Steve spoke with the BBC on privacy as it is seen from the US.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9718866.stm

Privacy zealots have a big problem.

In order to get what they want, they need people to be afraid, but gulf between their Chicken-Little claims and the actual experiences of most Internet users grows wider by the day.

Their latest effort to salvage their ever-diminishing credibility comes in response to a seemingly innocuous Consumer Reports survey on the Facebook habits of American consumers.

It’s gonna take more than sloganeering and one-sided arguments to address the enormous challenge of reforming federal and state tax systems. That was the key message coming out of today’s Senate Finance Committee hearing on tax reform, and it’s one that advocates of the so-called “fairness” internet tax would do well to heed.

Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) did a good job of highlighting the insane complexity and uncertainty of current state and federal tax systems.  And Sen. Hatch also quoted a favorite slogan of his, reminding tax reformers to follow the Hippocratic principle, “First, do no harm”.

Internet sales tax proponents have plenty of their own slogans, too, as in “Fairness!” and “Level the Playing Field!”   But their solutions would harm millions of businesses who are using the internet to reach customers around the country, as they struggle to compete with the big-box chains that dominate local retail.  So much for the “fairness” slogan coming from billion-dollar retailers like Walmart and Target.

Today, my family decided to drive 300 miles to visit my parents for the holidays.  We selected snacks for the road, chose a route, and set the cruise control at 65 (wishful thinking, given all the traffic coming out of Washington).

Sure, there were risks to with my decision – whining kids, car trouble, aggressive drivers – but it was worth it.

As I was relaxing after the drive I opened Facebook – an app I decided to put on my tablet – and was surprised to see an article recommended by WSJ Social, an app that I also chose to download from the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal article tells me what happens if I install an app and agree to give it access to the info it requests:  (ready?)  The app can then access that info about me and my Facebook friends.