50% mining/prospecting/exploration. Those grids have very precise sets of four holes, dug in a sequence of six, every other 20 feet. That looks like grid mapping for acoustic imaging. Basically, the device is a giant shotgun that fires a slug of compressed air at the ground, making a boom. The listening equipment then observes the reflections.
20% illegal operations, possibly counterfeit drugs. From the blast marks on some of those sites, I'd say the drugs killed a few important people, so the military was either told, or decided on their own to have some "target practice".
30% artistic expression and/or just messing with people's heads. Sure, it's big? But if you've ever been to Chile, you'll see just how ambitious graffiti artists can be with nothing more than white trash bags and a mountain slope of 25 degrees.
Many of the people reading and commenting here are Americans, so you might be missing something rather important.
These bloggers were careful. They probably used every type of encryption, all kinds of VPNs, proxies and tons of security software. But the one thing you cannot avoid in almost every nation other than the US and most of Europe, is the non-virtual social network, where everyone knows everyone else.
Here in America and most of Europe, humans can communicate without ever seeing each other. We build so-called "social networks", but in reality we've never met nearly 50% of the people we associate with online. In places like South America, where the Internet is not quite as prevalent, people still talk to each other. Families still sit down to dinner, share meals with neighbors, chat over the fence, gossip here and there, all face to face.
So when you talk to someone about a gang member, they remember you. Perhaps they mention it to a friend, and a neighbor overhears. However it happens, if more than one person knows that someone talked about something, it *will* get to the other interested party eventually. And if that other interested party is extremely powerful, with a reputation for slaughtering anyone who hides info, and richly rewarding those who supply it?
You can't even hide in your parent's basement, because all the neighbors will know you're down there, and will gossip about how you never come out except to ask strange questions.
Here in the US, in our connected-yet-disconnected society, anonymity comes from a mixture of software and our physical isolation. In places like Mexico, where physical isolation is akin to Excommunication, anonymity in such a profession is all but impossible.
Data retention. He's making sure there's no record of something that MIGHT become a crime in the future. Which, all things considered, appears as though that very thing is not far off.
Remember, the use of ex post facto is only a majority opinion away.
I don't see anything on the website, spec sheets or product info on this unit that says the command & control link is covered by encryption. Are we to assume that it's encrypted??? Security through obscurity, perhaps?
Hmmm.
You may recall that the military UAV's were not protected? The article mentions that insurgents only got the unencrypted video feeds, BUT it also says that the "real time control systems" would be affected by the delay caused by encryption.
It would truly suck if one of these puppies got hit with a strong signal telling the port ailerons to go "full down" and the starboard aileron to go "full up", while the elevators get told to go "full down".
Nor would it be all that hard, I imagine? Can anyone explain whether it would be difficult? No need to get into the technicals, just whether or not it's possible with equipment off the shelf?
Superintendant Andrews: "We're 25 prisoners in this facility. All double-Y chromos. All thieves, rapists, murderers, child-molesters. All scum." - Alien 3
That's why you don't hear science dealing with it.
i.e. They're scared.
How you define "scared"-no funding, lack of respect, disbarment, subject to ridicule-all boils down to not wanting to risk something for the research.
Ask a mountain climber why they climb the mountain, and sometimes you'll get the answer, "Because it's there." A scientist, if they are true to the idea of science and it does no harm, should answer no different.
GPS has become absolutely essential to the US Navy, and to lose it would mean we're in moderately deep doo-doo.
GPS supplies pointing info to the INMARSAT and other satellite systems. If you don't know where you are, you can't point the antenna/dish properly. You can do it manually, but that means shooting a bearing with a sextant and compass first. Once you've got signal lock, the system should be able to keep it, but if you start maneuvering heavily, you'll lose it.
When I was in, we had OTCIXS and TADIXS, and those came in via DAMA. But the antennas for DAMA were tied to the GPS, so it you started making turns without GPS, and you lost lock, you had to update manually.
As we've moved to more advanced networks, more and more systems have become highly dependent upon GPS signal. If the ship can't point it's antennas, then everything will shift back to iron sights. You can fire the 5" and 76mm with visual reference and local radar, but your missile systems will no longer have over-the-horizon capability.
And with the speed of some weapons, that's a serious vulnerability.
If you are in a high-rise, specifically designed to be quake-resistant, then yes, going outside could be a bad decision. Especially if you are surrounded by buildings that *aren't* quake-resistant.
If you are in a residential neighborhood, where the buildings are made of wood or have a wood-stud construction, then getting under a sturdy table is good advice. Sheetrock can still give you a pretty good dent in your noggin.
If your residential building is made of concrete, brick or masonry, GET OUT. Pure and simple. Brick buildings have a piss-poor record of survival for even moderate quakes, unless they are specifically built to code. A falling power pole isn't as likely to hit you as your entire house coming down on your head. And it's a lot easier to get you out from under a pole than a few hundred tons of rubble.
And finally, if you're in a quake strong enough to take down trees, it's going to completely and totally flatten everything. A quake of that strength is basically Mother Earth saying, "That's it, I'm done. Die, all of you, DIE!"
I dunno? Science can be pretty straightforward with such message?
"Cigarettes will kill you. Slow." (The extra bits are what makes the message stick.)
"Don't buy water-front property for the next 300 years."
"Don't breathe in (insert name of city). You'll die. Slow. (Faster if you smoke)." (Oooh, double-punch!)
They have adverts like that in the UK, and the people love them! New Zealand went all out and put up a billboard that weeps blood when it rains. It is very effective.
Yet you never see anything like this here in the US. I wonder why???
An AC up above mentioned that the ONLY REASON this "law" is being changed, is because it was only catching the "good kids".
I'll leave it to the reader to determine what constitutes a "good kid" in the US.
Anyway, this is entirely the WRONG DIRECTION. Don't reduce the penalties, increase enforcement. Actively search kids' phones for nude pictures. Take them away in handcuffs, bring them before a judge and prosecute with every single ounce of power and fire you can manage. Crush them, destroy them, ruin them utterly and completely.
Why?
"I know no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution. " - Ulysses S. Grant
Suppose Iran decides that someone in this country is an "enemy of the state", and launches drones from their "warships" off the coast of the US? Or they get "government approval" from someone in Mexico, and do the same? Heck, they won't even have to launch from that close.
North Korea has already been caught using poisoned needles to take out people they consider to be "enemies".
Just to be clear, I have no objection to taking this asshole out once and for all?
But I won't be standing atop the Mountain of Purity, wearing white robes and singing hosannas, either. Dirty pool goes both ways, folks.
I wonder if this will have relevant effects on research into addiction to nicotine and other drugs? Such as the addiction to those drugs possibly being written into our genes?
In the news today, Republican Congressman John Mica was taken into custody by Daytona Beach police officers, after allegedly soliciting a male undercover police officer operating as part of a sting operation targeting prostitution. Daytona chief of police Mike Chitwood had this to say, "At this time, we have charged Congressman Mica with soliciting a prostitute, and other charges may be pending analysis of several packets of unidentified substances found on his person, which we suspect to be illegal drugs."
Uhmmm...actually, I kinda wish the site itself had been hacked? Knowing this makes me feel more than a little queasy...
Lessee...
Name servers: ns1.yumurtakabugu.com ns2.yumurtakabugu.com
C:\Users\ionotter>ping www.theregister.co.uk
Pinging theregister.co.uk [68.68.20.116] with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 68.68.20.116: bytes=32 time=99ms TTL=41 Reply from 68.68.20.116: bytes=32 time=90ms TTL=41 Reply from 68.68.20.116: bytes=32 time=90ms TTL=41 Reply from 68.68.20.116: bytes=32 time=90ms TTL=41
Ping statistics for 68.68.20.116:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss), Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 90ms, Maximum = 99ms, Average = 92ms
Hmmmm. When I try to go to the site via the IP address, I get...
"The server at 68.68.20.116 is taking too long to respond."
"...and go on to state that 'The decision to publish by Julian Assange was his, and his alone,' something which seems clearly debunked in the analysis on Schneier's blog."
Neither the media nor law makers will ever let the facts get in the way of their objectives. And because law enforcement has no small stake in this, either because their own fat is in this frying pan, or due to marching orders from the law makers, neither will they.
I bought a pair of MyVu glasses, and they work great! But only if you have contact lenses, and don't have astigmatism. I don't have the former and do have the latter, and these things don't fit over my glasses.
Considering how many people need corrective lenses these days, unless the helmet specifically says it can accommodate glasses, I don't see it becoming popular or much of a success.
Slashdot Mirror
"Al Qaeda did the anthrax attacks. It's pretty much confirmed."
[citation needed]
I'm going to say...
50% mining/prospecting/exploration. Those grids have very precise sets of four holes, dug in a sequence of six, every other 20 feet. That looks like grid mapping for acoustic imaging. Basically, the device is a giant shotgun that fires a slug of compressed air at the ground, making a boom. The listening equipment then observes the reflections.
20% illegal operations, possibly counterfeit drugs. From the blast marks on some of those sites, I'd say the drugs killed a few important people, so the military was either told, or decided on their own to have some "target practice".
30% artistic expression and/or just messing with people's heads. Sure, it's big? But if you've ever been to Chile, you'll see just how ambitious graffiti artists can be with nothing more than white trash bags and a mountain slope of 25 degrees.
Many of the people reading and commenting here are Americans, so you might be missing something rather important.
These bloggers were careful. They probably used every type of encryption, all kinds of VPNs, proxies and tons of security software. But the one thing you cannot avoid in almost every nation other than the US and most of Europe, is the non-virtual social network, where everyone knows everyone else.
Here in America and most of Europe, humans can communicate without ever seeing each other. We build so-called "social networks", but in reality we've never met nearly 50% of the people we associate with online. In places like South America, where the Internet is not quite as prevalent, people still talk to each other. Families still sit down to dinner, share meals with neighbors, chat over the fence, gossip here and there, all face to face.
So when you talk to someone about a gang member, they remember you. Perhaps they mention it to a friend, and a neighbor overhears. However it happens, if more than one person knows that someone talked about something, it *will* get to the other interested party eventually. And if that other interested party is extremely powerful, with a reputation for slaughtering anyone who hides info, and richly rewarding those who supply it?
You can't even hide in your parent's basement, because all the neighbors will know you're down there, and will gossip about how you never come out except to ask strange questions.
Here in the US, in our connected-yet-disconnected society, anonymity comes from a mixture of software and our physical isolation. In places like Mexico, where physical isolation is akin to Excommunication, anonymity in such a profession is all but impossible.
"Well then why is he doing it NOW?"
Data retention. He's making sure there's no record of something that MIGHT become a crime in the future. Which, all things considered, appears as though that very thing is not far off.
Remember, the use of ex post facto is only a majority opinion away.
Annnd this is why you're supposed to READ the article. It's a chopper, not a fixed-wing. *face-palm*
Assume that I'm asking if this thing could be given commands to send it out of control and into the ground.
I don't see anything on the website, spec sheets or product info on this unit that says the command & control link is covered by encryption. Are we to assume that it's encrypted??? Security through obscurity, perhaps?
Hmmm.
You may recall that the military UAV's were not protected? The article mentions that insurgents only got the unencrypted video feeds, BUT it also says that the "real time control systems" would be affected by the delay caused by encryption.
It would truly suck if one of these puppies got hit with a strong signal telling the port ailerons to go "full down" and the starboard aileron to go "full up", while the elevators get told to go "full down".
Nor would it be all that hard, I imagine? Can anyone explain whether it would be difficult? No need to get into the technicals, just whether or not it's possible with equipment off the shelf?
Superintendant Andrews: "We're 25 prisoners in this facility. All double-Y chromos. All thieves, rapists, murderers, child-molesters. All scum." - Alien 3
That's why you don't hear science dealing with it.
i.e. They're scared.
How you define "scared"-no funding, lack of respect, disbarment, subject to ridicule-all boils down to not wanting to risk something for the research.
Ask a mountain climber why they climb the mountain, and sometimes you'll get the answer, "Because it's there." A scientist, if they are true to the idea of science and it does no harm, should answer no different.
This.
GPS has become absolutely essential to the US Navy, and to lose it would mean we're in moderately deep doo-doo.
GPS supplies pointing info to the INMARSAT and other satellite systems. If you don't know where you are, you can't point the antenna/dish properly. You can do it manually, but that means shooting a bearing with a sextant and compass first. Once you've got signal lock, the system should be able to keep it, but if you start maneuvering heavily, you'll lose it.
When I was in, we had OTCIXS and TADIXS, and those came in via DAMA. But the antennas for DAMA were tied to the GPS, so it you started making turns without GPS, and you lost lock, you had to update manually.
As we've moved to more advanced networks, more and more systems have become highly dependent upon GPS signal. If the ship can't point it's antennas, then everything will shift back to iron sights. You can fire the 5" and 76mm with visual reference and local radar, but your missile systems will no longer have over-the-horizon capability.
And with the speed of some weapons, that's a serious vulnerability.
That depends on where you are.
If you are in a high-rise, specifically designed to be quake-resistant, then yes, going outside could be a bad decision. Especially if you are surrounded by buildings that *aren't* quake-resistant.
If you are in a residential neighborhood, where the buildings are made of wood or have a wood-stud construction, then getting under a sturdy table is good advice. Sheetrock can still give you a pretty good dent in your noggin.
If your residential building is made of concrete, brick or masonry, GET OUT. Pure and simple. Brick buildings have a piss-poor record of survival for even moderate quakes, unless they are specifically built to code. A falling power pole isn't as likely to hit you as your entire house coming down on your head. And it's a lot easier to get you out from under a pole than a few hundred tons of rubble.
And finally, if you're in a quake strong enough to take down trees, it's going to completely and totally flatten everything. A quake of that strength is basically Mother Earth saying, "That's it, I'm done. Die, all of you, DIE!"
I dunno? Science can be pretty straightforward with such message?
"Cigarettes will kill you. Slow." (The extra bits are what makes the message stick.)
"Don't buy water-front property for the next 300 years."
"Don't breathe in (insert name of city). You'll die. Slow. (Faster if you smoke)." (Oooh, double-punch!)
They have adverts like that in the UK, and the people love them! New Zealand went all out and put up a billboard that weeps blood when it rains. It is very effective.
Yet you never see anything like this here in the US. I wonder why???
All the more reason to be even more ruthless and unyielding in enforcement. Prosecute to the absolute maximum extent of the law.
FORCE their parents into the voting booth.
An AC up above mentioned that the ONLY REASON this "law" is being changed, is because it was only catching the "good kids".
I'll leave it to the reader to determine what constitutes a "good kid" in the US.
Anyway, this is entirely the WRONG DIRECTION. Don't reduce the penalties, increase enforcement. Actively search kids' phones for nude pictures. Take them away in handcuffs, bring them before a judge and prosecute with every single ounce of power and fire you can manage. Crush them, destroy them, ruin them utterly and completely.
Why?
Arrgh! No mod points! +1 Funny for Invader Zim reference.
modern constitutional democracies
Hmm? What's that? I'm sorry, the explosions from drones violating the laws of our Constitutional Democracy have drowned out what you were saying...
Suppose Iran decides that someone in this country is an "enemy of the state", and launches drones from their "warships" off the coast of the US? Or they get "government approval" from someone in Mexico, and do the same? Heck, they won't even have to launch from that close.
North Korea has already been caught using poisoned needles to take out people they consider to be "enemies".
Just to be clear, I have no objection to taking this asshole out once and for all?
But I won't be standing atop the Mountain of Purity, wearing white robes and singing hosannas, either. Dirty pool goes both ways, folks.
I wonder if this will have relevant effects on research into addiction to nicotine and other drugs? Such as the addiction to those drugs possibly being written into our genes?
I suggest you don't go to any country where haggling is the norm, and *not* haggling is considered an insult.
Don't worry, nobody is going to be invading Somalia any time soon. We're leaving it allllll to you, for you and your own personal enjoyment.
In the news today, Republican Congressman John Mica was taken into custody by Daytona Beach police officers, after allegedly soliciting a male undercover police officer operating as part of a sting operation targeting prostitution. Daytona chief of police Mike Chitwood had this to say, "At this time, we have charged Congressman Mica with soliciting a prostitute, and other charges may be pending analysis of several packets of unidentified substances found on his person, which we suspect to be illegal drugs."
Judge: Release the records.
Government: No.
Judge: What?? I said release them!
Government: We said no.
Judge: Release them, or else!
Government: Or else what?
Judge: ...
Uhmmm...actually, I kinda wish the site itself had been hacked? Knowing this makes me feel more than a little queasy...
Lessee...
Name servers:
ns1.yumurtakabugu.com
ns2.yumurtakabugu.com
C:\Users\ionotter>ping www.theregister.co.uk
Pinging theregister.co.uk [68.68.20.116] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 68.68.20.116: bytes=32 time=99ms TTL=41
Reply from 68.68.20.116: bytes=32 time=90ms TTL=41
Reply from 68.68.20.116: bytes=32 time=90ms TTL=41
Reply from 68.68.20.116: bytes=32 time=90ms TTL=41
Ping statistics for 68.68.20.116:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 90ms, Maximum = 99ms, Average = 92ms
Hmmmm. When I try to go to the site via the IP address, I get...
"The server at 68.68.20.116 is taking too long to respond."
As of 2025 GMT, I'm still seeing the "hacked" page. Since I haven't specifically been to El Reg in over a week, I'm not seeing a cached copy.
As for the "hack"?
Wow. Going to be a very interesting read come Monday morning?
"...and go on to state that 'The decision to publish by Julian Assange was his, and his alone,' something which seems clearly debunked in the analysis on Schneier's blog."
Neither the media nor law makers will ever let the facts get in the way of their objectives. And because law enforcement has no small stake in this, either because their own fat is in this frying pan, or due to marching orders from the law makers, neither will they.
I've had personal experience with this.
I bought a pair of MyVu glasses, and they work great! But only if you have contact lenses, and don't have astigmatism. I don't have the former and do have the latter, and these things don't fit over my glasses.
Considering how many people need corrective lenses these days, unless the helmet specifically says it can accommodate glasses, I don't see it becoming popular or much of a success.