What I do not like about this situation, is that our security and law enforcement agencies have been known to use propaganda and direct our mass media through films and TV shows so we understand there are nefarious groups out there that will do horrible things to us unless they protect us.
Then when someone mentions that these nefarious groups could possible be in someones employ, quite easily doing nefarious things to law enforcement persons, it suddenly becomes a red flag. They want to have their cake, and eat it too...
This is plain idiocracy. Like a legit terrorist is going to send a payment over a phone and actually name the organization and purpose of the funds.
I agree with Tim. This is just corporate and governmental laziness and incompetence. This is a sad state of affairs when I cannot go to an Isis concert and later pay back someone for beers I consumed there. \m/
I am a musician too, so I know there is no accounting for taste. Stylistically and production-wise, it is not of poor quality. Using loop libraries does not reduce the merit of a musician. Tools are tools. Using your tools effectively is the focus. In this they did a great job. I would probably have less admiration for them if they really put a huge amount of work into the writing and production of a Trump parody track.
The most notable aspect of the track and video though, is how effectively they captured Trumps arrogant and abusive nature, while also making certain he is the sole focus of the video. Virtually appeasing his unstoppable ego. An extremely simple and effective production. Nearly 35K plays. Brilliant.
Keep in mind that on May 20, it will have been 2 years since the Snowden revelations, and since then we have had more leaks from various sources, not less. So apparently there "extreme precautions", are not working. The scare tactics they use are less effective in the full light of day, and anything we can do to push them further into the corners helps us maintain, or regain, our freedom and privacy.
"is it bc I'm a girl who created something you tech-boys didn't?"
Yeah, you totally got us there. You took a great idea of making a free & useful interactive guide to assist people, and made an ugly vector drawing poster that no self-respecting programmer would ever consider putting on their wall. Then decided to charge 30-50$ for it. Why was I not surprised to see you hail from California. Only those bums in Santa Monica would think this was "art".
You are right, that is troubling. Because people were saying it was even happening with home movies, and on 3rd party applications. Which suggests the TVs were preloaded with advertisements to feed into whatever signal that hit the screen. And if they are preloaded with that, what else has been preloaded? Or what plans do they have for this in the future?
“The percentage of drone strikes that have hit American citizens is so small as to be negligible.”
It is concerning because it sets a scary precedent. “American Citizen”, should be enough for a drone strike to be questioned. Not calling into account your supposed affiliations, your feelings on religion. The gathering of unreliable metadata. Blowing up the location of your phone and not an actual identifiable target. Not to mention collateral damage. There are a hundred ways this operation can evolve unchecked into you getting blown up in front of your house because they saw you wearing a Muslimgauze t-shirt on Facebook.
“The idea that we have to win the hearts and minds of groups of people who are either actively plotting against Americans or harbor those people is silly.”
It is not a question of winning them over. It is a question of not exacerbating an already horrible situation. You can never defeat an enemy if your actions only serve to create more enemies. You drone strike a person of interest, or even still drone strike the phone of a POI, who happens to be carried by an aunt who is taking the POI kids to school. Now you potentially have made an enemy of everyone at that school, in the village/town. In that region. You kill one target, and create hundreds more that will begin to hate you. Especially if you hide or obscure the fact that it even happened. I am not saying Americans need to be likable- let's just begin with not having everyone hate us.
“Nor, mind you, has the terrorist groups' lack of explanation on why they so often hide among those that would end up being collateral damage.“
We sure like to talk about how we are better than them, or how we have things like freedom that they hate. Shouldn't we take the higher road and act like how we want to be treated? If we employ the same tactics as those we condemn. How are we any better at all?
Yes- that is a great point that too often gets glossed over. If security of these documents is so awful that a mid level contractor can access and copy them, and they STILL have no idea what Snowden took. How are they so certain the system has not be compromised in other ways? How do they know that other contractors are not using the system for their own purposes [cointelpro upgraded]. It looks to me that there only defense against this is fear tactics. A nefarious individual would work right through that nonsense.
I also cannot bring myself to agree with you. "Constitutional violations are just that". That statement does not work with a system, organization, or administration that picks and chooses how it interprets and adheres to the Constitution.
I don't agree. I think motivation is an important factor. If his motivation was self-serving, there are a handful of ways he could have exploited this situation to his benefit. Opposed to sacrificing himself, giving away classified info, and allowing journalists and the public to have a debate while the organizations in question are only concerned with damage control. Not improving their security or allowing oversight on their methods and results.
That was a great conclusion. Brings to mind what a masterful trap successful marketing is. When you forget what a device or product is named and start calling it by the company that created or manufactured it. You can go into any office in the US and ask to make a Xerox and they will understand you. Try going into an office and ask to make a Lexmark.
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Re:
Art Imitating Reality
Then when someone mentions that these nefarious groups could possible be in someones employ, quite easily doing nefarious things to law enforcement persons, it suddenly becomes a red flag. They want to have their cake, and eat it too...
(untitled comment)
I agree with Tim. This is just corporate and governmental laziness and incompetence. This is a sad state of affairs when I cannot go to an Isis concert and later pay back someone for beers I consumed there. \m/
Re: Bad music, bad lyrics
The most notable aspect of the track and video though, is how effectively they captured Trumps arrogant and abusive nature, while also making certain he is the sole focus of the video. Virtually appeasing his unstoppable ego. An extremely simple and effective production. Nearly 35K plays. Brilliant.
(untitled comment)
It is not all doom & gloom
(untitled comment)
Ever.
(untitled comment)
Yeah, you totally got us there. You took a great idea of making a free & useful interactive guide to assist people, and made an ugly vector drawing poster that no self-respecting programmer would ever consider putting on their wall. Then decided to charge 30-50$ for it. Why was I not surprised to see you hail from California. Only those bums in Santa Monica would think this was "art".
Re:
Re: Writing for the minority
It is concerning because it sets a scary precedent. “American Citizen”, should be enough for a drone strike to be questioned. Not calling into account your supposed affiliations, your feelings on religion. The gathering of unreliable metadata. Blowing up the location of your phone and not an actual identifiable target. Not to mention collateral damage. There are a hundred ways this operation can evolve unchecked into you getting blown up in front of your house because they saw you wearing a Muslimgauze t-shirt on Facebook.
“The idea that we have to win the hearts and minds of groups of people who are either actively plotting against Americans or harbor those people is silly.”
It is not a question of winning them over. It is a question of not exacerbating an already horrible situation. You can never defeat an enemy if your actions only serve to create more enemies. You drone strike a person of interest, or even still drone strike the phone of a POI, who happens to be carried by an aunt who is taking the POI kids to school. Now you potentially have made an enemy of everyone at that school, in the village/town. In that region. You kill one target, and create hundreds more that will begin to hate you. Especially if you hide or obscure the fact that it even happened. I am not saying Americans need to be likable- let's just begin with not having everyone hate us.
“Nor, mind you, has the terrorist groups' lack of explanation on why they so often hide among those that would end up being collateral damage.“
We sure like to talk about how we are better than them, or how we have things like freedom that they hate. Shouldn't we take the higher road and act like how we want to be treated? If we employ the same tactics as those we condemn. How are we any better at all?
Re: Re:
Re: Re: It doesn't matter what his motivations were
Re: It doesn't matter what his motivations were
(untitled comment)
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