I didn't know

[bill deutschman]

My initial reaction was not to reply to this thread.  I can no longer resist
replying to it because of the many naive replies.  I know that this is
partially off-topic and right-wing but you can flame me later.

First:  We should divide the discussion into the legal/copyright section and
the moral/personal section.  They are quite different.

My current understanding of the first is that you can capture images and
reproduce them if the people are in public places and you do not use them for
profit or if they are not the main subject of the picture.  I can take pictures
of people along the Camino and use the images in a public program or an
advertisement if the person is not the main subject of the picture.  I can also
use pictures of public figures (Shirley McLain, (sp) ) for advertisements
without her permission because she is a public figure.  (I believe this was
litigated in the US over the "Got Milk" ads where they used public figures
without paying royalty.)  Anyway, I do not believe that this is the focus of
the current discussion.

The real question is what is the status of personal privacy in the US today.  I
can only discuss the US so please excuse me if you live in another country.

Anyone who believes that they have any privacy today is very naive.  The
FBI/CIA monitor the Internet, all cell phones, hard wire communications as well
as e-mail.  ( Thank Bush/Ashcroft for that.)  Do you realize that the phone
company/government can track you to the local cell you are in when ever your
cell phone is on?   Several years ago I had a summer faculty position with a
government facility in the San Jose area.  I had security clearance and was
told to consider that all forms of communication were being monitored by the
Russian embassy in San Francisco so I should not say anything over any phone
that I didn't want others to hear.

Do you know that your cordless phone can be monitored as well as your baby
monitor?  You can buy a scanner from Radio Shack that will cover both of these
bands as well as police and many others.

Currently, on the US west coast,  we have Safeway, Voghns and Ralphs and a
number of other "discount" cards that monitor all of our purchases.  (I hope
you don't believe that they are not recording all of you purchases and that
other people cannot get the records!)  In the US VISA/MC card companies also
monitor what we purchase and that is available to many people.  Currently the
US laws allow our banks, insurance companies and other financial companies to
sell/give any financial information they have to other businesses as long as
they have a financial connection.   The current scam is to form a partnership
with a bank and get all of the bank's records for a small fee which the bank is
happy to get.

Anyone can look at all of the messages that you post to this list as well as
the internet in general.  There are companies that collect all public e-mails
and news group postings and sell them for a fee.  Did you think that companies
are not looking at the archives of this list??  It will be interesting to see
what future political candidates have posted when they run for political
office.

I hope you don't think your health records are private!

Currently the US Government is suggesting that they need a data base which has
all of your personal information including your financial and personal
information as well as who your friends are, where you have traveled and what
your personal preferences are  before you will be allowed to fly.

Have you tried to register at a motel in the US without providing lots of
personal information?  They no longer accept cash and require a photo ID!!

How do you feel about a national identity card with all of your personal
information on a magnetic strip?

Sorry to unload on all of the list members but I believe that anyone who
provides any information to anyone should expect that it will become public.
 The discussion of photos and personal information of the Camino is a small
problem in your over all privacy concerns.  How do you really know that the
"close personal friend" you met at the last refugio will really respect your
confidences??

You can't believe the information that is available on the Internet or other
public records about any person if you know how to get it.

The Camino is a fantastic experience but it is still in the real world where
privacy began disappearing many years ago and died on 9-11!  You must consider
that any thing you say to anyone will become public information!

Sorry, I guess I am an old disillusioned realist (63) who has seen privacy
disappear over the last two decades.

bill

bill deutschman
455 hillside avenue
klamath falls, or 97601
olcbillafireserve.net