Apple: We Just Make Crappy Software

Apple says never worked with NSA on iPhone hacks | Reuters: "(Reuters) - Apple Inc has never worked with the U.S. National Security Agency and is unaware of efforts to target its smartphones, the company said in response to reports that the spy agency had developed a system to hack into and monitor iPhones. Germany's Der Spiegel reported this week that a secretive unit of the NSA, which is under fire for the extent and depth of its spying programs around the world, makes specialized gear and software to infiltrate and monitor a plethora of computing devices, including mobile phones."

Yeah, that's the ticket!

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Happy Weimar!

‘Looks Like Weimar Germany’: The Viral Photo Out of Connecticut That’s Giving Some Gun Owners Chills | TheBlaze.com: "Connecticut gun owners are rushing to register certain firearms and ammunition that will be considered illegal contraband in the new year. Under a wide-ranging gun control law passed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, they have until Tuesday to submit the paperwork with the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. “Holy crap. Looks like Weimar Germany,” Twitter user @votermom said of the photo."

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Spot The Dictator

Spot The Dictator | Zero Hedge: "The following brilliant collage of actual photos put together by Frank Schallmaier at the Dutch Volkskrant, shows two things: a narcissistic, megalomanical, self-absorbed supreme ruler of a socialist paradise and another guy who apparently has an identical taste in propaganda pics."

Update from a tip in the ZH comments:

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Barry Christmas

Moonbattery » Open Thread: "Via LMAObama.com and Infidel Bloggers Alliance, on a tip from R F."

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Permanent Access

NSA can reportedly bug computer equipment before it reaches buyers: "Don't think that the NSA always has to wait until people are using technology to start snooping on it. Spiegel has obtained documents which claim that the agency's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group can intercept computer equipment orders and install tracking hardware or software before the shipments even reach their buyers. The division can target a wide array of hardware, too. Another NSA section, ANT, reportedly has a catalog of tools that can install back doors in everything from Cisco and Huawei network systems through to hard drives from most major manufacturers, including Seagate and Western Digital. Some of these bugs can give the NSA "permanent" access, since they're designed to persist if the owner wipes a device's storage or upgrades its firmware. The leak suggests that the targeted manufacturers aren't aware of what's happening; Cisco and other firms tell Spiegel they don't coordinate with the NSA."

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Watched

Moonbattery » Never a Private Moment: "Compliments of Stormfax."

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Fooled

Moonbattery » Open Thread: "On a tip from TED."

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The Speech Police

Ace of Spades HQ: "Our current social understanding of free speech is this: You can speak your mind freely if you have a large enough army of supporters to pressure a company into resisting pressure from a large army of Speech Police.

This is not free speech. This is free speech as an exceptional thing -- only for those with a wide, passionate following -- not as a routine thing.

A&E is a cowardly organization. First it puts Robertson on "indefinite hiatus" under pressure from one group of people, then it puts him back on the air because they've been pressured by a somewhat larger group of people.

At no point did they trip over anything resembling a general principle of speech free from "consequences" of broad application."

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Not So Hot At 45

Students put AccuWeather long-range forecasts to the test: "Though these results are based on a limited dataset that spanned only one season (essentially, meteorological autumn) and only maximum temperatures were considered, they are remarkably consistent with the experience of seasoned mid-latitude forecasters: Beyond about 10 days, climatology (on average) is as good as, if not better than, any deterministic forecast."

Basically the same question occurred to me a number of months back when Accuweather announced their 45 day forecasts. So I took a look at my town:
UUUGLYYY! I couldn't stop laughing long enough to do a more rigorous analysis!

But don't worry your pretty head now, their 100 year forecasts are worth betting trillions on!  (H/T Joel at OpenSnow)

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The Tyranny Problem

Moonbattery » 2013: Best and Bleakest: "Because many of us make mistakes that can have bad consequences, some intellectuals believe that it is the role of government to intervene and make some of our decisions for us. From what galaxy government is going to hire creatures who do not make mistakes is a question they leave unanswered. — Thomas Sowell

This country has a mental health problem disguised as a gun problem and a tyranny problem disguised as a security problem. — Joe Rogan

Republicans spent a lot of time whining that, if Obama was prepared to negotiate with the Iranians, the Syrians, and the Russians, why wouldn’t he negotiate with the GOP? Well, the obvious answer is Rouhani, Assad, and Putin don’t curl up in a fetal position at the first tut-tut from Bob Schieffer or Diane Sawyer. — Mark Steyn"

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Checked, And Way Too Good

Instapundit » Blog Archive » IT’S FUNNY WHEN STEREOTYPES SELF-CONFIRM: Obamacare’s Pajama Boy: ‘I am a liberal f***.’ “…: "IT’S FUNNY WHEN STEREOTYPES SELF-CONFIRM: Obamacare’s Pajama Boy: ‘I am a liberal f***.’ “A Liberal Fuck is not a Democrat, but rather someone who combines political data and theory, extreme leftist views and sarcasm to win any argument while make [sic] the opponents feel terrible about themselves. I won every argument but one.” Yeah, the one where you showed your face. He also hates “conservative gay pricks.” In other words, he’s pretty much exactly what you figured when you saw his picture. Most self-revelatory remark: “I’m afraid it would be the ultimate surrender if I knew the truth.” Or maybe this one: “We have no morals, and we will attack you.” So he’s ready for his MSNBC co-anchor slot.

Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 10:36 am"

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Me-Me-Me-Me

Merry belated Me-mas | Power Line: "A.F. Branco posted this seasonal cartoon — “Merry Me-mas” — at Legal Insurrection on December 16, but I didn’t catch up with it until this morning. This one stings. In case you missed it, here it is."

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Downfall

Moonbattery » Open Thread: "Compliments of Jack Bauer."

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Merry Christmas to all who are serving and have served our country in the military!

Merry Christmas to all who are serving and have served our country in the military!: "(Thank you to Robert Arvanitis for that wonderful second image.)"

I can't top this so here it is:

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A Columbia State O Mind

Wonderful things hiding in my inbox: "That the attack on the Robertsons has nothing to do with gay issues and everything to do with their overall politics is nicely illustrated in this poster:"

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Forty One Years Ago ...

... seems like an eternity.

Remastered, Stabilised Apollo 16 Footage Of The Lunar Rover Looks Just Beautiful: "A remastered, stabilised clip of Nasa's Apollo 16 astronauts driving a Lunar Rover on the Moon back in 1972 has brought renewed attention on the fact that, you know, astronauts have driven on the moon. Yes the fact that humans ever landed on the Moon at all is, arguably, cool enough. But it is also true that, while there, we also took some pretty decent video footage. And now it's looking better than ever."

Bah. Just oppressive imperialistic white men. And did you know that in Sweden they are oppressing a different population?

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Manufactured Outrage

Found it on Facebook (actually, found two things on Facebook): "We’ve become a profoundly un-serious nation. It’s one thing to be lighthearted; it’s another thing to be lacking in any ballast. The world burns around us, and we pander to GLAAD’s manufactured outrage."

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Trust

Twitter / AHMalcolm: Obama lists all the things ...: "Obama lists all the things he knows nothing about. There've been quite a few."

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The Left Ducks

Instapundit » Blog Archive » ADRIENNE ROYER: Why Duck Dynasty Threatens The Left. “The surprise should be how liberals dismisse…: "DECEMBER 21, 2013

ADRIENNE ROYER: Why Duck Dynasty Threatens The Left. “The surprise should be how liberals dismissed the rise of Duck Dynasty until this fall, when it was too late to stem the show’s popularity. Once it became evident that this family held so much influence, the left suddenly realized they faced the first threat to their decades-long monopoly on popular culture.”"

UPDATE: From the comments: “When Phil Robertson was 50 years old, the Congress and President of the United States signed a law in Defense of Marriage that refused to recognize gay marriage. Now A&E thinks that point of view is so awful that it cannot air someone who agreed with Bill Clinton.” Or Barack Obama, before 2012.

Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 11:54 pm

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Hoo Boy

Ace of Spades HQ: "From RD Brewer at Twitter, it looks like someone ticked off the lighting crew. I don't even care if it's real, it's crafty."

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