It was obvious that the US were spying on European countries, that the US and the UK spied on each others' citizens and swapped the data, that the US engaged in cyber attacks and that the NSA have access to data from Google and Facebook.
I'm kind of bemused that everyone's acting so outraged about it when they weren't before.
If you think the USAF could prevent European military forces from shooting down a boeing passenger jet over European air space then you're frankly stupid.
Maybe - and even then, only maybe - if the US had eight months to plan and a few weeks of prior attacks against infrastructure and established armed units.
Right now I can only cover around 9 months without calling on credit; using lines of credit available to me without asking I can go around three years (at 1.25% p.a. compound).
What, that's meant to be hard? When I was young, yes. But monthly payments back then? No trouble at all.
Mortgage + car loan can be enough, especially if you're on low income.
Hell, my mortgage is 40% of my pre-tax salary at my first job. That makes it over 50% of net salary, and my mortgage isn't much more then renting a single room these days (I bought when houses were rather cheaper).
When I bought my first house my mortgage worked out at 18% of gross salary, or 23% of net salary, or (taking into account travel costs to work, bills, food, etc) around 120% of disposable income. I had to get a lodger.
Get a mortgage these days for the same property at the same loan-to-deposit ratio on the same salary and you're looking at the basic mortgage being over 50% of the gross salary.
In any case, "j/k" and "lol" does not excuse a sociopath, nor does it guarantee that a mentally ill person will not actually act upon the threat. It would, of course, be better if authorities investigated this faster and, hopefully, found that no such threat exists. Aside from that, we don't know all the circumstances of the case (except for what one side with vested interest tells us). Perhaps such threat does really exist.
It's possible a credible threat existed, but it's pretty unlikely. It's reasonable that the police may make contact following an international notification, but an arrest seems excessive, let alone several months imprisonment.
On the flipside I've sent someone two miles through a university campus 180 miles away to find the room in which a friend was having a hard time, as reflected in their online chat.
Said friend didn't even know, just found someone turning up going, "Hey, fancy grabbing a burger". Sometimes that's all that's needed.
There's a big difference between,"Hey, this guy needs help" and "Please lock this person up without trial for several months for making a joke"
Quick stupidity check for you: Does the link http://guardian.co.uk/ work for you, and are you using a computer attached to the unclassified US military network?
Based on your answers, see if you can guess whether the US Army has successfully blocked all access to the Guardian website.
Slashdot Mirror
What utter nonsense.
Farms were well looked after long before capitalism turned up. Farms can flourish in a communist state.
"true" communism protects the farms for the people, wouldn't you think?
I don't think that there should be sodomy laws
I do. It should be mandatory.
I keep seeing this term, "pinko".
I don't understand it. Please explain.
You mean the recent free and fair elections weren't democratic?
They voted in a religious fuckwit but that's an unfortunate flaw with democracy.
I'd be incredibly pissed off if they weren't.
It was obvious that the US were spying on European countries, that the US and the UK spied on each others' citizens and swapped the data, that the US engaged in cyber attacks and that the NSA have access to data from Google and Facebook.
I'm kind of bemused that everyone's acting so outraged about it when they weren't before.
If you think the USAF could prevent European military forces from shooting down a boeing passenger jet over European air space then you're frankly stupid.
Maybe - and even then, only maybe - if the US had eight months to plan and a few weeks of prior attacks against infrastructure and established armed units.
Second-hand cars in East Germany were worth more than brand new ones. No waiting list..
The KGB took bribes in USD.
The stuff you can't buy in stores is available on the black market. For cash.
Seriously, do you really think there wasn't any use for cash in the USSR?
oh. a mouse user.
Sorry, what?
Crackers are what I put butter on. They taste nice.
I took a ten month holiday once, does that count?
Right now I can only cover around 9 months without calling on credit; using lines of credit available to me without asking I can go around three years (at 1.25% p.a. compound).
What, that's meant to be hard? When I was young, yes. But monthly payments back then? No trouble at all.
Mortgage + car loan can be enough, especially if you're on low income.
Hell, my mortgage is 40% of my pre-tax salary at my first job. That makes it over 50% of net salary, and my mortgage isn't much more then renting a single room these days (I bought when houses were rather cheaper).
When I bought my first house my mortgage worked out at 18% of gross salary, or 23% of net salary, or (taking into account travel costs to work, bills, food, etc) around 120% of disposable income. I had to get a lodger.
Get a mortgage these days for the same property at the same loan-to-deposit ratio on the same salary and you're looking at the basic mortgage being over 50% of the gross salary.
naivete
fucking slashdot
bought with money, something that was more or less impossible in the east.
Which school of naÃveté did you fail to graduate from?
I have a good 7.1 / 5.1 headset for gaming. Just not something I want to wear when watching TV.
I bet my mortgage that France is spying on Germany.
Friends?
Actually for me it's sod all - I'm slightly deaf and my neighbours get upset at noise so there's no point buying expensive sound systems.
On the flipside it means I still need to go to the cinema for a full sound experience :)
Now consider that I bought a top-end 56" tv for watching sport and old films (in HD, although it supports 3D too) already anyway.
Incremental cost to get cinema grade sound? Not a whole lot.
Sure, it's "only" 56" and not 120". I don't have 120" of wall anyway, and I don't have to turn my head. I'm also sat reasonably close to it.
So yes, of course, total price is high. Incremental price? Nope.
I don't have to trust Snowden to know that the US government does not act in my interest.
In any case, "j/k" and "lol" does not excuse a sociopath, nor does it guarantee that a mentally ill person will not actually act upon the threat. It would, of course, be better if authorities investigated this faster and, hopefully, found that no such threat exists.
Aside from that, we don't know all the circumstances of the case (except for what one side with vested interest tells us). Perhaps such threat does really exist.
It's possible a credible threat existed, but it's pretty unlikely. It's reasonable that the police may make contact following an international notification, but an arrest seems excessive, let alone several months imprisonment.
If you get to 113 then you see how many people complain about you acting with no empathy and staying in bed until 11am.
The judge could more easily throw the case out of his court and have the policemen involved charged with wasting police time.
Fucking ludicrous.
On the flipside I've sent someone two miles through a university campus 180 miles away to find the room in which a friend was having a hard time, as reflected in their online chat.
Said friend didn't even know, just found someone turning up going, "Hey, fancy grabbing a burger". Sometimes that's all that's needed.
There's a big difference between,"Hey, this guy needs help" and "Please lock this person up without trial for several months for making a joke"
What if I live through the initial shot? You haven't thought this through, have you.
Can you use a condom, just in case?
Quick stupidity check for you: Does the link http://guardian.co.uk/ work for you, and are you using a computer attached to the unclassified US military network?
Based on your answers, see if you can guess whether the US Army has successfully blocked all access to the Guardian website.
Or merely the kind of people that don't want the NSA or GCHQ monitoring everything that everybody does.
The kind of people that believe in privacy and freedom.
The kind of people willing to speak out and argue against totalitarianism?
I'm not sure those are the kind of people that want to give succour to regimes like those of Russia, China and the USA.