Only a lawyer can imagine a world where a person agrees to paying a 22.5 million dollar fine and then can seriously claim they did nothing wrong.

How about using a light signal instead? Turn a light green for go.

Rather than focus on preventing government from spying on us and collecting information on us, which is futile, we need to focus on collecting information about our government and the actions of elected officials and making it transparent and easy to access for all citizens. The problem is that there is an inequality in the available information and that leads to too much government power. I seriously think our congressmen should be filmed 24/7 and all their motions made public, perhaps 1 year later to avoid the threat of assassination.

I think it's ironic that a company whose CEO has repeatedly made it clear from the start that user's data should not be kept private is claiming to improve security while they themselves have intentionally and willfully made users' private data public again and again by changing default settings and making it hard to change them back. Or has everyone already forgotten? I for one assume everything I post on Facebook is going to become completely public, including private messges. Have you ever read the permissions you grant on any application you use (I don't use FB apps because of this)?

The very idea that the police have any right to say what the citizens can or cannot do is wrong. The police are there to uphold the law, not make their own. It's good that they are recognizing their limits here, but they do not have any bragging rights for doing so. It's sad he has to give a General Order to keep his fascists from wielding their clubs against innocent photographers documenting their actions, but I'm glad he has given it.

So BSD isn't a "real unix" to you?

I do not presume any such thing. I asked a question and you read your own biases and presumptions into it. I do take issue with YOUR presumption that government has the necessary information and expertise to analyze corporate doings. I think you probably overestimate the ability of government and underestimate those of the free market, but as I said, but which you will probably again ignore, we need government regulation and oversight of companies.

I agree. We need government regulation and oversight of companies. But let's not make the mistake of thinking government is more or less trustworthy than corporations. The government needs to be transparent in order to be effective. What happens now is "regulation" == "licensing and red tape," not really oversight. Also let's not forget that corporations own our politicians. As I said, I trust neither of them.

Does it matter? Tell me, which party is in favor of more individual liberty, less government intrusion? Is it the bureaucracy-saves-the-children Democrats, or the military-saves-the-world Republicans?

Which is more open and transparent -- the free market, with all its flaws, or the Federal Government, with all its self-proclaimed good intentions? Personally, I don't trust either one. We have to be vigilant of both.

... is government regulation of corporate spying -- because in the end corporations and government will collude to spy on everyone else. Only the rich will be able to afford to know what's really going on.

Well, it's fortunate in that it means we have the power. It's only unfortunate because we have to accept blame now for the mess the country is in.

Unfortunately, the vigilance has to come before the transparency. We have to bitch and bitch and bitch and complain and threaten. Politicians are like 5 year olds, their full time job is to trick you into giving them what they want for themselves and nothing else matters.

I don't want an inefficient government. I want a transparent government and a vigilant citizenry.

Actually, the good news for diabetics is already here