I received in my e-mail a legal mandate wherein Google had to notify all users of gmail that there had been brought a "class action suit" against them for providing a service, free of charge, voluntary, to gmail users, called "Buzz".
I chose not to use it when it was first offered; I revisited to discern why. The site allows the choice of keeping your "whatever" private or publish it to the world. I should have gone with it and "publish to the world", but I didn't. So why do I have to reply to a lawsuit which has nothing to do with me, which I would not have joined were I asked, and which will serve only to make this one particular "garden variety" group of lawyers who bring multiple class-action suits rich? I wouldn't.
I am stunned with the backlog of real cases that any judge who did his homework wouldn't have laughed this thing out of court. Even more stunned that Google decided to use the ointment instead of swat the fly. But some things, when you have enough money, simply aren't worth your time and aggravation to address. I suppose this falls into that category. Like keeping a product you don't want because to ship it back would cost half of it's value anyway.
As to these lawyers, I'm familiar with their work from multiple stock failure lawsuits they brought. They didn't even bother to sort out who had what but sent a list of things which would have taken 3 days to read and God only knows how long to figure out which step-parent at what time held what stock thru which broker. And of course they all fell outside the seven year period wherein brokers are required to keep this information. One set of brokers tried to help, the other set was "It was Kenny's account"....o.k., so I got $127.++ back for my Dad. Whatever stocks my deceased step-mom held, well, I guess that was forfeit and the attorneys walked away with multiple millions of dollars.
So I ask you, is this justice? Or should I ask "Who does justice really serve?"
Apparently it serves anyone with an ax to grind and the strength to use it. Those of us who have truly been damaged can't get into the court room, struggle to exist, and are worn down to nothing until we lack the strength to fight. Do the lawyers care? I haven't found one. They all want the big bucks cases; they don't care about merit of the case. They're too lazy to get the facts, you have to because they won't. They're not Perry Mason, or any other TV lawyer who cared. Just like the real life cops don't have the equipment the tv cops have. Pity it is that. Maybe I just expect too much. Like somebody taking finerprints after someone drilled out my dead-lock to get int my apartment. The cops did care, in fact were quite upset over what happened to me. Upset enough to get people out of bed at 12:30 AM, especially given that the idiot stole my asthma medicine and that needed to be made public. They could have overloaded their hearts if they took a lot of it. We left that at the possibility that someone might present in the emergency room with bronchial spasms and cardiac issues. Overdose of asthma meds will do that even to asthmatics. People do dumb things. So I made a list of what was missing, a couple of antihistamines and anti-seizure meds I kept for in case I had an emergency so I could function and not die on the way to get help. The idiots who stole the meds were ignorant. The people who brought this frivolous suit against Google aren't. They're culprits. Or else they can't read and shouldn't be using the computer anyway. The very first thing you see when you click on "Buzz" is a choice which says "Keep it Private" OR "Publish to the World."
I wrote the lawyers and told them I am opting out as this had nothing to do with me. How dare they demand I take my time, my supplies, my money, to answer them who have no right to know which email I use as I had not contacted them on anything. I think it was a ploy to get private information. And I bet if Google investigated, they'd find a bit of collusion and ulteriors besides for getting rich.
I told the lawyers also that if they really wanted to go after people who invade or breech privacy, there are a lot of non-profits out there who think nothing of disseminating your personal information to whom they choose. And there are those people who sell their mailing or customer lists. Can they get more stupid? My money stops going to my chosen charity the moment I am contacted by another of it's same affiliation. It's dumb. Why would you want to decrease the donation you get by sharing it among everyone else? This is not a democracy here, it's a capitalistic megalopoly and if you don't guard your assets, people's donation or purchse info being that, you will lose it. I promise it.
I hope these lawyers get a well earned lesson and walk away empty handed for making evryone else do their work for them. Oh yes, some do pride themselves on their laziness.
In the meanwhile, check you gmail. You have to opt out or else live with whatever those lawyers have in store for you. And if Google chooses to file a malicious prosecution suit in the aftermath, I'll testify on their behalf. This kind a garbage needs to be corralled sometime. And I'm speaking as a former associate ACLU member (my dues lapsed-my ethics haven't.)
