On Mon, Sep 9, 2013 at 8:53 PM, Chris Bannister <cbannis...@slingshot.co.nz> wrote: > On Mon, Sep 09, 2013 at 12:20:44PM +0900, Joel Rees wrote: >> >> There is one ultimate reality, and it knows all the prime factors of >> all the keys. If your god is not that ultimate reality, get a better >> God. > > Please, let's not go down that track. Let's keep the discussion based > on rationality and sensible reasoning.
I suppose it could be rational to believe in a god that doesn't already know all the prime factors of all the keys, but I can't imagine paying attention to any god that couldn't at least calculate them in real time. But even if talking about god or gods is too confusing, even if we limit the discussion to ultimate reality, the keys and the factors exist in the real world. Talking about the real world knowing the keys may be confusing, but you have to understand the difference between hidden and non-existent. Too much of our standard system administration practice treats hidden things as if they magically don't exist in the context of the people from whom they are supposed to be hidden. That only works when said people cooperate. In the context of this thread, the NSA and the US government is behaving this way. That doesn't mean we should cooperate. (And there is a conundrum in there, and it needs to be looked at carefully, but if I point it out, people don't look at it at all.) > -- > "If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people > who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the > oppressing." --- Malcolm X > You say it yourself, Chris, we can't turn a blind eye to moral issues. We have to be careful to respect the users freedoms, but we can't turn a blind eye. -- Joel Rees -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/CAAr43iNNMtQ5MgApmjfYvCKZpHapB8yDg35ajFA92e=p6m+...@mail.gmail.com
