Caneri wrote:@DMcCunney ,
I would re-consider, as it's well know that MS is using the OS as a filtering tool for Gov...there is no question in my mind from reports/concerns I get form all over the world.
No, I won't reconsider. I have the same question for folks elsewhere in the world that I have for the ones at home: what makes them important enough that the US government (or anyone
else) would bother snooping on them?
In most cases, the answer is "nothing". Yhey aren't being snooped upon because there is no reason to do so,
The Tin Foil Hat crowd over here display symptoms of paranoia. Paranoia is a defense mechanism. What the paranoid is
really afraid of is that they aren't important, they don't matter, and nobody
cares about them. If you can adopt a paranoid world view, it's perversely comforting. Hey! You're
important! You
matter! Someone
cares enough about you to
try to get you! Well, their deepest fears are true. They aren't important, they don't matter, and nobody does care abut them.
Personally, I'm quite aware
I'm not important,
I don't matter, and those in authority don't care what
I think. You know what? I
like that! Being low profile and anonymous gives me
far greater freedom of movement and action. No one is keeping n eye on me because there is no reason they think they should.
The same holds true for the folks elsewhere worried about MS being a tool of the US government, and Windows deliberately leaving back doors open so they may be spied upon. I'm curious. What are they afraid of? Why do they think anybody
would spy upon them? (And frankly, if anyone was
was going to snoop on them, I'd call their own governments the more likely culprits. Mine has its own problems, and has better things to do than go hacking in some random European's machine, even if it
could. There are only some many intelligence types who do that, and too many potential threats to keep track of in places that are openly hostile to the US to pay much attention to those who are merely distrustful.)
See my earlier comments about my own setup, and what would be required to get to any sensitive data on my machine. And incidentally, I've been in IT in one form or another for many years, and in recent years I've been a sysadmin. I know something about the technology and about computer security in general, and I have a fair idea of what's
possible. Most of what I hear people worrying about
isn't possible.
If you think the US Gov has it's citizens best interest at heart...think again, as a corporatocracy (US Gov) is made for the corporation and not the people. This is easily shown by the Monsanto Group, whereas the US corporates have given the Monsanto Corp a free hand in spreading the GMO technology to the world when the world doesn't want it or need it....case closed!!
The US government thinks it
has the best interests of its citizens in mind. The problem is that there are as many ideas of just what the citizen's "best interests"
are as there are citizens. The controlling strata of the US government is comprised of
elected officials. Like elected officials everywhere, they want to
stay in power. They want first and foremost to be
reelected. To be re-elected, they must get votes. To get votes, they must keep their constituents happy, and do what they think their constituents want. Depending upon just which elected official it is and who their constituents are, you may have completely contradictory views of what the government ought to be doing. It's part of what makes the political process in the US grimly amusing.
The US government is nowhere near as monolithic and corporate directed as you seem to think. It
can't be. The underlying nature of the economy and the political processes make it impossible. I sometimes think it's a miracle that the US government accomplishes anything, since accomplishing things requires agreement on what ought to be done. You'll find precious little of that in Congress there days.
(I
live here. I see it first hand in all it's rampant idiocy. I think I may have a better idea of what is going on than you do. And the old saying "Never attribute to mai9lce what can be satisfactorily explained by stupidity" is apt. I see my government do things I don't like on a daily basis. But I don't think it's
evil. I think it's
stupid.)
As for Monsanto, oh, dear. Too much of what I've seen of that controversy reduces to ignorance all around. I know a bit abut GMO. Bear in mind that farmers have been practicing genetic modification of plants for millenia. It's called hybridization. Plants are cross-bred to select for desirable characteristics. One good example is corn. What we grow and eat now was derived from native maize, through a centuries long process of selective breeding. Current efforts at genetically modified crops have the same goals, but use technology to speed up and refine the process.
Most of the opposition I've seen comes from fear based in ignorance, on the part of people who know nothing about genetics or agriculture, let along the particular technology being applied. The other part of the opposition tends to come from people who are afraid it's being shoved down their throats and they aren't being given a say in the matter. That's actually a more reasonable argument. We all like to feel we have some control over our lives, and an increasing number of people are coming to fear that they don't.
Meanwhile, Monsanto thinks there is a market around the world for genetically modified crops, created to produce higher yields, be more resistant to bad conditions and local pests and parasites, and be easier for local farmers to grow and harvest. They're right. There is a market. And there are plenty of places where such crops are both wanted and needed. If Monsanto is selling GMO products where you live, who is buying them? Why are they doing it? For that matter, why is your government permitting it? And what, exactly, are you afraid will happen as a consequence? You may have a good reason to be concerned, but I don't know what it is.
______
Dennis