See if I can post today without all the damned errors :|

This may sound odd, but I am of the opinion Mr. Snowden would be safer staying in Russia than he would in France. The United States and their allies ( assuming they don't piss ALL of them off by getting caught spying on them ) don't have the ability to freely operate in Russia. This makes it a bit more difficult to snatch such a high priority "prize" right off the street, never to be heard from again.

There also exists the risk of future administrations in France cozying back up to the United States, putting their freedom in jeopardy once again. ( Granted, the same can happen in Russia, but is far less likely )

So, unless Russia is as bad as the Western Media likes to portray, ( unlikely, but I've never been so can't say for myself ) I would think long and hard about leaving the safety of her borders.

*Having grown up during the Cold War era, it's interesting to note how much things have changed. When US Citizens feel the need to flee to Russia ( or any non-US ally ) to escape what would most certainly be an unfair trial ( assuming you even receive one ), it has truly become a bizarre world.

Grammer Nazi Edit: Their = They're

is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.
Yet, folks continue to pre-order then act all shocked and offended when the title is buggy and near unplayable upon release. :|

I don't get it. What goes through the heads of folks who keep pre-ordering this crap ? " No nonononono. . . THIS time will be different. Really ! "
I wonder if anyone who actually pre-ordered this thing would realize their being the poster child of naivete the industry craves so much.

Security theater in this country is most excellent.

We can't let commoners own armored vehicles !! Why, they might want to shoot up the place !! :|

Let's replace a few words and note the resulting silliness. . . . .

We can't let commoners own private aircraft !! Why, they might fly them into buildings !!

Or, with a bow to MadLibs,:

We can't let ________________ own ________________ !!, Why they might __________________!!

To any who will use the tried and true " What possible need do you have for one ? " argument, I reference
the same reasoning the ten man local Sheriff's Department needs an MRAP. It isn't because you NEED one,
it's because, for some reason, you WANT one. ( and just because you can )

ATT trivia time:

There exists multiple employee types at the company. They are:

Executive Level
Management
Non-management ( union )
Contractors
Overseas business units

" Techs " can be pretty much anyone from the bottom of that list up to roughly a Director level, ( 3rd line mgmt, think CCIE types ).

Fourth line and above are pretty much the executive levels and this is where tech skills vanish and MBA types begin.

Thus, it should be noted that some mgmt types actually are considered techs.

Source: Sadly, I work there. I'm sure I'll have a wall of text propaganda email waiting for me tomorrow morning :|

Not much of an option for those who can't write off the costs of business and multiple lines. It's great that you can I guess, but just sayin . . . . .

My lowly consumer grade connection runs ~$70 / month for 50/5 speeds. It jumps considerably if I want to take it to the next tier of 105/10 ( ~$110 / month ). *Which is really pointless since they will throttle the connection if you max out your throughput trying to download a large file.*

So pricing varies quite a bit depending on your ISP and region. What's a good price where you live, may not be elsewhere.

It doesn't work and it wastes a lot of your time.

I once had Verizon DSL and the copper plant it relied upon was of the poorest quality. Best case scenario I could get 56k out of it. After fighting with them over it, the final straw was dealing with their outsourced tech support.

After going through the usual " Have you rebooted the computer ? ", " Have you unplugged, plugged in the router ? " bullsh*t, I was told I needed to make sure my recycle bin was empty because that could cause a slow connection :| ( You can't make this stuff up )

I canceled my service that day and returned to Time Warner ( who would eventually be bought out by Comcast in the area ).

Even if the posts contained no verifiable threats ( real or otherwise ) that's not really the point of this is it ?

My guess is the true agenda is to show folks that your First Amendment rights are always subject to scrutiny and interpretation by those who may not like what you have to say. That realization tends to have a chilling effect on what folks are willing speak up about. Which is probably the point of the whole exercise.

As the financial damage continues climbing, perhaps those companies who collude with the US Government will use this as a learning opportunity for future decisions. Assuming the impacted companies ultimately survive that is. I would personally rather see those who colluded with the Government on this go down in the flames of bankruptcy because trust, once lost, is never fully regained.

If I were the shareholders, I would absolutely eviscerate them for risking not only the company, but the entire industry on what boils down to a rather piss poor decision on the companies part. At the bare minimum, the entire executive level of the company would be replaced since their trustworthiness is beyond redemption.

It's rather depressing to realize just how much of the United States is built upon lies and deceit. ( Are there ANY countries on the planet that aren't ? ) We've reached a point where the lies are completely obvious now, but no one cares and nothing changes. We elect one idiot vs. another only to confirm down the road they were nothing but lies as well. It's becoming painfully obvious that following the " laws " to try and resolve this like civilized people, just aren't working. Laws are meant for the little people. Not the for-sale-lawmakers and those with the financial means to manipulate them. .

It's really sad what the lust for power and greed does to the human species. It's downright embarrassing sometimes :|

So, other than the ultra-violence option, what exactly CAN be done to start turning this around ? Can it be turned around ?

Perhaps, but for those students who CAN pass said course, THAT is a student that German Universities are most interested in anyway.

Unlike the US, they realize that not everyone is cut out for college. They only want those who will make the education worth while.

When this catches on and the United States starts losing enough college age students to Germany, what to you think the American reaction will be ?

A) Match what Germany is doing with education in an effort to get folks to stay local
B) Make it illegal or somehow f!ck it up for everyone trying to take part in the offer

My money is on the latter over the former :|

I would think that while the student is in Germany getting said education, they may find that, contrary to US Media points of view, there really are decent places to live outside of the United States. Odds are pretty high they will be fluent in German upon graduation, so I don't foresee a lot of incentive to return to the US at all for many of them. Especially if German companies start poaching potential talent. ( I certainly would )

It may also be an interesting means to solve a localized aging population problem.

The quickest way to go bankrupt would be to screw over your customer base.

Everyone using Netflix does so because we've had it with the bullshit dished out by the big players. ( cable, satellite, uverse, etc )

We don't want the GD ads. Why is this so difficult to grasp ? The whole POINT of paying for content is so we don't get harassed with advertising every ten fucking minutes. It's so bad we now go out of our way to avoid or actively filter it. That alone should tell you something.

Believe me when I say your bandwidth / peering problems will go away almost overnight when you start putting in ads because you'll probably set a world record for customers lost in shortest amount of time.

Don't say we didn't warn you. . .

THIS. Lots of THIS.

Folks like to toss around the idea that Cisco Certifications are just dead simple and after reading a book or two, you can waltz in take the test and bazinga! Thou art certified.

In their defense, once upon a time this was true. However, today's certifications are much tougher to obtain and you really need to know what you're doing before you attempt the test. ( Tests are about $300 a pop by the way )

I'm currently working on CCNP R&S and there is a TON of information you have to be able to recall on demand. To top it off, Cisco updated the CCNP level certification in January of this year so it includes quite a few things that were previously reserved for the CCIE curriculum. ( You'll find much of what used to be on the CCNP certifications have bled down into the CCNA. )

If memory serves me correctly, there are about ~2000 pages of material you need to know for the CCNA. Ditto for the CCNP and we're just talking the Core Routing and Switching Certs. Not the Voice, Security, Wireless, Data Center, etc. etc.

The stuff you get to learn isn't common sense material either. There is so much information it can be overwhelming and it all tends to bleed together after a while.

Cisco expects you to have detailed knowledge of the tech down to the point where you know the minute details as well as the ability to configure and troubleshoot them when things don't work as they should.

Most Cisco certifications are good for three years. The exception being the CCIE which are good for two.

It's unlikely you're going to find CCIE financial compensation to be anywhere near what you're currently making. I've certainly never met one making $200k+ There is a newer certification known as CCAR ( Cisco Certified Architect ) but I've yet to meet one. Pretty much going to be the God of Networking to reach this level.

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not trying to be the rain cloud but rather pointing out some of the realities of what you're facing. I have to go with some of the other posters here in that while it's good you're trying to plan ahead, you really should be able to set aside massive amounts of cash at your current pay level. If you can't, you are spending far more than you should be.

You really need to sit down, figure out where your money is going and get that squared away before you do anything else.

Go ahead and start working on the certifications, but be prepared for the mountain of information you're about to face off against.

If you can dedicate a lot of time to studying and lab practice ( yup, go buy some Cisco gear and build yourself a lab. . . you'll need it ) you might can pull a CCIE certification in 2-3 years unless you're some sort of Network Savant who dreams about routing protocols and Wan technologies. . . :D

Why even bother with drones ?

Just hop down to your local Police Station or Sheriff's department, steal the MRAP they bought to intimidate the peasants . . . . er. . . conduct their police business in a safe manner without fear of landmines or IED's, load it with explosives and drive that bastard right onto the front lawn ?

I mean, if we're going to go all Michael Bay on things, why do it with tiny ass drones ? Retrofit that MRAP so you can control IT with a transmitter, pack that baby full of ANFO and REALLY do some damage.

Better yet, in true MB fashion, send in dozens of drones first, cue some epic music THEN send in the MRAP.

"I submit that there is not a single human being, alive or dead, that can stay true to their promise of integrity AND be in the highest power office in the world. its not possible, its not do-able and we should stop expecting it. abs power corrupts absolutely, we all know this and we can see it, first-hand."

I will respectfully disagree with you here. There are likely plenty of folks who have the will, personal capacity and incorruptible temperament to make this country great again. Unfortunately, their integrity not only disqualifies them from sitting in that seat, it ensures they also have no interest in chasing it.

That seat is only for those who lust for power and are willing to do anything, no matter how depraved or perverted, to obtain it.

True greatness is rarely attained by those seeking it.