And your argument is nothing more than an ad hominem attack on the poster, which is equally worthless.
Let me argue his point from a logical perspective.
Let's assume that a certain political party makes its hay by promising things to the underclass. They make promises to those who have very little and so the promises don't have to be very big to make them happy.
Now assume that this party wants to stay in power and have a greater number of votes for them in future elections. This party would therefore welcome the idea of a larger underclass. They would potentially do things that would weaken the middle class so that there is a larger lower class and and smaller middle class. If they can put things in place like cap & trade systems for energy emissions, where the wealthy will remain wealthy, but the middle class will suffer, they come out ahead.
It's not so much paranoia in my opinion, but a shrewd understanding of how politicians love power and want to stay in power. In this case, I am referring to democrats as they (to me), seem to want to enact policies that hurt the middle class. Global warming is something they have championed because it helps to further their agenda, not because it necessarily is good for the environment.
But the future spending would have the "multiplier" as well. They cancel each other out. Read Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson" for more info (there is a free version online but I don't have the link handy ATM).
You beat me to it - I was about to suggest it as well. I love that book.
I worked for Micron for a while. It has a somewhat confusing history. I was there in the mid-late 90's when it was called Micron Electronics. It was tethered to Micron Tech at that time (the memory maker). Micron Tech in hindsight did well to spin off Micron Electronics (MPC) in 2001.
Micron Electronics had previously acquired ZEOS computers along with a small groups of engineers from a little town in Minnesota that had expertise in chip design, specifically north bridge chips. It was these engineers that I worked with.
It was no secret that their strategy was to create performance/gaming PCs. They did that by going up against the Intels, VIAs, and SiSs in creating the fastest northbridge ICs for a given CPU. They also designed their own motherboards and extended the commercially-obtained BIOS to take advantage of features in their chipsets.
Even though they were based in Nampa, Idaho, they had significant operations in Minnesota (in fact all design was in Roseville, MN). Nampa had a larger workforce, but it was primarily production.
I'm somewhat sad that they folded, though I'll admit I haven't followed them for a while. My thoughts are that Dell/Alienware and the DIY market took away the high-end customers. Micron (Electronics) attempted to get into servers with the purchase of NetFrame in the 1997 timeframe. I don't think they ever got any real traction with those products, though.
I have several anecdotes I could share about how unions seem to protect incompetent or lazy employees. My wife's uncle is an alcoholic - has been for years. He was able to work as a mechanic in a unionized dealership's shop for years. He was drunk on the job all the time.
My wife is a member of a nurses union. She's had coworkers that refuse to work weekends so they call in sick every time they are scheduled for a weekend shift. They never get punished. Also, she works relatively few hours now that we have children. Last year she made less than 10k. The union still shook her down for about $800 in dues. She was taxed at a higher percentage by the union that either the federal or state government.
I agree with the author of Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt. Unions essentially provide higher wages for those within their ranks, but they reduce the overall number of people who can work in that industry. Great book - I highly recommend it. He also has great insight into the false appeal of a minimum wage.
No, you can expect President Bush to be fired for ordering the wiretap.
No, you can expect President Bush to be fired because his term is over and it's time for him to GTFO. The Republicans were fired by the American people, although most of them hold key positions near Obama (keep your friends close, and your enemies closer).
I would expect you to complain about Obama now, too. He voted in favor of extending the warrantless wiretapping legislation when in the Senate. I would expect him to continue the status quo.
If you don't rail against him I would infer you care less about privacy and more about your favorite politician.
The fact that this got modded to 5 says a lot about the Slashdot mentality.
"... burn the place down or kill a few key people"
I'm beginning to wonder if slashdot is entirely populated by Ted Kaczynski wannabees? What do you do when somebody cuts in front of you on the road - follow them home and murder their family?
Going on a bit of a tangent here. It seems like Slashdotters are always bringing up phone tapping.
I thought I'd relay this conversation I heard at the Embedded Systems Conference in Boston a week ago.
Martin Cooper (considered the father of the cell phone) was asked what he thought about the perceived loss of privacy when going from analog to digital calls. (i.e. These calls can be stored for eternity, what are the implications, etc).
His response was a bit surprising. He said that there have been providers that have offered services that could guarantee privacy for an extra cost. He said that the demand for these types of products has been so low that the providers stopped offering them. He also said that he didn't feel he had anything to hide and wasn't concerned about his own privacy.
Not a troll, just thought people would find it interesting.
Yes! That is precisely why I skateboard to work instead of driving a complicated automobile.
Seriously, did you even try asking somebody or reading the manual? You probably had the trigger set up improperly - try putting it in auto mode.
Personally I love the Agilent MSO6034A I have at work. We also have a Tek MSO 4032 that does very well. They run from 9k to 14k depending on options. Mine has 4 analog probes, 16 digital probes (2x8), color display, ethernet and usb ports, auto-measurement capability, I2C and SPI bus decoding built-in. It's already a couple of years old, so maybe there's another model to replace it already.
The executive branch asked for and received legislation that allows wiretaps without FISA approval,
Doesn't matter who asked for what, or who granted what to whom. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.
Do you see anything in there along the lines of "unless you ask really nicely" or "unless you really want to" or "if someone else says you can"? I don't.
It says Unreasonable. It doesn't say never.
Even if you want to massage the "probable cause" clause to meet the demands of "omg catch the terrorists", then ask yourself why, if their evidence is so compelling, they have a problem bringing it to a judge and saying "We'd like to keep an eye on this guy."
Because often I bet they don't know who "the guy" is ahead of time. Of if they find the guy making a phone call, the don't have time to get a warrant before he hangs up the phone and goes underground for another 3 months.
here's the key, when communications are taking place with foreign nationals
I don't care if they're talking to Papa Smurf or bug-eyed monsters from Saturn. The Fourth Amendment doesn't say "unless the suspect is doing something you don't like" or "unless they're talking to someone not a citizen of the States". It's pretty clear.
It says Unreasonable. It doesn't say never.
They did this because terrorist communications are very sporadic, and the time to get these warrants was lengthy.
If you know anything about law enforcement, warrants are not hard to get -- a cop basically just has to ask and it'll almost always be given. If you have evidence that someone is a terrorist, get your warrant and keep tabs on them. When their next "sporadic" communication occurs you'll be able to Constitutionally eavesdrop, instead of all this cloak-and-dagger nonsense and pretending the Fourth doesn't exist. And, of course, I have to ask -- if Joe Sympathizer's communiques with his terrorist counterparts in foreign lands are sooo sporadic and nearly impossible to catch, then exactly how did you (the surveillence team) determine he was communicating with "terrorists" in the first place, hmmm? Either you're making a wild guess, or just spying on everyone and sorting it out later... or it's not quite as sporadic and unpredictable as you'd like everyone to think.
Then of course you drag out Barack Obama, who has nothing whatsoever to do with the discussion. Nobody even mentioned him. Get a grip.
I thought it was very relevant given that Democrats are usually more concerned about individual freedoms vs national security (as you are). He is the most liberal member of congress and he supports extending the FISA exclusion. To me, that speaks volumes.
You can sit and whine about it on slashdot or you can do something about it. Maybe you should try to get the courts to overturn those acts. I doubt it will happen. Maybe you were one of the protesters at the RNC making a fool of yourself in St. Paul.
I like the part of the constitution that states the government's responsibility is to protect the people. 3000 people on 9/11 were not protected by their government's intelligence agencies.
Of course you will probably say they had it coming or some other nonsense.
OK, I'm replying multiple times to the same accusation. Show me where the power was not granted by a law enacted by congress. Congress passed legislation asked for by the executive branch that grants the power to bypass FISA when calls one side of the conversation is outside the country.
Look up the Terrorist Surveillance act of 2006 and the Protect America Act of 2007. Know something about the topic before you spout off! You may not agree with it but your elected representatives approved it.
Who isn't playing by the rules? The executive branch asked for and received legislation that allows wiretaps without FISA approval, and here's the key, when communications are taking place with foreign nationals. They did this because terrorist communications are very sporadic, and the time to get these warrants was lengthy. Barack Obama was in favor of this legislation. In cases of completely domestic communication (phones both inside the US), the FISA court still must grant approval.
I'm not unaware, I agree with you. I thought I put that in my original post. What's the word - egalitarian society? We are all created equal to one another. I was only making a point that in practice, there need to be defined roles in order to keep order and uphold justice. I just used police officers as an example of a type of executive branch member who have special roles. Maybe detaining suspects is a bad example. Here are some others - police can execute search warrants - you and I cannot. They can carry handguns in places you an I normally cannot. They can break the speed limit when responding to a crime.
I'm comparing her to both McCain and Obama. Or for that matter, the 50+ millionaires in the senate and congress. I hate to be an apologist, but she is a whole lot closer to you and me than most politicians. That's part of her broad (no pun intended) appeal.
My understanding was that illegally wiretapping American citizens carried neither fine nor penalty.
Your argument is pretty weak. Using your logic, because police officers detain suspects we the public should be able to as well. The public is not granted the same powers as law enforcement. The public enacts laws that apply in different ways to the general population vs law enforcement.
"liberty and justice for all those who can afford it"
Unfortunately, this tag doesn't really apply to the Palins. They are no better off than your average couple.
Work on becoming a well-rounded person. If you enjoy many things in life, you will have a greater likelyhood of having something in common with the interviewer.
If you don't already, I suggest working out. Sadly, many techies fall into one of two categories: ultra-thin (i.e. no muscle) or pudgey. Make it a goal to run a 5K or some other fitness goal. I find it does make for good small talk. And someone might think: Hey, this guy is a goal-setter.
Join a toastmaster's group or other organization that can help with speaking skills.
Spend less time on Slashdot. Kiss some girls:-)
Replying to my own comment...
I know wired USB has frame tokens that mark the beginning of frames. Within those frames various peripherals can be allocated one or more timeslots. I don't know anything about wireless USB, but conceivably this could be used? Also, USB is different than say, 802.11B/G in that the PC initiates all transactions. So W-USB shouldn't have the collision problem?
So W-USB could do a better job of handling latency than most wireless networking protocols.
Slashdot Mirror
And your argument is nothing more than an ad hominem attack on the poster, which is equally worthless.
Let me argue his point from a logical perspective.
Let's assume that a certain political party makes its hay by promising things to the underclass. They make promises to those who have very little and so the promises don't have to be very big to make them happy.
Now assume that this party wants to stay in power and have a greater number of votes for them in future elections. This party would therefore welcome the idea of a larger underclass. They would potentially do things that would weaken the middle class so that there is a larger lower class and and smaller middle class. If they can put things in place like cap & trade systems for energy emissions, where the wealthy will remain wealthy, but the middle class will suffer, they come out ahead.
It's not so much paranoia in my opinion, but a shrewd understanding of how politicians love power and want to stay in power. In this case, I am referring to democrats as they (to me), seem to want to enact policies that hurt the middle class. Global warming is something they have championed because it helps to further their agenda, not because it necessarily is good for the environment.
A good read that documents a high school girl's math project that became a hot item in cryptography for a while.
I wish I could mod this up. Well said.
But the future spending would have the "multiplier" as well. They cancel each other out. Read Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson" for more info (there is a free version online but I don't have the link handy ATM).
You beat me to it - I was about to suggest it as well. I love that book.
"I bet one legend that keeps recurring throughout history, in every culture, is the story of Popeye."
-Jack Handey
I worked for Micron for a while. It has a somewhat confusing history. I was there in the mid-late 90's when it was called Micron Electronics. It was tethered to Micron Tech at that time (the memory maker). Micron Tech in hindsight did well to spin off Micron Electronics (MPC) in 2001.
Micron Electronics had previously acquired ZEOS computers along with a small groups of engineers from a little town in Minnesota that had expertise in chip design, specifically north bridge chips. It was these engineers that I worked with.
It was no secret that their strategy was to create performance/gaming PCs. They did that by going up against the Intels, VIAs, and SiSs in creating the fastest northbridge ICs for a given CPU. They also designed their own motherboards and extended the commercially-obtained BIOS to take advantage of features in their chipsets.
Even though they were based in Nampa, Idaho, they had significant operations in Minnesota (in fact all design was in Roseville, MN). Nampa had a larger workforce, but it was primarily production.
I'm somewhat sad that they folded, though I'll admit I haven't followed them for a while. My thoughts are that Dell/Alienware and the DIY market took away the high-end customers. Micron (Electronics) attempted to get into servers with the purchase of NetFrame in the 1997 timeframe. I don't think they ever got any real traction with those products, though.
R.I.P. ZEOS/Micron Electronics/Micron PC
I have several anecdotes I could share about how unions seem to protect incompetent or lazy employees. My wife's uncle is an alcoholic - has been for years. He was able to work as a mechanic in a unionized dealership's shop for years. He was drunk on the job all the time.
My wife is a member of a nurses union. She's had coworkers that refuse to work weekends so they call in sick every time they are scheduled for a weekend shift. They never get punished. Also, she works relatively few hours now that we have children. Last year she made less than 10k. The union still shook her down for about $800 in dues. She was taxed at a higher percentage by the union that either the federal or state government.
I agree with the author of Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt. Unions essentially provide higher wages for those within their ranks, but they reduce the overall number of people who can work in that industry. Great book - I highly recommend it. He also has great insight into the false appeal of a minimum wage.
No, you can expect President Bush to be fired because his term is over and it's time for him to GTFO. The Republicans were fired by the American people, although most of them hold key positions near Obama (keep your friends close, and your enemies closer).
I would expect you to complain about Obama now, too. He voted in favor of extending the warrantless wiretapping legislation when in the Senate. I would expect him to continue the status quo. If you don't rail against him I would infer you care less about privacy and more about your favorite politician.
"... burn the place down or kill a few key people"
I'm beginning to wonder if slashdot is entirely populated by Ted Kaczynski wannabees? What do you do when somebody cuts in front of you on the road - follow them home and murder their family?
I'll buy your router. I've been looking at this model. Maybe enough people will be PO'd that I'll find a good deal on eBay.
Martin Cooper (considered the father of the cell phone) was asked what he thought about the perceived loss of privacy when going from analog to digital calls. (i.e. These calls can be stored for eternity, what are the implications, etc).
His response was a bit surprising. He said that there have been providers that have offered services that could guarantee privacy for an extra cost. He said that the demand for these types of products has been so low that the providers stopped offering them. He also said that he didn't feel he had anything to hide and wasn't concerned about his own privacy.
Not a troll, just thought people would find it interesting.
Yes! That is precisely why I skateboard to work instead of driving a complicated automobile. Seriously, did you even try asking somebody or reading the manual? You probably had the trigger set up improperly - try putting it in auto mode. Personally I love the Agilent MSO6034A I have at work. We also have a Tek MSO 4032 that does very well. They run from 9k to 14k depending on options. Mine has 4 analog probes, 16 digital probes (2x8), color display, ethernet and usb ports, auto-measurement capability, I2C and SPI bus decoding built-in. It's already a couple of years old, so maybe there's another model to replace it already.
The executive branch asked for and received legislation that allows wiretaps without FISA approval, Doesn't matter who asked for what, or who granted what to whom. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause. Do you see anything in there along the lines of "unless you ask really nicely" or "unless you really want to" or "if someone else says you can"? I don't.
It says Unreasonable. It doesn't say never.
Even if you want to massage the "probable cause" clause to meet the demands of "omg catch the terrorists", then ask yourself why, if their evidence is so compelling, they have a problem bringing it to a judge and saying "We'd like to keep an eye on this guy."
Because often I bet they don't know who "the guy" is ahead of time. Of if they find the guy making a phone call, the don't have time to get a warrant before he hangs up the phone and goes underground for another 3 months.
here's the key, when communications are taking place with foreign nationals I don't care if they're talking to Papa Smurf or bug-eyed monsters from Saturn. The Fourth Amendment doesn't say "unless the suspect is doing something you don't like" or "unless they're talking to someone not a citizen of the States". It's pretty clear.
It says Unreasonable. It doesn't say never.
They did this because terrorist communications are very sporadic, and the time to get these warrants was lengthy. If you know anything about law enforcement, warrants are not hard to get -- a cop basically just has to ask and it'll almost always be given. If you have evidence that someone is a terrorist, get your warrant and keep tabs on them. When their next "sporadic" communication occurs you'll be able to Constitutionally eavesdrop, instead of all this cloak-and-dagger nonsense and pretending the Fourth doesn't exist. And, of course, I have to ask -- if Joe Sympathizer's communiques with his terrorist counterparts in foreign lands are sooo sporadic and nearly impossible to catch, then exactly how did you (the surveillence team) determine he was communicating with "terrorists" in the first place, hmmm? Either you're making a wild guess, or just spying on everyone and sorting it out later... or it's not quite as sporadic and unpredictable as you'd like everyone to think.
Then of course you drag out Barack Obama, who has nothing whatsoever to do with the discussion. Nobody even mentioned him. Get a grip.
I thought it was very relevant given that Democrats are usually more concerned about individual freedoms vs national security (as you are). He is the most liberal member of congress and he supports extending the FISA exclusion. To me, that speaks volumes. You can sit and whine about it on slashdot or you can do something about it. Maybe you should try to get the courts to overturn those acts. I doubt it will happen. Maybe you were one of the protesters at the RNC making a fool of yourself in St. Paul. I like the part of the constitution that states the government's responsibility is to protect the people. 3000 people on 9/11 were not protected by their government's intelligence agencies. Of course you will probably say they had it coming or some other nonsense.
OK, I'm replying multiple times to the same accusation. Show me where the power was not granted by a law enacted by congress. Congress passed legislation asked for by the executive branch that grants the power to bypass FISA when calls one side of the conversation is outside the country. Look up the Terrorist Surveillance act of 2006 and the Protect America Act of 2007. Know something about the topic before you spout off! You may not agree with it but your elected representatives approved it.
Who isn't playing by the rules? The executive branch asked for and received legislation that allows wiretaps without FISA approval, and here's the key, when communications are taking place with foreign nationals. They did this because terrorist communications are very sporadic, and the time to get these warrants was lengthy. Barack Obama was in favor of this legislation. In cases of completely domestic communication (phones both inside the US), the FISA court still must grant approval.
I'm not unaware, I agree with you. I thought I put that in my original post. What's the word - egalitarian society? We are all created equal to one another. I was only making a point that in practice, there need to be defined roles in order to keep order and uphold justice. I just used police officers as an example of a type of executive branch member who have special roles. Maybe detaining suspects is a bad example. Here are some others - police can execute search warrants - you and I cannot. They can carry handguns in places you an I normally cannot. They can break the speed limit when responding to a crime.
I'm comparing her to both McCain and Obama. Or for that matter, the 50+ millionaires in the senate and congress. I hate to be an apologist, but she is a whole lot closer to you and me than most politicians. That's part of her broad (no pun intended) appeal.
My understanding was that illegally wiretapping American citizens carried neither fine nor penalty.
Your argument is pretty weak. Using your logic, because police officers detain suspects we the public should be able to as well. The public is not granted the same powers as law enforcement. The public enacts laws that apply in different ways to the general population vs law enforcement.
"liberty and justice for all those who can afford it" Unfortunately, this tag doesn't really apply to the Palins. They are no better off than your average couple.
Work on becoming a well-rounded person. If you enjoy many things in life, you will have a greater likelyhood of having something in common with the interviewer. If you don't already, I suggest working out. Sadly, many techies fall into one of two categories: ultra-thin (i.e. no muscle) or pudgey. Make it a goal to run a 5K or some other fitness goal. I find it does make for good small talk. And someone might think: Hey, this guy is a goal-setter. Join a toastmaster's group or other organization that can help with speaking skills. Spend less time on Slashdot. Kiss some girls :-)
Or to quote Amy Poehler from weekend update.. "Scientists arrived at this conclusion by using a technique known as 'guessing'".
It's People!!!!
If man descended from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes? --George Carlin
**cough** ad-hominem attack **cough**
Replying to my own comment... I know wired USB has frame tokens that mark the beginning of frames. Within those frames various peripherals can be allocated one or more timeslots. I don't know anything about wireless USB, but conceivably this could be used? Also, USB is different than say, 802.11B/G in that the PC initiates all transactions. So W-USB shouldn't have the collision problem? So W-USB could do a better job of handling latency than most wireless networking protocols.