So we need controls on private entities then. This case might be justified, but having rules to keep a company like Microsoft from acting inappropriately would be a nice thing to have. Also, given the US government's willingness to forgo warrants entirely when interacting with private entities, information they'd need a warrant to get from you, they might be able to get from the company's whose products you use.

Oh, that delicious linux user condescension.

There's no man page for knowing what you're talking about.

Actually that's what man pages are for - they provide application specific knowledge. Though I usually prefer to just google about for answers. If I'm feeling really masochistic I might post a technical question on slashdot, and read responses from ACs.

If I had a company that outsourced development of my product to India, I'd be pretty nervous.

Why go with a company who has been making the news for broken games and abrasive customer service? Are executives at Disney really ok with taking such a big risk on such a valuable property?

The harder it gets to tell when you are being recorded, the more of a problem it potentially poses society. That is, if you think privacy is worth protecting.

Why is this marked insightful? My house, my rules, up to a point. I couldn't commit a crime and use that flimsy little truism as a legal excuse.

The other problem with your argument is "Don't like it? Don't go to Israel.". What about people returning to Israel?

If the drone was high enough, how much good would a shotgun do you?

Research like this is needed, and could yield benefits in medicine, business, and simply human curiosity about our nature. We *could* just cut programs until we stagnate, or we could invest in science and try to grow. I vote for the latter.

Your cit the very reasons regulation would help. There should have been a law making sure nuclear reactors are never built in dangerous locations, and a law requiring that they take at least adequate measures (if not exceptional) to ensure the system is protected from a variety of threats. Those two laws would have done a lot of good. Just because a given government takes the wrong action, doesn't mean all government is evil. That is a fallacy.

Because its an easy target? Probably also because the relative panic over nuclear power rubs geeks the wrong way: "Those peasants are being anti science again. WHY won't they look at the math?!". If we want nuclear power to succeed, and it should, we need to look at the real problem - lack of regulation. The companies that run plants too often get away with cutting corners. The lack of trust with nuclear power stems directly from this lack of trust mixed with the potential severity of a mistake. If we work hard to solve both problems, to implement solutions that already exist, and publicize those success stories, we should see progress.

Why is this marked insightful?

For an example of what I'm talking about, look at the Southern Poverty Law Center's pronouncements - including especially their advice to law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security that displaying bumper stickers supporting Ron Paul during the presidential primary, or any of a number of other pro-Constitution or Tea Party political position messages, was a sign that the driver was a terrorist.

Let's see, upset at SPLC? Wonder why that is...

As far as designating drivers with Ron Paul stickers as terrorists, you are most likely confusing that (deliberately or not) with their investigations into and reporting on right wing hate groups that planned or carried out attacks. Like this one. I mean, if we are talking about militia groups, patriot movement groups, and sovereign citizens, we are talking about groups that have attacked or planned to attack police officers.

No idea why your comment is modded down. I read the tweets in the voice of Coach McGuirk.

To say nothing of what the company is like to work for.

Reading, writing, making music, painting, playing games are all things that I super love to do. But they're just a side thing to something else that I'm good at that is much more productive and tangible to society.

So I guess you don't see the value of art in society? I think we are enriched by writing, painting, drawing, sculpting, performance, and the endless ocean that is music. I think a world where we just worry about being "productive and tangible" is a sad grey world. I say this as a developer: a healthy society supports the arts.

But how hilarious would it be if twitter ended up being the reason?