rob05c

That wasn't an insult. Jonathan Ive is a brilliant designer, and Microsoft is smart to create a public image if they have an equally brilliant designer.

It sounds like Microsoft is trying to market him as the next Jonathan Ive. Which is not to say he isn't.

Right. It also does DNS poisoning, URL word analysing, deep packet inspection, and VPN identification & blocking. I meant it only directly blocks the worst IPs, as opposed to directly blocking all external IPs.

I do wonder whether a US Firewall will be worse or better than China's. On one hand, the US is presumably less autocratic. On the other, we have 10x the defense resources.

Well, it depends how they do it, right? If they just block DNS, yeah, people who care can simply tunnel out. It still hurts, as the average non-caring citizen's knowledge is stunted. But not as badly.

If they block IPs, and closely monitor outgoing tunnels? Then it's a lot harder to get out.

I suspect you're right, they'll probably just block DNS and the worst IPs. It's easier, and DNS gets the 99%. Even The Great Firewall only blocks the 'worst' IPs (like Twitter).

The US is a two-party system. First Past The Post voting ensures a vote for a third party is wasted. No significant percentage of people will ever vote for a third party (excluding transition periods between party systems).

The current ruling party is widely recognized as less warmongering and less surveillance-state than the other party.

Americans aren't completely inculpable. Our societal inability to work together (see: Prisoner's Dilemma), combined with our unwillingness to risk contentment, contributes.

But I fail to see how American citizens have any real say in the government. We present a "democracy," but the two-party system is a thinly veiled autocracy.

I'm not sure whether I agree. I don't generally believe in violence.

But the average American won't rebel unless they are actually starving, no matter how much they're repressed. As long as they have their McDonald's and Reality TV, they aren't willing to die over a little warrantless wiretapping.

"Bread and Circuses" is far older than America.

Personally, I simply can't afford it. I have to work 9 hours a day, and even if I had the time, a trip to march on Washington DC is very expensive. I suspect most Americans that care are the same.

> the darkest of the dark ages

I agree this is a dark age for freedom, but to put things in perspective: Mao, Lenin, The Inquisition, Genghis Khan, Victorian Imperialism, Feudalism.

The current US Congress, the CIA, Hoover's FBI, et al may be tyrannical, but Obama is no Mao.

I fear Tyrannical Governments will create an "American Internet," a "Chinese Internet," a "European Internet," and a "Rest-of-the-world Internet."

It will happen quietly, and no one outside the tech community will know until it's too late.

As an American, I wish news agencies would stop conflating the US with the CIA. It suggests US citizens generally approve of their actions.

The "US" did not bug Merkel's phone. An agency under the Executive branch, which is above the Rule of Law, which is drunk with power and paranoia, who considers American citizens the enemy as much as foreigners, bugged Merkel's phone.

It would be like saying "Syria uses chemical weapons." The Syrian people had little to do with it, and the American people have little to do with this.

I was just as shocked to see John Cornyn on the list. Shock and awe.

> Recognize that BMW/Daimler/et al really don't want true self driving cars.

They don't have a passion to, but they must. Capitalism forces companies to adapt to competition, even when it isn't in their individual self-interest. BMW has to, because if they don't, Toyota will.

Companies make necessary self-defeating choices all the time. Newspaper companies have websites. Barnes & Noble sells e-books. The Empire made the Death Star.

I think Capitalism is a pretty broken concept, but I think this particular facet of it tends to work.

Also, laziness. Knowing proper protocol doesn't preclude procrastination. "I'll lock everything down tomorrow."

I don't know how common my sentiment is, but I'd be far more inclined to eat crickets than cockroaches. I psychologically associate roaches with disease. Crickets are just another insect.

I realize this is irrational, and that fauna which feed on garbage like rats and roaches can be farm-raised in sanitary conditions. I'm still not going to eat a roach.