More like a 30,000+ sworn persons at the NSA alone, not counting the 4 million+ currently holding Top Secret clearance. Not that any of these good people would ever dare abuse these privileges of course.
Hey, that reminds me. We should probably install surveillance cameras in the President's bedroom, bathrooms, daughters' bedrooms, etc. just in case he should break the law there. I mean, he probably won't break the law or do anything terrorist-related, but just to be safe I think we need to monitor, record, and save every aspect of his personal life (again, just in case). I'm sure he'll be perfectly cool with it, as long as it's entrusted to the noble men and women of the NSA.
Does that bio mention anything about him offering to pay the legal bills of those companies who decide to "fight"? Or offering to visit the company execs in prison when the feds put them there for running their mouths to the press?
But if the legislators are willing (and they seem to be warming up to change), all this spying, secret laws, and secret courts can be made very explicitly illegal.
What good does it do to pass legislation against these laws when the CIA and NSA can just ignore them? They've already been ignoring laws and lying to Congress for years, what makes you think some new laws are going to stop them?
I'm as nerdy as they come and I never got it either. The show always seemed cheesy to me, with awful everything. But, oddly enough, I did like BBC's "The Tomorrow People" which was at least as cheesy (though not as generally awful).
Neither Samuel L. Jackson nor Chuck Norris could ever be the Doctor. No one would buy the series lasting beyond the one or two episodes needed for them to kick the shit out of every conceivable bad guy in the universe.
Reading into Glen Greenwald's comments and some of his other statements, it would seem that much of the spying is used not for security purposes, rather it's to give an edge to certain select US businesses.
If this is true, it would be huge. Citizens don't count for much in terms of US policy decisions, but an unfair boost to chosen businesses would tick off every other business in the US and abroad - the economic ramifications would be nothing short of tectonic.
At least it would finally put to rest that stupid idea that there is, or will ever be, a real "free market." If the U.S. and China have proven nothing else in their spying scandals of late, it's that the big corporations in any given country function in anything BUT a free market of honest competition.
Wouldn't the megablizzard fall into Climate Change or are you making the common mistake to assume that climate change just means higher temperatures?
Yeah, apparently he hasn't heard that ALL weather is proof of global warming now! Drought, flooding, too hot, too cold, blizzard, too many tornadoes, not enough tornadoes, mild weather, extreme weather--it's all PROOF of global warming!!!
It's kind of like God. Cancer kid lives, it's a miracle from God! Cancer kid dies, well God works in mysterious ways.
If they allowed that, consoles would end up a fractured mess just like PC's. It would be giving up one of the biggest strengths the consoles have (their consistency). One of the best things I love about my consoles is never having to check the "system requirements" section to see if my system can handle the game (and how well), or having to adjust sliders to try and get decent fps, or having to figure out where my current graphics card falls on the "minimum requirement vs. optimal requirement" scale, or having to upgrade yet again.
There is something to be said for just seeing "Xbox 360" or "PS4" on the box and knowing with absolute certainty that I can buy it, go home, pop it in the console, and get the exact same experience as everyone else without any worries or upgrades.
That's the exact same position as Sony. Yet another thing both consoles share in common, I suppose.
Would have been nice for at least one of them to take a stand and say "No, we're not allowing publishers to put always-on requirements on any single-player game on our console, PERIOD." But neither wants to risk pissing off the developers.
No tinfoil hat needed for this one. You would have to be blind as a bat and retarded to boot to miss that one. The NY prosecutor even had the balls to completely dismiss the previously "rock solid" case exactly *3 DAYS* after his IMF successor took office (no shit, look it up if you don't believe me). They were so confident that the press is a fucking joke that they barely even TRIED to hide it. And they were right too.
Both the PS4 and Xbox One will have s86 architecture, and are essentially just heavily customized PC's (to the point where porting between PC and these consoles will be trivial). So is the distinction between console and PC even meaninful anymore? Aside from the control scheme and openess of software installation, there really isn't much difference.
When the head of the NSA--an agency absolutely notorious for lying to the American people, subverting the U.S. Constitution, and generally screwing over every freedom we the people have--can address the conference and not be immediately and universally booed the fuck offstage, you know you're not dealing with the same crowd that used to be there.
Because everyone would see right through that, and it would cause a major international incident. Discrediting is so much more effective, and much less risky. When the head of the IMF starts challenging the primacy of the U.S. dollar for example, you don't assassinate him. Way too messy and risky. Instead, you arrange for something a little more subtle, but just as effective.
He would be thrown incommunicado into a U.S. prison and never let out again if he ever came back here. We all know his trial would just be a show trial.
Slashdot Mirror
More like a 30,000+ sworn persons at the NSA alone, not counting the 4 million+ currently holding Top Secret clearance. Not that any of these good people would ever dare abuse these privileges of course.
Hey, that reminds me. We should probably install surveillance cameras in the President's bedroom, bathrooms, daughters' bedrooms, etc. just in case he should break the law there. I mean, he probably won't break the law or do anything terrorist-related, but just to be safe I think we need to monitor, record, and save every aspect of his personal life (again, just in case). I'm sure he'll be perfectly cool with it, as long as it's entrusted to the noble men and women of the NSA.
Does that bio mention anything about him offering to pay the legal bills of those companies who decide to "fight"? Or offering to visit the company execs in prison when the feds put them there for running their mouths to the press?
But if the legislators are willing (and they seem to be warming up to change), all this spying, secret laws, and secret courts can be made very explicitly illegal.
What good does it do to pass legislation against these laws when the CIA and NSA can just ignore them? They've already been ignoring laws and lying to Congress for years, what makes you think some new laws are going to stop them?
I'm as nerdy as they come and I never got it either. The show always seemed cheesy to me, with awful everything. But, oddly enough, I did like BBC's "The Tomorrow People" which was at least as cheesy (though not as generally awful).
Neither Samuel L. Jackson nor Chuck Norris could ever be the Doctor. No one would buy the series lasting beyond the one or two episodes needed for them to kick the shit out of every conceivable bad guy in the universe.
Are you saying people in wheelchairs can't run?? ...[reaching for the phone to dial the PC police}
Reading into Glen Greenwald's comments and some of his other statements, it would seem that much of the spying is used not for security purposes, rather it's to give an edge to certain select US businesses.
If this is true, it would be huge. Citizens don't count for much in terms of US policy decisions, but an unfair boost to chosen businesses would tick off every other business in the US and abroad - the economic ramifications would be nothing short of tectonic.
At least it would finally put to rest that stupid idea that there is, or will ever be, a real "free market." If the U.S. and China have proven nothing else in their spying scandals of late, it's that the big corporations in any given country function in anything BUT a free market of honest competition.
He's a former NSA officer. Even in his youth, his cum was made of black dust.
Wouldn't the megablizzard fall into Climate Change or are you making the common mistake to assume that climate change just means higher temperatures?
Yeah, apparently he hasn't heard that ALL weather is proof of global warming now! Drought, flooding, too hot, too cold, blizzard, too many tornadoes, not enough tornadoes, mild weather, extreme weather--it's all PROOF of global warming!!!
It's kind of like God. Cancer kid lives, it's a miracle from God! Cancer kid dies, well God works in mysterious ways.
Factoring in its 30 year life span
Are you really expecting to go 30 years with absolutely no maintenance or breakdowns on your shiny new system?
The correct way is to hold it over a trashcan and unclasp your hand.
Allow upgrading of the graphics, and storage.
If they allowed that, consoles would end up a fractured mess just like PC's. It would be giving up one of the biggest strengths the consoles have (their consistency). One of the best things I love about my consoles is never having to check the "system requirements" section to see if my system can handle the game (and how well), or having to adjust sliders to try and get decent fps, or having to figure out where my current graphics card falls on the "minimum requirement vs. optimal requirement" scale, or having to upgrade yet again.
There is something to be said for just seeing "Xbox 360" or "PS4" on the box and knowing with absolute certainty that I can buy it, go home, pop it in the console, and get the exact same experience as everyone else without any worries or upgrades.
That's the exact same position as Sony. Yet another thing both consoles share in common, I suppose.
Would have been nice for at least one of them to take a stand and say "No, we're not allowing publishers to put always-on requirements on any single-player game on our console, PERIOD." But neither wants to risk pissing off the developers.
No, but a common architecture will make it a helluva lot easier on developers, which should result in more and better games (which DO matter).
No tinfoil hat needed for this one. You would have to be blind as a bat and retarded to boot to miss that one. The NY prosecutor even had the balls to completely dismiss the previously "rock solid" case exactly *3 DAYS* after his IMF successor took office (no shit, look it up if you don't believe me). They were so confident that the press is a fucking joke that they barely even TRIED to hide it. And they were right too.
oops...x86
Both the PS4 and Xbox One will have s86 architecture, and are essentially just heavily customized PC's (to the point where porting between PC and these consoles will be trivial). So is the distinction between console and PC even meaninful anymore? Aside from the control scheme and openess of software installation, there really isn't much difference.
When the head of the NSA--an agency absolutely notorious for lying to the American people, subverting the U.S. Constitution, and generally screwing over every freedom we the people have--can address the conference and not be immediately and universally booed the fuck offstage, you know you're not dealing with the same crowd that used to be there.
Sometimes you had better be careful when you rattle your saber.
That's when it comes to light that they're wanted on a rape charge in Sweden.
.I thought it was common knowledge that the search engines and the feds are all buddy buddy?
But, but...the NSA head and several Congressmen have assured us that they aren't blanket monitoring everyone. And surely they wouldn't lie!
Why can't the CIA shoot him?
Because everyone would see right through that, and it would cause a major international incident. Discrediting is so much more effective, and much less risky. When the head of the IMF starts challenging the primacy of the U.S. dollar for example, you don't assassinate him. Way too messy and risky. Instead, you arrange for something a little more subtle, but just as effective.
Ha, I can answer those now:
* who is accountable for all of the laws broken by the NSA
No one will be.
* what programs they still have in place which are illegal
None will ever be found so.
* when these illegal programs will be terminated
Just as soon their differently-named successors that do the exact same thing are ready.
At least they won't throw him incommunicado into a prison cell for the rest of his life. That's a lot better than he would get in his home country.
He would be thrown incommunicado into a U.S. prison and never let out again if he ever came back here. We all know his trial would just be a show trial.