The question is whether this was always the plan. First put in place the infrastructure for censorship -- eek, porn! -- and then slide on down the slippery slope.
You can see "global cooling" from your window? How high is your floor?
Just kidding of course. As someone else pointed out, global warming and climate change don't mean exactly the same thing. But I guess you're right that some folks have started to use the latter where they used to prefer the former, simply because certain other people react on every story which has "ice" or "snow" or "cold" in the title with a reflexive "see, AGW is a socialist conspiracy".
In the scientific literature, there is a strong consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused primarily by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases.[2][3][4] No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view,[5] though a few organizations hold non-committal positions.[6] Disputes over the key scientific facts of global warming are now more prevalent in the popular media than in the scientific literature, where such issues are treated as resolved, and more in the United States than globally[7][8].
Yes well, okay, I still don't think it is an accurate assertion that I was dissing or dismissing or looking down upon, but clearly you disagree. I guess my mistyping posting as posing, which I just noticed in your quote, didn't help matters along. And your calling my habits disgusting is what, a compliment? I almost feel a need to point out I was kidding about the XP box, but surely that was sufficiently obvious.
Anyway, thanks for replying. Whether or not you believe me is immaterial, but I honestly don't think I am elitist in these matters. Still, maybe need to make more of an effort not to come across that way unintentionally.
I choose not to use FB and so on myself, but I don't think that implies your assertion that I look down on those (nerds or otherwise) who do. I just said that, inasmuch as an extensive profile says anything at all about the professional qualities of a potential employee, I would probably not count it as positive. That's not the same as looking down on someone, or at least I don't think it is.
On the other hand, I understand that it can come across as smug to point out explicitly that I don't use, say, FB.
For a couple of years I didn't own a TV, and learned to not point that out whenever people asked by if I had seen X or Y, because I noticed they would sometimes get a bit defensive, as if was criticizing their habits by not co opting them. Maybe this is similar, and maybe I should expect folks to take offense when I tell them I'm not on FB.
I've never thought of/. as a social network, but I suppose you make a valid point. But is it as likely to be consulted by recruiters, you think? At any rate, you will have noticed by reading those two pages that they cover a couple weeks -- rather modest by my reckoning. And while I'm not sure why you make a point of posting this character sketch that you distilled from my comment history -- or why this particular comment would cause anyone to dive in there at all, for that matter -- it could apply to hundreds if not thousands of fellow slashdotters, I'd guess. Not all that extensive or distinctive.
For shame? Hm, well I'm sorry you feel that way, but probably not going to lose much sleep over it.
Same here, potential future employers are not going to find me on any social network. And if I were a recruiter, I'd probably consider having extensive profiles online a negative quality -- indicative of spending too much time posing and not enough actually working.
Not that you should immediately ditch it, perhaps, but be aware that Ghostery is now owned by a marketing firm.
Your image of FB as a nude beach where one goes voluntarily and with realistic expectation of, um, privacy... Is an interesting one, but not entirely complete. I have no control over what my friends post, which may include images of me or mentions of my name. FB is reported too keep profiles of non-members, you know.
Both FB and Google are extremely difficult to avoid entirely, short of excommunicating oneself from society altogether.
Well yes, until they ask me to stop trying to persuade them. Same way vice versa, I sometimes find myself in a discussion with strict religious types and might put forth arguments to the effect that I feel sorry for them submitting to (what seem to me to be) arbitrary and archaic rules and practices. Until they ask me not to.
Or... You pulled a Poe and I totally fell for it. If so, nicely done. Damn, this wouldn't happen if there weren't so many people around who write such drivel and mean it.
Serious question: Is this a real problem anywhere in the world besides the US and certain Middle Eastern countries?
I am not sure, thought it was mostly the US where creationists actually find purchase with legislators and education boards and such. Not sure what Islam says about Genesis, but they share the same God. Maybe they do have creationists attacking their education system too, but still have too many more pressing problems for this to be apparent?
What is the difference between "belittling other people's beliefs" and what you just did? Warnings about hell and damnation are actually quite condescending if you think about it.
If you want to be free to interpret your particular favorite holy book literally, go right ahead. I believe you should be able to. The price of that freedom is allowing others to choose a different fairytale. Or none at all. And as a consequence of allowing each to freely chose their own belief is that none of them have a place in public places like schools, court rooms, or halls of government.
Er.. The post I replied to (not yours) was a back of the envelope calculation about how long it would take to guess a pin code. I pointed out there are easier ways to do that. Despicable, but easier.
Not sure why you would feel all offended by that though. I don't feel the need to turn these NSA stories into a iOS--android slugfest, because it would appear they're all compromised to some extent, but whatever floats your boat I guess. I use an iPhone, myself, and develop for android. I think they both kind of suck, but in different ways.
But you know what, I hadn't made any realistic new year's resolutions actually, but now I am thinking it would be nice if instead of the reflexive elitist slashdot reaction to new users (yes I wrote that out in full) let's just try to help these folks feel at home and somewhat supported in our little world.
My 2 cents: learn shell scripting. It's a great way to apply the shell commands you've already learned and a very natural way to learn some more (control structures, loops, mostly).
Well written, and I think I do get your point. Too bad that it looks, at least from where I'm standing, like the folks who are most vocal about the need for the second amendment are some of the least likely to actually question the recent examples of government derailing.
This is the kind of paradox which fascinates me about American society. Another example is the pro-life/pro-choice debate where some of the staunchest pro-lifers put forth an argument of sanctity of life, i.e. that it is not for humans to decide questions of life and death. But those same folks are, almost without exception, somehow not opposed to capital punishment for that same reason.
Failure to keep guns away from kids is a failure and fault of the parents. I think losing their kid is more than enough punishment for that crime on society.
And what about the dead kid? Is he being punished for having bad parents? People go to jail for abusing their kids, or at least have them removed from their custody -- how is having guns lying around for them to find not criminal negligence or even a kind of abuse? Whether the kid shoots himself or some other innocent bystander should hardly be a variable in determining the parents punishment, it seems to me.
And don't forget the Pentagon. Whenever you see a two bit tv show featuring, say, an aircraft carrier, it is subsidized by DoD. Strings attached of course, so it is effectively outsourced propaganda.
I am aware that there are extremist elements out there, Muslim and Christian alike -- and elsewhere of course. But I honestly don't think they'll be able to mobilize much support once they can't point to the West and truthfully say, look, they are supporting the regimes that repress us.
When someone like Ann Coulter says something like "we should invade their countries and forcefully convert then to Christianity", I hope most rational folks realize she is mad and don't take her seriously. I just don't see how the few nutjobs in Islam should be taken any more seriously.
And yes, English isn't my first language so perhaps I'm mistaken... But your sig still reads to me as suggesting to people who might want to express disagreement with your pro-NSA position to consider the consequences ("long term surveillance"). I don't actually think you believe there is a guardian angel inside NSA just for you. Which is why I don't get it, I suppose, except if you intend it as a rhetoric trick to stifle opposing views, which kind if clashes with your earlier sig, it seems to me.
Seeing as how I haven't really heard anything to the contrary, this is what I expect will happen. And even if I had heard something to the contrary, this is what I would expect.
Well, there was an earlier report in which there were actually some remarks to the effect that "maybe this is a bit much". On the other hand there was also the impression that a lot of it was less about curtailing NSA and more about preventing future whistleblowers.
And now with this guy's statements.. Yeah, all is once again as I would have expected from a panel full of ex-intelligence types.
I'm still hoping some major campaign contributors will start bitching about how this nonsense is affecting their bottom lines... Because the people nor their representatives seem willing to actually do much about it.
My point stands - if you slaughter people, expect more of them to hate you.
Or even if you don't slaughter people directly, but support the dictatorships that repress them. These people do understand that it is the West who are supporting their tormenters, even if their own populations are not aware of the facts (in the case of the USA I guess this might be because many Americans don't actually follow international news).
This is why the "they hate us for our freedoms" tripe seems to actually fly with a lot of those folks. They seem to honestly not know what kind of brutal regimes their government is supporting and arming -- in their name, and on their dime.
Oh and off topic, but I can't help but notice that our Mr Fjord has changed his.sig. Interesting developmen -- before he was trying to appeal to civility to "guide moderators". Now he is suggesting - nay, threatening -- that if you call him out on his reflexive pro-NSA positions you will make yourself a target.
The company I work at wanted to do something like this for, eg epilepsy patients. Triggered by accelerometers, would automagically try to contact from a preselected list of friends/relatives, using location tracking to find the nearest ones first. Would start to make loud noises and flash instructions on screen for passers by on how they might help. Escalate to real emergency services if need be. Pretty good idea, but we somehow never hot around to building it.
Of course there was potential for false alarms by dropping the device, but in that case it would be no problem for the patient to deactivate it.
Yes. There are nearly 200 countries filled with radios, radars, beacons, phones, networks, and so on that are controlling satellites, armies, air forces, and navies that produce data that gets captured and stored.
This is only a problem for a country which insists on treating pretty much all of those countries as either adversaries or sources of cheap labor and natural riches.
The NSAs domestic phone record surveillance program is a small program.
Compared to what, the NSA overall? Their budgets are not exactly well publicized, but on "defense" spending in general, the US is estimated to account for just about half of the planet total.
For an interesting and entertaining extrapolation of a planet without death, I recommend Torchwood: Miracle Day. (British scifi, spun off of Doctor Who, but rather more grim and dark and gory.
Slashdot Mirror
The question is whether this was always the plan. First put in place the infrastructure for censorship -- eek, porn! -- and then slide on down the slippery slope.
You can see "global cooling" from your window? How high is your floor?
Just kidding of course. As someone else pointed out, global warming and climate change don't mean exactly the same thing. But I guess you're right that some folks have started to use the latter where they used to prefer the former, simply because certain other people react on every story which has "ice" or "snow" or "cold" in the title with a reflexive "see, AGW is a socialist conspiracy".
For the record:
In the scientific literature, there is a strong consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused primarily by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases.[2][3][4] No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view,[5] though a few organizations hold non-committal positions.[6] Disputes over the key scientific facts of global warming are now more prevalent in the popular media than in the scientific literature, where such issues are treated as resolved, and more in the United States than globally[7][8].
Yes well, okay, I still don't think it is an accurate assertion that I was dissing or dismissing or looking down upon, but clearly you disagree. I guess my mistyping posting as posing, which I just noticed in your quote, didn't help matters along. And your calling my habits disgusting is what, a compliment? I almost feel a need to point out I was kidding about the XP box, but surely that was sufficiently obvious.
Anyway, thanks for replying. Whether or not you believe me is immaterial, but I honestly don't think I am elitist in these matters. Still, maybe need to make more of an effort not to come across that way unintentionally.
I choose not to use FB and so on myself, but I don't think that implies your assertion that I look down on those (nerds or otherwise) who do. I just said that, inasmuch as an extensive profile says anything at all about the professional qualities of a potential employee, I would probably not count it as positive. That's not the same as looking down on someone, or at least I don't think it is.
On the other hand, I understand that it can come across as smug to point out explicitly that I don't use, say, FB.
For a couple of years I didn't own a TV, and learned to not point that out whenever people asked by if I had seen X or Y, because I noticed they would sometimes get a bit defensive, as if was criticizing their habits by not co opting them. Maybe this is similar, and maybe I should expect folks to take offense when I tell them I'm not on FB.
I've never thought of /. as a social network, but I suppose you make a valid point. But is it as likely to be consulted by recruiters, you think? At any rate, you will have noticed by reading those two pages that they cover a couple weeks -- rather modest by my reckoning. And while I'm not sure why you make a point of posting this character sketch that you distilled from my comment history -- or why this particular comment would cause anyone to dive in there at all, for that matter -- it could apply to hundreds if not thousands of fellow slashdotters, I'd guess. Not all that extensive or distinctive.
For shame? Hm, well I'm sorry you feel that way, but probably not going to lose much sleep over it.
Same here, potential future employers are not going to find me on any social network. And if I were a recruiter, I'd probably consider having extensive profiles online a negative quality -- indicative of spending too much time posing and not enough actually working.
Not that you should immediately ditch it, perhaps, but be aware that Ghostery is now owned by a marketing firm.
Your image of FB as a nude beach where one goes voluntarily and with realistic expectation of, um, privacy... Is an interesting one, but not entirely complete. I have no control over what my friends post, which may include images of me or mentions of my name. FB is reported too keep profiles of non-members, you know.
Both FB and Google are extremely difficult to avoid entirely, short of excommunicating oneself from society altogether.
Well yes, until they ask me to stop trying to persuade them. Same way vice versa, I sometimes find myself in a discussion with strict religious types and might put forth arguments to the effect that I feel sorry for them submitting to (what seem to me to be) arbitrary and archaic rules and practices. Until they ask me not to.
Or... You pulled a Poe and I totally fell for it. If so, nicely done. Damn, this wouldn't happen if there weren't so many people around who write such drivel and mean it.
Serious question: Is this a real problem anywhere in the world besides the US and certain Middle Eastern countries?
I am not sure, thought it was mostly the US where creationists actually find purchase with legislators and education boards and such. Not sure what Islam says about Genesis, but they share the same God. Maybe they do have creationists attacking their education system too, but still have too many more pressing problems for this to be apparent?
What is the difference between "belittling other people's beliefs" and what you just did? Warnings about hell and damnation are actually quite condescending if you think about it.
If you want to be free to interpret your particular favorite holy book literally, go right ahead. I believe you should be able to. The price of that freedom is allowing others to choose a different fairytale. Or none at all. And as a consequence of allowing each to freely chose their own belief is that none of them have a place in public places like schools, court rooms, or halls of government.
Er.. The post I replied to (not yours) was a back of the envelope calculation about how long it would take to guess a pin code. I pointed out there are easier ways to do that. Despicable, but easier.
Not sure why you would feel all offended by that though. I don't feel the need to turn these NSA stories into a iOS--android slugfest, because it would appear they're all compromised to some extent, but whatever floats your boat I guess. I use an iPhone, myself, and develop for android. I think they both kind of suck, but in different ways.
Give me the phone's owner and a wrench, I'll have the pincode out real quick. There is an xkcd link for this but my hangover is killing me.
Pretty much my initial response, too.
But you know what, I hadn't made any realistic new year's resolutions actually, but now I am thinking it would be nice if instead of the reflexive elitist slashdot reaction to new users (yes I wrote that out in full) let's just try to help these folks feel at home and somewhat supported in our little world.
My 2 cents: learn shell scripting. It's a great way to apply the shell commands you've already learned and a very natural way to learn some more (control structures, loops, mostly).
when they came for...
Well written, and I think I do get your point. Too bad that it looks, at least from where I'm standing, like the folks who are most vocal about the need for the second amendment are some of the least likely to actually question the recent examples of government derailing.
This is the kind of paradox which fascinates me about American society. Another example is the pro-life/pro-choice debate where some of the staunchest pro-lifers put forth an argument of sanctity of life, i.e. that it is not for humans to decide questions of life and death. But those same folks are, almost without exception, somehow not opposed to capital punishment for that same reason.
Failure to keep guns away from kids is a failure and fault of the parents. I think losing their kid is more than enough punishment for that crime on society.
And what about the dead kid? Is he being punished for having bad parents? People go to jail for abusing their kids, or at least have them removed from their custody -- how is having guns lying around for them to find not criminal negligence or even a kind of abuse? Whether the kid shoots himself or some other innocent bystander should hardly be a variable in determining the parents punishment, it seems to me.
sure. But this is just one of many relevant google hits for "Hollywood pentagon".
And don't forget the Pentagon. Whenever you see a two bit tv show featuring, say, an aircraft carrier, it is subsidized by DoD. Strings attached of course, so it is effectively outsourced propaganda.
Yes, we lost an amazing writer in Iain Banks. His non-scifi is rather good too, if very grim. I recommend the Wasp Factory.
Sorry for late reply, hope you get notifications.
I am aware that there are extremist elements out there, Muslim and Christian alike -- and elsewhere of course. But I honestly don't think they'll be able to mobilize much support once they can't point to the West and truthfully say, look, they are supporting the regimes that repress us.
When someone like Ann Coulter says something like "we should invade their countries and forcefully convert then to Christianity", I hope most rational folks realize she is mad and don't take her seriously. I just don't see how the few nutjobs in Islam should be taken any more seriously.
And yes, English isn't my first language so perhaps I'm mistaken... But your sig still reads to me as suggesting to people who might want to express disagreement with your pro-NSA position to consider the consequences ("long term surveillance"). I don't actually think you believe there is a guardian angel inside NSA just for you. Which is why I don't get it, I suppose, except if you intend it as a rhetoric trick to stifle opposing views, which kind if clashes with your earlier sig, it seems to me.
Seeing as how I haven't really heard anything to the contrary, this is what I expect will happen. And even if I had heard something to the contrary, this is what I would expect.
Well, there was an earlier report in which there were actually some remarks to the effect that "maybe this is a bit much". On the other hand there was also the impression that a lot of it was less about curtailing NSA and more about preventing future whistleblowers.
And now with this guy's statements.. Yeah, all is once again as I would have expected from a panel full of ex-intelligence types.
I'm still hoping some major campaign contributors will start bitching about how this nonsense is affecting their bottom lines... Because the people nor their representatives seem willing to actually do much about it.
My point stands - if you slaughter people, expect more of them to hate you.
Or even if you don't slaughter people directly, but support the dictatorships that repress them. These people do understand that it is the West who are supporting their tormenters, even if their own populations are not aware of the facts (in the case of the USA I guess this might be because many Americans don't actually follow international news).
This is why the "they hate us for our freedoms" tripe seems to actually fly with a lot of those folks. They seem to honestly not know what kind of brutal regimes their government is supporting and arming -- in their name, and on their dime.
Oh and off topic, but I can't help but notice that our Mr Fjord has changed his .sig. Interesting developmen -- before he was trying to appeal to civility to "guide moderators". Now he is suggesting - nay, threatening -- that if you call him out on his reflexive pro-NSA positions you will make yourself a target.
The company I work at wanted to do something like this for, eg epilepsy patients. Triggered by accelerometers, would automagically try to contact from a preselected list of friends/relatives, using location tracking to find the nearest ones first. Would start to make loud noises and flash instructions on screen for passers by on how they might help. Escalate to real emergency services if need be. Pretty good idea, but we somehow never hot around to building it.
Of course there was potential for false alarms by dropping the device, but in that case it would be no problem for the patient to deactivate it.
Yes. There are nearly 200 countries filled with radios, radars, beacons, phones, networks, and so on that are controlling satellites, armies, air forces, and navies that produce data that gets captured and stored.
This is only a problem for a country which insists on treating pretty much all of those countries as either adversaries or sources of cheap labor and natural riches.
The NSAs domestic phone record surveillance program is a small program.
Compared to what, the NSA overall? Their budgets are not exactly well publicized, but on "defense" spending in general, the US is estimated to account for just about half of the planet total.
For an interesting and entertaining extrapolation of a planet without death, I recommend Torchwood: Miracle Day. (British scifi, spun off of Doctor Who, but rather more grim and dark and gory.