Tag: commented

Is it possible to ‘steal’ work?

San Francisco taxi labor groups called for the eradication of car ride-sharing startups and the imprisonment of some of their members at a protest in front of City Hall yesterday. “We want to see these illegal cabs to go away. We want them to be ticketed, cited, arrested, if necessary. They should not be allowed as long as you have a regulated taxi force,” said Barry Korengold, President of the San Francisco Cab Drivers Association, who helped organize the protest.

Source: Taxi Groups Call For Eradication Of Rideshare Startups At SF City Hall Protest | TechCrunch

 

Is it possible to ‘steal’ work? Do you ‘own’ your job? Your customers? Your sales? At what point is a contemplated or incomplete transaction ‘yours”?

I like the concept that something must be “property” in order to be stealable. Is all property stealable, or is “is property” a necessary but insufficient precondition to “is stealable”?

Historically, it could be said that union shops — businesses which could only hire members of a specific union / businesses whose employees were forced to belong to a specific union and pay its dues — represented jobs “owned” by the union(s). Or is that a stretch?

What factors could/should be considered in determining if something is/could/should be “property”?

Are the Feds Asking Tech Companies for User Passwords? – The Atlantic

The secrecy surrounding the tactic, alleged by CNET sources, is as alarming as the potential abuses.

Even as the Obama Administration avows that it welcomes a civic debate about the surveillance state, it preemptively short-circuits citizens’ ability to assess and debate policy. It’s disingenuous, illiberal, anti-democratic, and imprudent. The notion that self-government, secret policy, and secret law can coexist is Obama’s folly, and the folly of his predecessors.

Source: Are the Feds Asking Tech Companies for User Passwords? – The Atlantic

 

Secret policy and secret law make for secret police and dictators.

Thank Goodness Kids Do Belong to Their Parents – The Atlantic

The notion that children belong to the whole community, propounded by Melissa Harris-Perry, would be terrible for most of them.

An article including an example of what happens when employees of the State disagree with how you have chosen (legally within the bounds of established local and federal law) to raise your child.

Source: Thank Goodness Kids Do Belong to Their Parents – The Atlantic

 

I’d generally fall on the side of the debate which is more surprised and upset that a neighbor’s first reaction is to call the police (rather than, you know, saying “hi” to the kid themselves or something similarly friendly-yet-concerned) and that the powers of the State (the police, CPS, etc.) are primarily concerned with scaring the family into behaving how the State wants them to act, rather than supporting a family’s choices in raising their kids (e.g. the police officer could have introduced himself to the child – Emily – and offered to help her get home or otherwise in the future, rather than detaining her and her father).

Domestic Law Enforcement by Drones

When is it acceptable to use the military, or military-grade {weapons, equipment, training, hardware, etc.} domestically? Is there legal due-process in place to ensure that assassinating American citizens in America [who are a clear and present danger] is not a step onto a slippery slope towards cowing our own populace with drone warfare?

 

RE:

 

From comments:

One MAJOR point being left out of those headlines are that there are not armed drones….they are not the “predator” versions the news always shows bristling with missiles.

They are surveillance drones, and if used in a man-hunt, how are they any different than a bunch of guys flying around in helicopters doing the same thing?

— anonymous

 

True, the ones in use right now in this case are not armed, but I think that makes “now” all the more important a time to ask the question in case we as a public wish to decide that the correct answer should be “never”, just like it is basically never okay for the state to use main battle tanks for the purpose of law enforcement.

Kill the Password: A String of Characters Won’t Protect You | WIRED

You have a secret that can ruin your life. It’s not a well-kept secret, either. Just a simple string of characters that can reveal everything about you.

The most secure system isn’t any good if it’s a total pain to access. Requiring you to remember a 256-character hexadecimal password might keep your data safe, but you’re no more likely to get into your account than anyone else.

Source: Kill the Password: A String of Characters Won’t Protect You | WIRED

 

When security by plebeian obscurity is insufficient, what do you do?