The release of the cables doesn't just expose wrongdoing, it attacks American diplomacy at its most fundamental level by attacking the trust between the people who make up the system.
You know, you're absolutely right. If there is one thing that the cables show(once again) it is that contrary to the public display, the US of A is not our friend. You're the slightly stupid big kid on the playground dividing the world into people whose lunch money you take and those willing to suck up to you.
And we, the parents of the other kids, are going to have a good talk with our children. Because sucking up to a little cunt who just happens to be taller than everyone else is wrong.
From a western point of view the threat of, say, terrorists or countries like Iran or North Korea are mostly hypothetical. Whereas the threat posed by the US government is clear and imminent.
Hate to break it to you, but if you bomb like a war, and shoot like a war, you're in a war. No matter what the government decides to call it.
Considering that war can only be declared by the people in congress who in turn have been elected by "you, the people" of the USA, I'd say it's bloody important what it's called.
If Jesus knew what he was talking about, God created all of those things; and he made* you in such a way that you could enjoy them. So if that's the kind of person he is, why would you think chilling with him forever would be boring?
Because no matter how great the snacks and music are down in Jesus's basement, his dad is a dick and he'd ruin the mood, man.
Seriously, read the Bible. That is some seriously harsh shit right there.
"It's not possible to do X in software with our resources. If you can't break the decision tree down to an 'if x do y', then it is a judgement call and needs human input. We could do what you ask, but it would amount to implementing AI in a shell script. What I've done is make it easy for a human to make a judgement call."
One of my favorites is to ask the manager to provide a spiffy workflow detailing the decision process. Inevitably they'll either muck it up or hand the task off to a minion who'll then confirm that yes, indeed, it is a case by case judgment call that can't be fully automated.
"No sir, so far computers are not yet able to determine whether someone is lying or not. Unless of course you're suggesting we give all the customers who complain a polygraph?"
Fine, so the US is fucked. But at least these cables give the rest of us a little more ammo to convince our democratically elected leaders to remove the US cock from their mouths and start working for us again.
Speaking as a non-american, I'd call it a win-win. Either she loses the race for the GOP or the rest of the world has incontrovertible proof that the US has become a nation that worships morons. Besides, can you imagine what John Stewart could do with 4 years of Palin?:)
Although, I'm not in favor of some of the things the government of the USA does, we have a ballot box to fix most things and I don't think the revolution that Thomas Jefferson had in mind had much to do about the dribble coming out of wikileaks these days...
Making an informed choice at the ballot box requires information. Wikileaks is providing information. I'd say one makes the other stronger, not weaker. And that doesn't just apply to the US, plenty of other governments are seeing some of their officials exposed to a rather harsh light at the moment.
I'll flip it around for you. Is there *any* evidence that the data wikileaks has released has caused folks to be hurt? And no, embarrassing governments doesn't count.
For all intents and purposes, wikileaks is filling the role of a news organization. People give them data, and they publish it. The folks that do the actual leaking might break laws doing so, but so far I have yet to see Wikileaks do anything actually illegal. Hugely embarrassing? Absolutely. Against the law? Which one would that be?
There's a reason Interpol has a warrant out of Assange on charges of sexual assault...
Julian Assange should go to jail for a very long time.
For what exactly? Has he broken any laws you can name *and* been convicted? And no, just because Palin called him a terruhrist doesn't count, that's actually an endorsement in my book.
If there's one thing I've learned in the last decade it's that in politics, labels and 'buckets' that you can lump things together in are the tools of the truth twisters. When you stick to the specifics, the details, it's possible for one plan to win out over others, logically. When things start getting painted in broad strokes we descend into dogma, propaganda, and further polarization.
I'ts called framing and it's how the game is played these days. See also "Death Panels" etc. Actual debate on the specifics and details is few and far between, because both the pundits and the general public can't be bothered to listen for long enough. Besides, anything more than 3 2-syllable words won't fit on a sign for the next "grassroots" rally, now will it?
In a free market the people who could afford those items would be the only ones to receive them, which is how the world should work.
Ah, yes, let's stop educating the children of the poor and unfortunate. Because god forbid there's anyone left to work the knowledge jobs 20 years from now.
An innate right? No, they don't. However, if you are in my house, or on my server, I get to make the rules and decide how far my guests are allowed to go when offending one another.
And I very much doubt that seeing the case get publicized would result in fewer jokes. Just ask the RIAA how succesful their campaign to scare the shit out of downloaders has been.
Feel free to vote for whoever seems most inclined to take your liberties away though. Just don't be surprised when a lot of folks disagree.
My point was that the banner of "free speech" is raised far too often in cases/situations where it really doesn't have anything to do with the matter at hand, not so much your case in particular.
Just a little allergy of mine when it comes to folks constantly entering useless arguments into what is otherwise a useful discussion.
"Congress shall make no law" does *not* mean one can say anything one likes without possibly having to face consequences.
Government might not be allowed to stop you from saying something that will damage me, but if *I* can prove in court that you damaged me without just cause you're still on the hook.
With great power comes great responsibility and all that.
Nope, CAI cable in the Netherlands is typically just the green cable in the ground with no further protection. On occasion they get torn up but by regulation they have to be put in at at least 80cm depth.
It is common when connecting new houses that the folks doing electricity, gas, cable and phone lines etc. time it so that all the stuff gets put into the ground at the same time though. Lot less hassle for everyone concerned, most of all the customer.
You've got to admit that the idea of a google tank rolling through the streets of Baghdad taking pictures and sniffing wifi is as funny as it is disconcerting...especially if it has the logo in big friendly letters plastered all over it;-)
As for fighter jets...not really Google's style. I reckon they'd go for unmanned attack drones. Which would kill everything in sight but would follow the instructions in robots.txt to the letter.
If splitting up a complex system into simple base components is that difficult and takes that much time, you're probably better off hiring someone to do your taxes for you anyway.
You're absolutely right, as a sovereign nation you are under no obligation whatsoever to tolerate this, well, except for all the treaties of course.
Then again, if you don't, there's really no reason why all the other sovereign nations would want to do business with you, and you can just rot away on your island. Deal?
So yes, you have every right to be a selfish jackass, and we have every right to call you out on it.
Slashdot Mirror
The release of the cables doesn't just expose wrongdoing, it attacks American diplomacy at its most fundamental level by attacking the trust between the people who make up the system.
You know, you're absolutely right. If there is one thing that the cables show(once again) it is that contrary to the public display, the US of A is not our friend. You're the slightly stupid big kid on the playground dividing the world into people whose lunch money you take and those willing to suck up to you.
And we, the parents of the other kids, are going to have a good talk with our children. Because sucking up to a little cunt who just happens to be taller than everyone else is wrong.
From a western point of view the threat of, say, terrorists or countries like Iran or North Korea are mostly hypothetical. Whereas the threat posed by the US government is clear and imminent.
The de-facto "world leader" does not get to unilaterally decide the policies and politics of the world.
Isn't that pretty much the issue anyway, since the cables seem to indicate otherwise?
Hate to break it to you, but if you bomb like a war, and shoot like a war, you're in a war. No matter what the government decides to call it.
Considering that war can only be declared by the people in congress who in turn have been elected by "you, the people" of the USA, I'd say it's bloody important what it's called.
if you stand down the barrel of a gun at the hands of a killer you will fear death.
Bleh, I'm way too tall to stand in, on or down the barrel of a gun, unless we're talking battleship-sized artillery here.
And no, I will not be afraid of death, I will be afraid of *dying*. Adrenalin kicks in and the good ol' fight-or-flight reflex takes over.
If Jesus knew what he was talking about, God created all of those things; and he made* you in such a way that you could enjoy them. So if that's the kind of person he is, why would you think chilling with him forever would be boring?
Because no matter how great the snacks and music are down in Jesus's basement, his dad is a dick and he'd ruin the mood, man.
Seriously, read the Bible. That is some seriously harsh shit right there.
"It's not possible to do X in software with our resources. If you can't break the decision tree down to an 'if x do y', then it is a judgement call and needs human input. We could do what you ask, but it would amount to implementing AI in a shell script. What I've done is make it easy for a human to make a judgement call."
One of my favorites is to ask the manager to provide a spiffy workflow detailing the decision process. Inevitably they'll either muck it up or hand the task off to a minion who'll then confirm that yes, indeed, it is a case by case judgment call that can't be fully automated.
"No sir, so far computers are not yet able to determine whether someone is lying or not. Unless of course you're suggesting we give all the customers who complain a polygraph?"
Fine, so the US is fucked. But at least these cables give the rest of us a little more ammo to convince our democratically elected leaders to remove the US cock from their mouths and start working for us again.
Datacenter...? P2P hub is more like it.
Being a pirate is one thing, being one on an aircraft carrier...
Speaking as a non-american, I'd call it a win-win. Either she loses the race for the GOP or the rest of the world has incontrovertible proof that the US has become a nation that worships morons. Besides, can you imagine what John Stewart could do with 4 years of Palin? :)
Although, I'm not in favor of some of the things the government of the USA does, we have a ballot box to fix most things and I don't think the revolution that Thomas Jefferson had in mind had much to do about the dribble coming out of wikileaks these days...
Making an informed choice at the ballot box requires information. Wikileaks is providing information. I'd say one makes the other stronger, not weaker. And that doesn't just apply to the US, plenty of other governments are seeing some of their officials exposed to a rather harsh light at the moment.
How many people already got hurt ?
I'll flip it around for you. Is there *any* evidence that the data wikileaks has released has caused folks to be hurt? And no, embarrassing governments doesn't count.
For all intents and purposes, wikileaks is filling the role of a news organization. People give them data, and they publish it. The folks that do the actual leaking might break laws doing so, but so far I have yet to see Wikileaks do anything actually illegal. Hugely embarrassing? Absolutely. Against the law? Which one would that be?
There's a reason Interpol has a warrant out of Assange on charges of sexual assault...
Julian Assange should go to jail for a very long time.
For what exactly? Has he broken any laws you can name *and* been convicted? And no, just because Palin called him a terruhrist doesn't count, that's actually an endorsement in my book.
If there's one thing I've learned in the last decade it's that in politics, labels and 'buckets' that you can lump things together in are the tools of the truth twisters. When you stick to the specifics, the details, it's possible for one plan to win out over others, logically. When things start getting painted in broad strokes we descend into dogma, propaganda, and further polarization.
I'ts called framing and it's how the game is played these days. See also "Death Panels" etc. Actual debate on the specifics and details is few and far between, because both the pundits and the general public can't be bothered to listen for long enough. Besides, anything more than 3 2-syllable words won't fit on a sign for the next "grassroots" rally, now will it?
In a free market the people who could afford those items would be the only ones to receive them, which is how the world should work.
Ah, yes, let's stop educating the children of the poor and unfortunate. Because god forbid there's anyone left to work the knowledge jobs 20 years from now.
An innate right? No, they don't. However, if you are in my house, or on my server, I get to make the rules and decide how far my guests are allowed to go when offending one another.
If you don't like how a corporation does business, you're free not to do business with them.
And if they're dumping toxic waste in the stream that passes through my back yard, I'm free to move.
Found guilty of what exactly, poor taste?
And I very much doubt that seeing the case get publicized would result in fewer jokes. Just ask the RIAA how succesful their campaign to scare the shit out of downloaders has been.
Feel free to vote for whoever seems most inclined to take your liberties away though. Just don't be surprised when a lot of folks disagree.
Just for Colombia we'll instate .co.ca (sorry Canadians).
*snort*
My point was that the banner of "free speech" is raised far too often in cases/situations where it really doesn't have anything to do with the matter at hand, not so much your case in particular.
Just a little allergy of mine when it comes to folks constantly entering useless arguments into what is otherwise a useful discussion.
"Congress shall make no law" does *not* mean one can say anything one likes without possibly having to face consequences.
Government might not be allowed to stop you from saying something that will damage me, but if *I* can prove in court that you damaged me without just cause you're still on the hook.
With great power comes great responsibility and all that.
Nope, CAI cable in the Netherlands is typically just the green cable in the ground with no further protection. On occasion they get torn up but by regulation they have to be put in at at least 80cm depth.
It is common when connecting new houses that the folks doing electricity, gas, cable and phone lines etc. time it so that all the stuff gets put into the ground at the same time though. Lot less hassle for everyone concerned, most of all the customer.
You've got to admit that the idea of a google tank rolling through the streets of Baghdad taking pictures and sniffing wifi is as funny as it is disconcerting...especially if it has the logo in big friendly letters plastered all over it ;-)
As for fighter jets...not really Google's style. I reckon they'd go for unmanned attack drones. Which would kill everything in sight but would follow the instructions in robots.txt to the letter.
If splitting up a complex system into simple base components is that difficult and takes that much time, you're probably better off hiring someone to do your taxes for you anyway.
You're absolutely right, as a sovereign nation you are under no obligation whatsoever to tolerate this, well, except for all the treaties of course.
Then again, if you don't, there's really no reason why all the other sovereign nations would want to do business with you, and you can just rot away on your island. Deal?
So yes, you have every right to be a selfish jackass, and we have every right to call you out on it.
Hmmm, a supervillain: "The Apothecary".
Would that make Windows the poison pill he puts into every HP workstation?
(Note: Apotheker is dutch for Apothecary)