Census gets personal (US politics)

[SteamWake]

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

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...



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




In related news

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Monday it has notified nearly 100 companies and organizations of data breaches involving personal information about customers or employees.

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

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

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

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?

[SteamWake]

I dont remember bringing up Google

[Skybird]

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?

[GoldenRivet]

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.

[Aramike]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

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.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

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

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

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.

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

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.

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

[AngusJS]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

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.

And the US government is?

Regarding the 10 commandments, prayer and the pledge - what Sailor Steve said.

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Originally Posted by Skybird

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?

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.

[August]

Originally Posted by Torvald Von Mansee

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.

Was any of this really necessary? Seems that liberals such as yourself were claiming the government was all that and worse just a few years ago. Do you really believe that because the present administration and their Acorn brownshirts are Democrats they are any less a threat than the Republicans were?

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

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.

Actually the Constition requires Congress to make "an enumeration". You are not even required to answer that question.

It's a good thing, though, as its purpose is to properly divide the apportionment of the Representatives.

Other than that, ptthhhh! I have a friend who never fails to argue with the census takers. All the more fun, because I've applied to be one. I'm curious to see what kind of instructions they give to the actual field workers.

[August]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

It's a good thing, though, as its purpose is to properly divide the apportionment of the Representatives.

I'm ok with that. I'll give them our names even. But they can go piss up a rope before I give them more.

[SteamWake]

A funny though crossed my mind.

With todays technology and... well... data mining (yes like google) wouldent it be realatively easy to get a really good educated guess?

Why spend millions on a goverment run census?

Couldent a private consulting firm do it cheaper and faster? Hell I bet they already have the numbers pretty damn close already.

By the way I'm not overlooking the fact that jobs will be created. That is a good thing in that some of that money will make it into the hands of Joe Shlub.

Millions of jobs are being created... by the goverment.

These jobs will dry up after the census, after the summer and the poor bastards will be on the streets again.

The timing of this boost in employment is at the very least benifical to the administration.

This does not go un noticed by me.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

With todays technology and... well... data mining (yes like google) wouldent it be realatively easy to get a really good educated guess?

Why spend millions on a goverment run census?

The state tyranny in Germany is doing it like that. there is a census in Germany this year or next year. The data will not be asked for at the dorr, but directly collected from the database of several offices, like finance authority.

Well, at least the finance authority does not use their data on me to profile my private behaviour, interests, likes and dislikes, and social habits.