IBM - Smarter Planet - Edwin Black

Never forget, dear Consumerist Slave Unit, in 2001 Edwin Black's now-famous book IBM AND THE HOLOCAUST which tells the story of IBM's conscious involvement — directly and through its subsidiaries — in the Holocaust, as well as its involvement in the Nazi war machine that murdered millions of others throughout Europe.

"Mankind barely noticed when the concept of massively organized information quietly emerged to become a means of social control, a weapon of war, and a roadmap for group destruction.... Hitler and his hatred of the Jews was the ironic driving force behind this intellectual turning point. But his quest was greatly enhanced and energized by the ingenuity and craving for profit of a single American company and its legendary, autocratic chairman. That company was International Business Machines, and its chairman was Thomas J. Watson. [source WIKIPEDIA]

Remember, dear Consumerist Slave Unit, it's not the gathering of data that's sinister, but the INTENT behind the acquisition of such a large amount of PERSONAL DATA by the corporations, FOR PROFIT.