Before Snowdens revelations there were 2 million people with top secret clearances in the US.
Because idiots with clearances keep grading stuff secret, which leads to more people who need clearances to get their work done, which leads to even more people grading stuff secret.
I'd guess it's now 3 million clearances, and this move will add a few more idiots to the mess.
In Switzerland, most cantons (like states in the US, only much smaller) do. The software is written in Java and runs (at least) on Windows, Mac and Linux. And the revenue services surely don't hide it:
Nice idea, but that won't work, because we can't read epub6 or pdf 5.2. Of course, we could compile these from the source we brought as well, but we don't have a driver for ext7 or btrfs3 filesystems. And even if we had, we still lack a nano-sd interface.
If your government (or police) can do as it pleases, including robbing arbitrary people, the people will loose all restraint that keep them from becoming criminal themselves.
You'll end up with a downward spiral of criminals.
Are you saying there isn't any national security component to our telecom infrastructure?
None. At least according to the actions of the CIA and NSA -- and national government itself. Leaving companies for three years with open vulnerabilities. On purpose. So they can spy on them. Wannacry?
There are only two options: Either everyone can be safe, or nobody can.
And as long as there are entities hoarding exploits, these very same exploits will be used against the allies of these entities.
So the NSA actively endangers the US, including their army, hospitals, police, firefighters, electrical grid, power plants, industry, government agencies and finally, all citizens.
And it doesn't help that the CIA, FBI and dozens of other agencies do the same. And all other countries and their agencies too.
The only responsible thing to do is to publish each and every vulnerability; as soon as possible.
"Will be mandatory", actually. As soon as every country has implemented a law following the directive.
And, as soon as the courts decide the new copyright directives are NOT in fact illegal violations of human rights; and thus the countrys that did not implement the directive after two years are at fault and do have to pay the fines that were imposed because of that, and that they do have to implement the directive.
Which is not going to happen, because some of the articles, notably article ex-13, is actually in violation of the European declaration of human rights and shouldn't have been accepted ever. Now it will have to be rendered void by judges. Again.
But I expect article ex-11 (ancillary rights) and ex-12 (expropration of authors by publishers) will remain. We'll see.
On the post: CBP Employees Obtain New Accountability Shield With 'Security Agency' Designation
2 million top-secret clearances
Before Snowdens revelations there were 2 million people with top secret clearances in the US.
Because idiots with clearances keep grading stuff secret, which leads to more people who need clearances to get their work done, which leads to even more people grading stuff secret.
I'd guess it's now 3 million clearances, and this move will add a few more idiots to the mess.
On the post: Audit Indicates Intuit Made $1 Billion By Hiding Free File Program From The Public
Why doesn't government provide the software?
In Switzerland, most cantons (like states in the US, only much smaller) do. The software is written in Java and runs (at least) on Windows, Mac and Linux. And the revenue services surely don't hide it:
https://www.steueramt.zh.ch/internet/finanzdirektion/ksta/de/steuererklaerung/software.html (English page very incomplete.)
What it's not yet, is compliant to "public money, public code".
On the post: Officer Charged With Felony Murder Now Facing Seven More Charges Over Deadly No-Knock Raid
Re: Obligatory referential joke
Wow. Reality sure imitates art.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWbIxFKtTmE
On the post: Facebook Claims Users Sign Up Because They Want To See Personalized Ads, Max Schrems Disagrees -- And Usually Wins These GDPR Arguments
Re: On reading and reading comprehension
The terms of service aren't really relevant, as you can't make agreements that are against the law in the first place.
Every article of a TOS which disagrees with a law is automatically invalid within its jurisdiction.
On the post: The Color Magenta, Or How T-Mobile Thinks It Owns A General Color
Re: Oooh hex codes.
... And its only trademarked for services and goods in the telecommunications market. Which Lemonade does not.
So this lawsuit by Telekom is completely bogus in every aspect.
On the post: Gizmodo Media's Clueless New Owners Tell Reporters They Can't Use Encrypted Email Any More
Re: There's nothing unreasonable about a dress code
You must be US American.
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Re:
Sorry, but “White nationalists” not necessarily. They can be, of course.
https://rense.com/general37/fascism.htm
There is nothing here that says anything about skin colour; and in fact, there are proto-fascist régimes in Africa.
On the post: Filipina Girl From New Zealand Takes Her Slime Show International After Fending Off Nickelodeon Lawsuit
Slime is a German Punk band https://www.slime.de
On the post: Why The Appearance Of A One Terabyte microSD Card Means The War On Unauthorized Music Downloads Is (Almost) Over
Re:
Nice idea, but that won't work, because we can't read epub6 or pdf 5.2. Of course, we could compile these from the source we brought as well, but we don't have a driver for ext7 or btrfs3 filesystems. And even if we had, we still lack a nano-sd interface.
On the post: Russian Spy Discovers The Hard Way How Much His Smartphone's Metadata Reveals About His Activities
It's an excellent analysis, but there are some open points:
On the post: Vegan Food Manufacturers Sue State Over Unconstitutional Law Banning Them From Using Meat Words
Re: Re:
Mammals. They're called mammals, those species that produce milk with mammal glands.
On the post: Maybe Epic's Claims For Exclusivity Strategy To Benefit The Gaming Industry Isn't Entirely Crazy
Re: Linux Support
They're not just making games store-exclusive, but platform-exclusive. And that's my loss, and the loss of everyone because it favours the incumbent.
On the post: UK Government's Latest Take On Asset Forfeiture Is Pretty Much 'You Can't Afford That!'
Bad move
If your government (or police) can do as it pleases, including robbing arbitrary people, the people will loose all restraint that keep them from becoming criminal themselves.
You'll end up with a downward spiral of criminals.
On the post: After Decades Of Demanding China 'Respect' US Patent Law, Senator Rubio Pushes Law That Says US Can Ignore Huawei Enforcing Patents
Re: Zero empathy
"Intellectual Property" is a government granted artificial monopoly. That's not "wealth" by any measurement.
Besides, ideas are not wealth either; only producing something out of these ideas produces wealth.
On the post: Site-Blocking In Australia Expanded Again To Include 105 More Sites, Including A Search Engine
Penal Colony
It's not that Australia started out as a penal colony, but that it's becoming one.
On the post: Comcast Forgets To Delete Evidence It's Using Evil Fansubs In Its Streaming Service
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Could be worse. I got a parcel via Swaziland. Took nearly a year for the detour.
And the official languages here in Switzerland are German, French, Italian and Romansh; in this case it's about either English or German subtitles
On the post: Comcast Forgets To Delete Evidence It's Using Evil Fansubs In Its Streaming Service
Re: Re:
Because of historical confusion. It was King in 1776, of course. King George III that is.
On the post: Forget Huawei, The Internet Of Things Is The Real Security Threat
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Are you saying there isn't any national security component to our telecom infrastructure?
None. At least according to the actions of the CIA and NSA -- and national government itself. Leaving companies for three years with open vulnerabilities. On purpose. So they can spy on them. Wannacry?
On the post: Chinese Spies Intercepted NSA Malware Attack, Weaponized It Against Targets Around The World
There are only two options: Either everyone can be safe, or nobody can.
And as long as there are entities hoarding exploits, these very same exploits will be used against the allies of these entities.
So the NSA actively endangers the US, including their army, hospitals, police, firefighters, electrical grid, power plants, industry, government agencies and finally, all citizens.
And it doesn't help that the CIA, FBI and dozens of other agencies do the same. And all other countries and their agencies too.
The only responsible thing to do is to publish each and every vulnerability; as soon as possible.
On the post: YouTube Copyright Filters Suck: The 'Beat Saber' And 'Jimmy Fallon' Edition
Re:
"Will be mandatory", actually. As soon as every country has implemented a law following the directive.
And, as soon as the courts decide the new copyright directives are NOT in fact illegal violations of human rights; and thus the countrys that did not implement the directive after two years are at fault and do have to pay the fines that were imposed because of that, and that they do have to implement the directive.
Which is not going to happen, because some of the articles, notably article ex-13, is actually in violation of the European declaration of human rights and shouldn't have been accepted ever. Now it will have to be rendered void by judges. Again.
But I expect article ex-11 (ancillary rights) and ex-12 (expropration of authors by publishers) will remain. We'll see.
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