Have you not been paying attention? Anything and everything goes when it comes to getting Rev^H^H^HJustice in America circa 2013.

Should lying be allowed in the pursuit of justice? Probably not, or at least not with the amount of latitude it currently enjoys, but people don't care about justice; people care about vengeance. To the general public, it doesn't matter how the scale is brought back into balance; it doesn't matter if that sometimes it involves picking fruit from the poisoned tree or putting a jackboot up someone's ass that didn't quite deserve it, they just want to see something done. That is what justice in America means today, placating the mob, and if a few poor innocent sods get tazed or maced along the way, well...sucks for them, (but better them than me.)

And what country do you live again, pray tell?

Wrong novel, you're thinking of Brave New World. Also, you forgot the orgy-porgy.

I'd rather duck and cover while they're "expressing themselves" like that, hate to catch a stray bullet and all

I see what you did there...

11:05 for Fox though

And how many users do you think bother to regularly check every SSL cert is indeed legit? I'll be generous and assume single-digit percentages (realistically, I would put it closer to less than 1%)

Now we move on to the next question, whose fault is this? The users for not being more vigilant? The browsers being lazy? Both? Other third parties? (Insert well-loved TLA name here) All the above?

The Internet may have been developed in part by the military but it was not built on an adversarial (paranoid) security model, the default is to trust the other party. Web browsers constantly crow at every update about how they now support the latest greatest security tricks to keep you safe so you don't need to worry your little head about the big bad hackers. The general public still by and large consider computers and technology to be only a step or two removed from magic and blindly trust the system because that is what they have been conditioned to do.

This is a perfect storm scenario, really and truly.

Actually the script would kind of write itself, He lives in Bikini Bottom and works for a crab after all...all that's missing is Squidward coming out in drag...

You do realize that the Loongson chip was developed by the People's Republic of China right? Not the first place I'd look for backdoor-free chip designs...

This. Those individuals don't understand the problem, don't want to understand the problem, and frankly don't care about the problem. To them it isn't a problem, or at least not their problem. Now, you harping on about it and making it their problem on the other hand...different story...

You realize that you just demonstrated that the NSA gives fuck all about their "mandate" right? (or at least their public one)

Third? When was the Second?

They can't afford it but the rest of us can...and do. Ultimately their care comes out of our collective pockets in the form of massive insurance premiums and hospital bills.

Moderate in regards to the competition. When one side is borderline fascist (no Godwinning, I speak strictly in the economic-political sense of the word, no goose-stepping skinheads) and the other is merely corporatist, the middle ground is gonna lie somewhere to the right regardless. The only question is how far afield will they go.

As to an actual left-wing candidate - fuggitaboutit. Sadly there is still more then enough voters that reflexively associate socialism or even liberalism with satanic worship and insidious plots to sap our precious national essences to make any serious national figure from the left DOA.

Do you have any proof whatsoever that the security researchers in question made such demands?

No?

Then lay off the ad hominums and red herrings.