Even if the NSA was 100% telling the truth here. I don't doubt that they are telling the truth. So what?!

Since Snowden's revelations about the NSA's operations, the NSA has done nothing but claim that not only does it do everything he stated, but that what they do is perfectly legal. This has been supported openly by Obama and Congress actually re-purposed a bill intended to roll back the NSA's activities, into a bill that all but confirmed their legitimacy.

"DOS attacks aren't like refusing to go to the back of the bus... They're sugar in the gas tank. Anonymous vandalism isn't going to generate sympathy from your fellow citizens."

What is this silliness? A DOS attack does no damage to any computer equipment at all. A DOS attack is even MORE pacifistic then going to the back of the bus. In real life a bunch of people show up to protest a place and close businesses by blocking traffic. A DOS attack does the same thing except the stakes are even lower because there is no chance of a sudden riot...

If anything we should be complaining that these kids aren't out in the streets doing REAL property damage. :D

Thats a whole lot of overblown rhetoric SFC. Tax evasion did not cause the fall of Greece. Tax evasion isn't a cause, like piracy its an effect. Piracy effects software yet it never kills software. In fact in the case of really good software it actually serves as an amplifying effect. Piracy crushes your competition for you: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2098235.ece (remember Gates trip to Romania). In the same way tax evasion thrives in the great economic pillars of the west and the tax havens do very well for themselves. Tax Evasion didn't cause Greece.

Some History:

Greece was 'relatively' poor to begin with:

  The whole of Southern Europe has been in decline for hundreds of years ever since the end of the Spanish Empire and Renaisance. Economically backward Spain and Italy fell back into farming once their trade routes dropped off. Portugal depolutated itself with worldwide colonization and both Spain and Portugal suffered heavily from growing nationalism. When the nationalist age kicked off in Europe Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece all limped through to the modern era with backwater dictatorships. The point beings that modern Southern Europe is far weaker economically then the North. Is it any suprise that these four nations are all suffering at the same time from miserable economies.

There was a far Bigger problem:
The Global Economic Resession.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Recession How could we forget this? Economies worldwide were hobbled. Greece was never going to stave this off. This massive event has sent the US budget soaring, massacred our Arab dictatorships, and we still haven't seen the end.

Why Greece is pulling down Europe:

Greece and its three fellow southerners are on the Euro. Normally they would do what all dead beats do: print their way out. A seemly poor solution it is actually sound economic theory. In the short term you have to deal with miserable work conditions but this allows you to have an advantageous trade imbalance, your worthless currency creates far more exports than imports. But Germany and France have no desire to devalue the currency they worked so hard to build. So the southerners will grow more sick and suck in more aid will the rest of Europe carries them. See the ongoing cold war between China and the US. US wants to devalue the dollar and by extension chinas investments in our debt. A weak dollar is exetremely advantageous in this manner. So in response despite a booming economy China refuses to revalue the Yuan so as to maintain the trade imbalance and their debt investments.

Will the US out print China? I've got my popcorn.

Greece is fucked though... not because of taxes.

Well this bound to fail no doubt, but I think the judge already know this? From the article:

"They (injunctions) depend really on people's willingness to follow the rules rather than any ability to force it on them," [intellectual property and media partner Keith Arrowsmith] told Reuters when asked about Twitter.

So really the judge is just asking Twitter and Facebook very nicely to not talk about it. Ineffectual by design.

Leaked? How come all these 'leaked' video game articles always look like perfectly assembled press releases?

Here are the original Kotaku articles:

http://kotaku.com/5801226/the-modern-warfare-3-files-exclusive-first-details-on-the-biggest-game-of-2011
http://kotaku.com/5801353/modern-warfare-3-multiplayer-features-battles-in-brooklyn-clash-in-mogadishu/gallery/
http://kotaku.com/5801345/where-youll-go-how-youll-kill-and-who-will-die-in-modern-warfare-3

I wonder if they were delivered pre-written?

Full Disclosure: I loved MW and MW2. I would still be playing MW2 if PSN network wasn't completely fucked

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bqq38WZctA

Why defend against accusations of immorality? EMBRACE THEM!

+5 insightful (?)

Such a bigoted post but whatever let them Europeans get away with it I suppose. WE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE aren't trying to force anything on you. Our Government. and Corporations are. But from your post you seem to think that all American's are stupid pro-corporation flag wavers. How about this then?

Could you Europeans stop grovellingly accepting every stupid, clearly corporate-backed, treaty our fair Government sends your way?
Please continue to live in your (America TM) corporate governed country, which you believe is better than the American (TM) Democracy, but STOP obeying our corporate overlords.

On second thought don't, just in case the "trickle-down effect" actually works, I could use a few more Euros

The article states : "These nations and many others have rightly concluded that the way to win in the world economy is by doing a better job of educating and innovating. And America? We’re losing our edge. Innovation is something we’ve always been good at. Until now, we’ve been the undisputed leaders when it comes to finding new ideas through basic research, translating those ideas into products through world-class engineering, and getting to market first through aggressive entrepreneurship."

This seems incredibly short sighted to me. I mean yeah we are losing our high-technology jobs, but isn't this the same as losing our low-tech manufacturing jobs. Do we still need to be the worlds largest exporter of technology? Honestly I don't know, but this article takes for granted that these things are necessary for America to leader of the world. There is a good chance to do damage here if we get it wrong, what if for the sake of having a "strong and powerful industrial base" we started focusing on massive amounts of low tech manufacturing again. I mean America could be self-sufficient again! Of course that stupid but it sounds logical right?

If I had to bet money I would say America is right on course for remaining world leader. By focusing on finance we can control the worlds economy and just buy all the high tech shit we need, just like we have been buying all the low tech shit we need for decades. Finance pays better than engineering in America for a reason. And if in the future finance in no longer king we can just shed our skin again.

"their idleness is resolute, even if it spells impoverishment, dishonor, and danger to life and limb. They do not fear boredom as much as work without pleasure; they actually require a lot of boredom if work is to succeed." - Friedrich Nietzsche

"Whoever works has not been put to death, he is refused this honour. And labour is first of all the sign of being judged worthy only of life. Does capital exploit the workers to death? Paradoxically, the worst it inflicts on them is refusing them death." - Jean Baudrillard

<quote><p>While I can appreciate this sort of thing from an academic perspective (it's quite impressive, actually), I find the idea of this in the real world quite sickening. Not sure I like the idea of a vending machine putting me into a category based on how I look. Or based on anything, for that matter.</p><p>Why can't a vending machine just be a vending machine?</p></quote>

Its sickening to people when advertising uses efficiency like this to lump them into groups. And yet they can't exactly describe why. No one likes to think they can be mentally dissected like this. Well its an affront to the modern morals of "Individualism Uber Alles". It sickens me to be sure, but this is already being done on such a massive that a vending machine is hardly upsetting. Take polling for example:

Do you approve of Obama policies?

Such a general question is bound to shave you down to one of the mindless drooling masses you claim to despise. No amount of political awareness or newspaper (lol) reading can protect you from it, you will always be lumped in with the stupidest of us. Of course its easy to condemn polling but the problem is that it functions EXACTLY THE SAME AS VOTING. A simple yes or no question:

Should Obama be president?

And there you are drooling along with the worst television pundits in the same worthless and stupid MASS. What is truly offensive to you about this vending machine? It holds up a mirror to your face and provides the tinyest little doubt that you aren't as unique and intelligent as you thought you were...

This question is flat out insulting to gamers. First of all he doesn't even like very good games. Alice, Syberia, and Heavy Rain are terrible. Alice I will just link to a fantastic review here: http://www.oldmanmurray.com/longreviews/56.html
  Heavy Rain is about as much a game as those old interactive laser disc games... or Dragon's Lair. So I guess if you are looking for games find yourself an emulator for a Panasonic Laser Active, or pick up Dragon's Lair which is on a ton of different systems. Now all of these games also happen to have in common that their are 'Art Games'. So if you want to get into a bunch more of those you can check out Metacritic as they do fairly well there.

However, the best course of action, if you really have your heart set on playing more games is to start developing better taste. Much as one can acquire better taste in wine, books, movies, and music, one can also acquire better taste in videogames. Videogames can be roughly divided into two types: Action / Strategy. Western developers are much more adept Strategy and Japanese developers are more adept at action.

Japanese: Shmups (shoot-em-ups): Dodonpachi(vertical), Battle Garegga(vertical), R-type (horizontal)
Run-N-Guns: Metal Slug 1,2,X
Action: Ninja Gaiden, Bayonetta, Devil May Cry
Fighting: King of Fighters XI, Street Fighter 3 Third Strike, Blaze Blue

Western: FPS(first-person-shooter): Half-Life 2, Gears of War 2(3rd), Halo 3
RTS(real time strategy): Starcraft 2, Dawn of War 1
Strategy: Civilization IV, Panzar General 2
RPGS: Fallout 1,2, Diablo 2, Planescape: Torment

Best of all these are all either freely or cheaply obtained at this point in time. THESE ARE THE TRUE ARTISTIC HEIGHTS OF GAMING and im sure others could list HUNDREDS more.

This isn't the first time the Simpsons have done this either. In an filler clip show episode hosted by Troy McClure there is a scene where sweatshop animators in Korea toil over their work while armed guards look on. According to the DVD commentary many of the animators were upset with this and the scene was almost completely scrapped.

<quote><p>Turns out, if you put hardasses in power, they can turn around on you. If we just offered actual <em>aid</em> rather than screwing with their governance, we'd be much better regarded in that part of the world.</p></quote>

This is +4 insightful because? Aid IS "screwing with governance", or at least, one way of bringing down enemy institutions.

Hypothetically using the example of Darfur: Should we send aid to convicted war crimes govt. of North Sudan? the Africans in Darfur? the Arabic death squads in Darfur? The illegitimate breakaway nation of South Sudan? If you favor one of these factions you have screwed with governance. You've given one of the factions more food and supplies and theoretically they will beat their other opponents. In that case you've chosen who will govern at the end and that same government will owe you its existance and thus be inclined to favor you in every aspect of its governance. Or prehaps you send only aid to the 'people of somalia' and then the warlords intercept all your aid and either burn it or use it themselves. What then will you do? Prehaps you could invade somalia and wipe out the warlords... Don't even think of giving all sides equal aid cause that is just moronic, you have done the same thing as giving all sides no aid.

Even worse by limiting your diplomatic policy to only 'aid' you have given up the option of force. Dear Britian, Dear France please wisely use this pig iron and nylon against the Huns, of course, we won't be joining you in the fight for democracy as that would interfere in your governance. As we know we did interefere and now all of Europe and Japan are beholden to our Aid and favor us in all of their policies...

Obviously its not a simple matter of choosing 'only Aid' or 'only Force' or 'only Peace'. Those are moronic arguments of the common conservative, liberal, moderate, and (shudder now) independent. Do I know what to do in Iran? NO and neither do you. Which is why we all should be wise to talk about what we know at Slashdot: TECH and stop putting international politics on display. (And before some smartass makes a comment that the article is about IT in Iran let me say this: do you think "Man with no prior background in networking asks 'Can we like, beam the internet into a country or something?'" should be on the front page of slashdot?" That does give me an idea though... can we make 'the right to the internet' a human right, certainly it would be an excellent causus belli for our invasion of Iran....

As a note: if you have read in anyway an argument for or against: north sudan, arabs, americans, france, britian, somalia, warlords, the nazis, democracy, the internet, invasions, diplomacy, technology, or slashdot; in this post... you have not read correctly

Because in the history of revolting THAT IS WHAT HAS ALWAYS HAPPENED, there has never been a revolt in the world where outside backers haven't cast there lot with one or another faction like that. So any thought of Iran revolting and America not being involved, because of good feelings and such, is just hopeful fantasy. Iran suffering a revolt and America is tacitly condemning the Iranian crackdown because the revolt is not likely to succeed and Obama has already made moves to reconcile with the ruling Islamic government. The only reason to even lodge a complaint against Iran was to put pressure on them, to make them uncomfortable, but unless the govt. shows signs of toppling America will not move in Iran. If America does move we won't even know what side America will back, they could just as easily support the ailing regime in exchange for their unending debt and gratitude...

A more important question is why we would "beam broadband" (no doubt many slashdotters recoiled at this phrase, but we get the gist of it I suppose) to the opposition forces. Is there any evidence that broadband will help these people out against the government? They could just as easily use word of mouth and secret meetings, no doubt they already do. Unless this whole revolt started on the back of websites and mass emailings...
 

EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is why you care about Iran in the first place. Tajikistan Turkmenistan Azerbijian and Uzbekistan (check your map all close neighbors of Iran) haven't had free elections in god knows how long. Look up Turkmenbashy! We don't care about these countries beating and torturing opposition supporters. These countries play ball, they are part of the great Caspian pipeline and the same police forces that torture electorates, torture terrorists/anarchists/democrats/republicans/monarchists who try and blow up the pipeline. The only reason human rights are brought up in the news/politics is because the West (sometimes the East) wants to gain something. Go look up the news for Tamil Tigers and War Crimes trials, Europe and the US want the Sri Lankan govt. to be punished, whilst China Russia and India don't: it certainly isn't because of a disagreement about who are the victims. Giving a shit about Human Rights abuses in Iran is hypocritical and foolish. In fact, giving a shit about human rights abuses at all is hypocritical and foolish...
 

So please stop reading your newspapers/blogs/slashdotinternationalnews and answering for dribble like "How can we beam happy sunshine into Iran". Have some self-respect.