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Archives for February 2010

Massive Google Privacy Flaw

Posted by Greg on February 12, 2010

Do you use Google’s Gmail?  With the release of Google Buzz this week, the people you frequently e-mail or chat with are automatically published to your public Google Profile.

Just to be clear: the names of people you frequently communicate with via Gmail or Google Talk may be published for all the world to see.

Here’s one example of why this is so bad.  A DV survivor has her activity exposed to her abusive ex: http://fugitivus.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/fuck-you-google/.

Here’s detailed information on what Google is doing and how to disable it: http://www.businessinsider.com/warning-google-buzz-has-a-huge-privacy-flaw-2010-2.  Unfortunately, disabling it is complicated and confusing.

I rely very heavily on Google tools.  Every single e-mail account I have - both personal and professional - is routed to a Gmail mailbox.  Google is an extremely generous organization that spends millions of dollars every year to help make the world a better place.  The Google employees I know personally are all good trustworthy people.  Which is why this gross breach of privacy is so shocking.  Instead of defaulting to having users opt-in to exposing their activity, Google Buzz has violated their mantra of “don’t be evil” and done a great deal of harm.

Google: please change the default behavior for exposing personal information to “opt-in”.

A sad day for Democrats

Posted by abby on February 10, 2010

This is making me reconsider voting the party line no matter the circumstances. Apparently 8 democrats (including the offender himself, of course) voted against expelling NY state Senator Hiram Monserrate after he was convicted of assaulting his girlfriend. He slashed her face with glass and was videotaped dragging her by her hair through their apartment building’s lobby. For 7 democrats this wasn’t enough to warrant Monserrate’s expulsion from the Senate . 53 Senators voted to expel him, but still that number 8 rang in my head when I read the headline. How could anybody make light of what he did? I’m sickened…

National Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month

Posted by abby on February 5, 2010

I don’t know about you, but I remember high school with vivid clarity even though I graduated what seems like a million years ago. Drama club, Choir, Colorguard, boys…sigh. High School was fun. One of my favorite months of the year was February because of Valentine’s Day. Being the hopeless romantic that I always have been, I looked forward to it with a passion. I couldn’t wait to see if I’d get roses from a secret admirer or be asked out by my secret crush- the biggest nerd in the drama club.

Call me naive, but dating in high school seemed very innocent. I was a “good girl,” but still I didn’t know many girls at all who had gone all the way with their boyfriends or even had a serious boyfriend at all. It seemed like we were all just trying to get our first kiss. We hadn’t even imagined anything bigger than that.

Honestly, I was probably rather sheltered. It could be argued that teenage sexuality has become less restrained over the last 11 years, but I don’t pretend to believe now that none of my friends were experimenting with more adult forms of relationships. Perhaps because I was so sheltered, I don’t recall ever talking with my parents about dating violence. Maybe if I had known about it I could have noticed the signs earlier when I did actually get into an abusive relationship shortly after high school. I don’t blame my parents at all. They were probably operating on the same belief that I was- high school relationships are not very serious.
Unfortunately, this isn’t true. Whether or not more girls than ever before are getting into relationships, they are definitely serious. According to the , “1 in 4 teen girls in a relationship report enduring repeated verbal abuse” and “1 in 3 teens report being text messaged 10, 30, 40 times per hour by a partner inquiring where they are, what they are doing or who they are with.” These are definitely hallmarks of mental, emotional and verbal abuse. I would hasten to say that teenagers know that it is wrong to be hit by your partner, but we don’t necessarily know the early warning signs like possessive jealousy or cruel joking. Dating violence usually starts this way whether you are a teenager or an adult. Most often he won’t punch you on your first date. It is more difficult than many people know to escape once it has gone so far.

February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and now Valentine’s Day takes on a whole new meaning for me. You can bet I’ll be talking with the young girl that I mentor about the warning signs as well as about what she can do to help her friends to learn about this important issue. Will you also commit to talking with any teenagers in your life?

Until we have mandatory healthy relationships classes in every high school,
Abby

Call of Duty

Posted by abby on February 3, 2010

Have you ever wondered why so many survivors hesitate to involve the “justice” system after an assault? Read on.

~Abby

P.S. I agree with the first commenter. Anna Sachse should receive an award for her article. While reading it, I kept thinking about how fantastic it was that she spoke up about her experience and is challenging the system in a way that she is able to- through her writing. I actually do this as well, both through this blog and other media. In what ways might you use your skills to challenge injustice and change the world? We would love to hear from you!