Autumn

Bill Maher on Progressophobia.

It’s a rare thing that I agree with Maher to that extent.

For me, I have to spend time focusing on how things have gotten better. I grew up learning how to avoid or deal with all of the things that were still bad. The survival instincts I developed from childhood are geared toward that—navigating potential harm. So…[Read more]

“We should all be able to echo the words of Voltaire and say “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”.

I am unlikely to say that.

i) I find it’s one of those overly romanticized views that doesn’t stack up well in reality. The idea of nobly sacrificing oneself in some sort of 19th century resistance mov…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:

Reg, You and all the Euro-Progressives seem to be forgetting yet another thing: It is not the business of a government of a free society to tell individuals or private businesses what they can peacefully and honestly do with data peacefully and honestly obtained.

The right to be forgotten concerns competing interests and…[Read more]

Davis wrote:

You give the kids a few months to thoroughly read the books (with lots of distractions and limited resources and no clear leadership) and then after a few months of discussion they have to leave through one of many doors.

The answer to the riddle is to hoard as many of the books as possible at the start, then cobble together your own…[Read more]

Simon Paynton wrote:

Autumn wrote:

I think that stacks weird theologically. Even worse, it brings us within a hair’s breadth of another free will discussion.

I think the Christian explanation might be: God gives us the free will to accept either our own “sinful” nature, rejecting God, or to accept God’s nature and go to heaven after we die. So…

[Read more]

Simon Paynton wrote:

jakelafort wrote:

It might also be instructive to know why something that is ACTUALLY INHERENT in nature is abhorrent to the creator.

You’re right about that. It’s a good objection. On the other hand, rape and murder are also inherent in nature.

I think that stacks weird theologically. Even worse, it brings us within a hai…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:

But if you left the agency your resume was deleted. If you rejoined an up to date one was required.

Look, all I’m saying is I want the CV where they’re still trying really hard to figure out how to spin their college McDonald’s job into something relevant for the career they’re trying to break into. Call me a sadist,…[Read more]

Hiring is an imprecise art, and not getting a job doesn’t mean you weren’t good enough. It often simply means a decision had to be made. When you have excellent candidates, you do sometimes want to come back to them if your initial hire doesn’t work out, or if another position opens up.

As for why someone would accept after being rejected at…[Read more]

We’ve known for decades that mass, unmarked burial sites like these existed, but the government rejected funding support to look for them back in the early days of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. A lot of this stuff doesn’t hit the radar of the average Canadian, and even if it does, we’re remarkably well adapted to deflecting, distancing…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:

This brings up yet another problem: If a convicted criminal ever succeeded in silencing news media with a “right to be forgotten,” couldn’t the convicted criminal use the “right to be forgotten” to silence the victims too?

No. It’s not a gag order (or similar order/ agreement). It covers the erasure of certain data on l…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:

I am telling any anti-VAX idiots I meet that if they are afraid of “vaccine shredding” then they should wear a mask and stay as far away from me as possible because I am a super-shredder!

Some of the anti-vaccine protests have been interesting, to say the least. One of the protests in Vancouver a little over a mon…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:

In the past, a Werlé who got off easy because of corrupt justice system would not have even a chance afforded by a so-called “right to be forgotten.”

This is part of the function of court systems: to hear cases and determine how the law applies to the unique circumstances of a given case.

He’d have to take his “Mark…

[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:

To address your previous posts, if someone from Cambridge Analytica or Facebook or Big Tech were beating data out of people with a baseball bat or otherwise coercing data from people, that would be a criminal offense and grounds for a civil suit for restitution.

If any of these organizations broke “Peeping Tom” law…

[Read more]

Aw heck. I can’t type for shit, but some errors are worse than others.

Cambridge Analytica*

TheEncogitationer wrote:

As much as Big Tech can be a nuisance sometimes, they can’t make one Penny from someone’s data if no one clicks an ad or a “One Weird Trick” article.

Click throughs are only one monetization mechanic, and that’s only one use for data. The Cambridge Analytical scandal is a notable example of other markets and usage.…[Read more]