New Orleans is 6 feet below sea level, as we found out 20 years ago.

Err....we've knows NOLA was below sea level for many MANY years....decades....a century or more even.....

What we found out with Katrina was...that the US Army Corps of Engineers had made some serious mistakes and short cuts in the levee system they had built and overrated.

This isn't something new to man....go ask those nice folks in the Netherlands that fight off the ocean like we do here....they know a thing of two about living below sea level and fighting off the ocean.

I understand from working geologists in soil districts and the like that actions can be taken on a building by building basis, but can you apply that to an area?

Or, you do like areas like the Netherlands or New Orleans, and you build yourself a big ass levee system to keep the ocean at bay (no pun intended).

Overall, in a battle between nature and man....nature will eventually win.

But, man CAN hold out for a long time...I mean New Orleans just recently had it's 300th anniversary, you know?

I guess it's different in the US where the cops immediately point a gun at you. So again, it depends on your threat model.

That's not the case at all...unless you are something like a robbery suspect, they don't pull guns on your...geez.

As long as you don't act a fool....and are being stopped for being a violent crime suspect, you aren't going to have any problems.

If in a car, just keep your hands on the wheel where they can see them...be polite...and don't talk too much, only answer what you need to....giving drivers license, registration proof of insurance on demand...etc.

Don't incriminate yourself, know your rights, ask if you are being detained, if now, ask if you are free to leave....

Hell, I've been pulled over and since I have a carry concealed permit, told the cop I had a gun and where it was...they were cool about it, wrote me a warning and sent me on my way...didn't disarm me or have me leave the car or anything....

So, no...normal people acting normal do not get guns drawn on them.

Now, with all that being said, if you are stopped or pulled over...and immediately start trying to grab and fuck with your phone (which they may not be able to see is a phone) could be recognized as suspicious....I'd not really do that...and hence better to just keep a long enough passcode/password on the phone in case things escalate and they take your phone for evidence.

Must be quite entertaining to watch you unlock your phone hundreds of times a day.

JFC...why in the world would you need to be accessing your phone "hundreds of times a day"???

Geez, there's a nice big world out there with REAL people in meatspace you can and should interact with...you know, make REAL friends with, maybe even get laid...??

Don't spend your whole day with your head stuck in your damned phone....

For most people, a fingerprint is a decent way to unlock their phone. It's fast and good enough for banks to trust it with payments. It can easily be disabled in an emergency situation (press the power button 5 times rapidly). Thieves aren't equipped to lift your print and unlock your device, and will just sell it on or break it down for parts.

For fingerprint unlock to be an issue you would have to consider a threat actor who can get your device before you have a chance to disable it, and then force you to unlock it before the biometrics time out and it defaults to needing your password (Pixel devices do that, not sure about others).

Well, with a police interaction, especially if they suspect you of something...you will be quickly separated from your phone and not be given a chance to click anything on it.

This is quite common....and even many cops have common sense to know this.

For what? Who I am is more relevant than what I know for the vast majority of transactions I have. Phones have functions to lock out biometrics, simply rebooting the phone would trigger a password requirement on every mobile I've used recently. I can't face unlock or thumb unlock a freshly started phone. On the iPhone you can simply press power + volume for 2 seconds and it will disable touch/face ID until the next time you enter your passcode.

Keep in mind, you likely will not HAVE the opportunity to click or hold anything on your phone with a cop interaction....quite often the first thing they'll do is separate you from your phone if they suspect you of something.

So, keep in mind, if you can't disable your biometrics....you're screwed.

Typing in a passcode/password is fast enough for any transactions I do with my phone...it isn't rocket surgery.

Why you should (if you own an iPhone) lock it with 5 clicks when doing things like going thru security lines or getting pulled over. Always. It requires the pin to enable touch or Face ID.

Why not just avoid using the biometric crap entirely?

I mean, I'm guessing the defendant, like many people would not have had a chance to click anything 5 times.

I've never used the biometrics, just a complex passcode/password.

We know that's protected the most to date.

It puzzles me why so many participate in that voluntary hoovering up of personal information....

IRS agents go after wealthy tax cheats because they are scored and graded on how much money they recover and they're going to recover many many times more going after a wealthy tax sheet then they are going to go after some random Schwab who makes a little six figures or less.

I saw something on one of the news channels the other day, that seemed to indicate that the IRS indeed is going fairly heavily after the "Schwab" who makes 6 figures or less....

There's a ton of those, and they are easy pickings since they dont' have the resources for lawyers and heavy duty CPAs.....so, you can recover a LOT of $$ shaking down a LOT of small fish.

It's quicker too than going after a well lawyered up rich guy that can take years.

There are well established limits to the 1st Amendment, which is why some states have laws against "involuntary pornography" that have stood up to 1A challenges. The key is not just classifying anything pornographic that was manufactured without consent as illegal, but also considering the intent behind it. To protect 1A rights, things like public interest in disclosure have to be considered. Only where intent to hurt the victim can be established (i.e. revenge porn) can it be made illegal.

But, this law in the UK is saying you can't even generate it for home collections or use.....and the 1A definitely would protect that here in the US.

Libel isn't protected in the US so writing fiction about real people can and has got people sued. I don't see why pictures get stronger 1A protection than words.

Well, it isn't libel if you create it for your own personal collection/use...you can make pictures or write anything you want here to keep private.

And to a large extent, you can publish it too...as long as it isn't libelous.

Writing fiction, wouldn't necessarily be libelous....and for celebrities/public figures, they have less protections than normal folks...so, there's that too.

Why does anyone use F-droid? Why does anyone use F-droid to install NewPipe?

Well, that answers none of my questions...

I have no idea what the fuck F-droid or NewPipe is....

It doesn't sound very iPhone-ish to me...?

and why do you need that?

Well, aside from "what does NEED have to do with anything....they are quite useful for protecting your hearing when you are out target shooting.

But seriously what the fuck does "need" have to do with getting a suppressor or a few of them?

I don't "need" a corvette or Porsche...but they are fun to own and drive.

Same in that suppressors are fun to have...it's nice to shoot without having to wear hearing protection, etc.

Hell, silencers/suppressors are MUCH easier to get in countries around the world that are VERY strict about firearms ownership, primarily due to hearing concerns.

It's a breeze to get a suppressor in much of Europe...that is if you can somehow get past the draconian gun laws.