It's not just these type of environments that are strict. Well established companies have the same practices, because the only way to have controlled growth is to adhere to a set of standards. Sure, standards change over time but not quickly. For posterity, controlled does not imply restricted.

If there were gangs out killing cops, they would not be in need of an application like Waze to do it. The two NYC cops that were killed a couple months ago were not tracked by anything. The killings were by what appears to be a vigilante that wanted to kill "any" cop.

They psychology behind that is a different thread and story, but the point about being "tracked" is valid. Cops drive in marked cars and wear uniforms. Someone actually "hunting" them would not need an application. In fact it would probably be stupid to do so, because of all the data the application tracking (it would limit suspects).

Haha, of course you immediately jump to the false accusation in an attempt to try and salvage your original failed logic. Of course you can't rationally back your original bullshit, so have to resort to additional fallacy arguments to support your original.

For your information: I have had 0 accidents, 0 tickets, and been driving for over 30 years. If I was a "road-rager", I would at least have had something happen in over 3 decades of driving. I'm not the "slow" guy either, because those guys get into at least as many accidents as the speeders (and most studies show that they cause more accidents).

I gave the points where you were wrong. Invalid generalization, therefor your logic is also invalid. There is no way to salvage broken logic, so scrap your opinion and start over.

Dear Sir,

I may have been thinking too much. In fact, you may even say that I am paranoid - but at the stage that we are in today, that the blanket snooping activities into almost everything that we do online and off, we do need to question why the authority's need to do it, rather than accept what they are telling us by default

Yes, they tell us they are 'looking for terrorists' but is that true?

I mean, if they are 'looking for terrorists' the obvious target for those 'terrorists' are those from a particular religion (that peaceful one, to boot)

But is the authority looking into that group only?

Far from that. They are snooping in on ALL OF US, on our email, on our surfing pattern, on the site we go to, on what we download, on our phone conversation, on everything everybody is doing

Then why are they doing it?

Surely the 'looking for terrorists' excuse ain't gonna cut it no more, there gotta be more than what they are telling us

Yes, I am paranoid, I admit it. But you can't blame me from being paranoid

I am from China, a country which is being ruled by some really despicable regime. At the point when I left China the entire society was in turmoil. People were being pulled out on to the street and beaten, sometimes killed, just because they were labeled as 'anti-revolutionary'

I have had that kind of experiences. Most of you do not. I know what the authority is capable of doing, and what they will do to maintain their control over us, the peons

The more I look at what's happening in the so-called "Western countries" the more it resembles that despicable regime that is controlling China

Yes, I am have been 'overthinking', as you put it, but I rather be paranoid and right and be well prepared (as well as knowing what preventive actions to take before the shit hits the fan), than be totally unprepared and suffered the consequences

But it's all up to you guys. What I am telling you is what I, and many millions of older generation of Chinese had gone through --- we do not trust the authority, we do not trust anyone but ourselves

If you guys insist that the authority is to be trusted, that they are doing what they are doing for 'the good of the people', then that's your right to do what ever you want to do

But when the shit hits the fan (which I fervently hope it will never come true) don't blame me for not forewarning you guys

It happened in China, it could happen, and I repeat, it could happen elsewhere, including the Western countries

Understanding how something works does not require in depth knowledge of the "something". I know many people who are very competent with the use of a web browser and never wrote a line of code in their life. They check links in email, write their own rules for sorting mail, etc.. etc...

I did not take your last paragraph as a "c'est la vie", I perceived it as an insult to anyone knot a coder. Re-reading, I still perceive it that way due to your choice of wording. You never wrote a database from scratch, so how can you possibly understand one given your own definition? Or does writing a "Hello World" program count as enough "knowledge" in your mind so that technology a person uses is not a mystery?

For posterity, I get your point but it's written in very pompous language. A person does not have to be a coder to be intelligent, a person needs to be intelligent to be intelligent.

You said:

Actually their target is further than that
 
To illustrate what I mean, let's look at what TFA says ...

Are they truly looking for "extremist plots and suspects"?

No

Then what they are looking for?

They are looking for potential targets that they deem "dangerous". No, not terrorists but those amongst the people who are NOT sheeples!

You see, those fascists (to put them in a milder term will be an injustice, they are fascists afterall) are not afraid of sheeples. In fact, they WANT all the people to become sheeples so that they can get absolute control over them

What the fascists are afraid, very afraid of, is those amongst us who steadfastly REFUSE to become a sheeple, who instead will use our own brain to think, rather than delegate the thinking to "somebody else", ie, the authority

That is what makes those fucking fascists antsy --- they can't have that, but current laws still do not allow them to pull out all the non-sheeples to the street and shoot them

So they do the next best ... to identify the non-sheeples so that, when it comes the day they can pull people out to the street and carry out summary execution, they would know who to shoot

That is ultimately WHAT they are doing today ... identifying us, closely monitoring us, categorizing us, ... and ultimately, know who they need to eliminate, and where to get those 'trouble makers'

I was in particular referring to John Taylor Gatto, and I forget the lady who was the original secretary for the original department who wrote a great book on the corruption and nature of the original program. That people believe it accidental that all of these extreme liberals have been running the department since it's advent is remarkable in my opinion.

I'm not sure how long ago this was, but in the last 5 years rent has gone up an average of 17% a year. Maybe in the Moffet and 101 ghetto something would go for 1.5K today, but I'm a skeptic.

"I" was not performing the experiment, it was ex police and no officer was named in their request. They simply asked the Desk officer "How would I file a complaint against an officer?". There were no departments that provided the information, and the majority almost immediately started to intimidate or threaten to arrest the person asking the question. A few departments did arrest the person asking.

If you were half as intelligent as you thought you were, you would have reserved comment on the test until you actually read the test. Instead, you spout invalid information in complete ignorance, while pretending to be knowledgeable. Fact checking, learn how to do it! Arguing an opinion which is contrary to facts is exactly the definition of delusion.

In addition to fact checking, contemplate really hard on that part I wrote about the appeal to emotion.

The more you rely on offshore help to solve the problems on hand the more beer you gonna find yourself gulping down

Trust me on that !

Whether or not it is called "Software Development" or "Software Engineering" or "Coding" or whatever the newest trendy iteration, they all boil down to identifying the need and/or problem and then SOLVE IT

From the primitive but extra-ordinarily crucial computer systems that ran the Apollo space program to Lotus 1-2-3 to Linux, all they did was the same --- they identified what is needed and then providing solution to get the problems licked