Slashdot Mirror

It's not that simple. Research is showing a correlation to the large number of vaccines as a child and autism. We don't know for sure.

Horseshit.

The doctor who made that claim has been shown as being fraudulent.

There is simply no reputable evidence to believe this. But it's still propagated by people who refuse to accept that the evidence was fabricated -- but now that people believe it, you can't get rid of it.

Not much of a problem if you're male. But if you're female, they must have a female TSA agent to pat you down. This woman found out that if a female TSA agent isn't available, then you miss your flight.

In regards to the previously mentioned Ohio law, it was passed last year in part of a "defense of 'traditional' marriage" legislative package intended to keep homosexuals from wedding.

Ohio passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage being between a man and a woman in 2004 - eight years ago. No statutory law would have greater power to define or limit marriage than the state constitution.

Furthermore, guardians are court appointed and have to make regular reports to the court about the status of the ward and their property. What judge wouldn't consider it a direct conflict of interest for a guardian to marry a ward? Do you think the judge would find the guardian swearing that he really loves his ward and isn't at all doing it to get at the minor's property to be in any way serious or believable and not at all unethical? If teachers can't date students that are technically adults, what makes you think a guardian could date and marry a ward who is a legal minor given the higher duty of a guardian?

GUARDIANSHIPS

The court may appoint, after hearing and investigation, a guardian for a minor or for an adult who is found to be incompetent to take proper care of himself or his property. A guardian, with court supervision, is responsible for making personal and/or financial decisions for the ward. Court supervision is accomplished, in part, through the filing of reports and accountings by the guardian. Both a minor and an adult ward have a number of rights and protections to insure against an unnecessary or ineffective guardianship, including, for the adult ward, the right to be represented by an attorney.

The term 'irony' doesn't even begin to describe the situation there.

I think the term "pure BS" most likely describes what you wrote. Any lie will do to further the cause of "gay marriage", I guess.

And yes, "gay marriage" will have wide spread impact, including school curriculums taught to students about expected behaviors and attitudes, and will bring increasing conflicts between established constitutional rights and those stemming from a newly manufactured right to gay marriage. Think of all the peace and agreement that Roe v. Wade brought to American society, and double it.

Comparing the Lifestyles of Homosexual Couples to Married Couples

Lesbian Divorce Shocker

Lesbian Divorce Shocker: Same-sex marriages between women are considerably more likely to end in divorce than either same-sex male marriages or heterosexual marriages, according to a study of Norway and Sweden:

We found that divorce risks are higher in same-sex partnerships than in opposite-sex marriages, and that unions of lesbians are considerably less stable, or more dynamic, than unions of gay men. In Norway as well as in Sweden, the divorce risk in female partnerships is practically double that of the risk in partnerships of men.

'Poster couple' for gay rights in California is divorcing

The rhetorical and legal machinery that is being used to punch down society's laws and customs will leave a big enough hole that much more mischief will follow. Polygamists are already filing lawsuits using the same legal theories used to support gay marriage, and support for the normalization of pedophilia is entering the stage that homosexuality was in 50 years ago. These battles will only get worse.

The law is there to protect the kids, not punish them.

Maybe that was the rationale of their inception, but this is Clearly not the case today.

Feb 2012:
=========
"Tony Bennett, who kicked his own cocaine habit 30 years ago, made a pitch for the legalization of all drugs as he reflected on the death of Whitney Houston, whose drug problems have been well documented.

"In Amsterdam they legalized drugs and it calmed everybody down," Bennett said Sunday on the Grammy Awards red carpet.

"It stopped a lot of gangsters who sneak around and get people to take drugs. Everybody gets wounded that way. By legalizing it, you won't have that problem."

The 85-year-old crooner acknowledged his call for legalization is controversial. But he said he stands by it.

"It's called the elimination of ignorance," he said. "If you do something that makes things better, why not do it immediately, whatever it is.""

- http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/plocal/CTVNews/20120213/grammy-whitney-houston-drug-laws-120213/20120213/?hub=CalgaryHome

also @:

http://wonderwall.msn.com/entertainment/whitney-houston-remembered-on-grammys-red-carpet-1666601.story

and from the past, Bill Hicks:

"Itâ(TM)s not a war on drugs, itâ(TM)s a war on personal freedom is what it is OK. Keep that in mind at all times."

"George Bush says we are losing the war on drugs. You know what that implies? There's a war being fought, and the people on drugs are winning it. Ha ha ha ha! What does that tell you about drugs? Some smart, creative people on that side."

"That's what I hate about the war on drugs. All day long we see those commercials: "Here's your brain, here's your brain on drugs", "Just Say No", "Why do you think they call it dope?" ⦠And then the next commercial is [singing] "This Bud's for yooouuuu." C'mon, everybody, let's be hypocritical bastards. It's okay to drink your drug. We meant those other drugs. Those untaxed drugs. Those are the ones that are bad for you."

"Pot is a better drug than alcohol. Fact! ⦠I'll prove it to you. If you're at a ball game or a concert and someone's really violent and aggressive and obnoxious, are they drunk or are they smoking pot? [The crowd answers "Drunk."] Wow! We all know the truth."

"It's all about money, not freedom, ya'll, okay? Nothing to do with fuckin' freedom. If you think you're free, try going somewhere without fucking money, okay? "

Such a dilemma. Shall I believe you or Vint Cerf?

"Vint Cerf, undisputedly one of the Internet's key inventors, will give Gore the [Webby] award at a June 6 [2005] ceremony in New York. 'He is indeed due some thanks and consideration for his early contributions,' Cerf said."

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7746308/#.TzVnvlZqDgc

I Googled "Iraqis having yellowcake"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25546334/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/secret-us-mission-hauls-uranium-iraq/#.Ty1roFyPkb0

"U.S. and Iraqi forces have guarded the 23,000-acre site â" surrounded by huge sand berms â" following a wave of looting after Saddam's fall that included villagers toting away yellowcake storage barrels for use as drinking water cisterns."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25546334/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/secret-us-mission-hauls-uranium-iraq/#.Ty1YteRl6kM

http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/02/10303860-panetta-report-fuels-concerns-that-israel-will-attack-iran

* Now THAT is a "real problem"...

APK

P.S.=> Those STUPID FUCKING MANIACS in the middleeast amaze me - funniest part of all, is that the middle east Jews/Israelites ARE RELATED TO ARABIC PEOPLES IN ANTIQUITY...

Man - Talk about stupid, in battling for AGES with your own family essentially!

Well, ok then: Want to fight? I say, FUCKING LET THEM! Just keep the rest of us OUT OF IT...

Go ahead, learn what a REAL FIGHT costs!

... apk

Check into this, & you'll see WHY I stated what I did in my subject -> http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/02/10303860-panetta-report-fuels-concerns-that-israel-will-attack-iran

* The f'ing 'zealots' in the middleeast ARE going to be the death of this planet... & what really pisses me off about it? I think, that given time, we'd make this place a paradise instead of a radioactive shithole, which is what those nutjobs are seemingly heading us towards...!

(Yes - I can see being pissed off, and I can see doing something about it, but... not when it means destroying the very people you're out to defend, as well as everyone else... what's the point then? PURE EGO/STUPIDITY!)

---

Yes, what you're stating scares me as well, but not nearly as much as the above. The "powers that be" aren't stupid, & that's part of WHY they're in power but... for what REAL reasons?

They KNOW how to "stir folks up" by hitting 'sensitive areas' (especially regarding their children), but what bugs me about it is, it's often done to "twist your arm" (w/out you even knowing, per "it's for the kids" type stuff you allude to), so they can "further their own agenda" (power, it's past money even, even though money IS power in real essence).

For example - would the "pro pedo" guy have gotten me wanting to hang him by his balls? Probably.

Yes - I admit it, that that's an area that gets to me too - harming kids (they're BETTER versions of us really, because life hasn't "gotten to them yet" & they're still innocent as far as I am concerned)... & that's EXACTLY what they know works (as you stated, & for the reasons you stated).

I've always felt that the MOST dangerous sciences there are aren't hard sciences like 'geeky stuff' ala physics &/or comp. sci. or engineering - the stuff that MAKES BOMBS &/or WARFARE largely possible... it's the PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES that are (because they're what gets "the button" pushed more than anything, by stirring up the human psyche!).

APK

P.S.=> That's why I keep saying that this stuff we're speaking of here is BULLSHIT compared to what's going on elsewhere, especially that link above - even though it is serious stuff here, it pales in comparison to what's up there in the link above...

... apk

The official outlets and suppliers are kept safe not just by the current laws, but by preferential treatment by the FBI as another posted noted.

When you have the influence in government apparently you can get jackbooted thugs to come in and raid businesses for you.

Copyright law is not just unjust towards society and the consumer, it is not even enforced equally.

I'm 120 miles north of the Superbowl, and the FBI paid a visit to our mall and cleaned out one store of their NFL merchandise as being counterfeit. A lot of what they took was jerseys. Authentic game jerseys MSRP for around $200 so I could see an average being around $100.

Australia is not in the UK.

I appologize. I blame my US education for my ignorance of geography.

Consider who is repairing commercial jet liners, companies like Jet Blue have their repairs done in El Salvador, scary huh?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39383369/ns/travel/t/outsourcing-safety-airplane-repairs-move-unregulated-foreign-shops/#.TygM_aua46k

It IS that bad -- your comment seriously downplays what's been going on. Part of the problem is that not all Americans are affected to the same degree. (which is perhaps why you haven't noticed.) Look at the differential rates of incarceration, depending on what race you are. (holding constant particular crimes & crime rates, eg: white vs. black drug use rates are nearly identical for various drugs -- but the incarceration rate for blacks can be more than X10.) Or, just look at this guy, who just spent TWO YEARS in solitary confinement, after having had NO TRIAL.

Meanwhile, if you were the decision-maker at a bank that issued "liar's loans" en masse -- or led one of the credit agencies that fraudulently rated these bundled mortgages as "AAA" -- I guarantee that you got off scott-free! No one has gone to jail, or even been arrested for these crimes. (described & documented by many people, e.g.: William Black, here.) ...even though the ENTIRE ECONOMY NEARLY COLLAPSED -- putting the both the Constitution and American lives in peril.

That's just a few small examples of how law & order have broken down in this country.

Seriously boycott Apple for poor working conditions in China?

What next? boycotting Apple for using metals, because they were mined, causing pollution? While pretending this wasn't the same for every manufacturer on earth.

Remember the Foxconn workers threatening mass suicide. They were Xbox 360 workers:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45969515/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/t/xbox-workers-china-threatened-mass-suicide/

Or how about the Android products made by Foxconn, like the new Amazon Tablet:
http://phandroid.com/2011/07/14/amazon-chooses-foxconn-to-manufacturer-their-10-1-inch-android-tablet/

Would any of those pushing an Apple boycott add Amazon/Android/Microsoft products to the list?

It isn't even just tech products, in fact the lower down the price/technology scale, the worse the conditions likely are.

Where were your jeans made? Go watch China Blue:
http://video.pbs.org/video/1488092077/

I'd like to mention that the IPCC report that won the Nobel Peace Prize had contributions from 2500 scientists. This article had the OPINION of 16 scientists (not data, opinion). This bit of the newspapers giving equal time to both sides of the story is getting ridiculous. If the liberals started a campaign that the earth was round, the next thing you know the WSJ would post an article with the opinion of someone who thought it was flat and call it, "Opinions differ on shape of planet."

Actually Facebook is forcing users to do essentially that, so your wish is one big step closer to coming true. I feel safer already.

I hope your torches and pitchforks aren't nearby, because Google — the Company That Claims It Does No Evil — is doing something that might make you want to reach for 'em. Apparently the search engine giant is now forcing new Google account users to join Google+ and Gmail.

Until now, creating a Google account was quite simple. You could either use an existing email address or create a Gmail account.

The newly redesigned sign-up process for Google accounts now includes fields which ask for your name, gender (required, thanks to Google+) and mobile phone number (optional). Once you've got those fields filled out, you're led to a page which asks you to create your Google profile — better known as your Google+ account.

There is no option to skip this step and avoid the creation of a Google+ account (and a Gmail account), which is something you might want to do if you're interested in using only some other Google services.

According the TSA, Paul was not detained at the checkpoint by the TSA, but was not allowed to proceed into the secure area because he refused the pat-down required by TSA procedure, and was escorted out of the checkpoint by police. He subsequently rebooked on a different flight and was rescreened without incident. This seems to be covered in most of the news stories on the incident (
CNN, MSNBC, Reuters.)

Sorry, but Sagan turned out to be, well, wrong:

Pope John Paul II - "Faith can never conflict with reason"
an interview with the gent who runs the Vatican Observatory
Why Catholics Like Einstein
A small peek into the whole controversy
a bit of insight

Everyone points at Galileo (quite a few centuries back) and screams, but turns a blind eye towards everything else that's been going on ever since.

shutting off a single power plant is not going to cause a major systemwide blackout assuming the high voltage electrical protection was designed correctly

Brave assumption..

I don't know where you get the bit about a third of Japan's rice being grown in Fukushima province. A lot of the rice eaten in Japan is imported, for one thing. For another thing the major part of the contamination from the Fukushima reactors was deposited in mountainous terrain to the north-west of the plant. Nearly all rice-growing in Japan is done on coastal flatlands such as the Kansai region, a looong way from Fukushima.

I get it from various sources... I don't recall exactly where I read that tidbit.. but it's easy enough to find sites like this one. http://www.pref.fukushima.jp/kokusai/IADwebsite/aboutfuku/aboutfuku8.htm Where it specifically mentions all the agricultural products that come out of that area and articles like this one: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45337452/ns/world_news-disaster_in_japan/t/japan-bans-rice-grown-near-crippled-fukushima-nuclear-plant/#.TxuQOyOZNCI Interestingly.. those 'safe levels of radiation' mentioned in the article have been something of a moving target lately. Governments worldwide have been changing regulations to drastically increase what's considered safe with regard to food specifically from Japan. Google it yourself if you doubt what I'm saying.

This is basically the same situation for the agricultural areas contaminated with fallout although decontamination there might be easier as less soil needs removing and treating.

One has to look at the decon methods they are using.. and how effective they are likely to be. I've seen estimates that to really decon it right you have to remove 4" of top soil. That would be devastating to the environment there and utterly impossible on the scale we are talking. That's not how they are de-contaminating though. In many cases they are removing less depth or simply ploughing the soil to turn it over. They are also dumping radioactive soil into Tokyo Bay where it's sure to end up in marine life.. so not really getting rid of it.. just moving it around making it harder to find. The latest numbers I've seen were about 1400 square miles needs to be de contaminated. That's not just farm land.. that's cities.. woods.. private houses etc. Crops grown in contaminated soil can uptake hot particles and pass them on to the people or animals that consume them.

As for radioactivity levels, I do hope you are aware that seafood swims in radioactivity? Seawater has about 10Bq/litre of radioactivity due to the presence of potassium-40 (K-40). A rough BOTE calculation says there are 50 million tonnes of this radioactive isotope in the world's oceans continuously emitting beta particles and gamma rays. The few kilogrammes of cesium-134 and -137 deposited in the sea by the Fukushima explosions are a spit in the bucket by comparison.

Seriously? I guess that would be ok if your fish are all pulled from that 'average' ocean.. but of course that's where math and the real world part ways. Fishing is done near coast lines where the continuing discharge of radioactive water is going to create a hot zone to the east of Japan. It makes no sense to talk about worldwide averages when the danger is coming from a single point near a major food source. Big fish eat little fish.. and dilute contamination gets concentrated.. that's what I meant by working its way up the food chain.

The fact is.. the numbers you see in the press releases are based on estimates.. wild guesses actually. No one really knows how much material got released.. what it was or how far it might have gone. Ocean and land surveys are ongoing and as the numbers start to get updated.. we are finding out it was much worse than anyone thought initially. This is not hyperbole.. it's a realistic examination of the disaster that happened last year.. and the continuing disaster of bad policy and bad cleanup methods.

Hard to say where might you be now by putting all that energy, intelligence, and creativity into your own small software business or an apprentiship in a trade instead of college?
http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/25/6717536-the-entrepreneur-whos-paying-kids-not-to-go-to-college

But either way is a roll fo the dice...

Make sure you get enough vitamin D, omega 3s, and vegetables to keep going at that pace.
http://www.changemakers.com/discussions/discussion-493#comment-38823

they are out there.

Do those taps run directly into the bottling plants tanks?

For about 1 bottle in 4, yes. Yes they do.

not true. Media matters has gone to hell.

December:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45797223/ns/business-press_releases/t/dreamhost-denounces-sopa-sticks-it/#.Txc1baUS22U

I wish MSNBC had better archival searching. I thought they had an article last oct.

Everything is fine in India till you tick off Govt. or ruling party and the its first family. Dont speak against them. If you do, they will chase you down and make you shut up or else you are locked up with all kind of frivolous charges. Like Subramanyam Swami who is behind exposing the biggest scam India have seen in recent years also for exposing head of ruling party .

To be fair, have you seen how big the first Magnetic HDD's were? Granted, different technology and they still stored a hell of a lot more than 5 bytes, but miniaturisation is only a matter of time.

Yep, according to the idiots at MSNBC, we're already there.

Talk about reading comprehension failures.

Sigh.

Russian President Medvedev threatened to prosecute those responsible for the space failures. No surprise that the individuals in question are now looking to blame someone else.

Yeah, THAT will sure attract new talent to their space program! Alex, I'll take Perverse Incentives for 500 rubles, please!

And never mind the equally important point that the current team at least learned something and won't repeat this particular mistake again. Can't say that for the new team.

Russian President Medvedev threatened to prosecute those responsible for the space failures. No surprise that the individuals in question are now looking to blame someone else.

To some extent, the answer is yes. I doubt we'd have many poo-powered data-centers, but things (stoves, heaters, etc) that would use natural gas can use methane-burners:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16203507

There are tests in using treated sewage for biofuel in vehicles or small power plants
    http://futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/11/7349762-poop-fuels-hydrogen-cars
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5335635/ns/us_news-environment/t/poop-power-sewage-turned-electricity/

IMHO, it makes sense. More people = more energy needs = more waste. If we can find a way to reconstitute our waste into something useful, then the two scale together somewhat usefully.

To some extent, the answer is yes. I doubt we'd have many poo-powered data-centers, but things (stoves, heaters, etc) that would use natural gas can use methane-burners:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16203507

There are tests in using treated sewage for biofuel in vehicles or small power plants
    http://futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/11/7349762-poop-fuels-hydrogen-cars
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5335635/ns/us_news-environment/t/poop-power-sewage-turned-electricity/

IMHO, it makes sense. More people = more energy needs = more waste. If we can find a way to reconstitute our waste into something useful, then the two scale together somewhat usefully.

I don't "know" in the sense that certain faith based folks "know" that they'll be the ones saved.

I do, however, know in the sense that I've read a lot about it, including impact models ranging from US government predictions (military, civilian), international studies, many of which predict widespread starvation and chaos.

Something else I thought that got missed over the holidays was this:

HPCC Systems From LexisNexis Breaks World Record on Terasort Benchmark

Pretty amazing when you consider how little code it took to run the 100GiB sort, never mind that it was faster than hadoop using 1/5 of the hardware. Being able to read in from disk, perform network calls, compute the sort, and write back down to disk just over 1 gigabyte a second is BLAZING fast.

Iran is running its mouth like it wants to get popped. They're going to look awfully impotent when that carrier steams right back into the Persian Gulf. It'll probably bring some buddies with it too.

Iran warns US carrier to stay out of Persian Gulf
Iran warns U.S. to keep ship out of Gulf
At end of drill, Iran army chief warns US aircraft carrier not to return to Persian Gulf

No, can you?

“Constituents of fracking fluids are often considered ‘trade secrets’ and not revealed. Even regulators are left in the dark,” she says.

...
The ones we were able to identify concerned us because of their significant potential to cause damage to the environment and human health. Some were linked with cancer and birth defects, while others damaged the hormone system...

See here for a US scenario:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45658085/ns/us_news-environment/t/colorado-requires-disclosure-fracking-chemicals/#.TwKaVtSyYgw

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! How many times can the same story be recycled over the course of two years?

December 22, 2009 - Facebook's Other Top Trend of 2009: Divorce

April 12, 2010 - Facebook to Blame for Divorce Boom

June 28, 2010 - Facebook is divorce lawyers' new best friend

January 19, 2011 - Divorce cases get the Facebook factor

March 7, 2011 - Survey Shows Facebook an Increasing Factor in Divorce

January 1, 2012 - Facebook flirting triggers divorces

Slow news cycle? Nothing else to publish? Blame Facebook for divorce!

By adapt as a species we mean by engineering solutions. Build stores of water, desalinate, some kind of preservation project. At worst case he was talking about relocating entire populations to more habitable places. His idea was mainly focused on some pacific island which modelling suggests would get swept away with a global warming sized ocean rise.

Well... that ain't really "as a species" anything. More like "them there brownie people should toughen up".
Is that economist per chance Australian?

Also, "mainly focused on some pacific island" just reads to me as more of "somebody else's problem" - a concept that does not exist when we are talking about global issues.
Which is something any economist who's been breathing the air on this planet for the last decade or so should be aware of.

Ultimately though I agree with the prognosis that any large scale relocation attempt can only really end in war. As it is refugee is a dirty enough word. I don't see our governments realistically opening up their borders to an entire small 3rd world nation.

Small third world nations are not really a problem.
Billions of people in Asia are. Future billion+ of people in Africa too. 70% of all humans live on those two continents.
Guess who has the best chance of feeling the effects of a global climate change, per capita.

Regardless what happens (global war, global famine, rampaging pandemics, global economic crises...) we are beyond the point where we can solve or even reduce the problems by sending aid packages.
We got actual global problems. You simply can't solve those one country or "world" at a time.

Remember couple of years back when we felt the tremors of a rising middle class in Asia through the global food prices?

It's one world.
Sticking our collective heads in the sand, pretending it is somebody else's problem... Sorry, but that really irks me.
Particularly from someone who is apparently enough of an authority in a (very) vaguely related field that they get to spew such nonsense in the media.
Authoritatively.

On the Iraq war: Democrats were opposed 126-82

That does not sound very united to me. Suppose the democrats had a simple majority in congress; if they are 3-2 against the war, what makes you think the measure would not pass? They would need a pretty significant majority in congress for 3/5 of the democrats to prevent us from going to war in Iraq, although maybe my ability to multiply and add fractions is on the fritz.

They fought against torture

So the fact that the Chinese do not even come close to imprisoning as many of their citizens as we do means nothing, because we are nice about imprisoning people. Additionally, the Democrats have only expressed opposition to waterboarding, but not to other forms of torture used in our prison system:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solitary_confinement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_therapy

When a large segment of the population is used as a political punching bag and denied basic rights and control over their lives, that IS a big deal

Gays are not denied their rights anymore, and neither are women (??). The last, very minor right that gays were denied was the right to express who they are attracted to while they are serving in the military -- hardly a big deal issue, and hardly one that justifies voting for democrats. What rights are women currently being denied by the government, and what are your beloved democrats doing about it?

We can help millions of people right now, but it seems you'd rather let them suffer because you can't get some other things you want first.

Gay marriage is a nice concept if you are a romantic, but I am not going to vote for people who support gay marriage while simultaneously supporting the war on drugs, the militarization of the police, the military industrial complex, and the prison industrial complex, when I could vote for someone else. Some issues are minor, and some are not minor, and gay marriage falls squarely in the "minor" category. It is not that it is not something worth addressing, but given the choice between living in a country where gays can marry each other an the police drive around in tanks (see link) and a country where people can only marry members of the opposite sex but the police are not a paramilitary force, I choose the country without gay marriage.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41912754/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/why-do-americas-police-need-armored-tank/

Also I seem to recall some Democrats fighting like hell in Wisconsin to protect the unions

Meanwhile, in New York State, Andrew Cuomo pushes hard to break the unions:

http://nyceducator.com/2011/11/governor-one-percent-discreetly-pulls.html

...just like his democrat predecessor:

http://nyceducator.com/2005/12/dear-attorney-general-spitzer.html

Stop falling for it.

I am not the one claiming that gay marriage is important enough to outweigh the support among democrats for the various fascist domestic policies that they have been pushing.

Ok, and how do you propose we fix it?

Couple of ideas:

1) Ban pharmaceutical company reps from hospitals.
2) Limit hospital administrator pay to the median salary of their employees.
3) Criminalize the practice of outrageous markup on medical procedures and equipment; The one time I had surgery, I was charged full retail price for every implement present in the OR at the time, as well as $25 for the fucking Sharpie they drew on me with... and they wouldn't even let me keep the tools (scalpels, forceps, etc.) I payed for!

Should the medical profession community be forced to absorb the insane cost of education only then be forced to accept a salary they themselves do not want?

If so, that would put them more in line with the real world in terms of compensation versus cost of education. Do you think they deserve a better post-college shake than the rest of us, simply by virtue of the fact they chose to spend more on said education?

That simply means that it is legal currency, which has nothing whatsoever to do with whether you have to accept it. Like I said, the same mechanisms that allow a vendor to not accept large amounts of change are what allows businesses not to take large bills, and pretty much every gas station and convenience store does so. It is also what allows a business not to take a bill that is in poor shape. For instance, I once had someone attempt to pay me in money that, no shit, had blood on it. A couple times it smelled like it had urine or feces on it. For a less extreme example, there were more occasions when someone wanted to pay me with money out of their bra or waistband, completely soaked with sweat to the point where the bills stuck to their hands as they tried to count it out. Needless to say, I would not accept those bills, and yeah, the customers were pissed off, but in the end, they either got a method of payment that wasn't a biohazard or they abandoned the sale.

There is no law that says that a vendor has to accept your method of payment, even cash. There are many businesses that don't even keep cash on hand. For instance, car dealerships. If you show up with a bag full of money wanting to buy a car, there's no legal obligation that they have to sell you one. If you show up at the dealership to pay your car payment with a bag full of pennies, likewise, they're under no obligation to take them. The fact that it is payment of a debt or to purchase something is immaterial.

Now, the government, yeah, I believe they have to accept cash, but I don't even think they are necessarily required to accept bulk change payments on the spot, i.e., some pissed off person showing up to the treasurers office with a wheelbarrow full of pennies. Back in June, a guy showed up to his local offices with 2,500 pennies, dumped them on the counter, and ended up with a citation for disorderly conduct for his troubles.

I'm disgusted by the fat-bodies. You should be able to run a mile easily.

Additional thing I forgot to mention earlier:

Being athletic or thin does not make you immune to Type-2 Diabetes or Pre-Diabetes. Diabetes is not about fat, it’s about blood sugar levels, and thanks to the American diet, even athletes with near zero body fat are being diagnosed with diabetes.

Read this article, not for me but for your own good:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24716880/ns/health-diabetes/t/even-thin-person-can-get-diabetes/

It may be worth your time to learn how diabetes works, and how it can destroy your later life. If you actually have your diets consists mostly of complex carbs like breads and pastas and avoid meats and fats, I also highly recommend you have a quick blood sugar test.

Diabetes is killing America faster than Aids and Cancer. We really have to stop it, and we stop it by lowering, or preferably eliminating, our complex carb intake.

It has happened, but with a different type of automation

I should have done a google search for an article with images. Here's one with a picture of the UAV and the low quality images they're using to track the Nisshin Maru.

details on the commercially-available drone capable of being launched from a ship

The UAV is small, catapult- or hand-launched (aka "throw'n'go".). Looks like a 2m or so wingspan. Possibly a SeaScan, which is a small civilian UAV intended for commercial fishing boats, but I'm just guessing based on the shape.

Funny that article shows it's on ANDROID phones thus, it's an ANDROID (& other smartphones') problem (& thus, a Linux problem too, because ANDROID'S A LINUX). I don't see it running on my Windows PC here, for instance...

APK

P.S.=> And to "continue the trend"? Here's MORE Android security issues (8 at a time only: /. won't let me post more links than that):

http://blogs.computerworld.com/18659/cyberthugs_love_smartphones_and_leaky_sneaky_mobile_malware

http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/15/6475834-skype-android-app-can-expose-your-personal-information

http://blogs.computerworld.com/17785/sensory_malware_android_app_listens_then_steals_credit_card_data

http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/07/11/1620222/New-SMS-Trojan-Found-In-Android-Markets

http://hothardware.com/News/Malware-For-Android-Users-Increases-In-Frequency-And-Sophistication/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/11/android_marketplace_malware/

http://blogs.computerworld.com/18755/killer_android_app_allows_the_clueless_to_hack_pwn_like_a_pen_tester

http://blogs.computerworld.com/17899/hacked_android_app_racks_up_huge_texting_charges

Would you like MORE? I have PLENTY of them...

... apk

The other option, of course, is that the insurance company will mandate the better security practices, like is happening to get people out of the areas of New Orleans that are beneath sea level:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14456934/ns/business-us_business/t/many-new-orleans-cant-afford-insurance/

Americans aren't exactly all behind the free speech wagon either.

In the wake of 9/11, over half of Americans surveyed said free speech should be restricted, especially on the press (in the context of criticizing the new war on terror).

That's not even recent; a 1987 survey said the same thing (assuming the post-date is correct for a digitized article).

A survey of American youth in 2005 isn't encouraging either.

So while by law America has free speech and China does not, a large percentage of citizens from both countries believe free speech should be restricted in some way.

This lack of professionalism can cost people their job. Here's an article about a 9 year old 'wrongfully' suspended for saying a teacher was 'cute'.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/05/student-9-years-old-suspended-for-sexual-harassment_n_1129683.html

Following the social and Internet outcry over such an obscene misjudgement by the Principal, here's the follow up piece where he was forced to retire over the situation.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/07/9277654-principal-forced-out-over-9-year-olds-sexual-harassment-suspension

And here's the real story, where the kid in question has a history of bad behaviour, including racism and the actual suspension was the consequence of a series of incidents, and the kid never used the word cute anyway as originally reported

http://www.wsoctv.com/download/2011/1205/29926822.pdf

It's not about embracing technology, it's about all the pieces to the puzzle being reported, rather than skipping half the story and being less than truthful about the other half.

Rushing out 'facts' out of context is not good journalism, regardless of medium.

I think teaching how to circumvent COPPA is dangerous without teaching when to do so. There are a lot of age verification things out there on the internet and they're not all for the same reason. COPPA is for preventing a child from disclosing too much personal information for use by another party without informed consent of the parent (i.e. marketing and solicitation). I think teaching a child not to give out their real birth date online is a very valuable lesson. (Birth date and state are enough info for an accurate guess at a social security number, and the region can probably be obtained with a reasonable chance of success for a child (lower chance to have moved from the area of birth)). Other age verifiers are for content, some websites self regulate, others follow third party guidelines (e.g. ESRB). I expect to be the final word in what content my children permissibly access on the internet, but I do appreciate the age checkers as a sign for younger children to stop and ask permission. Older children are going to do their own thing according to what you've taught them up to that point.

Also, I've always been surprised that the age submission check is considered a valid method for absolving an entity of COPPA's requirements considering the lengths they have to go through if they do know they are dealing with a child. It seems rather trivial in comparison to these requirements:

Website operators must use reasonable procedures to ensure they are dealing with the child's parent. These procedures may include:

obtaining a signed form from the parent via postal mail or facsimile;

accepting and verifying a credit card number;

taking calls from parents on a toll-free telephone number staffed by trained personnel;

email accompanied by digital signature;

email accompanied by a PIN or password obtained through one of the verification methods above.

Operators who follow one of these procedures acting in good faith to a request for parental access are protected from liability under federal and state law for inadvertent disclosures of a child's information to someone who purports to be a parent.