Why aren't governments as transparent as they could be?

nothing more to say

Government criminals? The need to catch criminals? Foreign government crimes?

What kind of crime? Or all of it?

Book Review at 11....

Police and Public Privacy

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A Balancing Act of Free Society

Unsurprisingly the answer to the question of too little on-line privacy is just not to share so much and to avoid using free services as much as possible. However, few if any people consider the actual cost -- which is nearly what the article's author indicates. What the author doesn't say is that most people wouldn't bother even if they knew what the problems were...

It's PGP all over again.

Also, if you share something on-line, knowingly or not, it's fair game for data mining. The Internet is a public space, and so, doesn't afford the expectation of privacy... governments are just doing what governments do... there is no conspiracy...

I was taught as a child: don't steal, don't hurt others - use your words.

- Politicians steal your money (taxes). Well, they don't steal it, but if you don't voluntarily give it to them, they put you in a cage.

- Politicians use guns and other large weapons to get what they want, if using words doesn't work.

@linuxscreenshot:

That's true. Governments work through threat of violence. However, without government there would be no society. The problem of too much government isn't a problem of the government, it's a problem of not being able to counterbalance the government with non-government control. In short, government should be treated like the open Internet spaces... corruptible if left unpatched or unattended for too long...

The posted article is a bit too wide ranging for my tastes. Public citizen data collection needs to happen. But the citizens in question can opt out of the data collection, by using cryptography or self-run services or not participating in certain services.

> That's true. Governments work through threat of violence. However, without government there would be no society.

I'd argue that history demonstrates fairly conclusively this is not true. However, a detailed discussion of the matter would undoubtedly have TOS implications. :(

Local law enforcement would be the only thing you would really need. As I see it, federal governments are not much different then paying gangs to protect you from other gangs. Simply protection money from people like themselves. Change a couple words around and it's suddenly legit, it's not bribery it lobbying. Hired once, salary for life. Leeches at best, criminals at worst. They don't go to court they answer questions to congress. No jail, perhaps fired or a suspension with pay and pension. Why isn't government transparent, because in a day most of them would be locked up, that is if the law was about justice, which it isn't, otherwise it would be completely free and void of monetary influence in anyway. Both sides would have the same resources to present or defend their case. It's about as lopsided as taxes. You'll never see a flat tax because there would be no loopholes in it to pay nothing. Like most corporations do today. How does this continue, oh yea, that 'lobbying' thing.

One word solution - "Accountability".

Once we stopped holding politicians accountable, we opened the floodgates to corruption and the closure of transparency.

Oh, and the reason we have the 2nd amendment is to force the issue resolution as a last resort - the messy way. That's why they want our guns, and are rapidly federalizing local police departments nationally.

*** ALERT! **** ALERT! ****

Participants in the above discussion have vilified their benevolent leaders who make possible the peace and tranquility we enjoy as a compliant, cooperative society.

Monitors have therefore flagged said participants as hostile terrorist forces. They will be removed for the good of society and for their own safety.

Know that your leaders are working to preserve the peaceful tranquil state that we all benefit from.

Signed, Your ubiquitous gun-wielding friends at the NSA, DHS, FBI, DEA, CIA, DOJ, FWS, EDOIG, FDA, ETC, ETC, ETC

The worst thing is, NoDough acts like he's joking. :(

And we should have nothing to hide, even though they do.

US sets new record for denying, censoring government files

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ab029d7c625149348143a51ff6117...

> The worst thing is, NoDough acts like he's joking. :(

Of course I'm joking! I do not believe that my government has become hostile to its own people. They have reason to monitor neither my activities nor those of my family and close friends.