Well... crap. I had a DISH install scheduled for next Saturday. I'm calling to cancel it right now. I refuse to be caught with a paperweight for a DVR when Battlestar Galactica starts up Season 3.
Agreed. Even my fatalist point of view doesn't mean you take unnecessary risks; I always wear my seat belt. The FAA makes sure mechanics are trained not to cross-thread bolts, new laws limit overtime for truck drivers so they don't fall asleep and t-bone cars, and stores sell great tasting fiber cereals you can eat to reduce your chances of colon cancer.
But there's a line between taking reasonable precautions and terror-phobic paranoia. Keeping our "core values" in mind may help prevent some unreasonable knee-jerk ideas from becoming permanent amendments to our culture.
And if some ali-baba wants to have a go at me in-flight with a pair of toenail clippers and a keychain... bring it on.
Exactly. There's a balance we need to find there. People need to come to grips with the fact that there are risks involved with everything in life. You can endure 2 hours of security checking complete with MRI scan, breathalyzer, biometric database check, and full body cavity search. But in the end if some mechanic cross-threaded a bolt two months ago you may still go down in a huge flaming ball of aluminum. Or worse, you get where you are going and drive out of the airport only to get t-boned by a semi. Or reach home with a sigh of relief having avoided all dangers only to get a call from your doctor that your colon cancer test came back positive and you're going to be shown the door anyway.
The terrorists might get you. Sasquatch might too. Accept it, live well and enjoy your short stay here on the pretty blue rock.
Well, you may be right about that. Fortunately I've never been charged with anything to result in enough personal legal experience to counter. Either way, you've successfully dashed any ideas I ever had about self-representation if I ever get hauled in. I'm sure you've done me a favor.
And notice they only refer to "magnetic tapes." So what are we talking here- VHS or Betamax?
I remember I used to work on a bank computer a few years ago - a 286 for crying out loud, running DOS 4.something. It was attached to an antique piece of hardware interface for a proprietary magnetic tape system from a company that bit the dust many moons before. The bank had thousands of tapes that could only be read by this one computer. No hope of driver support, documentation, anything. The goal was to just keep that thing running long enough for the statute to run out on holding the data. Ugh.
I wonder if NASA is like some of us, secretly nursing along a Betamax machine in a back room somewhere because they haven't found the time yet to transfer the tapes to another format?
And now the tapes have disappeared. (yelling):"Honey, have you seen my moon tapes? You know, the ones I was saving for when I buy a DVD burner? They were in the closet. I know they were. What do you mean, Goodwill? Ah crap. Those were important, woman!"
The only thing left for the terrorists will be explosive clothing. They'll find a way to weave C4 right into their shirts in a visually pleasing plaid pattern. But instead of actually carrying out their mission of martyrdom, they will simply mail a sample to CNN, have Bin Laden make a vague recording about it.
I can picture the result now: planeloads of people sitting wide-eyed and paranoid while shivering in little paper gowns - the kind with the backsides missing like you get at the hospital. The terrorists will not be able to stop laughing.
Sorry, you were 3 minutes late being the first to welcome the new overlords.
Everyone is over-reacting. Computers can be programmed to understand our human side. In fact, self-expression is built into the system. The webcam can see how many pieces of flair an employee is wearing on any particular day, and assign customers to tables based on the type of waitstaff personality that would produce the highest net order. And the web-enabled smoke detector can log how many times the cook sneaks into the bathroom for a cigarette, and store everyone's complaint in a database as they take up the slack according to the production schedule.
Piece of cake. No wait, I didn't order that. I'd like to speak to the manager. I have to do what?? What the hell is Telnet?
-TC ---- "In a pressure situation he could snap just like THAT." "Like THAT?" "THAT's it."
The fact that the journalist/blogger in this case has a LEGAL right to withhold the information is not even in dispute. The issue here is that the Federal government is stepping in to declare his rights null and void. How convenient. Smells like somebody made a phone call because they want this kids arse on a platter. Kudos to the young man for sticking to his guns. I'm sending him some money for legal defense.
In addition to the California statute, the First and Fifth Amendments give EVERYONE the right to withhold information about a crime. It's not necessarily the moral thing to do, but you have the right. Even if (especially if) you committed the crime yourself. You can refuse to testify, and refuse to honor any subpoena. It comes at a price, however. You can be pressured, intimidated, held in contempt, and kept in custody to help you change your mind. But it's not a crime.
Exactly. So the question before us is: "Is a blogger a journalist by definition?" If so, then they should be afforded the same rights as any journalist. So now it's a problem that we will have an entire nation of journalists? Wage laborers by day, independent news-gatherers by night, and all untouchable in court? You're right - what a can o' worms.
But if he is declared NOT a journalist, fine. Then they will have to decide who IS a journalist. Do you have to work for a media company with over 10 employees? 20? How about a media outlet on a "government sanctioned" list? Does any of that send up a red flag? Where will the line be drawn? The kid and his family are paying so all of us can find out.
What was he doing filming that stuff anyway? Why wasn't he home sitting on his genuine Italian leather sofa, watching his new HD television, enjoying his Stuffed Crust Meat Lovers Pan Pizza with Extra Cheese while trying to greasily text his vote to American Idol like we all know good citizens are supposed to be doing?
-TC ----------------- "Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people." John Adams, 2nd U.S. President
Slashdot Mirror
Well... crap. I had a DISH install scheduled for next Saturday. I'm calling to cancel it right now. I refuse to be caught with a paperweight for a DVR when Battlestar Galactica starts up Season 3.
Agreed. Even my fatalist point of view doesn't mean you take unnecessary risks; I always wear my seat belt. The FAA makes sure mechanics are trained not to cross-thread bolts, new laws limit overtime for truck drivers so they don't fall asleep and t-bone cars, and stores sell great tasting fiber cereals you can eat to reduce your chances of colon cancer.
But there's a line between taking reasonable precautions and terror-phobic paranoia. Keeping our "core values" in mind may help prevent some unreasonable knee-jerk ideas from becoming permanent amendments to our culture.
And if some ali-baba wants to have a go at me in-flight with a pair of toenail clippers and a keychain... bring it on.
Exactly. There's a balance we need to find there. People need to come to grips with the fact that there are risks involved with everything in life. You can endure 2 hours of security checking complete with MRI scan, breathalyzer, biometric database check, and full body cavity search. But in the end if some mechanic cross-threaded a bolt two months ago you may still go down in a huge flaming ball of aluminum. Or worse, you get where you are going and drive out of the airport only to get t-boned by a semi. Or reach home with a sigh of relief having avoided all dangers only to get a call from your doctor that your colon cancer test came back positive and you're going to be shown the door anyway.
The terrorists might get you. Sasquatch might too. Accept it, live well and enjoy your short stay here on the pretty blue rock.
Well, you may be right about that. Fortunately I've never been charged with anything to result in enough personal legal experience to counter. Either way, you've successfully dashed any ideas I ever had about self-representation if I ever get hauled in. I'm sure you've done me a favor.
Thanks,
-TC
And notice they only refer to "magnetic tapes." So what are we talking here- VHS or Betamax?
I remember I used to work on a bank computer a few years ago - a 286 for crying out loud, running DOS 4.something. It was attached to an antique piece of hardware interface for a proprietary magnetic tape system from a company that bit the dust many moons before. The bank had thousands of tapes that could only be read by this one computer. No hope of driver support, documentation, anything. The goal was to just keep that thing running long enough for the statute to run out on holding the data. Ugh.
I wonder if NASA is like some of us, secretly nursing along a Betamax machine in a back room somewhere because they haven't found the time yet to transfer the tapes to another format?
And now the tapes have disappeared. (yelling):"Honey, have you seen my moon tapes? You know, the ones I was saving for when I buy a DVD burner? They were in the closet. I know they were. What do you mean, Goodwill? Ah crap. Those were important, woman!"
The only thing left for the terrorists will be explosive clothing. They'll find a way to weave C4 right into their shirts in a visually pleasing plaid pattern. But instead of actually carrying out their mission of martyrdom, they will simply mail a sample to CNN, have Bin Laden make a vague recording about it.
I can picture the result now: planeloads of people sitting wide-eyed and paranoid while shivering in little paper gowns - the kind with the backsides missing like you get at the hospital. The terrorists will not be able to stop laughing.
It would never happen. She knows how to live "off the grid." That means no cell phone, no credit card, no AOL searches, and no Zaxby's ever.
Sorry, you were 3 minutes late being the first to welcome the new overlords.
Everyone is over-reacting. Computers can be programmed to understand our human side. In fact, self-expression is built into the system. The webcam can see how many pieces of flair an employee is wearing on any particular day, and assign customers to tables based on the type of waitstaff personality that would produce the highest net order. And the web-enabled smoke detector can log how many times the cook sneaks into the bathroom for a cigarette, and store everyone's complaint in a database as they take up the slack according to the production schedule.
Piece of cake. No wait, I didn't order that. I'd like to speak to the manager. I have to do what?? What the hell is Telnet?
-TC
----
"In a pressure situation he could snap just like THAT."
"Like THAT?"
"THAT's it."
http://www.thefirstamendment.org/shield-law.html
I think this link would be appropriate.
The fact that the journalist/blogger in this case has a LEGAL right to withhold the information is not even in dispute. The issue here is that the Federal government is stepping in to declare his rights null and void. How convenient. Smells like somebody made a phone call because they want this kids arse on a platter. Kudos to the young man for sticking to his guns. I'm sending him some money for legal defense.
In addition to the California statute, the First and Fifth Amendments give EVERYONE the right to withhold information about a crime. It's not necessarily the moral thing to do, but you have the right. Even if (especially if) you committed the crime yourself. You can refuse to testify, and refuse to honor any subpoena. It comes at a price, however. You can be pressured, intimidated, held in contempt, and kept in custody to help you change your mind. But it's not a crime.
-TC
----
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"
- Decimus Junius Juvenalis
Exactly. So the question before us is: "Is a blogger a journalist by definition?" If so, then they should be afforded the same rights as any journalist. So now it's a problem that we will have an entire nation of journalists? Wage laborers by day, independent news-gatherers by night, and all untouchable in court? You're right - what a can o' worms.
But if he is declared NOT a journalist, fine. Then they will have to decide who IS a journalist. Do you have to work for a media company with over 10 employees? 20? How about a media outlet on a "government sanctioned" list? Does any of that send up a red flag? Where will the line be drawn? The kid and his family are paying so all of us can find out.
What was he doing filming that stuff anyway? Why wasn't he home sitting on his genuine Italian leather sofa, watching his new HD television, enjoying his Stuffed Crust Meat Lovers Pan Pizza with Extra Cheese while trying to greasily text his vote to American Idol like we all know good citizens are supposed to be doing?
-TC
-----------------
"Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people."
John Adams, 2nd U.S. President