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An Epidemic of Snooping
Travoltus writes "Privacy advocates are frequently confronted with the rhetorical question, 'If you don't have anything to hide, you don't have a good reason to worry about losing your privacy, right?' This AP story uncovers a vast, distributed, decentralized epidemic of snooping into databases of personal information by workers at major utilities, the IRS, and other large organizations. In a number of cases these incidents have led to real harm. One striking example involves now ex-Mayor of Milwaukee Marvin Pratt, who had a pattern of being late paying his heating bills. This fact was leaked to the media by a utility worker and may have led to Pratt's losing a bid for re-election. As one can imagine, the harm becomes much greater when this same snooping is done by Government officials to deal with political enemies, or by corporations to uncover whistleblowers."
I'm so glad you feel that way, I'll be right over with a camera to video you shagging the misses. We can put in online for the world to see... nothing to hide, nothing to fear, right?
Allow me to introduce you all to Alicia. She's a middle-aged woman of a -- shall we say, "healthy" build - with a slight self esteem problem. Her appearance, while not all together unpleasant, did not turn heads as readily as the appearance of Brooke Burke does. Nonetheless, she was pretty in her own right and had many, simply adorable personality quirks. One (the most notable of which) being that she was addicted to a substance the household term of which being "Drain-O." She thought it had the most celestial taste of any liquid concocted by the ingenuity of man and paid homage to it in the form of repeated quaffing. She took the regular hospital trips all in stride and learned to enjoy the spongy pudding and moisture-deprived bread they served to patients. It wasn't too long after her discovery of this delightful beverage that her family committed her to a psychiatric ward where, in spite of their claims of loving her, they insisted that her access to all forms of cleaning supplies be prohibited.
It was absolutely preposterous, this claim that the liquid plumber be so "hazardous" to Alicia's health. Their accusations were unfounded and highly questionable. It became more and more apparent to Alicia that the real reason anybody would forbid her such a simple pleasure was pure jealousy. The petty mortals who did not know the joy of this thick, oozing ecstasy lashed out at her heavenly escape. It was a typical human response observed in the Brazilian slums and American Democrats.
The subsequent brain washing rituals proceeded, month in and month out while Alicia's attire was limited to straight jacket and uncomfortable hospital gown. People who you'd think of as respectable - people with Ph.D's and upstanding Christian backgrounds - would engage themselves in this jealous attack on Alicia's hobby. How could these people live with themselves - brandishing this double-standard living?! In the light of public, they appear to be honest, respectful people but within the closed doors of their institution of employment, they torment the innocent and otherwise joyful people.
"No, Alicia, you can not have any gray bottles today." Was all she ever heard - like it was a sin. Alicia was a fine Christian woman who read the bible regularly and never missed Morning Mass (barring the obvious: illness and days when the pastor was speaking on an indecent subject). An occasional Drain-O was not like fornication or gluttony! It was a benign pleasure and anyone refusing her of it was a proponent for injustice.
Speaking of carnal sins, it was only after a period of two years living in the asylum that a particular volunteer had taken a liking to Alicia. He communicated as much to her when he brought her food, or when he found her in a situation of privacy. Of course, he did not bear any brownie points in Alicia's book - he being employed in the system of anti-Drain-O-Indulgence that she loathed so fervently. Her disinterest in his adoration seemed to frustrate him and there were days when he avoided her as a result of it. As time wore on, his heartfelt gaze transitioned very gradually into the eyeing of a starved tiger. At first Alicia ignored it but when the unrequited love grew beyond this man's ability to cope, his messages of aggravation became more blatant. As blatant as white, gooey surprises on Alicia's breakfast tray and unspeakable photographs delivered haphazardly to her at night. To further chafe at Alicia's decency glands, her complaints to the Warden were dismissed as the ravings of a mentally unstable woman.
Mentally unstable indeed! She was committed because of a human incapability for empathy not because of instability in her mind. Alicia did not appear to herself as an insane person: Insane people ran about with foam dribbling from their mouths and blood dripping from their chain saws, screaming "NEEEEWWWWWBBBBIIIIEEEEEEEE!" all the while. Alicia had never exhibited such behavior - nor even entertained the idea. Insofar as she was concerned, she was not insane. She felt assaulted in the most e
I like cat ribs... they are tasteful... Just like chicken...
hav3 left in going to continue, Preferrably with an *pBSD is dead.