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Are you so sure about that????

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_3 07614.html

Among women with breast cancer, for example, there's a 46 percent chance of dying from it in Britain, versus a 25 percent chance in the United States. "Britain has one of worst survival rates in the advanced world," writes Bartholomew, "and America has the best."

If you're a man diagnosed with prostate cancer, you have a 57 percent chance of it killing you in Britain. In the United States, the chance of dying drops to 19 percent. Again, reports Bartholomew, "Britain is at the bottom of the class and America is at the top."

More specifically, three-quarters of Americans who've had a heart attack are given beta-blocker drugs, compared to fewer than a third in Britain. Similarly, American patients are more likely than British patients to have a heart condition diagnosed with an angiogram, more likely to have an artery widened with angioplasty, and more likely to get back on their feet by way of a bypass.

You are so naive. Don't call Al Qaeda? Sooo...drop all my suppliers for my business that are based anywhere outside the country, or maybe even inside the country. How the heck am I supposed to know that the guy selling me left handed widgets is or is not under investigation? And if the guy I ordered flowers from for my mom might also be muslim. Maybe I ate at a middle eastern restaurant and it shows up on my credit card...

Or just suck it up and accept that anything I do or say, domestic and foreign, will be monitored and recorded for later correlation and data mining. And just hope that no Israeli company goes into competition with me.

Posting anon here - I worked on the Big Dig (environmental) during peak construction (1997-2000) and I'm currently contracting with another MA state agency, and I don't want to ruffle any state feathers. I also want to write a book someday ;)

First a couple of general statements:

• As another poster mentioned, the Big Dig needed to be built. The traffic situation was untenable. Widening the elevated artery wasn't possible because of space and structural issues. Tearing the existing artery down first and building a conventional cut-and-cover tunnel would have been faster, at the cost of completely destroying the Boston (and MA) economy. Building another highway through Boston wasn't going to happen. A slurry wall tunnel was the best of several bad options, but make no mistake - it was going to be hideously complex and expensive.
• Contrary to popular belief, there where several major transit upgrades that were (and still are) being built to help offset the traffic on the Big Dig. More transit would have been nice, but transit brings its own set of issues.
• As for the accident: it was tragic and the responsible party (or parties) must be help accountable. But please don't think that because several MA politicians (including one presidential hopeful and one gubernatorial candidate) hold daily press conferences, that we are any closer to knowing all the facts. It's a complicated problem and it's going to take time.

Now back to the facts - I have no knowledge of roof panel construction (I spent little time in that area), but I will note that working on the project during 1999 and 2000 was an interesting experience. Already at the point there was heavy pressure on project managers and contractors to reduce costs (this was before the national stories hit that led to the ouster of James Kerasiotes). It got to the point that office supplies were locked up - you had to get the office manager's permission to get a notebook or pens!

In any event, I wouldn't be surprised at all if cost pressures let to reduced safety factors, etc. The construction site was also the source of many stories about various screw-ups that I won't get into here (wait for my book!). There was of course several times that money was spent to shut people up (at least once against my direct recommendation), but the PTB felt it was needed for the project to move along smoothly. I suppose that it would have been better for B/PB to take the Vista approach, and wait for the tunnel to be "finished" but that wasn't going to happen because of the political pressures.

Now was the project a failure? I'll just say this - is used to take me 1.5 to 2 hours to drive from Braintree to Cambridge during midday traffic. I did the same trip a month or so ago during a Friday afternoon rush hour in abut 20-25 minutes.

While the struggle to get slot machines in Pennsylvania was, and still is, an acrimonious debate, the reason behind the debate is because of who benefits. Slots coming to PA is not to help increase revenue (though it will) nor to stop people from going to West Virginia, Delaware or New Jersey and spending their money at those gambling locations (though it will slow the exodus) nor is it to help in property tax reduction (um, yeah).

No, the one and only reason that slots came to PA was to keep the horsetrack business alive. Without the slots the horsetracks in the state would have been dead within 5 - 10 years. Don't believe me? Then why is it that all the racetracks in the state (8 total) get to have slots licenses but only fourteen total licenses, including those at the tracks, are available for the entire Commonwealth? If the Commonwealth wanted to bring gambling to the land it would have allowed slot parlors to open anywhere that one could afford to pay the licensing and other fees. You'll never see a slot parlor in downtown Harrisburg but someone is fighting to build one just outside Gettysburg.

Let us not forget also the current controversy of having a middleman buy the slot machines and then distribute them to the parlors instead of allowing the companies to sell directly to the parlors. Just another way for certain elected officials to get kickbacks and produce jobs for their connected friends.

Oh, and as far as not allowing table gambling is concerned, you do know the reason for that, don't you? It's because a table game requires the person to concentrate on the game at hand and thus wouldn't allow them to watch the horse races. A slot machine requires no concentration and one can stop playing the machine for a moment and place bets on the races then resume playing the machine.

I'm not against gambling. I used to go to Atlantic City and spend a few bucks. I've gambled in Vegas and would like to see the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut. But what I object to is the typical PA bullshit of how the process was done and will be implemented. The Gaming Control Board is a joke. It's rules are so lax that corruption in the industry will be rampant.

Not to mention that one of the employees of the board dangled his girlfriend out their apartment window and dropped her while they were celebrating his job appointment in the commission because both were drunk as skunks.

Then there's the employee, an investigator no less, who was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, escape and public intoxication. Let us not forget the other folks of the gaming board who have also had issues including one who lied on his application and two others, attorneys in fact, who were involved in drunken brawls.

The real fight is not whether to allow gambling in Pennsylvania. The real fight is over how much money will be skimmed off the top for political purposes. Does the word WAM ring a bell?

How is a true statement a troll?

In Pittsburgh, PA the government has been busy tossing old women into the streets and taking their homes,
all because granny can't pay for the tripled taxes and new stadiums.

The sheriff has been busy taking more homes away from
families in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 than back when the steel mills closed.

Explain to this 5 year old boy why armed men chasing his family out of his home is 'Just a Troll'.

He lived through it.

How is a true statement a troll?

In Pittsburgh, PA the government has been busy tossing old women into the streets and taking their homes,
all because granny can't pay for the tripled taxes and new stadiums.

The sheriff has been busy taking more homes away from
families in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 than back when the steel mills closed.

Explain to this 5 year old boy why armed men chasing his family out of his home is 'Just a Troll'.

He lived through it.

The federal government is threatening to cut off funding for
  Pennsylvania if it does not accept the new replacement touch screen Vote-a-tons from Diabold
  (and no paper trail allowed).

From the same company that delivered the 'correct' results for the state of Ohio,
they are now targeting Pennsylvania:
VoteFixing

If I remember correctly, the vote totals can be editied for 'correctness' using MS Access?

Pennsylvania:
The state where Judges get payoffs
from Legislators to approve double digit pay increases
with secret midnight voting sessions:
Payoffs

The results of secret government:
GoldDiggaz

So, Lawmakers Threaten reporters for telling the truth:
"Screw them!"

Can we please call on the U.N. to police our local state government with independent observers?

I feel the same way about Bettis' fumble with 1:20 remaining this past Sunday. I have a feeling I will be seeing that ball popping out and imagining what would have happened had Big Ben not made that arm-tackle.

It was traumatic enough for this man to cause a heart attack.

Steeler fans need to get ahold of this pill before Sunday.

What does a company do when a gene is found that causes a 100% chance of the individual being sociopathic?

Hire them as CEOs or Investors.

Okay, this is reasonably neutral, although the "standing up to them" phrase is questionable. The RIAA did what it is legally entitled to do; go after infringers of its copyright that it found on the P2P networks. Again, CmdrTaco and company were supporting this idea back in 2000.

Since when is computer trespass or intrusion legal? Quite to the contrary I think it has been made illegal to gain access to other's computers without their permission, as in this case, Expert charged in computer hacking. Better tell the US Department of Justice computer trespass and intrusion isn't illegal.

Actually, there I was reading an article the other day about a guy who graduated from my undergrad university who went straight to a job at SpaceX:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/tri b/regional/s_358208.html

It doesn't mention what sort of summer experience he had and he did have a Master's, but I'm sure it can't hurt to just send them your resume and see what happens.

Meanwhile, here's an analysis by an oil industry think thank that points to the actual cause of inflated oil prices (tight supplies, shortages in non-OPEC production, combined with fears of supply interruptions due to terrorist activity).

Your implication being that this is what the Republicans do, can you offer any actual proof that this occured in the last election?

Oh man... there was so MUCH of it I can't even begin to list it all, much less give links for every single one.

A flyer on fraudulent Allegheny County government stationary stating that due to high turnout voting is extended to November 2nd AND November 3rd, and that to avoid conflict and disruption for Republicans to please vote on the 2nd and Democrats to please vote on the 3rd. The county government itself put up this page because of it.

Take a look at this flyer fraudulently claiming to be from the NAACP: "The following persons may not register or vote and will be subject to arrest,
Persons with outstanding traffic violations, including moving violations and parking citations above $50.00; Persons who have not submitted credit reports dated one week prior to election day; Persons adjudged to be negligent in paying child support." It also states fradulent requirement of two forms of photo ID. Who the hell has two photo IDs?

The most head Republican in Pennsylvania said quote: "the Kerry campaign needs to come out with humongous numbers here in Philadelphia. It's important for me to keep that number down". Wow, an honest politician! Too bad he was honestly admitting to voter suppression. The same link also notes Republicans sought a last-minute relocation of 63 polling places, nearly all of them in black neighborhoods. Specifically 53 of the 63 were in overwhelmingly black neighborhoods, and I beleive the other 10 were also in urban democratic areas. Last minute relocations to confuse and disrupt voters.

A doctored news story spread on Pennsylvania college campus that students will lose financial aid if they vote.

In Berkeley County, W. Va., Democratic voters in the Eastern Panhandle received calls telling them they were not registered to vote. The County Clerk's office traced the calls back to the headquarters of the Eastern Pandhandle Republican Party, local NBC News affiliate Channel 25 reported on Oct. 8;

In Painesville, Ohio, newly registered voters signed up by the Kerry campaign and the NAACP received a letter telling them their registrations were illegal and they would not be able to vote, NBC affiliate WKYC Channel 3 reported on Oct. 28;

Twenty GOP-dominated Ohio counties have given false information to former felons that they could not vote when in fact they had legally had their voting rights restored. One, Franklin County, had a roughly thriteen hundred percent increase this year in supposedly "felony" voter registration cancelations, many of whom were in fact never felons. Oh, and speaking of Franklin county... you remember the notorious "Butterfly Ballot" from the 2000 Florida elections? The missleading form where votes for the candidate in one certain spot tend to accidently be given to the candidate in another certain spot? Well Franklin county used this butterfly ballot for absentee votes, and supprise of supprises, Kerry was placed in the slot that "loses" votes and Bush was placed in the slot that erroneously picks up extra votes. Way to go Franklin county!

In Madison, Wisc., the College Republicans and a Republican congressional candidate Dave Magnum took responsibility for distributing a flier erroneously stating that students at the University of Wisconsin could vote at any of five polling locations, according to a Nov. 1 report in The Capital Times;

Across pretty much all the swing states there are countless cases of fradulent Board Of Elections notices

The case was with a California company, but the Feds decided to try the trial here in Pittsburgh. They thought a federal judge in Pittsburgh would be more conservative than a judge in California, but thought wrong.

Here's more information from our local papers:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Tribune Review

WTAE-TV

Ya know, I read a bunch of articles, but that had the cleanest text. I could have quoted Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,132832,00.html , but I figured people would accuse me of conservative bias.

Then, I thought about quoting the Sunday Times from the UK:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-12 91280,00.html but who knows who might own that.

I also thought about quoting a French source. http://www.investigateur.info/news/articles/articl e_2003_05_5_auchi.html, but I think I have made my feelings clear about the French.

Finally, I considered a source from Pittsburgh, http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/middlee astreports/s_273762.html, but was afriad I would be branded a Steelers fan.

And the UN helped. Now before I get modded, PLEASE read this.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/cRosett/? id=110005904/

and

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/middlee astreports/s_273762.html/

...to the left. Voter fraud goes on in every election, by lots of people in both parties. And it's not like there's been a lack of stories about Democratic voter fraud. And pointing this out DOES NOT ENDORSE IT. All voter fraud should be punished. But it's a damn disgrace (and a big help to the Democratic party) to only point it out when it helps Republicans. Since Slashdot won't report it when Dem s do it, here's a recent sampler:

- Attempted Democratic Voter Fraud In Nashville
- Voter Fraud In South Dakota
- Colorado To Tackle Voter Fraud Fears
- Rendell will send monitors to elections offices
- ACORN Voter Registration Fraud Allegations Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg, Says Employment Policies Institute

And lets not forget the revelation that the Democratic Party plans a pre-emptive strike by alleging voter fraud in close races, even if there's absolutely no proof of it.

Slashdot; not fair, and damn sure not balanced.

George W. Bush is on the fake $200 bill, which was passed around as recently as last month.

Airline Glitch Grounds Flights

It's mere hours after the single MOST HEROIC EFFORT BY FIREFIGHTERS IN US HISTORY and you people are talking about television???? MY GOD, people, GET SOME PRIORITIES!!!!!!

Basic economics, pay reflects supply and demand, not skill-level/education required to do the job.

Suing over spam has happened before. See here and here.

I hope this becomes a trend, so spammers become discouraged, and find other means of living, like drycleaning or cemetery watchmen.

We do why always have to here about the lawyer, political, EULA, UN, Patent, Copyright side of the issues and not the technology? Enough already the found a new Marsupial and the poles may flip. Google Tech for me when I want news for nerds I guess, but I miss the smart comments from many of /.

At the pentagon, any remnants of the plane would be right there.

Right WHERE?

Look at the width of that hole (that wasn't the original damage, the original damage was much smaller, this is after the collapse during the fire). You do know that planes have wings right? Where did the wings hit? Where did the fireball go?

Look at footage of the second plane hitting the second tower. You can see what happens when a boeing hits a building, and you can see what happens aftewards.
Look at the pictures of the pentagon, you can see, with your own eyes that that isn't what happened.

I'm not telling you to take my word on it here, I'm telling you look for yourself.

At the pentagon, any remnants of the plane would be right there.

Right WHERE?

Look at the width of that hole (that wasn't the original damage, the original damage was much smaller, this is after the collapse during the fire). You do know that planes have wings right? Where did the wings hit? Where did the fireball go?

Look at footage of the second plane hitting the second tower. You can see what happens when a boeing hits a building, and you can see what happens aftewards.
Look at the pictures of the pentagon, you can see, with your own eyes that that isn't what happened.

I'm not telling you to take my word on it here, I'm telling you look for yourself.

Iraq didn't have any SCUDs. Iraq fired HY2 (a modified HY1) Silkworm (US designation Seersucker) missiles at Kuwait. A much different beast. They have an effective range of 80 miles tops. A modified SS-1C Scud-B or Al-Hussein has a range of about 500 miles. A big difference.

Here's an AP story of the missile that hit the shopping mall in Kuwait.

Missile fired at Kuwait City

U.S. officials speaking on the condition of anonymity said the attack on the mall appeared to have involved a Chinese-made Silkworm cruise missile launched from southern Iraq.

Note Iraq was never barred from possesing the Silkworms because of their limited range.

I challange you to find a story about a Scud being found in Iraq, it didn't happen. It's pretty obvious you really don't know what you're talking about. Try informinging yourself and come on back to /.

There's a company in PA called IBIS TEK that modifies a GM SUV and it is legal to buy in the U.S.

You can buy a sensor package and NBC protection. It becomes a problem when you mount the .50-caliber M2 machine gun or a MK-19, 40-mm grenade launcher, which hides inside the cargo area.

It will set you back $500,000, but the cool thing is the quote from IBIS TEK "the average deer hunter in Pennsylvania could operate the system if he or she had a minimal amount of computer experience."
I guess that includes me :-)

Did you miss the fact that common citizens use guns 2.5 million times a year to deter crimes?

Well here are some more facts for you:

In 98 percent of all cases, simply brandishing a gun is sufficient to stop a crime. Here are some of the 20 defensive gun use stories Lott found reported locally in a single week last month:

By firing one rifle shot, a 19-year old Little Rock, Ark., man defended himself against three armed men threatening to assault him.

A man in Detroit, Mich., with a concealed carry handgun permit fired shots that forced a mentally disturbed man who was firing at people in passing cars to run away.

A West Palm Beach, Fla., man who had been beaten during a home robbery just two days earlier began carrying a handgun in his pocket and was able to shoot and wound another robber who attacked him.

A Grand Junction, Colo., man who was feeding three hitchhikers in his home grabbed a gun -- fortunately with no trigger lock -- after they began stabbing him with kitchen knives, shooting one of the attackers.

And in Salt Lake City, Utah, two robbers began shooting as soon as they entered a pawnshop, but were met with return fire from the owner and his son, who wounded one.

Source: John R. Lott Jr. (Yale University Law School), "Tell About When Guns Save Lives," Dallas Morning News, April 10, 2001.

And please don't forget this story that just occurred locally.

And there is also the fact that with all these school shootings the only ones that were stopped by others were when someone had a gun. In all the rest the assailants shot themselves.