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http://www.postgazette.com/pg/10258/1087582-454.stm

The contract was ending next month anyway.

The RIAA should be harassed just for their use of evil analogy, and the hypocritical corporate use of frivolous nuisance suits as a tool to effectuate their will upon society. From the EFF amicus brief:

The RIAA itself has likened its campaign to drift net fishing, admitting that "[w]hen you go fishing with a net, you sometimes are going to catch a few dolphin." Dennis Roddy, The Song Remains the Same, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sept. 14, 2003...

In addition, the RIAA is attempting to expand the scope of its copyright protections beyond what the statutes provide. This copyright "grab" stems from the plaintiffs' erroneous theories of secondary liability in copyright law. These theories, which the RIAA knows are wrong, attempt to put parents, employers, teachers, and other internet account holders on the hook for third-party computer activities-even when the defendant has no knowledge or ability to supervise the actual alleged infringers...

The difficulties facing "the dolphins" are compounded by the challenges that individuals face when attempting to litigate in federal court. When the RIAA threatens suit against an individual, it makes sure to offer her a carefully chosen sum that is substantially smaller than the legal fees required to fight the accusations, even for defendants that are completely innocent noninfringers...

Thus, at the heart of Defendant's counterclaims and Plaintiffs' motion to dismiss is the question of consequences - namely, what consequences should attach to plaintiffs who carelessly net "dolphins" in their mass litigation campaign and then walk away from these cases when a dolphin acts affirmatively to protect itself? Defendant has alleged that Plaintiff's case here has no merit, has been brought to harass him, and that he has not infringed any of its legal rights.

Which is likely to cause you more trouble? Homeland Security being identify me wirelessly at a distance to they can yell at you "6079 Smith W. Yes, you! Bend lower, please!"

Or that Homeland Security can identify you as someone who has exhibited an unusual pattern of behavior by sabotaging my own passport, for reasons which they will not be interested in trying to understand?

Telling them that "An article in Wired says a nonworking RFID doesn't invalidate the passport, so I can still use it" is likely to be about as effective as John Gilmore saying that since nobody can show him a copy of any law that says he needs to show ID when flying, he should be able to fly without showing ID.

This must be serious - they're even thinking about leaving Pittsburgh.

These losses of privacy and requiremens to "show our papers" has been ongoing, even within the US. It immediately reminds me of John Gilmore's protest against having to show his papers in order to take a domestic US flight (or travel on Amtrack or stay in a hotel). If he didn't have anything dangerous on his person, why did he have to prove his identity? This stuff is not really making anyone more secure, but it might make the airlines more money by preventing transference of tickts.

Perhaps people just feel more secure when they believe something is being done. even if nothing is, and even if it really sucks.

The question of wether "Black Holes" exist is nothing new.

The only way that a singularity can exist in Einstien's Theory of General Relitivity is if you accept that there can be areas of space/time that have infinite states, ie, ininite mass or gravity. I've heard several Astrophysisits coment about how with GToR you have to create special cases for a classic "Black Hole" to exist because anytime you get an infinite value as a solution to a GToR equation you have to really wonder if you have done your math right.

A Gravistar matches the charicteristics of a singularity close enough to fit in with the observed data, but doesn't have infinite values in its equations. I don't know if they are compatiable with a MECO, but I don't see why not, they are both collapsed matter/energy and at the denistys involved there isn't much difference between the two, it might even be that a MECO is some sort of proto-gravistar.

Its been known for quite awhile that Einstien's GToR has some issues with it, 20 years from now he may be considered the same way Newton is now, his equations work great at the resolutions they where created from, but they don't explain everything, thats what (insert new theory here) does.

Disclaimer, IANAP

Already happened. Well, nearly. But I don't think it will be long...

his unreasonable demand that he not be subject to any security measures, like a bag search and a pat down,

You can't, but they still expect you to.

Not in the US.

There is absolutely no legal compulsion to have any form of ID in the US. At least at the federal level. It's possible that certain states have their own requirements.

That said, there are many situations where you are required by law to show ID in order to perform an activity. You named two of them: purchasing alcohol or cigarettes. Using authority granted under certain provisions of the Patriot Act, the TSA has issued secret regulations, that among other things, require passengers to show ID to board airplanes. This may also apply to passengers boarding Amtrak trains - I'm not sure on that though. You must have a driver's license in order to drive. I believe that federal laws requires employed US citizens to have a Social Security number so that Social Security deductions may be made from paychecks. Men in the US between the ages of 18 and 25 must register with the Selective Service, but no ID is required to register.

You do not need an ID to live in the US, or travel in the US by bus, bicycle, or foot.

And at least in Minnesota, you do not need ID to register to vote or to vote.

(I misspoke earlier when I said that Minnesota requires ID to register to vote. This is not true. If you register at the polls, the normal procedure is to show ID and proof of residence. You may, however, have an already registered voter from your precinct vouch for you. If you register by mail or at city hall prior to the election, no ID is required. The form requires you to provide driver's license number, state ID number, or last 4 digits of Social Security number. You may also write NONE if you don't possess any of the former.)

No EEG, EOG, EMG, PET, CAT, or MRI will tell you what I'm thinking or feeling. They might tell you _that_ I'm thinking, but not _what_ I'm thinking. No empirical procedure can determine whether I'm thinking about picking up litter on Earth Day or planning a local bank heist.

They may not be able to tell that you are thinking about a bank heist, but there are currently devices that can tell what direction you want a cursor to move on a computer screen. (Google will turn up lots of related links for you.) This disproves your statement: a physical device does exist that has been implanted in a human brain (of a 24-year old paraplegiac) that is capable of telling the specific content of a thought. It's a simple thought, but a thought nonetheless.

Is this significant? Well, this particular application makes it easier for the patient to live his life. It lets him do things like check e-mail (and presumably perform other related tasks on a computer) that he would otherwise have more difficulty doing.

Almost the exact same thing just happened at the CMU business school; this was in the paper today. When I saw the slashdot article, I just assumed it was about the folks that broke into the CMU admissions website (and were also banned by the school as a consequence)

Wrong. The story linked in the article says:


They reached a strange agreement for an argument about personal privacy: In lieu of showing ID, Gilmore would consent to an extra-close search, putting up with a pat-down in order to keep his personal identity to himself. He was wanded, patted down and sent along.

As Gilmore headed up the boarding ramp a security guard yanked him from line. According to court papers, a security agent named Reggie Wauls informed Gilmore he would not be flying that day.

"He said, 'I didn't let you fly because you said you had an ID and wouldn't show it,' " Gilmore said. "I asked, 'Does that mean if I'd left it at home I'd be on the plane?' He said, 'I didn't say that.' "



Which one do we believe???

Aside from the two people who admitted to me that they cast multiple votes in the election, I don't know what more proof you want. Voting cheaters are like cockroaches, if you see one, there are a thousand more.

The news media ran multiple stories on Ed Rendell's scheme to disenfranchise overseas (and mostly republican) PA voters. In addition to two overseas voters filing suit, The Republicans filed suit immediately and a federal judge ultimately ruled that the deadline to receive overseas absentee ballots must be extended by two weeks.

The only outcome of this that I don't like is that Ed Rendell is still a free man when he should be in a federal prison.

How much would you pay for a bottle of beer that stays cold for nearly an hour longer?

Pittsburgh Brewing Co., maker of Iron City Beer, is asking an additional $1 per case. Alcoa and Pittsburgh Brewing today were announcing that about 20,000 cases of the new aluminum bottle beer are being shipped out this week to many of the 28 states where Iron City is sold http://www.postgazette.com/pg/04237/366764.stm.

No, I didn't take it, but I know the guy who did, and I trust this is an honest photo. The online version of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has already picked up the photo. (PGOnline

Watch for it to appear in lots of places.

-berek

I just heard some sad news on public radio - star of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and community advocate Fred Rogers was found dead in his Pittsburgh home this morning . There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him -- even if you didn't enjoy his television show, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon.