Google Demonstrates That “Resistance Is Futile”

Google’s original motto was simple and straightforward, nothing more (nor less) than this”

“Don’t be evil”

But yesterday I ran into what I never thought I’d find at Google, a slippery slope covered with ice that was starting to accumulate, and a strong wind blowing as well.

My cell phone had been notifying me from early morning on that my attention was required for Google Play Services and I needed to take care of this. On inspection I found that among a few others, the (unrequested and unwanted) “Google Play Services” and a few related variants were in need of updating, so I clicked on one of them and as I’ve come to do lately, I stopped the process for a glance to see what the information it needed to get from me as part of the update operation.

A while ago I found that this is often a good thing to do instead of just reflexively clicking on the link to continue with every update that your phone requests, and I’ve been surprised at how many apps and games want to look at your contact list, your phones’ camera and microphone, your stored photos, your music, your call history, who your carrier is, what your location is, and a much, much more. Some of the requests are understandable and reasonable, but why does a game like solitaire need to know what photos and music I have stored in my phone? And, here’s the official list of what the mothership, Google itself, says that it needs to have access to: Device and App History, Identity, Contacts / Calendar, Location, SMS, Phone, Photos / Media / Files, Camera / Microphone, Wi-Fi Connection Information, Bluetooth Connection Information, Device ID and Call Information, and last but not least following a question mark, the all encompassing “Other”. The big question this begs is who is all this data being gathered for? Precision marketing to sell us crap, or the government data base?

And to make it clear, when you grant an app permission to use your camera, maybe its time to think about what you’re doing in the presence of your phone that perhaps you don’t particularly want to share with the world, i.e.,  what you’re doing with your bodily parts, or who it is that you’re doing it with (or to?).

Are you getting nervous yet? And if not, why?

I didn’t feel that I really needed to use this app so I passed on this chance to update Google Play Services and moved on, but much to my surprise only moments later Google upped their game. When I tried to use my phone I found that they had blocked my ability to log in to my gmail account to find a phone number until I did their update. I’ve always been aware that the “G” in gmail stood for Google, but this move took me by surprise, I didn’t know that they wanted to play what was called when I was in the service “Air Force Baseball”, i.e. “Play ball with us or we will shove this bat up your ass”. Important note, they didn’t offer me any lubricant with any of those upgrades that I was bent over and quietly persuaded to perform.

So, I tried a workaround and attempted to remove that application and a few others I felt were unneeded items, this is where I learned that on my Android phone not all apps are created equally, in fact some are untouchable. I had downloaded and installed a newsreader called “Flipboard” and found that it was protected and that I wasn’t allowed to uninstall it. Going past the dire warnings that my actions might make the phone unstable I moved on to try yet another workaround and deleted the cache and clicked on the remove prior updates (ones that I didn’t approve before) button and found that my choice after that action was limited to only revert to the original setup, which I had to do as there was no choice “B” offered. So, I exited this bogus offer and I find that once again my phone says I must update that app. 

To paraphrase a line from the film “Alien”:

On the internet no one can hear you scream!

Additional information update!

Here we are a few days later (12-5-2014) and a new list of apps in need of updating has shown up on my phone. At the top of the list is the Bank Of America, an online site that I’ve been using for a few years with no problems. In this update they want me to give them access to my contacts / calendar, my location, my phone, my photos and media files, my camera / microphone, my Wi-Fi connection information and my Device ID & call information. Apparently, my left testicle is an optional gift for them that they don’t need (yet).

My go-to solution? So long B. of A., Hello U.S. Bank!

Hey!!! Additional Additional information update!!!

In the “it never ends” category, I received another batch of Google and Google related (Google the origin of Android phones) applications that must be updated, none of them are of any use to me, but they must be very helpful in the data mining procedure that has become the sine ne qua non of the Google empire. Yes, resistance may well be futile but much like those empires drone strikes, this will only strengthen the inevitable rebel rebellion.

Stay tuned.

N.B., The ownership of any and all photos, opinions, and/ or quotes above (including those of my own) belong to the material’s creator(s). As with Scott Adams, credit is given when it’s known. As always, success usually has a million parents and failure is an orphan.

Feel free to ignore any ads that are shown below this advisory, I don’t get to choose them and even more sadly, I don’t make a penny off any of them, so in the holy name of capitalism I rebuke and don’t endorse or support any of them, unless of course they’re made of funny stuff…..  

P.S., check back for occasional updates and rewrites….

FAIR USE NOTICE: THIS SITE CONTAINS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL THE USE OF WHICH HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY THE COPYRIGHT OWNER. I AM MAKING SUCH MATERIAL AVAILABLE IN MY EFFORT TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF ENVIRONMENTAL, POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, ECONOMIC, DEMOCRACY, SCIENTIFIC, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES, ETC. I BELIEVE THIS CONSTITUTES A ‘FAIR USE’ OF ANY SUCH COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL AS PROVIDED FOR IN SECTION 107 OF THE US COPYRIGHT LAW. IN ACCORDANCE WITH TITLE 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107, THE MATERIAL ON THIS SITE IS DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT PROFIT TO THOSE WHO HAVE EXPRESSED A PRIOR INTEREST IN RECEIVING THE INCLUDED INFORMATION FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO: HTTP://WWW.LAW.CORNELL.EDU/USCODE/17/107.SHTML.  IF YOU WISH TO USE COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL FROM THIS SITE FOR PURPOSES OF YOUR OWN THAT GO BEYOND ‘FAIR USE’, YOU MUST OBTAIN PERMISSION FROM THE COPYRIGHT OWNER.  

The Real Problem With ObamaCare?

The real but unmentioned problem that republicans have always had with ObamaCare is actually easy to explain. Here, let me share this with you:

Mathematically speaking, it’s simply those first five letters in ObamaCare.

N.B., The ownership of any and all photos, opinions, and/ or quotes above (including those of my own) belong to the material’s creator(s). Credit is given when it’s known, but as always, success usually has a million parents and failure is an orphan.

Feel free to ignore any ads that are shown below this advisory, I don’t get to choose them and even more sadly, I don’t make a penny off any of them, so in the holy name of capitalism I rebuke and don’t endorse or support any of them, unless of course they’re made of funny stuff…..  

P.S., check back for occasional updates and rewrites….

FAIR USE NOTICE: THIS SITE CONTAINS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL THE USE OF WHICH HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY THE COPYRIGHT OWNER. I AM MAKING SUCH MATERIAL AVAILABLE IN MY EFFORT TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF ENVIRONMENTAL, POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, ECONOMIC, DEMOCRACY, SCIENTIFIC, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES, ETC. I BELIEVE THIS CONSTITUTES A ‘FAIR USE’ OF ANY SUCH COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL AS PROVIDED FOR IN SECTION 107 OF THE US COPYRIGHT LAW. IN ACCORDANCE WITH TITLE 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107, THE MATERIAL ON THIS SITE IS DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT PROFIT TO THOSE WHO HAVE EXPRESSED A PRIOR INTEREST IN RECEIVING THE INCLUDED INFORMATION FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO: HTTP://WWW.LAW.CORNELL.EDU/USCODE/17/107.SHTML.  IF YOU WISH TO USE COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL FROM THIS SITE FOR PURPOSES OF YOUR OWN THAT GO BEYOND ‘FAIR USE’, YOU MUST OBTAIN PERMISSION FROM THE COPYRIGHT OWNER.  

Klever Kardashian Kontroversy, A.K.A. KKK

The real Kardashian revelation?

In news stories that were related to a photo captioned (Kaptioned?) “The Only KKK To Ever Let Black Men In”, the Kardashian sisters have declined to state if they required those black men they mentioned to enter “Plantation Style”, i.e., they’re required to use the rear entrance. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Kurious minds want to know!

N.B., The ownership of any and all photos, opinions, and/ or quotes above (including those of my own) belong to the material’s creator(s). Credit is given when it’s known, but as always, success usually has a million parents and failure is an orphan.

Feel free to ignore any ads that are shown below this advisory, I don’t get to choose them and even more sadly, I don’t make a penny off any of them, so in the holy name of capitalism I rebuke and don’t endorse or support any of them, unless of course they’re made of funny stuff…..  

P.S., check back for occasional updates and rewrites….

FAIR USE NOTICE: THIS SITE CONTAINS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL THE USE OF WHICH HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY THE COPYRIGHT OWNER. I AM MAKING SUCH MATERIAL AVAILABLE IN MY EFFORT TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF ENVIRONMENTAL, POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, ECONOMIC, DEMOCRACY, SCIENTIFIC, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES, ETC. I BELIEVE THIS CONSTITUTES A ‘FAIR USE’ OF ANY SUCH COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL AS PROVIDED FOR IN SECTION 107 OF THE US COPYRIGHT LAW. IN ACCORDANCE WITH TITLE 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107, THE MATERIAL ON THIS SITE IS DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT PROFIT TO THOSE WHO HAVE EXPRESSED A PRIOR INTEREST IN RECEIVING THE INCLUDED INFORMATION FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO: HTTP://WWW.LAW.CORNELL.EDU/USCODE/17/107.SHTML.  IF YOU WISH TO USE COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL FROM THIS SITE FOR PURPOSES OF YOUR OWN THAT GO BEYOND ‘FAIR USE’, YOU MUST OBTAIN PERMISSION FROM THE COPYRIGHT OWNER.  

In The Land Of Blind A-Holes, A One Eyed S-Head Shall Lead Them.

In a land which the recent mid term election revealed to be chock full of assholes, a turtlehead just plain protrudes out above and beyond the crowd. So, congratulations must be given to Mitch “TurtleHead” McConnell for finally getting his wish, even if it’s likely just a matter of a few days for him to enjoy it before his (if as he insists, prayers are answered) well deserved heart attack or stroke gets him to shut his pie hole. 

If you want to know what John Boehner’s ass smells like you only need to sniff my finger.

It’s been years since I would say aloud that this was a country I was proud to be a citizen of, now such a statement of my national origin is an embarrassment to be avoided when traveling outside of (and to some extent even inside of) our nations borders.

Here’s a very cheap piece of American history once purchased by the Koch Bros. The meaning of his combination Vulcan and Boy Scout sign? “Hey America, Read Between The Lines”.

So this begs the question, how on earth did such a, and I’m trying to be kind here, group of complete bumbling dip-shit idiots (I originally wanted to call them jerkoff fuckwads, but there’s always a possibility that someone in that group isn’t a subhuman twat) manage to swing all of these elections? The easy enough to find answer is that unlimited money always equates to unlimited purchasing power, thereby allowing the manipulation of everything that such money can buy from the POTUS to the so called supreme court, and down to city council seats (all stepping stones in the “Big Plan”), this is a plan that’s been in the works for at least 50 years that I know of. 

N.B., The ownership of any and all photos, opinions, and/ or quotes above (including those of my own) belong to the material’s creator(s). Credit is given when it’s known, but as always, success usually has a million parents and failure is an orphan.

Feel free to ignore any ads that are shown below this advisory, I don’t get to choose them and even more sadly, I don’t make a penny off any of them, so in the holy name of capitalism I rebuke and don’t endorse or support any of them, unless of course they’re made of funny stuff…..  

P.S., check back for occasional updates and rewrites….

FAIR USE NOTICE: THIS SITE CONTAINS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL THE USE OF WHICH HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY THE COPYRIGHT OWNER. I AM MAKING SUCH MATERIAL AVAILABLE IN MY EFFORT TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF ENVIRONMENTAL, POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, ECONOMIC, DEMOCRACY, SCIENTIFIC, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES, ETC. I BELIEVE THIS CONSTITUTES A ‘FAIR USE’ OF ANY SUCH COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL AS PROVIDED FOR IN SECTION 107 OF THE US COPYRIGHT LAW. IN ACCORDANCE WITH TITLE 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107, THE MATERIAL ON THIS SITE IS DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT PROFIT TO THOSE WHO HAVE EXPRESSED A PRIOR INTEREST IN RECEIVING THE INCLUDED INFORMATION FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO: HTTP://WWW.LAW.CORNELL.EDU/USCODE/17/107.SHTML.  IF YOU WISH TO USE COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL FROM THIS SITE FOR PURPOSES OF YOUR OWN THAT GO BEYOND ‘FAIR USE’, YOU MUST OBTAIN PERMISSION FROM THE COPYRIGHT OWNER.