...to three-letter agencies. If we allow them in, we also allow the 'baddies' in -- and the NSA has proven to be at least as bad as the terrorists and criminals they're ostensibly monitoring. At least the criminals don't maintain the polite fiction that they're following the law.
When advertisers serve adverts with static images instead of CPU- and memory-hogging Flash-based video monstrosities, then I'll remove ABP. Until then, I'll gladly keep their shit off my system.
As probably pointed out elsewhere in these comments, the same is said about every technological development.
'Those impudent whipper-snappers writing on papyri. When I was a child, we were forced to memorise epic poetry. They are so lazy for committing things to an external medium rather than their memories!'
'Those rascals calling on that newfangled telephone gewgaw! Why not take a ride over to the dry grocer rather than calling in an order. The height of sloth, I tell you!'
In practice, the NSA collectively view everyone outside of the Agency as foreigners and enemies. Therefore, due process of law even within the USA's borders means fuck-all to them. So in actually, Americans within the US have no more real protections than non-citizens, especially when you have pliant judges and magistrates who will sign on the dotted line cuz National Security.
In some rarefied Platonic universe, we all have natural, inalienable rights endowed us, but unless they are recognised, enforced, and vigilantly defended, they aren't worth the paper upon which they're enumerated.
The ultimate purpose of the WoD was never to protect people from themselves--that is merely the pretext. The WoD is actually about class and race warfare (to wit, the disproportionate prosecution and conviction of ethnic and racial minorities and those lower on the socioeconomic ladder) and the aggrandisement of the PTB. Any other conclusion is untenable.
Why does it have to be either-or? Simply leverage MIME somehow (or another global repository of filetype metadata) and have a filename extension that specifies the filetype, for backwards compatibility for OS's and file systems that don't support a global filetype metadata infrastructure. The metadata solution, of course, would be the canonical and more trusted of the two.
Uhhhh....you completely misunderstood me. I was saying that that 'competition' was ill-thought out last time. The infrastructure should be a public utility, with competition to offers services over it. You incorrectly inferred that I disagreed with government intervention.
Yeah, I remember those days with Cavalier DSL here in Richmond, VA. There was a fault in my circuit (laid in the 1920's) and Cavalier placed a service request with Verizon, who sat on it for weeks before I finally had to get the State Corporation Commission involved. Wonderful times, indeed.
Don't be surprised. I assure you that Billy Badass CEO has all of his communications suitably encrypted, and if he's ever charged with a crime, the authorities will probably 'lose' the device with data needing decryption and say they don't have any evidence to hold him. No, the target for this is the little guy. The people in power are always protected and excused from having to comply with those pesky laws foisted upon hoi polloi.
People are poor by definition, when we are born, we are born with nothing.Bullshit. Tell that to trust-fund babies. You are so clueless it's not even funny.
many of the engineers I encountered adopted an almost Scandinavian lifestyle of working to live instead of living to work.
What's wrong with that? The vast majority of the planet has a far healthier work-life balance than we here in the US have. Time to take your blinkers off.
Hmm... She's managed to gain the trust and support of enough people to get into the position she's in.
One could say the same about Carly Fiorina. That didn't stop her from destroying HP. It doesn't logically follow that, just because someone is hired for a certain position, s/he is actually deserving of or qualified for said position.
I agree with everything except the telecommuting bullet-point (with which I am in *qualified* disagreement. My qualification is that working from home should be OK, but only on company-issued hardware, with the restrictions you listed (e.g., disabled USB ports) and I would add the use of something like a Sonicwall connected downstream from your home ISP's gateway.
How about the fact that some analyst over at the NSA may take note of the fact that you might like to read articles critical of said three-letter agency and make a note to flag it for future analysis? By knowing what kinds of articles you like to read on Slash, various intelligence and law-enforcement agencies can compile a lot of blackmail material if you were ever to prove a nuisance down the line.
Slashdot Mirror
...to three-letter agencies. If we allow them in, we also allow the 'baddies' in -- and the NSA has proven to be at least as bad as the terrorists and criminals they're ostensibly monitoring. At least the criminals don't maintain the polite fiction that they're following the law.
When advertisers serve adverts with static images instead of CPU- and memory-hogging Flash-based video monstrosities, then I'll remove ABP. Until then, I'll gladly keep their shit off my system.
As probably pointed out elsewhere in these comments, the same is said about every technological development.
'Those impudent whipper-snappers writing on papyri. When I was a child, we were forced to memorise epic poetry. They are so lazy for committing things to an external medium rather than their memories!'
'Those rascals calling on that newfangled telephone gewgaw! Why not take a ride over to the dry grocer rather than calling in an order. The height of sloth, I tell you!'
You are correct--in theory.
In practice, the NSA collectively view everyone outside of the Agency as foreigners and enemies. Therefore, due process of law even within the USA's borders means fuck-all to them. So in actually, Americans within the US have no more real protections than non-citizens, especially when you have pliant judges and magistrates who will sign on the dotted line cuz National Security.
In some rarefied Platonic universe, we all have natural, inalienable rights endowed us, but unless they are recognised, enforced, and vigilantly defended, they aren't worth the paper upon which they're enumerated.
The ultimate purpose of the WoD was never to protect people from themselves--that is merely the pretext. The WoD is actually about class and race warfare (to wit, the disproportionate prosecution and conviction of ethnic and racial minorities and those lower on the socioeconomic ladder) and the aggrandisement of the PTB. Any other conclusion is untenable.
...it did pass both houses, Obama would of course veto it. He has been more overzealous in his use of the surveillance apparatus than Dubya was.
How the hell did we get such a militarized police force anyway?
Here's your answer.
Avoid them like the plague.
It may not necessarily be easy, but if it's something you really want to do, don't let the naysayers dissuade you.
Hmmm, I wonder which MEP's were paid off, and how much.
Why does it have to be either-or? Simply leverage MIME somehow (or another global repository of filetype metadata) and have a filename extension that specifies the filetype, for backwards compatibility for OS's and file systems that don't support a global filetype metadata infrastructure. The metadata solution, of course, would be the canonical and more trusted of the two.
Uhhhh....you completely misunderstood me. I was saying that that 'competition' was ill-thought out last time. The infrastructure should be a public utility, with competition to offers services over it. You incorrectly inferred that I disagreed with government intervention.
Yeah, I remember those days with Cavalier DSL here in Richmond, VA. There was a fault in my circuit (laid in the 1920's) and Cavalier placed a service request with Verizon, who sat on it for weeks before I finally had to get the State Corporation Commission involved. Wonderful times, indeed.
You have my solemn thanks. :)
Shame if something should happen to it...'
Could we please slay the ethanol white elephant? It has lousy energy density and is highly corrosive. There are far better fuels out there.
Don't be surprised. I assure you that Billy Badass CEO has all of his communications suitably encrypted, and if he's ever charged with a crime, the authorities will probably 'lose' the device with data needing decryption and say they don't have any evidence to hold him. No, the target for this is the little guy. The people in power are always protected and excused from having to comply with those pesky laws foisted upon hoi polloi.
...because Marriott owns the air in their hotels. Why should pesky freeloading guests expect to breathe for free? Damn Commie bastards.
Isn't it about time for that gnarly old fart to retire?
People are poor by definition, when we are born, we are born with nothing.Bullshit. Tell that to trust-fund babies. You are so clueless it's not even funny.
They're probably Koch Industries sock-puppets. :/
many of the engineers I encountered adopted an almost Scandinavian lifestyle of working to live instead of living to work.
What's wrong with that? The vast majority of the planet has a far healthier work-life balance than we here in the US have. Time to take your blinkers off.
Hmm... She's managed to gain the trust and support of enough people to get into the position she's in.
One could say the same about Carly Fiorina. That didn't stop her from destroying HP. It doesn't logically follow that, just because someone is hired for a certain position, s/he is actually deserving of or qualified for said position.
I agree with everything except the telecommuting bullet-point (with which I am in *qualified* disagreement. My qualification is that working from home should be OK, but only on company-issued hardware, with the restrictions you listed (e.g., disabled USB ports) and I would add the use of something like a Sonicwall connected downstream from your home ISP's gateway.
How about the fact that some analyst over at the NSA may take note of the fact that you might like to read articles critical of said three-letter agency and make a note to flag it for future analysis? By knowing what kinds of articles you like to read on Slash, various intelligence and law-enforcement agencies can compile a lot of blackmail material if you were ever to prove a nuisance down the line.