Not true. I'm thankful for Edward Snowden lifting the veil on the NSA's illegal programs. I'd buy the guy a beer if I could.

Nobody's sitting on the phones. The issue affected people putting the phone in their front pocket. As to the million of phones sold, yes, Apple has a lot of lemmings.

"it requires no less than three taps on different install buttons, at least two loading bars, and a fair amount of patience before you can actually use the app you're trying to install."

Heaven forfend.. installing apps is exactly how much time spent on a phone? 0.1%?

Um, you're aware the iPhone6 is getting huge negative press for literally deforming while inside a front pocket? The blackberry passport, by contrast, has a stainless steel frame.

and if you had the common sense to wear a condom, AIDS would be contained "without much trouble."

Because that just means the virus has a longer horizon to hop somewhere else.. like Mumbai.

Or with my BlackBerry I continue to get all new OS releases that by and far have improved battery life, stability, and performance while adding new features left and right.

You don't have to pick the blue or red pill. Oh, and it runs all Android apps.

>My impression is that most of Africa's problems are cultural, like for example the response to Ebola.

That's more education than culture. Heck, it was a tradition for a while in the West to take dead relatives, dress them up, and pose for photos with them.

>> Africans would've been infinitely better off left completely to their own devices. Would they still be living in stone age primitive societies? Yes. Would it be preferable to what they have now? Yes. Cute. You speak for all of Africa. Change your nic to Shakazulu Ghost or something.

Why don't you travel to Africa and advise them to turn their back on all Western things because, y'know, they'll always be incapable of self governance without whitey. Call the movement something catchy.. Boko Haram maybe.

Do tell how "the west" is responsible for most of Africa's ills. Last I checked they've mostly been governing themselves for a few generations (exception SA). Shall we blame the Brits for Sunni and Shiia slaughtering each other for hundreds of years too?

Cool.. what if I don't want the police digging through my possessions at will? I assume you'd be cool with them rummaging around in your house too, yeah?

And ANY of what you listed is grounds for civil forfeiture of cash the person might have on hand? Jesus H.

Did you even RTFA? Shall I avoid wearing designer clothes and having an air freshener? Drinking energy drinks is now a mark of being a drug dealer? Please send me a list of approved attire, standards of car cleanliness, and any other requirements for not appearing like a drug dealer.

Your naivete is mind blowing.

Yeah, small local communities.. like Philadelphia.

It's a brave new world in the USSA. NSA tracking (probably a fraction of what we know about), police kicking you out of your home without charges, and so on. The worst part is we have a whole new generation of cops and lawyers growing up where all this is the norm. It makes the next encroachment seem that much less outlandish.

Either get off the grid or get wealthy / connected. Or be content being cattle.

Is pretty hilarious. All countries pull their fair share of bullshit but come on.. territorial waters that just wander southward like that, cutting between vietnam and the philippines?

Oh well.. I expect a typhoon or two will swamp those attempts at man-man islands.