Messages

51

Living Room / Re: More Abuses of Technology - Government Surveillance - Computer Confiscation

« on: May 18, 2008, 09:08 PM »

It sounds like mankind has just wasted last 300 years of path to democracy. It is also sad to see that some people would be blindly happy to bring middle ages back in the name of freedom and soverign nation concept.

-kartal (May 18, 2008, 08:50 PM)

Geez
For the umpteenth time, the United States is not a democracy, it's a representative republic. Hence the reason we have congress critters, senators and the electoral college.
We elect people to represent us and do what is best to secure the nation and oversee the needs of the citizens.
If we don't like it we elect someone else to do the job.

Btw we are not talking about "search", we are talking about confiscating people`s laptops and their content. So I think that that was another spin.

So I suppose it's a grievous human rights violation to confiscate that piece of fruit or bottles of liquor that are in your luggage too?

Who's doing the spin?

52

Living Room / Re: More Abuses of Technology - Government Surveillance - Computer Confiscation

« on: May 18, 2008, 08:40 PM »

They do detain American citizens in other countries.

Do you mean that you are fine with some country unlawfully(without a search warrant and evidence) detaining an american citizen, confisacting their computer and downloading whole content of her/his laptop to their system  at their border ?

-kartal (May 18, 2008, 08:14 PM)

Hyperbole.
Anyone is subject to search at any border crossing, there is no innate human right to take anything you please anywhere in the world. Anyone who thinks so is self deluding.
There is no "warrant" necessary to search your person or belongings, the rules of search and seizure are prominently displayed at all points of entry.
Anyone has the freedom to abide by the rules or to not travel to that destination, it's all very simple really.
If you're so worried about "the gubmint" seeing what's on your laptop then leave it at home.

53

Living Room / Re: More Abuses of Technology - Government Surveillance - Computer Confiscation

« on: May 18, 2008, 07:29 PM »

"And heaven forbid that a sovereign country would have the nerve to control what crosses it's own borders right?"  tell me the same thing next time someone detains an american citizen in another country ok?

-kartal (May 18, 2008, 07:10 PM)

They do detain American citizens in other countries.
Being soverign nations they also have a right to determine who and what comes into their country.
I guess it's only evil if Americans do it.

54

Living Room / Re: More Abuses of Technology - Government Surveillance - Computer Confiscation

« on: May 18, 2008, 06:56 PM »

Gee, so it's all the "evil gubmints" fault huh?
I suppose the consensus here is that the "evil gubmint" masterminded 911, or how about the Lockerbie bombing?
And heaven forbid that a sovereign country would have the nerve to control what crosses it's own borders right?
I suppose there's no one in the world who would wish harm on all us "enlightened, civilized" people.

I wonder what the opinions would be if there was a "911" or a "Lockerbie bombing" once a month or so. If more and more people lost others that they knew and loved?
Then people would be screaming for the "evil gubmint" to do something.

No winners possible here are there?

55

Living Room / Re: To Compress or not to compress

« on: May 14, 2008, 09:40 PM »

Last, iirc there's some fragmentation-related issues once you enable NTFS compression, but I can't remember the details and I'm not in the mood for googling it up 

No biggy, like I said, just interested in the users here.
I can google around also but I'm more interested in personal takes on it.

56

Living Room / To Compress or not to compress

« on: May 14, 2008, 09:19 PM »

Just out of curiosity, how do you all feel about compressing your main drives?
Does everyone do it?
Any pros and most importantly cons?
I can google around I suppose and get opinions but I was wondering how folks here feel about it.

57

Living Room / Re: Earthquake

« on: April 18, 2008, 07:50 PM »

Actually by far the worst thing was not the pain in my mouth, it was the intense burning in my hands that has lasted almost 24 hours.  Crazy!

One lesson I learned years ago when me and my buddies used to drink beer and eat jalapenos', always wash your hands before using the head.
There are worse places to burn than your hands.  

58

Living Room / Re: Earthquake

« on: April 18, 2008, 07:19 PM »

There was a small earthquake in the same area in the late 80's, I lived in Indianapolis at the time and we felt it then.

59

Living Room / Re: Top 10 Most Depressing Quotes from Orwell's 1984

« on: March 18, 2008, 08:53 PM »

Out of respect for mouser I'll let this drop, but first I would recommend that before anyone takes "1984" at face value as some sort of blue print for oppression around the world, that they also read Harlan Ellison's "the Glass Teat".
Maybe get a little perspective on the difference between reality and fiction. 

60

Living Room / Re: Top 10 Most Depressing Quotes from Orwell's 1984

« on: March 18, 2008, 10:57 AM »

There's no such thing as absolute freedom either, every choice has consequences.

And who decides?
One persons moral stance, ie. I hate fat people, is another persons oppression.
So basically you're all in favor of "big brother", you just want to quibble about who oppresses who.

As long as it's opression you approve of it's OK, but if groups your opposed to take a moral stance then that's evil oppression.

There's a lot of problems in the world today, and a decent amount is caused directly or indirectly by the US. Some of it is a PUSH effect by your president, by some of the megacorps etc., some of it is a PULL effect because people imitate some of the not-so-good things like your fast food culture, Gangzta attitude, etc. I'm not saying the US is responsible for all trouble in the world, we have a lot of our own even in little Denmark, I'm just saying there is an influence, and it's pretty big.

So we twist arms to influence people with our culture?
You see, it's not our fault that the rest of the world doessn't understand "freedom". They are free to imitate us or not, setting limits on yourself is what being an adult is about.
The idea that it's our fault because others can't control themselves is childish.

61

Living Room / Re: Top 10 Most Depressing Quotes from Orwell's 1984

« on: March 18, 2008, 12:36 AM »

hey guys and gals, remember that we try to avoid politics on this forum! 

-mouser (March 17, 2008, 11:29 PM)

Why?
It's alright if libtards vent, why can't I?
I'm pointing out the hypocrisy.
Earlier we had someone bemoaning the moral judgement of the "religious right", like in,"How dare they make a moral judgement!!!!".
Yet in Saudi Arabia they behead women who commit adultery and gay men, in Iran they hang them and kill homosexuals.
Stoning is common for moral crimes among Muslims.
Last I heard Christians ain't doing that, but they are more vilified and feared than sharia law and are paving the way for "big brother".
Give me a freaking break.
And the truth is that for over 2000 years Europeans have been responsible for or acquiescent to way more mass murder than we have in our roughly 250, Europe is where we got the word slave.
The perversion of the Catholic Church and Christianity during the inquisition was a European thing.
So IMO ain't no euroweenie can sit on his high horse and lecture me about freedom and human rights.
So save it for the other kool-aide drinkers fodder.

62

Living Room / Re: Top 10 Most Depressing Quotes from Orwell's 1984

« on: March 17, 2008, 11:10 PM »

Both of those sound like good ideas to me... the .us health system is basically fail, compared to how it works in non-privatized countries. And fatness is becoming a serious health problem. Imho snacks and soft drinks have no place in schools, the sugar intake makes you dull & tired & bad at learning.

So it's all right for the government to tell you what to eat and how much to weigh?
How about where to spend your money and how much, who to give it to and so on?
Who the hell are you to determine how much someone is entitled to use legal substances?
What your saying is it's alright for the government to monitor you if you approve of it but bad if you don't.

And you got the unmitigated gall to whine about surveillance cameras and automated tracking / face recognition software?
what a hypocritical boob.

Where you at Europe?
The continent that gave us communism, Nazism and industrial scale genocide?
Like they know anything about self determination and responsibility.

Clean up your own totalitarian mess before you start criticizing anyone else.

63

Living Room / Re: Top 10 Most Depressing Quotes from Orwell's 1984

« on: March 17, 2008, 08:55 PM »

But we have strayed OT too far, my friend. 

-tinjaw (March 17, 2008, 11:36 AM)

I don't see how.
The title of the thread suggests that the fictional novel "1984" has some sort of relevance to reality.
I'm pointing out that it doesn't, except in the fevered mind of the ultra paranoid.
You made some absurd statements about the current administrations "evils" and in some way this is supposed to convince us that we are on the march to "big brother" while ignoring the policies of past administrations and their ineptitude and bad behaviour.
I call BS.
If you're really worried about freedom consider this.
Internment camps for Japanese-Americans during WWII was a policy instituted by Roosevelt, a democrat.
The Korean and Vietnam wars were democrat wars, involuntary forced conscription (the draft) was a democratic policy.
The draft was the greatest governmental seizure and deprivation of freedom of all time, and it and those wars were overseen by increasingly liberal democrats.
If you think "big brother" has you now, wait until after the elections and you have to report to an induction center.
Reading "1984" don't mean you know squat about "big brother", hearing someone call out your birth date in the high tens during a draft lottery does.

64

Living Room / Re: Top 10 Most Depressing Quotes from Orwell's 1984

« on: March 17, 2008, 10:49 AM »

The government telling people how they should live and think (a.k.a. the Religious Right that dominates the Executive Branch).

You honestly think it's the religious right who dictate how people should live?
Have you not heard of the tobacco settlement? How about snack restrictions in public schools?
The continuous attempts by left leaning trial lawyers to sue the fast food industry?
What about the current democratic candidates that want to dictate how I pay for my health insurance and the government monitoring the BMI of school children?
But that's all OK because it's for the "common good"....right?
I have yet to meet any individual who has been affected by "surveillance of every individual 24 x 7 (a.k.a wire/email tapping)", but plenty of people who have been or will be affected by the very things I've listed.

I too could go on and on.

65

Living Room / Re: Top 10 Most Depressing Quotes from Orwell's 1984

« on: March 17, 2008, 01:14 AM »

I really don't see how anyone capable of independent thought can read that novel and see it as anything more than an over embellished satire.
The idea that humans would be so in thrall to the state that they would tolerate the banishment of all vices to big brother for the greater good is laughable on the face of it.
We won't lose our freedoms to an oppressive police state, we'll lose them over cradle to grave dependency on nanny statism.
When the majority of the people of any country are dependent on the socialist teat for sustenance then the government has to confiscate more from the citizens who produce to shore up the welfare state.
That is what will kill freedom.

66

Living Room / Re: Top 10 Most Depressing Quotes from Orwell's 1984

« on: March 15, 2008, 12:28 AM »

You do of course realize that 1984 is a work of fiction, right?

-Cpilot (March 14, 2008, 02:35 PM)

Well, at one point it was, but now that the likes of Bush, Gonzales, Ashcroft have been in office, it doesn't take too much effort to understand that the GWOT is just another name for the war with Eurasia. No sir, 1984 is happening right here, right now.

-tinjaw (March 14, 2008, 07:21 PM)

I disagree.

67

Living Room / Re: Top 10 Most Depressing Quotes from Orwell's 1984

« on: March 14, 2008, 02:35 PM »

You do of course realize that 1984 is a work of fiction, right?

68

Living Room / Re: NO MORE ANONYMOUS POSTING!! How a Kentucky lawmaker wants this to be true

« on: March 11, 2008, 10:53 AM »

Criminal behaviour is one thing. Treating me like a criminal when I'm not is another thing.

So if someone engages in criminal behaviour on the internet everyone should just take their word that it's not?

This will KILL the Internets! (on paper.)

-nosh (March 11, 2008, 05:29 AM)

I doubt very seriously that this has any chance of being implemented, the guy is just trying to point out a problem that does exist.
There are abusers on the internet and they hide behind anonymity.

69

Living Room / Re: NO MORE ANONYMOUS POSTING!! How a Kentucky lawmaker wants this to be true

« on: March 10, 2008, 11:24 PM »

It's just too much power to give to the government. There's no good reason for any government to "listen in on me." It's only ushering in Big Brother in the most blatant and insane way imaginable.

When I get drunk and rant about how assassination is a legitimate political tool (I think Machiavelli would agree), there's no reason for the government to hear that, or throw me in jail, or execute me, or whatever.

It's just dangerous to allow that kind of power to a government. Period.

The Russian example is proof enough.

-Renegade (March 10, 2008, 10:45 PM)

If someone makes harassing and threatening phone calls to someone else or writes them harassing or threatening letters the government can step in and find the perpetrator and charge him with a crime.
Do you agree that those things are a crime and not protected speech?
Why should people be allowed to do the same thing on the internet anonymously and not be charged with a crime?

70

Living Room / Re: NO MORE ANONYMOUS POSTING!! How a Kentucky lawmaker wants this to be true

« on: March 10, 2008, 10:42 PM »

The world is smaller than it was when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Can't really get much more severe than execution, no matter what size the world.

71

Living Room / Re: NO MORE ANONYMOUS POSTING!! How a Kentucky lawmaker wants this to be true

« on: March 10, 2008, 09:46 PM »

Just one question, where in the first amendment does it say free speech is an anonymous right?
It's one thing to affirm it's the nature of the web and yadda,yadda, but to wrap up hateful and harassing speech into something as noble as "free speech" is a bit of a stretch.
If free speech is such a noble human right then why be afraid to claim ownership of it?
The founding fathers of the United States signed their name to the constitution before the revolutionary war, they would have been executed if we had lost, and yet still took ownership of the document as a stand for free speech.
Russian dissidents wrote against the excesses of the U.S.S.R. and signed their names, and were imprisioned or executed for their expression of free speech.
But then again these folks could be proud of what they said and stood for, an "inalienable right" has responsibilities attached to it.
Or maybe everyone on the web is all about rights without responsibility?
Pretty shallow stance IMO.

72

Official Announcements / Re: The site is now back online (March 6th, 2008)

« on: March 06, 2008, 08:21 PM »

Like it was never gone.  

73

Living Room / Re: What annoys you to no end?

« on: February 21, 2008, 12:54 PM »

Anyone who says, "this is the way it's always been done".

74

Living Room / Re: How many germs are living on your keyboard?

« on: February 13, 2008, 12:51 AM »

I got a wireless set up and a 5 hour battery on my laptop, does this mean I can't surf the web while sitting on the throne anymore? 

75

Living Room / Losing it all

« on: January 24, 2008, 11:26 PM »

And then Poof....it's gone......

Couple of instances in the news today that should have everyone talking about backing up that critical data.