Hacker News Reader

GHFigson The state of democratic control over surveillance in France

These developing nations seems to have plenty of government and regulation to go around considering their non-existent economy.

Which nations are you referring to, specifically?

GHFigson Snowden is more distraction than traitor

Note that the subject of the article is precisely the thing it's calling a distraction.

GHFigson Ask HN: Examples of startups focused on AI?

http://anki.com/ -- Some will remember them from the incongruous toy car demo at beginning of the WWDC Keynote.

GHFigson German minister: Stop using U.S. Web services to avoid NSA spying

Precisely my point. Extreme emotional reactions are not a good basis for an informed opinion. Learning about a subject is much more important than telling people on the Internet how mad you are about it. The downside (and I admit, it is a downside) is that it's much harder to maintain that sense of absolute certainty and self-righteousness that constant outrage affords. The world becomes much more complicated and forming an opinion that you can be confident in actually takes effort.

GHFigson German minister: Stop using U.S. Web services to avoid NSA spying

It's terrifying that people are even forming strong opinions about such things without understanding such basic information.

GHFigson Could Glenn Greenwald go to jail? The law is alarmingly murky

I think that's a misread. The purpose of the story is to make it appear that WaPo is on the case and to keep you on the edge of your seat, even though nothing has actually happened, and the article itself strongly suggests that nothing will. It's not supposed to shift the conversation anywhere, but to keep you talking and reading the news, even though there isn't any news to talk about.

GHFigson Ask HN: Can we please slow down the stories about Edward Snowden?

this one is an exception

Just like the last hundred, right? The problem with this is that it never ends, because every asshole with an itchy mouse finger thinks it's his job to keep people informed by mindlessly upvoting increasingly trivial details about allegedly important stories. The site just sinks under a sea of exceptions. Nothing important actually happens as a result, but everybody feels empowered because they're "raising awareness" of things everybody who didn't abandon ship has already turned fanatical about. All you're accomplishing is the sustainment and amplification of your established convictions.

Wake. Up. Sheeple.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcotizing_dysfunction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_minutes_hate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_cascade

GHFigson Naomi Wolf: My Creeping Concern That The NSA Leaker Is Not Who He Purports To Be

I did notice the "in most cases" language, so maybe he got in on a pass from someone?

Yes, that's what I mean by "willing to accept". If a person's ASVAB scores are high and they're not a total mess, they can get a waiver for many things. It varies by service, of course; I'm not surprised that the Marines and Air Force don't waiver GEDs.

GHFigson Naomi Wolf: My Creeping Concern That The NSA Leaker Is Not Who He Purports To Be

how was a guy who was a high school dropout get a gig at the NSA?

He enlisted in the Army and got a security clearance, which is the credential that's really crucial for CIA/NSA/contractor jobs. The Army is willing to accept a GED, which you can get in an afternoon.

GHFigson Naomi Wolf: My Creeping Concern That The NSA Leaker Is Not Who He Purports To Be

In an ideal world, he could release the information and each individual would engage with it, analyze it, make determinations about it, and judge whether or not it is important.

Thats this world, minus the people that keep "choreographing" things so they have the "right" impact.

GHFigson Americans Disapprove of Government Surveillance Programs

Judging by the last few days, it would probably have more to do with politics than technology.

GHFigson David Brooks and the Mind of Edward Snowden

They believe that precisely because the media relentlessly worked that image into every story about him.

It's not hard to get a similar impression from his own writing and speaking, or from people that worked with him.

GHFigson Majority Views NSA Phone Tracking as Acceptable Anti-terror Tactic

"Poor people are stupid" isn't an experience, it's a prejudice.

GHFigson Majority Views NSA Phone Tracking as Acceptable Anti-terror Tactic

What's the polite word for elitist?

GHFigson Creaky Voice: Another Example of Young Women's Linguistic Ingenuity

Recognition and recall are different things. You can recognize an actor in a film without knowing their name, and you can recognize a name without knowing who the person is.

GHFigson Creaky Voice: Another Example of Young Women's Linguistic Ingenuity

Is this important to you?

GHFigson Hacker News is depressing

Compare: http://gilesbowkett.blogspot.com/2008/05/summon-monsters-ope...

GHFigson How Stuff Spreads #1: Gangnam Style vs Harlem Shake

it is notable that Facegroup failed to mention this, or to even spot that the "viral" nature was being pushed by particular groups

The first rule of viral marketing club is that you do not talk about viral marketing club.

GHFigson A Saudi Arabia Telecom's Surveillance Pitch

I didn't say anything about Moxie.

GHFigson A Saudi Arabia Telecom's Surveillance Pitch

I'm responding to the idea that ideological purity is the goal, not the author's right.

GHFigson A Saudi Arabia Telecom's Surveillance Pitch

From libertarians to environmentalists to any kind of anti-authoritarian that doesn't serve the interests of the establishment.

Who do you mean? Who is being called a terrorist?

GHFigson A Saudi Arabia Telecom's Surveillance Pitch

I humbly contend that forcing people to do anything in the name of an preserving the purity of an ideology is a Bad Idea.

GHFigson Nervous Parents In One Country Clear Supermarket Shelves In Another

Often this just a matter of brand labels being slapped on whatever goods are available or manufacturable locally. The brand gets to enter a new market for cheap and the manufacturer gets to sell for a higher price without changing the product. The consumer gets...disappointed.

GHFigson My two-week review of Google Glass: it all depends on the price

Conversation continues to work as long as the other person thinks you're looking at them. And having an HMD on is close enough that people don't react to you jumping away into glass-land to look something up or jot down a note.

If I understand you correctly, you're asserting that talking to your glasses does not interrupt conversation?

GHFigson Killer escaped prison after being issued picture of master key

The non-intuitive nature of the distinction between physical artifacts and the information they contain seems to be the source of a lot of different problems.

GHFigson CISPA 'dead' in Senate, privacy concerns cited

I didn't stop reading.

GHFigson CISPA 'dead' in Senate, privacy concerns cited

It's needed to expand a pilot program for dragnet surveillance by the NSA and defense contractors.

What horseshit! Even your own link describes the program as applicable to private networks of the participating companies. That's why there's a quote from an email wondering (emphasis mine) "Will the program cover all parts of the company network -- including say day care centers (as mentioned as a question in a [deputies committee meeting]) and what are the policy implications of this?"

GHFigson Copying is an act of love. Please copy and share

What do you mean "at the same time"? Those derivative works were profitable because of copyright--that's how ContentID works! How would Psy profit from derivative works if he wasn't allowed to actually claim ownership of his original work? Why else would YouTube ever pay him for videos he didn't upload?

You don't seem to have grasped the point: You brought up Psy, but then proceeded to leave out all the evidence contrary to your agenda. The polite word for that is bullshit.

GHFigson Copying is an act of love. Please copy and share

I would think the heaps of money PSY made from YouTube royalties, including those from other people's videos that use his song (thanks to ContentID) and iTunes sales (where his song was #1 for many, many weeks) were among the things that put food on his table.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/cashing-gangnam-styles-youtub...

GHFigson Copying is an act of love. Please copy and share

There is something humorous in making a statement against copyright predicated on fans giving a PILE OF POO[1] about the creator's will. People already share what they like; they just don't like most of the stuff that's given away for free.

[1] http://www.charbase.com/1f4a9-unicode-pile-of-poo