Apparently Comcast and the like have us so well-conditioned to accept the crap they offer (and their ever-increasing prices) that we're terrified of leaving for fear something else might be worse.
It's almost like an abusive spouse who's convinced his target to stay in the abusive relationship, because it's rough out there in the world and at least here you know what to expect and there's a roof over your head.
(P.S. I don't mean in any way to trivialize domestic violence, which is obviously a far more serious problem.)
Can we focus please on the actual wrongdoing for which we have evidence rather than the ravings of InfoWars?
Why not do both, you ask? Because reality-challenged conspiracy theorists waste time and energy that could be spent working against documented abuses, and they give abusers an opportunity to put all those critical of government abuse in the "nutjob conspiracy theorist" camp. In fact, if I were conspiracy-minded, I'd say that InfoWars is a government plot to make conspiracy theorists look bad. ...
Wait. Suddenly it's all becoming clear to me... OMFSM.
I think that Techdirt's slant is anti-abuse (not just about torture, but abuse of all sorts) more than anti-war-on-terror.
Good point.
A lot of the readers here do actually care about the moral aspect of this. It's important, and it's not getting the attention it should be.
Also, when the government uses the same rationale ("because terrorism") to attempt to justify torture as it does to justify mass surveillance and collection of private information (using technology), I'd say it is relevant to a tech forum.
(And it's not like we're not getting plenty of Techdirt pieces about copyright. AC could always just skip the torture posts.)
Wikimedia's co-plaintiffs are The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, PEN American Center, Global Fund for Women, The Nation Magazine, The Rutherford Institute, and Washington Office on Latin America.
Sue Google for linking to Oettinger's speech, leading to severe mental trauma and possibly brain damage. (I know I have a headache after reading even one paragraph of it.)
Demand the right to forget that such a speech exists.
It is still just a proposal. A terrible proposal, but at least that's all it is. So far.
The proposal is one of several canvassed in a discussion paper on a review of the Customs and Excise Act that was released by Customs yesterday, none of which are official government policy.
On the post: FCC Outlines Plan To Crush Awful State Protectionist Broadband Laws
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On the post: FCC Outlines Plan To Crush Awful State Protectionist Broadband Laws
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Apparently Comcast and the like have us so well-conditioned to accept the crap they offer (and their ever-increasing prices) that we're terrified of leaving for fear something else might be worse.
It's almost like an abusive spouse who's convinced his target to stay in the abusive relationship, because it's rough out there in the world and at least here you know what to expect and there's a roof over your head.
(P.S. I don't mean in any way to trivialize domestic violence, which is obviously a far more serious problem.)
On the post: CIA Worked With DOJ To Re-Purpose Foreign Surveillance Airborne Cell Tower Spoofers For Domestic Use
On the post: Lawsuit Over DHS First Amendment-Violating Suspicious Activity Reports Given Green Light By Judge
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Very bad comparison
Why not do both, you ask? Because reality-challenged conspiracy theorists waste time and energy that could be spent working against documented abuses, and they give abusers an opportunity to put all those critical of government abuse in the "nutjob conspiracy theorist" camp. In fact, if I were conspiracy-minded, I'd say that InfoWars is a government plot to make conspiracy theorists look bad. ...
Wait. Suddenly it's all becoming clear to me... OMFSM.
On the post: Lawsuit Over DHS First Amendment-Violating Suspicious Activity Reports Given Green Light By Judge
Re: Re: Re: Very bad comparison
On the post: FBI Hasn't Read Full Torture Report; Says There's Nothing To Learn From It
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Good point.
A lot of the readers here do actually care about the moral aspect of this. It's important, and it's not getting the attention it should be.
Also, when the government uses the same rationale ("because terrorism") to attempt to justify torture as it does to justify mass surveillance and collection of private information (using technology), I'd say it is relevant to a tech forum.
(And it's not like we're not getting plenty of Techdirt pieces about copyright. AC could always just skip the torture posts.)
On the post: Canadian Town Bans Spitting, Swearing And Gathering In Groups Of Three Or More
Re: And just like that
Possibly alarm clocks as well (or their more modern variations).
And of course sirens of all kind.
...
"Welcome to Taber, the Quietest Town on Earth"
On the post: Canadian Town Bans Spitting, Swearing And Gathering In Groups Of Three Or More
It sounds like the Taber Police Service has quite enough tools already.
(Wait, does that count as swearing?)
On the post: Cable Proudly Declares Smart Shoppers A 'Lower Quality' Of Customer They Have No Interest In
Lower quality customers unite!
crappy programming
outrageous bills
atrocious customer service
dismissive execs
...
On the post: Wikimedia Sues NSA Over Its Mass Surveillance Program
Not just Wikimedia
And all represented by the ACLU.
Not a bad group.
On the post: Former Revenge Pornster Chance Trahan Reinvents Himself... As Shark Tank's Daymond John
Can't we save some of those valuable percents for "Don't be such an asshole"? Because that is how all this started.
On the post: EU Digital Commissioner: Net Neutrality Is A 'Taliban-Like' Issue
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Demand the right to forget that such a speech exists.
On the post: EU Digital Commissioner: Net Neutrality Is A 'Taliban-Like' Issue
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The only reasonable conclusion is that Günther Oettinger was high when he made this speech.
(Either that, or the translation was hugely inaccurate. I assume that would be easier to check than Commissioner Oettinger's sobriety.)
On the post: Canadian Border Patrol Charge Traveler With 'Obstruction' For Refusing To Give Up His Phone Password
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(You are right, of course.)
On the post: Canadian Border Patrol Charge Traveler With 'Obstruction' For Refusing To Give Up His Phone Password
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On the post: New Anti-Corruption Social Network In Russia Requires Numerous Personal Details To Join: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
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On the post: Theater Chains Pout, Boycott Netflix's New Movie To Protect Antiquated Release Windows
Re: Run that by me again?
On the post: New Anti-Corruption Social Network In Russia Requires Numerous Personal Details To Join: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Re:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/04/pro-russia-trolls-ukraine-guardian-online#im g-1
On the post: Suburban Express Changes Terms Of Service To Screw Sued College Students Out Of University-Provided Legal Aid
Re:
On the post: Australian Secretary Of Defense Not Concerned About Phone Hack; Doesn't Think People Want To Spy On His Phone
Re: Ignorance
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