" ... the wings of the cicada Psaltoda claripennis could shred certain types of rod-shaped bacteria... "
" ... the wings of the Diplacodes bipunctata or Wandering Percher dragonfly were even more deadly, killing both rod-shaped and spherical bacteria... "
I am very curious.
Since the structures on the WINGS of the insects, do they have some yet-to-be-discovered aero-dynamic functionality, apart from their ability to shred bacteria ?
"... the program analyzes the messages a user makes through social networks, email, text messaging, microblogging, and other systems. Then, the program offers suggestions for responses, where the original messages are displayed, with information about others reactions to the same messages, and then the user can send the suggested messages in response to those users... "
So it boils down to a copy/paste bot affixed with some simple AI ?
America is a lot more free than many countries, arguably less free than a few others, and certainly falls short of the (unattainable) ideal many citizens believe it to be.
It's exactly this kind of mindset that is KILLING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Unattainable ideal ?
You gave up even before you started the journey ?!
classic infiltration? the kind of where the "intelligence" agency recruits some people to do something and then they bust them for being recruited to do something?
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. " Helen Keller
Sorry, I just don't buy that !
Security is BUILT into nature !
Plants, fungi, bacteria all fought each others with an assortment of chemicals.
Some of the chemicals are offensive in nature ~ to be used to destroy opponents' defense ~ while others are defensive ~ to discourage potential opponents from launching attacks ~, for example.
For animal kingdoms, evolution had provided all kinds of offensive weapons and defensive weapons, from fangs, claws, razor sharp talons, to poisonous nerve toxins, to ultra-thick exteriors.
And for animals which are not endowed with those weapons, they were given the ability to run very very fast, and to breed very very frequently, just so that they will have enough offspring left to survive the relentless attacks from the predators.
To say that "security" does not exist in Nature is to blind oneself to the REAL NATURE !
No matter if it's a tech company like Google or Microsoft, or if it's a car company like Toyota or GM, or a food related company like Kraft, or a hygienic item company like Colgate - they will have their ups and downs, and some companies such as Kodak will find themselves redundant by the marketplace.
Just because the Nasdaq index is now headed by Google / Amazon does not mean the current company lineup is that much better than the Microsoft / Cisco era.
I am an investor, although I still hold some stocks, I prefer to focus my investment towards the startups - at the very least, the ones that I invest in are in possessions of very exciting ideas and/or innovative.technology.
The other reason I prefer to invest my money in the startups because I want to give the young people the chance to prove themselves.
Don't the trees block a lot more of the road than they did then?
Sorry, I didn't know anything about the trees back then.
See, I am not a born American. I am a naturalized American and I did not arrived at America until the early 1970's.
Furthermore, I spent most of my stay in America in the Boston area (and later in the Silicon Valley). I only go to Dallas occasionally on business trips.
Back when Oliver Stone was shooting his JFK movie (no pun intended) in Dallas I happened to be there for a conference, and both the Dallas local newspapers (Dallas Morning News as well as Dallas Times Herald) were having a field day on Oliver Stone's project (they were looking for old cars and things like that) and I thought to myself, since I was in Dallas, I might as well check out the scene at Dealey Plaza.
I was very lucky indeed.
When I went up the 6th floor, nobody was there, and seeing that the plexiglass barrier was removed I simply walked into that room (they had some empty boxes there as props) and started to check out that window that were shown so many times on tee vee.
And when I said I had to extend at least 60% of my torso OUTSIDE THE WINDOW in order to aim my "virtual rifle" towards that spot where JFK was shot, I wasn't kidding.
That angle of line the bullets travelled towards that exact spot where JFK was killed (if the killer actually fired from the 6th floor) would only allow a very slim degree of freedom.
If you guys would to check the book depository building, you would know that the very windows Lee Harvey Oswald was said to have used was at the LEFT SIDE of the building (looking from inside the building).
With Dealey Plaza at the RIGHT SIDE of the building, viewing from that 6th floor window, the book depository building itself has blocked much of view.
Someone commented alluding skeet shooting and clay pigeon... well... anyone who have tried skeet shooting would know that in order to successfully shoot at the flying clay pigeon there should not be ANY ANGLE RESTRICTION.
Unfortunately, the angle of restriction is massive, if you were to shoot from that 6th floor window.
In fact, that very day I almost fell out of that fucking windows because I was trying so hard to "get my shot".
Someone replied that it's not hard to aim at JFK since it's a motorcade and they're not travelling fast... well... let me ask you:
It's a motorcade, which means, it's a convoy of cars.
WITHOUT KNOWING WHICH CAR JFK was travelling, how would I, the shooter, know which head to position my scope's crosshair at ?
You guys need to understand that there were no iPAD or any smartphone back in 1963, as there were also NO INSTANTANEOUS LIVE CAM COVERAGE online.
If you were Lee Harvey Oswald, and you have left your house pretty early in the day, you would have NO IDEA which car JFK was travelling on, or how many cars are there in the motorcade, in the first place.
Which means, you NEED SOMEONE TO TELL YOU, or you NEED TO SEE IT FOR YOURSELF, before you train your scope at your target's head.
I am no expert on JFK's assassination. I was not inside the United States of America when that happened.
I was merely curious.
My conclusion COULD BE WRONG, and I welcome anyone to proof me wrong.
Specific individuals that we know are terrorists, and who the U.S. is tracking right now...
The real scenario is much more juicier...
"Specific individuals that are influential in various terrorist organizations that are currently working for the US government and its allies (including Qatar/Saudis/Turkey), and are taking orders from the US government in launching various (minor) Jihadist strikes against the Western / Christian interests in far flung places to keep the FEAR FACTOR alive"
Regarding the Kennedy, has anyone been into to that particular room on the sixth floor of the Book Depository in Dallas, Tx, USA, where they said Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK ?
I have.
In normal time they blocked that room up with plexiglass barrier. Visitors could only see that room from the corridor outside.
But I went inside.
I went there during the time Oliver Stone was filming the movie "JFK". They removed the plexiglass barrier.
I was able to stand in THAT VERY WINDOW, looked out of the window and surveyed the scene below, and I tried to assume the position of having carrying a rifle, and tried to aim that "virtual rifle" at the point at Dealey Plaza where JFK was shot.
I couldn't.
You see, if I were Lee Harvey Oswald, and I was doing the shooting BY MYSELF I have to know WHEN the motorcade which JFK was riding arrive.
I have to have the chance to judge the timing so that I can aim my weapon at JFK's head.
The JFK motorcade came, as I was standing on the 6th floor window, from my LEFT SIDE, and proceeded to the RIGHT SIDE.
If I were the shooter, I need to stand UP and look at the left side, waiting for the motorcade to arrive, and then aim my rifle at the right side as the motorcade goes towards the Dealey Plaza.
I couldn't do it ALONE.
In order to hit JFK's head when the motorcade is at Dealey Plaza ---- which is at the EXTREME RIGHT HAND SIDE from the view from the 6th floor window, I need to extend at least 60% of my torso OUT OF THE WINDOW in order to get my shot.
I do not know how long Lee Harvey Oswald torso happened to be, my own torso is about the average size human grown man's torso.
If I were to shoot JFK ALONE in that 6th floor windows, I couldn't.
I watched the documentaries where they had expert shooters trying out shooting at the motorcade below from the same window, and the shooters' in the documentaries were adopting the "half crouch" position, aiming their rifles at the exact point where JFK was killed.
But if I *WERE THE LONE KILLER IN THAT ROOM* and if I *WERE DOING THAT*, I would not be able to know WHEN JFK's MOTORCADE WOULD ARRIVE, as there is no way I could see the LEFT HAND SIDE of the windows when I crouched and lean against the left side of the window holding my weapon aiming towards Dealey Plaza at my extreme right side.
So all of these essentially boils down to my own conclusion that
1. Lee Harvey Oswald, if he was the killer of JFK, was NOT acting alone. He MUST HAVE an accomplice in that same room, to act as a "watcher" for him and to inform him when JFK's motorcade was to arrive.
2. If Lee Harvey Oswald was NOT half crouching on the left side of the windows when he shot JFK from the 6th floor of the Book Depository building, he must have EXTENDED at least 60% of his body OUT of that windows.
And in order to NOT FALL DOWN, he must have SOMEONE ELSE inside that same room to GRAB HIS LEGS as an anchor.
Conclusion from #1 and #2 is that, if Lee Harvey Oswald was really the killer of JFK and he did made those 3 shots from the 6th floor window, he was NOT acting alone.
... they just obfuscate (or rather encrypt and then decrypt) everything, including every single executable, under the iOS.
In doing so, nobody could be absolutely certain what the fuck is going on within the iOS kernel and the Apple hardwares when the benchmark routine is being run.
There are billions of Homo Sapiens Sapiens in this world who still believe in the dog and pony shows sponsored by the United States of America, and all its lapdog allies, such as Britain, Canada, Singapore and Australia.
Since the Edward Snowden affair, has USA apologized to the many millions of people who were spied on by NSA and all its allies ?
Since the Edward Snowden affair, has USA admit their wrongdoings ?
Nope !
Instead, they countered with lies, deceits, and threats, designed specifically to show the world that THEY ARE STILL THE BOSS and the rest of the world must continue kowtow to them.
How is this thing compared (hardware wise) to Raspberry Pi ?
I do know that the ecosystem of Rasp Pi is very developed, and there is none on this new kid in town, but I'm still interested to know how well (or otherwise) it compares to the well established Rasp Pi.
As more and more of the leaks have been revealed, more and more countries are being linked to the Global NSA Franchise.
Those countries don't do stuffs for nothing - and the fact that so many countries have helped doing all the dirty works for NSA means that, in return, USA did something else for them.
But what can the government of the United States do to return the favor ?
Money ?
Nope. USA is bankrupt.
Fame ?
Nope. Everybody knows how popular it would be to be included in the "Uncle Sam Lapdog" list.
Power ? Longevity ?
Nope and Nope.
But there is one thing that Uncle Sam can do for them - Uncle Sam let them to live for another day.
One thing that everybody has witnessed and knew is this --- when and if Uncle Sam wants you to die, you will.
Look at what happened to Saddam Hussein.
Look at what happened to Qaddafi.
Even when Uncle Sam does not kill you, you will still end up in a very terrible place --- go ask Manuel Noriega how he felt, after being Uncle Sam's lapdog for ages, Uncle Sam turned against him.
There are, of course, _some_ lucky souls who managed to stay alive, no matter how many times Uncle Sam wants to do them in.
Cuba's Fidel Castro, for example.
But Fidel is an exception, rather than the rule.
I will not be surprised with the threats leveled by Uncle Sam against Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore or to whoever was in charge of the South Korean government - and again, both of those countries are themselves in _VERY PRECARIOUS_ situation.
South Korea has to face with the fruitcakes from the North.
Singapore ? It's but "A tiny red island in the vast green sea ", as had uttered by one of Indonesia's former leader.
USA does not even need to threaten them much to get them to carry out all the dirty deeds --- all USA needed to do is to tell them that, if you don't do this for me, when you're in trouble, I won't help you.
That is all to get both South Korea and Singapore to get going.
As one who couldn't stand the tyranny of the CCP regime here's my take on why China is doing what it is doing...
This is a preemptive measure designed solely for America.
It is designed so to tell America that if the United States really wants to engage China, it would be a SUPER EXPENSIVE affair.
Although it is true, as Shanghai Bill has put it, part of the reason of what is happening now, is for internal consumption (to drum up support for the CCP inside China), one has to understand that China's newest crop of leaders grew up post Mao's calamitous reign over China.
In other words, this group of leaders worldview is very different from that of Deng Xiao Ping, and they are not afraid to engage Japan head-on, along whoever dare to aid Japan, in an all-out war.
That's the exact message they are giving Uncle Sam - fuck us and you will burn.
Saddam and Iraq were quite open about supporting terrorism
Please, do us all a BIG FAVOR, Mr. Cold Fjord.
Please cut the crap !
Saddam Hussein had done a LOT OF VERY TERRIBLE THINGS to his own people, but he NEVER support any of those "terrorists".
Saddam was in no way linked to Al Queda nor any of its splintered groups.
Saddam was in no way linked to Hezbollah nor any of its affiliates.
In fact, many of the terrorist groups, aka Islamists and/or Jihadists are being supported by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, who, incidentally, are ALLIES of the United States of America !
I do not know who you are working for, but spreading LIES in Slashdot seems to have become your full time job.
Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything
Even before Humans were Humans our ancestors had already been engaging in wars.
If you read this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_(gorilla) - you would understand that primates (including Homo Sapiens Sapiens) are born with the capability to kill, with or without any reason.
Slashdot Mirror
Last sentence of the TFA:
Incensed Dutch parliamentarians are calling for an enquiry
Are the politicians really incensed ?
Aww ...
Please don't disappoint me.
Please don't tell me that the Dutch politicians are all angels !!
People have told you how bad botnets are but those people are bad, mmmkay?
Them NSA are like bank robbers.
They rob away the privacy of HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE without even blinking an eye.
Them botnet operators ? They are like safe crackers.
Safe crackers get to crack safes no matter if they are inside the bank vaults or inside somebody's bedroom.
They don't really need bank robbers.
But on the other hand, bank robbers doing a heist may need safe crackers to crack open the vault.
Neither of them are goodie two shoes. but the robbers need the safe crackers more than the other way around.
From the TFA:
" ... the wings of the cicada Psaltoda claripennis could shred certain types of rod-shaped bacteria ... "
... the wings of the Diplacodes bipunctata or Wandering Percher dragonfly were even more deadly, killing both rod-shaped and spherical bacteria ... "
"
I am very curious.
Since the structures on the WINGS of the insects, do they have some yet-to-be-discovered aero-dynamic functionality, apart from their ability to shred bacteria ?
When they list the 'longitudinal student achievement data' for up to seven academic years as one of the requirement, all alarm must be sounded
Students must be treated and be respected as individuals
They must not be treated as mere numbers or drones
The students' "academic achievement" are but a small part of what makes up their individual selves
Our society must understand that if we continue to treat the students as drones, as " yet another brick on the wall ", the future will be very bleak.
We do not need drones to lead the human civilization in the future. We need WHOLESOME HUMAN BEINGS to carry out that task !
$50 million could have paid for a whole lot of private sector open source software development.
If the military had spent the money on development, they might have finished the request for proposals before running out of funding...
How much of the taxpayer's dough have they wasted on that Obamacare website ?
How well did it perform ?
I have a hunch that if the Military spent the $50M on an open source project it would have come up better than that website.
From TFA:
" ... the program analyzes the messages a user makes through social networks, email, text messaging, microblogging, and other systems. Then, the program offers suggestions for responses, where the original messages are displayed, with information about others reactions to the same messages, and then the user can send the suggested messages in response to those users ... "
So it boils down to a copy/paste bot affixed with some simple AI ?
America is a lot more free than many countries, arguably less free than a few others, and certainly falls short of the (unattainable) ideal many citizens believe it to be.
It's exactly this kind of mindset that is KILLING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Unattainable ideal ?
You gave up even before you started the journey ?!
classic infiltration? the kind of where the "intelligence" agency recruits some people to do something and then they bust them for being recruited to do something?
If you read this article ~ https://medium.com/quinn-norton/654abf6aeff7 ~ you would know that at times them "intelligent agencies" don't even need to do any recruitment
All they need to do is to set a trap and sheeples (even those with above average IQ) would fall in and work their ass off for worse than nothing.
" Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature ... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. " Helen Keller
Sorry, I just don't buy that !
Security is BUILT into nature !
Plants, fungi, bacteria all fought each others with an assortment of chemicals.
Some of the chemicals are offensive in nature ~ to be used to destroy opponents' defense ~ while others are defensive ~ to discourage potential opponents from launching attacks ~, for example.
For animal kingdoms, evolution had provided all kinds of offensive weapons and defensive weapons, from fangs, claws, razor sharp talons, to poisonous nerve toxins, to ultra-thick exteriors.
And for animals which are not endowed with those weapons, they were given the ability to run very very fast, and to breed very very frequently, just so that they will have enough offspring left to survive the relentless attacks from the predators.
To say that "security" does not exist in Nature is to blind oneself to the REAL NATURE !
Unfortunately, the corporate world has become very much like the political arena.
Honesty is no longer treasured.
No matter if it's Helen Hill or Edward Snowden, as long as you blew the whistle on wrongdoings of others, you will get punished.
The world we live in is becoming more and more fake.
Lies worth much more than truth.
Fakeries work much better than honesty.
Nasdaq is a stock market, just like Wall Street.
No matter if it's a tech company like Google or Microsoft, or if it's a car company like Toyota or GM, or a food related company like Kraft, or a hygienic item company like Colgate - they will have their ups and downs, and some companies such as Kodak will find themselves redundant by the marketplace.
Just because the Nasdaq index is now headed by Google / Amazon does not mean the current company lineup is that much better than the Microsoft / Cisco era.
I am an investor, although I still hold some stocks, I prefer to focus my investment towards the startups - at the very least, the ones that I invest in are in possessions of very exciting ideas and/or innovative.technology.
The other reason I prefer to invest my money in the startups because I want to give the young people the chance to prove themselves.
Just curious.
If Obama were to attend that party, how would he fit in ?
Don't the trees block a lot more of the road than they did then?
Sorry, I didn't know anything about the trees back then.
See, I am not a born American. I am a naturalized American and I did not arrived at America until the early 1970's.
Furthermore, I spent most of my stay in America in the Boston area (and later in the Silicon Valley). I only go to Dallas occasionally on business trips.
Back when Oliver Stone was shooting his JFK movie (no pun intended) in Dallas I happened to be there for a conference, and both the Dallas local newspapers (Dallas Morning News as well as Dallas Times Herald) were having a field day on Oliver Stone's project (they were looking for old cars and things like that) and I thought to myself, since I was in Dallas, I might as well check out the scene at Dealey Plaza.
I was very lucky indeed.
When I went up the 6th floor, nobody was there, and seeing that the plexiglass barrier was removed I simply walked into that room (they had some empty boxes there as props) and started to check out that window that were shown so many times on tee vee.
And when I said I had to extend at least 60% of my torso OUTSIDE THE WINDOW in order to aim my "virtual rifle" towards that spot where JFK was shot, I wasn't kidding.
That angle of line the bullets travelled towards that exact spot where JFK was killed (if the killer actually fired from the 6th floor) would only allow a very slim degree of freedom.
If you guys would to check the book depository building, you would know that the very windows Lee Harvey Oswald was said to have used was at the LEFT SIDE of the building (looking from inside the building).
With Dealey Plaza at the RIGHT SIDE of the building, viewing from that 6th floor window, the book depository building itself has blocked much of view.
Someone commented alluding skeet shooting and clay pigeon ... well ... anyone who have tried skeet shooting would know that in order to successfully shoot at the flying clay pigeon there should not be ANY ANGLE RESTRICTION.
Unfortunately, the angle of restriction is massive, if you were to shoot from that 6th floor window.
In fact, that very day I almost fell out of that fucking windows because I was trying so hard to "get my shot".
Someone replied that it's not hard to aim at JFK since it's a motorcade and they're not travelling fast ... well ... let me ask you:
It's a motorcade, which means, it's a convoy of cars.
WITHOUT KNOWING WHICH CAR JFK was travelling, how would I, the shooter, know which head to position my scope's crosshair at ?
You guys need to understand that there were no iPAD or any smartphone back in 1963, as there were also NO INSTANTANEOUS LIVE CAM COVERAGE online.
If you were Lee Harvey Oswald, and you have left your house pretty early in the day, you would have NO IDEA which car JFK was travelling on, or how many cars are there in the motorcade, in the first place.
Which means, you NEED SOMEONE TO TELL YOU, or you NEED TO SEE IT FOR YOURSELF, before you train your scope at your target's head.
I am no expert on JFK's assassination. I was not inside the United States of America when that happened.
I was merely curious.
My conclusion COULD BE WRONG, and I welcome anyone to proof me wrong.
Specific individuals that we know are terrorists, and who the U.S. is tracking right now...
The real scenario is much more juicier ...
"Specific individuals that are influential in various terrorist organizations that are currently working for the US government and its allies (including Qatar/Saudis/Turkey), and are taking orders from the US government in launching various (minor) Jihadist strikes against the Western / Christian interests in far flung places to keep the FEAR FACTOR alive"
Regarding the Kennedy, has anyone been into to that particular room on the sixth floor of the Book Depository in Dallas, Tx, USA, where they said Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK ?
I have.
In normal time they blocked that room up with plexiglass barrier. Visitors could only see that room from the corridor outside.
But I went inside.
I went there during the time Oliver Stone was filming the movie "JFK". They removed the plexiglass barrier.
I was able to stand in THAT VERY WINDOW, looked out of the window and surveyed the scene below, and I tried to assume the position of having carrying a rifle, and tried to aim that "virtual rifle" at the point at Dealey Plaza where JFK was shot.
I couldn't.
You see, if I were Lee Harvey Oswald, and I was doing the shooting BY MYSELF I have to know WHEN the motorcade which JFK was riding arrive.
I have to have the chance to judge the timing so that I can aim my weapon at JFK's head.
The JFK motorcade came, as I was standing on the 6th floor window, from my LEFT SIDE, and proceeded to the RIGHT SIDE.
If I were the shooter, I need to stand UP and look at the left side, waiting for the motorcade to arrive, and then aim my rifle at the right side as the motorcade goes towards the Dealey Plaza.
I couldn't do it ALONE.
In order to hit JFK's head when the motorcade is at Dealey Plaza ---- which is at the EXTREME RIGHT HAND SIDE from the view from the 6th floor window, I need to extend at least 60% of my torso OUT OF THE WINDOW in order to get my shot.
I do not know how long Lee Harvey Oswald torso happened to be, my own torso is about the average size human grown man's torso.
If I were to shoot JFK ALONE in that 6th floor windows, I couldn't.
I watched the documentaries where they had expert shooters trying out shooting at the motorcade below from the same window, and the shooters' in the documentaries were adopting the "half crouch" position, aiming their rifles at the exact point where JFK was killed.
But if I *WERE THE LONE KILLER IN THAT ROOM* and if I *WERE DOING THAT*, I would not be able to know WHEN JFK's MOTORCADE WOULD ARRIVE, as there is no way I could see the LEFT HAND SIDE of the windows when I crouched and lean against the left side of the window holding my weapon aiming towards Dealey Plaza at my extreme right side.
So all of these essentially boils down to my own conclusion that
1. Lee Harvey Oswald, if he was the killer of JFK, was NOT acting alone. He MUST HAVE an accomplice in that same room, to act as a "watcher" for him and to inform him when JFK's motorcade was to arrive.
2. If Lee Harvey Oswald was NOT half crouching on the left side of the windows when he shot JFK from the 6th floor of the Book Depository building, he must have EXTENDED at least 60% of his body OUT of that windows.
And in order to NOT FALL DOWN, he must have SOMEONE ELSE inside that same room to GRAB HIS LEGS as an anchor.
Conclusion from #1 and #2 is that, if Lee Harvey Oswald was really the killer of JFK and he did made those 3 shots from the 6th floor window, he was NOT acting alone.
... they just obfuscate (or rather encrypt and then decrypt) everything, including every single executable, under the iOS.
In doing so, nobody could be absolutely certain what the fuck is going on within the iOS kernel and the Apple hardwares when the benchmark routine is being run.
us is totalitarian in [very bad] disguise
Au Contraire !!
There are billions of Homo Sapiens Sapiens in this world who still believe in the dog and pony shows sponsored by the United States of America, and all its lapdog allies, such as Britain, Canada, Singapore and Australia.
Since the Edward Snowden affair, has USA apologized to the many millions of people who were spied on by NSA and all its allies ?
Since the Edward Snowden affair, has USA admit their wrongdoings ?
Nope !
Instead, they countered with lies, deceits, and threats, designed specifically to show the world that THEY ARE STILL THE BOSS and the rest of the world must continue kowtow to them.
How is this thing compared (hardware wise) to Raspberry Pi ?
I do know that the ecosystem of Rasp Pi is very developed, and there is none on this new kid in town, but I'm still interested to know how well (or otherwise) it compares to the well established Rasp Pi.
Thanks !
As more and more of the leaks have been revealed, more and more countries are being linked to the Global NSA Franchise.
Those countries don't do stuffs for nothing - and the fact that so many countries have helped doing all the dirty works for NSA means that, in return, USA did something else for them.
But what can the government of the United States do to return the favor ?
Money ?
Nope. USA is bankrupt.
Fame ?
Nope. Everybody knows how popular it would be to be included in the "Uncle Sam Lapdog" list.
Power ? Longevity ?
Nope and Nope.
But there is one thing that Uncle Sam can do for them - Uncle Sam let them to live for another day.
One thing that everybody has witnessed and knew is this --- when and if Uncle Sam wants you to die, you will.
Look at what happened to Saddam Hussein.
Look at what happened to Qaddafi.
Even when Uncle Sam does not kill you, you will still end up in a very terrible place --- go ask Manuel Noriega how he felt, after being Uncle Sam's lapdog for ages, Uncle Sam turned against him.
There are, of course, _some_ lucky souls who managed to stay alive, no matter how many times Uncle Sam wants to do them in.
Cuba's Fidel Castro, for example.
But Fidel is an exception, rather than the rule.
I will not be surprised with the threats leveled by Uncle Sam against Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore or to whoever was in charge of the South Korean government - and again, both of those countries are themselves in _ VERY PRECARIOUS _ situation.
South Korea has to face with the fruitcakes from the North.
Singapore ? It's but " A tiny red island in the vast green sea ", as had uttered by one of Indonesia's former leader.
USA does not even need to threaten them much to get them to carry out all the dirty deeds --- all USA needed to do is to tell them that, if you don't do this for me, when you're in trouble, I won't help you.
That is all to get both South Korea and Singapore to get going.
Unfortunately, the US government will probably try to find a way to do just that.
And that, will be a BOON to Bitcoin as a whole.
As one who couldn't stand the tyranny of the CCP regime here's my take on why China is doing what it is doing ...
This is a preemptive measure designed solely for America.
It is designed so to tell America that if the United States really wants to engage China, it would be a SUPER EXPENSIVE affair.
Although it is true, as Shanghai Bill has put it, part of the reason of what is happening now, is for internal consumption (to drum up support for the CCP inside China), one has to understand that China's newest crop of leaders grew up post Mao's calamitous reign over China.
In other words, this group of leaders worldview is very different from that of Deng Xiao Ping, and they are not afraid to engage Japan head-on, along whoever dare to aid Japan, in an all-out war.
That's the exact message they are giving Uncle Sam - fuck us and you will burn.
Saddam and Iraq were quite open about supporting terrorism
Please, do us all a BIG FAVOR, Mr. Cold Fjord.
Please cut the crap !
Saddam Hussein had done a LOT OF VERY TERRIBLE THINGS to his own people, but he NEVER support any of those "terrorists".
Saddam was in no way linked to Al Queda nor any of its splintered groups.
Saddam was in no way linked to Hezbollah nor any of its affiliates.
In fact, many of the terrorist groups, aka Islamists and/or Jihadists are being supported by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, who, incidentally, are ALLIES of the United States of America !
I do not know who you are working for, but spreading LIES in Slashdot seems to have become your full time job.
...
This is the country that ran tanks over unarmed students in a public square ...
I came from China.
In fact, I ran away from China's oppressive regime.
After reading your description the image of this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings - rushes back.
Yes, China _is_ under an oppressive government, but that does not mean the same can/could never happen in the United States of America.
Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything
Even before Humans were Humans our ancestors had already been engaging in wars.
If you read this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_(gorilla) - you would understand that primates (including Homo Sapiens Sapiens) are born with the capability to kill, with or without any reason.
The Hubble Telescope, back in August 2000, captured the broken remnants of the of the Comet Linear which exploded
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2000/27
Picture of the remnants is at http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/images/hs-2000-27-a-print.jpg