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A comment on Sidewalk Labs project means Toronto to have 'constitution-free zone,' CCLA warns.

Re:Sidewalk Labs project means Toronto to have 'constitution... by Wyndtroy2012 on Thursday March 07, 2019 @05:19AM (#19326927)
I have a better name for it, "Delta City".

Check out the pop culture classic, RoboCop, which besides being a popcorn chewing action film, contains a rather cynical, but prescient, view on the future of corporations and privatization of public interests.

For those unfamiliar or don't recall, in the film, the mayor signs a deal with the mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) will be allowed to turn the run-down sections of Detroit into a high-end utopia called Delta City. Much fun, crime and corruption ensues.

Sidewalk Labs wants to make a better world for us. Ha. "I'll buy that for a dollar."

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Re:Sidewalk Labs project means Toronto to have 'constitution... by jacobush on Thursday March 07, 2019 @06:46AM (#19327281)
Paul Verhoeven is very prescient.
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Re:Sidewalk Labs project means Toronto to have 'constitution... by jakamau on Thursday March 07, 2019 @09:49AM (#19328423)
Not just Paul Verhoeven but the writers Neumeier and Miner, as well.

"You'll see that we've gambled...

...in markets usually regarded as nonprofit.

Hospitals. Prisons. Space exploration.

I say, good business is where you find it."

-OCP's Senior Vice President Richard "Dick" Jones

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Re:Sidewalk Labs project means Toronto to have 'constitution... by zaphod12 on Thursday March 07, 2019 @10:19AM (#19328670)
I disagree with the sentiment around space exploration. Having government involved to support the science is very valuable, but private enterprise has driven exploration for a long time and hopefully could open frontiers more quickly.

I vastly agree with the sentiment on prisons and hospitals, however. Prisons in particular make me so angry I could explode. Feels like a fundamental violation of the moral imperative upon which our society exists.

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