I’d Love a Cheek Button
How do I get one? Do they come in the post? Can I get them from Noel Leemings?
Once I know what is being talked about it will be easier to protect my privacy.
On a side note: How many of these things have been made?
I want some privacy and to start some dialogue with the "powers that be".
How do I get one? Do they come in the post? Can I get them from Noel Leemings?
Once I know what is being talked about it will be easier to protect my privacy.
On a side note: How many of these things have been made?
I feel like more and more is being taken, making it more and more difficult to live my life normally.
Can anyone tell me what is going on?
I have been quietly entertaining myself by making fictitious bets on when I believe there will be some sort of conclusion to my involvement with this network. As time went on I started to guess dates that were further and further away and now I am no longer surprised to see these imaginary markers drift on by.
Now I am so sure that there is going to be no conclusion to this network in the near future that I am going to start taking bets on it. And on that note I am proud to announce the opening of the
click for details
In a previous posting I raised the issue of privacy. I discussed with a lawyer the legalities of recording a neighbours activities. He said it was illegal but as it turns out it is not quite as clear cut as that.
I wrote to the privacy commission to get some more information. The questions I asked were these:
Is it illegal for someone to record (audio and visual) someone’s actions on private property from off of the property? For example a neighbour recording another neighbour. In this case the person being recorded does not own the property but does pay rent to live there. The activities are general activities around the house. I am aware that the recording of intimate situations is illegal.
Do the legalities behind this change if the recordings were then broadcast to a private group of people across the internet.
Does it matter if the internet site is distributing the recordings is located in New Zealand or overseas?
Are there some recording devices that are illegal? For example devices that are intended to listen from afar i.e. not within earshot, or camera’s that are hidden, or infrared camera’s.
A full transcript of our conversation
Here is an excerpt from the response I got from them. The whole conversation can be found here.
Collecting personal information about individuals, even when collected by recording equipment is subject to the Privacy Act.
A neighbour who collects information by the use of a camera, is generally not restricted from making the collection if the information collected is related that person’s own personal our household affairs. An example being security cameras.
Any other collection would need to be compliant with principle 3 below.
When it comes to recording a conversation, that may be an issue under the Crimes Act, s216 if the person making the voice recording is not actually a party to the conversation.
If the person is party to the conversation then the collection is generally not in breach of the Act if the collection is not unfair under the circumstances.
As you mention care has to be taken not to record intimate situations.
Any disclosure of the information would again be governed by the original purpose of the collection. If the collection was not related to the recorders own personal household affairs the disclosure would need to be considered under principle 11, see below.
The principles that are spoken of are from the ‘Information Privacy Principles’ which are part of the Privacy Act. The full list of principles can be found here.
Here is Principle 3 and Principle 11 as mentioned above
Principle 3 Collection of information from subject
(1) Where an agency collects personal information directly from the individual concerned, the agency shall take such steps (if any) as are, in the circumstances, reasonable to ensure that the individual concerned is aware of -
(a) The fact that the information is being collected; and
(b) The purpose for which the information is being collected; and
© The intended recipients of the information; and
(d) The name and address of -
(i) The agency that is collecting the information; and
(ii) The agency that will hold the information; and
(e) If the collection of the information is authorised or required by or under law -
(i) The particular law by or under which the collection of the information is so authorised or required; and
(ii) Whether or not the supply of the information by that individual is voluntary or mandatory; and
(f) The consequences (if any) for that individual if all or any part of the requested information is not provided; and
(g) The rights of access to, and correction of, personal information provided by these principles.
(2) The steps referred to in subclause (1) of this principle shall be taken before the information is collected or, if that is not practicable, as soon as practicable after the information is collected.
(3) An agency is not required to take the steps referred to in subclause (1) of this principle in relation to the collection of information from an individual if that agency has taken those steps in relation to the collection, from the individual, of the same information or information of the same kind, on a recent previous occasion.
(4) It is not necessary for an agency to comply with subclause (1) of this principle if the agency believes, on reasonable grounds -
(a) That non-compliance is authorised by the individual concerned; or
(b) That non-compliance would not prejudice the interests of the individual concerned; or
© The non-compliance is necessary -
(i) To avoid prejudice to the maintenance of the law by any public sector agency, including the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, and punishment of offences; or
(ii) For the enforcement of a law imposing a pecuniary penalty; or
(iii) For the protection of the public revenue; or
(iv) For the conduct of proceedings before any court or tribunal (being proceedings that have been commenced or are reasonably in contemplation); or
(d) That compliance would prejudice the purposes of the collection; or
(e) That compliance is not reasonably practicable in the circumstances of the particular case; or
(f) That the information -
(i) Will not be used in a form in which the individual concerned is identified; or
(ii) Will be used for statistical or research purposes and will not be published in a form that could reasonably be expected to identify the individual concerned.
Principle 11 Limits on disclosure of personal information
An agency that holds personal information shall not disclose the information to a person or body or agency unless the agency believes, on reasonable grounds -
(a) That the disclosure of the information is one of the purposes in connection with which the information was obtained or is directly related to the purposes in connection with which the information was obtained; or
(b) That the source of the information is a publicly available publication; or
© That the disclosure is to the individual concerned; or
(d) That the disclosure is authorised by the individual concerned;
or
(e) That non-compliance is necessary -
(i) To avoid prejudice to the maintenance of the law by any public sector agency, including the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, and punishment of offences; or
(ii) For the enforcement of a law imposing a pecuniary penalty; or
(iii) For the protection of the public revenue; or
(iv) For the conduct of proceedings before any court or tribunal (being proceedings that have been commenced or are reasonably in contemplation); or
(f) That the disclosure of the information is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to:
(i) Public health or public safety; or
(ii) The life or health of the individual concerned or another individual; or
(g) That the disclosure of the information is necessary to facilitate the sale or other disposition of a business as a going concern; or
(h) That the information -
(i) Is to be used in a form in which the individual concerned is not identified; or
(ii) Is to be used for statistical or research purposes and will not be published in a form that could reasonably be expected to identify the individual concerned; or
(i) That the disclosure of the information is in accordance with an authority granted under section 54 of this Act.
This evening I had baked apples with sausage in them. Although it was a bit strange to eat for dinner it was pretty bloody good. Here’s the recipe for them. Just a note though… if I was to do these again I would mix in some chunky bread crumbs and some herbs of some sort.
4 tart apples
¼ kilo of sausages
2 table spoons of brown sugar
2 teaspoons of cinammon
2 teaspoons of lemon rind
Brown the sausages, careful not to cook them too much. Gut the apples and get the flesh (not the core). Leave about half an inch on the sides of the apple. Dice the flesh of the apple along with the sausages. Mix in the other ingrediants and jam it back into the apples. Then bake at 190C for about half an hour.
Yum!
There have been some interesting comments made recently that could be worth a read. In particular these ones where I make some guesses about the technology behind the ‘cheek buttons’.
Thanks to all that have been leaving comments. Keep it up!
Photo from daif’s blog.
Here’s a recording of me calling up lawline on bFM to inquire about the legal implications of filming onto someone’s private property.
The answer was it’s illegal (unless it is an incidental recording from something like a security camera).
I think it is time to define ‘the network’ a little bit more and to do this I will briefly describe the history of my involvement with 'the network’.
Before I begin I must warn you that I am definitely not correct with a lot of my terminology. I am going to skim off the top of my understanding here and hopefully you will get the picture. If you have anything that can help my understanding of all this it would be great if you could email me jamie@freejamieconnor.com.
There are government intelligence agencies in this world that are used to monitor people. These agencies use a number of different techniques, many of which are not available to the general public, to gather information for the purpose of national security and defence. Some examples of information that could be of interest to these agencies is information on the building of weapons of mass destruction, terrorist activities or the trafficking of humans or drugs.For some reason I fell under the spotlight of one of these agencies. Information that is collected by these agencies is normally held in secret however sometime in early 2007 information that had been collected about me started to be distributed to the public. The primary way that information about me was being distributed was via the 'cheek buttons’ that I have talked about earlier in the blog.These 'cheek buttons’ are electronic receivers that fit inside people’s mouths. I am not sure of there exact workings but I believe that one must press the devices against their teeth or jaw and audio is then able to be heard to the person with the device in their mouth. As far as I am aware this was technology had not been available to the public before this. The number of people who have these devices has grown rapidly since then and a large listenership can now be found right across the globe.As well as the development of this 'cheek button’ phenomenon there has also been an online presence to all of this. The online side of this is a model of one of these agencies. It has a hierarchical structure to it allowing varying degrees of access to it’s viewers. One of the things this site has done is made it possible for people to get visual documentation of my private life.As the popularity of the 'cheek buttons’ and the online nature of this 'network’ has progressed it has become less and less appropriate for it to be held under the light of a governmental agency. The commercial nature of it has grown and it has become something to be sold on as a free standing entity.As time has progressed the functionality of the website relating to 'the network’ has broadened and become more diverse. It has been opened up to a wider audience and is less involved with the information that is being distributed across the 'cheek buttons’ than before.Recently there has been interest in the purchase of the 'cheek button’ side of the network. These people are actively working towards moving away from the governmental agencies and the online side of 'the network’. On a more personal level they are working towards getting me privacy and initiating some dialogue so I can discuss my future involvement with 'the network’.Hopefully this brief history of my involvement with the network will help you understand the different forces at play here.Please leave a comment if you are unclear on anything and I will try to elaborate where possible.I will try to put something a bit more light hearted on the site later this week.
God, I don’t know where to begin describing what I have been through as a result of this network. Whether it has been my decision to leave New Zealand last year only to be chased out of Berlin, being watched having a shower in my own home, being brutally observed in the work place or the ruining of many of my friendships and relationships. Whatever it is, my life has seriously had detrimental effects as a result of the network and the restrictions that have been placed upon me.
For a over year and a half I have been told that it’s almost over. Someone’s getting a special Christmas present, Camp A Low Hum… it’s all coming undone, if your life is threatened as a result of the network they will have to step in, when you get back to New Zealand it will all be over, if you’re forced to be on medication the network will stop, and on and on it goes. For fuck sake, enough is enough. There is information about my private life being distributed to the public on a global scale and there is a serious lack of consideration of the negative effects it has having on my life and a serious lack of dialogue with me about it.
If people want to film people in public spaces like on dance floors and distribute it on the internet that is one thing, just let me know where they are so I can do my best to avoid them, but to go rifleing through someone’s email accounts, listen to their cell phone conversations, look at their bank accounts or monitor their motions and body temperatures within their own homes seriously encroaches upon one’s civil liberties.
Yes, there will be occasions when this sort of survallence is necessary and legal but I honestly feel this has crossed WAY over that boundry. I think that what is going on here is out right illegal and an abuse of governmental resources. I have many questions as to how this is being funded and whether it has now become a (badly managed) commercial venture. If these governmental survalence resources are being used for commercial gain then I want more transparency immediately.
One thing’s for sure, I know these words don’t even begin to give justice to my thoughts about this. I did however want to publicly state that I am still waiting for my initial demands to be met. Still waiting for some privacy from the network, and to have formal dialogue with someone from the network who is well informed as to how the network is structured, and who has the power to make some changes to the network and it’s relationship to me.
I hung out with some kids from the 90’s last week. Like real, talking, breathing people, and they were born in the 90’s. It was quite a shock actually. I told them how cool music was when they were young. I sung them some c&c music factory but they weren’t that impressed.
When I asked what people there age listen to loud in there rooms and find meaning in there lyrics and they said Oasis.
Whoa!
Well still no conclusion to all this non sense and no idea as to when it is going to be over. Bit inconsiderate really.
I did however have a cracker of a weekend storming round northland with the benka’s.
Well finally it’s over. I’m back home safe and sound. After arrival immediate steps were light fire, eat nibbles, check wee mail and cook some dinner. Bloody good meal at that, I’ll put the recipe below.
The final days of the hospital were pretty relaxed. Once I had accepted fate that I am being forced to be on the meds it just left a lot of lying around doin nuffin really. I had to make up a contract before I left but I’ll write more about that another day. I would love to post a scan of it actually, not that it was ultra poetic or anything, it was just an amusing situation. I’d also like to post photos of our preliminary tests for the start up company that we devised while moping around the hospital, also rather amusing. And finally I want to put a piccy up that I got in the Urewera’s after finishing a mammoth walk with Margot. The reason for this one is she wrote about it in the comments below and I think the picture sums the whole journey up. I’ll try to located it and post it so you’ll know what is being refered to in the comments.
Anyway, here’s the recipe for this evening.
Mega Yum Eats Time (Tomato Pasta)
375 ml vegetable stock
2 cans of tomatoes
hella garlic and an onion
and what ever other firm vege’s you have lying around like carrot or what not
Cook the onions and the garlic. Add the martys and the vege stock and veges and let it boil down. Mix with some spaghetti and wha la. Instant easy yum yum
Well here I am 6 days into medication. They have doubled my initial dosage now which is a bit stink. Basically it’s just making me feel really dopey and ultimately lazy. In fact I can hardly be bothered writing this but I thought I would let you all know where I’m at.
Thanks for all the words of encouragement. Very courteous of you.
Hopefully this will all be over soon.
Well there has been a bit of a change in the works. I was expecting to go home the other day but I was told it would be one more day. Then the next day when I was expecting the doctors to be having a ‘discharge’ meeting with me they said I had to be moved to the hospital. There they they wanted to put me under the mental health act and put me on medications. If I wanted to dispute it I could call upon a section 16 which means that my case is heard infront of a judge at an informal court and he will decide if I get to go home or not. I waited around for 3 more days (unmedicated) for my court case. My major argument for why I shouldn’t be held there under the mental health act is that the law stipulates that the mental health act will only apply if there is a strong reason to believe that I am endangering my health or someone else’s health or I am not able to take care of myself. I have clearly demonstrated that I am fine to look after myself and am not endangering myself or anyone else. I explained my 'delusions’ to the judge that I believe that personal information is being distributed about me through devices that are held in people’s cheeks by a network. He said that from a clinical psychological perspective this would seem like a delusion. He also said that for this reason, if it was not dealt with now I could be a danger to my future self because I have an illness that I will have grown with rather than dealing with at a young age. I am outraged at this decision. Even if it was a delusional state, the fact that I am living as an 'eccentric’ in 'isolation’ should be my own choice as long as I could look after myself and was not endangering myself or other people. So now I am forcably being plucked from my surroundings and forced to be locked up in a hospital and forced to have medications that I am strongly opposed to. It has now been nearly 24 hours since my first dosage and I have spent 18 of those hours in bed. All it seems to be doing is making me incredibly lazy. Definatly not the life I want to be leading. As far as I can see it, what is going on here is god damn criminal. And I urge anyone with any ability to make it stop does so. I am not happy here. Love from, Jamie