It's even worse than that. No "management" personnel worry about the future of personnel. Or, more accurately, they don't worry about future personnel. Where are the apprenticeship programs of ages gone by? Today, no matter what department, you hire some guy off the street, plug him into some narrowly defined job description, and expect him to perform. If he fails to perform, you get rid of him, and find some other guy off the street. There is no training, seniority means nothing, and no one is advanced from the labor pool. Geez, Louise - in ten years, or fifteen or twenty years, when us older folk have died off, what is the new generation going to do? Where are managers going to find people to do the necessary jobs? There are literally MILLIONS of kids sitting on their asses today, WISHING they could get a decent job, or an apprenticeship.
Domain knowledge? The kids who are being held back today might be qualified to design a new deep fat fryer for McDonalds.
Well - the kiddies did a number on my Windows machines a few years ago. Local kids who knew my own kids. Since I reformatted the last Windows machine, and installed Linux, I've not had any problems. Maybe the local kiddies weren't able to use the search engines? I dunno - but the facts seem to support my opinion that script kiddies don't do Linux. Or, if they are doing Linux, they don't stoop to the childish pranks that Windows script kiddies do.
"As for dealing with local banks, that only works as long as the locals have a good opinion of you."
And, you find that to be unbelievable, or something? Yes, the locals have a pretty good opinion of me. Strange, isn't it? They KNOW that I'm good for whatever, they don't have to check a computer database.
They're SECRET, so no, they can't be pointed out. And, assuming that I knew where they were, if I DID point them out to you, I would be charged with treason and worse. Hell - they probably have a daycare center near by, so that exposing the secret court would expose me to pedophilia and child porn charges as well. Which part of the word "SECRET" did you fail to comprehend?
What about you? Can you point out any of the United State's secret courts? Can you name judges, or supply the addresses at which these judges hold court? Can you name the officers of the courts?
There isn't a whole lot that we can be certain of, regarding the intel communities in the US and UK. But one thing you CAN be pretty certain of, is that when one comes up with a trick, the other will be close behind. They SHARE almost everything!!
The difference between Linux and Windows is, it takes a hacker to break into Linux. Any snot-nosed script kiddie can do Windows. The one thing I got from TFA is, the space station was never configured for security. It seems to be ASSumed that anyone arriving onboard is cleared to use the computers, and there is nothing to defend against. Oh well - no system can be secure when idiots run them!
AC makes a more intelligent comment than you do. He encourages me to poison the data base. I like that.
You still make excuses for cooperating with the invasion of your own privacy. My "rant" was entirely in context. Don't cooperate with the assholes. They need no information for your day-to-day business. As for your supposedly more important stuff - don't buy on credit, and you don't HAVE to supply any information. I have a debit card in my pocket, and I have cash money. I use the card sparingly. When I walk into a convenience store to pay for three gallons of gasoline, I DO NOT give any information in exchange for the "privilege" of pumping gas. (yes, three to four gallons, my normal fill up for a Honda GL500 @ 50 mpg) Utilities are paid with old fashioned checks, drawn on an old fashioned checking account. Larger purchases are often paid for in CASH, with no paper trail left behind.
Does my banker know where I live? Yes - but I don't use BofA or any other bank you would readily recognize. Everything is handled in-house, in town. Small town private banks are like that - they aren't tied into the world wide data bases. Regions keeps sending me literature, hoping that I'll switch over to them - but they offer me NOTHING to pay for the invasive crap that will come along with the account.
As I've been trying to say - you go ahead and enjoy your relationship with whatever bank(s) you do business with. And, I'll enjoy mine.
Actually - congress has the sole authority to fund government programs for a reason. It is their final check on things. They can, and have, simply defunded things that they ultimately disapproved of. Remember Acorn? If I were to dig, I could find more, I'm certain. The appropriations bills are part of the checks and balances system. It's not so different from your own personal life. "I want this and that and two of these!" But, when the cost is tallied up, you decide that you just can't afford all of that stuff, so SOMETHING is just not paid for.
I won't get into a discussion about how vital NSA is. But, the NSA could be defunded, dismantled, and the necessary functions taken over by a new agency with very strict controls. All the personnel at NSA could be gone just as fast as their offices could be cleaned out.
And, that is such an adult comment. I got my first paying job in 1971. Graduated high school in 1974. Joined the Navy in 1975. Discharged from the Navy in 1983. Need I go on?
I have walked out of stores where the staff was overly prying. "Why do you need my phone number?" "It's required, we're supposed to ask everyone!" "Good bye then!"
If you CHOOSE to be corporate America's chump, that's fine. But don't make excuses to me for it.
I started out looking for a story from a few years ago. The United Kingdom child services was installing cameras into the homes of troubled youth. Has the internet been "sanitized", or was that a false story? Even false stories are usually available to find again. Things that make you go "Hmmmmm".
But, yes, the government can install surveillance equipment into your home. The UK has apparently done so.
If passed, then all corporate data becomes government data, and government can and will choose to share that data with yet other corporations. In short, you will no longer be able to distinguish between corporate and government surveillance - it will all be intertwined.
Actually - you DO have some choice. Did you fill out that frequent shopper's survey? Chump. Did you supply your telephone number the last time you purchased a pizza over the counter? Chumped again. Do you give out your cell phone and email address everytime a vendor requests it? Chumped, chumped, and chumped, over and over again. Do you use that credit card for ALL your purchases? You are so chumped!
Use dollar bills, in person, and refuse to supply information of any kind to the vendor. THEY DON'T NEED ANY INFORMATION TO MAKE A SALE!!
But, if you insist on getting that penny discount on your next bag of Cheeto's, go ahead and play their game.
"How all of us were "ok" with the companies collecting this information."
Speak for yourself, Kemosabe. There were a lot of us who have been bitching about the invasion of privacy all along. Were we listened to? Of course not - we were shouted down. "There is no privacy on the internet, everything you put out there is available for public consumption. Grow up dummy, if you've done nothing wrong, then you have nothing to hide!"
Always, the conversation was derailed with just such words.
Fact is, conversations on the internet are about as private as discussing your private life on the town square. Of course it's not "private", but you don't expect snoops to be actively engaged in eavesdropping activities. On the town square, you can look around to see if the town gossip is lurking behind the nearby bench. Or, whether the Chief of Police is loitering within earshot.
The internet? Only some of the more savvy users are aware just HOW LITTLE privacy they have. We are forced to avoid monitoring and eavesdropping. And, it's impossible to tell just how effective our efforts are. And, we know all the while that if NSA or any other agency takes an active interest in us, they can just tap into everything at the ISP level.
Those of YOU who were "ok" with data mining - it's about time you woke up, and understood that we have valid concerns. Now - what ya gonna do about it? Can we get NSA and a few dozen of the programs that they support defunded? Can we get some of the various police tools shitcanned? What are we gonna DO? Resort to the darknets? That really isn't a solution. All that the NSA has to do, is to install a few thousands of their own onion routers and I2P routers, and whatever else comes along. Perfect MIM attack vectors, since they straddle the backbones anyway.
What ya gonna do? Just sit around and bitch, with those of us who have been bitching for years? Do you have a plan?
You might join us, in writing your congress critters. Repeatedly. Often. Write to your own, and everyone else's as well. Sign all the online petitions that you can find. Start your own petitions. And, bug hell out of your congress critters. They HATE to get hate mail. They much prefer not to hear from you at all, and they love fan mail, so send the HATE MAIL.
GP says "One mistake does not a Microsoft make." And, you seem to argue that point. So - tell me, how many hardware manufacturers have been coerced into installing Ubuntu, and ONLY Ubuntu on all their hardware, with the threat that if they install ANYTHING else, they will be cut off? How many hostile takeovers has Ubuntu engaged in now? Does Ubuntu have a patent portfolio, with which they extort billions from Android and all other operating systems?
Everyone makes an ass of themselves sometimes. Only Bill Gates made a career of being an ass, first and foremost, always and forever. Even Steve Jobs was less of an ass than Gates.
So, basically, you're saying that people can't be trusted to walk through a park without a police presence? You must be a very proud progressive.
BTW - barricades and Barrycades are quite distinct. Barricades are erected by competent authority to warn people of potential hazards. Barrycades were erected by political stooges so that Barry could figuratively thumb his nose at American citizens. I only wish that I had been in Washington with my fellow veterans when they picked those Barrycades up, and threw them into Barry's yard. "Up yours, Barry!"
I'll just remind you that being "offended" is a natural trait for liberals, and especially "progressive" liberals. No one else gives a small damn about such trivial drivel. Most people are born with a skin, which toughens with age. Self flagellating progressives never do toughen. They tear their skin routinely, to ensure that life is painful. Hey - that's their problem, and no one else is concerned.
As AC points out, the government shutdown was the responsibility of every single dickhead in Washington. Tea party, neoconservative, progressive, liberal, Republican, Democrat, ALL OF THEM. The stupid rat bastards are sent to Washington to conduct the business of government, while representing their constituents. Instead, they are all maneuvering for position, publicity, and pork barrel deals.
Oh - do you have any statistics on the numbers of mothers and children who actually starved to death? No? Odd - I remember missing some meals when I was a child. I remember just as clearly doing without as an adult so that my kids had an extra helping of apple pie, or whatever. Going hungry helps to build character. Have you forgotten that we, collectively, are the fattest asses on the planet? I think that if we could slim some of those blimps down, we should go ahead and shut the government down every three months, for a month at a time.
So, it is your proposal that technology should be halted or rolled back, just because you are unhappy with the state of technology. Another Luddite. "Oh, just give me the olden days, like my grandparents enjoyed. Take the radio, the television, and the intertubez, I don't want any of it. Give the good old simple days!"
Tough teats. This IS 2013, not 1713. Harden the fuck up, Stefan.
Nope. I was thousands of miles from home when this incident took place - someplace where people actually do live in a shithole, the roads are in disrepair, muggers possess firearms, and I got lucky.
Oh - want another hint or two? It wasn't in the United States, and the government of that shithole had outlawed firearms before I was born.
Only a fool assumes himself to be safe, whether he is armed or unarmed. ONLY a fool. In reality, if someone plans to attack me for some random reason such as robbery, then IF he should discover that I am armed, he will simply move on to an easier target. On the other hand, if he targeted ME, rather than some random victim, yeah, he'll probably just shoot me, or make some other plan to incapacitate me before confronting me.
Whatever - it's unlikely that someone will just walk up and "threaten" to hurt me. That has just never happened to me. The guy either intends to hurt me, or he intends to demand something that I might not surrender without being threatened. In any case, unless he shoots me in the back, I have options. There are always options, and a smart man arranges for those options sometimes.
Want to hear about the time I was robbed? I was aware that I was being stalked, and maneuvered the stalker into position. I lacked any real weapons, so I used my environment. I chose where to stop, and I chose the direction from which he could approach me. He showed me his pistol, demanded my wallet, and I handed it to him. He took two steps back from me, turned to run, and fell down. As he turned, I scooped a brick up from the roadway, and slung it at the base of his skull. Didn't kill him - but I got my wallet back.
It isn't my gun you need to fear - it is ME that you need to fear, if you intend to harm me. If you intend no harm, then you have absolutely nothing to fear.
I didn't make any claim to winning the argument - I only claimed that I could make a good argument. WMD's in Iraq? Just about zero. Not exactly zero, but so damned close to it that we can call it zero.
Let me state that I would have to presume Bush and Cheney to be quite stupid to make the case for their honesty. I don't really believe that they are all that honest, just that I could play Devil's Advocate for them. Given a fair amount of stupidity, a moderate dose of incompetence, and some liberty to play with facts, yeah, I can make a pretty damned good case on their behalf. In fact, a lot of partisan allies have done exactly that, and won a lot of "hearts and souls" in the arena of public opinion.
Heh. The idea was more like, "If you're stupid enough to THREATEN someone with a weapon, then you are fair game to be shot first." Greedo had already drawn his weapon to enforce his will upon Han. Han was therefore justified in shooting first. No, you can't just walk down the street, and shoot anyone and everyone who possesses a weapon, or you suspect may possess a weapon. You need to check that short circuit in your logic systems.
My problem isn't with any individual foreign worker supporting his family. My problem is with the whole sick system that first sent him to the US looking for work, then rewarded him for breaking a myriad of laws to do so.
NAFTA was the real tool that broke Mexico's economy. Once Mexico's economy was ruined beyond repair, the Mexicans themselves became tools to be used to destroy the US economy.
My point was, that the economy is not a closed system. It is quite easy to regulate a closed system, but impossible to regulate an open system which is taken advantage of by outsiders who are completely unregulated.
I'm not that great a Star Wars fan - I had to look it up.
The idea is, "The best defense is a good offense". Guido, or Greedo, had his weapon out, and was making demands that Han wasn't willing to comply with. So - you shoot first.
A weapon is a weapon. One man's preferred weapon might be a pole arm, another man's weapon might be numchucks, while another man prefers a plain old club. In all cases, his choice to be armed shall not be infringed. It is his RIGHT, as defined in our second amendment. Personally, I am proficient with a couple of firearms, and qualified to use a number of others. I am less proficient in the use of a sword, or numchucks, or a club. Depending on your level of mastery, you might even conclude that I'm not qualified to use any of those weapons.
Perhaps your curiosity extends even further? Wonder what weapons I actually carry about with me? None. I OWN all of those weapons, except the numchucks. But, I don't fear the world, so I don't carry them about with me.
If, as someone stated above, I were fearful, then I would carry one or more weapons around with me all the time, at work, while traveling, at the park, while shopping, everywhere. I don't live in fear, so I don't do that.
You definitely get points for thinking - and an additional point for thinking in a useful direction. How to cause people to use power in a responsible manner? I have no idea. Whereas some people here have stated that they are frightened of guns, and/or frightened of people who have guns - the various methods that might be used to MAKE people responsible frighten me. Eugenics, maybe? Unless you exhibit traits that make you submissive to government control, you are sterilized? Hmmm - - - -
Slashdot Mirror
It's even worse than that. No "management" personnel worry about the future of personnel. Or, more accurately, they don't worry about future personnel. Where are the apprenticeship programs of ages gone by? Today, no matter what department, you hire some guy off the street, plug him into some narrowly defined job description, and expect him to perform. If he fails to perform, you get rid of him, and find some other guy off the street. There is no training, seniority means nothing, and no one is advanced from the labor pool. Geez, Louise - in ten years, or fifteen or twenty years, when us older folk have died off, what is the new generation going to do? Where are managers going to find people to do the necessary jobs? There are literally MILLIONS of kids sitting on their asses today, WISHING they could get a decent job, or an apprenticeship.
Domain knowledge? The kids who are being held back today might be qualified to design a new deep fat fryer for McDonalds.
Well - the kiddies did a number on my Windows machines a few years ago. Local kids who knew my own kids. Since I reformatted the last Windows machine, and installed Linux, I've not had any problems. Maybe the local kiddies weren't able to use the search engines? I dunno - but the facts seem to support my opinion that script kiddies don't do Linux. Or, if they are doing Linux, they don't stoop to the childish pranks that Windows script kiddies do.
"As for dealing with local banks, that only works as long as the locals have a good opinion of you."
And, you find that to be unbelievable, or something? Yes, the locals have a pretty good opinion of me. Strange, isn't it? They KNOW that I'm good for whatever, they don't have to check a computer database.
They're SECRET, so no, they can't be pointed out. And, assuming that I knew where they were, if I DID point them out to you, I would be charged with treason and worse. Hell - they probably have a daycare center near by, so that exposing the secret court would expose me to pedophilia and child porn charges as well. Which part of the word "SECRET" did you fail to comprehend?
What about you? Can you point out any of the United State's secret courts? Can you name judges, or supply the addresses at which these judges hold court? Can you name the officers of the courts?
There isn't a whole lot that we can be certain of, regarding the intel communities in the US and UK. But one thing you CAN be pretty certain of, is that when one comes up with a trick, the other will be close behind. They SHARE almost everything!!
The difference between Linux and Windows is, it takes a hacker to break into Linux. Any snot-nosed script kiddie can do Windows. The one thing I got from TFA is, the space station was never configured for security. It seems to be ASSumed that anyone arriving onboard is cleared to use the computers, and there is nothing to defend against. Oh well - no system can be secure when idiots run them!
AC makes a more intelligent comment than you do. He encourages me to poison the data base. I like that.
You still make excuses for cooperating with the invasion of your own privacy. My "rant" was entirely in context. Don't cooperate with the assholes. They need no information for your day-to-day business. As for your supposedly more important stuff - don't buy on credit, and you don't HAVE to supply any information. I have a debit card in my pocket, and I have cash money. I use the card sparingly. When I walk into a convenience store to pay for three gallons of gasoline, I DO NOT give any information in exchange for the "privilege" of pumping gas. (yes, three to four gallons, my normal fill up for a Honda GL500 @ 50 mpg) Utilities are paid with old fashioned checks, drawn on an old fashioned checking account. Larger purchases are often paid for in CASH, with no paper trail left behind.
Does my banker know where I live? Yes - but I don't use BofA or any other bank you would readily recognize. Everything is handled in-house, in town. Small town private banks are like that - they aren't tied into the world wide data bases. Regions keeps sending me literature, hoping that I'll switch over to them - but they offer me NOTHING to pay for the invasive crap that will come along with the account.
As I've been trying to say - you go ahead and enjoy your relationship with whatever bank(s) you do business with. And, I'll enjoy mine.
Actually - congress has the sole authority to fund government programs for a reason. It is their final check on things. They can, and have, simply defunded things that they ultimately disapproved of. Remember Acorn? If I were to dig, I could find more, I'm certain. The appropriations bills are part of the checks and balances system. It's not so different from your own personal life. "I want this and that and two of these!" But, when the cost is tallied up, you decide that you just can't afford all of that stuff, so SOMETHING is just not paid for.
I won't get into a discussion about how vital NSA is. But, the NSA could be defunded, dismantled, and the necessary functions taken over by a new agency with very strict controls. All the personnel at NSA could be gone just as fast as their offices could be cleaned out.
And, that is such an adult comment. I got my first paying job in 1971. Graduated high school in 1974. Joined the Navy in 1975. Discharged from the Navy in 1983. Need I go on?
I have walked out of stores where the staff was overly prying. "Why do you need my phone number?" "It's required, we're supposed to ask everyone!" "Good bye then!"
If you CHOOSE to be corporate America's chump, that's fine. But don't make excuses to me for it.
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/09/13/jesse-kline-u-k-surveillance-state-goes-too-far-by-putting-cameras-in-school-bathrooms/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/spy-cameras-are-used-to-target-student-protesters-2290783.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbins_v._Lower_Merion_School_District
I started out looking for a story from a few years ago. The United Kingdom child services was installing cameras into the homes of troubled youth. Has the internet been "sanitized", or was that a false story? Even false stories are usually available to find again. Things that make you go "Hmmmmm".
But, yes, the government can install surveillance equipment into your home. The UK has apparently done so.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/204775/Surveillance_Camera_Code_of_Practice_WEB.pdf That PDF only applies to surveillance in "public places". It does make reference to yet other regulations that might not be "public places".
There's no DIFFERENCE between corporations and government. Look at CISPA. Read it, and understand it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_Intelligence_Sharing_and_Protection_Act
You really need to read up on CISPA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_Intelligence_Sharing_and_Protection_Act
If passed, then all corporate data becomes government data, and government can and will choose to share that data with yet other corporations. In short, you will no longer be able to distinguish between corporate and government surveillance - it will all be intertwined.
Actually - you DO have some choice. Did you fill out that frequent shopper's survey? Chump. Did you supply your telephone number the last time you purchased a pizza over the counter? Chumped again. Do you give out your cell phone and email address everytime a vendor requests it? Chumped, chumped, and chumped, over and over again. Do you use that credit card for ALL your purchases? You are so chumped!
Use dollar bills, in person, and refuse to supply information of any kind to the vendor. THEY DON'T NEED ANY INFORMATION TO MAKE A SALE!!
But, if you insist on getting that penny discount on your next bag of Cheeto's, go ahead and play their game.
"How all of us were "ok" with the companies collecting this information."
Speak for yourself, Kemosabe. There were a lot of us who have been bitching about the invasion of privacy all along. Were we listened to? Of course not - we were shouted down. "There is no privacy on the internet, everything you put out there is available for public consumption. Grow up dummy, if you've done nothing wrong, then you have nothing to hide!"
Always, the conversation was derailed with just such words.
Fact is, conversations on the internet are about as private as discussing your private life on the town square. Of course it's not "private", but you don't expect snoops to be actively engaged in eavesdropping activities. On the town square, you can look around to see if the town gossip is lurking behind the nearby bench. Or, whether the Chief of Police is loitering within earshot.
The internet? Only some of the more savvy users are aware just HOW LITTLE privacy they have. We are forced to avoid monitoring and eavesdropping. And, it's impossible to tell just how effective our efforts are. And, we know all the while that if NSA or any other agency takes an active interest in us, they can just tap into everything at the ISP level.
Those of YOU who were "ok" with data mining - it's about time you woke up, and understood that we have valid concerns. Now - what ya gonna do about it? Can we get NSA and a few dozen of the programs that they support defunded? Can we get some of the various police tools shitcanned? What are we gonna DO? Resort to the darknets? That really isn't a solution. All that the NSA has to do, is to install a few thousands of their own onion routers and I2P routers, and whatever else comes along. Perfect MIM attack vectors, since they straddle the backbones anyway.
What ya gonna do? Just sit around and bitch, with those of us who have been bitching for years? Do you have a plan?
You might join us, in writing your congress critters. Repeatedly. Often. Write to your own, and everyone else's as well. Sign all the online petitions that you can find. Start your own petitions. And, bug hell out of your congress critters. They HATE to get hate mail. They much prefer not to hear from you at all, and they love fan mail, so send the HATE MAIL.
GP says "One mistake does not a Microsoft make." And, you seem to argue that point. So - tell me, how many hardware manufacturers have been coerced into installing Ubuntu, and ONLY Ubuntu on all their hardware, with the threat that if they install ANYTHING else, they will be cut off? How many hostile takeovers has Ubuntu engaged in now? Does Ubuntu have a patent portfolio, with which they extort billions from Android and all other operating systems?
Everyone makes an ass of themselves sometimes. Only Bill Gates made a career of being an ass, first and foremost, always and forever. Even Steve Jobs was less of an ass than Gates.
So, basically, you're saying that people can't be trusted to walk through a park without a police presence? You must be a very proud progressive.
BTW - barricades and Barrycades are quite distinct. Barricades are erected by competent authority to warn people of potential hazards. Barrycades were erected by political stooges so that Barry could figuratively thumb his nose at American citizens. I only wish that I had been in Washington with my fellow veterans when they picked those Barrycades up, and threw them into Barry's yard. "Up yours, Barry!"
I'll just remind you that being "offended" is a natural trait for liberals, and especially "progressive" liberals. No one else gives a small damn about such trivial drivel. Most people are born with a skin, which toughens with age. Self flagellating progressives never do toughen. They tear their skin routinely, to ensure that life is painful. Hey - that's their problem, and no one else is concerned.
As AC points out, the government shutdown was the responsibility of every single dickhead in Washington. Tea party, neoconservative, progressive, liberal, Republican, Democrat, ALL OF THEM. The stupid rat bastards are sent to Washington to conduct the business of government, while representing their constituents. Instead, they are all maneuvering for position, publicity, and pork barrel deals.
Oh - do you have any statistics on the numbers of mothers and children who actually starved to death? No? Odd - I remember missing some meals when I was a child. I remember just as clearly doing without as an adult so that my kids had an extra helping of apple pie, or whatever. Going hungry helps to build character. Have you forgotten that we, collectively, are the fattest asses on the planet? I think that if we could slim some of those blimps down, we should go ahead and shut the government down every three months, for a month at a time.
So, it is your proposal that technology should be halted or rolled back, just because you are unhappy with the state of technology. Another Luddite. "Oh, just give me the olden days, like my grandparents enjoyed. Take the radio, the television, and the intertubez, I don't want any of it. Give the good old simple days!"
Tough teats. This IS 2013, not 1713. Harden the fuck up, Stefan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EY7lYRneHc
Nope. I was thousands of miles from home when this incident took place - someplace where people actually do live in a shithole, the roads are in disrepair, muggers possess firearms, and I got lucky.
Oh - want another hint or two? It wasn't in the United States, and the government of that shithole had outlawed firearms before I was born.
No, I ain't sheep, and I ain't YOUR dog.
Only a fool assumes himself to be safe, whether he is armed or unarmed. ONLY a fool. In reality, if someone plans to attack me for some random reason such as robbery, then IF he should discover that I am armed, he will simply move on to an easier target. On the other hand, if he targeted ME, rather than some random victim, yeah, he'll probably just shoot me, or make some other plan to incapacitate me before confronting me.
Whatever - it's unlikely that someone will just walk up and "threaten" to hurt me. That has just never happened to me. The guy either intends to hurt me, or he intends to demand something that I might not surrender without being threatened. In any case, unless he shoots me in the back, I have options. There are always options, and a smart man arranges for those options sometimes.
Want to hear about the time I was robbed? I was aware that I was being stalked, and maneuvered the stalker into position. I lacked any real weapons, so I used my environment. I chose where to stop, and I chose the direction from which he could approach me. He showed me his pistol, demanded my wallet, and I handed it to him. He took two steps back from me, turned to run, and fell down. As he turned, I scooped a brick up from the roadway, and slung it at the base of his skull. Didn't kill him - but I got my wallet back.
It isn't my gun you need to fear - it is ME that you need to fear, if you intend to harm me. If you intend no harm, then you have absolutely nothing to fear.
I didn't make any claim to winning the argument - I only claimed that I could make a good argument. WMD's in Iraq? Just about zero. Not exactly zero, but so damned close to it that we can call it zero.
Let me state that I would have to presume Bush and Cheney to be quite stupid to make the case for their honesty. I don't really believe that they are all that honest, just that I could play Devil's Advocate for them. Given a fair amount of stupidity, a moderate dose of incompetence, and some liberty to play with facts, yeah, I can make a pretty damned good case on their behalf. In fact, a lot of partisan allies have done exactly that, and won a lot of "hearts and souls" in the arena of public opinion.
Heh. The idea was more like, "If you're stupid enough to THREATEN someone with a weapon, then you are fair game to be shot first." Greedo had already drawn his weapon to enforce his will upon Han. Han was therefore justified in shooting first. No, you can't just walk down the street, and shoot anyone and everyone who possesses a weapon, or you suspect may possess a weapon. You need to check that short circuit in your logic systems.
My problem isn't with any individual foreign worker supporting his family. My problem is with the whole sick system that first sent him to the US looking for work, then rewarded him for breaking a myriad of laws to do so.
NAFTA was the real tool that broke Mexico's economy. Once Mexico's economy was ruined beyond repair, the Mexicans themselves became tools to be used to destroy the US economy.
My point was, that the economy is not a closed system. It is quite easy to regulate a closed system, but impossible to regulate an open system which is taken advantage of by outsiders who are completely unregulated.
I'm not that great a Star Wars fan - I had to look it up.
The idea is, "The best defense is a good offense". Guido, or Greedo, had his weapon out, and was making demands that Han wasn't willing to comply with. So - you shoot first.
A weapon is a weapon. One man's preferred weapon might be a pole arm, another man's weapon might be numchucks, while another man prefers a plain old club. In all cases, his choice to be armed shall not be infringed. It is his RIGHT, as defined in our second amendment. Personally, I am proficient with a couple of firearms, and qualified to use a number of others. I am less proficient in the use of a sword, or numchucks, or a club. Depending on your level of mastery, you might even conclude that I'm not qualified to use any of those weapons.
Perhaps your curiosity extends even further? Wonder what weapons I actually carry about with me? None. I OWN all of those weapons, except the numchucks. But, I don't fear the world, so I don't carry them about with me.
If, as someone stated above, I were fearful, then I would carry one or more weapons around with me all the time, at work, while traveling, at the park, while shopping, everywhere. I don't live in fear, so I don't do that.
You definitely get points for thinking - and an additional point for thinking in a useful direction. How to cause people to use power in a responsible manner? I have no idea. Whereas some people here have stated that they are frightened of guns, and/or frightened of people who have guns - the various methods that might be used to MAKE people responsible frighten me. Eugenics, maybe? Unless you exhibit traits that make you submissive to government control, you are sterilized? Hmmm - - - -