Pentagon Creating Student Database

[billbuckhead]

Pentagon Creating Student Database
Recruiting Tool For Military Raises Privacy Concerns

By Jonathan Krim
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 23, 2005; Page A01

The Defense Department began working yesterday with a private marketing firm to create a database of high school students ages 16 to 18 and all college students to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment in some branches.

The program is provoking a furor among privacy advocates. The new database will include personal information including birth dates, Social Security numbers, e-mail addresses, grade-point averages, ethnicity and what subjects the students are studying.

The data will be managed by BeNow Inc. of Wakefield, Mass., one of many marketing firms that use computers to analyze large amounts of data to target potential customers based on their personal profiles and habits.

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<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/22/AR2005062202305.html>

[DBoon]

1. Skills Draft!

"let's see, who is majoring in mechanical engineering...."

[Postman]

2. "privatization" means violating the Constitution....

now you know why republicans like "privatization" so much, so they can go around the protections provided for in the Constitution.

It would be illegal for the Pentagon (the government)to amass this type of database, so what do they do?

Hire a private contractor to do it.

Voila!! Its suddenly legal.

For all their bluster to the contrary, republicans really don't like the Constitution and will try to find a way to violate it where they can.

Gee, I wonder why there are private contractors in Iraq? I wonder.

[ComerPerro]

3. They could start with College Republicans

I am sure they have tons of able bodies who already support the war and would be anxious to help defend America.