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Code that helped end Apartheid

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Re: Code that helped end Apartheid

#81

Post by cempaka »

HideousKojima wrote: post #76
GordonS wrote: post #15

[flagged]

>branding freedom fighters as terrorists I mean bombing government buildings (which is what landed Mandela in prison) is definitely what most people would consider terrorism, or treason, or similar things. Now you can argue that Mandela's actions were justified because Apartheid was evil (and I agree that it was evil) but that's entirely different than arguing that he was just a poor victim of the racist SA governmen…

Is the IDF dropping bombs on apartment buildings in Beirut "terrorism"?

Re: Code that helped end Apartheid

#83

Post by daseiner1 »

submeta wrote: post #82
oldandboring wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

No, it‘s not complicated. It’s straight and clear. Every human rights org says so, the UN says so, HR scholars say so. It is apartheid.

South Africa’s done great since the end of apartheid

Re: Code that helped end Apartheid

#84

Post by jcbrand »

bdndndndbve wrote: post #62
TheBruceHimself wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While it certainly involved a lot of people doing the right thing, that peaceful transition was absolutely incredible and I really do think that's why non-South Africans look on Mandela so fondly. If you'd told me everything about the Apartheid right up until its collapse and then said "Ok, the ANC basically win, gain power, what do you think happens?", I'd struggle to think of any scenario where there wasn't incredi…

Does poverty not also ruin lives? There's room for people to disagree about the specifics but the lack of widespread wealth redistribution has certainly killed a lot of people as well, it's just easier to ignore than a war.

South Africa does have wealth distribution policies in the form of requiring all companies that do business with the state or which need licences (like mines or telecoms) to have a minimum number of black ownership and black employees.

South Africa also has affirmative action.

In fact, there are more race based laws in South Africa currently than during Apartheid.

https://freemarketfoundation.com/race-law-in-south-africa-30...

Now maybe you're talking about violent wealth redistribution. That generally doesn't work. It results in collapse and everyone gets poorer.

Zimbabwe bring the prime most recent example.

Re: Code that helped end Apartheid

#85

Post by eastbound »

cempaka wrote: post #81
HideousKojima wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>branding freedom fighters as terrorists I mean bombing government buildings (which is what landed Mandela in prison) is definitely what most people would consider terrorism, or treason, or similar things. Now you can argue that Mandela's actions were justified because Apartheid was evil (and I agree that it was evil) but that's entirely different than arguing that he was just a poor victim of the racist SA governmen…

Is the IDF dropping bombs on apartment buildings in Beirut "terrorism"?

[flagged]

Re: Code that helped end Apartheid

#86

Post by sdenton4 »

janzer wrote: post #53
rtkwe wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the time PRNG was probably good enough. I wouldn't want to go up against the NSA today using the same entropy source but against South Africa decades ago it was probably good enough. Even knowing what PRNG source the original noise came from it'd take a hell of a lot of guess and check with cribs to come close to guessing the seed for the PRNG. That would be my first crack at breaking a OTP I knew was generated wi…

If the PRNG is good enough then shipping floppies full of PRNG output is very much unnecessary. Simply send the seeds used to initialize the PRNG thereby fitting many (~180k of them on a 720kb floppy) seeds on one floppy and save your couriers a lot of risk.

Encode the seed in the arrangement of a deck of cards... shuffle to delete.

Re: Code that helped end Apartheid

#87

Post by chx »

mmooss wrote: post #56
chx wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You need to understand as long as Citizens United stand it's practically impossible to make a change like this in the United States. People don't care enough and political issues are bought.

IMHO, you need to understand that your messaging is the only problem. For example, people on the right have made revolutionary changes - unthinkable changes as of 10 years ago.

Yes, including Citizens United itself...

Re: Code that helped end Apartheid

#88

Post by ljsprague »

bdndndndbve wrote: post #16
Simulacra wrote: post #8

I think it was the fishing trip with Mandela and then-Prime Minister F.W. de Klerk in 1990 that ended apartheid. Specifically when one of de Klerk's people got a hook in his hand, and a Mandela person cleaned and bandaged it. After that trip Apartheid was finally broken.

What actually ended apartheid was international pressure and the white government's fear of a civil war. Economically isolated and vastly outnumbered, the apartheid government would have been completely removed from the country and had their property seized. My understanding is Mandela was a respected leader who was willing to play ball and facilitate a peaceful transition where the white leadership got to keep all t…

That's not why there's massive income inequality in South Africa. LOL.

Re: Code that helped end Apartheid

#90

Post by gspencley »

GordonS wrote: post #60
oldandboring wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

As I said, I don't want this to become a flame war, and to that end would have preferred not to name the apartheid state in question. But since you insist, nobody is just 'making it so by saying it' - indeed, saying it's not happening, in spite of the abundance of evidence, does not mean it's not! I've Norwegian friends who have seen it first hand and we're aghast, but of course that's just a personal anecdote that j…

[flagged]
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