Published on The Weekly Standard (http://www.weeklystandard.com)
Jeryl Bier
October 8, 2013 3:39 PM
Maryland’s Health Connection, the state’s Obamacare marketplace, has been plagued by delays in the first days of open enrollment. If users are able to endure long page-loading delays, they are presented with the website’s privacy policy, a ubiquitous fine-print feature on websites that often go unread. Nevertheless, users are asked to check off a box that they agree to the terms.

The policy contains many standard statements about information automatically collected regarding Internet browsers and IP addresses, temporary “cookies” used by the site, and website accessibility. However, at least two conditions may give some users pause before proceeding.

The first is regarding personal information submitted with an application for those users who follow through on the sign up process all the way to the end. The policy states that all information to help in applying for coverage and even for making a payment will be kept strictly confidential and only be used to carry out the function of the marketplace. There is, however, an exception: “[W]e may share information provided in your application with the appropriate authorities for law enforcement and audit activities.” Here is the entire paragraph from the policy the includes the exception [emphasis added]: Should you decide to apply for health coverage through Maryland Health Connection, the information you supply in your application will be used to determine whether you are eligible for health and dental coverage offered through Maryland Health Connection and for insurance affordability programs.

It also may be used to assist you in making a payment for the insurance plan you select, and for related automated reminders or other activities permitted by law. We will preserve the privacy of personal records and protect confidential or privileged information in full accordance with federal and State law. We will not sell your information to others.

Any information that you provide to us in your application will be used only to carry out the functions of Maryland Health Connection. The only exception to this policy is that we may share information provided in your application with the appropriate authorities for law enforcement and audit activities.

The site does not specify if “appropriate authorities” refers only to state authorities or if it could include the federal government, as well. Neither is there any detail on what type of law enforcement and/or audit activities would justify the release of the personal information, or who exactly is authorized to make such a determination. An email to the Maryland Health Connection’s media contact seeking clarification has not yet been answered

The second privacy term that may prompt caution by users relates to email communications. The policy reads: If you send us an e-mail, we use the information you send us to respond to your inquiry. E-mail correspondence may become a public record. As a public record, your correspondence could be disclosed to other parties upon their request in accordance with Maryland’s Public Information Act.

Since emails to the marketplace could conceivably involve private matters regarding finances, health history, and other sensitive issues, the fact that such information could be made part of the “public record” could prevent users from being as free with their information than they might otherwise be. However, as noted, any requests for such emails would still be subject to Maryland’s Public Information Act which contains certain exceptions to the disclosure rules.
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ORIGINAL

The world knows Valeria Lukyanova as the girl who turned herself into a real-life Barbie doll. Controversy has surrounded her every move since her computer-perfect visage went viral last year.

However, what most of the world doesn’t know is that Valeria is not a real girl at all, but a time-traveling spiritual guru whose purpose is to save the world from the clutches of superficiality and negative energy.

Valeria, a.k.a. Space Barbie, gives us exclusive access to her world to show us how physical perfection truly is the best medium through which to deliver life-changing philosophy to the human race.

via Space Barbie | VICE Australia / NZ.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A cargo plane carrying the bodies of four fallen U.S. soldiers landed at Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday, greeted by loved ones whose grief is laced with outrage that even they have not been spared from the government shutdown.

The solemn transfer ceremony is expected to take place in an atmosphere of tearful silence about 100 miles from the political bickering in the nation’s capital, where a death benefit for the families of service members killed in the line of duty has fallen victim to the budget impasse.

The chaplain of the Senate, Barry Black, directly invoked the denial of the benefit in his daily opening prayer before the chamber.

“Lord, when our federal shutdown delays payments of death benefits to the families of children dying on far-away battlefields, it’s time for our lawmakers to say enough is enough,” he said. “Cover our shame with the robe of your righteousness.”

via Families of fallen soldiers to receive bodies, no benefits – U.S. News.

Switzerland will hold a vote on whether to introduce a basic income for all adults, in a further sign of growing public activism over pay inequality since the financial crisis. 

A grassroots committee is calling for all adults in Switzerland to receive an unconditional income of 2,500 Swiss francs ($2,800) per month from the state, with the aim of providing a financial safety net for the population. 

Organizers submitted more than the 100,000 signatures needed to call a referendum on Friday and tipped a truckload of 8 million five-rappen coins outside the parliament building in Berne, one for each person living in Switzerland. 

Under Swiss law, citizens can organize popular initiatives that allow the channeling of public anger into direct political action. The country usually holds several referenda a year. 

In March, Swiss voters backed some of the world’s strictest controls on executive pay, forcing public companies to give shareholders a binding vote on compensation. 

A separate proposal to limit monthly executive pay to no more than what the company’s lowest-paid staff earn in a year, the so-called 1:12 initiative, faces a popular vote on November 24. 

The initiative’s organizing committee said the basic income could partly be financed through money from social insurance systems in Switzerland. 

The timing of the vote has yet to be announced, pending official guidance from the government. 

via $2,800 per month for every adult? It could happen in Switzerland – NBC News.com.

A gunman fired multiple rounds into the federal building in Wheeling, W.Va., on Wednesday afternoon and was shot dead by police, according to news reports.

A security guard suffered minor injuries when the unidentified suspect fired an estimated 20 rounds into the building at 2:30 p.m., The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register reported.

Authorities identified the gunman as Thomas Picard, who died at a local hospital, WV MetroNews reported. U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld said he was a former Wheeling police officer.

City resident Carla Webb Daniels said she saw the man reload his assault rifle and then fire at a nearby YWCA. She said he fired between 25 and 30 rounds.

An unidentified store manager said it sounded like the shooter used two different weapons.

Police reportedly shot the gunman, whose motive remains unknown.

The building houses the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, along with regional offices of the Social Security Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the General Services Administration.

via Gunman killed after firing at W. Va. federal building.

The motorcyclists came together gradually last Sunday morning, their ranks growing into the hundreds as they moved through Brooklyn and Queens, alerted by friends, social media posts and text messages to join an annual ride.

Raw video shows a throng of motorcyclists chasing an SUV up New York City’s West Side highway. The SUV later pulled onto a side street, and motorcyclists attacked the driver of the vehicle. Video: YouTube

About the same time, financial district resident Alexian Lien, a 33-year-old vice president at Credit Suisse, and his wife, Rosalyn Ng, placed their young daughter into her car seat in a black Range Rover. They headed north on a trip to celebrate their two-year wedding anniversary.

The bikers and the family clashed on the Henry Hudson Parkway on Manhattan’s west side, in a confrontation seen around the world in a video taken by one of the bikers wearing a helmet camera. Mr. Lien’s wife said her family feared for their lives. Some bikers present said they converged on Mr. Lien’s SUV as a defensive maneuver because they say he was weaving from side to side.

via Behind the Biker Chase on the West Side Highway – WSJ.com.