kenj0418's comments

kenj0418 | 10 years ago | on: T-Mobile is writing the manual on how to fuck up the internet

I agree with the difference between land-line and mobile providers. If a provider has the benefit of monopoly control of a wire into my house (or some other government-enforced monopoly), then net-neutrality should be part of the price they have to pay for that.

But if it's like mobile and I can switch to any other provider I want, then let the market work instead.

kenj0418 | 10 years ago | on: Rent-Stabilized Housing Is Disappearing Fast in NYC

Assuming that you want to allow poor people to live in an area that they couldn't otherwise afford, why are price controls used instead of directly subsidizing housing costs for those with lower income.

It seems like the direct subsidy would have a less distorting effect on the market.

kenj0418 | 10 years ago | on: A Response to Your Petition on Edward Snowden

He would almost certainly be put in jail as soon as he stepped foot on American Soil. In most circumstances someone could make bail awaiting trial, but considering that he'd been hiding in another country (and the government would argue that he might run off again) it would be very doubtful for him.

But then they would have a trial. It would likely take a very long time (and he would likely be in jail during it).

The term 'jury of his peers' means regular American citizens (not judges or other government officials). Sadly, the government has done a good job of convincing many people that all their spying on us is for our own safety. They'd just need to work to get 12 people that believed that (while Snowden's attorney's would work to get at least one that didn't). Though anyone that already (openly) had an opinion on his guilt or innocence wouldn't be allowed on the jury.

(note: this is assuming a civilian trial. I think they'd have a very hard time trying to give Snowden some sort of military tribunal)

kenj0418 | 10 years ago | on: Stephen Hawking and Yuri Milner Announce $100M Initiative to Seek ET

I wouldn't think those would be noticeable unless you were already closely observing the earth.

I'm not a physicist, but I assume there isn't any detectable, unique signature of an explosion that can be detected from space. Stories I've read about test-ban treaties and non-proliferation efforts give the main mechanism for detecting tests are the seismic effects they have.

kenj0418 | 11 years ago | on: How ACH works: A developer perspective – Part 4

Can anyone in the banking industry explain why there is no security on ACH similar to how there is for credit cards?

20 years ago when I first wrote a program to generate ACH files it struck me as crazy that all that was needed to take money from someones account (given an existing ACH relationship with a bank to send the file in the first place) was an individual's bank's public routing number and the individual's personal checking account number - both of which were at the bottom of every check they write.

I get that fraudulent charges can be reversed, but that's also true on credit cards - so why the lower security on ACH?

kenj0418 | 12 years ago | on: TrueCrypt Master Key Extraction And Volume Identification

TrueCrypt offers a volume-within-a-volume option. The free space of a volume normally contains random data, and the hidden volume is presumably headerless. The idea is then to put something that you might want to hide in the outer volume (freaky porn, for example), then put your actual secrets (evidence of your criminal enterprise, for example) in the hidden volume. If forced to disclose the password, then only the outer volume is apparent and you can disclose that under duress.

kenj0418 | 12 years ago | on: As Feds Demand the Keys, Preparing for the Death of Public-Key Encryption

"full of people" being the operative phrase here. People with power tend to abuse that power. This is human nature, and this is where distrust of government comes from.

People work in their own interest (however they may define that). Working in the interests of those that elect them is just a hopeful side effect of the democratic process.

kenj0418 | 12 years ago | on: NSA revelations only 'the tip of the iceberg,' says Dem lawmaker

Assuming they are reading it from the floor of the House (or Senate), it does protect them from being prosecuted: "and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place."

They would be subject to whatever punishments their fellow Representatives (or Senators) decided to impose (including possibly expulsion).

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