Slashdot Mirror

Thing is ... it gets routed interregionally

by
-> verizon
-> cogent
-> uunet ... euhm ... mci ... oh wait ... worldcom ... hmmm ... I give up, let's just call em "those guys"
-> level3

Where are all these companies based ? Hmmm ...

Only the indians have a real alternative. Egypt gave it -supposedly- a try, but they failed beyond miserably.

And Italy has some decent connectivity in the mediterranean. But that's all.

Yes traffic doesn't physically pass the US anymore. But that's been true for a LONG time. It's certainly not fully under european control. Financially and technologically it still does.

And America's been known to intercept documents that only passed by American equipment.

Xerox vs the Soviets : 1-0

Not that I wish to insinuate anything but there really are 2 locations where routing equipment is made (designed) : US and Japan. Japan, the country that just recently ditched it's pacifism requirements in its constitution and instituted a nuclear program that produced it's first atomic bomb after 2 months (making a mockery out of the claim that they respected their constitution, 2 months isn't even enough time to produce the required materials, let alone design a functional circuit).

And btw if I had to choose between trustworthyness of US vs Japanese. I'd put my eggs in the American basket. Sure Americans are not fair. At least they won't use the information to try to kill me (they'll use it just to make me poor) like just every other dictatorship, whether islamic or communist, or pseudo-communist. I wouldn't trust a country with the "emperor of heaven" as it's head of state either (in case someone doesn't realise, that would be Japan), even if all else were equal.

http://www.parascope.com/articles/0197/xerox.htm

will lead you to this one on the first go.

As to today, then look at the 3rd one down. Also, look up CIA, USSR, and oil pipeline. Taking this a step further, then go visit at the CIA muesum.

A more interesting story (IMHO) of US corporation-assisted espionage was the tale of the copier that Xerox installed at the Soviet embassy in the 60s or 70s (I forget which). They hid a camera inside it that snapped photos of every document that was copied. The Xerox service guy changed out the film when he was there for regular maintenance.

A quick Googling found this.

So yeah, the US would (and did) do it, given the opportunity. It's only logical to expect similar behavior from the Chinese.

~Philly

Yes, the published story about the Xerox camera-copiers mentioned the Soviet embassy in Washington - http://www.parascope.com/articles/0197/xerox.htm has a rehash of the PopSci article - but the Stover article noted that "Judging by the number of parts ordered from Xerox, Zoppoth [Xerox engineer who broke the story] believes that spy cameras may have been installed in photocopiers all over the world, to keep an eye on U.S. allies as well as enemies."

Does that mean his cellphone is a threat to national security!?

Yes. Cell phones (except for specifically aproved governement issue ones) are not allowed in areas where classified research takes place.

And why wouldn't we worry that the Chineese government would pressure Levaneo to bug their laptops. The united states government bugged a Xerox machine in the Soviet embassy (link). This seems like a perfectly rational safeguard.

--Jeff

"It's not like the PCs weren't made in China when the division was owned by IBM."

That truely is the ironic part of Wolf's concern. As if the upper management, the part of IBM PCs that changed when they were pruchased by Lenovo, would have ever noticed if the Chinese made PCs were bugged before leaving the factory.

That said, there should be proper due diligence for any equipment that is purchased and used in sensitive work. In the 1960s the Soviet embassy in Washington purchased/leased a Xerox copier and didn't realize that it was bugged with a CIA camera that took pictures of every document they copied. When the Xerox repairman came in to do routine maintenance on the equipment he would replace the film and take the exposed roll to the CIA. :)

http://www.parascope.com/articles/0197/xerox.htm

You'd have to think that with money like the extremely wealthy and extremely popular have, they have very legit security concerns. That's why I didn't like the pie episode. Hate the guy all you want (and in my professional life, I really do despise Bill and MSFT), but whatever you might think of a person, there's no reason to make hi, fear for his life. And for me, when I saw the pie movie, there's a second on Bills face when it looks like he's has the epiphany "Fuck, I'm a potential target for [terrorists | anarchists | crazed anti-indutrialists | ELFers | PETA | someone who thinks I'm a symbol], and this person is about to hit me with something." I saw a real fear of anticipated violence.

And for me that's over the line.

I always liked this story about the xerox machine in the Russian embassy doing more than just copying documents.

...he wants his buzzword back!

    (Nothing wrong with Tesla; i've always said he was a remarkably brillant man and have great admiration for what he did. He just lost a few screws in the last part of his life it seems...)

He does.

Including toilet paper. http://parascope.com/articles/slips/fs_151.htm

"So often we read of very large companies riding rough-shod over small businesses or individuals," said David Bradley, director of Pentaplex. "But when it comes to the population of Great Britain being invited by a multi-national to wipe their bottoms on what appears to be the work of a Knight of the Realm without his permission, then a last stand must be made."

http://parascope.com/articles/slips/fs_151.htm

But it's making you think it; just like subliminal messages which are illegal.

You're correct that they're illegal (at least in the US), but the fact is that they don't work.

The CIA knew how to deal with copiers in Soviet Russia.

really, what i want for christmas is:

• "squeaky" - the lynette fromme vs. gerald ford game. 20 extra points for taking the safety off.
• "call me czolgosz! if you can!" - polish anarchist fights american president in this real time strategy game.
• "zero year!" - can you make the zero year prediction come true and take out reagan?

estimated play time for all three, four and half minutes.

First big problem I see is that not many respectable news outlets are promoting this fuel alternative.

Forget Kennedy. How about something really important, like zooming in on the bigfoot film!

The story is in an indeterminate state between truth and falsity, and apparently the number of bottles is in an indeterminate state between 1 and 2, and the theory of how they got there is referred to as the Heineken uncertainty principle.

The alleged story is indeed mostly true (reference here) although apparently it was two Heineken bottles, and the the theory of how they got there is that it was a prank, not an oversight during construction.

Everyone knows that on October 30th, 1938, the United States was invaided by Mars and the the 'radio broadcast' was a cover-up created by the Govenment...sheesh!
What are the kids gonna come with next? That Bush and Kerry are part the of the Order of Skull & Bones?

Another interesting problem that scramjets have is that they have a hard time staying "lit" at high speeds.

It would be a real bummer to lose an engine when you are trying to achieve orbit.

Interestingly, it has been proposed that the research taking place at area 51 involves hypersonic sub-orbital plane, the idea being that it would be neat to reach any place on the globe within a couple of hours (or less).

However, it seems that they are using a different engine, something called a Pulse Wave Detonation Engine, or PWDE (leaving the scramjet behind for something better?).

Here are some interesting pictures of the contrails.

Is that the US has done a lot of that, except to Cuba.

They've sent spies to kill Castro. They've let out animal viruses that made it so that herds of cattle had to be destroyed. They overfly the nation regularly with planes. They've indirectly and directly invaded (Bay of Pigs, etc).

Castro was hailed as a hero in the US for working to overthrow Batista, who was corrupt. Once they got him out of power, Castra chose communism. He removed the US control that was there, trying to make Cuba independant and strong.

This, naturally, did not sit well with the US.

Today they still harras Cuba constantly. It's silly.

World conquest through deception.

You start out as a lowly president's kid, only endowed with a small oil company and a baseball team.
The object of the game is to use deception and underground systems such as skull and bones to achieve world domination.

Pitfalls could include alcohol addiction, being bad at Political Science, and getting caught lying to your country.

Your objective could be a success however if you just talk to the right people

At least this is not as vague as Philadelphia Experiment

Had she reminded you of some incident or another that you had forgotten then that would better demonstrate your point. For example, if she described that jumper your wife just loved dressing her in when she was 3 months old.

If you decide to quiz her on said jumper or some such, be on guard against Clever Hans syndrome.

Link. Apparently Tesla may also have come up with something like radar in WW1 as well. Very strange.

The rumours I find far more fascinating (and hard to swallow, I am the first to admit) are the ones that say Kamen is perfecting a personal levitation device.

Bob Metcalfe of 3Com stated "Some months ago when speculation was running high, I said that Kamen's It was more important than the Internet, but not as important as cold fusion, had cold fusion worked out. The It I was talking about, which I did not disclose, was NOT Segway."

Now, do you really think that he would claim a Stirling-engine powered scooter is more important than the Internet? I for one doubt that. Now if it turns out to actually be a viable form of LEVITATION.... all of a sudden the hype, hyperbole, and secrecy starts to fit...

And before you laugh and state this is ridiculous and impossible, read up on the Coral Castle and try to explain it. (Not to mention the pyramids, stonehenge, etc)

Has he ever had such feelings?

Has he realised how easy it is to make the transition, particularly having acting as someone named "The Big Giant Head"?

Will Mr Shatner comment on the lusty look in his eyes in this picture?

I agree, the person quoted probably doesn't know what he's talking about, however it wouldn't be the first time someone enacted a government policy based on his own fear and ignorance.

Speaking of fear, I wonder if he heard the rumor of the CIA planting spy cameras inside exported Xerox copiers.
"Judging by the number of parts ordered from Xerox, Zoppoth believes that spy cameras may have been installed in photocopiers all over the world, to keep an eye on U.S. allies as well as enemies." http://www.parascope.com/articles/0197/xerox.htm

If I remember correctly the Chinese adopted LINUX because of the Open Source system which guarantees that there are no CIA,NSA... etc... back doors in the code, and even if there are backdoords a codereview will find them. One of the main motivations would thus have been that they did not trust Microsoft to stand up to the pressure to integrate backdoors for US security/intelligence services in their Windows dialects. Germany is following a similar trend. Although they keep ranting on about cost cutting, word has it, that a condsiderably larger part of the real reason than the German Govt. would like to admit in public is a desire for increased security. And Germany is not alone in this either, I suspect that more countries will take a second look at LINUX now that G. W. Bush Jr. is in the White House ensuring that the worlds trust in the USAs trustworthyness has reached a new low point. It would appear that the xerox spycam episode and how it was used to spy on enemies as well as allies has not been entirely forgotten after all. You can of course gripe about this being ancient history but there are more recent examples, such as the NSA abusing the ECHELON system for industrial espionage. Not that I as a European am pissed about this sort of thing, we do industrial espionage over here too. It is a grand old tradition as old as humanity and occasionally we over here in the old world even manage to sc*ew US companies in the b*tt just like the US Govt sc*ewed Airbus. I bet you are now tempted to write me off as an anti Microsoft NUTTER, but I fail to see why we should make it easy for the USA to sabotage our industry or read our private files off our hard disk. Lets face it, it is alot harder to keep the NSAs nose out of ones data with M$ Windows (notice I put the fashioable $ sign in the Microsoft ancronym) than it is to protect ones privacy under LINUX.

What do you mean delusions? There is no way that that could be a natural formation. I mean really!

The minute I saw it on slashdot, just like the last time, I knew people would go into the "this is just impossible" mode without at least giving it a shot.

Ooookay. Dismissing the MKULTRA nuts just got a whole lot harder. Thanks, michael. =)

Michael Jackson

...somebody claims this. IIRC, someone in the early 80s had claimed to have done this (with "Radio Shack" parts) - I wish I remember where I read this - and of course there's Podkletnov, though the jury's still out on whether it was a hoax or not. Mind you, NASA has its own programme researching this...I'd be curious to hear their take on the issue.

Another trekkie showed up for OJ trial jury duty in her Starfleet uniform.

It was Whitewater, not OJ.

Shut up and obey your Illuminati Masters. You all sat around and did nothing when They destroyed the economies of countries like Russia and Argentina, thinking "It can't happen here". Well guess what? It's happening NOW. And you see those heavily armed troops on the streets? If you don't like it, they will kill you. BAD LUCK BUDDY! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE LET IT GO THIS FAR! YOU LOSE! ALL OF YOU!

But it won't work that way. You can't just have everybody in America suddenly say "I don't believe in copyright any more!". There are heaps of people who "don't care" and will keep paying for copyrighted stuff.

Even if we assume that everybody did stop paying for copyrighted stuff, because of the huge amount of money involved (what is it, trillions of dollars per year?), our Illuminati Masters would want to keep control of their income so that they can bring about the New World Order.

If you advocate things which threaten their power base, they will declare you a communist (or their brand new enemy, "terrorist") and crush you like a bug. Think about it, George Bush worked for the CIA. It could have been HIM who trained Osama bin Laden. He could have planned the whole thing as an act of psychological warfare against the American people. Let Clinton have a run as President to keep the Dumbocrats happy, then get Sonny-boy into the job. BAM! Osama follows Daddy's plan, and the Son gets a real live crisis to deal with, including trying to start up a bunch of other wars all over the world. Soon it will be the New World Order where you have no rights unless the State gives them to you.

Meanwhile, they distract us by threatening to take away our toys and baubles such as computer games, music, and movies. And we fall for it. We deserve to be enslaved.

Wow that is a very good theory you have come up with. It's shame other people aren't as smart you ! ! !

It is not certain if Tesla ever used the death ray, or indeed if he even succeeded in building one. But the following is the often-related story of what happened one night in 1908 when Tesla tested the foreboding weapon.

At the time, Robert Peary was making his second attempt to reach the North Pole. Cryptically, Tesla had notified the expedition that he would be trying to contact them somehow. They were to report to him the details of anything unusual they might witness on the open tundra. On the evening of June 30, accompanied by his associate George Scherff atop Wardenclyffe tower, Tesla aimed his death ray across the Atlantic towards the arctic, to a spot which he calculated was west of the Peary expedition.

Tesla switched on the device. At first, it was hard to tell if it was even working. Its extremity emitted a dim light that was barely visible. Then an owl flew from its perch on the tower's pinnacle, soaring into the path of the beam. The bird disintegrated instantly.

That concluded the test. Tesla watched the newspapers and sent telegrams to Peary in hopes of confirming the death ray's effectiveness. Nothing turned up. Tesla was ready to admit failure when news came of a strange event in Siberia.

On June 30, a massive explosion had devastated Tunguska, a remote area in the Siberian wilderness. Five hundred thousand square acres of land had been instantly destroyed. Equivalent to ten to fifteen megatons of TNT, the Tunguska incident is the most powerful explosion to have occurred in human history -- not even subsequent thermonuclear detonations have surpassed it. The explosion was audible from 620 miles away. Scientists believe it was caused by either a meteorite or a fragment of a comet, although no obvious impact site or mineral remnants of such an object were ever found.

Nikola Tesla had a different explanation. It was plain that his death ray had overshot its intended target and destroyed Tunguska. He was thankful beyond measure that the explosion had -- miraculously -- killed no one. Tesla dismantled the death ray at once, deeming it too dangerous to remain in existence.

It's is suspected that the Gulf of Tonkin Incident was actually based on the above operation.

If you havent read it already check out Body of Secrets , a recent history of the NSA, and proof that the land of the free is far from that

I'm doing a project on Tesla in my Creative Imaging II class, so if you'll permit a highschool student to do a little educating, I'll try to remember what I read about this incident.

The story, as I remember it, goes like this:

Nikola Tesla, being the eccentric, quixotic type of genius that he was, had created at his Wardenclyffe Laboratory a large tower which he called a Death Ray. His plan was to use these rays (sort of similar in concept to particle beam weapons, I believe) to create an impenetrable defensive perimiter around the country -- around all countries actually -- thus eliminating all war. Tesla was always coming up with things like this...he also came up with a (possible viable) plan for the free transmission of energy throughout the world, but that's a different story.

So anyway, he had this death ray. It had never been tested, but of course it would have to be. He gets word of an upcoming expedition to the North Pole headed by Robert Peary, and he notified the leader that he was going to signal him on a specific night (June 30, 1908) but refrained from mentioning exactly what sort of a signal it would be. His idea was to fire a death-ray-blast "over the heads" so to speak of the exploration party, hitting the ground somewhere relatively nearby, and creating a blast that they could see.

So, the exploration goes out, and he does his thing. On the night of the test, he fires off the death ray. It hums...it crackles...after about twenty minutes or so, an owl flies across the almost-invisible path of the beam, and instantly disintegrates. A few minutes later, Tesla shuts it off.

Tesla eventually recieved word that Peary's party had seen nothing. He was disappointed.

A few weeks later, news comes to the U.S. of a massive explosion in central Siberia (The Tunguska blast) and is instantly convinced that this was caused by his death ray, just slightly off target. He was mortified by the destruction it wrought, and promptly scrapped his plans for the implementation of his design.

That's what I remember...I think it's fairly close to the original story, which I'm sure can be found on the web somewhere...actually, I can take care of that... this should do it. Of course, this story is not to be taken as gospel, as it's well known that a: Nikola Tesla was slightly crazy (though incredibly brilliant) and b: unconfirmed web sources from web pages that specialize in the paranormal, conspiracies, and similar things are suspect at best. However, I think it makes for at least an interesting story.

Oh, and by the way, if you haven't looked up Tesla himself, I highly reccomend that you do so. Incredibly interesting stuff.

Well, that's all,
~Syriloth

The machinations around the SSSCA remind me of the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act, created through the efforts of big players Andrew Mellon, the DuPont family and William Randolph Hearst to protect their own business interests, which were eing threatened by technological advances in the hemp industry. Lots of history here and here. It's nice to know some things haven't changed since my grandpa was a little boy, like democracy and yankee ingenuity.

Some Militias certainly *did* engage in a lot of criminal activity. Many of them have as a central tenet of their charters to overthrow the government, which they consider illegal. There are cases of bank robbery, harassing people with bogus liens, supporting anti-abortion terrorists, etc.

As for eco-terrorists being Marxists or anarchists... well, I don't doubt some of them are. But look at the numbers here. I'd be more concerned about the so-called "Captains of Industry," those corporate leaders, who openly show contempt for the people and laws of this Country in their quest for profits. Look at situations and places like Love Canal, Romulus, and countless other places where big companies poisoned an area, and then left without even bothering to inform the local residents of the danger. You want your eyes opened? Look at the TRIS - Toxic Release Inventory System published by the EPA; there's even a nice search by city interface provided by another organization.
bukra fil mish mish
-
Monitor the Web, or Track your site!

This is talked about in the book, IIRC. I don't remember off hand what the reasoning was, but I do remember it being sound and well thought out. I will have to find the book tonight, post the details, and let you know what the reasoning behind the found quarries are...

One thing the story about the kites got right is that all attempts to build pyramids and other structures based on the currently accepted theories have tended to fail. Plus, these theories don't explain how it was possible for other societies to build extreme megalithic structures (start looking into it - you will find one account of a solid stone "foundation" stone - of several hundred tons, sitting up on the side of a mountain!)...

Here is a link - look into geopolymers and "agglomerated stone"...

OH! OH!

Here is the book - available in electronic format, out of print now (I found mine only a couple of years ago in the discount section of a local Bookstar, so you might check), but cheap: The Pyramids: An Enigma Solved - plus, the first chapter is online, as well...

Want some more fun? Look into the history and stories behind the Coral Castle - a fascinating site in Florida, that is stranger than fiction, if only because it involves megalithic proportion construction on a massive scale, built by a single man, who not only was in poor health and only weighed 100 pounds, but who also had only a fourth-grade education!!! The site was started in 1920, and completed in 1940. Yet no one knows how he did it...

This is a site I plan to visit later this year (along with Gibtown)...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

This is not just paranoia, the us government has done this kind of thing before, see: this article
So this would not be the first time a US company has spied for the country.

1) We over-throw democratically elected governments

2) We sponsor right-wing death squads in Latin America

3) We don't honor our international commitments

4) We support brutal dictatoships. (That's right -- guess who helped finance the Iraqi war against Iran, before Saddam Hussein conveniently turned into our enemy?)

The list could go on and on, of course, but I should wrap it up before my electricity goes out (damn brown-outs!)

It seems to me, after reading the posts so far, that most nerds give Tesla the credit. At least some people remember this great man whose life and death are both equally mysterious. Check out some great files, courtesy of parascope.com, here or specifically, here. Any geeks want to comment on the system in the second article? It would seem good in theory, but are there any complications that might be unforseen? We need more research into some of Tesla's work.

It seems to me, after reading the posts so far, that most nerds give Tesla the credit. At least some people remember this great man whose life and death are both equally mysterious. Check out some great files, courtesy of parascope.com, here or specifically, here. Any geeks want to comment on the system in the second article? It would seem good in theory, but are there any complications that might be unforseen? We need more research into some of Tesla's work.

The basis for this was the use of Large Tesla coils to actually transmit electricity through the ground.

That link also has info on Tesla's "Death Ray", which is rumored to have caused the Tunguska event.

------------------------------------------------ ---------
I bent my wookie