Politics: Surveillance

Why is it even important… and why should I care? I’ll get to the why…

Spy vs Spy

Spy vs Spy

Recently the Dems and GOP have been fussing about what is or isn’t spying. It doesn’t take exceptional intelligence to figure which side has staked their position in the debate in the Land of Dumb… Is it spying or surveillance? That seems to be the crux of the debate.

SPY ∙ verb

  • work for a government or other organization by secretly collecting information about enemies or competitors.
  • observe (someone) furtively.
  • discern or make out, especially by careful observation.

SURVEILLANCE ∙ noun

  • close observation, especially of a suspected spy or criminal.

Is there really a difference? Is any difference enough to matter? If not, then what is at play?
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The Challenge of the Ignorant

Hamlet has an article about those that think Linden Lab® stopped updating Second Life™ and that the recent announcement of ‘millions’ being invested in Second Life this coming year is proof Sansar is failing and the Lab is ‘desperately’ returning to support SL. (Reference)

If you follow Second Life’s development news, this probably sounds ridiculous. It is.

‘Trust me… SL is dying… horribly… heheheha’

But, I see this idea, that development of Second Life has stopped, coming up in several places. August 1, Cindy Kraai posted Will LL have any plans upgrading SL after Sansar beta? Cindy has been around since May 2010, that’s 7+ years. Yet, she has no clue what is happening with Second Life development. Reading through the thread I find the amount of misinformation and ignorance amazing, not surprising.

Then there are those that are so sorry for poor newbies that have no money ($L). (Reference) They feel these newbies should somehow be helped. You see people quickly divide into the victim (or the ‘they’ are victims you [, not me] have to do something) versus self-reliant (DIY) groups on this subject. Continue reading

Free Speech to get Really Complicated

Every so often I get on the subject of free speech. Second Life™ is said to be inhabited by more Liberals and Progressives than Conservatives and Traditionalists. But, no one knows, at least I have yet to see an objective study or assessment. I can see that we have more demonstrations of liberalism in SL. But, Conservatives have historically been the silent majority. Thus, the problem figuring out the actual demographics.

Google can't tell about information requests from China

Google can’t tell about information requests from China

Second Life is not a free speech area. It is a private area owned by Linden Lab(R). Speech is governed by the ToS. We are free to say whatever within those limits. It is up to the Lindens to decide what speech exceeds those limits. Their decision is final, there is no appeal.

In RL free speech is suffering from fake news that is confusing some people and adding extraneous information some mistake for facts. Part of which is that awful thing ‘Hate Speech’, which is an interesting spin on “Hate” and the prime tool for anti-speech proponents.

I think the recent Berkley riot and threat of riot are examples of people not understanding the US Constitution and the principle of Free Speech nor its importance nor how to protect it nor why. Continue reading

Philosophy: Do you know what the Ignorance Project is?

I used to be surprised at how little people know, especially about current events and important political subjects. I’ve gotten over it. I’ve moved on to the psychology of changing minds.

Ignorance Project

I’m not the only one concerned about ignorant people messing up the world in their effort to make things better. In a 2014 presentation by TED (About) we learn about global ignorance and what can be done about it. Continue reading

The PC Mime… I’m NOT PC

Strawberry Singh has an interesting post up with an interesting meme: The Love Trumps Hate Challenge. The basic idea I took away is to be loving and living what you believe, do something. But… her underlying philosophy and how it relates to the real world is missing. But, the title definitely reflects her creativity.

The point is to be uncomfortable

The point is to be uncomfortable

My grandmother’s generation was the last to have an education in history and civics from a public school. I was educated in history and civics at home. At times, it put my parents and I in great conflict. My schools never taught the subjects. It appears neither did Strawberry’s. So, how differently do we see things? Continue reading

A Liberal Tells Us why Trump Won

A friend of my dad’s sent this to him. He emailed a link to me. 😛

I won’t put the video on my site because of the language. But, here is the link: President Trump: How & Why…

Johnathan Pie

Johnathan Pie

The speaker is Jonathan Pie, a spoof reporter created by British actor and comedian Tom Walker. Very much a British style Colbert Report thing.

He nails it to the wall… but, I doubt the Liberals/Dems supporting Hillary will understand. I’m impressed because a Liberal is taking responsibility for the Hillary loss.