Footnote to the preceding

Privacy International, a human rights group based in London, UK, acts "as a watchdog on surveillance and privacy invasions by governments and corporations."

Last week it published its 2007 International Privacy Ranking, and the results are - well, not good. In its survey, countries are ranked on a seven-step scale ranging from "consistently upholds human rights standards" down to "endemic surveillance societies."

Only one of the 47 nations considered was listed as "improving" on privacy matters since last year: Slovenia. Meanwhile, 10 nations are listed as "deteriorating," meaning they have dropped a notch, and four were labeled "decaying," that is, they dropped at least two ranks. The US, no real surprise, was "deteriorating" and now sits among the "endemic surveillance societies."

If you really want to get a sense of just how absurd the whole "security" business is, see just how much it has to do with control rather than with, you know, security, try reading some of the nominees for the group's Stupid Security Awards. Links to nominees for the various categories are at that link.