Census gets personal (US politics)
 

As you may or may not know it is census time. Thousands of 'workers' have been hired (some from Acorn http://www.factcheck.org/2009/06/acorn-and-the-census/ ) thousands of dollars spent on advertising, and citizens prompted to provide all sorts of personal information. Right down to how many toilets you have in your home :doh:

As you may or may not be aware of the only answer you are required to answer is how many people live in your home.

Here is an interesting take...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsDhkPym01k

Why are the privacy activists not up in arms over this?




In related news

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/10022...internet_ftc_1

Why should they - in a country that is totally uncritical of data protection laws and the Googlian data kraken - which means a private, uncontrolled, profit-orientated business company being allowed to collect data and profiling data to a degree that in Europe no state authority and no intellligence service would be allowed to accumulate without a loud public outcry...?

Sorry, but if you talk about the census but do not attack Google, with the latter being a far greater threat, than you contradict yourself, SW. Or do you still believe that the Googlians just collect this flood of data for fun and feel like wanting to be philantropists, or because they just feel bored?

I dont remember bringing up Google :doh:

I do.

You complain about the census. But I have not heared you complaing about the Googlian data kraken, which is strange is privacy protection and data protection suddenly is a worry of yours. See? ;)

Google isnt likely to send troops to my door in the middle of the night to arrest my family and I for our religious or political beliefs.

Google is a mapping and search engine

The United States Government is a Tyranny in progress.

To be fair, Google's data is far more complete and is only a subpeona away from being federal data...

Regardless, I still Google.

You are not really that naive, are you...!? :06:

you really should get some info on how data network profiling works with even the smallest, most banal data trivia you headlessly gives away every single day. If you think that Google stores all your reactions on the keyboard, searchterms in Google, all your internet movement behavior (if you use Kamikaze-browser Chrome), your social interaction patterns at social networks (if oyu use chrome) -without this private, profit-interested company plannign to make lucrative use of this profile they establish about you: then you have not understood what capitliastic economy is about. ;)

By chance I just have had this piece two days ago.

http://www.faz.net/s/Rub475F682E3FC2...~Scontent.html

unfortunately it is in German. It sheds some nice spotlights on the brave new digital "privacy" world. Whether you are aware of it or not, you are being spied out and profiled and monitored and forecasted every single second, with your datasets being sold and your behavior profile becoming handed around and all actors being beyond any legislative or public control, acting in the hidden and demanding the right to store your life for decades to come. And in america - they already can, and do.

And while others make a profit with your life, you do not even get a single dime. Nor do you ever get asked for permission.

And you guys worry about a census counting the heads inside your household, and you call that a state tyranny? You really are funny.

This thread ain't about Google and nor does it serve as excuse for the Federal government to collect information it doesn't have a constitutional mandate to collect.

Did anyone watch the video?

Skybird.

I think if you do enough research into the matter you will probably find that the majority of American's are distrustful of Government.

i think that you will also discover that most Americans favor a small centralized and non invasive government over a large sprawling bureaucracy like we have now.

it has been a theme prevalent to American society since March 5th, 1770 (and perhaps before to some lesser extent).

When the U.S. Census arrives at my door, i will answer only the required question and respectfully return it to the bastards in Washington, D.C.

* not because of what the document asks for... but because of what it represents.. Further intrusion into private matters by a government that has no need, nor any constructive purpose for information beyond the number of people in my home.

i should think that as a German... you would understand my position against large and intrusive government.

????

In what way does this reduce the risk of abuse of power by uncontrolled companies like Google? what you say reminds me of the disucssions with Lance. Like you he always points out that governments cannot be trusted, for certain reasons. But that companies abuse their power for the very same reasons, and corrupt politics over their own eogist interest - about which later Lance and you complain when noting those oh so evil governments - that is something he only spends few - if any - words about. And you seem to think the same way.

That is highly contradictory in itself. Why should private bodies be allowed what you do not want to allow a government? The govenrment you do elect - the board of directors, the company policies, the sales policies of a company you do not get asked about. And in America, this way of private enterprise even runs highly unregulated by legislation and data protection laws. instead there are laws shielding it from public awareness: "Sorry, that's private business".

I do not trust government myself, tool. The point is I do not trust private companies with private profit interest any more.

Census is going to be full of fraud etc because ACORN is involved via Obama Admin.:damn:

And yet I'll bet you were conspicuously silent when the Patriot Bill passed. What's the difference...hmmmm....???

I think you'll likely find American conservatives think:

Private industry: ALWAYS GOOD!! Corporations live to serve, and deliver rainbows, bunnies, and rivers of chocolate to their customers and never, EVER **** them over!!!! Rich people are rich via merit, NEVER because they're predatory douchebags and/or inherited it!!

(Take a look at private contracting in Iraq to see how wonderfully this has all worked out..)

Big Guvmint: ALWAYS BAD, ALWAYS INCOMPETENT!!! If it weren't for governments, Allied private industry would have won World War II in early 1940!!!

Strawman? Not much.

why would you bet that? :06:

as far as the census being used only for good and gainful purposes???

tell that to the Japanese Americans interned during world war 2.

Yup... FBI used census documents to round them up.

i dont know how tis came to be about google and private enterprise.

why would anyone trust either or???

EDIT:

at skybird... the boys at google dont have a sprawling military... the government does.

what information do you suppose i have given google?

e mail address? false first and last names? please,

and if i willfully provided them with that information - and it was subpoenaed because i performed illegal activity. FINE