The setup: No matter where you go on the Internet, there's always some person desperately trying to prove that they're too stupid to eat with a fork. Here, I explain (slowly, in small words, so his feeble mind can comprehend) the idea that the Internet may have been invented by Americans, but now belongs to the whole world.
Fear the government? WHICH government? The Internet is a global network, remember? Do you mean the U.S., where Project Echelon (hi, guys!) has been recording everything for the last ten years or so? Or perhaps Great Britain, which may soon start deporting people critical of its government? Perhaps Pakistan, which just tested a cruise missile capable of delivering a nuclear device? Hmm, probably you're talking about the U. S. of A. Guess what, sport? WE ARE the government, of, by, and for the people. If you want to fear the Government, fear yourself, because you're it, bright boy. We get the kind of Government we deserve, because too few people actually get out and vote. If you want to do something constructive instead of just sitting around whining, get involved, get the vote out, and work hard to elect officials who don't conveniently forget we're at war with an implacable enemy for their own political gain. Oops, sorry, shouldn't confuse you with facts, because your mind is already made up....
The setup: On another online technical board, we had the hilarious sight of a person of limited intellect trying to argue that commercial products were 'superior to' Linux, and of course, tried to imply this was because their code has less security holes than software built by 'amateurs.' I had a lot of fun explaining to him (slowly, in small words, so his feeble mind could comprehend), that things weren't quite as he described.
The next time you get a chance, attach your laptop (running your favorite terminal emulator) to a Cisco router using one of those nifty crossover cables they send out in the box, and flip on the power switch. If you watch carefully, you'll see the Linux bootloader go by. I laughed for two full minutes the first time I saw that. And hey, isn't that hole in the IPv6 code? Don't know about you, but I haven't gotten through with my regression testing on that little feature. Turn it back off until it's patched (what is that, 'no route ipv6'?), and voila, no problem. That wasn't so difficult, now was it?
The setup: Though we now know that what I suggested here is absolutely true, it was considered amazing back then (what, fifteen years ago?) that the 'weapons of mass destruction' that then-President Bush talked about actually existed. Of course, anybody who wasn't brainwashed by the mass media knows better, but there are a lot of people who weren't raised to think for themselves, and accept what they're told without thought or question. And we let these idiots vote and operate heavy machinery? Why?
All the WMD that Saddam used on the Kurds (remember 'Yellow Rain,' AKA Russian-supplied T-2 mycotoxins?) are currently sitting over the border in Syria. The only reason we haven't run over the border and proven their existence (and not incidentally removed the last real external threat to Israel) is that we have a larger fish to fry. Question: if you have troops in Afghanistan and troops in Iraq, what country is right in the middle of all those troops? Answer: if they don't lay off the nuclear program, Iran will get what's coming to them for that little contretemps with our embassy staff back in the 70s. Seriously, check a map. And don't think the Iranians don't know how to read a map, either, which accounts for the saber-rattling they've been doing. Of course, what this political claptrap has to do with Cisco routers, black hats, or IPv6 vulnerabilities is not clear to me, but I'm sure a little clear-headed thought will bring out the truth.
Fear the government? WHICH government? The Internet is a global network, remember? Do you mean the U.S., where Project Echelon (hi, guys!) has been recording everything for the last ten years or so? Or perhaps Great Britain, which may soon start deporting people critical of its government? Perhaps Pakistan, which just tested a cruise missile capable of delivering a nuclear device? Hmm, probably you're talking about the U. S. of A. Guess what, sport? WE ARE the government, of, by, and for the people. If you want to fear the Government, fear yourself, because you're it, bright boy. We get the kind of Government we deserve, because too few people actually get out and vote. If you want to do something constructive instead of just sitting around whining, get involved, get the vote out, and work hard to elect officials who don't conveniently forget we're at war with an implacable enemy for their own political gain. Oops, sorry, shouldn't confuse you with facts, because your mind is already made up....
The setup: On another online technical board, we had the hilarious sight of a person of limited intellect trying to argue that commercial products were 'superior to' Linux, and of course, tried to imply this was because their code has less security holes than software built by 'amateurs.' I had a lot of fun explaining to him (slowly, in small words, so his feeble mind could comprehend), that things weren't quite as he described.
The next time you get a chance, attach your laptop (running your favorite terminal emulator) to a Cisco router using one of those nifty crossover cables they send out in the box, and flip on the power switch. If you watch carefully, you'll see the Linux bootloader go by. I laughed for two full minutes the first time I saw that. And hey, isn't that hole in the IPv6 code? Don't know about you, but I haven't gotten through with my regression testing on that little feature. Turn it back off until it's patched (what is that, 'no route ipv6'?), and voila, no problem. That wasn't so difficult, now was it?
The setup: Though we now know that what I suggested here is absolutely true, it was considered amazing back then (what, fifteen years ago?) that the 'weapons of mass destruction' that then-President Bush talked about actually existed. Of course, anybody who wasn't brainwashed by the mass media knows better, but there are a lot of people who weren't raised to think for themselves, and accept what they're told without thought or question. And we let these idiots vote and operate heavy machinery? Why?
All the WMD that Saddam used on the Kurds (remember 'Yellow Rain,' AKA Russian-supplied T-2 mycotoxins?) are currently sitting over the border in Syria. The only reason we haven't run over the border and proven their existence (and not incidentally removed the last real external threat to Israel) is that we have a larger fish to fry. Question: if you have troops in Afghanistan and troops in Iraq, what country is right in the middle of all those troops? Answer: if they don't lay off the nuclear program, Iran will get what's coming to them for that little contretemps with our embassy staff back in the 70s. Seriously, check a map. And don't think the Iranians don't know how to read a map, either, which accounts for the saber-rattling they've been doing. Of course, what this political claptrap has to do with Cisco routers, black hats, or IPv6 vulnerabilities is not clear to me, but I'm sure a little clear-headed thought will bring out the truth.