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Microsoft exec: Targeting of Americans’ records ‘routine’

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Re: Microsoft exec: Targeting of Americans’ records ‘routine’

#21

Post by repsilat »

mc32 wrote: post #18
enkid wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US military spending dropped by about half when you look at GDP between 1982 and 1999, so your statements about the Cold War ending not affecting spending is just straight up incorrect. https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/mili...

NATO are supposed to spend ~2% of GDP on their militaries. We're at least 2x that. That doesn't align with peacetime spending. We should be about half the spending we do now.

> ...~2% of GDP on their militaries. We're at least 2x that.

US defense spending was 3.4% of GDP in 2019. Quite possibly it jumped in 2020 as GDP dropped, but over 4% seems unlikely. (Still, in the ballpark and good context, I think your comment added to the discussion.)

Re: Microsoft exec: Targeting of Americans’ records ‘routine’

#22

Post by enkid »

xyzzyz wrote: post #19
enkid wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US military spending dropped by about half when you look at GDP between 1982 and 1999, so your statements about the Cold War ending not affecting spending is just straight up incorrect. https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/mili...

Why would I care about spending as percent of GDP? The absolute spending still went up. This is like saying your rent didn’t go up because now you are making more money so you can afford it more easily. This might be true, but it still went up. Moreover, after end of Cold War, it should have went down a lot not just in percentage terms, but also in absolute ones.

Absolute military spending is a ridiculous metric because inflation is a thing. Spending by percent of GDP is much more reasonable. For example, the US spent something like $75 billion in 1943, but no one would argue were putting 10xs as much effort in the military in 2019 when we spent ~750 billion. Looking at absolute values instead of either ones adjusted for inflation or by percent of GDP is cherrypicking to support your argument and is a bad thing.

Re: Microsoft exec: Targeting of Americans’ records ‘routine’

#23

Post by enkid »

mc32 wrote: post #18
enkid wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US military spending dropped by about half when you look at GDP between 1982 and 1999, so your statements about the Cold War ending not affecting spending is just straight up incorrect. https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/mili...

NATO are supposed to spend ~2% of GDP on their militaries. We're at least 2x that. That doesn't align with peacetime spending. We should be about half the spending we do now.

I'm not saying the US doesn't spend a lot, just the way the op characterized the budget process is factually incorrect.

Re: Microsoft exec: Targeting of Americans’ records ‘routine’

#24

Post by im_down_w_otp »

whatshisface wrote: post #9
Black101 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's time for another Snowden-style leak to learn about all their new toys.

What it's time for is a change to the laws so that informing the public about what their public servants have been up to can be accomplished without fleeing the country afterwards.

What's the enforcement mechanism for these laws? Who compels who to do what?

Re: Microsoft exec: Targeting of Americans’ records ‘routine’

#25

Post by lupire »

taneq wrote: post #12
jmclnx wrote: post #10

I wonder why ? Could it be because of all the spyware M/S has on Windows 10 ? Nice for one stop shopping

I wonder why the downvotes? This is absolutely correct. I’d be interested to know how many similar requests Apple and Google get.

The subpoenas are for cloud stored data.

Re: Microsoft exec: Targeting of Americans’ records ‘routine’

#26

Post by darig »

enkid wrote: post #22
xyzzyz wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would I care about spending as percent of GDP? The absolute spending still went up. This is like saying your rent didn’t go up because now you are making more money so you can afford it more easily. This might be true, but it still went up. Moreover, after end of Cold War, it should have went down a lot not just in percentage terms, but also in absolute ones.

Absolute military spending is a ridiculous metric because inflation is a thing. Spending by percent of GDP is much more reasonable. For example, the US spent something like $75 billion in 1943, but no one would argue were putting 10xs as much effort in the military in 2019 when we spent ~750 billion. Looking at absolute values instead of either ones adjusted for inflation or by percent of GDP is cherrypicking to supp…

What if your GDP is little more than military dominance?

Re: Microsoft exec: Targeting of Americans’ records ‘routine’

#27

Post by MikeUt »

wiredone wrote: post #20
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #11

Let me see... Microsoft wants me to have a Microsoft account to use a computer that I bought. They nag me every time I log in because I gave them a bogus email address. And then you read something like this. All those abstract privacy concerns just got a bit more concrete...

And yet when they limit their new version of Windows specifically to devices that cant have rootkits installed, everyone freaks out. ...maybe they know that people are installing root kits... because they see first hand what the "good" guys are doing routinely.

> devices that cant have rootkits installed

And jail cells are just very secure apartments. There's always going to be a guard around to let you out, why is everyone freaking out?

Re: Microsoft exec: Targeting of Americans’ records ‘routine’

#28

Post by boomboomsubban »

>Burt said that while Microsoft Corp. does cooperate with law enforcement on a broad range of criminal and national security investigations, it often challenges surveillance that it sees as unnecessary, resulting at times in advance notice to the account being targeted

I wonder what requests Microsoft considers too far, considering they seem to have been willing to give up politician and journalist data. I wonder of they received a request for information on Gates and if so how they replied to it.

Re: Microsoft exec: Targeting of Americans’ records ‘routine’

#29

Post by xyzzy123 »

wiredone wrote: post #20
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #11

Let me see... Microsoft wants me to have a Microsoft account to use a computer that I bought. They nag me every time I log in because I gave them a bogus email address. And then you read something like this. All those abstract privacy concerns just got a bit more concrete...

And yet when they limit their new version of Windows specifically to devices that cant have rootkits installed, everyone freaks out. ...maybe they know that people are installing root kits... because they see first hand what the "good" guys are doing routinely.

It's not "rootkits" per se that are restricted right? It's unsigned code. Who has access to the signing keys?

It is solving the problem of unauthorised rootkits.

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