Yes, I agree with that. But in this case maybe the middle management wasn't stealing, but was collecting records of who called who. In that case its creepy, in the NSA case its something else.
I do think that the activities revealed are of great concern. The senators who should have been at the helm in an oversight role didn't understand what was being done, or were deceived, or both. I DGAF about those things.
I also think that reasonable people (a group you and a lot of/. commenters are only loosely affiliated with - HINT: try using a little less ridiculous hyperbole, it makes you sound childish, and a little more reasoning) can disagree over whether the activities revealed are "infinitely greater" than Snowden's crimes. Infinity is an awful lot, and the nature and wording of the Patriot Act are beyond my powers of comprehension. Still, there is LOT of ambiguity, and unfortunately a LOT of room for interpretation).
That aside, he still committed a crime, a pretty serious one.
So, if you don't like the Patriot Act, then call your senator or congressman, or both. Call them several times.
Yes, I said it. He's a criminal. Of course the gov't should NOT pardon him. All you "US gov't is evil" posers can say all you want, and I may even agree with some of your BS, but he took the trust that his employer (you and I) put in him, and all the pay and benefits, and he stabbed us all in the back. There were other ways to voice his disagreement(s), but he chose to be a petulant 20-something-know-it-all and make HUGE national security decisions that endangered lives and cost taxpayers billions. A 20-something kid (that's what he was) should not be making decisions like that.
I am as liberal as they come, but I also believe that the law should still apply to Edward Snowden.
He will make a misstep and he will be nabbed, or perhaps Russia will get sick of him and just hand him over.
mine, thank you very much.
To those of you with NO DIRECT EXPERIENCE in this (i.e. childless, or "my friend's kid" or just willing to spout on whatever) let me say this: I accept your comments, but please be willing to change your thinking should you ever have kids with ADHD or similar developmental problems.
I have a 10 year old son with ADHD. The most important thing I've learned is that every kid is different and talking about them in the aggregate is wrong. What works or doesn't work for my son and our family may or may not work with the next family. Raising kids is tough, and raising kids with ADHD/etc is harder still. I've heard the clucking of hens like all the blowhards I'm reading here. I've seen the stares and the looks from the ignorant who question my parenting and my choices. My message to you all: STFU!
To those of you ignorant childless ones, a word of advice: if you have a friend or relative who has a child with ADHD or similar, try compassion. Try to understand that they have their hands full and that you really don't know shit about their situation. And try to keep your mouth shut and your ears and eyes open. If you think they are getting railroaded into medication then support them, encourage them, but stay out of their business. No matter how smart you think you are, understand that raising an ADHD child (or any child for that matter) is a humbling, though infinitely rewarding, experience.
As the range of these devices increases, we can stay focussed on Oprah and "they" can simply make purchases on our behalf, extracting payment from us via cell phone towers.
Removing the consumer's role in the decision making will do wonders for businesses, allowing them to smooth out demand and make themselves more efficient, increasing profits. Don't worry, the folks down at ChoicePoint can serve up your purchasing patterns and theres plenty of smart folks around who can decide much better than you or me what we REALLY need. So the consumer wins, business wins, everybody wins! And you'll never miss another minute of American Idol because you had to run to McDonald's for some large fries.
If you didn't already think this was a possibility, then you haven't been paying attention. Remember, there's several groups out there who have already developed nuclear weapons. They've all happened to be governments of countries, but nonetheless they had enough smart, motivated people to figure it out. There's nothing intrinsic about a so-called "terrorist group" that would make it unable to figure it out as well. That doesn't make it easy, just possible.
A lost corn variety is a sad thing, IMHO. Until you have enjoyed the savory pleasure of fresh sweet corn (many varieties), not the crap you find at the store, but the kind that was picked this morning and sold out of a truck on the side of the road, well bite your tongue.
That aside, I respect your position and your opinion. Its pretty cool, you have your opinions and I have mine.
I have the opinion that I don't want to eat GMOs, nor do I want to feed them to my family. I recognize that one of the realities of life in these United States is that it is very difficult to accomplish this.
In my garden I choose to plant non-GMO seeds. My preference is for, amongst other things, heirloom tomatoes. I grow them, save seeds and plant them next summer. Your damned GMO pollen will soon be everywhere, though, and I have no defense against it. Without my permission somebody injects GMO into my seed-stock! Screw you! Not my choice, but your choice imposed on me!
Isn't this like second-hand smoke? Excuse me, can you take your GMO crops to a barren lifeless planet?
I don't think the analogy with open source software is quite right. After all, with OSS I have a choice - I download the software,.configure, make install and I have it. Then if it I choose I can delete it.
With this stuff I can still choose whether I want to plant it or eat it, but I cannot choose whether my neighbor's GM'd tomatoes pollinate my tomatoes. I won't find out until I plant the resulting seeds next summer and WHOA! My tomatoes have deformed frog legs on them, but geez, they grow like the dickens in my cat's litter box!
I'll leave them on the front porch - help yourself.
I develop in java and C/C++ on linux, windows, OS/X. I use eclipse for all real development because it runs on all these platforms. I learn (and someday master) a single IDE, with all ^-whatever keystrokes and idiosyncracies (and spell checkers).
Emacs also runs on all platforms, and I use it as a code browser for read-only stuff and minimal editing. Otherwise eclipse all the way!
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Yes, I agree with that. But in this case maybe the middle management wasn't stealing, but was collecting records of who called who. In that case its creepy, in the NSA case its something else.
I do think that the activities revealed are of great concern. The senators who should have been at the helm in an oversight role didn't understand what was being done, or were deceived, or both. I DGAF about those things. I also think that reasonable people (a group you and a lot of /. commenters are only loosely affiliated with - HINT: try using a little less ridiculous hyperbole, it makes you sound childish, and a little more reasoning) can disagree over whether the activities revealed are "infinitely greater" than Snowden's crimes. Infinity is an awful lot, and the nature and wording of the Patriot Act are beyond my powers of comprehension. Still, there is LOT of ambiguity, and unfortunately a LOT of room for interpretation).
That aside, he still committed a crime, a pretty serious one.
So, if you don't like the Patriot Act, then call your senator or congressman, or both. Call them several times.
No.
Yes, I said it. He's a criminal. Of course the gov't should NOT pardon him. All you "US gov't is evil" posers can say all you want, and I may even agree with some of your BS, but he took the trust that his employer (you and I) put in him, and all the pay and benefits, and he stabbed us all in the back. There were other ways to voice his disagreement(s), but he chose to be a petulant 20-something-know-it-all and make HUGE national security decisions that endangered lives and cost taxpayers billions. A 20-something kid (that's what he was) should not be making decisions like that. I am as liberal as they come, but I also believe that the law should still apply to Edward Snowden. He will make a misstep and he will be nabbed, or perhaps Russia will get sick of him and just hand him over.
mine, thank you very much. To those of you with NO DIRECT EXPERIENCE in this (i.e. childless, or "my friend's kid" or just willing to spout on whatever) let me say this: I accept your comments, but please be willing to change your thinking should you ever have kids with ADHD or similar developmental problems. I have a 10 year old son with ADHD. The most important thing I've learned is that every kid is different and talking about them in the aggregate is wrong. What works or doesn't work for my son and our family may or may not work with the next family. Raising kids is tough, and raising kids with ADHD/etc is harder still. I've heard the clucking of hens like all the blowhards I'm reading here. I've seen the stares and the looks from the ignorant who question my parenting and my choices. My message to you all: STFU! To those of you ignorant childless ones, a word of advice: if you have a friend or relative who has a child with ADHD or similar, try compassion. Try to understand that they have their hands full and that you really don't know shit about their situation. And try to keep your mouth shut and your ears and eyes open. If you think they are getting railroaded into medication then support them, encourage them, but stay out of their business. No matter how smart you think you are, understand that raising an ADHD child (or any child for that matter) is a humbling, though infinitely rewarding, experience.
When I was in college my roommate and I made a couch out of cases of empty (beer) returnables. Can I sue somebody to get free beer?
Better not get your necktie caught in one of those!
Removing the consumer's role in the decision making will do wonders for businesses, allowing them to smooth out demand and make themselves more efficient, increasing profits. Don't worry, the folks down at ChoicePoint can serve up your purchasing patterns and theres plenty of smart folks around who can decide much better than you or me what we REALLY need. So the consumer wins, business wins, everybody wins! And you'll never miss another minute of American Idol because you had to run to McDonald's for some large fries.
There! I needed to get that off my chest.
If you didn't already think this was a possibility, then you haven't been paying attention. Remember, there's several groups out there who have already developed nuclear weapons. They've all happened to be governments of countries, but nonetheless they had enough smart, motivated people to figure it out. There's nothing intrinsic about a so-called "terrorist group" that would make it unable to figure it out as well. That doesn't make it easy, just possible.
Until then I mix my own drinks and use organic celery.
That aside, I respect your position and your opinion. Its pretty cool, you have your opinions and I have mine.
I have the opinion that I don't want to eat GMOs, nor do I want to feed them to my family. I recognize that one of the realities of life in these United States is that it is very difficult to accomplish this.
In my garden I choose to plant non-GMO seeds. My preference is for, amongst other things, heirloom tomatoes. I grow them, save seeds and plant them next summer. Your damned GMO pollen will soon be everywhere, though, and I have no defense against it. Without my permission somebody injects GMO into my seed-stock! Screw you! Not my choice, but your choice imposed on me!
Isn't this like second-hand smoke? Excuse me, can you take your GMO crops to a barren lifeless planet?
I don't think the analogy with open source software is quite right. After all, with OSS I have a choice - I download the software, .configure, make install and I have it. Then if it I choose I can delete it.
With this stuff I can still choose whether I want to plant it or eat it, but I cannot choose whether my neighbor's GM'd tomatoes pollinate my tomatoes. I won't find out until I plant the resulting seeds next summer and WHOA! My tomatoes have deformed frog legs on them, but geez, they grow like the dickens in my cat's litter box!
I'll leave them on the front porch - help yourself.
I develop in java and C/C++ on linux, windows, OS/X. I use eclipse for all real development because it runs on all these platforms. I learn (and someday master) a single IDE, with all ^-whatever keystrokes and idiosyncracies (and spell checkers). Emacs also runs on all platforms, and I use it as a code browser for read-only stuff and minimal editing. Otherwise eclipse all the way!