some mouth breathing moron thinks he has a right to walk around with a gun
He does. Someone should re-read the constitution, and the law in florida. Just because YOU have contempt for your rights, doesnt mean the courts do.
play cop
He WAS on the neighborhood watch in an area which had suffered a rash of break ins. Come on, this was widely reported.
innocent civilians
Yes, heres the thing, a jury found that Martin WASNT innocent, and that there was grounds for a plea of self-defense. That, too is a right that citizens have.
laws that somehow support this disgusting behavior
Most societies that you would want to live in have both an adversarial court system, and a defense for killing on the grounds of self-defense. Thank goodness that is the case here. What laws, specifically are you thinking of-- hopefully not the "stand your ground" law which had absolutely no relevance to the case?
stand your ground laws, carry/ conceal laws: they have to go
Ah, yes, you were, which indicates you were successfully distracted by the media in a discussion on irrelevant laws. Look through the court transcripts and see if "stand your ground" had any relevance: You will find it did not. The issue at stake was whether Zimmerman was justified in killing Martin in self-defense.
You seem to have bought into the race-card-Zimmerman-was-a-racist story that was spun up by the media, so I really suggest you go back and look at the facts, not the op-eds and commentary that was spun up around the whole issue. The amount of bias that came out in this whole ordeal was astounding, from the doctored recordings, to the doctored photos, to the claims that Zimmerman was white, to the claims that white-on-black violence is anywhere near common (in reality, 80+% of violence is intra-racial-- white-on-white, black-on-black, etc).
Hes referring to the doctored recordings where Zimmerman is made to sounds like he uses a racial epithet. Didnt a news organization have to apologize for airing the doctored recording?
Even if your ugly characterization is accurate that doesn't actually make his death something other than a tragedy.
People make bad decisions which can cost them their lives, and in a sense its a tragedy, yes, but not a tragedy in the sense that "we have to make sure noone can defend themselves with lethal force".
which certainly would have been that he was minding his own business when George Zimmerman approached him and threatened him.
Guys, stop the presses, we have an eyewitness who forgot to testify, with never-before heard evidence.
How, exactly, are you determining what "certainly would have been his testimony" above and beyond all of the evidence which disputes your version of the story?
I wonder where the article is getting its info. What the heck does this even mean:
Having lost a public battle in the 1990s to insert its own “back door” in all encryption,
In "all" encryption? What public battle?
Theyre also claiming the snowden documents indicate that the NSA has cracked most encryption? Did I miss something, or are reporters as usual ill equipped for actual reporting?
Treaties do not have the power to overrule acts of Congress, much less provisions of the Constitution. AFAIK, if you sign a treaty that requires a change, Congress would have to pass legislation to comply with that treaty-- the treaty doesnt change US law on its own.
. This is a pity because the War Powers Resolution was designed to....
IF "the Presidents" are right that it is their constitutional right to make war, it is irrelevant why the War Powers resolution was designed. No act of congress save an amendment can overrule a provision of the constitution.
James Madison reported that in the Federal Convention of 1787, the phrase "make war" was changed to "declare war" in order to leave to the Executive the power to repel sudden attacks but not to commence war without the explicit approval of Congress.[3] Debate continues as to the legal extent of the President's authority in this regard.
Inherently to any successful war is to attack the populace at some level
Such a statement could only be made by one unfamiliar with history. As I recall the greek city-states had a habit of NOT attacking the populace during their conflicts, among other examples.
Acts of war are not necessary for the President to direct the troops to engage in combat. A declaration of war DOES, as I recall, grant several new powers to the President, which is why Congress tends not to issue them. Even for Iraq / Afghanistan, Congress simply granted AUMFs. Of course, Congress controls the budget, so without them on board things can get a little difficult.
Obama is seeking an AUMF for Syria, so its sort of moot anyways. I dont think anyone is concerned with whether Obama can legally initiate something in Syria; the question is whether he should, and whether Congress should support him.
Electronically filed returns require a PIN, and I believe it has to be done through an IRS supported portal.. I dont recall the specifics of how secure it is, but its not quite as easy as "file a billion bogus returns".
I'll tell you what, when the Syrians overthrow our government for us and release us from our own chains then we can return the favor. We don't owe the world or any particular country in it a damn thing.
You were doing well towards here.
You clearly dont have any idea whats going on in Syria, or you wouldnt compare their situation to ours. When you fear to send your child to work because of government snipers who target children, then we can talk.
There is a moral element here that does not exist with the mosquitoes, and one cannot easily teach mosquitoes a lesson.
The point behind intervening is that the world set boundaries around chemical weapons to try to limit the evil of war. For those boundaries to continue to exist, there have to be repercussions when they are violated. Its an either-or scenario: either collectively people decide that those boundaries are worth preserving--in which case someone must intervene -- or people decide that such a restriction is not feasible to maintain.
Not commenting on Syria specifically, but MLK isnt "automatically right" because hes MLK, and I think in this case he is dead wrong. There are times war is necessary for any person of conscience. I might mention, for example, the holocaust-- even though we got into the war for a number of reasons (very few of them morally based), it was a war that I think can easily be justified.
I never studies MLK in depth, but from what I know of him he was rather an idealist and may have had trouble grasping that people will always be hateful, and it will from time to time be necessary to take up arms to put down a greater evil. The history of humanity does not lend itself to visions of utopia.
Its expensive and Id never buy a laptop costing that much, but lets keep in mind a lot of high-end laptops sit right around the $800-900 pricepoint while lacking the built-in wacom.
Id also note that a lot of those high-end laptops (ie, Samsung Series 9) have 128GB SSDs, so thats not terribly unusual either. Im actually sort of not clear why all the hate for the Surface Pros, which AFAICT were pretty solid machines.
Im not clear why theyre not selling. I dont particularly need one (the touchscreen would be of no use to me, and the form factor only marginally so), but my experience with them in the store was that the pros were solid. Certainly the folks at Penny Arcade gave a glowing review of the pro, and IIRC the newer comics are being done on it due to its excellent built in wacom.
Is it just the price point? $800 for an ultra-bookish laptop with an incredible touch screen seems pretty competitive to me....
The topic of discussion and your specific allegations were regarding border security. The blog post you linked has zilch to do with border security (it was from NY to LA).
Also, most of that guy's complaint is regarding the actions of a particular TSA agent. Even when way out of line, you cannot go from "a TSA agent did it" to "it is legal" or even "it is policy".
Again: Lets stay in the realm of fact. That is anecdotal, irrelevant (not even what we're discussing), and speculative (the TSA agent's actions are not policy). Im sure I could find a cop who plants drugs to arrest you, but you wouldnt make the claim that its legal, normal, or policy, and you wouldnt bring it up in a discussion on the CIA.
Can you really not see the difference between my saying, "I will donate 10 hours a week to community service" and the government telling me "you will work 10 hours a week for the good of society"?
The demand that parents give sweat and blood to fix a broken school system is of the same vein.
Slashdot Mirror
some mouth breathing moron thinks he has a right to walk around with a gun
He does. Someone should re-read the constitution, and the law in florida. Just because YOU have contempt for your rights, doesnt mean the courts do.
play cop
He WAS on the neighborhood watch in an area which had suffered a rash of break ins. Come on, this was widely reported.
innocent civilians
Yes, heres the thing, a jury found that Martin WASNT innocent, and that there was grounds for a plea of self-defense. That, too is a right that citizens have.
laws that somehow support this disgusting behavior
Most societies that you would want to live in have both an adversarial court system, and a defense for killing on the grounds of self-defense. Thank goodness that is the case here. What laws, specifically are you thinking of-- hopefully not the "stand your ground" law which had absolutely no relevance to the case?
stand your ground laws, carry/ conceal laws: they have to go
Ah, yes, you were, which indicates you were successfully distracted by the media in a discussion on irrelevant laws. Look through the court transcripts and see if "stand your ground" had any relevance: You will find it did not. The issue at stake was whether Zimmerman was justified in killing Martin in self-defense.
You seem to have bought into the race-card-Zimmerman-was-a-racist story that was spun up by the media, so I really suggest you go back and look at the facts, not the op-eds and commentary that was spun up around the whole issue. The amount of bias that came out in this whole ordeal was astounding, from the doctored recordings, to the doctored photos, to the claims that Zimmerman was white, to the claims that white-on-black violence is anywhere near common (in reality, 80+% of violence is intra-racial-- white-on-white, black-on-black, etc).
Clearly the black woman on the jury was being racist. And clearly its whiteys fault even when hes not actually white.
Hes referring to the doctored recordings where Zimmerman is made to sounds like he uses a racial epithet. Didnt a news organization have to apologize for airing the doctored recording?
Even if your ugly characterization is accurate that doesn't actually make his death something other than a tragedy.
People make bad decisions which can cost them their lives, and in a sense its a tragedy, yes, but not a tragedy in the sense that "we have to make sure noone can defend themselves with lethal force".
which certainly would have been that he was minding his own business when George Zimmerman approached him and threatened him.
Guys, stop the presses, we have an eyewitness who forgot to testify, with never-before heard evidence.
How, exactly, are you determining what "certainly would have been his testimony" above and beyond all of the evidence which disputes your version of the story?
I wonder where the article is getting its info. What the heck does this even mean:
Having lost a public battle in the 1990s to insert its own “back door” in all encryption,
In "all" encryption? What public battle?
Theyre also claiming the snowden documents indicate that the NSA has cracked most encryption? Did I miss something, or are reporters as usual ill equipped for actual reporting?
but the security is roughly similar to entering a password with a keyboard
Not really, but its good to see security theatre is alive and well.
Treaties do not have the power to overrule acts of Congress, much less provisions of the Constitution. AFAIK, if you sign a treaty that requires a change, Congress would have to pass legislation to comply with that treaty-- the treaty doesnt change US law on its own.
. This is a pity because the War Powers Resolution was designed to....
IF "the Presidents" are right that it is their constitutional right to make war, it is irrelevant why the War Powers resolution was designed. No act of congress save an amendment can overrule a provision of the constitution.
James Madison reported that in the Federal Convention of 1787, the phrase "make war" was changed to "declare war" in order to leave to the Executive the power to repel sudden attacks but not to commence war without the explicit approval of Congress.[3] Debate continues as to the legal extent of the President's authority in this regard.
Inherently to any successful war is to attack the populace at some level
Such a statement could only be made by one unfamiliar with history. As I recall the greek city-states had a habit of NOT attacking the populace during their conflicts, among other examples.
Acts of war are not necessary for the President to direct the troops to engage in combat. A declaration of war DOES, as I recall, grant several new powers to the President, which is why Congress tends not to issue them. Even for Iraq / Afghanistan, Congress simply granted AUMFs. Of course, Congress controls the budget, so without them on board things can get a little difficult.
Obama is seeking an AUMF for Syria, so its sort of moot anyways. I dont think anyone is concerned with whether Obama can legally initiate something in Syria; the question is whether he should, and whether Congress should support him.
Electronically filed returns require a PIN, and I believe it has to be done through an IRS supported portal.. I dont recall the specifics of how secure it is, but its not quite as easy as "file a billion bogus returns".
I'll tell you what, when the Syrians overthrow our government for us and release us from our own chains then we can return the favor. We don't owe the world or any particular country in it a damn thing.
You were doing well towards here.
You clearly dont have any idea whats going on in Syria, or you wouldnt compare their situation to ours. When you fear to send your child to work because of government snipers who target children, then we can talk.
There is a moral element here that does not exist with the mosquitoes, and one cannot easily teach mosquitoes a lesson.
The point behind intervening is that the world set boundaries around chemical weapons to try to limit the evil of war. For those boundaries to continue to exist, there have to be repercussions when they are violated. Its an either-or scenario: either collectively people decide that those boundaries are worth preserving--in which case someone must intervene -- or people decide that such a restriction is not feasible to maintain.
Not commenting on Syria specifically, but MLK isnt "automatically right" because hes MLK, and I think in this case he is dead wrong. There are times war is necessary for any person of conscience. I might mention, for example, the holocaust-- even though we got into the war for a number of reasons (very few of them morally based), it was a war that I think can easily be justified.
I never studies MLK in depth, but from what I know of him he was rather an idealist and may have had trouble grasping that people will always be hateful, and it will from time to time be necessary to take up arms to put down a greater evil. The history of humanity does not lend itself to visions of utopia.
With Haswell, a built in wacom, AND 2560x1600, I think the pricepoint would be rather higher.
Gosh, I suppose anyone who likes the surface must be a shill, including Penny Arcade.
Its not like they would be well suited to evaluate computers, or tablets, right?
Its expensive and Id never buy a laptop costing that much, but lets keep in mind a lot of high-end laptops sit right around the $800-900 pricepoint while lacking the built-in wacom.
Id also note that a lot of those high-end laptops (ie, Samsung Series 9) have 128GB SSDs, so thats not terribly unusual either. Im actually sort of not clear why all the hate for the Surface Pros, which AFAICT were pretty solid machines.
Im not clear why theyre not selling. I dont particularly need one (the touchscreen would be of no use to me, and the form factor only marginally so), but my experience with them in the store was that the pros were solid. Certainly the folks at Penny Arcade gave a glowing review of the pro, and IIRC the newer comics are being done on it due to its excellent built in wacom.
Is it just the price point? $800 for an ultra-bookish laptop with an incredible touch screen seems pretty competitive to me....
Golly, I wonder whats going to drive the prices way up?
Way to spark a demand spike.
If only there were some sort of secure way of exchanging keys over an insecure medium...
I will humor you.
The topic of discussion and your specific allegations were regarding border security. The blog post you linked has zilch to do with border security (it was from NY to LA).
Also, most of that guy's complaint is regarding the actions of a particular TSA agent. Even when way out of line, you cannot go from "a TSA agent did it" to "it is legal" or even "it is policy".
Again: Lets stay in the realm of fact. That is anecdotal, irrelevant (not even what we're discussing), and speculative (the TSA agent's actions are not policy). Im sure I could find a cop who plants drugs to arrest you, but you wouldnt make the claim that its legal, normal, or policy, and you wouldnt bring it up in a discussion on the CIA.
That doesnt mean its not a hardware problem-- which it sounds like it is.
Im sure you can do a lot of great things when you throw questions of personal liberty out the window and enforce a collectivist mindset on society.
I just tend to see that as a much greater evil than any that it solves.
Can you really not see the difference between my saying, "I will donate 10 hours a week to community service" and the government telling me "you will work 10 hours a week for the good of society"?
The demand that parents give sweat and blood to fix a broken school system is of the same vein.