ripperdoc's clinic

G4S got a bit of bashing during the London Olympics, forcing them to donate to the armed forces (the start of a good relationship, huh?). But it remains a security giant that is reminiscent of those dystopian futures we’re used to seeing in SF.

It’s big:

The first thing you need to know about G4S is that it’s enormous. It has 657,000 employees – more than the population of Glasgow – and is the world’s second-largest private employer, after the American retail giant WalMart. It’s also booming, with profits up 39 per cent in 2011.

It deals in questionable business:

G4S operates prisons and asylum centres across the UK, and will be moving into policing as more and more public services are cut.

Outside the UK, G4S operates in 125 different countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel, where its paid agents operate checkpoints and provide security at jails for Palestinian prisoners, including child detainees.

And I suspect that Asia, in particular China, where every little mall or condo has security (but rarely needs it), will give us the next megacorp to outshine G4S in general evilness.

Great satire like any good scifi should be. Read and rejoice!

An interesting read on US biggest privately held company, Koch Industries, which is largely unknown to the public.

Koch Industries, Inc. owns a diverse group of companies that are engaged in trading, operations and investments worldwide. It has a presence in 50 countries in such industries as petroleum, chemicals, energy, fibres, resins, fertilisers, pulp and paper, ranching, securities and finance. 

(via @GreatDismal)

Ironic, eh? Eventually, will not raise any eyebrows. Or what about chemical companies lobbying for more capital punishment…

Using automation software that slogs through Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs, and “thousands of other sources,” the company develops a report on the “real you” —- not the carefully crafted you in your resume. The service is called Social Intelligence Hiring. The company promises a 48-hour turn-around.

The reports feature a visual snapshot of what kind of person you are, evaluating you in categories like “Poor Judgment,” “Gangs,” “Drugs and Drug Lingo” and “Demonstrating Potentially Violent Behavior.” The company mines for rich nuggets of raw sewage in the form of racy photos, unguarded commentary about drugs and alcohol and much more.

The company also offers a separate Social Intelligence Monitoring service to watch the personal activity of existing employees on an ongoing basis…. The service provides real-time notification alerts, so presumably the moment your old college buddy tags an old photo of you naked, drunk and armed on Facebook, the boss gets a text message with a link.

Buying up a part of Madagascar big as half of Belgium, not to feed the locals but to supply palm oil for Korea (more of those beauty products, perhaps?)