Big Brother Knows What You've Been Reading

[Suzanimal]

Every book you read on your Kindle (or Kindle app) and every word you highlight in those ebooks is recorded by Amazon and may be shared by the bookselling behemoth with the federal government.

The Guardian (U.K.) explains how the agents of the surveillance state are surreptitiously storing all the annotations readers make in electronic copies of books:

Just take a look at the Kindle terms of use. As you wrestle with the rantings of Austria's most lethal watercolourist [Adolf Hitler], your device is providing Amazon with "information related to the Digital Content on your Kindle and Supported Devices and your use of it ... such as last page read and content archiving". It's also reporting back on information "including annotations, bookmarks, notes, highlights, or similar markings", and may be storing those reports on "servers that are located outside the country in which you live" — say hello, China — all so they can "personalise and continually improve your shopping experience," or to "send offers to selected groups of Amazon.co.uk customers on behalf of other businesses", or to, erm, "comply with the law; enforce or apply our Conditions of Use and other agreements; or protect the rights, property or safety of Amazon.co.uk, our users or others" — oh, hello NSA.

It's not just about Jeff Bezos, of course. Whether you're exploring fascism on your iPad or your Android phone, Big Brother is watching. These kind of concerns tend to raise little more than a shrug around these parts, but you might want to think twice before downloading your electronic copy of Mao's Little Red Book of Guerilla Warfare.


While The Guardian is right to warn readers that the NSA and other watchers employed in the federal government’s Panopticon that their reading lists and highlights are being monitored, it is likely that the wardens in Washington are less concerned with people who read Mein Kampf on the sly or mull over Mao between classes. No, the government is much warier of those who would download and digest the words of those whose writings would elicit doubts about the magnanimity of the central planners and their purported concern for the safety of Americans.

The feds would be much more interested in investigating the reading and writing habits of those who studied books that exposed the corruption and conspiracy that created the Federal Reserve and how that organization has manipulated the U.S. monetary system for over 100 years.

It is just as certain that the surveillance apparatus would be more motivated to monitor the marks made by those reading books about nullification and secession on their Kindle than those reading the milquetoast neocon attacks on ISIS or other perceived foreign threats to American liberty.

The Guardian article focuses on the potential passing of reading habits and highlights to the federal government by the purveyors of electronic books. As it rightly points out, quoting author Chris Faraone:

People might not have wanted to buy Mein Kampf at Borders or have it delivered to their home or displayed on their living room bookshelf, let alone get spotted reading it on a subway, but judging by hundreds of customer comments online, readers like that digital copies can be quietly perused then dropped into a folder or deleted.

That isn’t to say that the agents of the surveillance state are solely interested in the electronic library of Americans, however.

Brick and mortar libraries and the identify of book borrowers are under the eye of the NSA, as well. An article published by CrimeLibrary.com in 2014 reports the resistance of librarians to the seizure of library records by the government:

Kirsten Clark, a regional depository librarian at the University of Minnesota and Intellectual Committee Chair of the Minnesota Library Association, warns that mass-data collection (of library records or cell phone data, for example) obscures the violation of privacy, and is thus all the more dangerous: Individuals don’t know what information has been collected or how it’s being used.

Library information can be more personal than the metadata-collection that’s making news. What exactly the NSA may have asked of any librarian is a matter of conjecture: Any such requests are sealed. But typical library records such as what a user does on library computers, or what books a patron borrows, are presumably of interest to the NSA in cases when those individual records or larger patterns surrounding them may suggest potential terrorist activity.

What’s of interest to the NSA, of course, is anything and everything that could potentially be used to keep citizens in line and fearful of the repercussions from opposing federal tyranny.

If we are a Republic of laws, though, then the supreme constitutional law of the land must be adhered to. The standard is the Constitution — for every issue, on every occasion, with no exceptions. Anything less than that is a step toward tyranny.

Taken together, the roster of snooping programs in use by the federal government places every American under the threat of constant surveillance. The courts, Congress, and the president have formed an unholy alliance bent on obliterating the Constitution and establishing a country where every citizen is a suspect and is perpetually under the never-blinking eye of the government.

The establishment will likely continue construction of the surveillance until the entire country is being watched around the clock and every monitored activity is recorded and made retrievable by agents who will have a dossier on every American.

The fight can yet be won, though. Americans can attack the sprawling surveillance state on several fronts. First, we must elect men and women to federal office who will honor their oaths of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. Then, once in office, each of them must be held immediately accountable for each and every violation of that oath.

Next, we must fill our state legislatures with men and women who will refuse to enforce any act of the federal government that exceeds the boundaries of its constitutionally granted powers. These lawmakers must use the stick of nullification to force the federal beast back inside its constitutional cage and never accept even a degree of deviation from the blueprint drawn in Philadelphia in 1787.

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/item/20126-big-brother-knows-what-you-ve-been-reading

[tod evans]

Just to make sure you're right up there at the tip-top of their Boogeyman list here's a link to the Anarchist Cookbook.....:D

https://archive.org/details/TheAnarchistCookbook

[acptulsa]

If they're waiting for me to get a Kindle so they can spy on me, they've got a long wait coming.

Of course, I don't think for a second that they aren't finding other ways. Seems to me that assuming any piece of electronics isn't spying on you and reporting to the corporatocracy is a mighty bad assumption.

[DamianTV]

*sigh*

Without recognition of Rights, everything becomes subject to approval.

The above statement applies obviously to Privacy. For anyone to act upon information, first they must have access to the information. In the end, we will all be hung simply for what we know or what we think.

[Suzanimal]

Just to make sure you're right up there at the tip-top of their Boogeyman list here's a link to the Anarchist Cookbook.....:D

https://archive.org/details/TheAnarchistCookbook

It's the #1 Bestseller in Political Reference on Amazon.

[donnay]

One of the reasons I don't own a Kindle, Nook or whatever. If I want to read a book I go and buy it.

[Stratovarious]

I don't do Kindle, but does it bother anyone that Google harvests all of your information that you provide through searches, and even other
ways I haven't figured out, and then instantly sells it to God knows who that comes back in minutes trying to sell you what you are viewing.

I mean for instance an amp I'm thinking of selling checked out ebay listings, next time I go to google for something not even related , Google
page show adds selling me what I'm thinking of selling.

YOu think Google would hesitate to provide this info to anyone ?

[specsaregood]

I don't do Kindle, but does it bother anyone that Google harvests all of your information that you provide through searches, and even other
ways I haven't figured out, and then instantly sells it to God knows who that comes back in minutes trying to sell you what you are viewing.

I mean for instance an amp I'm thinking of selling checked out ebay listings, next time I go to google for something not even related , Google
page show adds selling me what I'm thinking of selling.

YOu think Google would hesitate to provide this info to anyone ?

Its not all that hard to block your computer from providing such information to google. And yes it did bother me.

[Stratovarious]

Its not all that hard to block your computer from providing such information to google. And yes it did bother me.

I'll gOOgle it... :-), or Youtube a solution, I don't have a very extensive firewall , Browsers ; Firefox just wrecks my OS ,so I'm usually using exploder, and of course
google chrome is totally out of the question.

[DamianTV]

I think we ought to look at some of the inherit technical problems with EBooks.

Between Books and EReaders, which doesnt suffer from Cracked Screens? A Book.
Which doesnt suffer from Dead Batteries? A Book.
Which cant be deleted remotely after purchase? A Book.
Which doesnt transmit detailed information? A Book.
Which doesnt contain some form of DRM? A Book
Which is made out of the least toxic chemicals? A Book
Which will never suffer from Computer Viruses? A Book
Which is easier to read in direct sunlight? A Book.
Which doesnt the Govt know you are reading? A Book.

Winner: Books!

Fuck. A. Bunch. Of. Computer. Books.
(paraphrasing AF)

[specsaregood]

I'll gOOgle it... :-), or Youtube a solution, I don't have a very extensive firewall , Browsers ; Firefox just wrecks my OS ,so I'm usually using exploder, and of course
google chrome is totally out of the question.

Note: completely blocking google will render their service ineffective. But just doing the following will definitely block a LOT of it.
Block their analytics stuff using your hosts file.
http://www.neiland.net/blog/article/ditching-google-blocking-tracking-with-the-hosts-file/
127.0.0.1 www.google-analytics.com
127.0.0.1 ssl.google-analytics.com

Then in Internet Explorer:
Tools -> manage add-ons -> Add-on types (tracking protection) -> right click on "stop google tracking" and mark it "enabled"
While you are in there, there are a bunch of other tracking protection add-ons you can enable (they are all free)

[PRB]

but it's convenient!!!

[Marenco]

I think we ought to look at some of the inherit technical problems with EBooks.

Between Books and EReaders, which doesnt suffer from Cracked Screens? A Book.
Which doesnt suffer from Dead Batteries? A Book.
Which cant be deleted remotely after purchase? A Book.
Which doesnt transmit detailed information? A Book.
Which doesnt contain some form of DRM? A Book
Which is made out of the least toxic chemicals? A Book
Which will never suffer from Computer Viruses? A Book
Which is easier to read in direct sunlight? A Book.
Which doesnt the Govt know you are reading? A Book.

Winner: Books!

Fuck. A. Bunch. Of. Computer. Books.
(paraphrasing AF)

Nothing like having the hard copy...

http://endicottstudio.typepad.com/endicott_redux/images/2008/02/06/old_books_by_john_hulse_jr.jpg

[Mach]

One of the reasons I don't own a Kindle, Nook or whatever. If I want to read a book I go and buy it.

online? :D

[Stratovarious]

Note: completely blocking google will render their service ineffective. But just doing the following will definitely block a LOT of it.
Block their analytics stuff using your hosts file.
http://www.neiland.net/blog/article/ditching-google-blocking-tracking-with-the-hosts-file/
127.0.0.1 www.google-analytics.com (http://www.google-analytics.com)
127.0.0.1 ssl.google-analytics.com

Then in Internet Explorer:
Tools -> manage add-ons -> Add-on types (tracking protection) -> right click on "stop google tracking" and mark it "enabled"
While you are in there, there are a bunch of other tracking protection add-ons you can enable (they are all free)
Thanks much, I did that , not real clear by the text that followed, but it no longer said disabled in the same line.
I use google mostly proxied through startpage. I didn't find any other protection add ons, but I might not have looked
in the right place.
Thanks again...


..

[BuddyRey]

I hate to be the one to go against the anti-eReader circlejerk (especially since I'm usually in total agreement with Anti-Federalist and others about the frivolity of Millennials and their technologies ;) ), but my Kindle is the best 50 bucks I ever spent, and I can't imagine having to go back to clunky, expensive, space-wasting books. Now I'm just waiting for digitization of books to become so ubiquitous that it topples the college textbook cartel.

[Suzanimal]

I hate to be the one to go against the anti-eReader circlejerk (especially since I'm usually in total agreement with Anti-Federalist and others about the frivolity of Millennials and their technologies ;) ), but my Kindle is the best 50 bucks I ever spent, and I can't imagine having to go back to clunky, expensive, space-wasting books. Now I'm just waiting for digitization of books to become so ubiquitous that it topples the college textbook cartel.

I love my Kindle too but I don't like being snooped on, it's creepy.

[BV2]

Well, then they already know how I feel about this: "Let them come." And, "Nothing is inconvenient to an imperial state which is expedient." Haha, my kindle is named liberty kindle. I also really enjoy my kindle, and I read mostly free books.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Just a nit pick...


People might not have wanted to buy Mein Kampf at Borders or have it delivered to their home

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borders_Group

On February 16, 2011, Borders applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and began liquidating 226 of its stores in the United States. Despite a purchase offer from the private-equity firm Najafi Companies, Borders was not able to find a buyer acceptable to its creditors before its July 17 bidding deadline, and therefore began liquidating its remaining 399 retail outlets on July 22, with the last remaining stores closing their doors on Sunday, September 18, 2011.[5] The Chapter 11 case was ultimately converted to Chapter 7.[6] Rival bookseller Barnes & Noble acquired Borders' trademarks and customer list. On October 14, 2011, Borders' former website was replaced by a redirect to Barnes & Noble's site.

I miss that place! :(




I think we ought to look at some of the inherit technical problems with EBooks.

Between Books and EReaders, which doesnt suffer from Cracked Screens? A Book.
Which doesnt suffer from Dead Batteries? A Book.
Which cant be deleted remotely after purchase? A Book.
Which doesnt transmit detailed information? A Book.
Which doesnt contain some form of DRM? A Book
Which is made out of the least toxic chemicals? A Book
Which will never suffer from Computer Viruses? A Book
Which is easier to read in direct sunlight? A Book.
Which doesnt the Govt know you are reading? A Book.

Winner: Books!

Fuck. A. Bunch. Of. Computer. Books.
(paraphrasing AF)

All good points, however:

You can usually get very expensive technical books at half off or less.
Some books are only available in electronic format.
You can carry a daypack's worth of books in your pocket.

To add another negative: You can't print anything out and sometimes you really want to. Detailed, small print stuff, step by step instructions, etc.

-t

[oyarde]

I read things printed on paper , pay cash and pass them on when done .

[heavenlyboy34]

If they're waiting for me to get a Kindle so they can spy on me, they've got a long wait coming.

Of course, I don't think for a second that they aren't finding other ways. Seems to me that assuming any piece of electronics isn't spying on you and reporting to the corporatocracy is a mighty bad assumption.
I have an old-fashioned, un-hip kindle 1G. I wonder if they can spy on those? :confused: Anyway, there's a kindle for PC app if you'd like to read kindle books without worry about Big Brother. Just FWIW.

[PRB]

I have an old-fashioned, un-hip kindle 1G. I wonder if they can spy on those? :confused: Anyway, there's a kindle for PC app if you'd like to read kindle books without worry about Big Brother. Just FWIW.

i doubt it. too slow and they dont expect people to keep those for too long.

[PRB]

I read things printed on paper , pay cash and pass them on when done .

last time i checked, people like bragging about what they read anyway.

[BV2]

last time i checked, people like bragging about what they read anyway.
You gonna tell us about those Amish romances again PRB?

[nobody's_hero]

Just another example of technology making us freer. Am I right? Am I right?

Throw it in the woods Siberian wilderness


I don't do Kindle, but does it bother anyone that Google harvests all of your information that you provide through searches, and even other
ways I haven't figured out, and then instantly sells it to God knows who that comes back in minutes trying to sell you what you are viewing.

I mean for instance an amp I'm thinking of selling checked out ebay listings, next time I go to google for something not even related , Google
page show adds selling me what I'm thinking of selling.

YOu think Google would hesitate to provide this info to anyone ?

You dare question Godgle? Heresy!

[ChaosControl]

I will always prefer hard copies. This is just another reason.

[DamianTV]

Just another example of technology making us freer. Am I right? Am I right?

Throw it in the woods Siberian wilderness



You dare question Godgle? Heresy!

Screw that! Im going to Mt. Doom to "Throw it into the Fire"!

---

Next problem with E-Readers: Where is your Library? On your E-Reader? What happens when that dies and you can no longer download a copy of 1984? Wanna know what happens when Govt orders a Book Blacklist? Your E-Books go bye bye! Your books remain in your possession and your control.

Granted, E-Readers do have some usefulness as far as common print, schmatics, tech manuals, things that dont print right on common printers, but jesus, at what point are they gonna stop sticking their noses in EVERYTHING YOU DO? When does saying "The N Word" turn into "Reading the N Word" is a Crime?

Do not read this post. Reading this post is a Crime. If you have read this post, you have just committed a Crime.

Next problem is the EDIT. When are classic works, like the original version of 1984 get re-written to be more Marxist Supportive instead of a warning shot? What happens when your Anarchist Cookbook bears the same name, but turns out to be a fucking Recipe book by Betty Crocker? You dont know when your Digital Content will be altered to only express approved messages. When everything literally becomes digital, you wont know if what is on your Ebook is the same as what was in the paperback. Monopoly on Belief. What happens when we are no longer around and our kids get some form of 1984, provided it isnt on a Blacklist, that they are unable to compare to the original works? The power to edit books on the fly is the power to rewrite history. US didnt win the Revolutionary War, there was no Constitution, the Bill of Rights granted Rights to the Govt, not the People. This is some scary shit, but knowing what you read is one of many ways that Big Brother continues to drill into your brains that "nothing to hide is nothing to fear". Wanna know how to create a Terrorist out of nobody? Find something they read, ever, and use it against them. Find an opinion you dont approve of. Find a pattern of thought which displays Oppositional Defiance Disorder. Or just do it the easy way:

Wanna know how to find a Terrorist? Get a subscriber list for all the members of E-Terrorist Weekly!

[oyarde]

last time i checked, people like bragging about what they read anyway.

The newspapers work great for starting my fire . Bragging around my house ( specifically , the Mrs ) is usually more along the lines of who caught the biggest fish etc

[CaptUSA]

Guess what? If you use a credit or debit card to purchase your paper books, they already know what you're reading. If you use cash but scan your discount card, they already know what you're reading. If you use cash, no discount card, but talk about it over the phone or online, they know what you're reading.

I really think I need to post the big picture here because I don't think enough of us understand it. The definition of privacy that you all know doesn't exist in the modern world. Privacy exists - just not how you're thinking about it. Every interaction you have in public, is a public interaction. Any use of connected technology is a public interaction - not a private one. Soon, there will be drones by the thousands with facial recognition software and listening devices that would make James Bond jealous. They will be able to pick up your sounds and images from miles away. This is reality - and there's no stopping it. You can sit around bitching about it, but that's not very useful. The entire world is a public interaction.

So the real question is, "How does one retain privacy when everything is public?" There are ways. There are business opportunities. I believe most of it will come down to digital smoke screens. For example, my Nook has had hundreds of books downloaded to it. Almost all free ones. I open them, flip through the pages, but I only read those that interest me. Anyone or anything analyzing that data wouldn't be able to properly profile me since I've thrown so much garbage data into the mix. The ads I see on webpages are completely random since they key off of cookies that I've acquired from a random sampling of nonsense. I'm sure there are going to be ways to automate this in nearly every aspect of our new public world.

[nobody's_hero]

Guess what? If you use a credit or debit card to purchase your paper books, they already know what you're reading. If you use cash but scan your discount card, they already know what you're reading. If you use cash, no discount card, but talk about it over the phone or online, they know what you're reading.

I really think I need to post the big picture here because I don't think enough of us understand it. The definition of privacy that you all know doesn't exist in the modern world. Privacy exists - just not how you're thinking about it. Every interaction you have in public, is a public interaction. Any use of connected technology is a public interaction - not a private one. Soon, there will be drones by the thousands with facial recognition software and listening devices that would make James Bond jealous. They will be able to pick up your sounds and images from miles away. This is reality - and there's no stopping it. You can sit around bitching about it, but that's not very useful. The entire world is a public interaction.

So the real question is, "How does one retain privacy when everything is public?" There are ways. There are business opportunities. I believe most of it will come down to digital smoke screens. For example, my Nook has had hundreds of books downloaded to it. Almost all free ones. I open them, flip through the pages, but I only read those that interest me. Anyone or anything analyzing that data wouldn't be able to properly profile me since I've thrown so much garbage data into the mix. The ads I see on webpages are completely random since they key off of cookies that I've acquired from a random sampling of nonsense. I'm sure there are going to be ways to automate this in nearly every aspect of our new public world.

Clever, though I doubt they'll care about the garbage. If they want a conviction, they'll simply scan your list for prohibited reading materials and if you even have those downloaded, you earn yourself an all-expense paid trip to Gitmo. Even if you haven't gotten around to reading it.

I want to agree with you in part. So maybe the reality is that if government wants something about you to be true, they're gonna fabricate it to be so (Cardinal Richelieu), and the harsher reality is that far too few of your fellow countrymen are going to be alarmed enough to lift a finger help you when your liberty is threatened—perhaps too preoccupied with the latest gadgetry themselves, to take interest.

It NEVER, ever ceases to amaze me that the patriots who brought about the War for Independence and birthed this country did so using network of printing presses, word-of-mouth, and horseback couriers. Thank God they did not have the technology we have today. It would have made them lazy, complacent, and so easily-tracked to the extent that we'd still be singing God Save the Queen. (then again, given how our government turned out to be even worse than King George III's, eh, another topic I suppose)

EDIT: I don't do the discount cards for the reasons you mention.

[CaptUSA]

Clever, though I doubt they'll care about the garbage. If they want a conviction, they'll simply scan your list for prohibited reading materials and if you even have those downloaded, you earn yourself an all-expense paid trip to Gitmo. Even if you haven't gotten around to reading it.

Yeah, the way I figure it is that if they want me bad enough, they'll find a way. At least I'll be able to plausibly deny any knowledge of whatever history they may have on me. One strand of a hair found at a crime scene can indict someone - But what if it were among hundreds from different people?

[BV2]

Yeah, the way I figure it is that if they want me bad enough, they'll find a way. At least I'll be able to plausibly deny any knowledge of whatever history they may have on me. One strand of a hair found at a crime scene can indict someone - But what if it were among hundreds from different people?

Yeah, and they said DNA testing would protect the innocent. I don't even toss my butts on the ground anymore :(. I loved polluting.

[euphemia]

Oddly enough, I have no political books in my Kindle library, but I would love to see the expression of the Feds who snoop.

[moostraks]

Oddly enough, I have no political books in my Kindle library, but I would love to see the expression of the Feds who snoop.
:D An alternative to not using technology would be to promote flooding their system making it difficult for them to ascertain who they want to target. Maybe in the future there will be a tipping point?

I love old books enormously. They are a weakness of mine. With the homeschooling we do, I ended up needing to get many digital books because they were unavailable in print or cost prohibitive. I couldn't imagine anyone being curious about my specific household's reading habits but, were they to profile, it would be interesting to see what they would attempt to make out of our book list.

[BV2]

Bury's medieval history is free on kindle, Its one of the best things I've ever read. It will give you a potent perspective. Particularly the sections that deal with the political, social, and economic devolpements of the late roman empire.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

wow everyone in this thread has brass balls. I've stopped reading since it became illegal

[kpitcher]

Google targets their ads inhouse based on data mining. People buy ad words and google matches it, the advertiser doesn't know who you are just that some user searched for a term. Yes if you use google or any of their products they learn about you which allows them to advertise better. No they're not selling this info.

Google also publishes how many government requests, as much as they can be.
https://www.google.com/transparencyreport/userdatarequests/US/

Out of the various 'net companies out there Google is so far one of the best for at least being somewhat decent

[DamianTV]

Google targets their ads inhouse based on data mining. People buy ad words and google matches it, the advertiser doesn't know who you are just that some user searched for a term. Yes if you use google or any of their products they learn about you which allows them to advertise better. No they're not selling this info.

Google also publishes how many government requests, as much as they can be.
https://www.google.com/transparencyreport/userdatarequests/US/

Out of the various 'net companies out there Google is so far one of the best for at least being somewhat decent

But there in lies the danger. Using "Targetted Analyzing" is to consider an individuals Psychological Profile so that information presented has the greatest impact. They dont need to know your name, although many people willingly volunteer that information anyway. Lets say your Profile showed that you had a Fear of Heights. In order to get you to support Big Brother, and thereby Facism (Govt + Big Business for Profit), your News and Advertising would both constantly remind you about how many people die of falling deaths. Show the consequences of lack of regulation of Up Down and focus as much as possible on the Exception and not the Norm, your fear would be amplified, not managed. Some fears can be artificially created. Fear Brown People.

The problem is that no one really knows the Big Picture. Some advertising is advertising, but in the case of MSM News, News is Advertising for War and Big Govt. Most people think that Advertising is just simply promoting a product. When can it be used to pull your focus away from something that is really important? I make hamburgers and run ads so people buy my burgers, but when are promotions for my burgers going to be used to pull focus away from Edward Snowden? This bigger picture always tells people to not look behind the curtain. But lets try another perspective. Businesses always try to promote themselves as honest. Many are, some are not. Lets say I made a crappy burger on purpose and didnt care about the quality of the product because it was much cheaper to make crappy than half way decent. Instead of investing money or time to improve the quality, I take that money and instead pump it into Marketing and Advertising. They do this with shitty movies all the time. They do it with Medications all the time. The list goes on and on. Advertising Education, Financial Services, Cars, etc. The bigger the business, the less they care about Quality. They care less and less about the human beings that both work for them and use their services and goods and treat the human beings as the resource to be harvested through a chilling dehumanizing effect. But when do these very ads that are partially honest in nature become a distraction? Dont worry about the Stock Market crashing tomorrow as many industry analysts are expecting, instead pay attention to Justin Beibers haircut was performed by Great Cuts! Dont worry if the Cold War just turned HOT, pay attention to how great of a movie "The History of Shoelaces" is! Try to abstract back and forth between the micro details and macro big picture to maintain a better understanding of what is really happening in the world.

Distraction has been Weaponized! Were you listening to me, or were you looking at the girl in the red dress? My beef is not so much with Advertising in and of itself, other than constant distractions, but more so with Targetted Monitored Advertising that get right down to using computers and software to judge how effective an Ad is on a subject. Next question is where do you think the Govt gets all of its Psychological Profiling from? Hint, they arent sending people door to door to ask your neighbor, they are doing it with technology. Govt doesnt bother to put a camera in your refrigerator so they can monitor what you are eating, they ask the Grocery Store what you have been buying. The Elite know damn well the power of Balance. You need salt to survive, but too much can kill you. If they wanted to weaponize salt, they would reward companies who put excesses of salt in food that is highly addictive because it throws you out of balance and supports other industries that profit from treating your salt addiction. Keep eating too much salt while we put you on pills that are really expensive, oh, and you dont even have to pay for it, but you will soon be required by law to take your pills or face having your mandatory Health Insurance revoked. The Elite are NOT FOOLS. They have thought for years how to weaponize everything. They weaponize Distraction, they weaponize Psychology, they weaponize your Addictions, your sexual preferences, the color of your skin, your habits and hobbies, who your friends are, even the foods you eat. They've weaponized your Reputation with things like Credit Scores, a game that in the end you have no chance of winning. Youre placing different values on different things as well as you should, but what most people do not consider is the values other people place on various things. If you are a male, it wont matter how many tampon commercials you are shown, but what you want to start considering is the value that other people place on tampons. Some people will not respond, other people will respond. The other thing that is not said is there is no Two Way Communication with other human beings. Advertising and Propoganda are One Way Streets that you are expected to focus on more heavily than having other human interaction. So yes, Advertising and even Targetted Advertising can have a good side and a bad side. The good side is that businesses can benefit from promoting their product or service while at the same time causing an unintended consequence of weaponized distraction. In the information age, we find there is very little real information that benefits all of humanity and only shapes peoples perspectives that all Ads are only for good products, while simultaneously flooding our minds with an ocean of garbage that has no real relevance to what we are meant to be and what we define ourselves to be.

So who and what are you? It isnt a question for me, its a question you need to answer for yourself. Are you what Advertisements tell you that you are, or are you something more than just the values that Society has placed on you? Are you just an Unemployed Bum / Fast Food Employee / Factory Worker? Or can you be Unemployed and be more than that? Are you more than just what you provide to society? Or are you a human being that feels a stronger connection with other human beings that extends well past taking care of those who walk around with their hands in your pockets? How do you define yourself? Is it through what you own? Where you work? What pieces of paper you have bought? Or are you something more than what others define you as?

[DamianTV]

The Case Against E-readers -- Why Digital Natives Prefer Reading On Paper
http://news.slashdot.org/story/15/02/24/2259247/the-case-against-e-readers----why-digital-natives-prefer-reading-on-paper


Michael Rosenwald writes in the WaPo that textbook makers, bookstore owners and college student surveys all say millennials still strongly prefer reading on paper for pleasure and learning. This bias surprises reading experts, given the same group's proclivity to consume most other content digitally. "These are people who aren't supposed to remember what it's like to even smell books," says Naomi S. Baron. "It's quite astounding." Earlier this month, Baron published Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World, a book that examines university students' preferences for print and explains the science of why dead-tree versions are often superior to digital (PDF).

Her conclusion: readers tend to skim on screens, distraction is inevitable and comprehension suffers. Researchers say readers remember the location of information simply by page and text layout — that, say, the key piece of dialogue was on that page early in the book with that one long paragraph and a smudge on the corner. Researchers think this plays a key role in comprehension — something that is more difficult on screens, primarily because the time we devote to reading online is usually spent scanning and skimming, with few places (or little time) for mental markers.

Another significant problem, especially for college students, is distraction. The lives of millennials are increasingly lived on screens. In her surveys, Baron was surprised by the results to the question of whether students were more likely to multitask in hard copy (1 percent) vs. reading on-screen (90 percent). "When a digital device has an Internet connection, it's hard to resist the temptation to jump ship."

(there are a couple links in that article I didnt copy over...)