The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On • Hacker News Board

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#211

Post by gizmo686 » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 2:10 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #149

gizmo686 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you ask me to name a cryptographer, Scheier is by far the first one that comes to mind. Also, in my experience, his book, Applied Cryptography, is by far the most reccomended book for people new to crypto.

Applied Cryptography is a terrible reference. Please don't recommend it to programmers. Instead, recommend Practical Cryptography / Cryptography Engineering (they're the same book), which Schneier co-authored with Niels Fergusen. Update: I said "terrible book" but I'm going to start being more precise about this. It's not a terrible "book"; I enjoyed the hell out of it when I was a teenager. It's just misleading and…

Your right. I learned crypto for an internship at a cryptography lab, so having the reference of the primitives that mere mortals should never touch, as well as a reference to many ideas that both worked and failed was extremely useful. Of course, if you want to learn crypto to use it well in your own (non-crypto) code, than those are probably exactly the qualities you do not want in your reference book.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#212

Post by tquai » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 3:23 AM UTC

nraynaud wrote: post #14

I got lucky to leave the USA the day before they raise the crazy level at the airports. I wonder what they will imagine to render flying and border-crossing worse. I guess "make the leaders live abroad for a while and force them to read enlightenment century books" is off the table as a reaction to terrorism?

FWIW, Obama and Romney have both lived abroad. I think it takes a certain kind of person to want to be president, and the effect of travel is different on a person like that.

For this and other reasons, I think electoral politics is one of the least effective places to put energy, in working for change.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#213

Post by duck » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 4:06 AM UTC

carbocation wrote: post #3

I think for HN it's worth noting, perhaps in the title, that this article is written by Bruce Schneier.

I put his name in the title when I submitted it b/c of that exact reason, but I guess a mod changed it afterwards and removed it.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#214

Post by ygra » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 9:02 AM UTC

jaredandrews wrote: post #190

freehunter wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have statistics showing that it's more deadly to fly post-9/11 than it was before? Are more airliners crashing now?

Parent is probably referring to the fact that it is safer to fly than drive a car, statistically speaking.[0] [0] - http://reason.com/archives/2006/08/11/dont-be-terrorized

That is indeed what I was referring to. Deaths due to traffic accidents increased measurably in the months after 9/11 as more people opted to drive instead of flying.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#215

Post by lostlogin » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 11:27 AM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #199

lostlogin wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, its not duck hunting. There are international courts - which the US doesn't support.

The U.S. rightfully doesn't support international courts. It's nonsensical to have international tribunals that render judgments on people outside the legislative jurisdiction of the sovereign body of which the court is a part. People in Europe are learning right now how not awesome it is to get yourself into binding international frameworks with people who are connected by incomplete legislative and executive jurisd…

Things change. The US constitution can (theoretically) too. It's worse to have a nation with no authority at all killing via drone. The alternative technique, kidnap, torture and detain doesn't work either as the US doesn't seem able to find a way to try these people. An overreaching body that can do something is needed, as the US way doesn't work. I'd sooner have an imperfectly drawn up consensus than a misguided Lone Ranger. And more importantly, who polices the police - the US has plenty of individuals who should be answerable for their crimes - which will never happen in the US. I'd suggest that a fear of being answerable is perhaps a greater motivation than any other where the US blocking of the ICC is concerned.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#216

Post by theorique » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 12:37 PM UTC

katbyte wrote: post #210

theorique wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess as a white guy with short hair, I just assume the cops are there for me.

I'm a white girl, and while i get surprising amount of leeway with the police i'm under no delusions of the power advantage cops have over everyone else. drinking in the park (its illegal here) or speeding, Friends with the cop or she likes you? no problem. Cop doesn't like you? ticket or drunk tank or worse. They are there for you, if your friends with them or they like you.

Yeah, definitely. Tucker Max had a good piece on how to deal with cops: http://tuckermax.me/how-to-deal-with-cops-2/

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#217

Post by darkarmani » Wed, Apr 17, 2013, 2:19 PM UTC

flyinRyan wrote: post #164

rayiner wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I object to the characterization that we're killing random people with drones. We are killing people whose stated goal is to attack us. There is nothing evil about that. Use of force to defend ones self, whether preemptive or reactive, is the closest thing to a "natural right" that exists in this world.

What the fuck? Citations please? There is absolutely no reason I can see to beleive that every person we kill with drones had any plan (realistic or otherwise) to attack us? Where do you get this? Because of Obama's reclassification of male casualties between 16-65 as combatants? Is that kind of word-game nonsense really so effective?

So the alternative is to use napalm strikes? Drones are way, way, way more targeted than bombing a whole area.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#218

Post by flyinRyan » Thu, Apr 18, 2013, 12:06 PM UTC

darkarmani wrote: post #217

flyinRyan wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What the fuck? Citations please? There is absolutely no reason I can see to beleive that every person we kill with drones had any plan (realistic or otherwise) to attack us? Where do you get this? Because of Obama's reclassification of male casualties between 16-65 as combatants? Is that kind of word-game nonsense really so effective?

So the alternative is to use napalm strikes? Drones are way, way, way more targeted than bombing a whole area.

No, the alternative would be to stop killing people. We've had one big terrorist attack about once every 10 years. It's not worth murdering innocents over.

Re: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On

#219

Post by flyinRyan » Thu, Apr 18, 2013, 12:07 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #200

flyinRyan wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bullshit, have you read the first hand accounts? They weren't there to apprehend anyone. And of course you "resist" if a bunch of people with guns storm into your home.

It's not the resisting justice when people with guns storm in. It's the trying to escape justice for decades before that. It's really hard to claim you weren't given "due process" when you made every effort to avoid that process.

So after some years of trying to avoid being arrested the cops no longer need to worry about due process or law or anything, they can just murder me? Would you care to put an exact date on when the police get to switch from "must follow the laws" to "can kill on sight with no regard for laws"?