LOL - I got that!! Actually, I'm using VT100 over on Soylent. But, you've nailed it!

I don't see any way to change the page style. I've been all through the "settings" menu. I want a dark page. I do NOT want an all-white page, with some black print sprinkled across it. I want a dark theme, preferably black. Anything dark though. Come on guys, let's see some choice here!

You are correct - my statements contradict each other. I believe that you get the idea though.

As for the Paks playing us for fools - most Arabs, Persians, Asians, and Pacific Islanders do that readily. We do have a few small spheres of genuine influence, like S. Korea and Japan. The rest of our influence is largely bought with $$$$$ - and when the $$$$$ dries up, there will be no more influence.

"And if a country like Pakistan has a serious extremist problem, then action like that is justified."

When you make a statement like that, it becomes very obvious that you have little idea how extreme the problems are in Pakistan.

Let me make it as clear as I possibly can. The supposed "government" of Pakistan controls less than half of the country. Government troops aren't safe anywhere within the country. They can only move openly in little more than half the country - that is, within the portions they actually control, along with some border regions, and areas where the village chieftains view the government with favor. Elsewhere, within the borders of "Pakistan", the troops only move stealthily, or by air, or in force.

Pakistan is more lawless than Mexico, by an order of magnitude.

The northern areas are controlled by tribal chiefs and by the Taliban.

Now, you tell ME how serious the situation in Pakistan is.

Next, you can tell me what the chances are that the government is going to EFFECTIVELY enforce their edicts regarding these cellphones.

You do remember that Osama bin Laden was killed, living a life of relative luxury, inside the borders of Pakistan?

1) History repeats itself, while at the same time, technology enables the actors to take things to a higher level. The Stasi would have LOVED to have the tools available to today's NSA. That is where we are headed, worldwide, if people don't stand up and put a stop to it. Yes - control. If/when they find a way to read your thoughts, they're going to do it. And, I'm not trying to guess what "certain people" are thinking - I'm TELLING you what government and the alphabet soup agencies intend.

2) You've forgotten about CISPA? In effect, ALL the pickpockets will be gathered into one big network, where they can SHARE all the data they gather on you. Target, Walgreen's, WalMart, Dollar General, the hospital, your county assessor, your bank, Amazon - they'll ALL share data with the government, and the government will share it right back to them. The pickpockets will indeed be working for the government.

I strongly disagree. Constant government surveillance indicates that you are only free so long as government approves of your words and actions. Ultimately, government surveillance intends to monitor your very thoughts. Witness the number of not-so-bright people who have been convicted after having done a search for "how to dispose of my dead wife's body" or similar. Refuse to give up your password? Go directly to jail, do not pass "Go", do not collect $200. Encryption? Ditto - give us the keys or spend eternity plus life in the dungeons.

In short - police have no intention of doing police work, or detective work any more. They want all the evidence collected in advance, and they want you to hang yourself for them.

A free man is free to confront the footpad who follows him into an alley with evil intentions. In this modern day "free world", you are required to cooperate with the footpads and pickpockets, because they all work for government.

Really? I suppose that the definition of "freedom" that you grew up with includes a phrase like "submit to government surveillance"?

You can see how it would significantly hamper terrorists and criminals?

Maybe you're totally clueless about Mexico, and the fact that the cartels have built huge empires off of "illicit" goods. In effect, we have funded those cartels, so that they are more powerful than government. And, the cartels aren't hampered by human rights considerations, either.

You may look forward to a new Pakistani industry booming in the near future, with "terrorists" and "criminals" helping the common man to bypass these ridiculous regulations.

Your obsession with the man needs attention.

BTW - how many billions of western dollars have been invested in Ukraine now? You can bet your ass that all those dollars are being protected with western weapons. Think about it. Some dreary backwater of a nation which hasn't figured into much of anything for almost a hundred years suddenly looks like a good "investment" to some filthy rich capitalists. But - the Kool-Aid - you've chosen the flavor prescribed by those very filthy-rich capitalists, so you believe that Putin is to blame for all the problems there.

The vendors have assured us that their servers are secure!

Adblock Plus, Ghostery, NoScript, HOSTS - need I go on? We all know that the web is exploited by a bunch of assholes who view us as sources of revenue. So - arm yourself to stop the flow of revenue. You're right, I don't go back to a restaurant where an ignorant ADHD waiter ruins my meal. So, I don't keep going back to annoyingadserver.USA The damned thing is blocked, first on my router, then on my computer, then in my browser.

Basically, you believe that the ends justifies the means. In this case, the ends are to extract money from the masses. And, the means involves lying.

This has damned near nothing to do with enforcing copyright law. Perhaps you didn't notice the name of the corporation involved - Rightscorp, acting on behalf of BMG. Or, you've forgotten how they've made news in the past. They dwell among the scum of the earth. They have been shot down time and again for exploiting loopholes in the law. And, oh yeah - perhaps you've also failed to notice that in this case, they are indeed exploiting a loophole in the law.

Rightscorp has no intellectual property to protect. It is nothing more than a remora, living off the larger shark, BMG.

Scum.

If you have any real intellectual property to worry about, are you willing to allow a remora like company to attach itself to you, so that it can milk money out of your property?

Who the hell can "afford" that health care? Uncle is paying a healthy subsidy on almost all of those "plans". The real "plan" is to rape the taxpayer endlessly. Wait until those subsidies are no longer being paid. I'll be longing for the day when my health insurance ONLY cost 8 grand a year. 8 THOUSAND and change, for health care that I've never used, and probably won't use until I get some debilitating condition. But, just wait and watch. It won't be long until the last subsidy is paid, and EVERYONE will be paying 16, 24, maybe 50 thousand per year.

Can't afford that? Well - it's off to court for you, so that Uncle can take every dime you've got so that he can help you pay for your unwanted health insurance.

I could hate you for bringing me back to reality. But, you're right. The ultimate goal, is to get mankind out there among the stars. And - that may never happen. Every attempt may fail. We MAY not even establish any self sustaining colonies here in the solar system. But, I sure as hell don't want to accept that idea as likely. I suppose you've seen this little video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

That's the short take from a longer video, which is somewhat less "exciting" I guess the term might be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he can eat for a lifetime.