So how do you feel about NSA/UK/French reading your emails?

[Reek]

See, that wasn't so hard

[Neko]

Originally Posted by Reek

See, that wasn't so hard

Oh man do I get tired of that smiley, I know why you use it xD

[J McKalling]

Originally Posted by Jesse

Oh man do I get tired of that smiley, I know why you use it xD

Once, someone said to me that, putting that smiley after every line of mine doesn't make it funny.

[Neko]

Originally Posted by J McKalling

Once, someone said to me that, putting that smiley after every line of mine doesn't make it funny.

Exactly, and that doesn't actually make it funny now too. It's getting on my nerves this smiley

[Reek]

[J McKalling]

Maybe you could ask El to script a confirm box in the submit reply form when it detects the smiley, that asks whether you are sure your reply is funny.

[Kobold]

Originally Posted by Battler

Care to back up your statement with evidence please?

You're kidding me. If you introduce the number it's your job to show us evidence.

[SpaceGuitarist]

Originally Posted by Kobold

You're kidding me. If you introduce the number it's your job to show us evidence.

Battler's Brain 0.5 Beta

Searching for file B:\drivers\logic.dll

Error: file cannot be found. (A)bort, (R)etry, (F)ail?

(j/k Battler, I know deep inside you're a nice guy.)

[Kobold]

Battler stores his logic on 5.25" floppy disks?

[SpaceGuitarist]

Originally Posted by Kobold

Battler stores his logic on 5.25" floppy disks?

(Well observed young man, that's part of the joke. Also, B stands for Battler...)

[Battler]

Originally Posted by Kobold

You're kidding me. If you introduce the number it's your job to show us evidence.

That's true. But he didn't ask me to provide evidence - he outright stated my claim is false, which is another absolute. Until either side provides evidence, either side's claims are unverified, and not automatically true or false.

[Darkflame]

Hello. My name is Ed Snowden. A little over one month ago, I had family, a home in paradise, and I lived in great comfort. I also had the capability without any warrant to search for, seize, and read your communications. Anyone’s communications at any time. That is the power to change people’s fates.

It is also a serious violation of the law. The 4th and 5th Amendments to the Constitution of my country, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and numerous statutes and treaties forbid such systems of massive, pervasive surveillance. While the US Constitution marks these programs as illegal, my government argues that secret court rulings, which the world is not permitted to see, somehow legitimize an illegal affair. These rulings simply corrupt the most basic notion of justice – that it must be seen to be done. The immoral cannot be made moral through the use of secret law.

I believe in the principle declared at Nuremberg in 1945: "Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience. Therefore individual citizens have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring."

Accordingly, I did what I believed right and began a campaign to correct this wrongdoing. I did not seek to enrich myself. I did not seek to sell US secrets. I did not partner with any foreign government to guarantee my safety. Instead, I took what I knew to the public, so what affects all of us can be discussed by all of us in the light of day, and I asked the world for justice.

Just part of a excellent statement by Snowden:

http://wikileaks.org/Statement-by-Ed...nowden-to.html

Later he lists the countries offering him asylum:

Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador.

If your country isn't on that list, you should feel ashamed at your government.

[Kobold]

I didn't need this case to be ashamed of my government.

Besides, coming to Germany would have been downright dangerous for Snowden considering the allied statute still in power.

Der NSA-Whistleblower Edward Snowden hat unter anderem in Deutschland um Asyl gebeten. Manche Politiker wollen ihn gerne als Zeugen vorladen. Wäre Snowden gut beraten, in die Bundesrepublik zu kommen?

Auf keinen Fall. Aufgrund des Zusatzvertrags zum Truppenstatut und einer weiteren geheimen Vereinbarung von 1955 hat die Bundesregierung den alliierten Mächten sogar den Eingriff in das System der Strafverfolgung gestattet. Wenn eine relevante Information im Rahmen eines Strafverfahrens an die Öffentlichkeit gelangen könnte, heißt es in Artikel 38, "so holt das Gericht oder die Behörde vorher die schriftliche Einwilligung der zuständigen Behörde dazu ein, dass das Amtsgeheimnis oder die Information preisgegeben werden darf". Gemäß der geheimen Vereinbarung wurde sogar der Strafverfolgungszwang der westdeutschen Polizei bei Personen aufgehoben, die für den amerikanischen Geheimdienst von Interesse waren. Stattdessen musste die Polizei den Verfassungsschutz und dieser umgehend den amerikanischen Geheimdienst informieren. Dann hatten die Amerikaner mindestens 21 Tage lang Zeit, die betreffende Person zu verhören und gegebenenfalls außer Landes zu schaffen. Was nicht selten geschah. Im Übrigen hat natürlich die Bundesregierung keinerlei Interesse, sich auf einen neuen Kalten Krieg, dieses Mal mit den Vereinigten Staaten, einzulassen.


Translation:

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has sought asylum in Germany among other countries. Some politicians would like to hear him as a witness. Would you recommend Snowden to come to the Federal Republic?


Definitely not. By virtue of the additional treaty for the army statute and a second secret agreement from 1955 the Federal Government of West Germany has allowed the allied powers to intervene in the German justice system. When relevant information could be revealed to public during the course of due process, according to article 38 "the court or federal office first asks for a written permission from a dedicated authority of whether this information is allowed to be made public". According to the secret agreement, the West German police was not required to pursue crimes committed by persons of interest for the American intelligence agencies. Instead, the police would have to consult the Bureau for Protection of the Constitution (Germany's secret service for inner affairs) which would immediately notify the American intelligence. Then the Americans would have had at least 21 days to interrogate the person in question and to, if necessary, take them out of the country. Which did happen quite often. [...]

[marcosmapf]

Originally Posted by Darkflame

Just part of a excellent statement by Snowden:

http://wikileaks.org/Statement-by-Ed...nowden-to.html

Later he lists the countries offering him asylum:

Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador.

If your country isn't on that list, you should feel ashamed at your government.

If what he said was used against Hitler back then...
its still awesome that he did that, though. He deserve the respect of everyone in the world for such sacrifed. He forever ruined his life to reveal a truth to the rest of the world.

And I have other reasons to be ashamed of my country.
Many more.
Many, many more.

[Carajo]

Originally Posted by Darkflame

Just part of a excellent statement by Snowden:

http://wikileaks.org/Statement-by-Ed...nowden-to.html

Later he lists the countries offering him asylum:

Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador.

If your country isn't on that list, you should feel ashamed at your government.

He'll love Latinamerica, Colombian bitches got booty my nigga yo.

[Reek]

Originally Posted by Battler

That's true. But he didn't ask me to provide evidence - he outright stated my claim is false, which is another absolute. Until either side provides evidence, either side's claims are unverified, and not automatically true or false.

Only a Sith deals in absolutes

[Battler]

- Reek: Read my message again. I'm actually saying that if you state an absolute, you must be prepared to back it up. The same obviously goes for everyone else too, myself included.

[Polaris]

I have no reasons to be ashamed of my government, they are not acting on my behalf or anything like that.

[marcosmapf]

Originally Posted by Battler

- Reek: Read my message again. I'm actually saying that if you state an absolute, you must be prepared to back it up. The same obviously goes for everyone else too, myself included.

And yet you didn't back it up aswell. Interesting, no?

[Polaris]

Come on now, quit that bickering, will ya ?