The infrastructure used to drive it was way beyond anything they've seen previously, even by ostensibe state actors; also, this sort of thing requires a lot of expensive and time-consuming legwork typically done by state intelligence agencies. The elite intelligence agencies do extensive research on their targets prior to using their weapons; they also maintain extremely high levels of operational sophistication, to the point where there is somebody with a finger on a trigger somewhere, figuring out what exploits they can risk using, depending on their assessment on how sophisticated their target will be.
It's likely to be Spain, as their intelligence agencies' primary targets are North Africa and Latin America. Likely, their role in NATO means they've been tasked with keeping tabs on our swarthy kamikaze friends (terrorists, drug dealers, people smugglers) on the far side of the Straits of Gibraltar. And given how many people al-Qaeda murdered during the 11-M attacks in 2004, you can hardly blame Spain for muscling up.
The key word here is "reliably". Because the demonstrators (civilian AND military) I've read about have been as flaky as hell. Even from the Americans, who are incredibly good at building complex, reliable stuff.
The hardware is operating so close to the limit that the materials and the physics will allow, that it takes something special to make anything even fly in the first place.
This happens a lot. Note that the US loves supercarriers too and keep building them, even while more rational people know that they'll be sent to the bottom within minutes of an high-intensity, high-tech war breaking out. The Chinese allegedly have ballistic missiles with reentry vehicles which can find and hit moving ships.
Every major war has started with equipment, tactics, strategy inherited from the last war. The start of WWI, with light horsemen charging into, and getting cut up by, machine gun fire. The officers had their ideas -- and that was _it_.
The reasons for all this are complex, but in a nutshell, it's got to do with inertia, hubris, egos, and defence pork.
The US is lucky in a sense -- despite all this, their technology development pipeline is very deep, their resources are huge, and they are culturally adapted to change in a way that most other cultures are not.
Although I think that people doing interesting stuff getting double the attention because they're female, is a weird kind of inverted sexism.
It would be a travesty if women were put off innovating like this and following their technical passions, because of arguably-sexist backhanded putdowns, or neckbeards slobbering all over them merely because they're female.
"World isn't black and white". Sure -- but you wouldn't know it from spending any amount of time in the Slashdot comments.
Here, people have been absolutely fucking _crucified_ for daring to even suggest that Snowden is something less than the greatest hero the world has ever seen.
So now I'm daring to say that while Snowden's revelations have started a valuable debate about what is fair and what is foul for the signals intelligence community; I still think he's an incredibly naive, vain young man, he has OBJECTIVELY caused an incredible amount of damage to our ability to defend ourselves against our enemies -- and has broken some very serious laws. He's a dick, our enemies are laughing, and the good guys are being hung out to dry for merely doing their jobs.
The physical location of one's birth doesn't confer any extra rights or any extra virtue over and above the immigrant. All citizens are equal in the eyes of the law.
If I were to go to Syria and join al Qaeda, I have my waterboarding coming just as fast as any brown guy with a European passport.
If you go and fight, you build trust and a deep bond with the people you're fighting and dying with. And you'll very likely take on their world-view, especially if you see your friends being blown to pieces/raped/tortured by "kuffar". If that world-view means "waging war against the kuffar until Islam rules the world", then the West, I think, is justified in considering anybody returning from fighting with al Qaeda to be just a little bit suspect.
Remember that the Western countries have their own interests, culture and way of life to defend. Many people here are proud of their culture and way of life, and want to see it defended with all the means available.
We are completely within our rights to defend ourselves against hostile elements, and I support any action my government takes to act robustly in a defensive way.
They are, by and large, joining al Qaeda-affiliated militant groups.
If that doesn't constitute treason, then I don't know what is.
This hasn't been lost on the good proportion of our elites, who have wisely seen this, and have decided that Syria is best left well alone. A self-cleaning oven, if you will.
The notion of this being an Iron Curtain is a bit silly IMHO.
However every country on Earth has laws against their citizens defecting to the enemy, and serving as enemy combatants. Why should Muslims get a free pass, because it's currently unfashionable to call them out on antisocial and illegal behaviour (under the rubric of "anti racism")?
You don't, as a Muslim or anybody else, move to the land of milk and honey, take advantage, and then go and wage war against your country's interests. If you do so, then your adopted country is well within its rights to deal with you as they would any traitor.
Tenure? In state-funded primary and secondary schools? In a country as brutally meritocratic as the US?
Tenure is meant to promote academic freedom and allow brilliant scientists with a proven track record to express potentially unpopular idea.
It's not meant as lifelong guaranteed employment for people who can't cut it in the real world.
Any idea that seniority should come ahead of ability is fucking bullshit anywhere, but especially when educating our youth. Japan does this, and it's a fucking basketcase. We are better than that.
Slashdot Mirror
Until a few years ago, I didn't actually know the difference between dieticians and nutritionists. I also thought that chiro-quackery was legit too.
Probably because of the atrocious state of Australian free-to-air TV, which is as dumb as dogshit, and always has been.
Uuuugh. Looks like I've got myself a creepy internet stalker.
Sorry to disappoint you, pal. I'm straight.
Off your meds, mate??
Maybe antivirus firms in Western countries will turn a blind eye to military malware coming from Western governments.
OTOH, Eugene Kaspersky is Russian, and is politically connected to Vladimir Putin and his entourage, none of whom have a lot of time for NATO...
The infrastructure used to drive it was way beyond anything they've seen previously, even by ostensibe state actors; also, this sort of thing requires a lot of expensive and time-consuming legwork typically done by state intelligence agencies. The elite intelligence agencies do extensive research on their targets prior to using their weapons; they also maintain extremely high levels of operational sophistication, to the point where there is somebody with a finger on a trigger somewhere, figuring out what exploits they can risk using, depending on their assessment on how sophisticated their target will be.
It's likely to be Spain, as their intelligence agencies' primary targets are North Africa and Latin America. Likely, their role in NATO means they've been tasked with keeping tabs on our swarthy kamikaze friends (terrorists, drug dealers, people smugglers) on the far side of the Straits of Gibraltar. And given how many people al-Qaeda murdered during the 11-M attacks in 2004, you can hardly blame Spain for muscling up.
The key word here is "reliably". Because the demonstrators (civilian AND military) I've read about have been as flaky as hell. Even from the Americans, who are incredibly good at building complex, reliable stuff.
The hardware is operating so close to the limit that the materials and the physics will allow, that it takes something special to make anything even fly in the first place.
This happens a lot. Note that the US loves supercarriers too and keep building them, even while more rational people know that they'll be sent to the bottom within minutes of an high-intensity, high-tech war breaking out. The Chinese allegedly have ballistic missiles with reentry vehicles which can find and hit moving ships.
Every major war has started with equipment, tactics, strategy inherited from the last war. The start of WWI, with light horsemen charging into, and getting cut up by, machine gun fire. The officers had their ideas -- and that was _it_.
The reasons for all this are complex, but in a nutshell, it's got to do with inertia, hubris, egos, and defence pork.
The US is lucky in a sense -- despite all this, their technology development pipeline is very deep, their resources are huge, and they are culturally adapted to change in a way that most other cultures are not.
How do you say "DEBT JUBILEE!!!" in Spanish?
I guess "Slashdot Beta Tourette's" is the winter bug going around this year...
Am I the only one amused that the spooks have the basement-dwellers a taste of their own medicine?
Drooling, creepy neckbeards
Debating an idiot is like wrestling a pig. You get covered in shit and the pig enjoys it.
Although I think that people doing interesting stuff getting double the attention because they're female, is a weird kind of inverted sexism.
It would be a travesty if women were put off innovating like this and following their technical passions, because of arguably-sexist backhanded putdowns, or neckbeards slobbering all over them merely because they're female.
You become this skilled, by turning it into an obsessive hobby.
"World isn't black and white". Sure -- but you wouldn't know it from spending any amount of time in the Slashdot comments.
Here, people have been absolutely fucking _crucified_ for daring to even suggest that Snowden is something less than the greatest hero the world has ever seen.
So now I'm daring to say that while Snowden's revelations have started a valuable debate about what is fair and what is foul for the signals intelligence community; I still think he's an incredibly naive, vain young man, he has OBJECTIVELY caused an incredible amount of damage to our ability to defend ourselves against our enemies -- and has broken some very serious laws. He's a dick, our enemies are laughing, and the good guys are being hung out to dry for merely doing their jobs.
Stubbed my toe. NSA's fault!!
+1.
I had close relatives who came from behind the Iron Curtain.
It was no joke.
The physical location of one's birth doesn't confer any extra rights or any extra virtue over and above the immigrant. All citizens are equal in the eyes of the law.
If I were to go to Syria and join al Qaeda, I have my waterboarding coming just as fast as any brown guy with a European passport.
You guessed wrong. And my impressions are wholly justified. Most of the many muslims I've run into were simply not very nice people.
Indoctrination, basically.
If you go and fight, you build trust and a deep bond with the people you're fighting and dying with. And you'll very likely take on their world-view, especially if you see your friends being blown to pieces/raped/tortured by "kuffar". If that world-view means "waging war against the kuffar until Islam rules the world", then the West, I think, is justified in considering anybody returning from fighting with al Qaeda to be just a little bit suspect.
Remember that the Western countries have their own interests, culture and way of life to defend. Many people here are proud of their culture and way of life, and want to see it defended with all the means available.
We are completely within our rights to defend ourselves against hostile elements, and I support any action my government takes to act robustly in a defensive way.
Sometimes, you have to choose your battles.
Every dog has his day. Just wait.
They are, by and large, joining al Qaeda-affiliated militant groups.
If that doesn't constitute treason, then I don't know what is.
This hasn't been lost on the good proportion of our elites, who have wisely seen this, and have decided that Syria is best left well alone. A self-cleaning oven, if you will.
The notion of this being an Iron Curtain is a bit silly IMHO.
However every country on Earth has laws against their citizens defecting to the enemy, and serving as enemy combatants. Why should Muslims get a free pass, because it's currently unfashionable to call them out on antisocial and illegal behaviour (under the rubric of "anti racism")?
You don't, as a Muslim or anybody else, move to the land of milk and honey, take advantage, and then go and wage war against your country's interests. If you do so, then your adopted country is well within its rights to deal with you as they would any traitor.
Sorry, did I read that correctly?
Tenure? In state-funded primary and secondary schools? In a country as brutally meritocratic as the US?
Tenure is meant to promote academic freedom and allow brilliant scientists with a proven track record to express potentially unpopular idea.
It's not meant as lifelong guaranteed employment for people who can't cut it in the real world.
Any idea that seniority should come ahead of ability is fucking bullshit anywhere, but especially when educating our youth. Japan does this, and it's a fucking basketcase. We are better than that.
In before NSA.
I know this article is tangentially about intelligence agencies, so I expect the usual crazies to start foaming at the mouth any second now.