DOTCOM saga - updates

[40hz]

I'm cleaning out my bookshelves. So should I throw out the tome on "American Law"?

-TaoPhoenix (October 23, 2012, 10:43 AM)

Nope. You'll need it to refer to during the trials when we finally throw the current batch of hooligans out, restore a genuinely representational government, and go back to being The United States of America once again.

Figure it will take another 20-25 years before it really hits the fan and the change takes place. Too bad we'll have to wade through the darkness of an actual police state for a decade or so before we get there.

So be it. It's all to the good. Vespero mundi expectando. Fiat lux!
 

[Renegade]

Just curious Renegade... why do you refer to him by his birth name when he legitimately took his stepfather's name?  I'm sure there must be subtext (knowing you), but I don't get it...

-wraith808 (October 23, 2012, 03:05 PM)

No real reason there. Everyone knows "Clinton", so I figured "why not?" It's just one of those little things that get glossed over, so why not highlight it a bit.

I'm cleaning out my bookshelves. So should I throw out the tome on "American Law"?

-TaoPhoenix (October 23, 2012, 10:43 AM)

Nope. You'll need it to refer to during the trials when we finally throw the current batch of hooligans out, restore a genuinely representational government, and go back to being The United States of America once again.

Figure it will take another 20-25 years before it really hits the fan and the change takes place. Too bad we'll have to wade through the darkness of an actual police state for a decade or so before we get there.

So be it. It's all to the good. Vespero mundi expectando. Fiat lux!
 

-40hz (October 23, 2012, 09:34 PM)

I'm fearful that the police state will lock down communications (the Internet) and control the propaganda machine (the mainstream media) with such incredible technological skill and so well that it will plunge humanity into darkness forever.

If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever.

http://gutenberg.net...ebooks01/0100021.txt

Open and free communication is absolutely necessary to stop that.

[TaoPhoenix]

I'm fearful that the police state will lock down communications (the Internet) and control the propaganda machine (the mainstream media) with such incredible technological skill and so well that it will plunge humanity into darkness forever.

If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever.

-Renegade (October 23, 2012, 09:47 PM)

http://en.wikipedia....of_Rights#Amendments

Unfortunately this is becoming a list of "things to break". The Third Amendment is lurking behind the corner with all kinds of NSFW implications. 

[40hz]

I'm fearful that the police state will lock down communications (the Internet) and control the propaganda machine (the mainstream media) with such incredible technological skill and so well that it will plunge humanity into darkness forever.

-Renegade (October 23, 2012, 09:47 PM)

Don't be.

Nothing taken by force is ever kept.

And the more advanced the technology, the more brittle the system that controls it.

Superior firepower didn't defeat the Viet Cong.

Superior firepower, satellite surveillance/communications networks, and advanced military intelligence didn't defeat the Taliban or al Quaeda to date.

A full fledged police state that was also one of the greatest military powers the world had ever seen didn't keep the Eastern Bloc or the Soviet Union intact. Or defeat the Afghans.

In the immortal words of Hassan-i Sabbāh (roughly translated from 11th century Persian): Ain't nothing so heavy it can't be knocked on its ass - and everything is cool, Baby!

It's all a matter how you look at things. That and taking the time to actually look.

A little test

What do you see?



     a) A real threat to your privacy and freedom

     b) Some pawns of The Powers That Be who are sitting ducks in that little box they're in if it ever gets really ugly.

FNORD!

 

[TaoPhoenix]

Nice words of hope 40hz.

However, this whole broad movement is one of the biggest attacks on civil liberties ever. As only a grade C prophet, I can't yet see the signature event that changes things back to the sides of decency.

We need the People's version of 9-11 that we can chant as a meme.

I don't know where that is yet.

[40hz]

Nice words of hope 40hz.

However, this whole broad movement is one of the biggest attacks on civil liberties ever. As only a grade C prophet, I can't yet see the signature event that changes things back to the sides of decency.

We need the People's version of 9-11 that we can chant as a meme.

I don't know where that is yet.

-TaoPhoenix (October 24, 2012, 02:31 AM)

Dunno...

They said that about:

The Assyrians
  The Egyptians
    The Romans
      The Mongols
        The Muslims
          The Crusaders
            The Ottomans
              The Church (various)
                The Anarchists
                  The Fascists
                    The Communists
                      The Tonton Macoute
                        The Terrorists

                             - and-

  Sundry sovereign national governments (at different times)...


We've been there. Done that. Wash. Rinse. Spin dry. Repeat as needed.

It's not hope on my part.  (I'm one of this planet's most died-in-the-wool cynics! )

Vespero mundi expectando* after all.

We don't have to like it. It's just the way it works.

--------------------------
*In case you're not classically inclined: The evening of the world is to be expected.

[IainB]

@40hz: I am sorry to say that the cynic in me regards what you have said as likely to be the inevitable reality.
I usually tell my cynic to stop trying to predict outcomes and just wait and see how events unfold over time. Unfortunately, after waiting and seeing, the predictions are usually shown to be pretty much correct. Apparently, the cynic can sometimes foretell the future. There is nothing mysterious in this. It can seem a dull grey reality.
The implication is that non-cynics might be existing is in a more pleasant - though sometimes frightening because not fully understood - world of fuzzy, warm illusion.

But is there nothing we can do to alter our fates?
H.G.Wells had an interesting approach, and one that I have tested to some success. He considered us as "Prisoned From The Cradle To The Grave". In his "The History of Mr.Polly" he described what we could do to escape:

from Chapter 9 - The Potwell Inn
"But when a man has once broken through the paper walls of everyday circumstance, those unsubstantial walls that hold so many of us securely prisoned from the cradle to the grave, he has made a discovery.  If the world does not please you, you can change it.  Determine to alter it at any price, and you can change it altogether.  You may change it to something sinister and angry, to something appalling, but it may be you will change it to something brighter, something more agreeable, and at the worst something much more interesting.  There is only one sort of man who is absolutely to blame for his own misery, and that is the man who finds life dull and dreary.  There are no circumstances in the world that determined action cannot alter, unless, perhaps, they are the walls of a prison cell, and even those will dissolve and change, I am told, into the infirmary compartment, at any rate, for the man who can fast with resolution."

[Renegade]

I'm fearful that the police state will lock down communications (the Internet) and control the propaganda machine (the mainstream media) with such incredible technological skill and so well that it will plunge humanity into darkness forever.

-Renegade (October 23, 2012, 09:47 PM)

Don't be.

Nothing taken by force is ever kept.

And the more advanced the technology, the more brittle the system that controls it.

Superior firepower didn't defeat the Viet Cong.

Superior firepower, satellite surveillance/communications networks, and advanced military intelligence didn't defeat the Taliban or al Quaeda to date.

A full fledged police state that was also one of the greatest military powers the world had ever seen didn't keep the Eastern Bloc or the Soviet Union intact. Or defeat the Afghans.

In the immortal words of Hassan-i Sabbāh (roughly translated from 11th century Persian): Ain't nothing so heavy it can't be knocked on its ass - and everything is cool, Baby!

It's all a matter how you look at things. That and taking the time to actually look.

FNORD!

 

-40hz (October 24, 2012, 01:56 AM)

I really hope that you're right...

When I look at things, I see the technocratic elite using technologies that most people think are only in science fiction. Their arsenal of psychological weapons is extremely powerful. Just watch the next US election for the proof. People will vote for Obomney or Robama, thinking that it makes a difference. And they really believe that it makes a difference. Truly and deeply believe. The ability of the technocratic elite to control people's minds is just, well, mind-blowing.

We have an education system that is designed to destroy creativity and individual thought, and mold people into obedient slaves.

We have a controlled media that gets paid to advertise/propagandize for the interests of foreign powers and private interests, and they call it "news".

We have surrendered control of the money system to private interests, and become slaves to debt - an imaginary concept that has no corporeal existence beyond the ability of a group of armed thugs to assault, kidnap, forcibly confine, and murder people.

We have been conned into believing that it is possible for someone to own an idea. <-- This is on topic.

We think that it's a good thing to pay a large band of thugs to rob and steal from us, so that other, usually individual thugs or small bands of thugs, don't rob and steal from us.

We spend money that we don't have, to pay for shit that we don't need, to impress people that we don't even like.

We believe in fictional stories designed to keep us in fear so that we don't try anything new or different.

We accept the most ridiculous notions as hard fact, then fight anyone who tries to expose the truth.


I'm not so sure that a greater lock on people's minds can be broken when the vast majority of people are unwilling to have their minds freed.


However, I am finding that there are people out there that are awake and are realizing what it going on. So, it's not entirely hopeless. But I think we're pretty much at the brink of a technologically powered enslavement that once locked, will never be broken. For ever.

We need the People's version of 9-11 that we can chant as a meme.

-TaoPhoenix (October 24, 2012, 02:31 AM)

Well, now that you brought it up...

It is 911. The official story is complete bunk.

For Star Wars fans:





For fantasy fans:



For wrestling fans:





This is an orange (2:18):

Architects & Engineers for 911 Truth:
http://www.ae911truth.org/
http://www.facebook.com/ae911truth
http://www.digitaljo...332972#ixzz27YHYXqYQ


Pilots for 911 Truth:
http://pilotsfor911truth.org/

911: A Conspiracy Theory (Absolutely hilarious~! Really, this is one of the funniest videos I've ever seen! ) :

http://www.corbettre...a-conspiracy-theory/  <---= Has transcript of video.

I'm DYING to post some of the jokes in there... but resisting... No spoilers!

Oh dammit... Just one little bit... In a spoiler...

Spoiler

If you have any questions about this story…you are a batshit, paranoid, tinfoil, dog-abusing baby-hater and will be reviled by everyone. If you love your country and/or freedom, happiness, rainbows, rock and roll, puppy dogs, apple pie and your grandma, you will never ever express doubts about any part of this story to anyone. Ever.

This has been a public service announcement by: the Friends of the FBI, CIA, NSA, DIA, SEC, MSM, White House, NIST, and the 9/11 Commission. Because Ignorance is Strength.

It is pretty much impossible to actually look at any amount of evidence and still believe the official story. Anyone who believes it simply hasn't looked at *ANY* facts.

The big question then is, "Was 911 an inside job?"

Probably. It's not like Al Quaida has the power to ground the entire US air force and keep it grounded. That kind of needs an insider. And it's pretty unlikely that Al Quaida could rig WTC7 for a controlled demolition. And if you can't handle a small Cessna, you probably can't handle a commercial air liner. And fires that burn hot enough to melt steel you'd probably expect to burn a paper passport. And magical jet fuel fires that burn above any temperature that any jet fuel has ever burned before... And magical fires that manage to collapse buildings perfectly into their own footprint... and... the list goes on and on and on... So, yeah, probably was an inside job.

The sooner people just face the facts and wake up the better.

The question then is, "If 911 was an inside job, what does that say about our governments?"

[40hz]

But is there nothing we can do to alter our fates?

-IainB (October 24, 2012, 04:45 AM)

I think there most certainly is. (Like any true cynic, my cynicism extends to my own cynical outlook BTW.  )

For example, there's this interesting bit of news (link here) which flies in the face of my earlier comment that the last thing legislators want is a fully engaged electorate:

Icelanders Give Crowdsourced Constitution Warm Reception
By David Vranicar
TechNewsWorld
10/23/12 9:36 AM PT

Today in international tech news: Iceland's crowdsourced constitution gets the green light from voters. Also: A group seeks payback for U.S. transgressions by hacking the National Weather Service, the UK adds to its file-sharing blockade, and ZTE's bad month gets worse.

Voters in Iceland have responded favorably to the government's offer to let them participate in drafting the nation's new constitution.

According to GigaOm, the idea to let citizens chime in online, namely via Facebook and Twitter, was hatched by 25 people on the Constitutional Council, which was tasked with devising a new constitution. The council utilized ideas it found online and wove them into a draft constitution that was delivered in July.

The next step toward implementing these Web-based suggestions was a national referendum. Indeed, citizens approved, by a two-to-one margin, that the new constitution be based on the crowdsourced draft.

The parliament will now decide if that draft will be officially adopted as the national constitution.

GigaOm attributes this extreme brand of participatory democracy to the lingering effects of the financial crisis, which ravaged Iceland's banks and government. Thus did new lawmakers opt to go the open route -- first with the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, which is fiercely protective of free speech and whistleblowers, and then with constitutional crowdsourcing.

Finland, one of Iceland's Nordic brethren, has used crowdsourcing to draft laws. As with Iceland, elected lawmakers ultimately make decisions about online proposals.

I could possibly argue that countries with small populations and negligible ethnic and cultural diversity have a much easier row to hoe; and therefor, can do things that are impractical (or impossible) for sprawling and multicultural political entities such as the US or EU. (Or China or Russia or India for that matter.)

But that would be cheating on my part. And besides, that old dragon Thomas Hobbs already beat me to the punch and offered an insight into this problem. From Hobbs' perspective, it comes down to a matter of practicality.



Democracy was possible and preferable in small unified communities. But as the countries became geographically larger and more numerous in population (and diverse in attitudes and opinions) simple practicality made the shift from democracy, to aristocracy, to absolute monarchy (or tyranny) an inevitable necessity.

With millions of voices all shouting to be heard - and hundreds of factions competing for ever decreasing shares of resources and wealth - something must act as the arbiter if anything is ever to get done. Enter first the: senate/parliament/congress/central committee - later the: monarch/tyrant/dictator/"strongman."

In a way it's kind of funny. In a world composed of small nation states, nations compete with each other. In a world consisting of large multicultural nations (i.e. super-states), factions within those super-states compete with each other.

Hardly any real difference when you think about it. Only the labels have changed...

Bloody old Thomas Hobbs!

[wraith808]

Dunno...

They said that about:

The Assyrians
  The Egyptians
    The Romans
      The Mongols
        The Muslims
          The Crusaders
            The Ottomans
              The Church (various)
                The Anarchists
                  The Fascists
                    The Communists
                      The Tonton Macoute
                        The Terrorists

                             - and-

  Sundry sovereign national governments (at different times)...


We've been there. Done that. Wash. Rinse. Spin dry. Repeat as needed.

It's not hope on my part.  (I'm one of this planet's most died-in-the-wool cynics! )

Vespero mundi expectando* after all.

We don't have to like it. It's just the way it works.

--------------------------
*In case you're not classically inclined: The evening of the world is to be expected.

-40hz (October 24, 2012, 02:44 AM)

Very well stated, and I agree with the sentiment.

[wraith808]

When I look at things, I see the technocratic elite using technologies that most people think are only in science fiction. Their arsenal of psychological weapons is extremely powerful. Just watch the next US election for the proof. People will vote for Obomney or Robama, thinking that it makes a difference. And they really believe that it makes a difference. Truly and deeply believe. The ability of the technocratic elite to control people's minds is just, well, mind-blowing.

-Renegade (October 24, 2012, 04:54 AM)

It does make a difference.  Maybe not in the ways that you'd prefer, or the ways that you are talking about.  But it does make a difference.  On some things I'd agree with your sentiment- they seem the same.  Whether they'll govern the same is an issue for a later date.  But there are real differences on some of the issues, that though not as apocalyptic as the extreme right and left would have their constituents believe.  And these will have ramifications, though not in the areas that are in general talked about.

[Renegade]

When I look at things, I see the technocratic elite using technologies that most people think are only in science fiction. Their arsenal of psychological weapons is extremely powerful. Just watch the next US election for the proof. People will vote for Obomney or Robama, thinking that it makes a difference. And they really believe that it makes a difference. Truly and deeply believe. The ability of the technocratic elite to control people's minds is just, well, mind-blowing.

-Renegade (October 24, 2012, 04:54 AM)

It does make a difference.  Maybe not in the ways that you'd prefer, or the ways that you are talking about.  But it does make a difference.  On some things I'd agree with your sentiment- they seem the same.  Whether they'll govern the same is an issue for a later date.  But there are real differences on some of the issues, that though not as apocalyptic as the extreme right and left would have their constituents believe.  And these will have ramifications, though not in the areas that are in general talked about.

-wraith808 (October 24, 2012, 09:24 AM)

Well, in an absolute sense, I'm sure it would make a difference. Not so sure whether it matters if you start with the odd numbered or even numbered houses when you burn them all down though. I guess it makes a difference to the people on the other side of the street as they have a bit more time to escape.

[40hz]

^Besides, what's the alternative? To just sit by and watch things happen?

I haven't reached that level of blissful detachment yet despite my knowing this is all what the Hindus refer to as maya.

But...I think, therefor I'll act.

Probably, when viewed on a true cosmic scale, it won't make much (if any) difference. But at least it's more fun for me personally. And I'm good with that.

-----------------------------------

Note: the real benefit of "being cynical" is that it gives you the strength to allow yourself to truly care about certain things. The difference is that everything you allow yourself to care about becomes a conscious choice when you're a cynic. And more importantly - you know it's a conscious and very personal choice.
 

[superboyac]

Note: the real benefit of "being cynical" is that it gives you the strength to allow yourself to truly care about certain things. The difference is that everything you allow yourself to care about becomes a conscious choice when you're a cynic. And more importantly - you know it's a conscious and very personal choice.
 

-40hz (October 24, 2012, 09:44 AM)

That's about as non-cynical a description of a cynic you could have come up with!

[Renegade]

^Besides, what's the alternative? To just sit by and watch things happen?

-40hz (October 24, 2012, 09:44 AM)

Well, usually I'm content to sit back and just fling poo at politics, kind of like a howler monkey.

But, since you asked...

Gary Johnson.


If you're going to vote, why in God's name would any sane person waste their vote on Robama or Obomney? You know that you're in for 4 more years of the same shit. The only difference is whether you like yours with a fork or spoon, or with corn or peanuts in it.

If you're going to waste your vote, why not waste it on Gary Johnson?

http://www.washingto...?wprss=rss_campaigns

“Wasting your vote is voting for somebody that you don’t believe in,” an impassioned Johnson said. “That’s wasting your vote. I’m asking everybody here, I’m asking everybody watching this nationwide to waste your vote on me.”

Dude has a point! He's not going to win. (Which is a good thing for his health and personal safety - presidents that like the United States government to issue currency get assassinated.) But voting for him at least sends a message that you're sick of the same crap all the time.

Hell... Obama has murdered more people than Bush did! (I take it that war is nothing more than organized murder.) The Democrips are supposed to be less murderous than the Rebloodlicans! This world is just turned upside down completely~!


CBS already announced that Obama won the election anyways. They're all fixed. In a pre-election voting booth, reports are already coming in about people's votes being decided for them.

http://myfox8.com/20...the-wrong-candidate/

Guilford County Board of Elections Director George Gilbert says the problem arises every election. It can be resolved after the machine is re-calibrated by poll workers.

“It’s not a conspiracy it’s just a machine that needs to be corrected,” Gilbert said.

Yeah. Right. It needs to be "recalibrated"? To the other fellow, perhaps?

Just how stupid do these tools think people are?

Oh god... I can't help but laugh my way through this entire post! It's all just such a sick joke. It's either laugh, or cry until I vomit. Might as well make the whole thing fun~!

I haven't reached that level of blissful detachment yet despite my knowing this is all what the Hindus refer to as maya.

But...I think, therefor I'll act.

Probably, when viewed on a true cosmic scale, it won't make much (if any) difference. But at least it's more fun for me personally. And I'm good with that.

-----------------------------------

Note: the real benefit of "being cynical" is that it gives you the strength to allow yourself to truly care about certain things. The only difference is that what you care about becomes a conscious choice. And most importantly - you now know it's a conscious and very personal choice.
 

-40hz (October 24, 2012, 09:44 AM)

Stop using words that nobody understands. Your deepness is offensive, and if you're in Arizona or the UK, you should be in prison!

Sorry... I just can't help myself.

Ok, now to be a bit more serious. I'll try... like really hard. It doesn't always work, so no promises.

What a lot of people perceive as a conscious choice, I wouldn't give it that much credit. Most of us are pretty much incapable of conscious thought. I mean that quite literally in the context of "consciousness". Few people are informed enough. Actually, I should probably say that few people are de-programmed enough to be conscious.

Cynicism, in the classical sense, is entirely empowering, which is a tad ironic given what it requires.

http://en.wikipedia....Cynicism_(philosophy) -- A decent read there.

BTW - Have a quick look over at my avatar. It's like that for a reason. The above article sheds some light on that.

I think you're right there about being cynical. I certainly won't say that it is easy to be cynical (in the classical sense), but it is certainly much more enjoyable than being cynical in the modern sense.  

[Renegade]

Note: the real benefit of "being cynical" is that it gives you the strength to allow yourself to truly care about certain things. The difference is that everything you allow yourself to care about becomes a conscious choice when you're a cynic. And more importantly - you know it's a conscious and very personal choice.
 

-40hz (October 24, 2012, 09:44 AM)

That's about as non-cynical a description of a cynic you could have come up with!

-superboyac (October 24, 2012, 10:00 AM)

Actually, it's pretty darn accurate for the classical sense. The modern sense of "cynicism" is much different, which is basically all the nasty, witty logic of cynicism with none of the virtues.

[40hz]

Actually, it's pretty darn accurate for the classical sense.

-Renegade (October 24, 2012, 10:13 AM)

Darn well better be. I got straight A's in every humanities course I ever took. And I went to schools that respected and knew how to teach them.  

[superboyac]

Actually, it's pretty darn accurate for the classical sense.

-Renegade (October 24, 2012, 10:13 AM)

Darn well better be. I got straight A's in every humanities course I ever took. And I went to schools that respected and knew how to teach them. 

-40hz (October 24, 2012, 10:24 AM)

The only A I ever got in humanities was the one for my essay on Telemachus.  It's legendary.  I have it framed next to my B+ project for women's studies.  Also included on the mantle is my proud F I received for my essay on the history of the Los Angeles Lakers, which I took the creative liberty of presenting as a haiku about the recently traded Nick van Exel.  The instructors didn't appreciate the cursing.

[40hz]

If it's any consolation, I "aced" the first serious CompSci course I ever took - and then promptly got an F for the second.

The brain has its seasons. 

[Renegade]

Actually, it's pretty darn accurate for the classical sense.

-Renegade (October 24, 2012, 10:13 AM)

Darn well better be. I got straight A's in every humanities course I ever took. And I went to schools that respected and knew how to teach them.  

-40hz (October 24, 2012, 10:24 AM)

One of my favourite professors was a pure skeptic, and one of the top in that field. Another was a simply brilliant classicist, and one of the meanest when it came to grades. I had to actually work for A's in their classes!

But I didn't get straight A's... I was a bit preoccupied partying, drinking, and smoking a truckload of dope -- kind of hard to do much when the weekend starts on Wednesday afternoon~!

At a certain level though, the school is largely irrelevant, and it becomes entirely about the individual professor. And then again, there are some simply brilliant professors out there that students need to work more to understand. Kind of a see-saw between traditional western and eastern educational methods. "The master will not sit until the mat is straight." Yadda yadda yadda.

For a very cool and fun read, check out Diogenes Laertius' book "The Lives of Eminent Philosophers" and look for the parts on Diogenes of Sinope, i.e. Diogenes "the dog". Absolutely, 100%, my favourite philosopher of all time - Diogenes of Sinope.

Oh, and just as a caution, that stuff is NSFW.

[Renegade]

The only A I ever got in humanities was the one for my essay on Telemachus.  It's legendary.  I have it framed next to my B+ project for women's studies.  Also included on the mantle is my proud F I received for my essay on the history of the Los Angeles Lakers, which I took the creative liberty of presenting as a haiku about the recently traded Nick van Exel.  The instructors didn't appreciate the cursing.

-superboyac (October 24, 2012, 10:36 AM)

I got a C+ for an essay that I wrote for a bottle of booze for a fellow that was in a course that I wasn't enrolled in and really didn't know jack about. Hey, when opportunity presents itself for booze, why not? Like I said, I spent much of my youth having a truckload of fun~!

[40hz]

On a related note, check out this article over at TechDirt.

It talks about how the Obama administration has demonstrated a proclivity for encouraging government employee whistle-blowers to come forward about illegal activities and abuses of power in their agencies - only to charge them under the US Espionage Act when they do so.

In a perverse twist of logic (or maybe through the employment of double-think?), there is even a judge who has  somehow reasoned you can now be guilty, under the US Espionage Act, even if your actions were not committed with the intent of harming the United States! Which is interesting since "intent to harm" is actually part of the definition of espionage as found within that act!

In this particular case, John Kiriakou (the CIA agent who blew the whistle on torturing detainees by waterboarding) ended up being forced to plead guilty to a reduced charge of "revealing an undercover operative's identity" (and will serve 2.5 years in prison) for the "crime" of providing information that ultimately led to the identification of former (now retired and happily living on government pension) CIA agent Thomas Fletcher as one of the people known to have been involved in waterboarding. And the sad part is Kiriakou did not actually name Fletcher or anyone else directly. He merely provided testimony that allowed some parties to determine, through a chain of inference, Fletcher's involvement. Hows that for Six Degrees of Separation being grounds for criminal prosecution?

So...what does this have to do with Kim Dotcom?

Well...the guy who headed up the case for the DOJ against Kiriakou was none other than Neil MacBride, the US Movie Industry...oops! Sorry... I meant the US Justice Department prosecutor now responsible for the  Megaupload case.

Interesting. Looks like the Obama administration has found its Grand Inquisitor.




Oh Noooo! Not the COMFY CHAIR


--------------------------------------
40hz note to myself: Stop reading TechDirt and take it off bookmark list. All it does is make you angry. And speaking purely from a clinical perspective, you really can't afford to indulge in that level of rage at your age.

[TaoPhoenix]

We have an education system that is designed to destroy creativity and individual thought, and mold people into obedient slaves.

-Renegade (October 24, 2012, 04:54 AM)

(Dramatization of Education System)
Teacher yells: "Shut up and get back in your seat!"

Report card says: "Renegade was disruptive in class."

[TaoPhoenix]

I got a C+ for an essay that I wrote for a bottle of booze for a fellow that was in a course that I wasn't enrolled in and really didn't know jack about. Hey, when opportunity presents itself for booze, why not? Like I said, I spent much of my youth having a truckload of fun~!

-Renegade (October 24, 2012, 11:05 AM)

Oh I know this one!
Meatloaf's Wasted Youth
http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=cMSGU4GYNFc

 

[wraith808]

Dude has a point! He's not going to win. (Which is a good thing for his health and personal safety - presidents that like the United States government to issue currency get assassinated.) But voting for him at least sends a message that you're sick of the same crap all the time.

-Renegade (October 24, 2012, 10:12 AM)

That's BS (IMO).  It might send a message for you, but not for anyone else that cares.  Too much money is tied up in the two political parties for any other party to be viable, and they know that.  And knowing that, the marginal vote for other candidates sends no real message, especially not a lasting one.  And the biggest reason that we don't have a viable third party (and truthfully we need 4 for real change) is that the other parties don't know how to work in small steps.  It would take decades of concerted effort to create a viable third party, but working lower offices in an organized manner to spread the candidates and the messages.

But in the end, the way that politics works is so corruptible and requires such compromise that by the time the party had spread, they would most likely look like one of the parties that exists now, and would probably merge (or subsume or be subsumed by) one party or the other.

A good sci fi novel that explores just that is The Spartacus File by Lawrence Watt-Evans.