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User: TheCarp

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  1. terrible tragedy on Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide · · Score: 1

    Its sad really. Sad that these people have so much pain and sad the grievous injuries some of the survivors will sustain.... sad all around. However, I just don't feel it is a valid reason to tell someone what they can and can't have at their own disposal.

    Its a nice thought and good intention, its just, not justified. I don't want to tell other people what they can and can't own, I don't want my government doing that, and want it to do less of it than it does. Hell, I would constitutionally remove the right to even enact such bans for the most part.

    I mean I totally understand we don't want people building bombs in the city and there needs to be some amount of sense and balance with intrinsically unsafe activities and populations,....but simple worry of self harm or potential malicous intent?

    Not valid reasons if liberty and pursuit of happiness are inalienable rights.

    If a person feels that death is his best path to persue happiness, I feel no right to stop him. To implore him to think on it, to hope that he changes his mind before he goes through with it, but, in the end.... its his life; his choice.

  2. Re:RTFA on Scotland Yard Chief: Put CCTV In Every Home To Help Solve Crimes · · Score: 4, Funny

    There was a hilarious local robbery that my wife and I watched the video footage of. I don't know if they actually got caught but, 3 men came in to steal a safe. They, of course, wear hoodies and visored caps. They look down.

    One of them deftly moves directly under the camera and starts trying to smash it from below...fails....and turns to get a better look....giving his face right up straight on to the camera, after which he smashes it good.

  3. Re:NSA director is a domestic enemy on NSA Director Argues For "Red Button" Autonomy Against Unattributed Cyber-Attacks · · Score: 1

    Seems pretty clear to me that this is not only correct but, he hates us for our freedoms.

  4. Re:"Good News" is Relative on Game of Drones: As US Dithers, Rivals Get a Head Start · · Score: 1

    Certainly but, its still fiction. In fact, when you really get down to it stories, even factual ones, only talk about possible outcomes. Drawing back on my poker experience, I liken these anecdotes to what we call "rabbit hunting" when a hand is over, someone has folded, but the guy who folded wants to see what the next card would have been.

    In truth, its a pointless thing to do. Run the same situation over and over and the result will approach the average situation sure, but any one can only tell you what happened, it can't necessarily shed light on similar situations. Stories help you remember principles, but they never actually prove anything, even real ones only prove possible outcomes.

  5. Re:"Good News" is Relative on Game of Drones: As US Dithers, Rivals Get a Head Start · · Score: 1

    I think we do get a lot of this.... I have had even fairly smart people say things like "Well just look at rapture, that proves laissez-faire capitalism doesn't work".

    I mean, its not like there aren't plenty of criticizms for all sorts of ideas, philosophical and otherwise, but, a fictional story doesn't prove anything....a story is often written backwards from problem to plausible cause, they are written based on the biases of their authors, they prove nothing except, what the author thought.

    Certainly it presents a cautionary tale, and it presents a certain point of view, but there is a lot of daylight between exploring a possible scenario and proving anything. Just because it can be imagined doesn't mean its a real issue (or that it isn't).

  6. Re:Baking political correctness in society on Yik Yak Raises Controversy On College Campuses · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That isn't really how people proejct though, a person seldom attributes his own actions to his own nature. Its more like "I said this because I was upset" or "I said that because he was an asshole and deserved to hear it." whereas "he said that because he is a racist" or "he said that because he is an asshole".

    That would be more how people tend to actually think about things.... I stole from the store because I ...was bored and seeking thrills or .... was hungry and needed money.

    You stole from the store because you think its ok to steal and you are entitled to it.

    See how different we can be. I do everything for exeternal reasons, everyone else just follows their nature.

  7. AN answer on UK Gov't Asks: Is 10 Years In Jail the Answer To Online Pirates? · · Score: 1

    "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." - H L Menken

    Its an answer, kind of like an answer to "What is 3 plus 4" is 900.

    Its an answer, its not correct, its not even useful, but, its words you can speak in response to a question....which is good enough for most politicians regardless of the system you put them in.

  8. Re:If "yes," then it's not self-driving on Would You Need a License To Drive a Self-Driving Car? · · Score: 1

    Yup, proof that just because you can run a large operation doesn't mean you are an expert at everything and not making bad decisions out of stupidity.

    The automated system will likely save him money in the long run, especially if it basically turns the job into "we need someone who can meet the minimum standards to hold this particular license, and show up every day"....warm bodies are cheap.

    And then, eventually, he can maybe get rid of the operator entirely and pay nobody but the maintenance crew. I mean, good for him protecting jobs.....its downright socialist of him to forsake long term decreases in expenses and increases in efficiency for the good of the workers under him....then again, maybe he isn't the owner and is one of the guys whose job goes away if there are a lot less workers......

  9. Re:Bad idea on Snowden Reportedly In Talks To Return To US To Face Trial · · Score: 1

    I don't, I expect to see it overshadowed by the combination of trivia and other crisis, as he is quietly shuffled off to be forgotten about in some gulag.

  10. Re:It's too late... on Supreme Court Gives Tacit Approval To Warrantless DNA Collection · · Score: 2

    No, I am worried about the constant expansion of police powers, which, I think need to be rolled back.

    I am worried about surreptitious collection AT ALL. There really is no need for it. Frankly any time the police say "We think that guy there is a suspect we need to collect more about"....warrant. Period, every time, every situation....with the exception of the very time sensitive "ticking bomb" scenario.... and a very narrow one

  11. Re:It's too late... on Supreme Court Gives Tacit Approval To Warrantless DNA Collection · · Score: 2

    Yes well a rape kit is not medical testing of an unwilling doner it falls under collecting evidence directly from the scene of the crime. Its not JUST dna but actually evidence of the crime itself which, really is another matter entirely.

    We are talking about covert collection outside of the act of any crime, which is an entirely different matter. I don't know why you would conflate the two at all.

  12. Re:Politics aside for a moment. on Hillary Clinton Used Personal Email At State Dept., Possibly Breaking Rules · · Score: 2

    Because people like her always get forgiveness even if they knew there was no way in hell they would ever have gotten permission. Laws simply don't apply to Aristocrats like her as long as their system continues to function as intended.

  13. Re:Nothing wrong here. on Supreme Court Gives Tacit Approval To Warrantless DNA Collection · · Score: 1

    Actually, I generally do object to that. Not for nothing but, if they really have a reason to suspect a specific individual and be collecting such evidence at all, then they can and should get a warrant to obtain it. I see no reason to make exceptions on such thin loopholes. Such requirements should always be interpreted as STRICTLY as possible, if there is even question over whether a warrant is appropriate....fucking get one....aka DO YOUR FUCKING JOB.

    Hell even if they don't think they need one....why not get one? I see absolutely no reason NOT to get one except in the most extreme and rare of circumstances.

  14. Re:It's too late... on Supreme Court Gives Tacit Approval To Warrantless DNA Collection · · Score: 1

    I don't see how this is the least bit relevant. Medical studies should be done on willing doners....there is no excuse to do otherwise. Anyone involved in doing this sort of research in such an unethical manner belongs in prison if you ask me.

  15. Re:Violation of Federal Law on Feds Admit Stingray Can Disrupt Bystanders' Communications · · Score: 1

    That would make sense to me for a suit against any entity....except the government. The one organization that has no excuse for breaking the law without extremely good and public justification *IS* the government itself. They should always be under more scrutiny and their crimes held as especially aggravating because its their job to uphold them.

    I would argue that whenever the government breaks the law, all citizens are victims as the law itself was the promise they made to us.

  16. Re:Violation of Federal Law on Feds Admit Stingray Can Disrupt Bystanders' Communications · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As I recall, wasn't this one of the first issues in Roe V Wade? Specifically it was that a woman who was being blocked from a medically necessary abortion would effectively be barred the right to bring her issue to court because the issue of pregnancy would likely be over, either with a birth or her death before the courts could be expected to have ruled on the matter... leading to a necessary exception to normal standing rules.

    Seems similar here....since no person who was a victim would ever know they were and would know they had standing to bring a case, it seems that normal standing rules would effectivly deny such a case from ever being heard even if it was an otherwise valid case, so it seems to me it would warrant an exception.

  17. "Feds admit, they probably belong in prison" on Feds Admit Stingray Can Disrupt Bystanders' Communications · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That is how I read these story headlines. Exactly how I read them, a fact which has been obvious since the whole fiasco with NDA agreements came out. They know they are not respecting people's rights, they KNOW what they are doing would not withstand an hour of public scrutiny.

    In short, the federal government is harboring criminals who belong in prison, and is currently helping protect them and pay them to commit more crimes rather than admit the truth.

  18. Re:It should stand two degrees, for sure! on 20-Year-Old Military Weather Satellite Explodes In Orbit · · Score: 2

    Temperature spike could also be a runaway fault in the power supply. You have a power supply and a device likely full of hypergolic fuel for station keeping; I don't think system fault is really ruled out here either.

  19. Re:I just must be drunk. on Fighting Scams Targeting the Elderly With Old-School Tech · · Score: 1

    > Think about it as being along the lines of the "just say no" campaign

    Yes, I did, that was a moronic campaign too. Just like the "just say no" campaign, its entirely useless slogan by people who don't understand a problem and who have no desire to actually help anything, they just want an excuse to say "A solution exists, so go fuck yourself and leave me alone"

  20. Re:I just must be drunk. on Fighting Scams Targeting the Elderly With Old-School Tech · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yes because basic human compassion for your own family is such a negative trait, maybe we should beat it right out of people?

    Good luck. Yah, ALL we have to do is convince a significant number of people to ignore basic human empathy if that empathy is not within our narrow world view. People are free to live how they want as long as they do so in the way you have proscribed for them, problem solved eh?

  21. Re:Bah. on Reddit Imposes Ban On Sexual Content Posted Without Permission · · Score: 0

    On one hand I agree, you are right about our ridiculous nudity taboos. On the other, does it matter whether its clothed or not? The intention of this sort of posting is clearly malicious. Yes its silly that people get treated badly for being seen nude, yes its stupid that anybody cares, but, if it were actually the case that being nude wasn't such a taboo, then forums like this wouldn't exist.

    To put it another way, I don't particularly care if someone wants to walk out his house and down the street as nude as the day he was born. I wouldn't personally treat him any different from anyone else.

    Yet, I still am bothered by someone who would walk up to people in a park; open his trench coat and force his nakedness on others. It isn't really the same thing as just being naked or being seen naked.

    Similarly, there is a difference between posting pics with permission, of which there is no shortage out there, and posting something you know you wouldn't get permission for. They really are two very different act, even though they are technically the same actions.

    And yes, its nudity taboos that give power to the action and we need to get over them, but, we also don't need to coddle the petty assholes who don't think consent matters.

  22. Re:There's still a legal problem on FedEx Won't Ship DIY Gunsmithing Machine · · Score: 1

    And their "belief" need not be based on anything at all, afterall.

    I was reading a case about a man. A man who essentially bothered a police officer. He interfered with an arrest, he was told to leave the scene, he flailed his arms wildly while interfering and being told to leave.

    This man was arrested for disorderly conduct. The courts basically neutered the entire concept of disorderly conduct and ruled none of this constituted it.

    Now, if police had to base their belief as to what the law was on that, then maybe they would be liable for false arrest for arresting people for disorderly conduct as they continue to do today more than 20 years later. However, they still seem to "believe" that anything that annoys them is disorderly conduct.... so it continues to be an arrestable offence but not a crime because....all police need to do is "believe" the same way....and they are absolved of any liability.

  23. Re:About right on In Florida, Secrecy Around Stingray Leads To Plea Bargain For a Robber · · Score: 2

    Most small time drug dealers are just feeding their own habbit and can't afford to buy enough at once to actually make more than they use themselves.

    And either way, fuck you for thinking its ok to threaten someone with violence and rob them...for any fucking reason. There is no excuse, I don't give a shit what he was doing.

    His "crime" doesn't even have a victim; theirs does.

  24. Re:This is why..... on New Android Trojan Fakes Device Shut Down, Spies On Users · · Score: 1

    This is one of the things that pisses me off about droids as awell. I bought the fucking hardware, its my phone. If I break it, I buy a new one. So why don't I have access to the root acount. I don't want to run everythng as root, but I shouldn't need an exploit to get it and run apps that need it.

    And maybe, if they designed with that access in mind, and didn't make people use exploits to get root access....maybe if they stopped treating it like hardare I was borrowing instead of buying we could have mechanisms to deal with this access better.

  25. Re:This is why..... on New Android Trojan Fakes Device Shut Down, Spies On Users · · Score: 2

    In theory I agree, in practice, this requirement is imposed by the intersection of the other stated requirement "privacy" and the necessary capabilities of the device known as a "smart phone".

    You can't really have a device that does what a smart phone does and isn't a privacy risk without some sort of hard power disconnect.

    You could, otoh, leave the phone in another room, or lock it inside a soundproof box. There are many solutiuons but none of them involve "hit the soft off switch and put it in your pocket"