The Wikileaks folks asked everyone to make copies of their files: http://yro.slashdot.org/story/...
I'm not aware of Snowden doing anything similar, nor of any indication that the Wikileaks files contained any of Snowden's material.
The insurance files were different - that was Wikileaks. There wasn't anything available generally like that from Snowden.
Throw enough resources at a[n] encryption problem, it becomes a matter of time until it's cracked.
That is completely wrong, unless you define 'enough time' as 'longer than the age of the universe'.
More here (scroll down to the quote from Applied Cryptography): https://www.schneier.com/blog/...
It seems like their even disclosing the fact they know if the Russians and Chinese had access would be considered a state secret.
This. A thousand times this.
Did MI6 really blow sources in both China and Russia just so they could make Snowden look bad? Why would they do that?
It all sounds like the 'drained laptop' stories from early on in the Snowden saga, which turned out to be just speculation: http://publiceditor.blogs.nyti...
I make a post explaining that because of the historical context, his "joke" wasn't funny.
You made a post explaining to me why his joke was funny.
I made a couple of "jokes" that were identical in form and historical context to his, pointing out the absurdity of your point.
You respond by saying I don't get humor and that I lack reading comprehension. It's pretty clear you didn't find my "jokes" funny, despite them being fundamentally the same in tone and historical context.
One of us isn't following along here, and it's very obviously you.
You're totally right.
The reason blacks shouldn't be allowed in labs is because they are childlike proto-humans, incapable of higher cognitive functioning. TEE HEE!
The reason Mexicans shouldn't be allowed in labs is because they sleep all day and then steal all the equipment before they head home for the night. TEE HEE!
The reason white males shouldn't be allowed in labs is because they will try to rape and/or subjugate anyone else, and then whine like crazy if anyone calls them on it. TEE HEE!
Yep, seriously totally hillarious. Thanks for setting me straight.
The problem here is that the joke is literally what people have said about why they won't hire women into all male teams.
The argument is frequently made that having a woman on the team would be a distraction/damage unit cohesion/reduce morale/require everyone to mind their p's and q's lest they invoke feminine tears/be pointless because they're only looking to meet a husband etc. etc. etc.
It's not very funny when one has likely heard that exact line of reasoning, said in earnest, as to why they aren't wanted on a team. He's likely not, at least consciously, misogynist, but he's certainly tone deaf.
So, I specifically said state universities would be free to those who qualify. If someone wanted to go to a private institution they could certainly go into crippling debt in order to attend if they so chose.
And, really, I probably wouldn't care much if more people went to university, even if they weren't really qualified. People spending more time in school isn't a bad thing.
And further, I'm sure "the market" will fend for itself when it comes to filtering out idiots; it's just that people won't have crippling student loan debt that will make them so desperate for work that they'll be willing to let their employers bend them over in order to accept a shitty, low paying job.
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I like it - employers would actually have to offer something in order to attract workers because the workers won't be desperate anymore. I've known people who've taken very, very shitty jobs and worked in abusive environments for years out of fear of losing their health insurance or being unable to pay for school loans - that's pretty fucked up.
I say guarantee basic services (phone, basic cable, broadband), basic accommodations (place to live, food), and basic health (medical insurance) for those who need it. Provide life and job skills classes open to anyone who wants to attend. Make state university free of charge for those who qualify (via academic track record and testing), vocational training (plumbing, culinary, whatever) free for those who don't qualify for university.
Spread the housing across a given community, rather than concentrating it in one place, to prevent things like a project mentality and generational poverty mindset.
It would be vastly less expensive than the costs we pay for police, prison and emergency services, safer for everyone else, and overall reduce human suffering.
Most people would be happy to work an actual job and pay taxes in order to have "better than the bare minimum" for all of the above and the ability to do things like have food that isn't just staples, go on vacation, have more living space, etc.
For people who don't want more, or who can't work for more, at least this would keep them off of the streets to some extent, and keep them from getting so desperate they resort to crime just to survive.
I have zero problem with my taxes going to pay for such things because, not being an idiot, I'm aware that the alternative (what we have right now) is VASTLY more expensive by pretty much every metric.
1 + 1 = 3, for large values of 1.
