Old chattel "Slavery" mostly ended but the slavers didn't go away. They're still amongst us scheming, plotting, building new forms of human capture, control and exploitation.
Yes, my kind regards to you. Slavery was ended mostly and in various Christian countries and to a certain amount of cheering, but not entirely, not in various Muslim countries, not in various communist dictatorships, and not in the basements of the Podestas and other miscreants. Something like 12 million children a year are stolen off the streets of the world and trafficked. But at least there is a widespread pretence of the people running big agencies that it *should be* illegal. So we got that goin' for us.
On your last line Jim, " But at least there is a widespread pretence of the people running big agencies that it *should be* illegal. So we got that goin' for us." When the Mormons in Utah forced my family and I into a condition of democide, they all pretended that they were the "Authorities" and had the right to choose who lives and who dies by fiat. The sheer hypocrisy of the Mormon religion is that they are the one with the only "True Church" and no other opinions will be tolerated. They really believe that in order to save my son, it was necessary to kill his natural biological parents. They also informed me that "I had no right to defend myself or my own family". The strong delusions of 2003 are still haunting me to this day.
I do understand your situation and the conclusions you've reached from what was done to you and your family. I don't agree with what was done to you, nor do I agree with the false doctrines of Mormonism. They do not follow the teachings of Jesus. They do follow many things that were added by spiritually unclean persons.
The problem has been, for many people, not whether we know that the people in power are evil, but whether it is possible to tear them out root and branch without being destroyed with the job only partly finished. In 1995 my friend Claire Wolfe described the problem thus: "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to do any good trying to change things by working within the system, and it's still too early to just shoot the bastards." In 2006 she allowed as how it was no longer too early. Then a bunch of people started asking her to lead them into battle, which totally blew her mind. Writers aren't generals, no matter how much one admires the occasional writing of a former general.
When I was working in the energy generation sector, there was a lot of data and security "upgrades" going on. During one meeting on a project in 2010 I chimed in, Where's this gear made? Someone answered, China. I knew the answer but just wanted to hear the engineer say it. Did the head of IT object or show any concern? Nope. I offered that maybe we shouldn't be putting Chinese gear near our nuclear reactors. There was no agreement, only a sigh and eye roll from the team as they wanted the meeting over and to get on to lunch.
Cybersecurity was an afterthought.
The attitude was- get the gear in and we'll plug any holes found later.
Terrifying.
My belief is that the "vulnerabilities" that didn't previously exist were being intentionally installed. IMHO.
Yes. When I read that "sigh and eye roll" I heard "cyanide roll" in my head. Because that attitude is suicide.
No kidding, there was an avowed Maoist in the office of president in 2010. I happen to know because I met him in 1983, mentioned that I had no interest in participating in a student group on campus because I had just met the new chair of the group who was a grad student in Chinese language studies and rather proudly announced that he was a Maoist. Barry asks, "What's wrong with Maoism?"
I stared at him. Knowing that the conversation was now over, I began moving away a little bit, and responded, "You know, all the dead people?"
And as I turned to go, I heard him say, "Oh, right, the dead people." Like it was no big deal. We had been talking for about ten minutes or so. He wanted to talk to me because he was involved in a project to disparage all the anti-war groups on campus. He wrote up his findings in a hit piece that was published by our on-campus Sundial magazine. It's still findable on the interwebz. Creepy guy. Creepy article.
So, yeah, I don't myself dismiss "country of origin" issues. The problem with plugging holes later is, some holes don't make big messy leaks because they are, as it were, pipes and not holes. Pipes taking what you don't want to have go to people you don't want to have receive. You think, well, but we can replace the software, and I say, "but not the firmware on the chips" and then the harrumphing begins.
A little short.
But, we're of the same mind.
Rhodes had his backers...
I don't trust any of their scholars either.
Old chattel "Slavery" mostly ended but the slavers didn't go away. They're still amongst us scheming, plotting, building new forms of human capture, control and exploitation.
Cheers!
Yes, my kind regards to you. Slavery was ended mostly and in various Christian countries and to a certain amount of cheering, but not entirely, not in various Muslim countries, not in various communist dictatorships, and not in the basements of the Podestas and other miscreants. Something like 12 million children a year are stolen off the streets of the world and trafficked. But at least there is a widespread pretence of the people running big agencies that it *should be* illegal. So we got that goin' for us.
On your last line Jim, " But at least there is a widespread pretence of the people running big agencies that it *should be* illegal. So we got that goin' for us." When the Mormons in Utah forced my family and I into a condition of democide, they all pretended that they were the "Authorities" and had the right to choose who lives and who dies by fiat. The sheer hypocrisy of the Mormon religion is that they are the one with the only "True Church" and no other opinions will be tolerated. They really believe that in order to save my son, it was necessary to kill his natural biological parents. They also informed me that "I had no right to defend myself or my own family". The strong delusions of 2003 are still haunting me to this day.
I do understand your situation and the conclusions you've reached from what was done to you and your family. I don't agree with what was done to you, nor do I agree with the false doctrines of Mormonism. They do not follow the teachings of Jesus. They do follow many things that were added by spiritually unclean persons.
The problem has been, for many people, not whether we know that the people in power are evil, but whether it is possible to tear them out root and branch without being destroyed with the job only partly finished. In 1995 my friend Claire Wolfe described the problem thus: "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to do any good trying to change things by working within the system, and it's still too early to just shoot the bastards." In 2006 she allowed as how it was no longer too early. Then a bunch of people started asking her to lead them into battle, which totally blew her mind. Writers aren't generals, no matter how much one admires the occasional writing of a former general.
When I was working in the energy generation sector, there was a lot of data and security "upgrades" going on. During one meeting on a project in 2010 I chimed in, Where's this gear made? Someone answered, China. I knew the answer but just wanted to hear the engineer say it. Did the head of IT object or show any concern? Nope. I offered that maybe we shouldn't be putting Chinese gear near our nuclear reactors. There was no agreement, only a sigh and eye roll from the team as they wanted the meeting over and to get on to lunch.
Cybersecurity was an afterthought.
The attitude was- get the gear in and we'll plug any holes found later.
Terrifying.
My belief is that the "vulnerabilities" that didn't previously exist were being intentionally installed. IMHO.
Yes. When I read that "sigh and eye roll" I heard "cyanide roll" in my head. Because that attitude is suicide.
No kidding, there was an avowed Maoist in the office of president in 2010. I happen to know because I met him in 1983, mentioned that I had no interest in participating in a student group on campus because I had just met the new chair of the group who was a grad student in Chinese language studies and rather proudly announced that he was a Maoist. Barry asks, "What's wrong with Maoism?"
I stared at him. Knowing that the conversation was now over, I began moving away a little bit, and responded, "You know, all the dead people?"
And as I turned to go, I heard him say, "Oh, right, the dead people." Like it was no big deal. We had been talking for about ten minutes or so. He wanted to talk to me because he was involved in a project to disparage all the anti-war groups on campus. He wrote up his findings in a hit piece that was published by our on-campus Sundial magazine. It's still findable on the interwebz. Creepy guy. Creepy article.
So, yeah, I don't myself dismiss "country of origin" issues. The problem with plugging holes later is, some holes don't make big messy leaks because they are, as it were, pipes and not holes. Pipes taking what you don't want to have go to people you don't want to have receive. You think, well, but we can replace the software, and I say, "but not the firmware on the chips" and then the harrumphing begins.