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US Military Builds MMO Earth Simulator

transient writes "BBC reports that the US military is creating a second Earth with help from There. At the moment, only Kuwait City has been modeled, but the ultimate goal is to model the entire Earth using existing terrain data and a super-accurate physics model. While combat will be part of the game, 'the emphasis in the artificial Earth will be on human interaction rather than conflicts involving lots of military hardware.'"

15 of 525 comments (clear)

  1. Name Called Out By The High Tech Machine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    My brain, my body, my stomach, my eyes, and my ears were under severe attacks this past day and night by Henry( Hank) Rumbarger( name called out from the high-tech machine), an employee of KBR (Kellogg, Brown & Root), a subsidiary of Halliburton. Hank Rumbarger,I did not renew my Professional Engineer license for the year of 2004 --the license which I believe that David M. Austgen, a project manager of The M. W. Kellogg Company helped me a lot to obtain that in 1991 -- and I have told you that I do not want to work for you,, so please end this kind of attacks or let me know that you were not the person who controlled the high-tech machine. Please read the following five letters, investigate the case, and/or response. Thank you.

    Letter 1:

    Charlie Wang
    [ADDRESS DELETED]

    December 16, 2003

    To Whom it may concern:

    The high-tech machine in my letter is a very general term, meaning a very complicated device which may combine different functions of machines, such as computer, satellites or radio stations, and some mechanical and electrical systems. The pain I endured most is my brain, my skin, my eyes, my ears. my throat, and my body. My short memory is very bad because my brain has been constant under attacks no matter when I read, when I played tennis and computer games, when I watched TV, and when I was sleeping. the most frustrating thing is, when I was reading, I was constantly disturbed by voices and images, which, I speculate, can be transmitted through satellite, radio station, and/or brain wave. My skin felt very sharp pain as cut by a knife when it was under attacks. My eyes were under severe attacks while I was playing computer games, which can cause very temporarily blurred vision and/or tears. My ears will fell loud ring sounds and/or voices when they were under attacks, and it could happen any time, especially at night while I was sleeping. There are more regarding how I felt about the pain I suffered through the brain, throat, and my body, and I will tell more details if I go to the courts.

    Now, you know how dangerous this high-tech machine is. I tried my best to tolerate it to keep it as a secret and not to terrifying people, but whoever using that machine has no intention to stop but increasing it's power to damage my body. We all have responsibility to stop the person (persons) to abuse this high-tech machine, not just for myself, but also for the children and for this country. Thank you for your time.

    Sincerely,
    Charlie Wang, P.E.

    Letter 2:

    Charlie C. Wang, P.E.
    [ADDRESS AND PHONE DELETED]

    January 19, 2003

    To whom it may concern:

    I would like to tell you something which I have kept in my mind for a long time. How long is it? It is about five months. You probably think it is not long. All I can say is that it is all relative. If you live happy, five months is really too short and too fast. If you suffer unpleasant attacks on your brain, ears, eyes, mouth, fingers, heart, stomach, liver, and feet for that period of time, you know time just passed so so slow. You must ask why I kept it in my mind for so long. I only can say there are so many reasons. but once I tell you that those attacks were done by a very high intelligent machine (or machines), you can understand how complex this issue is.

    I was contract pipe stress engineer for Fluor Daniel from January, 2002 to May, 2002.
    I believed I performed my job very well, but I got laid off anyway. In July, this high tech. machine started to approach me at night and day. I could not fall asleep for the first week, because it attacked my brain or my ears all the time. I could hear different voices, but most important of all, I heard the names, Hank(Henry) Rumbarger and M. W. Kellogg. Henry Rumbarger was my supervisor while I was working as a permanent pipe stress engineer from 1989 to 1991 at M.W.Kellogg. After the first week of attacks, I slept better, but the attacks on my brain, ears, eyes, heart, stomach, and liver continue

    1. Re:Name Called Out By The High Tech Machine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      I'm not a doctor but many of the symptoms you describe suggest a schizophrenic episode which requires immediate medical attention.

  2. one thing is for sure by tokaok · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    the carebears will hate to find out that the griefers have free reign.

  3. Re:Choose your weapon... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    After all, there have to be a few people at the Pentagon who understand that you can't make people stop hating you at gunpoint

    You're right. They know that while bullets only intimidate some, bayonets intimidate everyone.

  4. Spending out of control by dada21 · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    This is outrageous. Why are "We the People" allowing such an abuse of power?

    We pay for every dollar spent on wasted programs such as these. The Constitution does NOT allow our federal government the power to tax us to spend on this program (or most other military programs).

    Its a waste. It means I have less control of my own money, and I lose even more in bureacratic red tape and pork.

    Its not just the Republicans, either. Do you see any Democrats voting against the out of control spending of the federal agencies?

    I wish others here would realize that government spending won't solve any of the problems today. All it does is give each and every one of us less control of our property, our money, and our persons.

    1. Re:Spending out of control by Tebriel · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Blah Blah Blah.

      --
      The Blaster Master Fighting for Truth, Justice, and Evil Pie since 1979
    2. Re:Spending out of control by duguk · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      FNORD HAILERIS, eh? All your shift-keys are communicating with us...

  5. Sad News Indians burned at Space center by CreamOfWheat · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    India Space Center Blast, Fire Kill Six 34 minutes ago outsource american rocket scientists MADRAS, India - An explosion and fire at India's main space center Monday killed at least six people, police said. AFP/File Photo Flames erupted at the solid propellant fuel plant at the government's Dhawan Space Center, on Sriharikota Island just off India's southeastern coast, the center's spokesman, K. Ravindran, told The Associated Press. Six people died in the fire, according to police officials in the Nellore district in coastal Andhra Pradesh state, speaking on condition of anonymity. Ravindran did not immediately confirm the casualty figure. The island is about 60 miles from Madras, the largest city in the region. "Some people have been hurt. We don't know the extent of their injuries. They are under medical supervision now," Ravindran said. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. The space center is the main launch base of the Indian Space Research Organization and has been used to launch several Indian, German, Korean and Belgian satellites. The center processes solid propellants used in launching satellites, conducts ground tests and has rocket launchpads.

  6. I couldn't resist .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I sent this to their webmaster:

    I find it somewhat humorous that on this page:

    http://www.microsoft.com/seminar/events/security .m spx

    the photo you use is that of a Macintosh PowerBook G4 15" (with the Apple logo on the back of the screen Photoshop-ed out), on a page about security summits and programs. While I don't want to get into a pissing contest about which OS is more secure, it's mildly humorous to find a Mac being used to advertise Microsoft's security, even if it is subtle.

    Respectfully,
    Andy Ringsmuth

    I'll try and keep an eye on it and see if they decide to change the photo.....

  7. Please use IE? by matth · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    UG.. Please use Internet Explorer? No thanks..

    http://www.there.com/help/browser.html

    We've noticed that you're currently using a non-supported browser.

    Please switch to Internet Explorer v. 5.0.1 or later to continue.

    You can get the latest version of IE free at
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.as p.


    no thanks.

  8. The Point? by Alan+Livingston · · Score: 2, Offtopic
    Perhaps I've become an old curmudgeon, but what exactly is the point of There? Clicking on their "What is There" buttons gives the following blurb:

    There is an online getaway where you can hang out with your friends and meet new ones--all in a lush 3D environment that's yours to explore! Check out the pictures below for just a glimpse of what you'll find in There. Then sign up for a free trial and see it all for yourself!
    Maybe it's just me but everyday I open up the door I enter a "lush 3D environment". (Ok, not so lush. I live on Long Island -- part of the New York metro area.) But it's immensely more satisfying than any online experience.
  9. Mr. Gehorsam by cyberm_acc · · Score: 1, Offtopic
    Mr Gehorsam said the world being created will not be a game but instead will be a "massively multi-user persistent environment" that will model real world physics as closely as possible.

    Gehorsam is German and means dutiful, obedient, submissive (taken from leo.org) So it's like calling the evil guy "Mr. Evil"

  10. Technology != success by dave420-2 · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    With all the technological advantages the US has over other countries, why are its troops still so awful? I don't think you'll find a higher rate of "friendly fire" in any other army anywhere in the world. Their lack of training becomes painfully apparent every time they're shown on TV, and in every interview.

    Give a redneck an M1 Abrams, and he's still a redneck. Why doesn't the US gov't realise that?

  11. Re:BBC huh by Troed · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Yeah I cannot understand why.

    But Pilger reminds us that the genocide did not begin at 'Year Zero' with the Khmer Rouge, but with the secret and illegal American bombing five years earlier, which killed 600,000 people and was the catalyst Pol Pot was waiting for.

    http://pilger.carlton.com/

  12. Re:Choose your weapon... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Thanks, It's nice to see someone who agrees with me, even if i had to dig down into a mountain of "+5 USA sucks" to find it.