Let me Godwin that discussion fast... Just remember that Hitler, with a few Hollerith machines, which aren't even considered computers by any definitions of the term, managed to classify, sort and exterminate millions of people, just imagine what a malevolent dictatorship could bring today. Think we are past that ? Well, it looks like the Front National, France's extremist and racist party, is posed to win the next election due to the usual two main parties being full of shit and full of themselves (not sure there's a difference there).

Now the million dollar question is: do you really want to give the keys to (in this case, french equivalent to) the NSA to such a party, even if democratically elected ?!? Really ? The best solution is to never build a mass listening aparatus in the first place. Pass laws making it impossible. Buid an anti-NSA whose life work is to search, target, disrupt or destroy by whatever means any mass spying operations.

I won't touch a language that does this for the simple reason that anybody writes his own 'language' with it and nobody can read what anybody else does. And while I'm at it, the whole "there's more than one way to do it" is totally counter productive since 10 programmers would produce 10 different codes and few would understand the logic of the others easily. Gimme a strict language with only one way to do it and my code will be the same as my neighbor and that's great for readability.

Hah, Kermit... Isn't that the oldest still supported software in the world ? Or something like that ? Brings back bad memories from the 80s. Didn't nc (Norton Commander) integrate some kind of file transfer over serial, probably based on Kermit ?

I commute on steep trails (on the way down), and I loose a lot of studs on the rocks. Since I have 1000m of altitude difference, there's either too much snow on top, or too many rocks at the bottom. Schwalbe sells a kit to put studs back inside the tire and I use it extensively !

Get two set of wheels, one with normal tires, one with studded tires. Change them in the morning depending on conditions.

See if you can bike in the morning and use some public transportation or ride sharing (with your bike) in the evening. Even if you need to go to the station some distance away, you have a bike, right ?

Nah, it's FUN ! If there's ice, use studded tires. If there's snow, use a fatbike. And for the cold, simply dress appropriately... or pedal faster !

I commute 25km every day, but there's 1000m of altitude difference. No electric. Even in winter with snow where I use studded tires (Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro) !

Yeah, but you can purchase open headphones with which to listen to the radio (or music) while you bike. The 'open' part is important as you can still hear your surroundings with those, while you can't with 'closed' headphones and it's dangerous to bike deaf. I recommend the Jabra Sport.

Companies above a certain number of employees are required to have a shower facility for employees.

Plenty of countries have been oppressed by the US, south America comes to mind. And you don't see them strapping bombs to themselves in schools.

In a fucked up place like Pakistan ? Most certainly !!!

'rewards'. Yeah, right...

Exactly