...and thanks for all the fish.

Is it harmless? That's an opinion. Not one I share either.

Is the change an overreaction? That's also an opinion. My answer is, it is no more an "over reaction" than people clammoring for the change in the first place is .

Why is it NOT an overreaction when a feather needs to be changed because someone somewhere was offended, and removing it offends someone else? Who's Offense Matters MORE? Is it offensive or is it honoring? That is the real question and who gets to decide?

And Who gets to decide who decides? Thats the real problem.

Dutch Tulips!

Nothing new under the sun. This is the same same. I view most Crypto currencies this way. They are mostly worthless, with people waiting to rug each other.

Most of the restaurants I go to don't even serve alcohol. Of course, I live in Utah, which is at the very bottom of the alcohol consumption per capita chart. Here restaurants all have normal fountain drinks, water, and then a wide array of specialty drinks, many of which are just normal sodas with some stuff added in.

Being a restaurant owner is hard. The margins on most food is slim. The margins on drinks (alcoholic or not), on the other hand, are ridiculous. There's a reason why sit down restaurants start you with something to drink, and why fast food places bundle sodas. To a very real extent these businesses make their money upselling you from drinking plain water.

"Stolen" clearly indicates you are just repeating the MSM cover lies to cover up their "all the hallmarks of Russian Disinformation".

It was NOT stolen, it was ABANDONED by Mr Biden (the crack addict) at a repair shop.

Guilible is believing 51 Intelligence Agents trying to debunk a crack addict's laptop. But that was the exact case that actuallly swayed an election. In fact, it was called "Russian disinformation" at the time, when it wasn't.

The real disinformation came from our own government, our MSM, our social media.

Russia is a nothing country with Nukes. That is the ONLY thing that gives them any strength. Pakistan might have just as much influence as Russia at this point for the same reason.

If you think Russia propaganda has any influence on 162 Million voters enough to change anything (2024), please keep spewing that opinion.

It all depends on where the ecryption happens.

Client side, the data is encrypted by you before it even goes to iCloud or whereever.

Server side, the data is encrypted by the provider (iClound or whatever) on your behalf with a unique key that the server has.

IF you aren't doing the encryption, it isn't encrypted, only the illusion of encryption is happening.

I don't use Biomentric Passkeys for this very reason. They cannot compel me to type in or tell them my password, but they can force me to use a fingerprint or facescan.

They cannot compel me without a court order (or three dollar wrench).

"I don't answer questions. I want my lawyer. Am I free to go? Am I being detained and for what RAS do you have right now? I do not have to help you 'investigate' "

The problem with Civil Liberties (me being a libertarian) is that government intrusion into our lives is already done, and both D and R have contributed. The Dems take a little here, the R takes a little there and the next thing you know, "Papers Please". Government intrusion says the camel's nose is inside the tent.

Not sure where you stand on Opening Up Encryption .... but it sounds like you're pro unecryption

Broken clocks are right every so often, and this is a No Brainer for me. Don't Fold To Foreign Despotic States.

The title says it all. Anyone willing to bow down to opening up Encryption to despotic states for just $$ doesn't deserve the $$ they have.

Precisely. This is going to be used against the owners of the hardware, not for them. I suspect that these containers are very secure. It's just too bad that my phone is the one device that I own where I do not have root access. This security is not going to be used to protect my data from Google, but to protect Google's data from me.

Hooray!

OF "Models" are up a creek, when the basement dwellers can create a whole character to sell that will do whatever pays the most.

Which will drive down revenue for everyone except those skimming $ off the top, namely the OF owners.

The age of the internet where requests are honored has long been over. Tha fact that it has taken this long is an anomaly more than anything.

Websites are going the way of the Dodo due to AI. Once the data has been captured by AI, it is owned by AI.