Oh yea, and about the CryoSat mission... linking to one mission failure (one data point) is not an example of consistent failures by Russia.
Nonetheless, the high profile failure, an Russia's poor handling of it afterward have caused ESA to go negative.
What this all boils down to is that RSA is trying to run with the big boys but they just can't seem to keep up. Even China is leaping ahead of them, and Japan isn't far behind. ESA will become a joke if they don't step it up.
Not true. ESA has the second most robust planetary program, a distant second to NASA, but way ahead of Russia and Japan. The Arianne V is a decent launch vehicle. Their manned program is non existant. The hyperbole surrounding China is completely unjustified. When I worked at Hughes in the 90's China launched one of our satellites with a Long March booster. The rocket veered of course and smashed into a nearby village shortly after launch, killing hundreds. The Chinese leadership immediately claimed that the satellite malfunctioned and caused the failure, which was absurd. They then proceeded to have a post launch celebration while the ruins were still smoking 2 miles away. Anything more to say about China?
On the scientific side of things, I hear that Kliper is very promising, and has already progressed further along than the CEV, and is technically superior.
In what ways? But Kliper and CEV are reusable. Both use solar power. Both support a crew of 6. Kliper appears to be quite small because of the legacy Soyuz rocket used to launch it. CEV has a lot more interior volume. Both are launched by conventional launchers. Kliper has not announced details about its thermal protection. The CEV will use a lightweight replaceable ablative shield. CEV has a conventional, robust escape system that allows survivable aborts throughout the flight regime. Klipper appears to have none. Can Klipper safely land in water in an emergency? CEV can. Kliper has wings and skids, which are a wasted weight. CEV will use advanced, lightweight alloys and composites which the Russians do not have. All in all, I think the CEV compares pretty well.
I run Gentoo GNU/Linux and I do not run a firewall, or have virus or spyware protection. But, I have few open ports that can be jacked with, so the firewall is unnecessary. Viruses can't do much. I run my programs (email, browser, etc.) as a regular user so if a malicious program managed to execute it wouldn't be able to do much to the system. Same goes for the system servers that run as 'nobody'. Spyware is not a problem with free software because malicious source code will not easily get into my distribution. Thanks Gentoo!
The multi-billion $ Windows security industry makes me laugh. It is purely the result of bad operating system design.
Russia has had quite a good track record with their space program. The ESA wants control over Russia's program and they can't have it, so they're taking their ball and leaving.
Who can blame ESA? Why should they fund Russian technology development to the detriment of their own?
I'm not sure if this is a bad move or a good move, but the motivations as stated sound really stupid. If you can't control it, don't be involved in it? That doesn't make sense. There's got to be more to this. Does anyone know?
Why is refusing to write a blank check for the Russian stupid? Europe has not been served well by Russian launchers lately. Also, Russia is headed in the wrong direction politically. The risk premium of dealing with Russia is increasing. Europe is highly capable of developing its own advanced space infrastructure. The only question is if it becomes a budget priority. The welfare state is expensive.
Seeing as the Kliper has been in development since before Bush took office I think not. The Kliper is a response to the space shuttle not the CEV. The sole reason why the Kliper is expected to be worth the cost is that, unlike the space shuttle, it will actually be highly reusable.
What are you talking about? The orbiter Discovery has 25 flights on the airframe? How much more reusability are you looking for? Kliper will still be lauched by a conventional throwaway booster. I assume a Soyuz, but the Russians haven't been clear.
David Anderman has suggested [thespacereview.com] that spent Soyuz/Progress modules could be used to build a space station at the Moon/Earth L1 point.
How would the spent modules get to L1? Space elevator? Soyuz/Progress are stuck in LEO.
The RSA recently said they could take paying customers on a trip around the Moon within the next 5 years and that, with sufficient funding, they could land paying customers on the Moon within the next 10.
They'll say anything to get money. Who can blame them? They failed in the 60's/70's. Their technology is little changed from those days.
If more usable energy comes out of that process than went in, the increase in CO2 in the environment has been reduced.
You are not thinking clearly. Petroleum pumped from the ground is already chemically reduced (in the oxidation/reduction sense) by nature. So it is useful to us on the oxygen rich surface where we can use this chemical energy through burning. To reduce animal products to useful hydrocarbons takes similar energy input. That energy input has to come from somewhere, probably from a CO2 belching coal fired electric plant, rather than the natural source of anoxic burial at depth. It may make you feel good to produce hydrocarbons from animal waste, but we would all be better off if they were pumped from the ground. We must drill ANWR!
At least windows has provided a (somewhat)user friendly GUI that can be deployed as a desktop standard across organizations. Last time I checked Linux is still trying to accomplish this as mentioned rigth here on/.
The X Windows-based graphical environments on GNU/Linux systems provide several (somewhat) user friendly desktops. Gnome, KDE, XFCE, and lots more. There is nothing preventing IT staffs from rolling them out in vast numbers. Just inertia and plain obstructionism. IT Windows monkeys act as Microsoft's agents. They resist change because they have the same interest in maintaining the status quo as their Microsoft masters. Eventually the freedom and cost benefits will force the move to GNU/Linux.
I'm not so sure. Let's face it, we wont defeat the DMCA by continuing to say it's "illegitimate." I think what we need to do is work through its channels to set precedents, so we can build a case for how studying various mechanisms actually helps society more than it hurts it. I don't see any good new reasons to oppose the DMCA coming up if we continue to stonewall it. But if we use its own language to get a foot in the door, we stand a good chance of weakening its strangle hold on certain aspects of security research. (not to mention fair use)
This case shows the gross one sidedness of DMCA. If DMCA addressed users rights in the same way it promotes those of media hoarders Sony would have to pay damages to those they harmed. Clearly destruction of DMCA is the goal. I don't see the harm in labelling it is 'illegitimate'. Our opponents use slogans in place of reasoning. Why shouldn't we? But I agree with you that a label does not constitute an argument for its destruction. The best argument will use the misreasoning of the proponents of the law against them - like GPL does with copyright - just as you say.
God this forum has declined. A few years ago most people would be embarrased to admit that. So you pay nothing to keep employees in Windoze and Orifice licenses? Are you using warez? I work at a company site with 5000 people. The annual bill is hefty.
2. It's already been pointed out that simple volcanic erruptions, localized to a single area can have a lasting effect on the world's climate. To suggest that effects of the world's sustained economic production do not (as is the Bush Administration's posistion) is simply ludicrous.
That is not what I think at all. Gaseous emissions of all sorts effect climate, man made CO2 emissions among them. My point is that even if you remove far more CO2 emissions than are practical your actions will have no predictable or decernable affect. What are we buying for the vast $100G's it will cost? Kyoto proponents make no attempt to answer that question. They make hyperbolic claims and demand that the world to commit economic haricari, "together". That is ludicous. Futhermore, to exclude China, India and other economies when they are enormous and growing CO2 emitters is illogical. What is the purpose of Kyoto if not to stablize CO2 emissions? This gratuity negates that possibility. God bless President Bush.
Lastly -- companies are hesistant to change. Financial companies in particular go with the mantra, if it works, don't touch it. You will see lots of these smaller shops on NT 4 still because to them... it works. Larger corporations that have to meet with SOX compliancy issues are forced into upgrading. That's what happened where I work.
Interesting posting, but you are forgeting an even more powerful force in corporate culture - corporations are always looking to cut costs. That $10M and growing annual check to M$ will eventually overcome the cultural inertia. It has been slow going for about 8 years, but it is happening.
The timing of these doomsday predictions is rather suspicious, with the post-Kyoto greenfest going on in Canada. Treaties like Kyoto cannot manipulate climate in any controlled or favorable way. And they ignore the economic development needs of much of the world that lives in poverty. I hope the US continues to reject these efforts.
So, he is missing the point of a Wiki. If he is so upset, why does he not log on and edit the article? I am sure that his edits would be most welcome by a large percentage of the Wikipublic. Yo John Seigenthaler, become a part of the process. Don't bitch about it.
The standard nitwit response, and an atitude that will ultimately harm free speech on the Internet. So you are suggesting that anyone who is being maliciously slandered on the web should get into a pissing match with his attacker? Wouldn't it be better to disallow anonymous edits so that contributions can be traced to the author? Serious Wikipedia contributors would have nothing to fear. Wikipedia obviously has a great deal of promise. But it suffers from the fact that many contributors are not authoritative sources.
Subsurface sounding of Mars is a great result in itself. It is unique to Mars exploration so far. The idea of looking at the equivalent of a seizmic profile on another planet blows my mind. No need for additional hyperbole or speculation. By the way, the results suggest subsurface water, not ice. Too bad they didn't provide an estimated depth legend. To the poster, RTFA.
Why Microsoft has to poke its nose to every business opportunity possible? Isn't there a piece of old wisdom that states that you should only fight the battles you can win?
Great question. What is Microsoft's strategic course? Gaming? Business software? Home software? I have to think Microsoft is shadowing Google with no real hope of competing directly. They are addicted to the Windows/Office monopoly. They know they need to change, but preserving the monopoly is a huge constraint. Trying to mar Google's mounting successes is their only avenue. Is it an effective strategy? I don't think so. Microsoft doesn't really know what it is in the post Windows/Office era. For all of Gates' and Ballmer's fame, I think they are running the company poorly. The stock price hasn't budged in 3 years. Without monopoly power will they ever exert technical influence? Not likely.
Missle defense is a waste of money. Apart from the fact that the progress on the systems hasn't gone well after this many billions of dollars, the usefulness of a boost phase missle defense system is questionable at best. It won't stop attacks from what is now the most likely vector - terrorist attack via smuggled weapons.
Boost phase missile defense will discourage Kim Jong Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and others from even trying to develop strategic nuclear weapons. It is also indispensable considering the ever increasing role of tactical misslles on today's battlefield.
Many people bring up Iran or North Korea as possible threats. Perhaps, but apart from the fact that they're years away from having missles that can hit the US,
Mr. Kim has already lobbed a missle over Japan. He can already reach the Aleutians. Why not deal with the gathering threat?
the more sensible tack would be to build a launch phase system that could be parked near a threat country. The system would be easier to construct given the shorter range for the interceptors to travel to target, the targets are moving more slowly, and there are fewer targets since any MIRVs haven't reached the point where they independently target. It'd be smaller and cheaper, and much more practical to do that.
I agree with this. Patriot batteries already provide this kind of defense. You can bet they are already deployed in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan given their proximity to the crazy Mr. Kim and a bellicose China.
Pure H2O is frozen rock solid at 110K. But H2O-NH3 ices are not. Try mixing 50% ammonia and 50% water together and putting them in the freezer. The mixture will not freeze but will just become more viscous. Low temperature mixtures of H2O, CO, CH4, or N2 have similarly weird properties. Check this out. The compositions of Saturn's icy moons have not been well established. But indirect evidence like eruptions on Enceladus, or cometary outbursts, suggest exotic icy chemistry.
Smart, but dumb enough to be a victim
on
The Prodigy Puzzle
·
· Score: 1
I have an IQ of 151, and thanks to the public education system, even in the gifted program, I lost all will to learn anything outside of the few topics that are extremely interesting to me, none of which I had any exposure to academically until college since even the gifted programs are aimed to the lowest common denominator, which is the 125-135 people, who aren't too bright.
So you are surprised and disappointed by the mediocrity of the public school system. How smart can you be? You are dumb enough to allow yourself to be a victim. I assume you can read. Get off your high horse and be actively involved in your own education. Develop interests on your own.
The NEAR mission successfully successfully executed similar mission profile to Hayabusa, minus the sample return. NEAR successfully landed on the asteroid even though it wasn't a lander at all. This after a spectacular recovery after a botched first encounter. JPL does not have a monopoly on mission management in the US. The Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins has put together an impressive number of successful missions. As for the Japanese success rate. They're learning just fine. No need for the US to train its competition.
What you want is soldiers that are more afraid of their commanding officers than the enemy; that way they'll follow orders.
Maybe Saddam thought like this. This thinking does not prevail in the western militaries that kicked his ass. The US military wants individuals who have been trained to operate in an environment that civilians consider fearful. They do so through a culture of motivation, discipline, professionalism, and peer pressure. Fear of physical retribution is not a factor. Fear of 'washing out', endangering your fellow soldiers, and not 'packing the gear to be in my beloved corps' is. You will not see genetically modified berserkers in the US military anytime soon.
Very interesting post, and correct. This laptop is a utopian fantasy looking for a problem. The point that 'gifts' like this distort fragile local economies is well made. The $100 would be better spend on immunization and a trip to the dentist for the kids. Good for Chile for judging this program for the boondoggle that it is.
Just now I'm noticing that macromedia is poping up an icon in my system tray! Hello?, it's a browser plugin. It should only do stuff within the browser!
Immunity from the silly tricks commercial software vendors use to infect machines is one of the great joys of GNU/Linux. Could you imagine Macromedia trying to mangle my XFCE menus?
would be better, but it's still not perfect. Sometimes the hardest part of programming is creating meaningful variable names.
Arguing about proper names for counters is good example of getting bogged down unnecessarily in trivialities. Personally I find your use of camel case offensive. Also your use of the post increment operator is in bad form. ++message_count is much better. You must be a Java programmer.
Slashdot Mirror
Cynicism did not put man into space.
Oh yea, and about the CryoSat mission... linking to one mission failure (one data point) is not an example of consistent failures by Russia.
Nonetheless, the high profile failure, an Russia's poor handling of it afterward have caused ESA to go negative.
What this all boils down to is that RSA is trying to run with the big boys but they just can't seem to keep up. Even China is leaping ahead of them, and Japan isn't far behind. ESA will become a joke if they don't step it up.
Not true. ESA has the second most robust planetary program, a distant second to NASA, but way ahead of Russia and Japan. The Arianne V is a decent launch vehicle. Their manned program is non existant. The hyperbole surrounding China is completely unjustified. When I worked at Hughes in the 90's China launched one of our satellites with a Long March booster. The rocket veered of course and smashed into a nearby village shortly after launch, killing hundreds. The Chinese leadership immediately claimed that the satellite malfunctioned and caused the failure, which was absurd. They then proceeded to have a post launch celebration while the ruins were still smoking 2 miles away. Anything more to say about China?
On the scientific side of things, I hear that Kliper is very promising, and has already progressed further along than the CEV, and is technically superior.
In what ways? But Kliper and CEV are reusable. Both use solar power. Both support a crew of 6. Kliper appears to be quite small because of the legacy Soyuz rocket used to launch it. CEV has a lot more interior volume. Both are launched by conventional launchers. Kliper has not announced details about its thermal protection. The CEV will use a lightweight replaceable ablative shield. CEV has a conventional, robust escape system that allows survivable aborts throughout the flight regime. Klipper appears to have none. Can Klipper safely land in water in an emergency? CEV can. Kliper has wings and skids, which are a wasted weight. CEV will use advanced, lightweight alloys and composites which the Russians do not have. All in all, I think the CEV compares pretty well.
I run Gentoo GNU/Linux and I do not run a firewall, or have virus or spyware protection. But, I have few open ports that can be jacked with, so the firewall is unnecessary. Viruses can't do much. I run my programs (email, browser, etc.) as a regular user so if a malicious program managed to execute it wouldn't be able to do much to the system. Same goes for the system servers that run as 'nobody'. Spyware is not a problem with free software because malicious source code will not easily get into my distribution. Thanks Gentoo!
The multi-billion $ Windows security industry makes me laugh. It is purely the result of bad operating system design.
Russia has had quite a good track record with their space program. The ESA wants control over Russia's program and they can't have it, so they're taking their ball and leaving.
Who can blame ESA? Why should they fund Russian technology development to the detriment of their own?
I'm not sure if this is a bad move or a good move, but the motivations as stated sound really stupid. If you can't control it, don't be involved in it? That doesn't make sense. There's got to be more to this. Does anyone know?
Why is refusing to write a blank check for the Russian stupid? Europe has not been served well by Russian launchers lately. Also, Russia is headed in the wrong direction politically. The risk premium of dealing with Russia is increasing. Europe is highly capable of developing its own advanced space infrastructure. The only question is if it becomes a budget priority. The welfare state is expensive.
Seeing as the Kliper has been in development since before Bush took office I think not. The Kliper is a response to the space shuttle not the CEV. The sole reason why the Kliper is expected to be worth the cost is that, unlike the space shuttle, it will actually be highly reusable.
What are you talking about? The orbiter Discovery has 25 flights on the airframe? How much more reusability are you looking for? Kliper will still be lauched by a conventional throwaway booster. I assume a Soyuz, but the Russians haven't been clear.
David Anderman has suggested [thespacereview.com] that spent Soyuz/Progress modules could be used to build a space station at the Moon/Earth L1 point.
How would the spent modules get to L1? Space elevator? Soyuz/Progress are stuck in LEO.
The RSA recently said they could take paying customers on a trip around the Moon within the next 5 years and that, with sufficient funding, they could land paying customers on the Moon within the next 10.
They'll say anything to get money. Who can blame them? They failed in the 60's/70's. Their technology is little changed from those days.
If more usable energy comes out of that process than went in, the increase in CO2 in the environment has been reduced.
You are not thinking clearly. Petroleum pumped from the ground is already chemically reduced (in the oxidation/reduction sense) by nature. So it is useful to us on the oxygen rich surface where we can use this chemical energy through burning. To reduce animal products to useful hydrocarbons takes similar energy input. That energy input has to come from somewhere, probably from a CO2 belching coal fired electric plant, rather than the natural source of anoxic burial at depth. It may make you feel good to produce hydrocarbons from animal waste, but we would all be better off if they were pumped from the ground. We must drill ANWR!
At least windows has provided a (somewhat)user friendly GUI that can be deployed as a desktop standard across organizations. Last time I checked Linux is still trying to accomplish this as mentioned rigth here on /.
The X Windows-based graphical environments on GNU/Linux systems provide several (somewhat) user friendly desktops. Gnome, KDE, XFCE, and lots more. There is nothing preventing IT staffs from rolling them out in vast numbers. Just inertia and plain obstructionism. IT Windows monkeys act as Microsoft's agents. They resist change because they have the same interest in maintaining the status quo as their Microsoft masters. Eventually the freedom and cost benefits will force the move to GNU/Linux.
It has "fragile" written all over it.
...,contrived, buggy, confused. Ah, but you can always reboot.
I'm not so sure. Let's face it, we wont defeat the DMCA by continuing to say it's "illegitimate." I think what we need to do is work through its channels to set precedents, so we can build a case for how studying various mechanisms actually helps society more than it hurts it. I don't see any good new reasons to oppose the DMCA coming up if we continue to stonewall it. But if we use its own language to get a foot in the door, we stand a good chance of weakening its strangle hold on certain aspects of security research. (not to mention fair use)
This case shows the gross one sidedness of DMCA. If DMCA addressed users rights in the same way it promotes those of media hoarders Sony would have to pay damages to those they harmed. Clearly destruction of DMCA is the goal. I don't see the harm in labelling it is 'illegitimate'. Our opponents use slogans in place of reasoning. Why shouldn't we? But I agree with you that a label does not constitute an argument for its destruction. The best argument will use the misreasoning of the proponents of the law against them - like GPL does with copyright - just as you say.
(I've standardized my company on Windows 2000).
God this forum has declined. A few years ago most people would be embarrased to admit that. So you pay nothing to keep employees in Windoze and Orifice licenses? Are you using warez? I work at a company site with 5000 people. The annual bill is hefty.
2. It's already been pointed out that simple volcanic erruptions, localized to a single area can have a lasting effect on the world's climate. To suggest that effects of the world's sustained economic production do not (as is the Bush Administration's posistion) is simply ludicrous.
That is not what I think at all. Gaseous emissions of all sorts effect climate, man made CO2 emissions among them. My point is that even if you remove far more CO2 emissions than are practical your actions will have no predictable or decernable affect. What are we buying for the vast $100G's it will cost? Kyoto proponents make no attempt to answer that question. They make hyperbolic claims and demand that the world to commit economic haricari, "together". That is ludicous. Futhermore, to exclude China, India and other economies when they are enormous and growing CO2 emitters is illogical. What is the purpose of Kyoto if not to stablize CO2 emissions? This gratuity negates that possibility. God bless President Bush.
Lastly -- companies are hesistant to change. Financial companies in particular go with the mantra, if it works, don't touch it. You will see lots of these smaller shops on NT 4 still because to them... it works. Larger corporations that have to meet with SOX compliancy issues are forced into upgrading. That's what happened where I work.
Interesting posting, but you are forgeting an even more powerful force in corporate culture - corporations are always looking to cut costs. That $10M and growing annual check to M$ will eventually overcome the cultural inertia. It has been slow going for about 8 years, but it is happening.
The timing of these doomsday predictions is rather suspicious, with the post-Kyoto greenfest going on in Canada. Treaties like Kyoto cannot manipulate climate in any controlled or favorable way. And they ignore the economic development needs of much of the world that lives in poverty. I hope the US continues to reject these efforts.
So, he is missing the point of a Wiki. If he is so upset, why does he not log on and edit the article? I am sure that his edits would be most welcome by a large percentage of the Wikipublic. Yo John Seigenthaler, become a part of the process. Don't bitch about it.
The standard nitwit response, and an atitude that will ultimately harm free speech on the Internet. So you are suggesting that anyone who is being maliciously slandered on the web should get into a pissing match with his attacker? Wouldn't it be better to disallow anonymous edits so that contributions can be traced to the author? Serious Wikipedia contributors would have nothing to fear. Wikipedia obviously has a great deal of promise. But it suffers from the fact that many contributors are not authoritative sources.
Subsurface sounding of Mars is a great result in itself. It is unique to Mars exploration so far. The idea of looking at the equivalent of a seizmic profile on another planet blows my mind. No need for additional hyperbole or speculation. By the way, the results suggest subsurface water, not ice. Too bad they didn't provide an estimated depth legend. To the poster, RTFA.
Why Microsoft has to poke its nose to every business opportunity possible? Isn't there a piece of old wisdom that states that you should only fight the battles you can win?
Great question. What is Microsoft's strategic course? Gaming? Business software? Home software? I have to think Microsoft is shadowing Google with no real hope of competing directly. They are addicted to the Windows/Office monopoly. They know they need to change, but preserving the monopoly is a huge constraint. Trying to mar Google's mounting successes is their only avenue. Is it an effective strategy? I don't think so. Microsoft doesn't really know what it is in the post Windows/Office era. For all of Gates' and Ballmer's fame, I think they are running the company poorly. The stock price hasn't budged in 3 years. Without monopoly power will they ever exert technical influence? Not likely.
Missle defense is a waste of money. Apart from the fact that the progress on the systems hasn't gone well after this many billions of dollars, the usefulness of a boost phase missle defense system is questionable at best. It won't stop attacks from what is now the most likely vector - terrorist attack via smuggled weapons.
Boost phase missile defense will discourage Kim Jong Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and others from even trying to develop strategic nuclear weapons. It is also indispensable considering the ever increasing role of tactical misslles on today's battlefield.
Many people bring up Iran or North Korea as possible threats. Perhaps, but apart from the fact that they're years away from having missles that can hit the US,
Mr. Kim has already lobbed a missle over Japan. He can already reach the Aleutians. Why not deal with the gathering threat?
the more sensible tack would be to build a launch phase system that could be parked near a threat country. The system would be easier to construct given the shorter range for the interceptors to travel to target, the targets are moving more slowly, and there are fewer targets since any MIRVs haven't reached the point where they independently target. It'd be smaller and cheaper, and much more practical to do that.
I agree with this. Patriot batteries already provide this kind of defense. You can bet they are already deployed in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan given their proximity to the crazy Mr. Kim and a bellicose China.
Pure H2O is frozen rock solid at 110K. But H2O-NH3 ices are not. Try mixing 50% ammonia and 50% water together and putting them in the freezer. The mixture will not freeze but will just become more viscous. Low temperature mixtures of H2O, CO, CH4, or N2 have similarly weird properties. Check this out. The compositions of Saturn's icy moons have not been well established. But indirect evidence like eruptions on Enceladus, or cometary outbursts, suggest exotic icy chemistry.
I have an IQ of 151, and thanks to the public education system, even in the gifted program, I lost all will to learn anything outside of the few topics that are extremely interesting to me, none of which I had any exposure to academically until college since even the gifted programs are aimed to the lowest common denominator, which is the 125-135 people, who aren't too bright.
So you are surprised and disappointed by the mediocrity of the public school system. How smart can you be? You are dumb enough to allow yourself to be a victim. I assume you can read. Get off your high horse and be actively involved in your own education. Develop interests on your own.
The NEAR mission successfully successfully executed similar mission profile to Hayabusa, minus the sample return. NEAR successfully landed on the asteroid even though it wasn't a lander at all. This after a spectacular recovery after a botched first encounter. JPL does not have a monopoly on mission management in the US. The Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins has put together an impressive number of successful missions. As for the Japanese success rate. They're learning just fine. No need for the US to train its competition.
What you want is soldiers that are more afraid of their commanding officers than the enemy; that way they'll follow orders.
Maybe Saddam thought like this. This thinking does not prevail in the western militaries that kicked his ass. The US military wants individuals who have been trained to operate in an environment that civilians consider fearful. They do so through a culture of motivation, discipline, professionalism, and peer pressure. Fear of physical retribution is not a factor. Fear of 'washing out', endangering your fellow soldiers, and not 'packing the gear to be in my beloved corps' is. You will not see genetically modified berserkers in the US military anytime soon.
Very interesting post, and correct. This laptop is a utopian fantasy looking for a problem. The point that 'gifts' like this distort fragile local economies is well made. The $100 would be better spend on immunization and a trip to the dentist for the kids. Good for Chile for judging this program for the boondoggle that it is.
Just now I'm noticing that macromedia is poping up an icon in my system tray! Hello?, it's a browser plugin. It should only do stuff within the browser!
Immunity from the silly tricks commercial software vendors use to infect machines is one of the great joys of GNU/Linux. Could you imagine Macromedia trying to mangle my XFCE menus?
would be better, but it's still not perfect. Sometimes the hardest part of programming is creating meaningful variable names.
Arguing about proper names for counters is good example of getting bogged down unnecessarily in trivialities. Personally I find your use of camel case offensive. Also your use of the post increment operator is in bad form. ++message_count is much better. You must be a Java programmer.