Slashdot Mirror

Yep, NZ did it in March this year. And there was a *lot* of effort put into ensuring that the interface worked on pretty much every graphical browser known to man. Or the big four, at least. Another interesting aspect was the effort put into supporting a Maori language version.

A very well-run project by Statistics NZ and partners, even if they didn't quite get the number of online respondees they were expecting.

http://subs.nzherald.co.nz/column/story.cfm?c_id=7 09&ObjectID=10371864

You're right. The muslims don't want to turn us into Muslims.

They want to rape our women in Sweden. http://fjordman.blogspot.com/2005/12/immigrant-rap e-wave-in-sweden.html
They want to burn our cars in France. They don't like trains either. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2 &objectid=10362567
They don't like tall buildings. http://www.terrorism-victims.org/terrorists/wtc-pe ntagon/3trade-towers-collapse.jpg
They want Sharia law in Indonesia. http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041022-1 01916-3985r.htm
Forget discos. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Bali_terrorist_b ombing
They want Sharia in the UK. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/ne ws/2006/02/19/nsharia19.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/02 /19/ixportaltop.html
Oh crap, no more political cartoons. (I think you know of this one)
No, they don't want a Caliphate. Oh no. http://www.khilafah.com/home/index.php (wish I still had the pic of the guy protesting in canada w/ sign asking for Caliphate)
What does that sign say? Oh, it only says to massacre those who INSULY Islam. Nothing in it about conversion. http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-135019 17,00.html

You're right. 100% spot on. We need to fear the Christians.

This includes things like "we are investigating a known terrorist, and since you just published his face in the paper he went so far underground he won't even be able to find his asshole to wipe it after he takes a dump"...

"Glaciers and ice shelfs are melting. Everywhere. Now."

Nope.

http://archive.greenpeace.org/climate/arctic99/htm l/content/factsheets/oldreports/glaciers2.html

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID =3504064&thesection=news&thesubsection=general

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF16/1678.h tml

I appreciate how attached you are to your opinions. Now, stop making up facts to support them, like ALL glaciers are melting NOW, and we can talk.

But you won't. You're too attached to what you think to bother with what the facts are.

And that first link? It's from Greenpeace. Question their bias, please. I could use a good laugh.

They're not ALL melting. Educate yourself.

I work with geologists, glaciologists, climatologists, and meteorologists all days, and there are several signs that warming is occuring- the most convincing being the melt of tropical glaciers, of which all of them are melting."

No, they're not. And yours is a perfect example of why this subject is so divisive. If you genuinely are a grad student in atmospheric sciences, then you'd know that not all glaciers are melting.

So, either you're lying or you're a poor student. Either way, you're wrong.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id= 26&objectid=3504064

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF16/1678.h tml

http://archive.greenpeace.org/climate/arctic99/htm l/content/factsheets/oldreports/glaciers2.html

A bid to create a virtual red light district on the internet has been blocked by a "coalition of the unwilling" consisting of unlikely bedfellows the United States, Australia and Iran.

...know about what happened to Bryce Coad of Zombie Linux, almost 4 years ago. Wheteher his explanation was in fact true, I don't know. But obviously, some people have thought about this long time ago.

Now permit me to be cruel: I don't believe that New Orleans should be rebuilt. If the flood areas are subject to destruction as a result of broken levees and strong hurricanes can break the levees, then we are creating a cycle of destruction and rebuilding.

Thanks for stating this -- as far as I'm concerned, there are a lot of places where people simply shouldn't be living. As I understand it (I'm not from the area so correct me if I'm wrong), New Orleans used to get lots of hurricanes similar to Katrina, and there's simply been a remisssion for about 50 years. People became complacent during that time, property near the coast was subdivided, and everyone flocked to it. 50 years later big storms are back. Apparently the solution isn't to move away -- it's to spend tens or hundreds of billions of dollars rebuilding?? Trying to protect a region below sea level?? There are some things that are just ridiculous.

As far as I'm concerned, people whose homes and properties are wiped out like this should be given a chance where appropriate. I live in New Zealand, and while not on as-large-a-scale as some disasters in the US, we do have several places that have been wiped out by serious weather events.

These disasters have resulted in substantial amounts of money that, essentially, comes out of my taxes. I don't mind this the first time, but bailing people out over and over again just because they like to live in a place that's clearly vulnerable to forces of nature seems silly.

We also have plenty of examples of disasters-in-waiting, which are simply being ignored. One of them, for instance, is an expected Tsunami to hit Kaikoura in the near future. There's an underwater landslide down the coast that's just waiting to happen, and almost certainly will cause the place to be at serious risk. The attitude of the locals is to ignore the risk, claim that they'll get through it like any other day, and keep on living there.

I really do sympathise with people who are living in places like this, especially if they have roots there but I also think that governments should be making it very clear about significant danger zones, and if appropriate, preventing people from living in them. I'm tempted to say that people should be allowed to live in such places at their own risk, but I don't think it's realistic to expect that help won't be offered if it's needed. I also think that such a policy would victimise poor people, by making those areas much much cheaper to live in (as well as other areas more expensive).

24 hours? This happened 2 years ago. It seems everyone has been slow to catch on. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1 &objectid=9003822

Let's See:

1. Dec 18/2004: Dan Brown Sued
2. Aug 05/2005: Dan Brown Cleared

And February 27th, 2006: Slashdot posts it!

You're obviously not in touch with the real world.

I'll tell you the reason that the United States cannot disengage from China, why the U.S. cannot let that country go into the shitter.

It's because China is the number 2 owner of U.S. public debt. Ontop of the ~500 billion dollars they own in Treasury Bonds, China also has their currency pegged to the U.S.'s, which means they buy up dollars at a furious pace.

BTW - Japan happens to be the #1 holder of U.S. Public debt.

If anything happened to the Japanese or Chinese economies, they could very easily take the United States down with them.

China just recently indicated that they're considering diversifying their currency holdings away from dollars, which could obviously cause inflation.

get a subscription to the economist, or business week
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3 &ObjectID=10363958

Don't blame Google, blame your government. China is the US's "Most Favored" trading partner. The US gov't validated China's behavior a long time ago.

Ditto for the Middle East. The US doesn't care about democracy over there, they just want countries that will play nicely & not be a threat. Saudia Arabia is just as bad as China (at least they don't cut off hands in China) and our President is great friends with King Saud.

Your ignorance is showing.

Read about this in my national newspaper, which would have gone to press about 12 hours ago. New Zealand Herald.

Instead of worrying about software patents, EU should get themselves together and prepare for the next terrorist wave, just started in New Zealand.

The French economy grew 0.7 percent in the 2005 third quarter. There were WEEKS of riots. A horrible attack on a passenger train on new years, etc etc etc (no one on the train put up a fight in their own defense, you can keep your gentler society) Real kind and gentle: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id= 30&objectid=10362567

More of that wacky kinder society, this time from the United State's dear friend Sweden: http://fjordman.blogspot.com/2005/12/immigrant-rap e-wave-in-sweden.html

The EU countries can be more socialist and build these "kinder and gentler societies" because they outsourced their defense to the United States. I, as a tax payer over here, pay for these gentler nations defense as well as their scorn and condescension. The United States fucked up badly in two ways after WWII. 1. The Marshall Plan (I.e. we should have let Europe starve) 2. If we had to have a Marshall Plan we shouldn't have provided for Europe's security against the Soviets. If Europe had to pay for its own defense the nanny states would never have been born, birthrates would be high, and the west would not be in decline.

How's the birthrate amongst non-immigrants in Europe? Take a look. These wonderful kinder and gentler nations don't reproduce. Never a good sign... How about that work week? 35hours to create jobs doesn't spell success to me. It spells -quagmire- one of economy at least. How's Germany doing now that they switched to the Euro? That's right, non stop recession as they connot lower interest rates. What's France's government spending per GDP? Ya, in the range of unsustainable. How about the pensions?

Europe won't be gentle for long. People go to jail for having the wrong political beliefs. People go to jail simply for annoying other people. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/ne ws/2006/01/12/nsacr12.xml

So genetle in fact that the EC isn't answerable to the foolish electorate. More fun is guaranteed given that fact. Let's check back w/ one another in 20yrs. It'll be a hoot.

...because, you know, molestors never meet their victims through such wholesome, all-american activities.

Seriously, anyone with a grain of sense should be able to see that this is not a valid complaint against Xbox Live. Anywhere adults and minors can congregate and talk, adults who wish to take advantage of minors can find them. Crippling Xbox for the sake of those who fear pedos is no more sensible than the airline policy of not seating men next to children. Watch your kids, raise them well, and talk to them yourself to make sure they're not going to see some strange old man. Paranoia is no substitute for parenting.

Next we will discover that video games don't make you kill others...

Might take a while for the popular press to pick up on that one

An idea as old as the 70's. Later studies challenge that http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id= 46&ObjectID=10358263.

This links to a newpaper article detailing real world applications with somewhat similar 'smart' fabrics : http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5 &ObjectID=10358576

Do no evil. Unless you have shareholders?

This is not funny, it's the ugly TRUTH!
This story ---> Google duo splash out for airliner reminds me of a story I read in a magazine a couple of years ago. It was an inteview with larry or sergey or maybe both (don't remember now), btw, one of them said that everything is so simple @ google, to the extent that if someday somebody buys a BMW the he/she might lose his/her job! Looks like money has the power to change many things ... *sigh*

New Zealand is tied for second place with Finland in Transparency International's (TI) 2005 corruption index (they are tied as the least corrupt cuntries)

Coincidence? I think not!

A couple days ago, I read about the Pentagon planning a first strike strategy using nukes; now I hear about this...

Man, I need to find a nice hard mountain to build a new home in....

And one that apparently condones shooting commuters in the head at point blank range without evidence and with no warning.

I think you made a typo there, it's US. not UK.

No, he was in London when Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes was shot in the head by the police.

...can't regenerate the Wallabies

• The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians--and How We Can Survive Them
• Kurt Vonnegut vs. the !&#*!@ (scroll down to "To say somebody is a PP is to make a perfectly respectable medical diagnosis")
• How to spot a psychopath at work
• Is your boss a 'corporate psycho'?
• Psycho parasites lurk in most surprising spots
• USC Study Finds Faulty Wiring In Psychopaths
• The Origins of Antisocial Behaviour, Twin Study
• Original sinners? Evidence that psychopaths are born, not made

In terms of sheer wealth - the U.S. outstrips the vast majority of countries and there simply is no reason why the U.S. should ever take a back seat to technology - unless the moneyed interests demand otherwise.

Unless, of course, the US government decides to not heavily subsidise broadband rollout while other counries do decide to hevily subsidise it.

Given the current oil price at $70.00/bbl - coupled with the ready availability of oil at that price - the U.S. ought to have people up in arms over the $2.60+ / gal. price of gasoline. The U.S. doesn't have gasoline riots and it won't have broadband riots despite overpriced monopoly limits on broadband development in the U.S.

First off, I don't see the connection here. Second, current price of oil is currently at $63.25/bbl and has yet to ever reach $70/bbl.

But IAU member and astronomer Pam Kilmartin, of Canterbury University's Mt St John Observatory, said any name would have to be approved by the IAU and naming guidelines were "quite stringent"...
The new planet was "transneptunian" - beyond Neptune - in the so-called Kuiper Belt, which meant any planet discovered there had to be named after the Greek gods of creation or gods of the underworld, Pam Kilmartin said.

When in my country you only get 25 years for killing your step daughters: NZ Herald

That might be true, but what if the only reason the women dress themselves (or, as you put it, "they dress women up"...sort of like I put a collar on my dog, maybe?)from head to toe because they will get killed if they don't do what the ruling bullies expect of them? Even where they walk and with whom? Oh, I forgot... the Palistinians are virtuous freedom fighters, struggling to throw off a tyrannical and oppressive yoke! You certainly can't have women walking around loose, now can you?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectI D=10120316

Ok first thing first

1. The accident(or incident) happened at Monday, and /. , being famous as it is, post the "News" on Friday. Good job, even the Inquirer beat you.

2. That being said, here is a much more detail account of the event.

Rat blamed for latest Telecom blackout

untitled image

21.06.05

By Bernard Orsman and Gareth Vaughan

A rat is suspected as being one of two culprits who paralysed the country's telecoms network yesterday, closing the Stock Exchange and stopping shoppers using Eftpos machines.

The second was a Powerco contractor who "nicked" a fibre optic cable near Waverley in South Taranaki while drilling a hole to replace a power pole at 10.40am.
The "one in a million" coincidence of damage to two fibre optic cables affected more than 100,000 Telecom customers from 10.48am until 3.18pm.

The greatest disruption was in Wellington and Taranaki. Services were also lost in Auckland, Palmerston North and in the South Island.

Trading on the Stock Exchange was brought to a halt from 11.01am until 4pm. The exchange stayed open for an extra 30 minutes until 5.30pm.

Eftpos disruption hurt shoppers and retailers. The online auction site TradeMe reported a significant reduction in traffic between 11am and 3pm.

Air travellers experienced delays of 25 minutes or more when the loss of internet and email forced Air NZ to manually check-in passengers.

Telecom spokesman John Goulter said it was possible a rat was the cause of the broken fibre optic cable on a railway bridge, about 5km north of Upper Hutt. Rodent damage was a problem inside the 10cm steel ducts that carry fibre optic cables, he said.

"We haven't ruled it [a rat] out."

Another possible cause was the cable coming adrift and being carried away in the river.

Mr Goulter said the odds of the two main fibre optic cables running up the west and east sides of the North Island failing at the same time were about one in a million.

Telecommunications Users Association chief executive Ernie Newman said Telecom rated well for network and service reliability and he did not see it as a sign of a trend.

However, brokers were annoyed, especially as it was the second Telecom fault in a week to halt trading.

One broker said stoppages added to uncertainty for the market and investors "hate uncertainty".

Stock Exchange spokeswoman Rowan MacRae would not be drawn into detail about compensation.

"Our key thing has been to focus on getting the market back up and running as quick as we can and to let international markets know what has happened here today. We will worry about the other issues later."

Retailers Association Auckland regional manager Russell Sinclair said given that many people no longer carried cash, "It certainly bites" when Eftpos went down.

Communications Minister David Cunliffe said "getting two accidents of this type at the same time is a freak occurrence".

Last week about 2000 Telecom customers were affected when a contractor accidentally cut a cable between Waihi and Whangamata. The eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island were affected.

Wow, what a dumbass for stealing "a shiny cable" that is under the ground. Wouldn't he , you know, know that the line might be there for a reason?

Governments are hopeless at dealing with security. They are slow, lack innovative thinking and care more for their own careers than for their constituents. What matters most is whether or not you can protect yourself, your assets and your family when (if) the time comes. Then you can rid your mind of all the political and media led one-upmanship that comes along with security and the war on terrorism and get more important things done in life.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=90026 31

The article's author should come to New Zealand and see what we have, namely a monopoly worse than most slashdotters think Microsoft is. Want broadband? The standard is 256Kbps DSL ($NZ50/month), usually without a monthly traffic limit of something like 10GB. This is still better than just 6 months ago where the standard was 128Kbps with a 10GB traffic limit ($NZ60/month), which doesn't even qualify as broadband. You can now get (as in in the last few months) 2Mbps (also at $NZ50/month), but that'll definitely have a monthly traffic limit of 10GB (including national traffic and dropping to 64Kbps when you reach the limit), which you could burn through in no time at 2Mbps. Here are the common plans of today from Xtra, Telecom's ISP branch.
Because the local loop is still virtually all Telecom (only a relatively few lucky people in Wellington can get a physical line that isn't owned by Telecom) there's no real competition for internet access. Ultimately almost all ISPs have to go through Telecom's service and just resell that, and Telecom does not play fair. The only possible exception is paradise.net/Telstra Clear, and I'm not entirely sure if they go through Telecom's system or not. The Kiwi Share, which is supposed to protect us against this sort of thing, is bogged down in beauracracy and failing miserably. All this while we hear about how great broadband is in places like Europe and Asia, HK gets 1Gbps broadband, and even Australia has a 20Mbps service.
An interesting recent take on the telecommunications situation here.

On the plus side, at least Telecom is generally fairly good at setting up your connection quickly.

The article's author should come to New Zealand and see what we have, namely a monopoly worse than most slashdotters think Microsoft is. Want broadband? The standard is 256Kbps DSL ($NZ50/month), usually without a monthly traffic limit of something like 10GB. This is still better than just 6 months ago where the standard was 128Kbps with a 10GB traffic limit ($NZ60/month), which doesn't even qualify as broadband. You can now get (as in in the last few months) 2Mbps (also at $NZ50/month), but that'll definitely have a monthly traffic limit of 10GB (including national traffic and dropping to 64Kbps when you reach the limit), which you could burn through in no time at 2Mbps. Here are the common plans of today from Xtra, Telecom's ISP branch.
Because the local loop is still virtually all Telecom (only a relatively few lucky people in Wellington can get a physical line that isn't owned by Telecom) there's no real competition for internet access. Ultimately almost all ISPs have to go through Telecom's service and just resell that, and Telecom does not play fair. The only possible exception is paradise.net/Telstra Clear, and I'm not entirely sure if they go through Telecom's system or not. The Kiwi Share, which is supposed to protect us against this sort of thing, is bogged down in beauracracy and failing miserably. All this while we hear about how great broadband is in places like Europe and Asia, HK gets 1Gbps broadband, and even Australia has a 20Mbps service.
An interesting recent take on the telecommunications situation here.

On the plus side, at least Telecom is generally fairly good at setting up your connection quickly.

The article's author should come to New Zealand and see what we have, namely a monopoly worse than most slashdotters think Microsoft is. Want broadband? The standard is 256Kbps DSL ($NZ50/month), usually without a monthly traffic limit of something like 10GB. This is still better than just 6 months ago where the standard was 128Kbps with a 10GB traffic limit ($NZ60/month), which doesn't even qualify as broadband. You can now get (as in in the last few months) 2Mbps (also at $NZ50/month), but that'll definitely have a monthly traffic limit of 10GB (including national traffic and dropping to 64Kbps when you reach the limit), which you could burn through in no time at 2Mbps. Here are the common plans of today from Xtra, Telecom's ISP branch.
Because the local loop is still virtually all Telecom (only a relatively few lucky people in Wellington can get a physical line that isn't owned by Telecom) there's no real competition for internet access. Ultimately almost all ISPs have to go through Telecom's service and just resell that, and Telecom does not play fair. The only possible exception is paradise.net/Telstra Clear, and I'm not entirely sure if they go through Telecom's system or not. The Kiwi Share, which is supposed to protect us against this sort of thing, is bogged down in beauracracy and failing miserably. All this while we hear about how great broadband is in places like Europe and Asia, HK gets 1Gbps broadband, and even Australia has a 20Mbps service.
An interesting recent take on the telecommunications situation here.

On the plus side, at least Telecom is generally fairly good at setting up your connection quickly.

Australia already comes under US law; no need for a local office. If you as an Australian download copyrighted material without permission then a Grand Jury in Virgina can convict you, and you can be deported to serve your time (5 years or so) in pound-me-in-the-ass US federal prison. A New Zealand lawyer says that probably applies there too.

You cannot blame MS for playing according to the rules; nor can one blame the policticians for being accomodating and writing the rules to benefit such a generous contributor.

You can blame yourself if you're against software patents but don't take action.

I wrote to the NZ Herald last week with the idea for the article that got slashdotted today!

I also made a submission to the government on the NZ Draft Patent Bill. I argued the same point made in the article:

"Patents allow firms to create artificial legal barriers that can hinder or prevent community-based peer-production ...

Allowing software patents is a decision favouring one form of software production over another."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectI D=10113639

"A Rotorua man who kidnapped and robbed a terrified Auckland teenager told police it was like playing the PlayStation game Grand Theft Auto."

Now I'm sure that playing the game didn't make him go out and do it, but you've got to wonder if he did get the idea from the game. Most healthy, sane individuals will see the line between fantasy and reality, but for someone like this who obviously has issues to deal with, you wonder whether it is such a good idea to present crime as a fun, rewarding, good thing to do?

I wonder whether he'll be convicted of GTA?

He was being facetious, either to be funny or to make a comment about legalities. Not clear to me.

HOWEVER...
Australians can be extradited to the USA for similar offenses that are not illegal in their own country.

None of this is going to be relevant a hundred years from now.

There are some theories that we don't have even 20 years, let alone 100.

The "total loss" of a US$73 million ($106.19 million) satellite on Saturday morning left several Pacific Islands and Scott Base in Antarctica without telephone communications to the outside world.

Story here.

The 'wobble' known as Chandlers wobble can be measured using a Laser Ring Inferometer.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=35042 68

It's pretty cool tech actually, a rediculously precise table with a laser split at a corner travelling around the corners via mirrors reflecting back to the source. The slight phase difference in the beams is measurable. This phase difference is actually how your 777 flies from A to B with 3 laser ring gyros one for each axis.

Hedley

Already in progress sir ;)

...I'm surprised people are _that_ dumb.

From a New Zealand Herald article:

Although described in court as a church-going disability pensioner and a diagnosed schizophrenic who cared for his ailing parents, police said his assets included a A$970,000 house and seven other properties in New South Wales, five cars, and an office complex in the British city of Nottingham.

Seems this guy (Nick Marinellis) wasn't real smart though...

Police said they were first alerted in February last year when the Hungarian Consulate had complained that a "Dr Nick Marinellis" had demanded US$2500 ($3604) in connection with an attempted scam.

So he's an idiot, and he still managed to make megabucks...

Well, kinda. They came to New Zealand, and I beleive, got thrown out:

http://www.fightthepatent.co.nz/

and

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/businessstorydi splay.cfm?storyID=3511839&thesection=business&thes ubsection=ebusiness&thesecondsubsection=intern et

Surely some of that can be used against this?

I like this quote by them, "What an insult to call it a business process. To this day no one has been able to duplicate this design." -- sounds like someone has a chip on their shoulder.

this man

Maybe it is not just the US electroral process at fault, the aliens might see this result http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/businessstorydi splay.cfm?storyID=3601745&thesection=business&thes ubsection=technology&thesecondsubsection=informati on and conclude anything with software in it is at fault.

I wouldn't guarentee It's made me all that well informed about New Zealand's politics, but when it became obvious to me that the U.S. media were getting absorbed by a few massively corporate owners, I started bookmarking overseas internet news sources for comparison. They can be real eye openers. Even Americans who don't speak any languages save English can use these:

World News Network in Berlin (English feed) -
http://www.worldnews.com/

News from Oz -
http://www.news.com.au/

The Moscow Times (English Feed) -
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/indexes/01.html

And a fine source for Americans who wish they were more informed about New Zealand's politics -
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/

Anyone who knows of particular systemic biases from any of these sites, please post the URLs of their competition.

Excuse me ?

A popular saying during WW2 was, 'When the RAF flies, the Germans run for cover. When the Luftwaffe flies, the British run for cover. When the Americans fly, everyone runs for cover!'

You've got it the wrong way round.

This is the Bush administration's policy.

I'll quote from the NZ Herald article -


Current law prohibits the use of federal funds to make human embryonic stem cells, and in August 2001 President George W Bush said scientists could work only on a few already existing cell lines, using federal funds. ...

The Bush Administration argues that people who oppose experimenting on human embryos should not have their tax dollars used in such research, but it is silent on what privately funded groups can do.


I guess they had to satisfy their right-wing supporters without openly cutting off research - that would have brought up serious opposition.