Earlier quoted context omitted.
Us has the highest verified incarceration per capita in the world and the largest number of total prisoners. So at least by verified numbers it's not really even close, the US is by far the worst. Are the numbers accurate for China or other oppressive regimes? Who knows and North Korea doesn't release numbers but they're thought to be close to or slightly higher than the US' per capita numbers. https://www.prisonstud…
So probably the only country that has very slight worse numbers in the entire world is North Korea, including all the other dictatorships and otherwise failed states. That's crazy.
After 10 years in tech isolation, I’m now outsider to things I once had mastered
221–230 of 370 posts
Re: After 10 years in tech isolation, I’m now outsider to things I once had mastered
#222Earlier quoted context omitted.
10 years of prison time for a single non-violent crime is extremely rare in America. What can happen in certain states, is that repeat offenders are hit with escalating prison terms each time they are convicted (the classic example are the three-strikes-your-out laws), whereby someone can be sentenced to a life term. In those cases, sentences don't translate to actual prison terms since non-violent offenders are rout…
>10 years of prison time for a single non-violent crime is extremely rare in America. Ross Ulbricht got double life imprisonment + 40 years for a non violent crime.
Re: After 10 years in tech isolation, I’m now outsider to things I once had mastered
#223Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are in Asia right? Let’s see China - disappeared for comparing xi jing ping the dictator to Winnie the Pooh, or mention Hong Kong or Taiwan in a postiive light on wechat Singapore - 2 years in jail for selling gum, death penalty for Having drugs Vietnam - 34 years for drug trafficking
> 2 years in jail for selling gum What do they have against gum?
Gum tends to end up everywhere and is super hard to relive once dried.
But there are other high penalities for dirting the streets/parks/houses related offenses.
But then it's a city where you could (theoretically) walk barefoot in the streets without worrying about dirt it similar. Through it's probably not legal either and you do have to worry about burning you feed on the hot asphalt ;=}
Re: After 10 years in tech isolation, I’m now outsider to things I once had mastered
#224This is a decent account of how much has changed, and he conveys the sense of alienation well. But what strikes me is that he talks about the whole thing like something that unaccountably happened to him. He didn't install botnets; he was arrested for installing botnets. Botnets that he somehow sees as part of the "true spirit of hacking", from the long-lost innocent age of 2009, when pure curiosity was the only moti…
That struck me too. A guy who installed botnets complaining about how "the true spirit of hacking" was lost. Botnets are a plague. Try cracking Windows 10 to make it play nicer, if you want to feel good about hacking.
He even says that his trophy book wasnt "everything" with the coy of someone who feels like they still have the edge.
It's easy to jump to a conclusion that he fully intended to use the botnet maliciously.
Re: After 10 years in tech isolation, I’m now outsider to things I once had mastered
#225Earlier quoted context omitted.
That does jive with our sense of justice, yes, but I think the point is what are we achieving. Is it actually disincentivizing the crime? Is it preventing recurrence of the same individual committing future crime? I would argue that US prison statistics point at a massive failure in one, both, or is simply incarcerating people unnecessarily in the first place. This article is touching on the second one specifically.
We don't know what will happen in the future. Prison time at least ensures this won't happen for multiple years, and gives you a chance to think it over. If medical systems he hacked could have hurt people then this is basically conscious intention to hurt others, and it doesn't matter that he didn't. So in this particular case its really hard to stand on his side. If we were talking about some credit card scam - tha…
Re: After 10 years in tech isolation, I’m now outsider to things I once had mastered
#226Earlier quoted context omitted.
Think about a time you really messed up. Did it take 10 years to come to the conclusion you were wrong?
If you knew you could hurt others when you intentionally messed up - then probably it is a good idea to lock you up for a few years, because clearly you are very bad at thinking, no matter to what conclusion you will come in 10 minutes. He didn't just slip and hacked medical systems by accident.
The way people get looked up in the US is known to be one of the worst approaches to rehabilitation, it's bad to a degree that it's making it more likely for you to commit crimes when you come out instead of less because you have become totally out of touch with socity and normal life.
Re: After 10 years in tech isolation, I’m now outsider to things I once had mastered
#227Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my observations of the American public, people generally seem to be fine with the extreme sentences and punishment that the system doles out. We’re completely apathetic towards most criminals (usually unless they happen to be rich & white), without understanding the circumstances that created their situation. Take the Crystal Mason case. She’s a Texas woman of color who voted illegally in the 2016 election and got…
What's the idea behind convicted felons not being allowed to vote?
Officially, that they've proven themselves to be untrustworthy and "evil", and we shouldn't allow evil people to be deciding the course of our nation.
Unofficially, at least to a large extent, straight-up racism.
Re: After 10 years in tech isolation, I’m now outsider to things I once had mastered
#228> "Caging me for a decade is not rehabilitating. I may be making excuses for myself, though there is a lesson that could have been learned with the same amount of value for justice if the sentence was 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, even 6 years." From the article at: https://forklog.media/ex-convicted-hacker-ghostexodus-severi... I don't consider myself a bleeding heart lib but I think that a decade in prison is excessiv…
Re: After 10 years in tech isolation, I’m now outsider to things I once had mastered
#229> "Caging me for a decade is not rehabilitating. I may be making excuses for myself, though there is a lesson that could have been learned with the same amount of value for justice if the sentence was 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, even 6 years." From the article at: https://forklog.media/ex-convicted-hacker-ghostexodus-severi... I don't consider myself a bleeding heart lib but I think that a decade in prison is excessiv…
He hacked central control systems used by utility companies. This could have caused all sorts of disruptions including to traffic lights and hospitals. This was definitely not a "victimless crime".
Re: After 10 years in tech isolation, I’m now outsider to things I once had mastered
#230Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes. Brock Turner got six months for rape. Here's a selection of decade+ prison sentences for marijuana: https://www.boulderdefenseattorney.com/top-10-non-violent-ma...
The Brock Turner case, while horrendous, is not representative of how rapes are prosecuted or sentenced. Skimming through your link, I don’t see anything involving someone with a single joint being incarcerated for anywhere near a rape charge. Some of those sentences may be out of line on their own, but you also don’t have people being put away for 20 years for being caught smoking a joint.
Indeed, my understanding is that rape is typically not prosecuted at all. :-/