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User: yabastaaa

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  1. Re:More technical discussion on NSA Foils Much Internet Encryption · · Score: 1

    (2) We need to reduce and devolve the power of government in general in all areas: defense, federal police, welfare, health care, monetary policy, economic policy, etc. And that needs to happen in both the US and Europe.

    And give that power to corporations?

    As can be seen by the massive amounts of data Google, Facebook et al collect on their users and even non-users, corporations already have a big interest in tracking everything we do. If they’re also responsible for physical security, they’ll only get worse.

    Also—corporations are even less accountable than your average made-in-the-last-300-years democracy, thanks to ‘commercial secrecy’ etc. They never have to justify a decision or action. Governments certainly have large black spots of accountability (especially the secret services), but it’s surely easier to spread openness & accountability from a starting point of ‘part accountable’ than ‘totally secretive and unaccountable’?

    Regardless, the UK has started privatising local police services—the people in blue on the streets, but also detectives etc—as seen by recent calls for tendering in various parts of England. Paragons of quality service & high morals such as Group 4 & Securitas are tendering. Wait and see how that goes.

  2. Re:Hmm, I wonder on After a Decade, Digital Radio Still an Also-Ran In UK · · Score: 1

    I was thinking that - DAB sets may've been released 10 years ago, but when I was looking for a hifi 5-6 years ago, DAB was hugely expensive. All in all, 24% seems high!

  3. Re:Japanese Knot Weed on Alabama Wages War Against the Perfect Weed · · Score: 1

    Actually, we can eat it - when it's young and bright red, cut it and boil it like it's rhubarb. Not sure if it tastes good though!

    Also, it can be landfilled, but only in special sites, by appropriately-certified waste processors, where it'll be wrapped in several layers of thick plastic and buried more than seven metres underground. Any other means of disposal leaves you liable to be prosecuted for spreading a dangerous/controlled substance.

  4. Re:Seems like a good idea on US Plans To Bulldoze 50 Shrinking Cities · · Score: 1

    Advantagesare less housing for homeless and drug shelters.

    Does 'housing for homeless' and 'drug shelter' mean something different where you are?! Those both sound like something we need more of....

    (To be clear - in the UK a drug shelter is a place people go to receive help with their problem, and housing for the homeless.... well, by definition it's what they need, no?)

  5. Re:Wont increase taxes on middle class on Battle Lines Being Drawn As Obama Plans To Curb Tax Avoidance · · Score: 1

    Please do point out which fascists have used socialist policies/principles to subdue the populace - I'm fascinated! (or maybe you mean 'subdue' as in 'enable a maximal number of people to be happy, safe and fulfilled, and therefore not go around destroying bank property'?)

    Do you comprehend what fascist actually is (or socialist for that matter), or are you merely carrying on McCarthyism? (that was a proud American period, no?)

  6. Re:Smell of blood/books in the morning, etc. on Copyright Lobby Targets "Pirate Bay For Books" · · Score: 1

    Sadly, despite having approx 18months of news coverage of the American presidential candidate campaigns and elections, then actual presidential campaigns then elections, then 'obama! woo!' for an extra couple of months, we in the UK have had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING regarding the european elections :(

    Thanks to you I know have a date, but who's standing in my area? How do I find out? Where do I vote? The news blackout on this is complete (even from the relatively even-handed BBC) in this increasingly xenophobic shithole of a country :(

  7. Re:Keyhole career. on UK Government Says More Spying Needed · · Score: 1

    Well, MPs from our third party (Liberal Democrats) have suggested an act to repeal/overwrite the acts affecting our civil liberties. This is something that could get cross-party support, and could ‘fix’ the problem in one go (or at least partially fix).

    To stop this happening again, I’d say we need a written constitution - we (the UK) currently have a vague concept of a constitution, made up of various laws across many documents spanning centuries. So in the US, detention without charge is limited by what’s allowed under the constitution, but it’s not here with the result that we can now be locked up for 28 days before finding out *why* (and losing your job, scaring your family etc. in the meantime).

    In the hope of helping either/both of the above happen, I’m now helping the group I linked to above (March for Liberty). So far we’re working on raising awareness of the rights we've lost, as people are often shocked when they’re presented with the list in one place. With enough support, it will lead to protests and petitions, and hopefully make this something of an election issue.

  8. Re:Keyhole career. on UK Government Says More Spying Needed · · Score: 5, Informative

    Fear, what can't it do?

    Not much, it seems :(

    We've had a lot of rights removed over the past decade or so, rights we've had since the magna carta, but which have been discarded without debate or thought.

    As an example:

    • The government can ban any groups it labels ‘terrorist’ (Terrorism Act 2000)
    • The government can monitor any and all private communication (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000)
    • Armed forces can be deployed on UK soil in peacetime (Civil Contingencies Act 2004)
    • Property and assets can be seized without warning or compensation (Civil Contingencies Act 2004)
    • Spontaneous protest is now illegal around Parliament (Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005)
    • Without trial, any British citizen can be tagged, put under house arrest and banned from using the telephone or internet (Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005)
    • Any citizen can be imprisoned without charge for 28 days (42 days has passed the house of commons) (Terrorism Act 2006)
    • The executive can change any current legislation without consulting Parliament, with very few exceptions (Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006)
    • Arbitrary punishments with no legal precedents can be issued with little legal recourse, based on hearsay evidence ( Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003)
    • British citizens can be extradicted to the United States with no evidence presented (Extradition Act 2003)
    • Compulsory identification for all British citizens, with an unlimited amount of details stored in a central database, which the private sector will have access to (Identity Cards Act 2006)
    • Upon arrest the police have claim to your DNA, even if you are released without charge (Criminal Justice Act 2003)

    Taken from the site protests.org.uk

  9. Re:Not sure what this proves on Cyber Defense Competition Has A New Champion · · Score: 1

    Usually competitions like this are in "Which OS is most secure" kinds of settings, where the ostensible purpose is to find out which OS is the most insecure. fixed that for ya