I'm so sick of this "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." BS from politicians and people who worship them.

I have an easy solution, for all those who have nothing to hide, why not just release all your details publicly ? Then we will all be sure you have nothing to hide, and you will have nothing to fear ... right ?

Go on, go on your facebook or twitter, as this seems to be the initiative for this, and post everything about you. When I say everything, I mean everything, like medical records, sexual experiences, business transactions and deals, your location in real-time, all details about yourself required to steal your identity, etc. but it doesn't matter because you have nothing to fear ... somehow. Or do you feel fear when you think about it a bit more ? Or can you even think about it ?

[/rant]

If you want to rant then next time please use your web log: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...xmex_h-209258/

Agreed. Well, I'm not sure that I know that many people who worship politicians, these days, but I've got stuff to hide.

I do some occasional work for a (small) motor racing team, and, if the opposition knew some of my comments on loopholes in the sporting regs, that would be a massive disadvantage to us. I don't want anyone telling them, even if we've decided not to use those loopholes currently.

I've not noticed all that many politicians posting full details of their tax forms on-line, and I don't necessarily expect them too, but they shouldn't then imagine it is of zero concern to us what happens to our tax details.

I don't want details of everything I've purchased recently to be revealed - I've bought some items for another person (an aged person, who doesn't really cope with the on-line world too well) and, if you jumped to the obvious conclusion that I've bought those items for myself, you'd come to odd conclusions about my lifestyle, and possibly my wealth. Where you'd then go from that I don't know, but I don't want you doing it.

Not only that, but if those purchase details were to be revealed, there is no obvious forum I can use to defend myself against the conclusions that you might jump to. And, if employers generally were to conclude that I was decrepit and unfit for employment? What could I do?

And there are things called personal conversations; those are personal, and I don't want those coming out now and I don't want those still being available for everyone to read in twenty years time. I mean even if it is just a photo of fashion faux pas, I might choose to reveal that for general amusement, but it is my decision, not some else's.

I do not worship politicians (infact I dislike them immensly, especially the current crop in Australia). I have nothing to hide. However there is no chance in this world I am going to do anything you tell anyone to do. Why? because you are just so wrong in so many ways and your paranoia (even in this thread) is either a real problem or a circus designed to get people to communicate with you.

As far as I know the only communication in the US that is legally protected is the US Mail and land line phone calls only if they are not transmitted over the air. Very few people have a wired phone anymore and few people use the mail. All other ways of communication are not protected.

From my experience, I have been taken advantage by crook more than the politicians. Took me two years to get my credit sorted out after some bunch of crooks stole my identity.

I still say that the NSA and CIA and the FBI all have a right to investigate terrorism. If suspected bad guys in foreign lands are calling their buddies in the US, then we need to know that. My sister used to go to meetings in the world trade center towers. She and her husband worked in that area of NY, NY. They have been psychologically affected just like any person there that survived. I don't believe we need terrorist in the world. Why does anyone think blowing up women and children is a just "cause"? No God would accept such actions.

I agree with some of what you say but this point is it. You have the choice to reveal what you want to reveal not someone posting on a forum demanding that you do it.

I have no doubt some people do have thigns to hide and I respect their choices (I may not like them) as long as it does not impinge on others rights. The idea that everyone has things to hide insinuates we are all looking over our shoulders all the time hoping people don't find out information about us. If we don't want this then maybe spening less time on a medium that enables people to find out so much about us is the best option.

I am under the impression this is a form of molding.

So we get social media sites that get us to share bits and pieces of our life. Then we get social photo sharing sites that get us to snap a photo of everything we do (and many do). Then we get the "save us from terrorism" thrown around or "to save our children" and people just walk on and think nothing about it. Then you have devices like tvs and gaming consoles that listen to us in our home. Then you get the government snooping in on our lives and although there is some noise, there is no disorder caused from it.

So, what happens? This becomes the norm and a little more and a little more is pushed and pushed until it becomes just nature to have our lives as open books. Then if you decide to be the one whom hides your info and whom don't buy into the social clubs, you become the weirdo and are scolded from society and thrown away without the key. Meanwhile society sees this as fine because they have been molded into thinking private people are evil and have something to hide.

Welcome to society 2.0! It is on the way and there is nothing we can do about it. This is because the collective consciousness is moronic to say the least.

This is something that I find annoying, the way this is used as a put down against people who do say "save our children" is wrong.

People who use this as a put down have no concept of looking after the vulnerable in our society. We can go to war in a flash citing long established treaties but when it comes to protecting those in our own society who cannot protect themselves many people just don't seem to care. I find this mentallity extremely poor reasoning for something that is a social problem. Why we put ourselves in danger for people who don't care about others is beyond me.

We get instances such as the 3 women who were abducted and held captive for a decade, or people like Joseph Fritzl, or people like the 2 Chechen fellas, or the nutters who get hold of legal weapons shooting at schools. What do all the civil libertarians tell the people who were hurt, held captive, or to the families of those killed when the families or those hurt ask the obvious question of "why wasn't something done before this happened?" This is the crux of this matter. Can anyone here look someone in the eye and say "we have the technology to monitor things but because I am a civil libertarian I will fight against that technology being used."

Your missing my point. I have kids and by all means I want them protected.

What I don't want is our superiors using the excuse of "saving our children" as means to take away our privacy. This is just what they say. They smack a subject that we can all pretty much relate with on the surface, then they enact based on a completely different agenda. This happens many times in the USA. Sure, save us from terrorism, save my kids (all kids) from being shot in a school, but don't trick into believing you are doing these things and tie it in a nice pink bow and then all the sudden it was done for X reason instead.

I am not a monster and want nothing more then then the safety of my people (all people), but don't lie and say you are doing it for this and turn around and do that instead.

I get your point but your post doesn't differentiate between someone like me who says I personally am not worried because I have nothing to hide and it helps to protect the vulnerable in our society (i.e. kids, old, homeless, etc) compared to someone in authority who uses the same lines. The OP is quite deliberately pointing towards anyone who uses these lines and demands, indicating he thinks he has authority over someone in another country, that anyone who thinks or says this immediately posts up everything about themselves on social media.

This is how this entire idea loses focus. People like the OP make one statement and then someone else, this time you and I do understand your thoughts and respect your right to them, comes along and continues the same line of thought without differentiating "everyone who says or thinks this" from "those in authority".

In the case of the USA I can't help but think, and this is just my opinion, that those who don't vote yet complain when things dont go their way shouldn't complain. When a country only has a voting turn out of approx 50% of elligible voters then it seems to me, again only my opinion, there are bigger problems to deal with.

I see your point.

I have had discussions with the OP on these forums before, he does not feel the way he is posting. I can tell he is aggravated about something and just blowing off steam. From talking to him before, he wants nothing more then to live off grid somewhere and to disappear from society (at least in the past, unless much has changed). He is venting, don't take what he is saying personal.

I have nothing to hide, but I value my privacy. I value my privacy to a point that angers me when our government wants to infringe on my privacy for any reason. I am under the good old fashion impression that in order to protect people, you have to be guarded in a men on the line sort of way. There is no way to stop a single crazy man from doing something stupid that endangers life. The only thing that can stop such a thing is pressure. I am not for giving up my right to privacy for any reason. It is just uncalled for and chasing down my life is not going to solve any problem in any way. My life is no ones business unless I make my life their business in the form of conversation or whatnot.

As far as voting goes, meh. We are classified as a two party system here, that we are. But the last couple years it has become two sides of the same coin. It is either vote for A whom wants to radically do this, or vote for B who wants to radically do that. No one you vote for has the best interest of the country and or the people you are supposed to represent in mind. So to vote or not to vote is just a matter of the same thing. I did not vote last election. There was just no point. I did not like either one better then the other and whomever won was going to be a mess anyhow. Some like to say if you don't vote you shouldn't have a voice, meh. I think if you don't vote you have more of a right to complain because you didn't agree with the change, lol. But it is so much of the same thing.... Just don't end, all about the mighty dollar. Forget country and forget founding principles. Just so much money to be made taking from the people and giving nothing in return. Oh yhea, we got Obamacare that is going to cause people to get cut to under 27 hours a week. Go Obama.... Right lol.

Excellent

I don't want to get into a discussion about the OP as a person, his posts are what I find problematic. For someone who, you suggests, wants nothing more than to "live off grid somewhere and to disappear from society" he is going about it the wrong way by being in everyones face spreading conspiracy theories and demanding people do what he wants.

I understand and agree but I am not naive and think it does not happen or even that it is something new in the "western democracies". In Common Law jurisdictions privacy is extremely limited and in Australia it is legislated that privacy is not absolute. They are not out to know what you had for dinner or how many times you went to the toilet last night.

From the Australian Privacy Commisioner
Here they do not need a warrant all they need to do is show that the information is required to help in investigations. I personally have no problem with that but I know others do and the question I asked before is for those people. I dare say other Common law jurisdictions are the same as we are here in Australia.


There are parts I agree with and others I don't. Maybe it's time for the US to have another revolution, I think its time for one in Australia.

Guys, please keep it civil. There is no reason to call anyone paranoid here, the questions of the OP are valid and I can see where they come from. There is a difference between breaking into one persons privacy for a good reason and mass surveillance of all citizens of a country. I think that is what H_TeXMeX_H wants to say and what corbintechboy just expresses in a different way.

Here's a more extreme solution in line with the mainstream. How about I let the govmn't monitor absolutely everything in real-time everywhere ... however, in exchange if any terrorist event happens, then it is clearly either a massive inexcusable failure of the govmn't or the work of the govmn't themselves (equivalent in terms of the law) and they should be punished very severely for it (the death penalty). It can be no other way, if you give them absolute power then they must have absolute responsibility. I bet they won't like this, they just want absolute power and no responsibility.

Let's take a philosophical example I was given in college:

An uncle is taking care of his very rich nephew and stands to benefit from his death.

Scenarios:
1) The nephew slips while taking a bath and hits his head in full view of the uncle, and falls unconscious into the water. The uncle watches the nephew drown.
2) The uncle drowns the nephew in the bathtub.

The punishment should be equivalent, because the motive and end result are the same.

Yes, you are right, and maybe I should have posted it in my blog, but nobody reads it.

My life goal is to be able to live off the grid. This may change depending on conditions within certain countries.