To census or not to census

[winstonsmith]

Join the boycott.

i'm not saying that coalition i'm saying the census is an escamotage (google it) to get certain data they otherwise couldn't obtain. but still they need that legal cover.

now i REALLY must go......

You could just have said trick, you know.

And if it is one, it would require a time machine. Do you really think this whole census malarkey was started in 1801 just to help out the CIA?

It's odd, as objections to census usually come from the Libertanrian Right, who see them as tools to help aid in taxation (which they are of course), whereas the onjections here seem to come from an anti-american left position.

Just marking my place as I am finding this one of the funniest threads I've read in ages.

BlingLoving why don't you contribute some valid cogent opinions instead of deriding others'?? I don't wanto wade in and defend OP as I'm sure she doesn't need it and MN is already too factional as it is.

I know where she's coming from though and alot of you MNers would do well to be more receptive to ideas that challenge your own and less derisive.

You talk nonsense, Winstonsmith. The US Supreme Court intervened too much, not too little, in the 2000 election. They did not follow the right procedure at all for resolving the irregularities in the Florida elections. The state of Florida should have reran the presidential vote, rather than the Supreme Court adjudicating.

Mandating US Fed Govt access to UK Census data would so destroy the Special Relationship, I can't see the US govt doing that -- if they did get so reckless they would probably dispense with all respect for the US Constitution or concern for the international rep of the USA, too. If the US Govt became that reckless & pig-headed, then US Govt access to the UK Census should be the least of our concerns.

I'm not getting embroiled in this. I had enough on the other thread and that HattiFattner is a rottweiler best left sleeping lest she unleash her disdain again.

If you wanto know my opinions they're on other census thread.

ragged in OP's absence though I will say you are in fact concurring with her if you read carefully what she says with regard to the supreme court. They were complicit in the coup d'etat that were the presidential elections of 2000 that ushered in the neocon crusade of the noughties. I differ with her in the sense that I think that decade of official dirty tricks is over. At least I hope it is. We'll see though if the Tea Party lot get in.

Mmmm... Well, in the post I reacted to here, Winston said the Supreme Court didn't intervene enough, implying that they were impotent or didn't care about their role or powers.

If I go back ever to working w/ census data I will remember about the refusenix who get underrepresented.

Anyone else thinking of putting "Mumsnetter" as a religion?

Makes a change from Jedi

I can't see the problem. I use them for family history and the more questions the better-just wish they had asked them in 1911 and earlier.

Anyone else thinking of putting "Mumsnetter" as a religion?

If you're thinking that then please sayNo Religion

(I know its been mentioned before but it does matter)

But I am religious. I' m just not in the slightest bit bothered about what my descendants think of me in a 100 years time

Oh, well if you are religious by all means say Mumsnet

The census data does inform decisions in the here and now. Its not just for future genealogists.

Sorry Winston - couldn't read more than a couple of pages of this thread, but really glad you brought it to our attention.

And thanks too to the other posters who have added useful info.

I shan't boycott the census (can't afford the fine), but I don't like it - for all the reasons listed above, but mainly because so much data goes 'missing' nowadays, and stuff that seems unimportant to us is worth a fortune to someone - and we have no control over how it is used.

If this company is prepared to sell arms to kill innocent people, it would certainly be prepared to sell census information to anyone who wants it.

Ok. For a start, if the company holding the data is the Uk subsidiary, they should not be forced to provide data under US law. As someone who works for zn international firm, I can assure you it can get annoying when even though you are head office, you have to comply with local regs.

Putting that aside, why on earth would the US want that data and what will they do with it? If we get to the stage where the CIA is somehow rounding up peole in middle England, then quite frankly, we have gone so far beyond issues of privacy that the discussion is irrelevant.

I honestly do not understand this idea that big companies are out to do something nefarious. For a start, do you even know how hard it would be to create an environment where you could do that? Frankly, it's far more likely in a small firm. "businesses" don't have giant, world manipulation plans.

I'd just like to thank OP for that link to the truthout.org website on page 3 of this thread as it's a minefield of fascinating info. Well done for that winston wherever you are.

and that HattiFattner is a rottweiler best left sleeping lest she unleash her disdain again.

Why thank you, I'll take that as a compliment! Woof!

An interesting point about the choice of lockheed - the alternative was T-systems, a subsidiary of DEUTSCHE TELEKOM. The german government owns 12% of the shares in DT, and an additional 17% through the government bank KfW.

Can you imagine the furore if we had awarded the contract to (hisses) THE GERMANS .... there would be chelsea pensioners rioting in the streets. Majors sitting in pubs all over the country would be spluttering in their beer.

My father regularly breathes a sigh of relief ghat my grandmother is not around to see my brother marry a german....

first point re nothing to hide,the 1930`s
jews across europe

homosexuals

trade union members

communists

gypsies etc

the disabled

all their details recorded all murdered. the first place the Gestapo went to were town halls and hospitals to seize their records.

this government tells you the information is secure and wont be used elsewhere!

sorry but i pity anyone who believes this.

they already take all the information from shop loyalty cards. in fact they are looking to replace the census by using all the information held about you. from every where.
myself i will be economical with the truth on the census something i have always done.

tell them nothing for big brother is closer than you think.

thereiver - So if they already know this stuff about you what is the problem with telling them again?

It is because they are legally separate that they can't use existing data sources.

In a previous census, 300,000 people put Jedi for their religion.

Not that I'm suggesting that we are creative with the truth or anything.

But seriously, I wonder what would happen if we all decided we were disabled or had ten children under 16. Would we suddenly find a lot more hospitals and schools in our area? I doubt it.

I think many of these questions are aimed at finding illegal immigrants. But if I was an illegal immigrant, I wouldn't fill it in. I might not be able to anyway, as I might not understand English.

So one wonders whether it's worth it. This one does, anyway.