Well there's our solution. Suppose this tech gets adopted and, eventually, used. All we have to do is convince mothers in America that this device gives babies cancer or some other ludicrous thing like that and before you know it a whole flaming movement of pissed of activists will have this banned permanently.
And before anyone calls me an immoral wanker for suggesting using FUD and BS to propel a movement, take a look at the things that our congress critters and media try to rile us up about on a daily basis and how effective it is. My dad taught me one very important thing when I was young: Fighting 'honorably' and getting stabbed or beat to death is not nearly as smart or effective as fighting dirty and walking away from a brawl alive.
That was my first thought actually. One of my closest friends growing up was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and is now bedridden with absolutely no muscle movement capability at the age of 23. He has been watching TV for about a year now and, while most of us try to visit him as often as possible, living 200+ miles away makes that difficult. I can only imagine the hellish boredom that kid goes through to pass the time. That being said, a cap that he could wear to play video games would at least give him one more thing to do....
High Five brother. I beat a 2.5 year long WoWcrack addiction myself years ago. I still remember it like it was yesterday. Those long, back-knotted nights of failed Stratholme runs and epic fails. Noobs causing my blood pressure to rise exponentially in the Arathi Highlands....The cold chills of the 4 AM morning air nipping at my underwear-shod body, the only thing driving my spirit was the pipe dream of epic loots and bragging rights in Ironforge. Before Illidan. Before Arthas. Back when you knew how dedicated a WoW player was based on how high their fishing skill was....
*shudder*
I was one of the few ones lucky enough to turn away from that hell with my life still intact. I feel a bond with others I meet that were able to do the same. Stand strong my friend...relapse is easy.
If you lived in a true democracy you would get the laws that people voted for - this may or may not include DRM
That's actually a pretty important point. In a system where you can get laws passed based on the majority's will a society tends to develop some terrible foibles. Take California for example. Here in California, we have a proposition system in our state government. Anyone can write a proposition (item to be voted on to become law) and then get that proposition, no matter how biased, stupid, or retarded onto a ballot via petition. With enough activism and bullshitting, therefore, we could literally have a person write a law outlawing use of dihydrogen monoxide in every household, spread some FUD and shout louder than any sane person out there, raise a very passionate but misinformed movement, and get that law on the ballot. Then, if the majority of voters that turn out vote for the proposition, that proposition becomes law. This is one of the closest systems to direct democracy that I have ever seen in government. It has its consequences.
For instance, our population continues to vote for convenience projects funded by the government. We want a high speed train? Turn it into a proposition. God forbid we let a private company develop one. Nope, let's have our state government build it with our tax dollars. We need more revenue? Well we don't want to raise taxes so let's just let our congress figure that one out. This trend happens continuously and, after a few decades of retarded laws and projects, our budget is such a mess that even an educated (maybe) and bloated congress cannot figure out how the hell to solve it.
Another example? Sure. There is a large portion (though not a majority) of folk in California that think gays should have the right to marry. Thus, over the past few years, these groups have written a number of propositions trying to legalize it. They have come in strangely worded forms that helped to confuse the issue in the minds of most voters. They have been, repetitively, met by an equally passionate, and, in my opinion, bigoted, movement that votes down said propositions. Never mind silly things like civil rights, equality, respect for other folks. Never mind studies done to show that gay families can and do function just as well as hetero families and so on. None of those details have stopped a very vocal group of people from implementing a systematic discrimination into our very state laws.
That is the consequence of true democracy. The mob rules. If the mob is stupid, stupidity rules. If this mob is full of asshattery, asshattery rules. If the mob is kind and just and intelligent, compassion, justice, and intelligence rules.
I am not saying that one system is better than another, but I would caution anyone to be careful about wishing for true democracy. It can be a terribly ugly overlord.
Do you expect your employer to support you stirring up trouble?
No, and I won't lose sleep over that fact.
Do you have a family counting on you?
No, but I do not intend to start a family until I find a partner that is as equally capable of sustaining her family as I am. In other words, I will marry for strength and independence, and I will not settle for less. My family will be source of inspiration for me. It will not be an excuse or a drag.
Will you stay down on your knees?
No, I have knee problems.
I realize that you are trying to imply that things aren't 'that simple' (at least I think that's what you are getting at). However, the pursuit of a higher quality existence does not come through safe complacency. Besides, risks are invigorating.
Ah yes, a poignant observation regarding someone's ideals just because you figure they have a comfortable life. Its not like such ideals ever drove change or created progress in the world. Nope. Just because they were typed on a keyboard by someone with internet access they must be meaningless and hollow...perhaps even worthless.
God forbid anyone have a cause they are willing to believe in in the 'civilized' world these days. We wouldn't want any of that.
I'm currently in San Francisco and I can tell you that people in cali have a strong affinity for finding crazy ass conspiracies everywhere except where a conspiracy actually exists.
I mean, perhaps I am being too idealistic, but, is anyone on slashdot ready to mobilize and do anything about this kind of 1984ish abuse yet? I know its fun to slap up quotes from our favorite Orwellian novel and talk about how the new boss is the same as the old boss, but are we interested in hitting the pavement and trying to get something to change?
I'm not saying I have any answers, but maybe we could at least try some stuff. We could print off pictures of Big Brother in poster form and tape them over automated radar signs, or just on street posts and such. Perhaps they could even have a url to a website that compiles information regarding cases like this that is easy to remember. Is there a site like that? There must be some web programmers here on slashdot, how's about we start one. BigBrotherCourt.com or some such thing.
Maybe we could start some groups to go around to local events like fairs and farmer's markets to educate people on tools they can use to protect their privacy like encryption and tor. Maybe some door-door activism is in order? I don't like that idea myself, but it could be a start.
What about the pirate party? Last time I checked, their US branch was extremely lacking at best. Anyone else willing to reregister in support of freedom?
Perhaps we could write some letters to our congress critters discussing the need to develop tech-centric courts for cases involving technology that the average lay person oggles at in a stupor?
I don't really have answers myself, but there are some ideas at least. Are we slashdotters willing to do something yet (other than our jobs)? Or are we still going to remain confined to 'cyberspace?'
As a Californian I wonder how much interest this is going to garner in my home state regarding the abuses of Scientology. On the one hand, my state is populated with pipe dreamers, smoked out idealists, flower children, hippy nutjobs, and all sorts of other forms of extreme liberalism. On the other hand, we have very rich communities like Hollywood, the OC, and Roseville. We also, apparently, have enough orthodox, classic right wingers that we voted down legalizing gay marriage recently. We have farmers. We have students. We have programmers. We have ranchers. We have movie stars. We have one of the most diverse culture mixtures in the world I bet. That's part of why I love it here...
Of course, along with that diversity is an unfathomable tolerance for some particularly poignant cases of stupidity...like our state budget. There is no doubt that the strong and vocal religious groups here in California would raise exception and a helluva kerfuffle over their church being towed to court for slavery. But I wonder if any of those groups see a case regarding Scientology as a threat. After all sometimes the most belligerent opposition to one religion comes from another religion. I have seen folks in Fawkes masks walking around my local famer's market protesting Scientology. However, I have also had Scientologists try to recruit me both in my home town and when I wander the rest of the state. So this will certainly be an interesting case to watch. I hope it garners some attention and noise in this state and, perhaps, even in our country. Exposing Scientology for the cult and crime syndicate it is certainly is, in my opinion, a righteous cause....
Well if there's one thing we Californians know how to do, its garner attention and make some noise. I'm gonna go pop some popcorn...
Concerned about the release of 500,000 intercepted pager messages from Sept. 11, 2001, Rep. Peter King said he plans to have his Washington staff begin a preliminary investigation.
I know that Congressional staffs are bloated and excessive, but why the hell do we just accept things like this? The congressional body is supposed to write and develop legislation. In order to do so, they need the advice and consultation of experts in various fields, sure, but is every congress critter entitled to his own investigation body? If there really is a security matter on wikileaks that regards national security on a federal level, we already have tax sinks and bodies designed to investigate it. It is called the Executive branch, which comes complete with add ons like the CIA, the FBI, the NRO, the NSA, the DHS, and so on and on and on. So when did it become the legislative branch's job to investigate possible criminal/suspicious activity? Last time I checked those responsibilities were delegated to an entirely separate branch of government for a very specific and important reason: Checks and Balances. When did we throw out the very foundational principles of our government? What amendment in the Constitution was ratified that said legislative employees had power of execution?
Perhaps I am living in a dream world here, but it seems to me that having a body of (possibly) untrained aides of legislative employees perform any sort of investigation for 'security' purposes is as unconstitutional as it comes. Where the hell is the activist group to file a lawsuit for the Supreme Court to try regarding a breach of checks and balances? FFS we throw a temper tantrum over animals being shot up with medical test drugs or research into human tissue growth that potentially could save the lives of thousands, but no one on the street gives a damn about their own government destroying the very principles it was founded on? Lame...
You know, I made the switch to Ubuntu about a year ago. I bought a 'Linux Starter Kit' magazine with an 8.04 install CD in it. The magazine is about 100 pages long I think. In the first section, regarding installing Ubuntu, the importance of complex passwords is stressed. The author also discusses a few simple methods for developing easy-to-remember complex passwords. I took that advice very seriously and have been telling all my friends about the need for using special characters and what not. I think, little by little, it's paying off and folk I know are starting to come around. So, while the Ubuntu developers may have screwed up with regards to passwords, there is certainly a portion of the community that takes an active role in propagating security advice.... Also of note, every time I post to the Ubuntu forums, one or more responses to my questions include caveats, warnings, or just general security wisdom....It seems like it would be hard to be an Ubuntu newbie and not read about potential security issues.
the other choice would have fucked us over FAR WORSE.
That's nice, presenting your own subjective fears as if they were fact. I don't know that, 'the other guy(s)' would have fucked us over far worse or not. However, realizing that I am no better at telling the future, or speaking of alternative time lines than Miss Cleo, I tend to restrain myself from the temptation of declaring, "If this happened then OMG we all would have died!."
The simple truth is, none of us really know, or knew, which candidate would have produced the better or worse time line. At best, we could observe past trends and extrapolate, although, time and again I find extrapolations into the future almost inevitably tend to be inaccurate and/or shortsighted. There is no way to quantify bestness. There is no means by which we can mathematically model political developments and left/right wing trends without involving ourselves in some form of quality judgement. For all intents and purposes, we are blind to the future unless we are speaking strictly about the causal domain (i.e. science and math). If there is a means by which we can causally model the progression of human society...or even a small portion of it like America...and, from that, extrapolate future behavior as we can with, say, mechanical systems, then we have not found it yet.
That being the case, I would discourage you from raising the whole, "Yeah but things could be worse/better, if ____ " arguments as we do not really know. Things could always be better. Things could always be worse. All we can really proclaim with any sweeping authority of truth is present observations and rigorously tested causal models. That being said, comments of the type you just posted contain about the same substance as the, "Think of the children!" fallacies. In other words, it's FUD at best and outright misinformed panic at worst.
Please keep your prophesying to the New Ager message boards.
I would disagree by a matter of pedantry on that claim. The 'theory' as you say, never existed until we humans conceptualized them and named them. The mechanisms in the universe that cause the phenomenon we describe as special relativity and general relativity certainly existed at some point before we named them because the phenomenon were observed and recorded before we named them. However, our description of them, our mathematical models of them, never did exist before we created them. That is, it is important to understand that mathematics is simply a language through which we attempt to describe the phenomenon we observe. Mathematics is not, 'necessarily,' an intrinsic part of our universe. There are not large E's, M's, and c's floating around in space. There is not a mathematics machine that is actively producing numbers which underly our physical reality dynamically as we speak...at least, not that we know of.
Like I said, you may call this a nitpick, but it still holds that special relativity and general relativity are nothing but a language and a model...a conceptualized idea that exists in our head with which we attempt to navigate this trend that we call reality. They are, in a sense, no different than the 'ghosts' explanation of past ages. Back then..."Ghosts did it," or, "The spirts willed it" was a model which fit the observable, recorded data that people had at hand. Right now, special relativity and general relativity are models that fit the observable, recorded data we have at hand. Whereas, years ago, a paradigm shift had to come about to where people stopped looking for explanations in supernatural models, but started looking for explanations in natural models, there may also come about a paradigm shift that people need to stop looking for explanations in logical or mathematical models and might start finding superior explanations through a means of thinking that we haven't even considered yet. That may sound like some new agey stretch of the imagination but it really isn't. There is no fundamental law that states logic is the only means through which a 'truth' can be arrived at. So far, it has proven to be quite effective sure, but that's not to say that it is concrete.
Of course, scientists understand this and this is why science is the art of continually reevaluating one's assumptions to develop a better model and understanding of observed phenomena. The only point I am trying to underscore is that special relativity and general relativity, just like the theory of evolution, are mere models...ghosts...of our present perception of reality.
There really wasn't a need for us all to have cell phones so we could be connected all the time. My parents trusted mys Sister and I. All of us friends knew we would see each other at school every day. So, who needed to text and call all the time? Really there was no need for it...It was just another thing to spend money on.
The summary is a bit misleading. Intelsat was launched around midnight Sunday night PST or, if you will, early Monday morning. Technically Intelsat was in space and correcting its orbit on Monday, not today, as the summary implies:
A radiation-proof Cisco router was sent into space today...
Just some early morning pedantry for my fellow space nerds out there. =)
You have a good point about the tedium pace and monotony of our day to day jobs. As a recent college grad I feel exactly where you are coming from. So I have a question for you, or anyone else on here who has some ideas. How do we fix that as well? How do reengineer the workplace structure, at any level, to make work less suck and more awesome? Honestly, I am not asking to troll, I am seriously curious. I don't have an answer...at least not a full one. I have some ideas, but I would be interested in other folks' ideas as well. How do we make work less crappy? Any takers?
I grew up in a California foothill town with a total population of 5,000. There was one high school for the whole county and even today most of the county doesn't have access to anything better than dial up. I know for a fact we were behind the times, but I kinda enjoyed that. Sure, I wasn't texting when I was 9 years old, but I was wandering through the Cedar forests with a knife in my boot and rifle in my hand shooting at birds just for the shits of it. By 14 my friends and I had built ourselves a halfpipe for skateboarding and biking on. By 16 we had all been driving our dad's 4 WD pickups for 2 - 3 years. We paintballed in the woods every weekend. We went fishing every couple weeks or so. We went swimming when it was warm. We started snowboarding at 8 years old and were doing 360's and 720's before we got out of our parent's houses. That's why the meeting up thing was so important. If you missed catching up with your friends on the weekend, you would be shit out of luck on stuff to do for a few days.
So yeah, sure, I guess I grew up under a rock, but there were some really cool things to do under that rock...far cooler than texting each other back and forth for hours saying, "I don't know what to do," "Me neither," "LOL this sucks," "LOL yeah," "=P," "fag lol."..... and so on ad infinitum.
I got my first cell phone when I was 17 so, 6ish years ago. So, I got my first cell phone around 2003. That wasn't even 'my' cell phone. It was technically just a crappy Nokia phone my Sis and I shared so we could check in with our parents when we out...if we felt so inclined. I din't really get my own phone and address book and such until my first year of college during the summer of '04. Incidentally that was also when I got my first major girlfriend....go figure.
I miss the days before cell phones. Don't get me wrong, cell phones are convenient and allow me to stalk any number of girls that I like, but still..
I remember before cell phones became mainstream, if you wanted to spend time with your friends, you had to tell them where to meet you and when and they had to be there or else you just wouldn't catch up. It didn't matter if you had anything planned or not. There was much less of the, "Well, I might come out, what did you have in mind?" cruft. During lunch at school you would say, "Meet at the pool around 4:00 and we'll figure something out." Then, the evening was yours for adventure or mischief or what have you. Not always having a plan was half the fun. It meant you would all get together and just start talking or walking or going somewhere seeking something to do until someone had a brilliant...or at least intriguing...idea.
I remember how, for the weekend, you and all your friends would be sure to meet Friday night somewhere then spend the whole weekend sleeping on each others' floors and couches because if anyone skipped out you wouldn't be able to find them for the rest of the weekend. I remember girls writing their numbers on my hand in pink gel ink and walking around, intentionally holding my hand turned just out slightly so as to subversively brag about my score. I remember setting up dates and saying, "I'll pick you up at..." and not having the crutch of cell phones to be able to work out the details when the time came.
Yep part of me misses those days. I am only 23 and I feel old writing about that kind of thing....the worst part is I don't even have a lawn yet....
I'm not a seafood eater or a big fish eater. As a result, I don't like tuna in any form....sandwich or otherwise. The smell of tuna alone is enough to make me gag. Now, thanks to your comment, I just threw up in my mouth a little at work. Combining that imagery with that smell was far too much for me. Congratulations, you actually just made someone puke from a comment you posted on the internet....there should probably be a slashdot achievement for that.
However, humoring you...by your logic you would have no problem with me coming into your home and watching your TV right? That is rather trivial example. So let's say I broke into (hacked) your home and photo copied your entire life's worth of documents and posted them online. No problem with that right?
I don't think that's comparable. You may disagree and that's fine. Global average temperature data is quantifiable scientific data that can be reproduced or verified by sources other than this particular research firm. The personal details of my life, contained in whatever documents that would be copied online, may or may not be. The point is, the global average temperature is information that anyone can access if they go through the means necessary to access it (yes time, money, resources etc are necessary, but it is already there to be measured). My personal documents may contain data that is not similar in that sense. For instance, maybe it contains the number of times I had dinner at a particular restaurant with a particular person. This is not something that anyone can measure for themselves, unless, of course, they are stalking me. Nor is my music taste (something I have extensive personal documentation on), a matter of national interest or a quantifiable data point. Thus, the types of data we are discussing are different in nature and I would call your analogy flawed...if not somewhat hyperbolic.
Again, you may disagree with me on this point and that's fine. I just don't think you are comparing apples to apples. Also of note, you are saying that I asserted that the hacking, in the first place, was not immoral. That's not what I said. A breach of personal property is, in my opinion, immoral. I was asserting, or at least attempting to assert, that 'stealing' with the way it is defined today is not something I, or other people, always find immoral. Nitpick sure, but somewhat relevant nonetheless.
Finally, I think it is important to note that the data in question has been and still is a matter of national concern, at least here in the USA. Thus, the benefit of the public being able to access the data, in my opinion, far outweighs the negative consequences of keeping it under cloak and dagger. I don't think the details of any of my personal records are really worth that much to the majority of the people on the Earth. So, again, there is a flaw in your analogy with respect to the magnitude of the issue. So, again, I would call it flawed.
I will admit that, perhaps, I was over generalizing in my initial discussion of what does and does not constitute theft. As this case and the hypothetical cases you described illustrate rather nicely, these types of moral questions are not black and white and are, for all intents and purposes, very complicated questions. This was the original point I was attempting to illustrate with my post. Different people are going to see each situation differently. Thus, saying that there is something wrong or right about one situation or another is a very complicated assertion that almost inevitably will fault in some way or another. That is why I made mention to the fact that I think questions such as, 'what is best' are best left outside of the realms of objectivity and subjectivity. There is more nuance at work than any one person or any quantifiable variable can account for. Perhaps my first few sentences made it impossible for you to take this message away from my post so hopefully this explanation will help in your understanding a bit. If not, well, then I apologize for my inadequacies at describing the flaws that I see in strict moral reasoning.
Cheers Mate.
PS As a matter of personal opinion, I don not think that personal e-mails of the employees of the research company needed to have been leaked. While they might add some insight to the issues at hand, I am not sure such minor insights outweigh any personal details contained within the e-mail. The data being published I have no problem with. The publishing e-mails, especially if they contain any personal information, is questionable.
Well, that's one point of view, but I know that I am not alone in considering 'stealing' to only be inappropriate when it deprives another entity of something (i.e. I steal candy from a baby). If the 'stolen data' was copied rather than deleted from the original source, then the original researchers aren't deprived of anything (except maybe the power that exclusive information affords people). That being said, why lose sleep over it? Furthermore, why cry foul on a news aggregation site that is, in fact, linking to an aggregation of new, interesting information (aka news). I mean, I guess you could make a case about this possibly depriving the original researchers of their integrity. I suppose you could say that it only muddies the waters of an already dirty lake. I suppose you could come up with all sorts of moral/ethical/relative reasons as to why this is a terrible thing for slashdot to do, but so far as I can tell, it primarily just brings more exposure to a very interesting happenstance.
That being said, I hope you can understand that other people who don't share your strict sense of values or morals or ethics or whatever may not see it as being some horrible act. In fact, some may even find it to be a refreshing act of misplaced-but-at-least-attempted rebellion which is somewhat refreshing in an era where those who scream the loudest but perform the least activity get awarded time and again. Furthermore, I hope you can understand these things without having to stick your nose in the air and convince yourself that you are better than anyone who doesn't see a moral issue with this. The human race is not homogeneous. We all have different ideals and values. You can argue for eternity over which values are 'best,' but I think the idea of 'best' goes beyond both subjective and objective reasoning. Call me a moral relativist if you want, but I sure hope your blood pressure doesn't go due to your shock and outrage over information getting leaked on the internet and being reported on a news site....
Well I don't know how to nominate you, but unless Ron Paul is running again, your be my next write in vote for President....you know, seeing as how I don't have an option to vote, "None of the above, they all suck." I figure I can just write in people that wouldn't suck as much in a vain attempt at protest...
Slashdot Mirror
Well there's our solution. Suppose this tech gets adopted and, eventually, used. All we have to do is convince mothers in America that this device gives babies cancer or some other ludicrous thing like that and before you know it a whole flaming movement of pissed of activists will have this banned permanently.
And before anyone calls me an immoral wanker for suggesting using FUD and BS to propel a movement, take a look at the things that our congress critters and media try to rile us up about on a daily basis and how effective it is. My dad taught me one very important thing when I was young: Fighting 'honorably' and getting stabbed or beat to death is not nearly as smart or effective as fighting dirty and walking away from a brawl alive.
That was my first thought actually. One of my closest friends growing up was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and is now bedridden with absolutely no muscle movement capability at the age of 23. He has been watching TV for about a year now and, while most of us try to visit him as often as possible, living 200+ miles away makes that difficult. I can only imagine the hellish boredom that kid goes through to pass the time. That being said, a cap that he could wear to play video games would at least give him one more thing to do....
....
Fuck neurological diseases...
High Five brother. I beat a 2.5 year long WoWcrack addiction myself years ago. I still remember it like it was yesterday. Those long, back-knotted nights of failed Stratholme runs and epic fails. Noobs causing my blood pressure to rise exponentially in the Arathi Highlands....The cold chills of the 4 AM morning air nipping at my underwear-shod body, the only thing driving my spirit was the pipe dream of epic loots and bragging rights in Ironforge. Before Illidan. Before Arthas. Back when you knew how dedicated a WoW player was based on how high their fishing skill was....
*shudder*
I was one of the few ones lucky enough to turn away from that hell with my life still intact. I feel a bond with others I meet that were able to do the same. Stand strong my friend...relapse is easy.
If you lived in a true democracy you would get the laws that people voted for - this may or may not include DRM
That's actually a pretty important point. In a system where you can get laws passed based on the majority's will a society tends to develop some terrible foibles. Take California for example. Here in California, we have a proposition system in our state government. Anyone can write a proposition (item to be voted on to become law) and then get that proposition, no matter how biased, stupid, or retarded onto a ballot via petition. With enough activism and bullshitting, therefore, we could literally have a person write a law outlawing use of dihydrogen monoxide in every household, spread some FUD and shout louder than any sane person out there, raise a very passionate but misinformed movement, and get that law on the ballot. Then, if the majority of voters that turn out vote for the proposition, that proposition becomes law. This is one of the closest systems to direct democracy that I have ever seen in government. It has its consequences.
For instance, our population continues to vote for convenience projects funded by the government. We want a high speed train? Turn it into a proposition. God forbid we let a private company develop one. Nope, let's have our state government build it with our tax dollars. We need more revenue? Well we don't want to raise taxes so let's just let our congress figure that one out. This trend happens continuously and, after a few decades of retarded laws and projects, our budget is such a mess that even an educated (maybe) and bloated congress cannot figure out how the hell to solve it.
Another example? Sure. There is a large portion (though not a majority) of folk in California that think gays should have the right to marry. Thus, over the past few years, these groups have written a number of propositions trying to legalize it. They have come in strangely worded forms that helped to confuse the issue in the minds of most voters. They have been, repetitively, met by an equally passionate, and, in my opinion, bigoted, movement that votes down said propositions. Never mind silly things like civil rights, equality, respect for other folks. Never mind studies done to show that gay families can and do function just as well as hetero families and so on. None of those details have stopped a very vocal group of people from implementing a systematic discrimination into our very state laws.
That is the consequence of true democracy. The mob rules. If the mob is stupid, stupidity rules. If this mob is full of asshattery, asshattery rules. If the mob is kind and just and intelligent, compassion, justice, and intelligence rules.
I am not saying that one system is better than another, but I would caution anyone to be careful about wishing for true democracy. It can be a terribly ugly overlord.
Do you expect your employer to support you stirring up trouble?
No, and I won't lose sleep over that fact.
Do you have a family counting on you?
No, but I do not intend to start a family until I find a partner that is as equally capable of sustaining her family as I am. In other words, I will marry for strength and independence, and I will not settle for less. My family will be source of inspiration for me. It will not be an excuse or a drag.
Will you stay down on your knees?
No, I have knee problems.
I realize that you are trying to imply that things aren't 'that simple' (at least I think that's what you are getting at). However, the pursuit of a higher quality existence does not come through safe complacency. Besides, risks are invigorating.
Ah yes, a poignant observation regarding someone's ideals just because you figure they have a comfortable life. Its not like such ideals ever drove change or created progress in the world. Nope. Just because they were typed on a keyboard by someone with internet access they must be meaningless and hollow...perhaps even worthless.
God forbid anyone have a cause they are willing to believe in in the 'civilized' world these days. We wouldn't want any of that.
I'm currently in San Francisco and I can tell you that people in cali have a strong affinity for finding crazy ass conspiracies everywhere except where a conspiracy actually exists.
Wait, wait, wait, I thought that The Shi were already hard at work battling The Hubologists ... I mean ... The 'Scientologists' in your town...
I mean, perhaps I am being too idealistic, but, is anyone on slashdot ready to mobilize and do anything about this kind of 1984ish abuse yet? I know its fun to slap up quotes from our favorite Orwellian novel and talk about how the new boss is the same as the old boss, but are we interested in hitting the pavement and trying to get something to change?
I'm not saying I have any answers, but maybe we could at least try some stuff. We could print off pictures of Big Brother in poster form and tape them over automated radar signs, or just on street posts and such. Perhaps they could even have a url to a website that compiles information regarding cases like this that is easy to remember. Is there a site like that? There must be some web programmers here on slashdot, how's about we start one. BigBrotherCourt.com or some such thing.
Maybe we could start some groups to go around to local events like fairs and farmer's markets to educate people on tools they can use to protect their privacy like encryption and tor. Maybe some door-door activism is in order? I don't like that idea myself, but it could be a start.
What about the pirate party? Last time I checked, their US branch was extremely lacking at best. Anyone else willing to reregister in support of freedom?
Perhaps we could write some letters to our congress critters discussing the need to develop tech-centric courts for cases involving technology that the average lay person oggles at in a stupor?
I don't really have answers myself, but there are some ideas at least. Are we slashdotters willing to do something yet (other than our jobs)? Or are we still going to remain confined to 'cyberspace?'
As a Californian I wonder how much interest this is going to garner in my home state regarding the abuses of Scientology. On the one hand, my state is populated with pipe dreamers, smoked out idealists, flower children, hippy nutjobs, and all sorts of other forms of extreme liberalism. On the other hand, we have very rich communities like Hollywood, the OC, and Roseville. We also, apparently, have enough orthodox, classic right wingers that we voted down legalizing gay marriage recently. We have farmers. We have students. We have programmers. We have ranchers. We have movie stars. We have one of the most diverse culture mixtures in the world I bet. That's part of why I love it here...
Of course, along with that diversity is an unfathomable tolerance for some particularly poignant cases of stupidity...like our state budget. There is no doubt that the strong and vocal religious groups here in California would raise exception and a helluva kerfuffle over their church being towed to court for slavery. But I wonder if any of those groups see a case regarding Scientology as a threat. After all sometimes the most belligerent opposition to one religion comes from another religion. I have seen folks in Fawkes masks walking around my local famer's market protesting Scientology. However, I have also had Scientologists try to recruit me both in my home town and when I wander the rest of the state. So this will certainly be an interesting case to watch. I hope it garners some attention and noise in this state and, perhaps, even in our country. Exposing Scientology for the cult and crime syndicate it is certainly is, in my opinion, a righteous cause....
Well if there's one thing we Californians know how to do, its garner attention and make some noise. I'm gonna go pop some popcorn...
Just because something is illegal does not make it wrong.
Concerned about the release of 500,000 intercepted pager messages from Sept. 11, 2001, Rep. Peter King said he plans to have his Washington staff begin a preliminary investigation.
I know that Congressional staffs are bloated and excessive, but why the hell do we just accept things like this? The congressional body is supposed to write and develop legislation. In order to do so, they need the advice and consultation of experts in various fields, sure, but is every congress critter entitled to his own investigation body? If there really is a security matter on wikileaks that regards national security on a federal level, we already have tax sinks and bodies designed to investigate it. It is called the Executive branch, which comes complete with add ons like the CIA, the FBI, the NRO, the NSA, the DHS, and so on and on and on. So when did it become the legislative branch's job to investigate possible criminal/suspicious activity? Last time I checked those responsibilities were delegated to an entirely separate branch of government for a very specific and important reason: Checks and Balances. When did we throw out the very foundational principles of our government? What amendment in the Constitution was ratified that said legislative employees had power of execution?
Perhaps I am living in a dream world here, but it seems to me that having a body of (possibly) untrained aides of legislative employees perform any sort of investigation for 'security' purposes is as unconstitutional as it comes. Where the hell is the activist group to file a lawsuit for the Supreme Court to try regarding a breach of checks and balances? FFS we throw a temper tantrum over animals being shot up with medical test drugs or research into human tissue growth that potentially could save the lives of thousands, but no one on the street gives a damn about their own government destroying the very principles it was founded on? Lame...
You know, I made the switch to Ubuntu about a year ago. I bought a 'Linux Starter Kit' magazine with an 8.04 install CD in it. The magazine is about 100 pages long I think. In the first section, regarding installing Ubuntu, the importance of complex passwords is stressed. The author also discusses a few simple methods for developing easy-to-remember complex passwords. I took that advice very seriously and have been telling all my friends about the need for using special characters and what not. I think, little by little, it's paying off and folk I know are starting to come around. So, while the Ubuntu developers may have screwed up with regards to passwords, there is certainly a portion of the community that takes an active role in propagating security advice. ... Also of note, every time I post to the Ubuntu forums, one or more responses to my questions include caveats, warnings, or just general security wisdom....It seems like it would be hard to be an Ubuntu newbie and not read about potential security issues.
Just my two cents. Cheers.
the other choice would have fucked us over FAR WORSE.
That's nice, presenting your own subjective fears as if they were fact. I don't know that, 'the other guy(s)' would have fucked us over far worse or not. However, realizing that I am no better at telling the future, or speaking of alternative time lines than Miss Cleo, I tend to restrain myself from the temptation of declaring, "If this happened then OMG we all would have died!."
The simple truth is, none of us really know, or knew, which candidate would have produced the better or worse time line. At best, we could observe past trends and extrapolate, although, time and again I find extrapolations into the future almost inevitably tend to be inaccurate and/or shortsighted. There is no way to quantify bestness. There is no means by which we can mathematically model political developments and left/right wing trends without involving ourselves in some form of quality judgement. For all intents and purposes, we are blind to the future unless we are speaking strictly about the causal domain (i.e. science and math). If there is a means by which we can causally model the progression of human society...or even a small portion of it like America...and, from that, extrapolate future behavior as we can with, say, mechanical systems, then we have not found it yet.
That being the case, I would discourage you from raising the whole, "Yeah but things could be worse/better, if ____ " arguments as we do not really know. Things could always be better. Things could always be worse. All we can really proclaim with any sweeping authority of truth is present observations and rigorously tested causal models. That being said, comments of the type you just posted contain about the same substance as the, "Think of the children!" fallacies. In other words, it's FUD at best and outright misinformed panic at worst.
Please keep your prophesying to the New Ager message boards.
I would disagree by a matter of pedantry on that claim. The 'theory' as you say, never existed until we humans conceptualized them and named them. The mechanisms in the universe that cause the phenomenon we describe as special relativity and general relativity certainly existed at some point before we named them because the phenomenon were observed and recorded before we named them. However, our description of them, our mathematical models of them, never did exist before we created them. That is, it is important to understand that mathematics is simply a language through which we attempt to describe the phenomenon we observe. Mathematics is not, 'necessarily,' an intrinsic part of our universe. There are not large E's, M's, and c's floating around in space. There is not a mathematics machine that is actively producing numbers which underly our physical reality dynamically as we speak...at least, not that we know of.
Like I said, you may call this a nitpick, but it still holds that special relativity and general relativity are nothing but a language and a model...a conceptualized idea that exists in our head with which we attempt to navigate this trend that we call reality. They are, in a sense, no different than the 'ghosts' explanation of past ages. Back then..."Ghosts did it," or, "The spirts willed it" was a model which fit the observable, recorded data that people had at hand. Right now, special relativity and general relativity are models that fit the observable, recorded data we have at hand. Whereas, years ago, a paradigm shift had to come about to where people stopped looking for explanations in supernatural models, but started looking for explanations in natural models, there may also come about a paradigm shift that people need to stop looking for explanations in logical or mathematical models and might start finding superior explanations through a means of thinking that we haven't even considered yet. That may sound like some new agey stretch of the imagination but it really isn't. There is no fundamental law that states logic is the only means through which a 'truth' can be arrived at. So far, it has proven to be quite effective sure, but that's not to say that it is concrete.
Of course, scientists understand this and this is why science is the art of continually reevaluating one's assumptions to develop a better model and understanding of observed phenomena. The only point I am trying to underscore is that special relativity and general relativity, just like the theory of evolution, are mere models...ghosts...of our present perception of reality.
/shrug
There really wasn't a need for us all to have cell phones so we could be connected all the time. My parents trusted mys Sister and I. All of us friends knew we would see each other at school every day. So, who needed to text and call all the time? Really there was no need for it...It was just another thing to spend money on.
A radiation-proof Cisco router was sent into space today ...
Just some early morning pedantry for my fellow space nerds out there. =)
You have a good point about the tedium pace and monotony of our day to day jobs. As a recent college grad I feel exactly where you are coming from. So I have a question for you, or anyone else on here who has some ideas. How do we fix that as well? How do reengineer the workplace structure, at any level, to make work less suck and more awesome? Honestly, I am not asking to troll, I am seriously curious. I don't have an answer...at least not a full one. I have some ideas, but I would be interested in other folks' ideas as well. How do we make work less crappy? Any takers?
I grew up in a California foothill town with a total population of 5,000. There was one high school for the whole county and even today most of the county doesn't have access to anything better than dial up. I know for a fact we were behind the times, but I kinda enjoyed that. Sure, I wasn't texting when I was 9 years old, but I was wandering through the Cedar forests with a knife in my boot and rifle in my hand shooting at birds just for the shits of it. By 14 my friends and I had built ourselves a halfpipe for skateboarding and biking on. By 16 we had all been driving our dad's 4 WD pickups for 2 - 3 years. We paintballed in the woods every weekend. We went fishing every couple weeks or so. We went swimming when it was warm. We started snowboarding at 8 years old and were doing 360's and 720's before we got out of our parent's houses. That's why the meeting up thing was so important. If you missed catching up with your friends on the weekend, you would be shit out of luck on stuff to do for a few days.
..... and so on ad infinitum.
So yeah, sure, I guess I grew up under a rock, but there were some really cool things to do under that rock...far cooler than texting each other back and forth for hours saying, "I don't know what to do," "Me neither," "LOL this sucks," "LOL yeah," "=P," "fag lol."
I got my first cell phone when I was 17 so, 6ish years ago. So, I got my first cell phone around 2003. That wasn't even 'my' cell phone. It was technically just a crappy Nokia phone my Sis and I shared so we could check in with our parents when we out...if we felt so inclined. I din't really get my own phone and address book and such until my first year of college during the summer of '04. Incidentally that was also when I got my first major girlfriend....go figure.
I miss the days before cell phones. Don't get me wrong, cell phones are convenient and allow me to stalk any number of girls that I like, but still..
I remember before cell phones became mainstream, if you wanted to spend time with your friends, you had to tell them where to meet you and when and they had to be there or else you just wouldn't catch up. It didn't matter if you had anything planned or not. There was much less of the, "Well, I might come out, what did you have in mind?" cruft. During lunch at school you would say, "Meet at the pool around 4:00 and we'll figure something out." Then, the evening was yours for adventure or mischief or what have you. Not always having a plan was half the fun. It meant you would all get together and just start talking or walking or going somewhere seeking something to do until someone had a brilliant...or at least intriguing...idea.
I remember how, for the weekend, you and all your friends would be sure to meet Friday night somewhere then spend the whole weekend sleeping on each others' floors and couches because if anyone skipped out you wouldn't be able to find them for the rest of the weekend. I remember girls writing their numbers on my hand in pink gel ink and walking around, intentionally holding my hand turned just out slightly so as to subversively brag about my score. I remember setting up dates and saying, "I'll pick you up at..." and not having the crutch of cell phones to be able to work out the details when the time came.
Yep part of me misses those days. I am only 23 and I feel old writing about that kind of thing....the worst part is I don't even have a lawn yet....
Kinda brings a whole new meaning to the 'stimulus package' eh?
I'm not a seafood eater or a big fish eater. As a result, I don't like tuna in any form....sandwich or otherwise. The smell of tuna alone is enough to make me gag. Now, thanks to your comment, I just threw up in my mouth a little at work. Combining that imagery with that smell was far too much for me. Congratulations, you actually just made someone puke from a comment you posted on the internet....there should probably be a slashdot achievement for that.
However, humoring you...by your logic you would have no problem with me coming into your home and watching your TV right? That is rather trivial example. So let's say I broke into (hacked) your home and photo copied your entire life's worth of documents and posted them online. No problem with that right?
I don't think that's comparable. You may disagree and that's fine. Global average temperature data is quantifiable scientific data that can be reproduced or verified by sources other than this particular research firm. The personal details of my life, contained in whatever documents that would be copied online, may or may not be. The point is, the global average temperature is information that anyone can access if they go through the means necessary to access it (yes time, money, resources etc are necessary, but it is already there to be measured). My personal documents may contain data that is not similar in that sense. For instance, maybe it contains the number of times I had dinner at a particular restaurant with a particular person. This is not something that anyone can measure for themselves, unless, of course, they are stalking me. Nor is my music taste (something I have extensive personal documentation on), a matter of national interest or a quantifiable data point. Thus, the types of data we are discussing are different in nature and I would call your analogy flawed...if not somewhat hyperbolic.
Again, you may disagree with me on this point and that's fine. I just don't think you are comparing apples to apples. Also of note, you are saying that I asserted that the hacking, in the first place, was not immoral. That's not what I said. A breach of personal property is, in my opinion, immoral. I was asserting, or at least attempting to assert, that 'stealing' with the way it is defined today is not something I, or other people, always find immoral. Nitpick sure, but somewhat relevant nonetheless.
Finally, I think it is important to note that the data in question has been and still is a matter of national concern, at least here in the USA. Thus, the benefit of the public being able to access the data, in my opinion, far outweighs the negative consequences of keeping it under cloak and dagger. I don't think the details of any of my personal records are really worth that much to the majority of the people on the Earth. So, again, there is a flaw in your analogy with respect to the magnitude of the issue. So, again, I would call it flawed.
I will admit that, perhaps, I was over generalizing in my initial discussion of what does and does not constitute theft. As this case and the hypothetical cases you described illustrate rather nicely, these types of moral questions are not black and white and are, for all intents and purposes, very complicated questions. This was the original point I was attempting to illustrate with my post. Different people are going to see each situation differently. Thus, saying that there is something wrong or right about one situation or another is a very complicated assertion that almost inevitably will fault in some way or another. That is why I made mention to the fact that I think questions such as, 'what is best' are best left outside of the realms of objectivity and subjectivity. There is more nuance at work than any one person or any quantifiable variable can account for. Perhaps my first few sentences made it impossible for you to take this message away from my post so hopefully this explanation will help in your understanding a bit. If not, well, then I apologize for my inadequacies at describing the flaws that I see in strict moral reasoning.
Cheers Mate.
PS As a matter of personal opinion, I don not think that personal e-mails of the employees of the research company needed to have been leaked. While they might add some insight to the issues at hand, I am not sure such minor insights outweigh any personal details contained within the e-mail. The data being published I have no problem with. The publishing e-mails, especially if they contain any personal information, is questionable.
Well, that's one point of view, but I know that I am not alone in considering 'stealing' to only be inappropriate when it deprives another entity of something (i.e. I steal candy from a baby). If the 'stolen data' was copied rather than deleted from the original source, then the original researchers aren't deprived of anything (except maybe the power that exclusive information affords people). That being said, why lose sleep over it? Furthermore, why cry foul on a news aggregation site that is, in fact, linking to an aggregation of new, interesting information (aka news). I mean, I guess you could make a case about this possibly depriving the original researchers of their integrity. I suppose you could say that it only muddies the waters of an already dirty lake. I suppose you could come up with all sorts of moral/ethical/relative reasons as to why this is a terrible thing for slashdot to do, but so far as I can tell, it primarily just brings more exposure to a very interesting happenstance.
That being said, I hope you can understand that other people who don't share your strict sense of values or morals or ethics or whatever may not see it as being some horrible act. In fact, some may even find it to be a refreshing act of misplaced-but-at-least-attempted rebellion which is somewhat refreshing in an era where those who scream the loudest but perform the least activity get awarded time and again. Furthermore, I hope you can understand these things without having to stick your nose in the air and convince yourself that you are better than anyone who doesn't see a moral issue with this. The human race is not homogeneous. We all have different ideals and values. You can argue for eternity over which values are 'best,' but I think the idea of 'best' goes beyond both subjective and objective reasoning. Call me a moral relativist if you want, but I sure hope your blood pressure doesn't go due to your shock and outrage over information getting leaked on the internet and being reported on a news site....
Well I don't know how to nominate you, but unless Ron Paul is running again, your be my next write in vote for President....you know, seeing as how I don't have an option to vote, "None of the above, they all suck." I figure I can just write in people that wouldn't suck as much in a vain attempt at protest...