How about your medical information? How about your financial information? Are you saying that everything about you is there for perusal?
what gave you the first clue? this is an online forum - just how much am i supposed to know about you except from what you post? besides, it wasn't meant as a dig or anything so don't take it personally. one more thing i forgot to mention that i would do that i guess i already have in some way is to help raise awareness - so by posting this, that part is done.
While that is true, search sites have no reason to track your IS address (nor the timedate the query was made), so gathering information from Google is worthless in trying to discover who asked about growing marijuana for personal use. So, my statement is true.
Clif, With Google, if you sign up for the "Personal Search" they track and sell to you based on your search history. Because you signed up, they now have your email address and your IP every time you search. If you purchase anything with them, they now have your home address, full name, and credit card info. All of that info is in their database and is utilized for future marketing and sales. I won't get into it here, but read their "Terms & Conditions" page if you want some very enlightening facts about what they take off your PC and what they do with it. How many of you click past reading the "Terms & Condition" as if it were the plague when loading software. It is the MOST important part of loading software on your PC these days and 95% of the users skip it. It seems most people have this idea that this can't hurt them and the government wouldn't let anyone play with their personal info. Wake up, your government is part of the industry that sells data. Yahoo and the other big engines do the same thing. Got a search engine Toolbar on your browser? You’re a prime catch!!!! Your passing so much info to their database that they are smiling from ear to ear. And they know the common user, over 80% of the Internet users; have no idea what's going on behind that screen. Google is not fighting the government on this issue with your privacy as the factor. They do not want their database or their search methods revealed in a court public records. These items have proprietary value that the competition can use and Google wants to protect that. Why do you think their stock is selling at almost $400 per share? Tracking you and your data is very big business and mega profitable!! That's the reason for browser hijackers, spam, spyware and the whole gambit of data snatchers. They're all vying for a piece of you, your life and the chance to sell that. The Database Industry has gotten so big that the new threat won’t involve the common internet user anymore. The threat is hacking and stealing database records. Major money is being spent right now in an attempt to protect what each company has. In my opinion this industry is the slime of our nation, trading our personal lives as a commodity, and our government is one of the big traders. Oh well, as our politicians say, "Anything for a buck."
but if they can nail illegal porn? and things such as that? or is that a cover up? maybe they can nail terrorists? I know that the terrorists may not have internet but, if they break through the borders they have a chance. wont they look up certain "key words" typed in? like "pipe bomb" or "kids porn" maybe ummmm(trying to come up with examples) "aircraft" I dont know, just a question. so, if you are not doing wrong things, who would care? I dont know where I stand. I see everyones point though. :?
The government's definition of "doing something wrong" is fluid and changes daily...it starts with pornography, or terrorists who want to blow up stuff, but is that where it would stop? I mean, now it is illegal by federal law to annoy someone anonymously. This concept of privacy invasion dances around the illegal search and seizure that our founding fathers wrote a ban against in the bill of rights. Any of you guys study the McCarthy era in the 50's? People were losing their jobs, way of life, the respect of their community if they were associating with the "wrong" political groups. It was a time of extreme paranoia in this country, but then the enemies were pinko's instead of al'Qaida. If the government knows everything you do, even if YOU think you aren't doing anything "wrong," it is still dangerous. Orwell - 1984 - read it. It might be 20 years late, but it is just about here.
Couldn't agree with you more ubergeek. It truly smacks of 1984 and all the ramifications of "Big Brother is watching". Very scary IMHO. This administration is making up their own rules for the rest of us to swallow and abide by. Your search may not be illegal today but who can say the same for tomorrow. And though these are obviously not on the same life and death level, just remember: First They Came for the Jews First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. Pastor Martin Niemöller
I have the milk duds, who has the popcorn? My computer, my movements, none of the government's business. Big Brother wants to put his nose in every aspect of our lives. It doesn't belong there. Frogger
My mom thinks its wrong I don't go to a Baptist church on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night....her definitions of wrong scare the h*ll out of me.
Ubergeek, Couldn't agree with you more!!! Ever since we entered the war, and it became unpatriotic to speak out against it, i saw the McCarthyism train coming to town. The changes in our laws, freedoms and lifestyle are a mimic to the false importance that McCarthy put on the Communist Threat in an attempt to mold the land to his beliefs. It's the same game just change the name in front of the word "threat". The worst part of the whole scenario is the number of Americans who fall for the "fear factor" politics associated with this type of paranoid movement. Asking the government to protect you from an invisible threat is akin to putting the kindergarten in charge of the cafeteria. Your going to get ice cream all day and nothing of substance, and the clean-up is going to be extensive.
The way I see it, my work van has a GPS tracking unit on it that tells the shop where I've been, how I got there, my speed, etc. My cell phone calls can be monitored by anyone with the right equipment, and certain keywords set off a bank of main frames somewhere in DC while I'm on the computer. They probably know how many times a day I pass gas, when I prefer to take a leak and wether I sit or stand (before you ask, I stand!). So, big deal about Google.
They do, but they can't tell anyone where you are and when you got there except for maybe those with Onstar. The GPS system on my van uses a wireless web connection to communicate with the shop. They can track almost everything I do. I've seen the print outs that tell them when I got to every stop, how long I was there, when I left, the speeds I traveled and on what roads. If I go 5 mins out of my way to take a leak, they can find out. It also allows us to communicate with the shop without tying up radios or phones.
so, yahoo and other companies have complied and gave the govt' what they wanted in the past. why hasnt google? what makes them so special.
