rideside.net

Posted by Miriam on 2005-09-21 16:07:58 +0000

Sounds pretty creepy to me.

Posted by tgl on 2005-09-21 16:19:38 +0000

Luckily, all your data is safe in the hands of the private sector.

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-21 16:47:09 +0000

sigh.

I'll defer to the wisdom of PJ O'Rourke:

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys"
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Posted by tgl on 2005-09-21 17:36:44 +0000

O'Rourke's statement is no less accurate if you replace "government" with "private sector".

In fact, I think the private sector can be a worse deal: I, as a voter, have more control over my government than I, as a shareholder, have control over a public corporation.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-09-21 18:02:53 +0000

I believe Katrina revealed what happens when people who do not belive in strong government (big or small) are in control of government.

Whenever I get the voting proxys for shareholders, I almost always vote against what the board of directors suggests...

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-09-21 21:47:35 +0000

All your data are belong to us.

Posted by Miriam on 2005-09-22 21:45:08 +0000

just on principle, or do you research the topics on the roster?

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-09-23 16:50:42 +0000

I generally read the proxy card. Sometimes for Visteon stock, I don't. I only have like ten shares, so what's the bother.

Oddly enough, the Ford shareholders vote came back yesterday. The only close vote, 24% for/76% against, was a plan to provide that all of the Company's outstanding stock have one vote per share. Needless to say the proposal to tying executive compensation to reducing lifetime product greenhouse gas emissions was rejected 5% for/95% against. I voted for both.

Posted by pamsterdam on 2005-10-03 21:33:53 +0000

As I'm not a citizen, no, I won't be in the database. On a side note, they've recently introduced a law which requires everyone in the Netherlands (citizens & non-citizens) to carry valid governmental ID on them at all times. I never take my passport out of my purse, and I'm used to similar expectations in the US, so it's no problem for me. However, some of my Euro friends were pretty freaked out about it. Funny how quickly we become accustomed to these things - I was vaguely surprised that there was no such rule previously here.

Right, back to the topic at hand. I reckon that it won't work in the way it's described in the article. Government here is heavy & slow. "Red flags for problem kids"? These so-called problem kids will only raise red flags once they're out of school and causing real criminal mischief. Parent-teacher conferences my ass. The database will be used to rack up profiles on suspected potential terrorists.

But I guess you knew that already.