Agreed, analog might have been better if we could have made it work as fast and simple as digital. However nowadays there is too much digital expertise and investment to catch up on. The article is a good example, it is about simulating the most sophisticated "parallel analog computer" we know about with a digital device. From the article it appears that the digital emulation is expected to come close to matching the physical performance specs of the "analog device" (regardless of wether it can "think" or not). Not sure about actually building a better mouse trap but this experiment might help us design one.
Talk to the Farmers in Australia, esp in NSW. Crops such as wheat need the right amount of rain at the right time or they are fucked. Rice needs flooded plains, but the dams are down to 30% capacity and people are already on tight water restrictions.
It has been argued, (even by some "capatilist pig" CEO's), that the 1st Industrial Revolution is near it's end and has already failed, the state of the environment and resource inequity is thier emprical evidence.
The bridge analogy is a good one, I think we have two minority extreme's. One is rushing forward the other back, meanwhile most of us are "inching" or just hanging on somewhere in the middle, hoping that things won't get worse. I think the western world's "depression epidemic" is in part because the "people in the middle" belive thier's is a false hope. We have (to a large extent) come to the conclusion that organised religion sells hope in return for control but we are still to realise that feeling of hope did not come from the pulpit it came from within us.
The BBC are quoting the UN, your own quote from TFA starts with "The UN estimates...". Also the quote includes the word "salt", in other words Saddam's water plan. Your post makes it sound as if Saddam were the only "leader" to ever deliberately fuck up the enviroment to enforce his will. Maybe you don't realise it but sprinkling depleted uraninm all over Iraq is also considered to be an environmentally unfreindly thing to do.
Here is a list of BBC articles concerning the marshes, even the oldest article from Mar 2003 describes in detail the plight of the Marsh Arabs. You will also note that besides reporting many times on Sadam's input to the problem they also have an article about the US aiding in thier restoration.
If you look at the facts instead of the posters on the wall of your own political bubble, you will find an infinte number of shades nestled between black and white.
You don't need a sattelite to disern the forest from the trees. Historical records also show that early settlers light great forest fires that burnt continiously for ~30ys and blackened the skies of London.
Aparrently the Sunni's built lots of small dams to regulate the water in the marshes and screwed things up. The Shites have been busy blowing-up the dams and putting the water ways back on thier original paths. Saddam is not alone however, Ethiopia was known as the "bread basket of Africa" in the early 1900's and then off course there was that whole "dustbowl" thing in the USA.
Why is it useless, because it does not have the features YOU want?
"Does the atlas show the climate changes from the last few 1000 years?"
A - No, why don't you support them by adding it.
"Does it show what things looked like when you could grow olives in the UK?"
A - No, why don't you post some snaps from that time to help them out.
"Does it show that Hastings was much much closer to the shore in 1066 than it is now?"
A - As per another post, satellite photos in 1066? Acurate measurement in paces?
"Does it show the human settlements on the Mediterranean that are now underwater due to sea level changing hundreds of years ago?"
A - Not sure what you are talikng about, Vennice is SINKING, stone age settlements were THOUSANDS of years ago.
"Or does it take a myopic temporal view specifically chosen to "prove" their political point?"
A - INA Phycologist but I would rate that statement as a classic example of "projection". The rate of change is what has thinking people concerned, not the fact that Californian mansions are sliding into the sea.
Change is not the problem, it's the rate of change. I would not like to here when a 5 mile wide rock slams into the planet but 1000 years later nature would have done her work and the earth would look pretty much unchanged....except for the lack of fauna. Rapid change is doing the same thing now, we are observing "the sixth great extinction" and we are precariously perched at the top of the food chain.
"Why is this bad?" - As an experiment to demontrate why it is bad, get yourself a goldfish in a bowl and then don't clean the bowl for a few weeks.
As for your suggestions...
a) Do you have any idea the amount of water you would have to pump up hill?
b) Coastal water's are dying or dead and the ocean is not looking healthy either.
c) I'm not affraid of "hippies" but I am affraid of people who think you can purchase a replacement rainforest once it has gone. Leaving the mess to "clean up after we get rich" is what caused the problem in the first place.
"Hippies want developing countries to starve to death" Don't let the facts upset your consumption driven political bias: The US consumes 50% of the total output of the planet, so you have to ask who benifits when poor countries rape thier local environment? I'm damm sure it's not the "hippies" or the poor bastards that live there.
I didn't mean to imply the existing system should be scrapped. I think most people would still use it. I think people with a "profile" and casual visitors would be the main users but annonymity should at least be an option.
Exactly - A government (or terrorist organisation) that select targets by the ideas they hold or words they speak will constantly change the rules for what constitutes "evil intentions". They don't give a fuck what your intentions or ideas actually are, they simply want everyone to hold the idea that they are a supreme power and can "get" anyone, anytime, anywhere (you can run but can't hide speech). What is really sad is that it's works so effectively, there is always a large chunk of the population that are eager to help them (your with us or against us speech).
"See, I work for a library (sysadmin) and I can tell you straight up that librarians don't actually give a crap about fines, fees, and replacement charges."
Nor should they.
"Besides, this is a solution to a non-problem. Librarians are ingrained with the traditions of "freedom to read", and protecting patrons right to privacy in that regard. You think you hate the Patriot Act? Most librarians spit venom at any mention of it."
Hating the Patriot act does not mean you are immune to it. The problem is secret bulk fishing expeditions that have occured in the past and will occur again in the future. This system makes it impossible for my name to appear in any such fishing expedition regardless of my local Library's information systems. With this system I don't have to rely on thier venom to protect my privacy, it is protected by default.
"We don't care about what a person has checked out before..."
Librarians are great defenders of my privacy and have my full confidence but an ID system must connect current borrowings to individuals, the proposed system means libraries no longer have to do that.
"It's tough enough already to keep stuff from being stolen."
Just because you don't have enough faith in people to come back and collect thier dough does not mean it will be treated like a bookstore. Early libraries were not free, you had to pay some sort of bond to ensure you brought the stuff back, somehow they survived. This system is not about money or books, it is about fortifying my privacy.
This system is a simple and effective method of obfuscation, it forces the govt to start an investigation with a criminal suspect rather than a "criminal idea" and safegaurds community property against theft just as effectively as the current system.
Arguing the Patriot act is wrong and hoping that govt's won't look at records (of any type) is foolish. This system can't stop them looking, however it ensures that the govt would have to use extreme measures to get bulk information that connects individuals to "bad ideas". This has the practical effect of nullifying the snooping power of the patriot act. As it is now they can walk into any library, dump the database and enforce secrecy by legally gagging a few librarians.
"Two classes": There is nothing to stop anyone from having both types of accounts. One for normal borrowing, the other for iffy(TM) borrowing. Iffy(TM) material is not normally expensive (eg: M.Moore's F9/11, Amnesty International's latest report). If you really want privacy and really can't afford to loan $50 to the library for a few days. I would expect to find you already living in a cardboard box and it should be obvious by now that nobody in power gives a shit about what you think or say.
"I would only think this would work if the deposit was much higher.. but of course then no one would use it." - I'm sure M.L.King and other pacifists of the time would have appreciated the option had it been available.
Umm... that's only half the point, here is the other half, starting from where you stopped...
"Local politicians and celebrities can also be the targets of information theft. Opponents in an election would love to expose possibly unethical behavior by the incumbent: fees that were waived as a courtesy, fines accrued for overdue items, or controversial books that he or she borrowed......In short, collecting personal identity information about customers is a dangerous activity for a library. We should be careful to engage in it only when absolutely necessary."
Politically smart to use the incumbent as the victim, but that is to be expected when looking at a magazine aimed at librarians.
I agree with the sentiments of your last paragraph and that is why I think it is a GOOD idea.
"or possesion of one would be considered evidence that you're up to no good." - If it got to that stage then libraries would be the least of your worries.
To paraphrase TFA, with an annomous account the spooks MUST start with a suspect and use thier card to find out what books the suspect is reading. A resonable use would be a crime commited that was inspired by an obscure movie/novel the suspect had borrowed.
With an ID account the spooks can start with a book containing "bad ideas" and then round up the suspects. There is no valid use unless somehow the spook already knows the obscure movie/book exits.
TFA also points out the Patriot act gives spooks the power to secretly look at existing ID accounts, historically if you give spooks that kind of power they will use it to silence thier masters opposition.
the excuse "well, you can get an anonymous card if you like" - but of course, no one really does.
Considering the current US political climate, if I were an honest politician (oxymoron?) or an amnesty international executive, I would consider this system a need rather than a want.
Actually, it's worse. - If you straighten your hat and read TFA, it's actually better.
MOD: It would also help if you the read TFA before hitting "insightfull".
I would describe the the first few years of my (way too young) marriage as "first world poverty", we were easily in the bottom 20% bracket. I lost access to the library because I could not afford to pay the fine for a misplaced book. My answer was "op-shops" and second hand books, I never went without smokes because I rolled my own and to this day (25yrs later) I am still addicted. The biggest problem with being poor is that you get oh-so-fucking-sick of scrimping and chasing work. When you occasionally get a wad of cash you stock the cuboards, pay the red bills, get new clothes for the kids and blow the rest on a dirty weekend because you just want a break from it, even for a day.
I agree 100% with your sentiments (except poor does not imply uneducated), if you really want privacy you will find the $50 (~2 slabs in Australian money). If you are that dirt poor that you can't afford it then simply read the book in the library, trust me, you will have the spare time and it will cut down your smoking (librarians frown on that type of thing in thier library).
Librarians are a powerfull force in upholding everyones right to read Chairman Mao, the Koran, the Bible, the Unabomer's manifesto, Osama BL's diatribes or anything we fucking feel like. The interest from a single account would amount to the best part of nothing to anyone living in a country that has local libraries in the first place. If the system became popular, (no offence but I'm sure you would get takers in the US), the total interest could be a tidy sum and used to enhance what I consider is a service at the core of any "free" civilization.
To all the naysayers that are throwing up red herrings such as poverty what is the alternative besides the current status-quo (ie: no option of annonomous accounts for anyone)?
Slashdot Mirror
Agreed, analog might have been better if we could have made it work as fast and simple as digital. However nowadays there is too much digital expertise and investment to catch up on. The article is a good example, it is about simulating the most sophisticated "parallel analog computer" we know about with a digital device. From the article it appears that the digital emulation is expected to come close to matching the physical performance specs of the "analog device" (regardless of wether it can "think" or not). Not sure about actually building a better mouse trap but this experiment might help us design one.
TFA said something about video input, maybe they will sit it in front of the TV and feed it chips.
Thank-you, I'm here all night.
Posted as AC => Deep throat? Apple? ... is that you Adam?
2030: "Grandpa, do I have to eat my Soylent green, I liked the red, why can't we get red anymore?"
Talk to the Farmers in Australia, esp in NSW. Crops such as wheat need the right amount of rain at the right time or they are fucked. Rice needs flooded plains, but the dams are down to 30% capacity and people are already on tight water restrictions.
Don't need life? What does your blow-up doll think about that?
It has been argued, (even by some "capatilist pig" CEO's), that the 1st Industrial Revolution is near it's end and has already failed, the state of the environment and resource inequity is thier emprical evidence.
The bridge analogy is a good one, I think we have two minority extreme's. One is rushing forward the other back, meanwhile most of us are "inching" or just hanging on somewhere in the middle, hoping that things won't get worse. I think the western world's "depression epidemic" is in part because the "people in the middle" belive thier's is a false hope. We have (to a large extent) come to the conclusion that organised religion sells hope in return for control but we are still to realise that feeling of hope did not come from the pulpit it came from within us.
The BBC are quoting the UN, your own quote from TFA starts with "The UN estimates...". Also the quote includes the word "salt", in other words Saddam's water plan. Your post makes it sound as if Saddam were the only "leader" to ever deliberately fuck up the enviroment to enforce his will. Maybe you don't realise it but sprinkling depleted uraninm all over Iraq is also considered to be an environmentally unfreindly thing to do.
Here is a list of BBC articles concerning the marshes, even the oldest article from Mar 2003 describes in detail the plight of the Marsh Arabs. You will also note that besides reporting many times on Sadam's input to the problem they also have an article about the US aiding in thier restoration.
If you look at the facts instead of the posters on the wall of your own political bubble, you will find an infinte number of shades nestled between black and white.
You don't need a sattelite to disern the forest from the trees. Historical records also show that early settlers light great forest fires that burnt continiously for ~30ys and blackened the skies of London.
Aparrently the Sunni's built lots of small dams to regulate the water in the marshes and screwed things up. The Shites have been busy blowing-up the dams and putting the water ways back on thier original paths. Saddam is not alone however, Ethiopia was known as the "bread basket of Africa" in the early 1900's and then off course there was that whole "dustbowl" thing in the USA.
Hmmmmmm, greeeeen.
Why is it useless, because it does not have the features YOU want?
"Does the atlas show the climate changes from the last few 1000 years?"
A - No, why don't you support them by adding it.
"Does it show what things looked like when you could grow olives in the UK?"
A - No, why don't you post some snaps from that time to help them out.
"Does it show that Hastings was much much closer to the shore in 1066 than it is now?"
A - As per another post, satellite photos in 1066? Acurate measurement in paces?
"Does it show the human settlements on the Mediterranean that are now underwater due to sea level changing hundreds of years ago?"
A - Not sure what you are talikng about, Vennice is SINKING, stone age settlements were THOUSANDS of years ago.
"Or does it take a myopic temporal view specifically chosen to "prove" their political point?"
A - INA Phycologist but I would rate that statement as a classic example of "projection". The rate of change is what has thinking people concerned, not the fact that Californian mansions are sliding into the sea.
Change is not the problem, it's the rate of change. I would not like to here when a 5 mile wide rock slams into the planet but 1000 years later nature would have done her work and the earth would look pretty much unchanged....except for the lack of fauna. Rapid change is doing the same thing now, we are observing "the sixth great extinction" and we are precariously perched at the top of the food chain.
"Why is this bad?" - As an experiment to demontrate why it is bad, get yourself a goldfish in a bowl and then don't clean the bowl for a few weeks.
As for your suggestions...
a) Do you have any idea the amount of water you would have to pump up hill?
b) Coastal water's are dying or dead and the ocean is not looking healthy either.
c) I'm not affraid of "hippies" but I am affraid of people who think you can purchase a replacement rainforest once it has gone. Leaving the mess to "clean up after we get rich" is what caused the problem in the first place.
"Hippies want developing countries to starve to death" Don't let the facts upset your consumption driven political bias: The US consumes 50% of the total output of the planet, so you have to ask who benifits when poor countries rape thier local environment? I'm damm sure it's not the "hippies" or the poor bastards that live there.
Interesting sig, does that mean you are a pro-gun activist? :)
I think they mean the soft creamy center, like the center of a malteeser.
I didn't mean to imply the existing system should be scrapped. I think most people would still use it. I think people with a "profile" and casual visitors would be the main users but annonymity should at least be an option.
Couldn't agree more, the models are an educated guess and we have a lot to learn, life's full of suprises.
Exactly - A government (or terrorist organisation) that select targets by the ideas they hold or words they speak will constantly change the rules for what constitutes "evil intentions". They don't give a fuck what your intentions or ideas actually are, they simply want everyone to hold the idea that they are a supreme power and can "get" anyone, anytime, anywhere (you can run but can't hide speech). What is really sad is that it's works so effectively, there is always a large chunk of the population that are eager to help them (your with us or against us speech).
"See, I work for a library (sysadmin) and I can tell you straight up that librarians don't actually give a crap about fines, fees, and replacement charges."
Nor should they.
"Besides, this is a solution to a non-problem. Librarians are ingrained with the traditions of "freedom to read", and protecting patrons right to privacy in that regard. You think you hate the Patriot Act? Most librarians spit venom at any mention of it."
Hating the Patriot act does not mean you are immune to it. The problem is secret bulk fishing expeditions that have occured in the past and will occur again in the future. This system makes it impossible for my name to appear in any such fishing expedition regardless of my local Library's information systems. With this system I don't have to rely on thier venom to protect my privacy, it is protected by default.
"We don't care about what a person has checked out before..."
Librarians are great defenders of my privacy and have my full confidence but an ID system must connect current borrowings to individuals, the proposed system means libraries no longer have to do that.
"It's tough enough already to keep stuff from being stolen."
Just because you don't have enough faith in people to come back and collect thier dough does not mean it will be treated like a bookstore. Early libraries were not free, you had to pay some sort of bond to ensure you brought the stuff back, somehow they survived. This system is not about money or books, it is about fortifying my privacy.
That wooshing sound you hear is the whole point of the article going over your head.
By "free", I think they meant "free as in beer".
This system is a simple and effective method of obfuscation, it forces the govt to start an investigation with a criminal suspect rather than a "criminal idea" and safegaurds community property against theft just as effectively as the current system.
Arguing the Patriot act is wrong and hoping that govt's won't look at records (of any type) is foolish. This system can't stop them looking, however it ensures that the govt would have to use extreme measures to get bulk information that connects individuals to "bad ideas". This has the practical effect of nullifying the snooping power of the patriot act. As it is now they can walk into any library, dump the database and enforce secrecy by legally gagging a few librarians.
"Two classes": There is nothing to stop anyone from having both types of accounts. One for normal borrowing, the other for iffy(TM) borrowing. Iffy(TM) material is not normally expensive (eg: M.Moore's F9/11, Amnesty International's latest report). If you really want privacy and really can't afford to loan $50 to the library for a few days. I would expect to find you already living in a cardboard box and it should be obvious by now that nobody in power gives a shit about what you think or say.
"I would only think this would work if the deposit was much higher.. but of course then no one would use it." - I'm sure M.L.King and other pacifists of the time would have appreciated the option had it been available.
Umm... that's only half the point, here is the other half, starting from where you stopped...
"Local politicians and celebrities can also be the targets of information theft. Opponents in an election would love to expose possibly unethical behavior by the incumbent: fees that were waived as a courtesy, fines accrued for overdue items, or controversial books that he or she borrowed......In short, collecting personal identity information about customers is a dangerous activity for a library. We should be careful to engage in it only when absolutely necessary."
Politically smart to use the incumbent as the victim, but that is to be expected when looking at a magazine aimed at librarians.
I agree with the sentiments of your last paragraph and that is why I think it is a GOOD idea.
"or possesion of one would be considered evidence that you're up to no good." - If it got to that stage then libraries would be the least of your worries.
To paraphrase TFA, with an annomous account the spooks MUST start with a suspect and use thier card to find out what books the suspect is reading. A resonable use would be a crime commited that was inspired by an obscure movie/novel the suspect had borrowed.
With an ID account the spooks can start with a book containing "bad ideas" and then round up the suspects. There is no valid use unless somehow the spook already knows the obscure movie/book exits.
TFA also points out the Patriot act gives spooks the power to secretly look at existing ID accounts, historically if you give spooks that kind of power they will use it to silence thier masters opposition.
the excuse "well, you can get an anonymous card if you like" - but of course, no one really does.
Considering the current US political climate, if I were an honest politician (oxymoron?) or an amnesty international executive, I would consider this system a need rather than a want.
Actually, it's worse. - If you straighten your hat and read TFA, it's actually better.
MOD: It would also help if you the read TFA before hitting "insightfull".
I would describe the the first few years of my (way too young) marriage as "first world poverty", we were easily in the bottom 20% bracket. I lost access to the library because I could not afford to pay the fine for a misplaced book. My answer was "op-shops" and second hand books, I never went without smokes because I rolled my own and to this day (25yrs later) I am still addicted. The biggest problem with being poor is that you get oh-so-fucking-sick of scrimping and chasing work. When you occasionally get a wad of cash you stock the cuboards, pay the red bills, get new clothes for the kids and blow the rest on a dirty weekend because you just want a break from it, even for a day.
I agree 100% with your sentiments (except poor does not imply uneducated), if you really want privacy you will find the $50 (~2 slabs in Australian money). If you are that dirt poor that you can't afford it then simply read the book in the library, trust me, you will have the spare time and it will cut down your smoking (librarians frown on that type of thing in thier library).
Librarians are a powerfull force in upholding everyones right to read Chairman Mao, the Koran, the Bible, the Unabomer's manifesto, Osama BL's diatribes or anything we fucking feel like. The interest from a single account would amount to the best part of nothing to anyone living in a country that has local libraries in the first place. If the system became popular, (no offence but I'm sure you would get takers in the US), the total interest could be a tidy sum and used to enhance what I consider is a service at the core of any "free" civilization.
To all the naysayers that are throwing up red herrings such as poverty what is the alternative besides the current status-quo (ie: no option of annonomous accounts for anyone)?