In law, indeed the privacy was not there. In practice it is only relatively recent nearly everybody carries around cameras. The density of people was enough smaller that the illusion of more privacy than legally existed persisted. The practical privacy we had was significantly greater in most regards and, yes, less in others. Today one must actively assert privacy rights. Back then most people were not Nosy Nellies. Whether that was a good thing or not is still debatable. But, *I* liked it.
{^_^}

Since the assertion is that crooked cops keep getting flushed out for using Flock camera footage for illegal and even evil purposes. Seems to me if that assertion holds we have here in our hands a really good if slightly dangerous tool to deploy for finding crooked cops. As for personal privacy, that ship has sailed, repeatedly. Privacy today is nothing like what I grew up with in the 1950s'.

{o.o}

In the US only companies with government contracts are required to supply data to the US government beyond filing tax returns. Virtually any other data requires a court order. In China EVERY company must supply data of any kind that is requested to the government on request. I presume you can see the difference here.

{^_^}

Minor change to the wording: How many American companies are required by US Government to routinely supply said Government with all the information it wants without even involving the courts? In China if the Chinese government asks for a company's or individual's private data the companies must immediately comply with courts being irrelevant.

At least in the US we have legitimate courts between corporations and the government.

{o.o}

Almost all telephone spam comes from two sources, India and Real Estate "agents" who often have strong Hindu accents. How in (heavily censored profanity) does the FCC think IT'S rules about burner phones will affect this?

At the worst it will kill one of my most effective telephone spam filters by removing a key signature.

{^_^}

Who is the family member installing a Linux distro containing systemd? Junior has admin rights, sets the age data, and Bob's his uncle. This is the basic problem with all possible systems that are not beyond belief privacy invasions.

As for me, I figure I can set two accounts, one that shows me as a late 18 year old, if I want to snoop on 'em, and the other that shows a random age between 21 and 121 when I want to make as close a run on honesty despite unconstitutional levels of privacy invasion.

{^_^}

How appropriate can a cookie be? This one came up at the bottom of the page just below this article: "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary saftey deserve neither liberty not saftey." -- Benjamin Franklin, 1759
(The misspelling in the cookie is not mine.)

This is no more about "the children" than it is about the number of craters on the Moon on July 17th 1897 at 12:37 CET. It is about grabbing personal identifying material - in violation of minor things like HIPPA.

{^_^}

I suspect the most effective means of preventing construction of a data center in some locality is for that locality to legislate that it had to show four 40' US flags on the four corners of the building and have one flag ever 1000 square feet inside.
{O.O} But, even *I* am not vile enough to suggest that....

It amazes me to realize how many people, especially with the mental skills expected here, are furious if the US snoops into your lives or plots to nuke somebody are shrugging off or not even thinking of the consequences of some other less benign country (Russia, Iran, China) doing the same thing. It's gonna happen. How you gonna like it?
{O.O}

I drily note that CPB seems to have ignored Biden's decrepitude and inability to do his job asserting the opposite. If that doesn't tell you CPB is er was the DNC's "Pravda".

{^_^}

The NY Times seems to be unaware that the activity they cite is very much what they do to provide the articles they claim are in some way being stolen. It would be fun to see their reaction when their non-payed sources sue their sorry asterisks.
{^_^}

And of those 30% who were admitted how many met only social qualifications rather than skills and knowledge qualifications?
{o.o}

If the epidemic is imported, it is most likely through aliens who crossed into the use via illegal means and routes. Those immigrants go through few if any medical tests. We've had a small and declining such immigration since Trump took office. Biden and the Democrats are the ones who opened the door and then turned their backs because they didn't want to see the results. The chaos Biden and the Democrats have sown is what we are reaping, to our sorrow, now.

So of course, it would behoove is all to keep trying this open doors immigration policy. One of these times it will actually work! er ? um ?

{^_^}

In Korea a very large study has recently been published that seems to show a remarkable correlation between various cancers and having had COVID vaccines. For example men had a 68% higher chance of prostate cancer if they'd been vaccinated. (That means for every 100 unvaccinated prostate cancer patients you'd get 168 vaccinated prostate cancer patients.) Um, breast cancer risks also increased. Maybe that is where mine came from? I cannot say. I will say next time the government says I have to take an mRNA vaccine or suffer penalties, I'll tell them to stick their privates into a pencil sharpener.

{^_^}

Play loud baroque music on your own device. Experience suggests you'll soon have the car to yourself.
{^_-}