Quote Originally Posted by gore View Post
Given my "reputation" I think at least a few people will see just how silly this is if I of all people say something about it:

Unless you're living in some horrible, horrible place (Like Alabama or something), there are a few things to consider:

Whining about the US govt and how they control the net is sort of like whining about Microsoft going after people who pirate their software... The US govt was not only the funds, but the start it up for the internet as we know it.
Yes, i buy a $.99 cheeseburger and pay the cashier $1.06, who pays the gov't?...


Quote Originally Posted by gore View Post
They spent a CRAP load of cash getting the internet going. I think some of us forget what really happened and forget that, even though the US govt has been bashed in the past, and sometimes with good reason, they did fund this thing we all use, and I really doubt they did it as a way to watch what your cooking recipe and surfing habits are.
The gov't also spent a CRAP load of cash getting the roadway system going... you still have privacy there.


Quote Originally Posted by gore View Post
Also, for the encryption fan girls who encrypt every document they make.... Seriously, if you want to waste your CPU cycles like that, give me your computer and I'll do something useful with it, like playing DooM or Quake.
Have you ever heard of tech advancement through contest? The reason why security is a hot topic and forever growing field is that it is constantly challenged. I sure the people who cracked the russian's enigma machine during WW2 wasnt the people who said "I wont encrypt my own files because i would rather play DOOM and Quake all day." they probably played around with encryption alot, tried to break other encryption and built off of them to mke them better. Same concept goes here, who knows what will happen in the future maybe some terrorist regime adopts a idea such as this and makes a successful underground network. Someone could use the knowledge playing with paranoid linux to figure a way to infiltrate.

I say this again because i don't think people get it. it is not about politics or morality or justice... its about science, computer security is a science, you experiment and see what you make make your computer do and not do. There is not right or wrong in the computer world when experimenting. You can program a virus as long as you don't distribute it. You can hack... as long as your have permission to. It really isn't about creating a OS to hide from the government it is about learning the about technologies that have the possibility to do so.