... i'd like to point out that fractional reserve banking is CRAZY easy to scam if you're one of the guys at the top running it.
it's entirely possible to manipulate it in such a way as to make millions of dollars of personal profit, which didn't previously exist, while technically and officially having changed nothing. (starts with putting an extra hundred into circulation, ends with pulling that initial hundred back Out, basically a zero sum equation except that, mean time, that hundred dollars has been lent out hundreds of times over, not yet been payed back, and you've ended up with the bulk of it in your pocket while other people are the ones who actually owe You. ... i'm not actually a banker so i don't remember the details of the example, but the system is Incredibly suspect. especially when it's under the control of a private entity. not that the US government would be any more trustworthy. it's too damn big and far away from the people.)
Re: NZ hospitality: rolling out the waiata, kanikani and armed raids....
indeed.
though i've never quite grasped the obsession with accommodating every cultural foible that doesn't lead to someone dieing as a direct consequence... i mean, if they came Here, the idea should be to assimilate them into Our culture. if they bring something new and useful, assimilate that too.
all the push for multi-culturalism does is generate enclaves(i believe that's the word i want) and de facto segregation...
(basically, multi-culturalism is a good thing if it's an inevitable and transitory side effect of constant immigration and assimilation of said immigrants. as a goal in and of itself it's a terrible and damaging idea.)
back to your point, if it weren't for the large number of Other issues that this would raise, i would be all for responding to such raids with gunfire and artillery...
but i know full well that any setup which would allow it would be abused to hell and gone and cause more problems than it's worth.
i still figure it to be evidence of blatant corruption bordering on treason (undermining the nation's sovereignty and the rule of law, essentially, reguardless of if that's the legal definition.) that such things can take place. ... my preferred response to corruption (well, assuming a perfect system for accurately determining guilt, which we obviously don't have) involves tying the person down so they can't move, sitting large empty chests on top of them, and slowly filling them with coins. cruel? probably. unusual? kinda the point. but it would certainly be a more useful deterrent than the current arrangement which seems to amount to 'if you're in a position to behave in a corrupt manner you're in a position where you're basically untouchable so long as you don't embarrass the bosses.'
'course, it'd be quite easily solved if the GG actually did their damn job... *refrains from engaging in pet rant reguarding the details of that one.* ... and no, replacing them with an elected official would not work. it would just render that position vulnerable to the same influences it's supposed to counter-balance. (the GG isn't just a president equivalent, the position's also basically our 'upper house'.)
given that they apparently passed a law to the effect of 'citizens of the US may not be extradited to anywhere, ever, and fuck all those reciprocal extradition agreements that we're STILL holding the other party to despite this.'...
probably not.
(i may, of course, be misremembering, but that's the impression i have from a number of things i have read.)
this one would be a little harder to get around than most.
the international connections are the major choke-points of the physical aspect of the internet, i think.
example: EVERYTHING going in and out of New Zealand goes through one of two cables.
EVERYTHING.
that's a pretty major vulnerability...
(there is a satellite up-link around somewhere, but it's an emergency backup and doesn't have anything like the necessary bandwith for normal internet usage... not to mention is even more tightly controlled.)
i kinda like NZ's phone system, where in you never get charged for Anything you didn't initiate...
someone sends you a text? they pay for it.
someone calls your phone? they pay for it.
admittedly there's the idiocy of signing up to services that charge you to have them send you texts, but even then, that's not your phone usage you're being charged for. that's the service you signed up to.
(there are two exceptions: 0800 numbers, and collect calls by way of the operator. the former is a business thing. you can set up an 0800 number, and if you do, you get charged for the incoming calls on that number. the second gives you an option of accepting the call or not, and if you don't, no one pays anything.)
... i'd think the generally psychotic behavior on the part of Iran's leadership would pretty much eliminate the relevance of 'likelihood' of them getting it in the face of how disastrous it actually happening would be. ... well, depending on the nature and consequences of preventative methods employed.
sorta like how NZ doesn't have nuclear power plants, and most of it's citizens don't want them: the odds of them going wrong are very low. almost to the point of irrelevancy (though only almost) if built correctly. however, the level of disaster if they do is unacceptably catastrophic.
none of which changes the whole whistle-blowing issue, of course, but the whole 'iran with nukes' thing Is a worrying thing.
sometimes, considering the possibility of being wrong does not eliminate the need for insurance...
which doesn't change your points about the whole 'cyber terrorism' thing, or cuba, or much of anything else, really... just my take on your first paragraph, or something.
I'd personally fear for my wellbeing more in the former, but the more abstract fear of tyranny and general evil in the latter is substantially stronger from further away. (though the closer you get to them the more scary the former seems compared to the latter)
Re: New Study Shows Moral Panics Harmful to Children!!!!1!
... ...
the part that makes it hard to describe this is that it's actually dead on.
(that said, i seem to recall a study a while back that did indicate that tvs, computer monitors, and the like actually did cause issues with small children's development, and pre-teens usage should be very limited (an hour a day, tops, from memory) for similar reasons. this wasn't a case against the tech though, it was a developmental issue which stopped being relevant by the time they were teens. seemed to be on the up and up.)
On the post: Former Federal Judge Calls US Prosecution Of Megaupload 'Really Outrageous'
Re: Re:
it's entirely possible to manipulate it in such a way as to make millions of dollars of personal profit, which didn't previously exist, while technically and officially having changed nothing. (starts with putting an extra hundred into circulation, ends with pulling that initial hundred back Out, basically a zero sum equation except that, mean time, that hundred dollars has been lent out hundreds of times over, not yet been payed back, and you've ended up with the bulk of it in your pocket while other people are the ones who actually owe You. ... i'm not actually a banker so i don't remember the details of the example, but the system is Incredibly suspect. especially when it's under the control of a private entity. not that the US government would be any more trustworthy. it's too damn big and far away from the people.)
On the post: Former Federal Judge Calls US Prosecution Of Megaupload 'Really Outrageous'
Re: Theft
On the post: US Continues To Try To Block Megaupload From Using Its Lawyers, Pretends It Has Jurisdiction Over The World
Re: The DOJ
(i'm sure the reader can figure that out.)
On the post: UK 'Snooper's Charter' Seeks To Eliminate Pesky Private Communications
Re: And this is how democracy dies...
among other things.
On the post: Why Is The US So Hostile To Foreign Entrepreneurs Who Want To Build Businesses Here?
Re: NZ hospitality: rolling out the waiata, kanikani and armed raids....
though i've never quite grasped the obsession with accommodating every cultural foible that doesn't lead to someone dieing as a direct consequence... i mean, if they came Here, the idea should be to assimilate them into Our culture. if they bring something new and useful, assimilate that too.
all the push for multi-culturalism does is generate enclaves(i believe that's the word i want) and de facto segregation...
(basically, multi-culturalism is a good thing if it's an inevitable and transitory side effect of constant immigration and assimilation of said immigrants. as a goal in and of itself it's a terrible and damaging idea.)
back to your point, if it weren't for the large number of Other issues that this would raise, i would be all for responding to such raids with gunfire and artillery...
but i know full well that any setup which would allow it would be abused to hell and gone and cause more problems than it's worth.
i still figure it to be evidence of blatant corruption bordering on treason (undermining the nation's sovereignty and the rule of law, essentially, reguardless of if that's the legal definition.) that such things can take place. ... my preferred response to corruption (well, assuming a perfect system for accurately determining guilt, which we obviously don't have) involves tying the person down so they can't move, sitting large empty chests on top of them, and slowly filling them with coins. cruel? probably. unusual? kinda the point. but it would certainly be a more useful deterrent than the current arrangement which seems to amount to 'if you're in a position to behave in a corrupt manner you're in a position where you're basically untouchable so long as you don't embarrass the bosses.'
'course, it'd be quite easily solved if the GG actually did their damn job... *refrains from engaging in pet rant reguarding the details of that one.* ... and no, replacing them with an elected official would not work. it would just render that position vulnerable to the same influences it's supposed to counter-balance. (the GG isn't just a president equivalent, the position's also basically our 'upper house'.)
On the post: US Continues To Try To Block Megaupload From Using Its Lawyers, Pretends It Has Jurisdiction Over The World
Re:
On the post: US Continues To Try To Block Megaupload From Using Its Lawyers, Pretends It Has Jurisdiction Over The World
Re: Re:
probably not.
(i may, of course, be misremembering, but that's the impression i have from a number of things i have read.)
On the post: CIA Cannot Find Its Own Regulations On How To Declassify Documents
Re:
On the post: The EU Telco Plan To Have The UN 'Tax & Track' Internet Usage Goes Against Fundamental Internet Principles
Re:
the international connections are the major choke-points of the physical aspect of the internet, i think.
example: EVERYTHING going in and out of New Zealand goes through one of two cables.
EVERYTHING.
that's a pretty major vulnerability...
(there is a satellite up-link around somewhere, but it's an emergency backup and doesn't have anything like the necessary bandwith for normal internet usage... not to mention is even more tightly controlled.)
On the post: The EU Telco Plan To Have The UN 'Tax & Track' Internet Usage Goes Against Fundamental Internet Principles
Re: Re: It is all part of the progressive movement...
On the post: The EU Telco Plan To Have The UN 'Tax & Track' Internet Usage Goes Against Fundamental Internet Principles
Re: Re: This is also a security nightmare
the application of law gets a bit weird when you get into the top 1%...
On the post: The EU Telco Plan To Have The UN 'Tax & Track' Internet Usage Goes Against Fundamental Internet Principles
Re: But you said...
On the post: The EU Telco Plan To Have The UN 'Tax & Track' Internet Usage Goes Against Fundamental Internet Principles
Re: Re: Sender pays
i kinda like NZ's phone system, where in you never get charged for Anything you didn't initiate...
someone sends you a text? they pay for it.
someone calls your phone? they pay for it.
admittedly there's the idiocy of signing up to services that charge you to have them send you texts, but even then, that's not your phone usage you're being charged for. that's the service you signed up to.
(there are two exceptions: 0800 numbers, and collect calls by way of the operator. the former is a business thing. you can set up an 0800 number, and if you do, you get charged for the incoming calls on that number. the second gives you an option of accepting the call or not, and if you don't, no one pays anything.)
On the post: Amazon Deletes Ebooks Automatically Generated From YouTube Comments Leaving Many Questions Unanswered
if nothing else: you own your own stuff? corporate (america?) has already dismissed that claim.
On the post: Politicians Grandstand About Leaks, But The Rest Of Us See The Prosecution Of Whistleblowers
Re: Re:
sorta like how NZ doesn't have nuclear power plants, and most of it's citizens don't want them: the odds of them going wrong are very low. almost to the point of irrelevancy (though only almost) if built correctly. however, the level of disaster if they do is unacceptably catastrophic.
none of which changes the whole whistle-blowing issue, of course, but the whole 'iran with nukes' thing Is a worrying thing.
sometimes, considering the possibility of being wrong does not eliminate the need for insurance...
which doesn't change your points about the whole 'cyber terrorism' thing, or cuba, or much of anything else, really... just my take on your first paragraph, or something.
On the post: Politicians Grandstand About Leaks, But The Rest Of Us See The Prosecution Of Whistleblowers
Re: Re: America lol...
On the post: Police Arrest Woman For Filming Them, Take Phone Out Of Her Bra, Claim That It Must Be Kept As 'Evidence'
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Involuntary participation in the justice system
On the post: Police Arrest Woman For Filming Them, Take Phone Out Of Her Bra, Claim That It Must Be Kept As 'Evidence'
Re: Re: Re:
hyperbolic extrapolation much?
On the post: Techno-Panic Headlines: 'Enhanced Ebooks Are Bad For Children'
Re: New Study Shows Moral Panics Harmful to Children!!!!1!
the part that makes it hard to describe this is that it's actually dead on.
(that said, i seem to recall a study a while back that did indicate that tvs, computer monitors, and the like actually did cause issues with small children's development, and pre-teens usage should be very limited (an hour a day, tops, from memory) for similar reasons. this wasn't a case against the tech though, it was a developmental issue which stopped being relevant by the time they were teens. seemed to be on the up and up.)
On the post: Tell The White House To Stop Illegally Seizing & Shutting Down Websites
Re: Re:
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