The NSA isn't the only one monitoring us

On the 17th I mentioned American Beauty soldering irons in the thread on mini irons for the first time on line in a couple of years. Is it a coincidence that I got an American Beauty ad in my email today?

Bill

Here is some info on the subject

Gary Kovacs: Tracking our online trackers | Video on TED.com

they have lots of talks on internet security/trackers if you take the time to look

No. American Beauty is obviously monitoring you closely. They know when you wake up. They know when you go to bed. They know when you eat, and when you take a crap. They know what you are buying and for how much. They know when you have sex, and what kinks that turn you on. They have tapped into your car computer/gps and know exactly where you are driving every moment of every day. When you go to Disney World, they are even tapped into the new MagicBands so they know what rides you are riding, what you are buying, and where you are staying at the House of the Mouse. I would be very afraid of American Beauty.

Then again, it could just be a coincidence. Occam's Razor.

It amazes me that people think that the NSA or any other agency/company 1) has the capability to monitor everyone in this country 24/7 and 2) that they even give a crap and 3) that even if they can that it matters at all. I don't commit crimes. Thus, I have nothing to worry about. Oh wait, but if I'm paranoid, then I can start to imagine that they are "out to get me".

Get a life.

--Hawk

RebHawk said:

No. American Beauty is obviously monitoring you closely. They know when you wake up. They know when you go to bed. They know when you eat, and when you take a crap. They know what you are buying and for how much. They know when you have sex, and what kinks that turn you on. They have tapped into your car computer/gps and know exactly where you are driving every moment of every day. When you go to Disney World, they are even tapped into the new MagicBands so they know what rides you are riding, what you are buying, and where you are staying at the House of the Mouse. I would be very afraid of American Beauty.

Then again, it could just be a coincidence. Occam's Razor.

It amazes me that people think that the NSA or any other agency/company 1) has the capability to monitor everyone in this country 24/7 and 2) that they even give a crap and 3) that even if they can that it matters at all. I don't commit crimes. Thus, I have nothing to worry about. Oh wait, but if I'm paranoid, then I can start to imagine that they are "out to get me".

Get a life.

--Hawk

Click to expand...

And you, sir, are ignorant.

It's probably google's doing.

I don't know exactly how it works.....and quite honestly I am not that interested. However.....recently I was looking to replace the stock seat on my motorcycle with a nice Mustang touring seat. I did a little web browsing. Now I am inundated with ads from different places selling Mustang seats for my exact cycle......now that is not coincidence...lol

RebHawk said:

No. American Beauty is obviously monitoring you closely. They know when you wake up. They know when you go to bed. They know when you eat, and when you take a crap. They know what you are buying and for how much. They know when you have sex, and what kinks that turn you on. They have tapped into your car computer/gps and know exactly where you are driving every moment of every day. When you go to Disney World, they are even tapped into the new MagicBands so they know what rides you are riding, what you are buying, and where you are staying at the House of the Mouse. I would be very afraid of American Beauty.

Then again, it could just be a coincidence. Occam's Razor.

It amazes me that people think that the NSA or any other agency/company 1) has the capability to monitor everyone in this country 24/7 and 2) that they even give a crap and 3) that even if they can that it matters at all. I don't commit crimes. Thus, I have nothing to worry about. Oh wait, but if I'm paranoid, then I can start to imagine that they are "out to get me".

Get a life.

--Hawk

Click to expand...

Well, I'm glad they let sheep use the internet now.

1) Of course they have the ability to monitor everyone - the computer power that exists (that taxpayers bought) is incredible.

2) There is nothing more sour than the old "I'm not doing anything wrong so why should I care if they violate my rights to privacy as guaranteed by the US Constitution?" I guess since you are doing nothing illegal in your own bathroom you'd have no problem with them watching that, eh?

There is a fine line between paranoia and cautious thoughts. I tend to err on the side of the latter.

RebHawk said:

I don't commit crimes. Thus, I have nothing to worry about.

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The trouble with that is that the definition of "crime" is so fluid.

the motorcycle adds are from Google's ad sense. That is a very powerful peace of software. Anyone that uses Google's Apps for business to power their email can testify to that.

GregSY said:

Well, I'm glad they let sheep use the internet now.

1) Of course they have the ability to monitor everyone - the computer power that exists (that taxpayers bought) is incredible.

2) There is nothing more sour than the old "I'm not doing anything wrong so why should I care if they violate my rights to privacy as guaranteed by the US Constitution?" I guess since you are doing nothing illegal in your own bathroom you'd have no problem with them watching that, eh?

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Nope, if they get their jollies watching me take a crap (a pretty disgusting and stinky sight, by the way), then I say let them have at it. I lost most of my "modesty" when I had to take showers with a bunch of other guys after high school gym class.

I know probably more about the capabilities of the NSA than most here probably do. It's not really a question of whether they can pull in all the data. Sure they can. And it can be analyzed, mostly automagically by computer programs.

But why does it matter? Do you or your wife use a loyalty card at the grocery store to get discounts? Well guess what, the store is tracking your purchases. Do you use a Lowe's card at Lowe's hardware? Well, same thing. Have you ever bought anything on eBay or PayPal? Same thing. Have you EVER used a credit card to purchase anything? Well, the CC companies certainly track what you buy. When you buy gas with a credit card and the pump asks you to input your billing zip code, are you under the misapprehension that the reason it does that is for your *security* No, it's so the gas station can track purchases by zip code. Have you ever had a home loan or a loan for your business? Guess what, the banks and lenders not even associated with your bank are tracking you.

We are tracked more than most people realize. You can either accept it and move on with your life, or spend your time getting all irate about it. I choose to get on with my life and not worry about things I can't control. And if you think that somehow you can control this monitoring, you are living in a fantasy land.

--Hawk

Ever read The Trial?. Poor bugger never even found what crimes he may have committed!

BTW, if you are one of the many, many sheep out there that carries a "smart" phone everywhere you go, your whereabouts are being recorded and saved all the time. And guess what? it's not 'your' information and lots of different people have the ability to get access your records in complete secrecy.

Welcome to the security state!

Another tidbit - the Android operating system has code in it written by guess who - the NSA! Don't be evil indeed.

Rich

Of course they aren't monitoring my sex life, but it is a lot more believable that they are doing searches on their name and responding on the grounds that anyone who mentions them may be a potential customer. More than once I have Googled an item and turned up a PM thread about it. It would be easy enough for them to do the same. A while back someone mentioned an especially rugged French fry cutter. I looked at the manufacturer's website, just from curiosity, and for several days sidebar ads for the slicer appeared on my screen. There is no question that this sort of thing is going on, the people doing it even write articles about it. The question is to what degree. Actually, Sir William probably would have voted for an intentional effort before a random occurrence.

Besides, this could be the answer to the unemployment problem. All the people who cannot perform well enough and the even greater numbers who could but there is no employment available for could be put to work monitoring each other, paid by taxing the few who own the machines that have displaced the workers, which would also maintain a customer base for the automated production.

Incidentally, when East Germany collapsed and records were released, Katarina Witt found that they really were monitoring her sex life, which no doubt was more entertaining than mine.

Bill

Ok, for all you folks scared to death of NSA monitoring, I challenge you to give me ONE, just ONE documented example (not "a friend of my wife's cousin's aunt's dad's mother's niece told me, but *real* verifiable documentation) of a case where an NSA intercept was used to wrongfully convict or otherwise harm a US citizen.

--Hawk

RebHawk said:

We are tracked more than most people realize. You can either accept it and move on with your life, or spend your time getting all irate about it. I choose to get on with my life and not worry about things I can't control. And if you think that somehow you can control this monitoring, you are living in a fantasy land.

--Hawk

Click to expand...

Where do I exhibit an irate posture? And where do I say I want to control monitoring? I merely made an observation and asked a question. You are the one who is getting upset.

Bill

deljr15 said:

the motorcycle adds are from Google's ad sense. That is a very powerful peace of software. Anyone that uses Google's Apps for business to power their email can testify to that.

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I was unaware of that....yes I did google the seat I wanted.

Bill those comments after my initial post were not directed at you, but others who had posted.

richmccarty said:

Ever read The Trial?. Poor bugger never even found what crimes he may have committed!

Click to expand...

Yep, it is a work of *fiction* by Franz Kafka.

BTW, if you are one of the many, many sheep out there that carries a "smart" phone everywhere you go, your whereabouts are being recorded and saved all the time.

Rich

Click to expand...

No smartphone is required. ANY cell phone is traceable in exactly the way you describe.

--Hawk

RebHawk said:

Ok, for all you folks scared to death of NSA monitoring, I challenge you to give me ONE, just ONE documented example (not "a friend of my wife's cousin's aunt's dad's mother's niece told me, but *real* verifiable documentation) of a case where an NSA intercept was used to wrongfully convict or otherwise harm a US citizen.

--Hawk

Click to expand...

On its face.......I am not all that concerned about it. But what does concern me is the bureaucrats that have access to all this collected information. Between the little weeny (Snowden), the IRS debacle, the news stories we hear every month or so about some doofus losing a laptop with a bunch of personal info about customers......I feel better if they know less. Kinda like putting something over your garage windows.....if they cant see it .....they cant steal it.

I don't get any trash mail, but I also have my cookies turned off