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Internet cookies, FourSquare, Facebook check-ins, street cameras everywhere and in-car global positioning systems. There are so many ways to track the movements of consumers, some for which they even volunteer. But people may have their limits.



The Internet and media are abuzz with complaints over the redesign of Facebook, which has been done to make it easier for the company to sell the online behavior of members to third parties. But the latest marketer to set off those who are against all this constant monitoring and tracking is General Motors and its satellite-based OnStar system that does everything from unlock your car when the keys are locked inside, to diagnose a mechanical problem, give you directions from a live person or notify first responders if your car goes off the road.



Last week, OnStar made a change to its "Terms and Conditions," that stipulates it can not only track data such as mileage, speed and location of vehicles, but that it can continue to do so even after the vehicle owner has stopped subscribing to the service, and can sell the data to third parties.



GM, which owns and operates OnStar, can do this because most of its cars are fitted with OnStar hardware. GM gives new buyers a trial period to subscribe to OnStar service packages. Then, they hope owners will re-up with subscriptions that start at $18.95 per month. OnStar also offers OnStar retrofit kits for non GM vehicles.



Senator Charles "Chuck" Schumer (D-NY) who often takes up consumer issues, is calling for a full investigation into OnStar's plan. "By tracking drivers even after they've canceled their service, OnStar is attempting one of the most brazen invasions of privacy in recent memory," said Schumer. "I urge OnStar to abandon this policy and for (the Federal Trade Commission) to immediately launch a full investigation to determine whether the company's actions constitute an unfair trade practice."



So far, GM executives are standing pat, saying over the weekend that it apologized for confusion over the move, but that they are planning to stick with it.



Joanne Finnorn, vice president of OnStar Subscriber Services issued a video of herself explaining the changes. Finnorn says that OnStar will not monitor continuous speed and location of vehicles, though such information is in the memory of the car and systems and can be accessed periodically. She also said OnStar does not have the capability to eavesdrop, though there is a voice connectivity between the driver and an OnStar representative when the OnStar button is pushed.



In explaining the new policy, Finnorn said, "OnStar will maintain a two-way connection to their vehicle unless they ask us not to do so [by specifically opting out after a subscription is canceled]." Like many issues that arise over privacy, GM, as with other marketers, have an "opt out" provision that enables consumers to do just that. Privacy hawks, though, want the systems to be opt-in, forcing consumers who don't mind to make the first move.



OnStar is part of the trend toward more so-called "telematics" in cars. The technology makes a vehicle a rolling smart-phone with as much hands-free operation as possible. OnStar was the first to enter into this area, and GM has, by far, the largest number of vehicles on the road with OnStar hardware installed.



The reason OnStar is a subscription base is that the system is hard-wired into the car. Other vehicle manufacturers, such as Ford, have installed systems that work with a consumer's own smart-phones and MP3 players via a bluetooth connection. OnStar is under pressure to make its system look like the better system, and generate more profit from the operation; hence the move to sell more data to third parties.



One of the sticky issues GM will have to grapple with is that GM is still approximately one-third owned by the Federal government. GM management is anxious for the government to sell its stake, dating back GM's 2009 bankruptcy and bailout by the taxpayer. But with GM's stock tanking to well below its 2010 offering price, the taxpayer would take a major hit if the government sold the stock now.



Taking a hard line against Senators that stood up for GM's bailout when the government still own one-third of the company could be more than awkward.

Sometimes it seems like all politicians are boobs and dummies.



Maybe that's a reason why a busty mannequin is a candidate for a Cincinnati suburb, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer's Politics Extra blog.



The owner of a Reading barbecue restaurant is urging voters to cast their ballot for the eatery's top-heavy mascot, BarBe-Q, to succeed Mayor Bo Bemmes in the mayoral election in November. according to TV station WCPO.



The voluptuous mannequin gained fame in 2009 when officials from the Reading government tried to force restaurateur Kenny Tessel to cover up the bikini-clad figure. Tessel fought back and won, saying business soared 40 percent after he planted the prop outside KT's Barbecue.



Tessel swears that his girl is in it to win it.



"We’re asking for write-in votes. This is not a stunt," Tessel told The Enquirer. "She’s running on a real platform, with real issues."

Long gone are the days of meticulously planned jailbreaks a la "Escape from Alcatraz."



There's no need to dig out of jail or swim across freezing waters when you can just use homemade cell-made nunchucks.



Lorenzo Pollard used the weapon, made from bed sheets and a chair, to ward off guards and escape from a St. Louis jail called the Workhouse Friday. The inmate has since been caught and returned into custody, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.



Police Capt. Sam Dotson explained to the Post-Dispatch how Friday's events went down:



Pollard began using his makeshift weapon about 8:15 p.m. as he was being led by guards to a shower area. As guards called for backup, Pollard climbed to a second tier of jail cells, continuing to swing the nunchucks. At one point...there were about a dozen guards trying to stop him.

Pollard used the nunchucks to break through some glass blocks, then jumped out of the hole he created and scaled two razor and barbed wire fences. Police officers swarmed the area, using search dogs and a helicopter.



Police re-arrested Pollard Sunday after locating him. The suspect allegedly denied his name and had cocaine in his possession, according to KMOX St. Louis.



Pollard had been in custody since May on charges of theft, trespassing, property damage and resisting arrest, according to the report.



Jails breaks are becoming more common in the city, with four such incidents over the past two years -- and officials are asking questions.



"I want to know what the hell happened there again and again and again and again," St. Louis Alderman Greg Carter, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, told the Post-Dispatch.



At a later date, Dotson told the paper that the facility guards didn't try to stop Pollard, defending their actions by saying it's protocol for officers to allow inmates to calm down first. He said the guards were amazed Pollard succeeded in his escape.