flock of seagulls

LINK: flock of seagulls

What hill would I die on that nobody else would understand or want to understand?

The U.S. is turning into China more and more these days. So much for Republicans advocating for smaller government and lower taxes.

So many flock cameras in the country. In my neighborhood alone, there’s practically one on every street light. I feel like it just popped up over night. I understand that the UK has something similar but it is controlled by the government and law-enforcement. Flock “safety” is a private company that contracts with cities, police departments, HOAs, and businesses. Where does all of that information go? Inquiring minds want to know. What happens to peoples privacy because of this mass surveillance?

I’ve seen pedestrians along the overpass with signs that say, “Get the flock out of here”.

It was reported that an officer was recently arrested for tracking his girlfriend on a flock camera system over 2,000 times. I find that disturbing. And what happened to people’s civil rights? On the positive side, they should be able to solve more crimes by using flock. Maybe it will people will think twice before committing a crime? Perhaps someone from the UK can weigh in on this?

In the U.S. a person’s credit score is pretty much a numerical snapshot of how financially trustworthy that person is to a potential lender. In general, if you pay your bills/loans on time, your score for the most part improves; if you habitually miss payments or default on those loans, it can cause the score to fall. The credit score can affect whether a person can quality for a mortgage, credit card, car loan, or a better interest rate. China has a social credit system that takes things a bit further. Rather than focusing primarily on whether the person repays the money on a timely basis, it can involve records of whether people and businesses comply with law, court orders, contracts, and government regulations.

China doesn’t give each citizen one universal social credit number like Americans do. Instead, the system uses multiple databases, government records, blacklists, and credit-rating mechanisms. If you watch the video above, you can see how this is laid out for its citizens. This could in turn affect how people live, travel, and appear in their community. Critics worry about privacy, surveillance, mistakes made in government records, and the possibility that “trustworthiness” could become a tool for excessive government control. Supporters can argue that this would discourage bad behavior and encourage people and businesses to follow the rules.