These viruses have a history of changing during the course of an epidemic. One of the ways they can change is by becoming much more deadly. Can you explain why the Mexicans are suffering a 5% fatality rate? That is quite high for influenza.
The fundamental problem with all electronic/cryptographic voting systems is lack of transparency. Any reasonably intelligent person can fully understand the paper system and can, with sufficient motivation, verify an election. As soon as you introduce electronics and/or cryptography you are forced to entrust the election to experts.
You already have socialism: it is government that grants these companies their exclusive monopolies. Why do you think that a bigger, more intrusive monopoly will lead to improvement? Take the monopoly away, don't strengthen it.
Which would happen often enough to satisfy the spammers. The bots need only succeed a few percent of the time in order to be effective. That's how they are defeating CAPTCHAs.
> The websites are the horror from a windows end-user point of view.
Perhaps you should consider getting your operating system from an organization that does not require you to download such fundamental applications as a PDF viewer from a third party.
> I work for a (sort-of) museum, and it has lots of images like this -- pictures of > objects in the collection. A lot of time and money is spent making these images, and > some money is made by selling them (e.g. in a book, or licensing the photographs for use > by other people).
In the USA what is protected is creative expression. "Sweat of the brow" such as you describe is irrelevant.
> High-tech masks and data gloves, sartorial accessories considerably more comfortable > than a spacesuit, would permit you to see the landscape, touch objects and even smell > the air.
We could experiece the entire world this way from the comfort and safety of our life-support cocoons. No need to expose ourselves to nasty, dirty reality at all. Just put on your full-body feely suit with feeding and elimination attachments and never take it off.
The BATF tried to stop all amateur rocketry beyond the toy size but they lost the lawsuit. A Federal judge ruled that solid rocket fuel of the type used by these rockets is not an explosive.
Slashdot Mirror
> What's next - flying pig flu?
Since this strain includes both swine flu and avian flu genes, yes.
These viruses have a history of changing during the course of an epidemic. One of the ways they can change is by becoming much more deadly. Can you explain why the Mexicans are suffering a 5% fatality rate? That is quite high for influenza.
> ...remember the boy who cried wolf.
You mean Gerald Ford?
So stock up on immunosuppressants (I've got mine).
> This influenza virus is a strain that utilizes pig, bird, and human genetic information.
This influenza virus is a strain that utilizes pig, bird, and human influenza genetic information.
> Why does this one have a special name?
a) It is genetically different from the usual flus.
b) In 1918 a form of swine flu killed millions.
> I can't decide how scared to be.
So far it seems to kill only Mexicans. I suppose you could construct a conspiracy theory around that.
> As if there were anything I could do about it anyways.
Avoid people. They're dangerous.
> ...a few 12" fans.
Make that 12' fans.
> With blue LEDs.
Ignitrons.
The fundamental problem with all electronic/cryptographic voting systems is lack of transparency. Any reasonably intelligent person can fully understand the paper system and can, with sufficient motivation, verify an election. As soon as you introduce electronics and/or cryptography you are forced to entrust the election to experts.
It wouldn't be *cool* if everyone was doing it. And I doubt that more than a very small fraction of voters was influenced by it.
You already have socialism: it is government that grants these companies their exclusive monopolies. Why do you think that a bigger, more intrusive monopoly will lead to improvement? Take the monopoly away, don't strengthen it.
> I would hope so, but how is this not using someone else's copyrighted crap for
> commercial gain?
That does not rule out fair use.
> The chances of these proteins from bird, avian flu combining with a swine retro virus
> that is easily transmittable is astronomical.
Yes, it is fairly likely. Influenza viruses do this sort of thing all the time.
> Train the filter on posts it got wrong.
Which would happen often enough to satisfy the spammers. The bots need only succeed a few percent of the time in order to be effective. That's how they are defeating CAPTCHAs.
So where are they now?
> They took master lessons from the last US President's administration.
That's odd. I thought they were fairly good at it.
> There are organisations of great power and wealth whose dominance depends on maintaining
> resource scarcity and distribution control.
These are called *governments*.
> ...would removing the DRM so that I can use them in a third party PDF viewer be a
> violation of my license with the college and publishers?
Why don't you read the license and find out? It certainly would not be infringement of the copyrights.
> The websites are the horror from a windows end-user point of view.
Perhaps you should consider getting your operating system from an organization that does not require you to download such fundamental applications as a PDF viewer from a third party.
> I work for a (sort-of) museum, and it has lots of images like this -- pictures of
> objects in the collection. A lot of time and money is spent making these images, and
> some money is made by selling them (e.g. in a book, or licensing the photographs for use
> by other people).
In the USA what is protected is creative expression. "Sweat of the brow" such as you describe is irrelevant.
A coherent source should also make higher sensitivity detectors possible.
> You won't be able to see what you are pointing at...
I suspect that sufficient power at 1.5nm will make just about anything flouresce. Or at least glow.
> High-tech masks and data gloves, sartorial accessories considerably more comfortable
> than a spacesuit, would permit you to see the landscape, touch objects and even smell
> the air.
We could experiece the entire world this way from the comfort and safety of our life-support cocoons. No need to expose ourselves to nasty, dirty reality at all.
Just put on your full-body feely suit with feeding and elimination attachments and never take it off.
> Good lord, just another example of the terrified, pushover nation we've turned in to.
Um, I thought I wrote that they lost the lawsuit. Of *course* they made a try at a power grab. Why would you expect anything else?
> Why did they?
Because it is in their nature to grab for power and "terrorism" provided an excuse.
The BATF tried to stop all amateur rocketry beyond the toy size but they lost the lawsuit. A Federal judge ruled that solid rocket fuel of the type used by these rockets is not an explosive.