MIT started a new site for the 4th of July. The site allows people to collect information on government and public officials in a manner similar to the way the government is now allowed to collect information on citizens post-9/11. ------------------------------------ Open Government Information Awareness Mission To empower citizens by providing a single, comprehensive, easy-to-use repository of information on individuals, organizations, and corporations related to the government of the United States of America. To allow citizens to submit intelligence about government-related issues, while maintaining their anonymity. To allow members of the government a chance to participate in the process. Context In the United States, there is a widening gap between a citizen's ability to monitor his or her government and the government's ability to monitor a citizen. Average citizens have limited access to important government records, while available information is often illegible. Meanwhile, the government's eagerness and means to oversee a citizen's personal activity is rapidly increasing. As the government broadens internal surveillance, and collaborates with private institutions to access data on the public, it is crucial that we maintain a symmetry of accountability. If we believe the United States should be a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" it is of central importance to provide citizens with the power to oversee their government. At least as much effort should be spent building tools to facilitate citizens supervising their government as tools to help the government monitor individuals. Technology The Open Government Information Awareness suite of software tools acts as a framework for US citizens to construct and analyze a comprehensive database on our government. Modeled on recent government programs designed to consolidate information on individuals into massive databases, our system does the opposite, allowing you to scrutinize those in government. Citizens are able to explore data, track events, find patterns, and build risk profiles, all in an effort to encourage and motivate action. We like to think of it as a Citizen’s Intelligence Agency, giving people similar tools and technologies to those held by their government. Central to GIA is its extensible model of data: Everything in its system is either an entity or a link -- a thing or a relationship. This allows the system to grow in any direction, and accommodate as-yet unimagined institutions, organizations, or threats. More information is available here.* http://opengov.media.mit.edu/
This site is childish. Government employees are citizens too, so why would anybody promote the violation of their rights? I can hear my mother now saying that "two wrongs don't make a right".
That is funny, I hear my mother saying "what is good for the goose is good for the gander." Sometimes people won't respond to anything but a nice, hard slap in the face. Hopefully, this will be that slap for government officials. Besides, this is much LESS wrong than TIA (the Total Information Awareness DOD program) is as government officials are elected public officials who have made the choice to expose their private lives to the public. This web site just makes that data as accessible to us as our (supposedly private) information is to them.
I wonder how long it'll be before someone digs up some sort of dirt on someone on the staff of, say, Ashcroft. I think this is a good idea and I hope it starts to moderate some of the extremists that seem to want privacy taken away.
This is a great idea MIT, but i'm afraid clicking on that link would lead to a free trip to Cuba to hang out with the Dean.
Most of the football players at my high school could kick my a$$ and at least three of them are now night stockers for Randalls!
I love it! I would definetly agree with Andymoon's Mom. If they can do it to us, then we do it to them. I can't wait to see what turns up.....
LOL, if I had to wear a Randall's uniform, I would only work at night too! (no disrespect for anybody who works for Safeway, a fine American institution- unless you are a night stocker.)
