Rutgers Prof Tracks Gov't Tracking Him

Did anybody just see the report on CNN about the Rutgers U prof who got tired of the U.S. government tracking him as a terrorist? As a result, he's put his own movements on a Web site and now anybody can see where he is and what he's doing. I think he even put up a picture of the lunch he had and the time he had it. In effect, he's building a continuous electronic record of what he's been up to.

He said he'd been subjected to nine back-to-back interrogations and that's when he came on this idea of tracking the government while they're tracking him.

It's sort of like if someone takes a picture of you, then you take a picture of them.

Anyway, his Web site is transient.net but I can't find it. Anyone else see this and figure out where his site is?

He wrote some software for his cell phone and this transmits to his Web site. It showed where he was in Manhattan with little red dots on the screen.

Oh and btw, he's not even from the Middle East nor is he a dangerous poli sci professor. His ethnic background is Bangladesh and his name is Elehi something or other. (Hey, just don't turn Quaker, Elehi!)



Cher

Anybody else see this?



Cher

...but it's more interesting than the number of replies would indicate :shrug:

Plus, I think this idea could catch on. People like to be in the spotlight (or at least believe they are in it). He could distribute the cell phone software to voluntarily track yourself on any website of your choice. I think a decent amount of people would try it out... if for no other reason than to try out the gadget.

RICHARD LEHNE, Professor, received his B.A. from Reed College and his Ph.D. from the Maxwell School, Syracuse University. He has taught previously at St. Lawrence University and was Gastprofessor at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitaet, Frankfurt/Main in the spring-summer semester 1993. His primary field of interest is the interaction between the political process and industrial decision making, focusing on advanced industrial nations, especially Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. His approach is presented in Industry and Politics: United States in Comparative Perspective (Prentice Hall, 1993). His current work examines the governmental decision process for programs to promote commercial technologies, and he has recently completed review essays in this area for the American Political Science Review and the Policy Studies Review. His earlier work concentrated on New Jersey policy issues and resulted in the publication of The Quest for Justice: The Politics of School Finance Reform (Longman, 1978); Casino Policy: an analysis of industry regulation (Rutgers University Press, 1986); Politics in New Jersey, co-editor and contributor, revised edition, (Rutgers, 1979); as well as numerous other articles and reports.

http://www.polisci.rutgers.edu/

What influence does business have on government? How much should government regulate and intervene with business? To evaluate the nexus of the two, Richard Lehne explores how government and business each rely on the effective performance of the other to meet their goals. Government depends on business to create jobs, generate revenue, promote innovation, and provide goods and services; business needs government to provide specific opportunities for firms and industries and to maintain conditions in which economic activity can flourish.

Taking a decidedly comparative approach, Lehne evaluates the similarities and differences between the U.S. political economy and those of Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and the European Union. After providing rich historical context, he probes some of the most crucial dilemmas facing government and business today—including whether economic globalization threatens national sovereignty; the place of public opinion, unions, and other advocacy groups in government-business relations; and the best way to improve the international trade system.

Important new coverage includes:

* how the Enron and WorldCom-MCI scandals illustrate major failures in regulation by both government policies and corporate governance
* how the regulation of cell phones in the EU and United States illustrates major differences in industrial policy
* how recalls on drugs such as Vioxx and Celebrex shamed the FDA and reflect the intense accountability of federal regulation for certain private industries
* how European business groups are gaining strength and influence on policy in the EU
* how regulation is used as a policy tool, specifically looking at the FCC’s tightening regulation of the media

http://www.cqpress.com/product/Government-and-Business-American-2.html

It seems THAT would be a good reason for Bushco to send his goons out to intimidate this man. Can't have some uppity poli-sci professor nosing around in the bidness of American fascism.

Great that he's got national coverage. Then he can become a pundit and tell everyone exactly what the B* admin is doing wrong.

Give the guy the mic! :toast:

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=39825

-snip-
"In a bid to convince the Feds of his innocence, Elahi has made his life an open book. What is amusing is that the American government is so paranoid that they really have been visiting his site to check up on him. His server logs show hits from the Pentagon, the Secretary of Defense, and the Executive Office of the President." :shrug:

Elahi's a very smart man. :D

Freaking hilarious. After reading the Wired story and the one posted by blueworld, I now think his idea is even more clever. As said in the article, his strategy is to choke the government with information.

Now, not everyone would be willing to scan every receipt and go to the trouble he's going to, but he is an art professor and I think this is "living art" to prove a point. Point being, of course, that you can gain your privacy by giving it away. I mean, let's face it, what do you do when you talk to someone who reports to you every place they went, what they bought, and what they had for breakfast/lunch/dinner! YOU RUN! AWAY! SCREAMING!!

Which is just what we'd like the gov't to do! RUN! AWAY!



Cher

I remember someone saying that once. The idea being that if someone is abusing their position of power or authority, you force their abuse to the point of ridiculousness. This guy has a very good idea, and his execution is flawless.

And taking pictures of your trackers is also a very good method. I was on a CPT delegation in Chiapas, and after visiting a couple of displaced communities over four days, we were about to head back to town, when state militia folks approached and began taking our pictures. Our guide whipped out his camera and began pointing it toward the militia people, who promptly skedaddled. I don't know to this day whether Matthew's camera had film in it, but it was an effective countermeasure.

When you said this: The idea being that if someone is abusing their position of power or authority, you force their abuse to the point of ridiculousness.

That's the whole concept behind Dilbert. Then I found this strip, which so typifies what Elehi is doing. We have a new wrinkle on "If you can't beat them, join them." If you can't beat them, Dilbertize them.






Cher