Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Robert Scheer: Tumblr Is Worth $1.1 Billion to Yahoo for One Reason: You - Robert Scheer's Columns - Truthdig

Robert Scheer: Tumblr Is Worth $1.1 Billion to Yahoo for One Reason: You - Robert Scheer's Columns - Truthdig

Oh, am I glad that I am so careful what I say herein, and even more so on the Facebook.  "The walls have ears" is putting it mildly.

From the article:  "That the very tools of data mining developed to track consumer habits could also be used to sustain totalitarian thought control was conceded in a recent book, “The New Digital Age,” by top Google execs Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen."

It's bad enough that I frequently complain about the erosion of our so-called freedoms.  I complain freely about our National Security State.  When the level of intrusion into all matters digital reaches a certain level, even I might end up in the cross-hairs.  "What harm could I possibly represent?  What possible threat to power?"  Lots of guys at Guantanamo could honestly say the same thing.  I know that we're not bound for Guantanamo, we closet dissidents, but the potential for having to spend good money to defend ourselves; losing employability in  difficult times; getting our internet cut off for some imagined misfeasance; or even just the feeling that our government does not love us anymore; these things are, let's just say, disagreeable. 

I'm sorry to disturb your reverie.  Please go back to sleep.  To be sure, I'm just being paranoid.  But maybe, just maybe, it's all worth thinking about, and there's precious little of that going on as we speak.



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