3 ms·

That's a fantasy burden you've constructed. What would even count as "proof"? Anything that incrementally changes the field of possibility? Or something that de

That's a fantasy burden you've constructed. What would even count as "proof"? Anything that incrementally changes the field of possibility? Or something that definitely proves what happened? Microsoft has done untrustworthy things. They've also build the most successful (esp. in the longer view) commercial computing ecosystem because it hit the right balance between stability/robustness/usability. Many elements of that include proving some minimum burdens of trustworthiness (not to be confused with earning absolute trust). The US government... cf the 20th century? You mean the greatest secular advancements in the human condition in history? And as for the age of "American Empire" (post WW2? Post Cold War?)... are you referring to the relatively most peaceful, humane, self-effacing hegemon that has ever been known the planet (not to be confused with a perfectly peaceful and human hegemon)? This flippant stance combined with absolutely no countervailing context and fantasy burdens of proof... please.

prophesi 6y ago
I mean, it's no secret that Microsoft has a $10 billion contract with the US Government. And it's also no secret that attributing blame to cyber attacks is a hard problem. You can study the tools/exploits used, the files modified, the associated IP addresses, all of which can be easily obfuscated or used to scapegoat. I don't really doubt the allegations, as the motive makes sense, but I'm hoping there will be a good postmortem.
FpUser 6y ago
>"are you referring to the relatively most peaceful, humane, self-effacing hegemon that has ever been known the planet" Millions of bombed, displaced and otherwise sanctioned to oblivion might disagree with this level of modesty and humility.
- elefanten 6y ago
  The word "relatively" served a purpose in that statement. Can you name a hegemon that was more peaceful and humane? Which European colonial power at its height, which Chinese dynasty, which Mongol khanate would you prefer? Maybe America wouldn't be top of the list but the point is made in distinction to other regimes that achieved remotely similar power differentials.
  - FpUser 6y ago
    I am sort of speechless. Am totally put off by the amount of egomaniacal and warmongering posts in this thread. Sorry you honor. I am the nice guy here. I've only raped few thousands. Lemme off.
solosoyokaze 6y ago
> relatively most peaceful, humane, self-effacing hegemon that has ever been known the planet The US murdered massive amounts of people in East Asia and the Middle East during that time period. Napalm, Agent Orange, war crimes... We were as bad as any hegemony. Much worse actually, due to technical superiority. We also have the largest prison population of any country (per capita and in total) due to the "war" on drugs. So yes, I'd say we're near the bottom of the list. Especially if you go back past the 20th century (slavery, genocide).

prophesi 6y ago

I mean, it's no secret that Microsoft has a $10 billion contract with the US Government. And it's also no secret that attributing blame to cyber attacks is a hard problem. You can study the tools/exploits used, the files modified, the associated IP addresses, all of which can be easily obfuscated or used to scapegoat. I don't really doubt the allegations, as the motive makes sense, but I'm hoping there will be a good postmortem.

FpUser 6y ago

>"are you referring to the relatively most peaceful, humane, self-effacing hegemon that has ever been known the planet" Millions of bombed, displaced and otherwise sanctioned to oblivion might disagree with this level of modesty and humility.

elefanten 6y ago
The word "relatively" served a purpose in that statement. Can you name a hegemon that was more peaceful and humane? Which European colonial power at its height, which Chinese dynasty, which Mongol khanate would you prefer? Maybe America wouldn't be top of the list but the point is made in distinction to other regimes that achieved remotely similar power differentials.
- FpUser 6y ago
  I am sort of speechless. Am totally put off by the amount of egomaniacal and warmongering posts in this thread. Sorry you honor. I am the nice guy here. I've only raped few thousands. Lemme off.

solosoyokaze 6y ago

> relatively most peaceful, humane, self-effacing hegemon that has ever been known the planet The US murdered massive amounts of people in East Asia and the Middle East during that time period. Napalm, Agent Orange, war crimes... We were as bad as any hegemony. Much worse actually, due to technical superiority. We also have the largest prison population of any country (per capita and in total) due to the "war" on drugs. So yes, I'd say we're near the bottom of the list. Especially if you go back past the 20th century (slavery, genocide).