Last Thursday I was flying to LA on the Midnight flight. I went through security my usual sour stuff. I beeped, of course, and was shuttled to the "toss-em" line. A security guy came over. I assumed the position. I had a button up shirt on that was untucked. He reached around while he was behind me and grabbed around my front pocket. I guess he was going for my flashlight, but the area could have loosely been called "crotch." I said, "You have to ask me before you touch me or it's assault."

He said, "Once you cross that line, I can do whatever I want."

I said that wasn't true. I say that I have the option of saying no and not flying. He said, "Are you going to let me search you, or do I just throw you out?"

I said, "Finish up, and then call the police please."

[ ... ]

I said that I had talked to two lawyers and they said it was really a weird case because no one knows if he can be charged with assault and battery while working in that job. But I told her, that some of my lawyer friends really wanted to find out. She said, "Well, we're very new to this job . . ." and I said, "Yeah, so we need these test cases to find out where you stand."

She said, "Well, you know a LOT about this." I said, "Well, it's not really the right word, but freedom is kind of a hobby with me, and I have disposable income that I'll spend to find out how to get people more of it."

A nontypical visit to the airport. I assume that being a celebrity didn't hurt.

And a follow-up can be found at: Working Class Hero Penn - 11/17/02.

E-Commerce News: Plumbing the Personal Data Depths.

Developers of deep Web mining technology acknowledge concerns about how personal data is used, but say the problem must be handled by those who decide what information goes on the Internet

E-Commerce News: Want Privacy? Get Cloaked on the Web with One Click.

Most cloaking or 'anonymizing' software requires a complicated procedure. But Anonymizer's Privacy Button sits in the I"nternet Explorer" browser's toolbar and activates with one click.

An Internet security company announced Tuesday that it is offering one-click "cloaking" software for Web surfers who want to retain their privacy. Anonymizer.com said its Privacy Button will enable users to turn advanced privacy protection on or off with a single click in their Internet Explorer browser toolbar.

The San Diego, California-based company said the technology makes users' Web activity invisible to the Web sites they visit and to other prying eyes, such as collection companies specializing in compiling personal information. The company claims it also protects users from most pervasive security threats on the Internet, including online tracking and malicious code.

Disclaimer: If you get this software by following the Anonymizer links on this page I might get a small cut(which I put toward my hosting fees. I don't make a profit). I know I do if you sign up for the regular www service but I'm not sure about this.

New York Times - free registration required Online Security Gets a Better Report Card.

Americans are growing more confident with the safety of the Internet when it comes to conducting business, survey results released last week show.

The survey, called the Consumer Internet Barometer, questioned 10,000 people nationwide in the fourth quarter last year. A third of the respondents said they felt that their online financial transactions would be safe, up from 27.5 percent in the period a year earlier. One-fourth felt that their personal information was safe when making purchases online, up from 21.9 percent.

"Consumers' concern about privacy of their personal information has a significant influence on their willingness to engage in business exchanges online," said Lynn Franco, director of the Consumer Research Center of the Conference Board. "This trust barrier is beginning to erode."

Keep in mind that this is a pro business group and that they did not release any of the information needed to validate their conclusions, at least not that I can see on their site. Info on who they polled and the questions asked to reach their conclusion are not available without buying the report. I assume that the actual report does contain this info, but that might require the premium version at $2495, so that will have to remain an assumption. BTW a single e copy is $195 and a year (report is quarterly) is $495.