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Post by faskew on Nov 7, 2017 9:20:48 GMT -5
I thought about posting this on the Politics section, but it's really about science and the attack on science by the right, the left, and those in power. Ignorance is not bliss - it's misery and death. Our overlords, both government and corporate, want to hide information from us. Facts threaten their money flow. It's the old joke in action: how do you raise mushrooms? Keep them in the dark and feed them manure. We can demand that our government and corporations change their ways, but there's simply too much money involved for that to work. They will never voluntarily give up the loot. The most realistic solution is for non-government benign billionaires or private groups to pay for the collecting and publishing of the data that the government is trying to hide from us. The overlords will claim that it's fake and fight to keep their immoral money, but if we don't believe that truth can eventually beat lies, there's not much point in anything. www.wired.com/story/mass-shootings-climate-discrimination-why-governments-fear-of-data-threatens-us-all/ |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2017 12:06:59 GMT -5
It's a strange situation because until recently, governments and the attached corporate complex have been absolutely in love with data, and were obsessed with its collection and storage.
Even now, Google probably knows more about us than all but the most intrusive intelligence agencies.
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Post by rmarks1 on Nov 7, 2017 16:41:18 GMT -5
It's a strange situation because until recently, governments and the attached corporate complex have been absolutely in love with data, and were obsessed with its collection and storage. Even now, Google probably knows more about us than all but the most intrusive intelligence agencies. As you pointed out in a post several months ago, it's not just the data that counts. It's the interpretation. Bob |
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Post by faskew on Nov 7, 2017 17:28:31 GMT -5
Mcans - Corporations and governments are still in love with data, they just don't want the general public to have access to any data that might cost them money or get citizens to take action to stop some of the things they do. As in the example in the article, the tobacco companies knew that nicotine was more addictive than heroin for years, but they kept it a secret and publicly denied that reality. Between corporate data files and government surveillance, there's no such thing as privacy. Unless you pay cash for everything, all your transactions are stored on a computer somewhere. When you're on the street, cameras are watching you. When you're on the internet, giant servers in some dark, cold room are keeping track of all the sites you visit and how long you spend on each page.
They want the data - they just don't want to share it with you. 8-<
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Post by raybar on Nov 7, 2017 20:33:15 GMT -5
In Los Angeles (and elsewhere I assume) many stores encourage you to open a membership account. The encouragement is very powerful because the card gets you discounted prices on numerous products all the time. Without it you pay the "real" price which seems to exist only to be discounted. Grrrrr.
Last time they upgraded the cards, the cashier gave me a new one and, rather than hold up the line while I filled out the form, said something like "just fill it out at home and give it to me next time." But I never did. So their giant server knows what customer number ### #### ####I buys but doesn't have my name. Of course, the other giant server at the credit card company probably talks to the giant supermarket server, so they probably do know my name unless I pay cash. Grrrr2
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Post by faskew on Nov 8, 2017 8:13:04 GMT -5
As the Russian troll farms demonstrated during the election last year, it's very easy to set up fake accounts. For email, I use Yahoo for personal stuff, gmail for anything to do with business (because they have the best spam filter), and hotmail for various clubs and organizations. And maybe, just maybe, the data I entered when I set these up may not be totally true. Not recommending it, of course, but it's possible to have accounts with fake information for all free emails, Facebook, whatever.
For those discount cards and such that require an actual email address, you can create a garbage email just to use to verify that there is a real email address. Then ignore it. And if you're really paranoid, you can even use the services that hide your IP address as you surf the internet.
Privacy is an illusion. But you can fight back with your own illusions. 8-D
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2017 20:34:43 GMT -5
The data in those fake accounts is still real because it is based on real activities and purchases.
They just can't link it as easily to the physical world, and cross referencing becomes harder.
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Post by faskew on Nov 10, 2017 9:55:17 GMT -5
Yes, but it's not tracked back to you, unless someone can get your IP address. If you're really paranoid, you can use one of the Tor-type services that hides your IP address. If you visit a web site with a fake account, Facebook or Google can't send real email targeted ads. They may send them to a fake email account, but some of those should be set up so that you never even bother to open them. Let them spam all they want - you'll never see it. Like I said, gmail has the best spam filter of all the free services, so setting up a fake there means there may be almost nothing in it. Ever. 8->
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2017 19:33:52 GMT -5
Gmail is also owned by Google, so any information that goes through your Gmail account will be perused and used by Google, and added to your metadata profile.
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Post by faskew on Nov 15, 2017 11:02:47 GMT -5
Which is why creating a fake account with fake info can be useful. They can collect all they want, but it's not you. 8->
Unfortunately, there are literally dozens of applications keeping track of everything you do on the internet. If you're really paranoid, you can use one of the sites that hides your IP address as you browse. But that might bring you to the attention of authorities who might wonder what you're trying to hide. LOL
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