Well, some of these companies were recently accused of collaborating in other areas as well.

The issue is that it is not some nebulous concept called "government" that is the issue. It is the people that run the government.

Not even that: it's that an overwhelming number people being governed are largely complacent and disinterested.

e.g. here in Australia we whale in anguish at the way injured people are treated in woefully underfunded public hospitals, while the government simultaneously wastes billions upon billions in bad decisions. Decisions that we do nothing to alter.

No: the fault lies squarely with us. You get the government you deserve.

Here in Australia we're regularly reminder to be 'water wise' because we live in such an arid country. (I'm not arguing this point.)
Earlier this year we were whacked with higher water rates (Sydney) explicitly because the water board's revenue fell because general water conservation proceeded too well.

And get this: a desalination plant was recently constructed in Sydney which the government is contractually obliged to run for x hours per year. Because of that, they redirect fresh water from dams (which are now, thankfully, relatively full) into the ocean because otherwise they wouldn't need to run the desal machinery.

Now, I can see how each of these individual decisions was arrived at. But I can't help but wonder if some future, more enlightened society will look back and shake their heads at how small we were.

I agree that this is towards the bottom end of importance given other issues we have in society.

However:

1. How the government and companies are behaving in such a "small" area (is violating our privacy small?) while at the same feverishly protecting theirs is a sign of their general attitude.

2. I could accept this issue be abandoned if our governments cost us taxpayers $1 billion / year to run. However our various levels of government cost us many, many, many billions to run each year, so the bastards can and should be mindful of what's happening in health, education, roads, defense ... and every other bloody area which we pay to be supported / monitored. We have federal and state privacy commissioners who go to work and draw a decent salary. They should earn their bloody pay!

We never would have left the caves.

Who are you kidding? We'd still be living in a corner of our mum's cave.

Is it possible that the media that you're consuming paints such a negative portrait of him?

Putin has reclaimed many of the assets that were pillaged after the fall of the USSR. Assets bought at deeply discounted prices to the detriment of the Russian populace. I'm talking about oil, gas, etc.

I think Putin is being cast as a villain in the West because he's not allowing influential parties to rape Russia. He's standing in their way from making countless billions, and they want him gone. It's as simple as that.

Whenever biometric security is discussed, I always think of a particular scene in Demolition Man ...

See 1 minute 35 seconds

Don't do anything at work that you wouldn't want your bosses seeing. Assume you could be called away from your desktop

Bingo!

You also could be called away to be sacked .. in which case you may not have time to clear personal data.
To say nothing of network back-up's of files / Exchange emails.

I've managed to work at companies for years without storing any personal information on my work computers. I will never check email or do banking from a work PC / device. (I'll use personal devices and GSM for connectivity.) Family & friends are never given my work email. At most I'll surf sites like Slashdot on my lunch break, but in those instances I won't log-in to my account.

The point being: I could happily walk away without concern.

Along with parent & many other Slashdotters, I've had to handle workstations of ex-employees and it's frightening what some leave behind.

Hmm, did you send it via Skype?

So much for a fucking democracy. Virtually none of us want this and yet it'll still get passed.

And what the fuck is going on here: the same politicians who want all of our secrets are keeping mum when it comes to themselves:

Web snooping policy shrouded in secrecy
No Minister: 90% of web snoop document censored to stop 'premature unnecessary debate'

How the FUCK did we end up in this bizarro world?

I've become a big fan of halogen globes in recent years. They apparently have a perfect colour rendering index of 100. (And no mercury!) And where, in my case, traditional incandescents would have blown by now, since using my first incandescent a couple of years back I've never had a single one go.

They're more expensive than the traditional incandescent (about $AUD3.50 each versus $0.50) ($AUD1 ~ $US1) I feel they are my best option. Here in Australia the fed gov banned the import of "inefficient" bulbs, so retailers have since run-out of the traditional incandescent. Sadly, I believe further tightening of regulations in September 2012 may result in these halogen globes been banned as well :(

Suffice it to say I have a decent stockpile of traditional incandescents and halogens ...

I don't think you could call their design flawed: they roamed this planet for about 1/3 billion years.
From the summary:

The creatures roamed the planet for longer than any other vertebrate so far.

Very handy list; thank you for compiling.

I've written these on a post-it for quick reference.

I agree that a large number of us vote against a candidate/party rather than for a candidate/party.

But I completely disagree with your last statement. (Against voting.)

There is no fate but what we make!

I think you're right: there's definitely something indefinable about him.

The Libs won't win as long as Abbott's party leader. Return Turnbull to party head, or promote Julie Bishop or Hockey, and the Libs have got a chance.

As long as Abbott's leader they've got no chance. Gillard would have to kick a kitten on national television. And even then ...