my goodness, it has taken me HOURS to read this whole thread... because i actually read every single post. i have to say, i learned A LOT - so thank
you, to everyone who has contributed to this thread no matter which side of the issue you chose to speak for. Especially to Libertygal (i think i am
saying that correctly) - you provided some excellent links that i intend to share with a few people i know.
I was directed to this thread by Forever, who posted the link to it in a rant i posted last night:
www.abovetopsecret.com... - thanks for the heads up on this thread.
I just wanted to say, that quite a few times during this thread i saw posts that stated "the government already has my info, what could they possibly
get from facebook?" - "they gave me my ss number, they already know who i am, etc."
I would like to try to shed some light on these questions, from the standpoint of someone who works in the courts (me). there is a reason why, during
the course of a lawsuit, i will hire a private investigator to follow the opposing party. I already have their social security number, their address,
etc. - i got all of that stuff via Discovery requests (production, interrogatories, disclosures, depositions). What i need to know about you,
sometimes, in order to win my case, is what kind of person you are, what your character is. If I want to say that you are the TYPE of person who would
do x, y, or z... then i need to PAINT you up as the kind of person who would do that - and I need more than your social security number to do that.
Which Nietzche quotes appeal to you? What types of movies do you watch? What books do you read? What are your political ideals? Are you a Freudian or
a Jungian? Lord of the Rings or Star Wars? Who do you communicate with the most? What is it you talk about the most? What music do you like? Religion?
What's your favorite color? -- You would be surprised at what kind of picture can be painted of you, using this information... information that you
think is insignificant.
having said this - that works in reverse also. instead of taking information and painting you in a bad light, so to speak. lets say i needed a
scapegoat. all i would need is a profile of the type of person who would do x, y, and z. and i could plug that information into a HUGE database, like
facebook, and i could easily find people, based on their "insignificant" interests, who fit a certain profile. then you just have to narrow it down
by location, where and what someone was doing (so easy since so many people post their every move "boring night last night, sat at home alone, did
nothing... stared at the dog"), tc. and wah-lah, you have your next Lee Harvey Oswald or Timothy McVeigh, etc.
And this doesn't even include what this information COULD be used for regarding plans the government has that we aren't even aware of yet. What if
you fit the profile of someone who would stand up for your rights, someone who KNOWS their rights, someone who is educated, subscribes to certain
theories... and you wanted to round these people up and remove them from society as part of a bigger plan. Don't even TRY to say this isn't a
possibility, because history has SHOWN us that it can happen and HAS happened.
Now all of this may sound outlandish, and i am sure these are the most extreme examples. BUT, the bottom line is that we KNOW that behavioral
profiling is something that IS done, and it IS done for more reasons than to just sell people stuff. Police agencies use it alll the time. Loss
prevention personnel use it (hoodie, loose pants, certain age group, ethnicity = probable shoplifter). So, my point is that there is more to you than
just your social security number and your address... and the whole "who cares if they know i watch this movie or play that game" may be more telling
information about you - the inner workings of your mind - the profile of WHO you are than you give it credit for. After all, it is not our address or
our social security numbers that define us... it is all the other stuff i mentioned above. Don't discount ANY of that information as insignificant.
I'm sure the West Memphis Three never thought twice about owning a Stephen King book, until the day they were sitting on trial for murder and their
Stephen King book and their Metallica cassette was entered in to evidence as evidence that they were part of some satanic cult and that they killed
children as part of that cult. Sounds crazy, right? But it happened. Someone is sitting on death row as we speak, with NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE against
them, based on a circumstantial case full of evidence such as books, music, the color of their cloths (black t-shirts, etc.) and a jury who was
convinced by a crafty DA who knew how to paint a picture and use satanic panic to sway the jury in his direction.
I'm just saying, don't discount ANY information about yourself as insignificant. There is always someone who can manipulate it to serve their
purpose, or twist it into something its not.
FYI - Facebook is fastly becoming the tool that CPS workers use in order to deem a person an unfit parent and take children away. Just because that
margarita your holding in the picture is the ONLY margarita you've drank in like ... three years... and you only drank it because you were on a
cruise and ... i mean... who isnt going to have a margarita on a cruise?!? But some CPS worker... or some divorce attorney... can make that margarita
picture look like the most inappropriate thing ever. i have seen it happen with my own eyes. like i said, i work in the courts.
a little off topic, but good info to have : when i used to work for Allstate (Allsnake) we would use google earth to pull up pictures of peoples
houses to see if their vehicle was in the driveway when the image was taken, and if so, to see if there were any dents or any previous damage to your
vehicle and if so, print and document when google took the image. we busted so many people trying to claim previous damage on current claims that way.