[Amour Fou]

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/ar...re/248612/

I'm usually very slow on the news, but I've been hearing this lately...

So there are some people discussing laws to censor the internet?? Really?

I've been living in US soil for some months now, and I was really shocked with how (pointlessly) repressive the state is. There are quirky little laws for every sort of random threatless thing... it feels suffocating, but I sort of got used to it, and I'll be leaving soon, so I didn't put much thought to it.

A Danish friend of mine said it elegantly: "Here in the US they have all these laws for these really minor things, but the big things (like carrying guns, waging war) is actually legal and even facilitated"

I heard a story from an Austrian friend of mine (yeah guys, I heard it, I won't be able to put an official testimony here, so if you don't believe it, I'm sorry). She's been living here in Hawaii as well, and her best friend here was dating a guy in the military for a couple of months. The guy got paranoid over her and, having access to the military computer technology that scans the internet, he searched her out and found photos of her with another guy (which she was dating before and not cheating) and they broke up. My point is: how easy it is to invade people's privacy using military technology?

And now there is this stalk about the censorship of the internet! Repress and homogenize!

I really don't get this... The US feels like a totalitarian state, with this paranoid feeling hovering over our heads all the time, very close to a Orwellian distopia, or soon to be.

This post was inspired by Roosh's last tweet: http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comment...e_the_usa/


Anyhow, I end this thread with a quote from V:

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."

Just an outsider's perspective.

[WanderingSoul]

I agree that we have way too many petty laws. However, the super secret military program he used was probably just Facebook or Google. I really don't think there are secret photos of your friend and her new boyfriend that only the government can find. I mean, unless their names are tagged in the photo or were posted on one of their personal social media accounts, how would they be found? It's pretty unlikely he has access to some super computer which is able to scour the internet and read the pixels of BILLIONS of photos and match them to other pixels of photos based on their face composition or whatever lol. I'm sure our government has some shady shit going down, but come on now.

Also, almost no one in the US "carries guns". That will land you into prison very quickly in almost every state. Some states you can get concealed weapons permits, but very few people have these and I don't believe they are extremely easy to get. A lot of us have guns in our homes, but that's about it. I keep a .357 next to my bed, which some Euro people in my hostel in Bangkok thought was insane. But be serious, how the fuck are you going to shoot someone in the head if they break into your home and your gun is in a safe?

[Amour Fou]

The military computer thing was quite freaky, and I write this to ask if it actually possible.

How much info the government can have? I was an exchange student here in Hawaii, and I was told that every 2 weeks the university had to send a "report" on me... strange.

[joehoya]

(12-22-2011 05:48 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  

...Also, almost no one in the US "carries guns". That will land you into prison very quickly in almost every state. Some states you can get concealed weapons permits, but very few people have these and I don't believe they are extremely easy to get...

HAHAHA

You obviously haven't been to some of the smaller areas of Texas or Arizona. In some places it is like every 3rd guy is obviously carrying. As far as ease of getting a concealed carry permit, most states are "shall issue", which means that as long as you haven't been convicted of a felony, previously committed to a mental hospital, or have a domestic violence complaint, they HAVE TO give you the permit. Usually the only requirement is fill out the form, take the 4 hour safety class, and you are good to go. In fact, only one state in the union (Illinois) forbids concealed carry by anyone other than law enforcement. Contrast that with Vermont, where you don't even need the CCW permit, you can just carry concealed without asking.

It is all about what people value as freedom and liberty. I know guys that would have no problem if children were force to take religion classes in public schools. He thinks the government arresting and jailing someone for having consensual sex with a person of the same sex is OK. Wants porn banned. But if you even hint at any kind of additional gun law, he will curse you for trying to take away his "freedom".

[WanderingSoul]

(12-22-2011 06:31 PM)joehoya Wrote:  

HAHAHA

You obviously haven't been to some of the smaller areas of Texas or Arizona.

You obviously didn't read where I wrote "almost every state". I know you can carry in Texas and Arizona, but it isn't like that in he 48 other states. And it's not like people are walking into the saloon with their shit kickers on throwin back shots of whiskey with their revolver on the bar. I've actually been to Higgins, Texas where my brother got married and grew up. It is 450 people and the epitome of a small Texas town, and saying every 3rd guy is carrying a gun is an exaggeration. Anyway, this is all besides the point, because like I pointed out, these are the exception. As a whole, people in the US are not "carrying guns" around town.

Let's not argue just to argue. I'm sure you can agree that the % of people carrying guns around town in the US as a whole is very, very small.

[joehoya]

(12-22-2011 07:26 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  

...Let's not argue just to argue. I'm sure you can agree that the % of people carrying guns around town in the US as a whole is very, very small.

It all depends on your definition of very very small. If you are living in some big city, you don't see it much, but I see it a lot in the rest of the country. Not the majority of folks, but if you know what to look for (it is concealed after all) it is surprising at how many folks carry regularly.

[WanderingSoul]

(12-22-2011 07:46 PM)joehoya Wrote:  

(12-22-2011 07:26 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  

...Let's not argue just to argue. I'm sure you can agree that the % of people carrying guns around town in the US as a whole is very, very small.

It all depends on your definition of very very small. If you are living in some big city, you don't see it much, but I see it a lot in the rest of the country. Not the majority of folks, but if you know what to look for (it is concealed after all) it is surprising at how many folks carry regularly.

I've never seen it personally, other than hunters in my hometown, but their rifles are not supposed to be loaded. A friend of mine was at a bar one time though hitting on some older lady. Turns out the older lady was married to a cop who was off duty. Buddy didn't know and the off duty cop came up to him and flashed his gun at him. Pretty sure that is a big no no for cops but I was crackin up when my friend told me because he's such an asshole lol.