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While the Net has certainly scored a point or two against the State, the State has scored a lot more points against the Net. If the State wants your domain name, it takes it. If that's independence, what does utter defeat and submission look like?
Worse: whatever state tyranny exists, it's obviously dwarfed by the private, free-market, corporate tyrannosaurs that stalk the cloud today. We can see this clearly by imagining all these thunder-lizards were actually part of the government. "Private" and "public" are just labels, after all.
Imagine a world in which LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Apple and the NSA were all in one big org chart. Is there anyone, of any political stripe, who doesn't find this outcome creepy? It's probably going to happen, in fact if not in form. While formal nationalization is out of fashion, regulation easily achieves the same result, while keeping the sacred words "private enterprise."
How do today's technologists win freedom from State control?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by khallow on Sunday November 01 2015, @07:08PM
What you are describing is simply the inevitable, oppressive result of living with other people.
That's why Sweden is identical in its oppressiveness to North Korea?
This isn't a battle you can win by defeating an oppressive mechanism, because in defeating it you become an oppressive mechanism.
An oppressive mechanism is not a person. You are not oppressing anyone by its defeat.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 01 2015, @09:54PM
That's why Sweden is identical in its oppressiveness to North Korea?
You've never been to Sweden, I take it? Especially in the winter? At least in N. Korea you will not be threatened with extraordinary rendition to the American gulags just because of some miscommunication during early morning sexy-time.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 01 2015, @09:57PM
You're right, but they have their own gulag's in NK.
Equating Sweden with NK because of what they will allegedly do to a guy that is a bit of an itch in their back side, is showing gross incompetence in your ability to judge the world.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Non Sequor on Sunday November 01 2015, @10:47PM
I didn't say that things were equal everywhere.
Oppression comes in all shapes and sizes.
Write your congressman. Tell him he sucks.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday November 02 2015, @01:52AM
I didn't say that things were equal everywhere.
You just strongly implied that by what you wrote (which said nothing about this). Plus, what is the point of such an observation, given the vast difference in levels of oppression? Or quoting "Hell is other people" from "No Exit" when oppression can be really mild (eg, restraining me from eating people) rather than "hell"?