Any given week in the leftosphere you will find multiple posts on the topic of Net Neutrality, where they essentially give the government the power to say who and what can go on these here internets while freeing you and I from those nasty web-based Capitalists.
They don’t get what a bad idea that might be, which is why I was not entirely surprised to see that they’re in favor of giving the government control of your mobile phone.
The idea that your smart phone could make you vulnerable to a thief has triggered a strong reaction.
Earlier this week I highlighted this problem and readers asked why the cell phone’s serial number couldn’t be used to block stolen phones, rendering them useless.
I assumed that idea was simplistic. Surely there was a good reason why it wouldn’t work.
There isn’t.
Randal Markey of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association explained that not only is it possible for carriers to block the use of stolen phones, Australian phone carriers have done it for nearly 10 years.
“What it means is stealing a phone is a complete waste of time,” Markey said. “Although the thief could probably use it as a paperweight.”
But American phone companies aren’t doing that. When asked why, representatives from Sprint, Verizon and AT&T instead touted their apps to locate a lost phone or wipe out a SIM card. But that’s not the issue. Petty thieves ditch the SIM card immediately. That doesn’t shut down the phone.
Australia uses something akin to a serial number, basically a 15-digit fingerprint found on every phone. That number is transmitted every time the phone is used. A database crosschecks the number and blocks service to anyone who uses a stolen phone. The service is free to cellular customers.
When American carriers are asked why they don’t do the same, there is a lot of huffing and puffing and hand waving, but none of it is very convincing. Frankly, the carriers don’t gain anything from putting in this service, and actually add customers if someone signs up a stolen phone with them. As for the phone companies, every stolen phone is a potential new sale.
And, the government can ask for all of those numbers and the phone companies will hand them over.
Do you rouse your rabble over a mobile phone network? Not for very long once the dot.gov gets your phone’s serial number.
Each day I have a more difficult time figuring out the mentality of those who see government as a solution to personal issues.
On Monday, an obviously mentally unstable woman who couldn’t properly fill out an application for food stamps took some of the welfare office personnel hostage. After a few hours, she released the office personnel and shortly thereafter shot her two children, that she premeditatively brought with her to a hostage situation she was going to create, thankfully only wounding them, and then shot herself deader than dirt.
If you read this post at the hyperleftist Crooks and Liars blog, it was the fault of Texas Republicans, not only because she didn’t get her food stamps, but because there wasn’t enough free mental health counseling available. They don’t care that her application was denied back in in July and that only now was the woman seeking retribution. They don’t fault her for instigating a hostage situation or for bringing her children along for the ride. It is government’s fault that she got to this point.
Seriously, how does one get so mentally deranged that they can make a person such as that woman an automatic victim and absolve her of any wrong doing?
