Comment Send in the drones (Score 1) 417
Although I have strong theoretical objections to extra-judicial executions, in the cases of bronies I would be glad to make an exception.
It does what they want (sharing photos of kids and dogs, spreading incredibly dumb chain-letter type communications, and internet meme/groupthink)
So if it's some psychotic geek on reddit or 4chan it's cool to keep reduplicating memes, but if a pleb on facebook does it it's dumb?
I'm living in a podunk midwestern town at the moment, where it's normal for people in their 20s and 30s not to have a smartphone or even an iPod. Despite never going out besides the gym or groceries, I still managed to overhear a conversation about how the gym owner and another woman hate Facebook and even how the security policies change so often that setting things to private doesn't mean anything. I don't think Facebook comprehend how much reach their dickish behavior has had.
The almost hyper-realism of your anecdote certainly had me convinced. It was almost as though I was there listening to these two non-geeks bitch and whine about security policies and online privacy concerns. I'm surprised they didn't mention their favourite Linux distro and how fucking awesome bitcoins are too.
Oh yeah. You have a "work within the system" and "hope and change" response. Because that works out, so very well.
It's been working for hundreds of years, with degrees of success changing over time, in both the US and UK, and way better than the sort of socialist (or is that communist?) revolution you would prefer*. Why don't you try that in your native Canada first, so we can watch the results before it gets tried in the US?
A big part of the problem is that the news media isn't doing its job. They put their thumb on the scales in favor of Obama, and they still haven't really taken it off. Now, they are reaping their reward - multiple scandals breaking out at once, including the AP incident. It is a simple fact that about 90% of journalists in the US media contribute to Democrats, and probably vote the same. And that should be OK, as long as they report accurately and fairly even on policies they personally desire. But they aren't doing that. They are letting their personal political preferences interfere with their professional obligation. As a result, they cover for the Obama administration, ask friendly questions, continually post stories about "unexpected" outcomes that are bad when they can't otherwise be minimized. It is hard to make good choices for a country when the people and leaders aren't getting good, accurate, information, and that isn't happening. Well, their support of the Obama administration has become a bit strained recently, and it might very well turn shortly. When it does, it won't be pretty for the administration.
It may be already starting.
Obama knee-deep in Nixon-esque scandal (Note: As of posting, this is a front page story on the Boston Herald.)
Republicans could not even have scripted this one. The agency most hated by voters, the Internal Revenue Service, admits to going on a Nixonian witch hunt against Tea Party and conservative groups during the re-election campaign.
This is a story even the most partisan Massachusetts liberal cannot defend. It’s so bad that even Ed Markey is calling for heads to roll.
Now we learn that the Justice Department has secretly obtained the phone records of Associated Press reporters and editors in what appears to be an investigation of an AP story that disclosed details of a CIA operation that stopped a terrorist attack.
Going after the Tea Party is one thing, but the media? What an outrage. Who knows, the press may get so mad they won’t laugh at Obama’s jokes during the next White House Correspondents’ Dinner. .
*No, this isn't a troll. The man is very left of centre.
HTC - Horrible Taiwanese Crap
Seriously has anyone ever had a positive experience with an HTC?
captcha: cellular
My HTC One makes the Samsung Galaxy look like a kid's plastic toy in terms of construction quality. I've no idea why people rate Samsung so highly, their phones look as though they'd disintegrate if you put them down on a table too hard.
People only use it to catch up on old high school aquaintences to see how fucked up their lives are now they are adults.
Yes, people often forget about the valuable aid to stalking that facebook has become. Any replacement would need to replicate that functionality if nothing else.
When I do sign in, I just scan over some of the stupid shit my family and acquaintances are doing. Occasionally, I'll sign in to post a petition to kill bankers, or kill pharmaceutical corporate officers, or kill all lawyers and politicians
So your family and friends posting photos of interest, discussing topics of mutual interest or just having a few giggles is "stupid shit" but signing a totally meaningless and juvenile petition to kill strangers is somehow a good use of your time and the resources of the internet?
Gotcha.
Because you could connect with classmates that you didn't necessarily know. There was a good 18-month period where FB was very useful for setting up study sessions and whatnot.
Maybe US colleges are different than here in the UK, but how fucking difficult is it to talk to people in your class? Out of all the times in your life, college is where it's easiest to meet new people.
Christ knows what you were like when you started working, did you literally never talk to any of your colleagues except over the internet? Even if they were sitting next to you?
Everybody hates it and everybody uses it? That doesn't make any sense.
Really? Because everybody hates driving in rush hour traffic, and pretty much everybody has to.
(Yes, I'm being Amerocentric)
Unless everyone were forced to use facebook for their work, your analogy is profoundly unhelpful, verging on idiotic.
Everybody hates it and everybody uses it? That doesn't make any sense.
Mind = Blown @ how much you must think everyone loves the shitter...
Last time I checked, shitting wasn't optional.
Everybody hates Facebook - they only use it because everyone else does and they have to use it to keep in touch.
The last time I checked, no government in the world had made signing up for facebook a legal requirement.
To say you're a follower of fashion then moan about people following fashion is...illogical.
But if you're looking for a relatively free country, a country with relatively low taxes, or a country with a lot of opportunity you aren't going to do much better than the US.
The main area of freedom where the US leads the world is the freedom to own many guns, which is irrelevant to all but a handful of people in the rest of the civilised world.
And high taxes never stopped anyone succeeding, it just means they have to pay some of their wealth back into supporting society. There are plenty of entrepreneurs in Scandinavia, or wherever.
As an example, back in the late '60s and early '70s there were an awful lot of angry young sheeple bleating, "Hell no, we won't go!" because they were only interested in what their country could do for them and weren't willing to do anything for their country
The opposition to the war in Vietnam wasn't just a case of people being scared to fight. It was massively unpopular for very good reasons, including the fact that it was unwinnable without actually flattening Vietnam and killing everyone there, and it served no useful purpose other than cock-waving at the Evil Commies.
I'm more disappointed at the lack of similar protests by people over the Iraq war. Or perhaps it's just that politicians don't even pretend to listen any more.
Paris, the city of lovers, where the subways smell like shit soaked in piss and marinated in a slurry of decomposition.
Where opportunity flows freely, unless you are over age 40.
If you're still waiting for opportunities at 40 you're fucked in most places in the world.
UNIX was not designed to stop you from doing stupid things, because that would also stop you from doing clever things. -- Doug Gwyn
