The plan was brilliant, a caper I would have been proud of as a teenager: climb into the roof of Acer Arena and pelt Justin Bieber with eggs. Awesomely funny.
Unfortunately, the mastermind was not much of a shot: all 6 eggs thrown missed their target. He looked like he had a pretty clear aim from almost directly above. Should have brought a dozen and thrown them one or two at a time, although I suppose adrenalin took over.
The egger managed to make a clean getaway, then with egg-regious stupidity, stumbled with a memorable victory in his sights. In a modern lesson for all internet users, he posted details and footage of his grand exploit on a “social networking site”, presumably Youtube, Facebook or Bebo, under his own name (or an account linked directly to it)!
Aww … dude … r u fkn rtrdd?
Of course, the clip went viral. Eventually some knob saw it, a complaint was made and the police tracked him down and arrested him at his home.
If the details of the news story are true, it looks like the police behaved sensibly and appropriately, sending 10 officers to arrest this dangerous criminal, unnecessarily roughing him up and handcuffing him at 7.30am.
Compare this with an assault in Surry Hills, where a woman was thrown to the ground and her mobile phone smashed in broad daylight by a man who then hung around outside the pub in which she sought refuge while she called the police on a borrowed phone. After 3 phone calls to a station about 500m away, still no response. Eventually, the assailant and witnesses left and she had to go down to the police station herself to report the crime. The end result? Nothing.
Good to see the police prioritising their resources appropriately. No wonder you’re so well respected by the taxpaying public you serve.
Just as disgracefully, what justification is there for the NSW Police posting on Youtube video of the arrest of a 17 year old schoolboy at his home? Perhaps irony is appropriate when dealing with adult criminals, but he is still legally a child.
The all too common, cowardly and thuggish police behaviour is an important issue, however my main point in this post is the stupidity of people putting their personal details all over the internet.
This naivety is particularly prevalent amongst young people; text, photos and videos of all manner of embarrassing stupidity which, trust me, you really don’t want in the public domain … and don’t think the alleged semi-privacy of the friends only section of your Facebook page really is private: it’s easily accessible. Photos and video of you doing stupid shit are just for you and your friends, so keep it off ANY computer except your own.
It’s not just embarrassing photos either: why would anyone put any of their personal details ANYWHERE on the internet? You must be mad.
I don’t agree with everything Julian Assange says, but his assertion that social networking sites are “spy machines” is pretty close to the mark. All it takes is a change to the law and police or any other authority can read your emails at will.
Business information is different. Placing professional profiles on the web is common practice. But why let complete strangers across the globe know your personal details?
That’s a recipe for not just identity theft, but being tracked and evidence collected against you. I don’t just mean criminal evidence, like in the Bodacious Bieber Egging Caper, because that won’t apply to most people.
I mean if someone wants to selectively assemble or even just view things you’ve posted: text, photos, videos and use it against you. They could harass or slander you across the web. They could pass details like your name, school or home address around to their dickhead friends. Or they could simply decide your behaviour is wrong and deny you a job.
Write a letter to a newspaper, make a comment on a blog, be engaged in a business or do some research that some left or right wing extremists don’t like and next thing they are targeting your family home. It’s happened.
Why take the risk? If you’re going to join Facebook or similar and put "personal" information on the web, be smart and use an alias. It isn’t hard.
Facebook says they have a policy that only real names are allowed. But in fact a large percentage of Facebook accounts are under aliases. If everyone showed some common sense and held their accounts under an alias, what do you think Facebook management would do? Ditch the policy or lose the advertising revenue?
And for Christ’s sake, why would you twitter your whereabouts under your own name? Please come and rob my house!
What is the connection between a philosophy of Liberalism and wherever possible, not allowing your personal details onto the internet?
A significant component of personal freedom is individual privacy. In this sense, institutions such as governments, public service agencies, law enforcement and corporations have goals which diametrically oppose your liberty: they actively try to collect your personal information.
Unnecessarily giving away personal information erodes not just your own liberty, but liberty in general.
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