GPS Privacy Issues

SAN FRANCISCO – Yasir Afifi, a 20-year-old community college student., took his car for an oil change and his mechanic spotted an odd wire hanging from the undercarriage.
The wire was attached to a strange magnetic device that puzzled Afifi and the mechanic. They freed it from the car and posted images of it online, asking for help in identifying it.Two days later, FBI agents arrived at Afifi's apartment and demanded the return of their property. A GPS tracking device now at the center of a raging legal debate over privacy rights.
"By holding that this kind of surveillance doesn't impair an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy, the panel hands the government the power to track the movements of every one of us, every day of our lives," wrote Alex Kozinski, the chief judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel from his court ruled that search warrants weren't necessary for GPS Tracking.

Law enforcement advocates for the devices say GPS can eliminate time-consuming stakeouts with unmarked police cars.

Facebook for Rainbows

Facebook has been conflicting over hatrid  groups and posts since the beginning of social networking. Here on focused on the case of anti-gay groups on facebook. Incredibly enough, it appears to be that this so called cyber-bullying has been a cause for suicide between teens. Facebook has started action by prohibiting hateful content and also implies systems in place to take down such posts as soon as possible. But the company also said it wants its users to be able to express unpopular opinions and as such must strike a careful balance between removing harmful content and letting people speak freely.
"Facebook has taken an important first step in making social media a place where anti-gay violence is not allowed," said Jarrett Barrios, president of GLAAD

choo choo train!

Swiss inch toward world's longest traintunnel .           

– Wed Oct 6, 5:27 pm ET

Like to hold your breath while going through tunnels? I won't recommend you try it in the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland.
The tunnel has been under construction since 1993, and upon its scheduled completion at the end of 2017, it will span 35 miles -- the longest rail tunnel on the planet.
The current title belongs to Seiken Tunnel in Japan. Completed in 1988, it stretches 33.49 miles, a large portion of which is underwater. The world-famous Channel Tunnel (aka “the Chunnel”) measures 31.4  miles. While those two tunnels go underwater, the Swiss tunnel will zoom through the Alps, traveling between Zurich and Milan in about two and a half hours.