do this for purposes such as aggregating how many people in a network like a band or movie and personalizing advertisements and promotions so that we can provide you Facebook. We believe this benefits you. You can know more about the world around you and, where there are advertisements, they're more likely to be interesting to you.

Oh God. "We believe this benefits you?" "You can know more about the world around you?" That's some f_ucked up stuff. I'm glad a corporation now owned partially by Microsoft believes that them making money off of selling my personal information is good for me. En plus, it will teach me about the world around me. That just sounds like a self-help video for autistic kids. Anyway, just to put this in perspective, pretty much every site does this. Including of course, Google. Then again, understand that Google doesn't ask you your full date of birth (publicly available on a lot of Facebook profiles) and Home/Mobile phone numbers, and other strange things.

Excerpt Five:

If you, your friends, or members of your network use any third-party applications developed using the Facebook Platform ("Platform Applications"), those Platform Applications may access and share certain information about you with others in accordance with your privacy settings.

This one here's the real concern. All those terrible, highly repugnant apps that people pollute their profiles with (iLike, SuperWall, Graffiti, Zombies, EatMyDick etc.) are made by other companies aside from Facebook. For every user too careless to pick through their privacy settings (and there's a hell of a lot), a ton of companies and strange folk may be getting access to personal information about you, and doing God-Knows-What with it. And let me tell you, some of those companies may not be as friendly and smiley as Facebook.

Bonus Excerpt:

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at privacy@facebook.com . You may also contact us by mail at 156 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301.

So, now you know. You're all adults hopefully reading this blog so make up your own minds next time one of your buddies asks you "Hey, you heard about this Facebook thing? Yea, everybody's on it........"

=//Turnquest

The Question of Iran

There's been a recent surge (no pun intended) of chatter in the mainstream media concerning a possible invasion/air-strike/surgical bombing of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The thought has been buzzing around in the background of policy circles in Washington (and Tel Aviv for that matter) for a while, certainly at least since W's State of the Union address on January 29, 2002 where he made his infamous "axis-of-evil" remark.

Of course, nowadays we can joke about that strange, aberrant era, the time of W and neo-cons, of the "war against terror," "orange alerts" and "dirty bombs." And though we still have with us some of the proponents of pre-emptive strikes and jingoism like Coulter, Rush and Mike Evans, other more temperate voices like Gore, Olbermann and Carter have risen to reclaim territory in the public sphere. The far-right is on the retreat.

Need more proof? Go and take a look at the candidates for the 2008 Presidential race. Not one of the at least 5 supposed frontrunners on the GOP side has broken through as a clear winner yet. All bets are off. Average Republicans are splintered in their choice to back a candidate and a considerable percentage have yet to declare their allegiance to anyone.

Left-wing or right, looking at the GOP and Democratic debates, it's two totally different worldviews. One side seems stuck on the September 12, 2001 mentality of "gotta find those terrrorists, smoke 'em out, get those varmints on the run, gotta defend America." The other is making once-taboo topics like universal health care, diplomacy and multilateralism, ending the occupation of Iraq and seriously fighting global warming the centre of political discussion. On the ground, in the small towns, in the living rooms of America, the people are not worrying about an invisible invasion of bearded Muslamo-Nazi goons. They care about their kids going to a good school, about being paid fairly for their hard work and about building a decent savings for retirement. Come to think of it, that doesn't sound too different from what most Iranians, Iraqis or anyone else wants.

So why so much Iran-this, Iran-that talk? Honestly, it's pretty simple. War talk hijacks the debate. It is a red herring, as they say in fiction. A random, false lead that interrupts the story and sends the pursuer of truth down the wrong path. It halts the relentless tide of progress and all of a sudden, we find ourselves back in 2002 talking about WMDs and the imminent threat of Iraq and Saddam.

It irks me greatly that so many of America's supposedly finest journalists and politicians continue to confuse the two distinct nations of Iraq and Iran. I shudder to think if we start mixing up the two Koreas, or Australia and Austria, or Israel and Palestine.

The W age is fast coming to a close. Some lefties say it's already done, that anything W says is irrelevant and a joke and that no-one trusts him anymore anyway. His approval ratings have been slumming around in the record-lows for more than a year. A popularly-supported military offensive by the U.S. or its surrogate instrument Israel is unthinkable now. The move has no support amongst regular people, moderate politicians nor, most importantly, with rank-and-file military commanders.

The worst part about this whole sideshow is that while we waste newspaper and website space on empty Iran talk, the blood of the children of Iraq still spills every day.

Iraq (with a *q*) is the real issue, and has been, for four, going on five, long years. May God have mercy on those suffering people.

=//Turnquest

Invisible Blog

This post is for all those kind souls who care to visit this site without prodding or personal acquaintance with myself. It's early morning/late night April 21. I finished my last exam yesterday, so school's out for the summer. No, I'm not going to endure a month of summer classes in this town for half a credit. The current song on iTunes is a Spritualized track called "Don't Just Do Something" off their album Let it Come Down.

I contemplate ways of attracting more hits to this blog, without outright paid advertising. I would imagine this means active scouring of other blogs and message boards, trying to drum up support. Such a campaign would require active commitment. What if I turn it into a kind of sex blog with like detailed descriptions and erotica? Y'know, in addition to the geopolitical ego-driven Islamist analysis...

Plans for the summer include shooting and cutting this movie of mine called "Delivery" in MTL. We have some talented people and unique personalities working on it so it should come out alright. As well, finding a decent temporary place to reside would be beneficial. Finding a job is usually only a time-consuming activity, but certainly not an impossible one.

En plus, shall I tell the one how I feel about her? Oh the mid-90s Bollywood dilemma.

This roommate of mine is a cursed individual. I strongly feel he is cheating on his wife, who lives in Ghana. We share badlooks on any of the rare occasions we make eye contact. Talking or engaging in conversation is non-existant, except when there is the business of the bills or I am not using headphones or when my voice is "too high" while on the phone.

The tax return came, funding my immediate future.

There is no 24 hour delivery place in this town, an inconvenient problem.

There's a new Chuck Palahniuk book coming called "RANT" that sounds damn fine. I personally recommend "Diary," "Survivor," and "Choke," those being the ones I've read. No, "Fight Club" doesn't count, that one I'm sure you've already read, twice, and have it sitting on your bookshelf to impress people. I think I'll buy that this summer, along with "Deathly Hallows." Because I must find out what happens, who dies, who hooks up and what new spells and crazy duels that old bat pulls out.

I want to watch "Zodiac" again, because I can't stop thinking about nice-looking, well-paced, low-key, tense, oddly funny and sharp it all was.

I suppose I should get crackin' on that script of Detainee 063. It needs a new layer of subtext and a new subplot or diversion somewhere around the 60 page mark; not a twist, just something that makes it stick with you and so it doesn't become "that CIA torture movie." How about a fake allibi and intricate story that sends the interrogators off on some chase only to find out it's all some bullshit? Mmm...

Oh, considering we just passed 4/20, here's a link for those interested:

http://www.webehigh.com/

=//Turnquest