That should be enough, I would think. I was looking for a couple others - one was a crusty old redneck, the other some black guy from a southern city, each of who made similar comments to those linked to above.
Before you ask - I think the Secret Service is basically doing the job they are supposed to do, in each of these stories. But - there is a very thin line between doing their job properly, and becoming something like the KGB or the Stazi. Very thin line, indeed. Recent events have shown that the Secret Service is NOT incorruptible. It is improbable, but possible, that the SS could be turned into a tool of the administration to round up people like Ted Nugent, and to "silence" them, in whatever manner. Ted would have to be handled very carefully. Some redneck from Backwoods, Nowhere could just be snuffed, and his family told that he "resisted arrest".
"Snooped on" is common, these days. No less common than it was during the McCarthy days. Less public than in the McCarthy days, but just as common.
Basically - I have things that I hide. I share some strange humor with some buddies. I share intimate moments with other people. I share some silly moments with other people. My life is sort of compartmentalized - as most people's lives are. The people I ride bikes with would see some of my silly moments with little kids in a way that I might not appreciate. And, the females with whom I am intimate wouldn't appreciate having tales spread around town. Think about it. Your parents, your siblings, your buddies, your kids, nieces and nephews, and your workmates aren't interchangeable, are they?
As for other important matters - perhaps I am working to have a sick criminal representative exposed, impeached, and run out of Washington. Do you think that representative should be empowered to put me under surveillance, with the goal of neutralizing me through blackmail, or murder, or some bogus judicial action?
Show me a person with nothing to hide, and I'll show you a moron without a life. Retards in institutions have nothing to hide, after all. Are you an institutionalized moron?
It is truly shocking that some people resist the idea of the police state! If for your own good! Think of the children! The only people with anything to hide are terrorists and criminals!
Face it, folks. The bottom line is, our governments and the corporations that control them, want a police state. They are afraid of freedom, and they will go to any lengths to limit freedom. Badmouthing the president is cause for the Secret Service to put a bullseye on you, and your communications channels. Exposing fraud in the corporate world is reason to haul your ass through the court system, and to take everything you own, along with everything that you might ever hope to own. And, cheating an author out of a dollar of royalties? Phht - ten years in prison sounds about right - to the police state, anyway.
Funny how what goes around, comes around. I think the entire United States is going to be punished for harboring our own thieves and moral bankrupts, soon enough. How is our economy doing these days? I read that the average American household is worth 30% less today than it was about a decade ago. That was among some political propaganda - but let me find the link anyway:
Hmm - not the link I was looking for, but it offers very much the same data, just with another political flavored spin on it:
First, let us separate the concept of "copyright" from today's crazy hodgepodge of insane laws designed to line the pockets of people who have never done anything to earn honest money.
The concept that IF there is money to be made from an original idea, or work, then the author should be entitled to some of that money, is valid. And, I think it reasonable that such a law should apply for a decade, maybe a bit more. Possibly even 20 or 25 years.
What we have today is an entirely different animal. Today, high powered lawyers determine that a work is valuable, and that their client should be entitled to collect royalties for his lifetime plus 75 years, or something similar.
Now, I have little problem with any company - even Microsoft, or Oracle, or IBM - being allowed to skim some profits off of any original works they may come up with. It does take an appreciable investment to solve some of the problems that they have solved, over the years. They should be permitted to profit. So, give them the copyright protections that are suitable, and allow them to collect royalties and/or licensing fees for ten, fifteen, even twenty years.
At which time, all that stuff reverts to the public domain. I believe that all versions of DOS up to MSDOS 5 would be in the public domain by now. (to lazy to check the dates, but it sounds right)
The next time you visit Disneyland, or Disneyworld, be sure to thank them for helping to pave the road to copyright hell. They were among the first influential people to begin lobbying congress for extended copyright laws, and other stupid shit. Thanks to them, and the likes of Sonny Boner, almost nothing written in my lifetime has entered the public domain - and I'm 56 fucking years old! Crazy, isn't it?
I don't think you could have typed that with a straight face, unless A: you simply don't understand copyright law and/or B: you have your own software patents.
Software patents should NEVER have been approved. The first one submitted should have been laughed out of the building. All software is covered by one or more copyrights. No software should be covered by patent. End of story.
I have to agree with AC's sentiments. "Even the Russians"? WTF? Let me just ask - how many nations, corPorations, and other entities have gone into sPace? How many have docked with anything? How many have made a landing, from which PeoPle walked away, alive and well?
It seems that the list makes uP a rather small, exclusive club.
So, just congratulate the Chinese. I like to bash them when it's deserved. Start a thread on consumer goods, and I'll start the bashing for you. They sell a lot of substandard shit that isn't worth the effort of carrying home if it were given to you. In this case, they've done good. Better than the US can do. We don't even have a frigging sPacecraft anymore. We are reduced to bumming rides from PeoPle who can afford transPortation.
Doesn't that remind you of your high school and/or college days?
Good Point. (sorry - lower case "P"s seem to be dead on this keyboard)
It is easy to imagine that Nvidia might make a contribution or more to the kernel, that would helP Performance. I'd much rather see everything oPen sourced, but if that can't be done - let them get their hands dirty, and make the drivers work better for Linux. Even if they never actually contribute kernel Patches, the attemPt to do so can only give them a better understanding of the whole system!
Anyway - I hadn't thought much about Google's angle on free speech and computers. But, there does need to be some attention put on computers, the web, and free speech. Thanks to things like the Patriot Act, NDAA, and other stupendously stupid legislation, alphabet agencies can decide at any time that I am a terrorist, and that I need to be rendered to some "friendly" nation where I can be "questioned" under "appropriate" circumstances.
You sum it up pretty nicely - but the point that you don't make is, this: Those conversion sites are monetizing the process, in one fashion or another. While it might be alright for you and I to take advantage of Youtube, or any other site, for our own personal use, it is NOT ALRIGHT for another corporation to horn in on the money to be made.
Those sites might do better if they were using Google ads on their sites, in a manner that didn't violate Google's policies. Might. If Google were making a penny or two at the same time the conversion site made a penny or three, they might get along.
"You are basically saying that this is the standard that separate the normal people from the retards."
Welllllll - let's just say that a lot of elementary school age children can figure it out for themselves. One of whom is closely related to me. I walked in his room, looked over his shoulder, and asked, "What you doing, Son?" "Oh, I like this song, so I'm piping it through VLC and saving the audio so that I can play it back on my iPod."
My answer? "Son, you have poor taste in music. Who the hell is this Nickel Back dude? And, why does he sound like he's been smoking raw hemp? Why don't you look for some Foreigner, or Boston, or some other real music?" Of course, this was a few years ago - the boy is out of school now.
Anyone who can't figure out how to download the video for himself, then rip an MP3 from the video, doesn't deserve to listen to the music. Geez, Louise - you don't even have to be a Linux guru to figure this stuff out!
But it seems odd to me that an entire government should fall due to one cretin's past misconduct. Europeans (and parliamentary governments) have some strange habits.
Consider court cases that have barred people from suing police departments, on the grounds that the police are not obligated to protect you.
Consider that all citizens have the right to defend themselves.
So - you argue that I may own a weapon, but I may not use it? Huh? WTF?
Your other circular logic thing, about the government? You say that people should own weapons, to keep government in check. But, to use those weapons would be treason? Hmmm - I may own a weapon, in the hope that ownership will keep my politicians honest. But, if the dishonest bastards come knocking on my door, about all I can do with the weapon, is to offer it to them as a down payment on the extortion they are looking for.
Fucking brilliant, man. Just fucking brilliant.
Did you learn your life's philosophy and political views from prime-time television, or what? Maybe you should have gone out and LIVED your life instead!
Your one old son of a bitch, if your "gun ownership actually predates the widely held belief that the Second Amendment guarantees a personal right to own and carry." Did you go to school with Thomas Jefferson, or George Washington?
Oh, wait. You say you've only owned guns for 41 years. Got it. You're just full of shit, regarding that "widely held belief". That belief was almost universal in the US, prior to about 1950.
The ten dollar fee? Fuck anyone who thinks that I need to pay a fee to exercise a right that is guaranteed in the United States Constitution. Next, it will be a breathing tax.
Uhhh - that statement doesn't make you sound like the sharpest tool in the shed. I've owned weapons all my life. Well - since I was twelve, anyway. I have gone long periods of time without actually putting my hand, or my eyes, on my weapons. I keep most of them at home, see. And, I'm not always at home. I have been away from home for months at a time. Twice in my life, I didn't return home for more than a year.
So - if my home were burgled while I was away, and one of my weapons used in a serious crime, because I didn't report it within 24 hours, you think that I should become a guest in the county jail? Hmmmmm. Nothing like the American concept of "Guilty until proven innocent".
I think you err. I agree with your point of view, but it's been more than ten years since the Doomsday - errr - Global Warming fanatics got going with their new religion. It might be hard to agree when the movement really started, but this article seems to suggest 1969 as the earliest.
I'll go with what AC says. IF, after doing a good backup, and you know that ll your people can evacuate safely, THEN you might start unplugging the most expensive, most critical hardware. No packing materials? Oh well - stuff it all on the floor of the trailer, wedge everything together as tightly as possible, and GO with it.
If you leave it behind, and the fire consumes the structure, it's a total loss. If you more or less toss shit into the trailer, and it gets damaged during the evacuation, you haven't lost any more, or any less, than the fire was going to destroy anyway. Pack as carefully as possible, under the conditions, but don't let packing/packaging concerns slow you down.
Slashdot Mirror
Jailed? Not that I'm aware of. Snooped on? Yes - let me find at least two links to stories that come to mind - - -
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/04/secret-service-investigates-ted-nugent-remarks-on-obama/
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-03-23/louisiana-comment-obama/53741346/1
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2012/06/terry_jones_hangs_obama.php
http://gawker.com/5498597/obama-death-tweeter-being-investigated-by-secret-service
That should be enough, I would think. I was looking for a couple others - one was a crusty old redneck, the other some black guy from a southern city, each of who made similar comments to those linked to above.
Before you ask - I think the Secret Service is basically doing the job they are supposed to do, in each of these stories. But - there is a very thin line between doing their job properly, and becoming something like the KGB or the Stazi. Very thin line, indeed. Recent events have shown that the Secret Service is NOT incorruptible. It is improbable, but possible, that the SS could be turned into a tool of the administration to round up people like Ted Nugent, and to "silence" them, in whatever manner. Ted would have to be handled very carefully. Some redneck from Backwoods, Nowhere could just be snuffed, and his family told that he "resisted arrest".
"Snooped on" is common, these days. No less common than it was during the McCarthy days. Less public than in the McCarthy days, but just as common.
Patriot Act
NDAA
ACTA
NPP
That should be enough for starters. If you need more, just post back, and I'll try to get a longer list put together for you.
Basically - I have things that I hide. I share some strange humor with some buddies. I share intimate moments with other people. I share some silly moments with other people. My life is sort of compartmentalized - as most people's lives are. The people I ride bikes with would see some of my silly moments with little kids in a way that I might not appreciate. And, the females with whom I am intimate wouldn't appreciate having tales spread around town. Think about it. Your parents, your siblings, your buddies, your kids, nieces and nephews, and your workmates aren't interchangeable, are they?
As for other important matters - perhaps I am working to have a sick criminal representative exposed, impeached, and run out of Washington. Do you think that representative should be empowered to put me under surveillance, with the goal of neutralizing me through blackmail, or murder, or some bogus judicial action?
Show me a person with nothing to hide, and I'll show you a moron without a life. Retards in institutions have nothing to hide, after all. Are you an institutionalized moron?
It is truly shocking that some people resist the idea of the police state! If for your own good! Think of the children! The only people with anything to hide are terrorists and criminals!
Face it, folks. The bottom line is, our governments and the corporations that control them, want a police state. They are afraid of freedom, and they will go to any lengths to limit freedom. Badmouthing the president is cause for the Secret Service to put a bullseye on you, and your communications channels. Exposing fraud in the corporate world is reason to haul your ass through the court system, and to take everything you own, along with everything that you might ever hope to own. And, cheating an author out of a dollar of royalties? Phht - ten years in prison sounds about right - to the police state, anyway.
Funny how what goes around, comes around. I think the entire United States is going to be punished for harboring our own thieves and moral bankrupts, soon enough. How is our economy doing these days? I read that the average American household is worth 30% less today than it was about a decade ago. That was among some political propaganda - but let me find the link anyway:
Hmm - not the link I was looking for, but it offers very much the same data, just with another political flavored spin on it:
http://www.theburningplatform.com/?tag=household-net-worth
Hmmm. Is it, really?
First, let us separate the concept of "copyright" from today's crazy hodgepodge of insane laws designed to line the pockets of people who have never done anything to earn honest money.
The concept that IF there is money to be made from an original idea, or work, then the author should be entitled to some of that money, is valid. And, I think it reasonable that such a law should apply for a decade, maybe a bit more. Possibly even 20 or 25 years.
What we have today is an entirely different animal. Today, high powered lawyers determine that a work is valuable, and that their client should be entitled to collect royalties for his lifetime plus 75 years, or something similar.
Now, I have little problem with any company - even Microsoft, or Oracle, or IBM - being allowed to skim some profits off of any original works they may come up with. It does take an appreciable investment to solve some of the problems that they have solved, over the years. They should be permitted to profit. So, give them the copyright protections that are suitable, and allow them to collect royalties and/or licensing fees for ten, fifteen, even twenty years.
At which time, all that stuff reverts to the public domain. I believe that all versions of DOS up to MSDOS 5 would be in the public domain by now. (to lazy to check the dates, but it sounds right)
The next time you visit Disneyland, or Disneyworld, be sure to thank them for helping to pave the road to copyright hell. They were among the first influential people to begin lobbying congress for extended copyright laws, and other stupid shit. Thanks to them, and the likes of Sonny Boner, almost nothing written in my lifetime has entered the public domain - and I'm 56 fucking years old! Crazy, isn't it?
I don't think you could have typed that with a straight face, unless A: you simply don't understand copyright law and/or B: you have your own software patents.
Software patents should NEVER have been approved. The first one submitted should have been laughed out of the building. All software is covered by one or more copyrights. No software should be covered by patent. End of story.
Same key of course. If I press the key without shifting, the cursor flashes, but I get no letter. Press shift, I get a capital letter. Strange . . .
I have to agree with AC's sentiments. "Even the Russians"? WTF? Let me just ask - how many nations, corPorations, and other entities have gone into sPace? How many have docked with anything? How many have made a landing, from which PeoPle walked away, alive and well?
It seems that the list makes uP a rather small, exclusive club.
So, just congratulate the Chinese. I like to bash them when it's deserved. Start a thread on consumer goods, and I'll start the bashing for you. They sell a lot of substandard shit that isn't worth the effort of carrying home if it were given to you. In this case, they've done good. Better than the US can do. We don't even have a frigging sPacecraft anymore. We are reduced to bumming rides from PeoPle who can afford transPortation.
Doesn't that remind you of your high school and/or college days?
Bottom line seems to be that AMD got the contract. It seems to me that your objections to the story are meaningless.
Good Point. (sorry - lower case "P"s seem to be dead on this keyboard)
It is easy to imagine that Nvidia might make a contribution or more to the kernel, that would helP Performance. I'd much rather see everything oPen sourced, but if that can't be done - let them get their hands dirty, and make the drivers work better for Linux. Even if they never actually contribute kernel Patches, the attemPt to do so can only give them a better understanding of the whole system!
She was talking about her husband. Seriously.
Anyway - I hadn't thought much about Google's angle on free speech and computers. But, there does need to be some attention put on computers, the web, and free speech. Thanks to things like the Patriot Act, NDAA, and other stupendously stupid legislation, alphabet agencies can decide at any time that I am a terrorist, and that I need to be rendered to some "friendly" nation where I can be "questioned" under "appropriate" circumstances.
You sum it up pretty nicely - but the point that you don't make is, this: Those conversion sites are monetizing the process, in one fashion or another. While it might be alright for you and I to take advantage of Youtube, or any other site, for our own personal use, it is NOT ALRIGHT for another corporation to horn in on the money to be made.
Those sites might do better if they were using Google ads on their sites, in a manner that didn't violate Google's policies. Might. If Google were making a penny or two at the same time the conversion site made a penny or three, they might get along.
"You are basically saying that this is the standard that separate the normal people from the retards."
Welllllll - let's just say that a lot of elementary school age children can figure it out for themselves. One of whom is closely related to me. I walked in his room, looked over his shoulder, and asked, "What you doing, Son?" "Oh, I like this song, so I'm piping it through VLC and saving the audio so that I can play it back on my iPod."
My answer? "Son, you have poor taste in music. Who the hell is this Nickel Back dude? And, why does he sound like he's been smoking raw hemp? Why don't you look for some Foreigner, or Boston, or some other real music?" Of course, this was a few years ago - the boy is out of school now.
There is only one possible answer to your post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUlw3ACdN5s
How do I apply for an NSA snoop session? Someone said that all I need do is post words like the following: (quiche? Really? WTF?)
Rewson, SAFE, Waihopai, INFOSEC, ASPIC, MI6, Information Security, SAI, Information Warfare, IW, IS, Privacy, Information Terrorism, Terrorism
Defensive Information, Defense Information Warfare, Offensive Information, Offensive Information Warfare, The Artful Dodger, NAIA, SAPM, ASU, ASTS,
National Information Infrastructure, InfoSec, SAO, Reno, Compsec, JICS,
Computer Terrorism, Firewalls, Secure Internet Connections, RSP, ISS, JDF,
Ermes, Passwords, NAAP, DefCon V, RSO, Hackers, Encryption, ASWS, CUN, CISU,
CUSI, M.A.R.E., MARE, UFO, IFO, Pacini, Angela, Espionage, USDOJ, NSA, CIA,
S/Key, SSL, FBI, Secert Service, USSS, Defcon, Military, White House,
Undercover, NCCS, Mayfly, PGP, SALDV, PEM, resta, RSA, Perl-RSA, MSNBC, bet,
AOL, AOL TOS, CIS, CBOT, AIMSX, STARLAN, 3B2, BITNET, SAMU, COSMOS, DATTA,
Furbys, E911, FCIC, HTCIA, IACIS, UT/RUS, JANET, ram, JICC, ReMOB, LEETAC,
UTU, VNET, BRLO, SADCC, NSLEP, SACLANTCEN, FALN, 877, NAVELEXSYSSECENGCEN,
BZ, CANSLO, CBNRC, CIDA, JAVA, rsta, Active X, Compsec 97, RENS, LLC, DERA,
JIC, rip, rb, Wu, RDI, Mavricks, BIOL, Meta-hackers, ^?, SADT, Steve Case,
Tools, RECCEX, Telex, Aldergrove, OTAN, monarchist, NMIC, NIOG, IDB, MID/KL,
NADIS, NMI, SEIDM, BNC, CNCIS, STEEPLEBUSH, RG, BSS, DDIS, mixmaster, BCCI,
BRGE, Europol, SARL, Military Intelligence, JICA, Scully, recondo, Flame,
Infowar, FRU, Bubba, Freeh, Archives, ISADC, CISSP, Sundevil, jack,
Investigation, JOTS, ISACA, NCSA, ASVC, spook words, RRF, 1071, Bugs Bunny,
Verisign, Secure, ASIO, Lebed, ICE, NRO, Lexis-Nexis, NSCT, SCIF, FLiR, JIC,
bce, Lacrosse, Flashbangs, HRT, IRA, EODG, DIA, USCOI, CID, BOP, FINCEN,
FLETC, NIJ, ACC, AFSPC, BMDO, site, SASSTIXS, NAVWAN, NRL, RL, NAVWCWPNS,
NSWC, USAFA, AHPCRC, ARPA, SARD, LABLINK, USACIL, SAPT, USCG, NRC, ~, O,
NSA/CSS, CDC, DOE, SAAM, FMS, HPCC, NTIS, SEL, USCODE, CISE, SIRC, CIM, ISN,
DJC, LLNL, bemd, SGC, UNCPCJ, CFC, SABENA, DREO, CDA, SADRS, DRA, SHAPE,
bird dog, SACLANT, BECCA, DCJFTF, HALO, SC, TA SAS, Lander, GSM, T Branch,
AST, SAMCOMM, HAHO, FKS, 868, GCHQ, DITSA, SORT, AMEMB, NSG, HIC, EDI,
benelux, SAS, SBS, SAW, UDT, EODC, GOE, DOE, SAMF, GEO, JRB, 3P-HV, Masuda,
Forte, AT, GIGN, Exon Shell, radint, MB, CQB, TECS, CONUS, CTU, RCMP, GRU,
SASR, GSG-9, 22nd SAS, GEOS, EADA, SART, BBE, STEP, Echelon, Dictionary,
MD2, MD4, MDA, diwn, 747, ASIC, 777, RDI, 767, MI5, 737, MI6, 757, Kh-11,
EODN, SHS, ^X, Shayet-13, SADMS, Spetznaz, Recce, 707, CIO, NOCS, Halcon,
NSS, Duress, RAID, Uziel, wojo, Psyops, SASCOM, grom, NSIRL, D-11, DF, ZARK,
SERT, VIP, ARC, S.E.T. Team, NSWG, MP5k, SATKA, DREC, DEVGRP, DSD, FDM, GRU,
LRTS, SIGDEV, NACSI, MEU/SOC,PSAC, PTT, RFI, ZL31, SIGDASYS, TDM. SUKLO,
Schengen, SUSLO, TELINT, fake, TEXTA. ELF, LF, MF, Mafia, JASSM, CALCM,
TLAM, Wipeout, GII, SIW, MEII, C2W, Burns, Tomlinson, Ufologico Nazionale,
Centro, CICAP, MIR, Belknap, Tac, rebels, BLU-97 A/B, 007, nowhere.ch,
bronze, Rubin, Arnett, BLU, SIGS, VHF, Recon, peapod, PA598D28, Spall, dort,
50MZ, 11Emc Choe, SATCOMA, UHF, The Hague, SHF, ASIO, SASP, WANK, Colonel,
domestic disruption, 5ESS, smuggle, Z-200, 15kg, DUVDEVAN, RFX, nitrate,
OIR, Pretoria, M-14, enigma, Bletchley Park, Clandestine, NSO, nkvd, argus,
afsatcom, CQB, NVD, Counter Terrorism Security, Enemy of the State, SARA,
Rapid Reaction, JSOFC3IP, Corporate Security, 192.47.242.7, Baldwin, Wilma,
ie.org, cospo.osis.gov, Police, Dateline, Tyrell, KMI, 1ee, Pod, 9705
Samford Road, 20755-6000, sniper, PPS, ASIS, ASLET, TSCM, Security
Consulting, M-x spook, Z-150T, Steak Knife, High Security, Security
Evaluation, Electronic Surveillance, MI-17, ISR, NSAS, Counterterrorism,
real, spies, IWO, eavesdropping, debugging, CCSS, interception, COCOT,
NACSI, rhost, rhosts, ASO, SETA, Amherst, Broadside, Capricorn, NAVCM,
Gamma, Gorizont, Guppy, NSS, rita, ISSO,
Yes, that does put it into better perspective. Thanks for that!
Anyone who can't figure out how to download the video for himself, then rip an MP3 from the video, doesn't deserve to listen to the music. Geez, Louise - you don't even have to be a Linux guru to figure this stuff out!
But it seems odd to me that an entire government should fall due to one cretin's past misconduct. Europeans (and parliamentary governments) have some strange habits.
Kudos. You said it much better than I did. Better than I could, without actually resorting to research! Thank you, Sir!
I think you talk in circles.
Consider court cases that have barred people from suing police departments, on the grounds that the police are not obligated to protect you.
Consider that all citizens have the right to defend themselves.
So - you argue that I may own a weapon, but I may not use it? Huh? WTF?
Your other circular logic thing, about the government? You say that people should own weapons, to keep government in check. But, to use those weapons would be treason? Hmmm - I may own a weapon, in the hope that ownership will keep my politicians honest. But, if the dishonest bastards come knocking on my door, about all I can do with the weapon, is to offer it to them as a down payment on the extortion they are looking for.
Fucking brilliant, man. Just fucking brilliant.
Did you learn your life's philosophy and political views from prime-time television, or what? Maybe you should have gone out and LIVED your life instead!
Your one old son of a bitch, if your "gun ownership actually predates the widely held belief that the Second Amendment guarantees a personal right to own and carry." Did you go to school with Thomas Jefferson, or George Washington?
Oh, wait. You say you've only owned guns for 41 years. Got it. You're just full of shit, regarding that "widely held belief". That belief was almost universal in the US, prior to about 1950.
The ten dollar fee? Fuck anyone who thinks that I need to pay a fee to exercise a right that is guaranteed in the United States Constitution. Next, it will be a breathing tax.
Uhhh - that statement doesn't make you sound like the sharpest tool in the shed. I've owned weapons all my life. Well - since I was twelve, anyway. I have gone long periods of time without actually putting my hand, or my eyes, on my weapons. I keep most of them at home, see. And, I'm not always at home. I have been away from home for months at a time. Twice in my life, I didn't return home for more than a year.
So - if my home were burgled while I was away, and one of my weapons used in a serious crime, because I didn't report it within 24 hours, you think that I should become a guest in the county jail? Hmmmmm. Nothing like the American concept of "Guilty until proven innocent".
"we were treated to not even 10 years ago."
I think you err. I agree with your point of view, but it's been more than ten years since the Doomsday - errr - Global Warming fanatics got going with their new religion. It might be hard to agree when the movement really started, but this article seems to suggest 1969 as the earliest.
http://news.yahoo.com/political-history-global-warming-debate-united-states-223500960.html
I'll go with what AC says. IF, after doing a good backup, and you know that ll your people can evacuate safely, THEN you might start unplugging the most expensive, most critical hardware. No packing materials? Oh well - stuff it all on the floor of the trailer, wedge everything together as tightly as possible, and GO with it.
If you leave it behind, and the fire consumes the structure, it's a total loss. If you more or less toss shit into the trailer, and it gets damaged during the evacuation, you haven't lost any more, or any less, than the fire was going to destroy anyway. Pack as carefully as possible, under the conditions, but don't let packing/packaging concerns slow you down.