Xah Lee's Unixism

[Rupert Pigott]

jmfbahciv at aol.com wrote:

> In article <opsd2vlvy7pqzri1 at mjolner.upc.no>,
>    "John Thingstad" <john.thingstad at chello.no> wrote:
> 
> There has been a request to [spit] these newsgroups.  Where
> do you read from?  I'm over in a.f.c.
> 
>>On Thu, 09 Sep 04 13:12:17 GMT, <jmfbahciv at aol.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> I really want to know.  People keep saying this but never say which
>>> freedoms have been lost.
>>>
>>
>>Since this is somewhat related to computer programming
>>and AI I will reply.
> 
> Thank you.  I appreciate the effort.
> 
>>
>>The US has started a initiative to integrate all
>>information about people in the USA into a central database.
> 
> This is why I'm puzzled.  This stuff is nothing new; about
> the only difference is the detail.
>>
>>This includes confidential information like
>>your medical files. Think what
>>you say to your psychologist is confidential?
> 
> It never was confidential.  People talk; doctors confer.  It
> was off limits w.r.t. law enforcement but I think that had
> more to do with not having to testify against yourself.

The Hippocratic Oath demands that patient confidentiality
be respected.

I'm sure that there is plenty of material out there which
explains why the Oath exists and why it might be desirable.

-- 
Cheers,
Rupert