If HN goes dark it accomplishes nothing. If anything should be done, we should promote and post hacker news in an effort to increase awareness. Closing HN which is a source of real factual and crowd sourced news is like cutting off vaccines durin an epicemic...
A recent article in "scientific american mind" argues that our sub-conscious mind solves problems when we sleep or daydream. I see no reason to think that when you are scribbling some doodles, the same thing isn't happening in the back of your head. This also probably helps to rest your ocular muscles and gives your retinas a break.
Is this really a problem or are people just reacting to hype? It seems to me that our data has been monitored for years both online and offline. That data is used to target businesses marketing messages but its nothing new. For example, insurance companies collect data on people and re-sell it to marketing companies. They then use that information to send you custom messages in the mail or offers based on your demographics. Data on customers will always be sold to advertisers and frankly, we should encourage this evolution. Instead of watching advertisements for motorized wheelchairs during "Murder she wrote" (I cant help it, I love that show) It would be more enjoyable if I saw advertisements for something like Motorized Dirt Bikes. People will always have to see advertisements so isn't it better to see things that interest you? If the product is free, you are the product and I prefer to be sold to what intrigues me.
Mind is racing with possibilities of what this could do when combined with a water balloon slingshot. Wonder how waterproof and shockproof they have made it.
I thought the point of "terrorism" is to inflict change on behaviors and confidence of a population? Changing someone's way of life impacts their confidence which seems to be the end goal of terrorism. It stands to reason that in order to make it an ineffective tactic, change as little as possible within the population and do not react.
Historically speaking, we've never seen an economy succeed long term when the monetary system is based on a fiat (fake) currency. Sadly, this trader is telling the truth: "We bought the ticket so take the ride and profit" is the message to people.
This is a manufactured crisis but it matters not weather it is intentional or unintended. It is happening. Historic precedent exists for this. The Collapse of: Egyptian Empire, Roman Empire, U.S.S.R. and Zimbabwe. All from fiat overexertion of an unsustainable empire or economies. The history of fiat money, to put it kindly, has been one of failure. Seems this trader is going to profit from the shift rather than sit idly by waiting for some magical intervention.
If there arent any software patents would we see new competetion to the big giants of industry. A competetor to Google for example? (no, bing doesnt count) Seems to me that the entire reason that the internet has been so successful and innovative is that there (was) little litigious battles and it was just smart people solving problems. I'd be in favor of eliminating the anti-competetive behavior of patents.