...this could be the theological equivalent of executing a proof, thinking you've got it right, only to wind up dividing by zero. Oops. Let's just review those first equations again...
On the other hand, though, they could easily explain it away by saying only humans have souls, and therefore aliens are really just demons/not living or some other gibberish like that. It wouldn't be the first time religion has dehumanized/demonized (meh, really don't have any better terms than those right now) individuals, groups (social, religious and ethnic populations), and ideas, simply because they conflicted with the Church doctrine.
As long as whatever they decide doesn't include a Xenu figure, they'll leave the illustrious status of "Most despicable 'religion' in the world," to those who deserve it.
Fuck the +3... You know what gives me sleepless nights? What if one of 'em took 'doublestrike' as a Celestial Body feat?... How sucky would that be? For Earth's next feat level up, I'd strongly suggest Dodge, and later on Mobility. For that matter, why haven't we gone multiclass Rogue for the evasion?
Hrmm... Interesting. The concept sounds solid, and I don't doubt that watching the right blockbusters, where it looks like the car/train/plane/explosion/Jet Li is coming right at you can result in 'masonic defecation', so to speak. That kind of cost, however, is a serious barrier of entry to any home theater consumers who don't make at least in the very high double digits, if not a six figure salary. On top of that, I get the impression that filming something in 3d adds cost to the film production, which might also translate into more expensive tickets, dvds, etc. Until those prices come down, I'll stick with buying a ticket at the theater.
Ah, my apologies. Was sorta on a drive-by read & retort blitz, as I know the oil trolls love to respond to articles like this with "Blaarhgg, tha lib'rals is a'killin' this couuntry!" or "Green energy is a lie!" etc...
Upon some reflection, there actually is incentive: re-vegetation gets the EPA off the mining co's back, plus they can then sell the now-flat land to a developer. Of course the local ecology is shot, but hey, as long as they're turning a profit, right?
I love how the very article you linked not only mentions the various environmentally detrimental effects, and laws changed to make them even more harmful, but also directly links references detailing the issues. Allow me to make some abridged quotes...
__Occurrence__
MTR in the United States is most often associated with the extraction of coal in the Appalachian Mountains, where the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 2,200 square miles (5,700 km2) of Appalachian forests will be cleared for MTR sites by the year 2012.[7] Sites range from Ohio to Virginia.[2] It occurs most commonly in West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, the top two coal-producing states in Appalachia, with each state using approximately 1000 metric tons of explosives per day for surface mining.[8] At current rates, MTR in the U.S. will mine over 1.4 million acres (5,700 km) by 2010,[9] an amount of land area that exceeds that of the state of Delaware. ...
__Legislation in the United States__ ... Permits must be obtained to deposit valley fill into streams. On four occasions, federal courts have ruled that the US Army Corps of Engineers violated the Clean Water Act by issuing such permits.[7][20] Massey Energy Company is currently appealing a 2007 ruling, but has been allowed to continue mining in the meantime because "most of the substantial harm has already occurred," according to the judge.[7]
The Bush administration appealed one of these rulings in 2001 because the Act had not explicitly defined "fill material" that could legally be placed in a waterway. The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers changed a rule to include mining debris in the definition of fill material, and the ruling was overturned.[7][21] However, if passed, the Clean Water Protection Act (H.R.1310), a bill in the House of Representatives, would revert this change by specifying that coal mining waste does not constitute fill material,[22] in effect disallowing valley fills.
On December 2, 2008, the Bush Administration made a rule change to remove the Stream Buffer Zone protection provision from SMCRA allowing coal companies to place mining waste rock and dirt directly into headwater waterways.[23]
A federal judge has also ruled that using settling ponds to remove mining waste from streams violates the Clean Water Act. He also declared that the Army Corps of Engineers has no authority to issue permits allowing discharge of pollutants into such in-stream settling ponds, which are often built just below valley fills.[24]
On January 15, 2008, the environmental advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to end a policy that waives detailed federal Endangered Species Act reviews for new mining permits. The current policy states that MTR can never damage endangered species or their habitat as long as mining operators comply with federal surface mining law, despite the complexities of species and ecosystems. Since 1996, this policy has exempted many strip mines from being subject to permit-specific reviews of impact on individual endangered species.[25]
On May 25, 2008 North Carolina State Representative Pricey Harrison introduced a bill to ban the use of mountaintop removal coal from coal fired power plants within North Carolina. This proposed legislation would have been the only legislation of its kind in the United States, however the bill was defeated.[26][27]
__Criticism__
Critics contend that MTR is a destructive and unsustainable practice that benefits a small number of corporations at the expense of local communities and the environment. Though the main issue has been over the physical alteration of the landscape, opponents to the practice have also criticized MTR for the damage done to the environment by massive transport trucks, and the environmental dama
I'm sorry, I just don't. I know there were flamewars when the stories hit the front page about security issues in Adobe's myriad softwares, including Flash. I'm sure some tried to defend them. But no one can deny that even if they are making a valiant, and quite possibly successful, effort to wipe out the bugs and vulnerabilities, there were flaws in the software. Why should there be a big hullabaloo about a html5 alt for this that would alleviate the problems some people are obviously having? If it's a standard built on sound design and it, as some are fond of saying in order to put Flash on pedestal, just works, it's not like it's going to be mandatory under threat of arrest and prosecution... "As per Intarwebs Content Statute BS-666, sec. 867, para. 5309-blah-blah-blah, 'NO FLASH CONTENT IS ALLOWED. VIOLATORS WILL BE EXECUTED SUMMARY TO ARREST AND TRIAL; ALL HARDWARE AND DIGITAL CONTENT THEREON BECOMES PROPERTY OF THE STATE...etc...'"... Grow up. If there's a site that makes a unilateral decision to go solely one way or the other, and this renders it unusable for you, your beef is with that site. Get over it. Competition is good; who knows, perhaps Adobe might work even harder to make Flash the optimum choice, thereby improving user experience across the board.
And let's not forget the degraded quality of something re-encoded for flv encapsulation. Or the security holes found in the proprietary flash client. I think interpreted html5 will be a little easier to screen via things like AdBlock[+], NoScript, and decent av/anti-spyware&phishing/firewall/etc software, rather than hoping Adobe caught most if not all the potential attack vectors.
Besides, I'm sure for the Flash video fanboy- I mean, diehards, websites could make the html an option if flash isn't available. Let's just un-bunch those panties, alrighty?..
I am not usually the one to yell "Mods on crack!" but I don't really think an 'attention grab' this obvious should be marked funny. Nothing personal...
Well, TV's have already hit the 1080p pinnacle, Blu-Ray won the format wars, and the whole HD-media-over-wireless... Yeah, well, I've yet to hear about it panning out in a cost-effective form while retaining decent quality along with the tech being over a year or two old now, so I guess the media covering home theater needs something to tout as the Next Big Thing (TM). Until viable high-quality, consumer holographic displays show up along with a viable need/demand in the mainstream market, this is the most interesting thing I've seen in regards to 3d type stuff. And even that is old by internet standards.
To be honest, I've not watched any "new" 3d movies. I've heard that it looks really nice, but then you also need to wear the glasses--srsly, I already wear specs. Hate them, don't want another pair. As far as in home theaters, do you need a special tv that can display it? Or does the movie have to be specially formatted for 3d? Either way, it sounds like paying at least a small (per movie) to large (for a special tv) amount extra over the non-3d version. Until I watch such a film and find myself in need of a fresh pair of pants and my ambulatory extremity undergarments expelled from my personage via sheer amazement, I remain skeptical.
...but there's a big whole in that argument, which, I'm sure, MS doesn't like being mentioned. IMHO, one of the biggest holes in security is the clueless user. We all know 'em. "Oooh, pretty cursors, and they're free," "I'll just email my username & password to someone so they can login to my account for *miscellaneous-reason*, and yes, that's over unencrypted email" "I just store all my info in My Documents," (including textfiles with usernames/passwords, personal info including credit card/bank account info, etc), "Bah! I can't view this crazy website properly! I'll just turn off the firewall/anti-malware program," "Oh, nifty IE toolbar! Sure I've never heard of this website/company/group/whatever providing it, but it looks pretty cool so I'll install it," "Internet cache? What's that? Defrag? Virus Scan? Fooey!" "Huh. I don't know who this person that emailed me is, or why they're emailing me about (insert tragic/horrific/frightening/miraculous/ridiculous or whatever urban legend/trope/myth/etc here), but I think I'll pass this email on like it says to. After all, if I don't send to at least 10 people in the next 5 minutes, then (insert promise of disaster/catastrophe or great happiness/wealth here, conditional on them forwarding spam)" "I made my password, 'Password'! Isn't it clever? No one will think it'll be that!" And so on, and so forth. Or how about the cluess admin that leaves a username or password of "admin" on a server or other network profile? "1-2-3-4-5? That's amazing! I've got the same combination on my luggage."
If they're drawing conclusions like this already, I can't help but wonder if they plan on hiding behind this when they roll out some new, more restrictive anti-piracy scheme. I'm not advocating piracy by any means, but MS seems to spend more time and money conniving how to get everybody to fork over a hefty chunk of cash for the "latest and greatest" version of their OS or software, rather than trying to fix bugs still in the last version. That, and trying to brainwash people into believing they're the only legitimate option. I hope they realize, if they think the Win7 release buys them enough good will to start monkeying around, that it only goes so far, which isn't far at all after infecting the World with Vista.
In addition to what CharlyFoxtrot quoted, the Wikipedia article also mentions...
Apple purchased NeXT on December 20, 1996 for $429 million,[2] and much of the current Mac OS X system is built on the OPENSTEP foundation.[3] WebObjects is now bundled with Mac OS X Server and Xcode.
...so there you have it. I'm not an Apple fanboy, and own none from their line of computers. I do enjoy hunting trolls, however.
Re:There is little to suggest Gates knows technolo
on
Microsoft's Lost Decade
·
· Score: 0, Offtopic
...in the assertion that p2p software is maliciously allowing files not intended for distribution by the user to be shared. I don't doubt there are some bad apps out there that contain stuff that should never be allowed on any decent persons hard drive, but I've yet to see any explanation about how exactly this sharing is going on against the users wishes. Is there evidence of any rootkits? Any malware setting up connections that don't seem to match the p2p program? I noticed that little linked writeup blasting how a particular program, KaZaA, I believe, didn't accurately show what was shared was actually written in 2002. Nice to see how a seven year old piece is suddenly 'evidence'. If the only real issue is these brightgentlemen not knowing...
The My Documents folder is a special folder that, by default, is located on the C:\ drive
That most software, Explorer.exe itself included, by default, will recurse subdirectories
Most of the things discussed here can be changed, like what folders you are sharing, and even where My Docs points can be changed too...like to a different drive
If you have anything above retard level intelligence, you'd know to keep sensitive material anywhere but a default, commonly trolled, and (lacking proper security) easily exploitable folder like My Docs...
...Like, say, in an encrypted, password-protected archive on a flash drive you never let out of your sight? Or better yet, said archive on a fully encrypted portable hard drive that you make sure not to leave plugged in...
Best solution, don't run your p2p on the same system as for super secret government work; you could maybe try running the p2p under a restricted linux virtual machine? At bare minimum, create a separate special user accountspecifically for either accessing the sensitive files, or else a restricted one for p2p activities
I think you're hitting the nail on the head with your post. Bothering Google, or various other sites, even if it's for a day or two, would likely cause nothing more than a lot of annoyed muttering and sighs. However, there are still some things to consider.
As you say, the main goal of terror groups will be to intimidate and cause widespread panic and lasting fear. Now, how that's done depends largely on the environment. If we're talking domestically, e.g. in the US, and I'm going to assume we are, the greatest threats online IMHO are things like identity theft, financial fraud (they're always looking to fund their activities), target profiling, and causing temporary disruptions of service (power, emergency services, telecom, transportation, etc) just before an attack. Those are all places where vulnerabilities are definitely present, and where we could and should definitely make changes for the better. Such a glib assessment that there is no threat smacks of the same arrogance/ignorance that led a certain ship to be called "unsinkable."
Slashdot Mirror
...this could be the theological equivalent of executing a proof, thinking you've got it right, only to wind up dividing by zero. Oops. Let's just review those first equations again...
On the other hand, though, they could easily explain it away by saying only humans have souls, and therefore aliens are really just demons/not living or some other gibberish like that. It wouldn't be the first time religion has dehumanized/demonized (meh, really don't have any better terms than those right now) individuals, groups (social, religious and ethnic populations), and ideas, simply because they conflicted with the Church doctrine.
As long as whatever they decide doesn't include a Xenu figure, they'll leave the illustrious status of "Most despicable 'religion' in the world," to those who deserve it.
But she's just looking out for her kid, right? She should be able to take the necessary steps, amirite?
While he's studying, I'd recommend a snack of Freedom Fries... Oh, wait, that's not in line with the Atkins Diet.
Fuck the +3... You know what gives me sleepless nights? What if one of 'em took 'doublestrike' as a Celestial Body feat?... How sucky would that be? For Earth's next feat level up, I'd strongly suggest Dodge, and later on Mobility. For that matter, why haven't we gone multiclass Rogue for the evasion?
136.29 choenikes
Hrmm... Interesting. The concept sounds solid, and I don't doubt that watching the right blockbusters, where it looks like the car/train/plane/explosion/Jet Li is coming right at you can result in 'masonic defecation', so to speak. That kind of cost, however, is a serious barrier of entry to any home theater consumers who don't make at least in the very high double digits, if not a six figure salary. On top of that, I get the impression that filming something in 3d adds cost to the film production, which might also translate into more expensive tickets, dvds, etc. Until those prices come down, I'll stick with buying a ticket at the theater.
I am not usually the one to yell "/.ers on crack!" but gb2underurbridgefgt. Nothing personal.
Ah, my apologies. Was sorta on a drive-by read & retort blitz, as I know the oil trolls love to respond to articles like this with "Blaarhgg, tha lib'rals is a'killin' this couuntry!" or "Green energy is a lie!" etc...
Upon some reflection, there actually is incentive: re-vegetation gets the EPA off the mining co's back, plus they can then sell the now-flat land to a developer. Of course the local ecology is shot, but hey, as long as they're turning a profit, right?
p_p
Then, they were like, *O*
Then, they were like, @!&#!#^%!!!!!!1111Uno
Droids?.. I envision a different sort of 'sentience' in charge of this...
I love how the very article you linked not only mentions the various environmentally detrimental effects, and laws changed to make them even more harmful, but also directly links references detailing the issues. Allow me to make some abridged quotes...
Well, really that's socioeconomic-debate fodder, rather than a question of technology, now isn't it? Off-topic much?
I'm sorry, I just don't. I know there were flamewars when the stories hit the front page about security issues in Adobe's myriad softwares, including Flash. I'm sure some tried to defend them. But no one can deny that even if they are making a valiant, and quite possibly successful, effort to wipe out the bugs and vulnerabilities, there were flaws in the software. Why should there be a big hullabaloo about a html5 alt for this that would alleviate the problems some people are obviously having? If it's a standard built on sound design and it, as some are fond of saying in order to put Flash on pedestal, just works, it's not like it's going to be mandatory under threat of arrest and prosecution... "As per Intarwebs Content Statute BS-666, sec. 867, para. 5309-blah-blah-blah, 'NO FLASH CONTENT IS ALLOWED. VIOLATORS WILL BE EXECUTED SUMMARY TO ARREST AND TRIAL; ALL HARDWARE AND DIGITAL CONTENT THEREON BECOMES PROPERTY OF THE STATE...etc...'"... Grow up. If there's a site that makes a unilateral decision to go solely one way or the other, and this renders it unusable for you, your beef is with that site. Get over it. Competition is good; who knows, perhaps Adobe might work even harder to make Flash the optimum choice, thereby improving user experience across the board.
And let's not forget the degraded quality of something re-encoded for flv encapsulation. Or the security holes found in the proprietary flash client. I think interpreted html5 will be a little easier to screen via things like AdBlock[+], NoScript, and decent av/anti-spyware&phishing/firewall/etc software, rather than hoping Adobe caught most if not all the potential attack vectors.
Besides, I'm sure for the Flash video fanboy- I mean, diehards, websites could make the html an option if flash isn't available. Let's just un-bunch those panties, alrighty?..
I am not usually the one to yell "Mods on crack!" but I don't really think an 'attention grab' this obvious should be marked funny. Nothing personal...
Well, TV's have already hit the 1080p pinnacle, Blu-Ray won the format wars, and the whole HD-media-over-wireless... Yeah, well, I've yet to hear about it panning out in a cost-effective form while retaining decent quality along with the tech being over a year or two old now, so I guess the media covering home theater needs something to tout as the Next Big Thing (TM). Until viable high-quality, consumer holographic displays show up along with a viable need/demand in the mainstream market, this is the most interesting thing I've seen in regards to 3d type stuff. And even that is old by internet standards.
To be honest, I've not watched any "new" 3d movies. I've heard that it looks really nice, but then you also need to wear the glasses--srsly, I already wear specs. Hate them, don't want another pair. As far as in home theaters, do you need a special tv that can display it? Or does the movie have to be specially formatted for 3d? Either way, it sounds like paying at least a small (per movie) to large (for a special tv) amount extra over the non-3d version. Until I watch such a film and find myself in need of a fresh pair of pants and my ambulatory extremity undergarments expelled from my personage via sheer amazement, I remain skeptical.
Do you know the difference between a quote and normal text?
...but there's a big whole in that argument, which, I'm sure, MS doesn't like being mentioned. IMHO, one of the biggest holes in security is the clueless user. We all know 'em. "Oooh, pretty cursors, and they're free," "I'll just email my username & password to someone so they can login to my account for *miscellaneous-reason*, and yes, that's over unencrypted email" "I just store all my info in My Documents," (including textfiles with usernames/passwords, personal info including credit card/bank account info, etc), "Bah! I can't view this crazy website properly! I'll just turn off the firewall/anti-malware program," "Oh, nifty IE toolbar! Sure I've never heard of this website/company/group/whatever providing it, but it looks pretty cool so I'll install it," "Internet cache? What's that? Defrag? Virus Scan? Fooey!" "Huh. I don't know who this person that emailed me is, or why they're emailing me about (insert tragic/horrific/frightening/miraculous/ridiculous or whatever urban legend/trope/myth/etc here), but I think I'll pass this email on like it says to. After all, if I don't send to at least 10 people in the next 5 minutes, then (insert promise of disaster/catastrophe or great happiness/wealth here, conditional on them forwarding spam)" "I made my password, 'Password'! Isn't it clever? No one will think it'll be that!" And so on, and so forth. Or how about the cluess admin that leaves a username or password of "admin" on a server or other network profile? "1-2-3-4-5? That's amazing! I've got the same combination on my luggage."
If they're drawing conclusions like this already, I can't help but wonder if they plan on hiding behind this when they roll out some new, more restrictive anti-piracy scheme. I'm not advocating piracy by any means, but MS seems to spend more time and money conniving how to get everybody to fork over a hefty chunk of cash for the "latest and greatest" version of their OS or software, rather than trying to fix bugs still in the last version. That, and trying to brainwash people into believing they're the only legitimate option. I hope they realize, if they think the Win7 release buys them enough good will to start monkeying around, that it only goes so far, which isn't far at all after infecting the World with Vista.
Apple purchased NeXT on December 20, 1996 for $429 million,[2] and much of the current Mac OS X system is built on the OPENSTEP foundation. [3] WebObjects is now bundled with Mac OS X Server and Xcode.
...so there you have it. I'm not an Apple fanboy, and own none from their line of computers. I do enjoy hunting trolls, however.
Mod-up above, please. Looking for a five for him.
"I AM THE LAW!"
I think you're hitting the nail on the head with your post. Bothering Google, or various other sites, even if it's for a day or two, would likely cause nothing more than a lot of annoyed muttering and sighs. However, there are still some things to consider.
As you say, the main goal of terror groups will be to intimidate and cause widespread panic and lasting fear. Now, how that's done depends largely on the environment. If we're talking domestically, e.g. in the US, and I'm going to assume we are, the greatest threats online IMHO are things like identity theft, financial fraud (they're always looking to fund their activities), target profiling, and causing temporary disruptions of service (power, emergency services, telecom, transportation, etc) just before an attack. Those are all places where vulnerabilities are definitely present, and where we could and should definitely make changes for the better. Such a glib assessment that there is no threat smacks of the same arrogance/ignorance that led a certain ship to be called "unsinkable."
Capacity insecurity? "Really, it's bigger! It's just the lack of OS file compression that makes it seem small!"
Ugh, someone get the Troll repellent. They're apparently out in droves today.