Posts by Doctor Syntax 42421 publicly visible posts • joined 16 Jun 2014
It's a valid warrant in the US. That makes it impossible for US-based FB to be able to perform the SCCs. That makes the SCCs worthless in the EU. If they want to comply with GDPR they need to ensure any PII is held securely outside the grasp or the USl. If they don't want to do that then it's time to start fining them. Actions speak louder than words; no amount of waffle about how much they want to makes any difference at al
"I really want rid of the thing, but it's almost the only way a large number of people I know chose to communicate for some reason."
Just do it. Tell your "friends" our phone number and/or email address as you prefer. That way you find out who your friends rally are and those who aren't can be dumped along with FB.
"The media demand a loud, aggressive, unthinking jingoism for political parties. They're too stupid and greedy to consider anything more nuanced."
Ultimately what the media demand is a bad guide, I agree with you there.
But someone being put forward as a potential head of government for several years needs to demonstrate the ability to actually make rational decisions.
Rational decisions. Two words. We were offered a choice of zero or one.
The frothing loons are probably those of us who've seen it all before. Many times
HMG of the day pours lots of funds into whatever. Next HMG cans it because
(a) NIH and/or
(b) realised we've poured lots of funds in and all we've got is this one lousy proto-type and we can't afford to build more at that price each, failing to grasp that now you've done the development the build costs each will be much lower and/or
(c) serial reorganisations of government depts broke up the funding structure and/or
(d) political campaign against it because it's complicated and a lot of media/arts types don't understand it and/or
(e) meddling form on high smothered it and/or
(f) sacrificed so govt. could suck up to US by buying whatever it was from them - or because US didn't have one to sell and were upset by that and/or
(g) any other form of incompetence and ignorance you cn think of.
Some of the victims were started by people who looked a good deal more competent than the current crew.
Those who don't remember their history are condemned to repeat it.
"with no track record in the tech industry. "
They have a track record. It's a track record acquired in a very short time. It's a track record of promising "world beating", "UK will be the best place in the world for" etc. for things which promptly fall flat on their face. It's not a track record that inspires confidence.
Life is an extremely improbable* arrangement for preserving the improbable. It's not really surprising that they've found nothing.
* We have several quite different chemical systems linked together. Some of these are made out of polymers of amino acids**: systems capable of handling energy by manipulating electrons and protons, chains of specific catalysts to synthesise other molecules including assembling amino acid polymers, structural elements including membranes made from combinations of lipids. The "other molecules" include those which are necessary for the energy handling such as chlorophyll, heam and adenosine and its phosphates and, of course, the amino acids themselves. Then there's the nucleic acid system, DNA or, in some cases, RNA genes, mRNA transcripts of the genes, tRNA to specifically bring the correct amino acid to add to the amino acid polymer and rRNA in the ribosomes. Individual monomers and other molecules may be readily enough found but assembling them together at random into a combination that is capable of bootstrapping itself into what we know today is extremely improbably, even taking into account that some mineral surfaces could have stood in for what proteins do now.
** Not just random chains but chains of specific sequences which lead to folding into specific shapes to provide the other functions.
"It would set a terrible precedent where administrations would want to jail their predecessor for lesser and lesser crimes"
The answer to that is that administrations shouldn't have that power It would require an independent body that starts work* the moment a head of government ends their period of office, looking at any illegalities that might have taken place during the period of office and possibly during the elections that preceded it and prosecuting accordingly. Such a body would have to be right outside politics and, give or take the normal retirements and recruitments - which clearly would have to be outside the influence of the administration - would be the same one to eventually deal with the new administration as dealt with the previous one. It wouldn't be an exceptional process to conduct such an investigation, just business as usual.
In reality the role of such a body would be to deter administrations from wrong-doing rather than to punish afterwards although it would obviously be obliged to take action from time to time; at least that would strengthen the deterrent for the next few administrations.
* In terms of being able to demand and evaluate evidence. There's nothing to stop them taking notes of what's out there in public before then.
"But they've changed the application icon no less than FOUR TIMES since they started Vivaldi, each time listing it in the changelog like it's some marvellous advancement."
A sure sign marketing is in charge.
If you want a combined browser/mail (and more) client, try SeaMonkey. Add in Lightning and Lightbird if you want to include a calendar function.
I don't think there's any evidence that all those campaigning for leave* had any idea what to do after the vote. Cameron was going to stay on and run it. Where was the essential planning before the vote? Where were the impact assessments? Where was the cost/benefit analysis?
Vote Leave were caught in the headlights by winning and then being left to deal with the reality of it. They still are. That's why they're "dicking around" in your words. It's all they've ever done. Their one hope is that, arguing form a position of extreme weakness, they can persuade the EU to give them a safety net.
* Those that actually believed they could win which I'm not convinced with all of them.
"unelected bureaucrats like Cummings and Tony Abbott"
Unfair to bureaucrats. Bureaucrats have competence in doing things according to procedures. The procedures might be badly designed and the results in appropriate but they're predictable and competently followed.
"China did not assign the enunciation of this idea to a lowly functionary"
There's nothing to stop anyone in this position becoming a lowly functionary at very short notice. That isn't unique to China. Just ask Philip Hammond or any of the others effectively thrown out of the party by BoJo. Or any of those exiting the revolving door ot the Trump administration.
