Considering that the EM railgun is far closer to production than any space elevator, perhaps the DoD could release their research data on the railgun to private enterprise. I can see it now - a 10 MegaWatt nuclear reactor used to power railguns capable of delivering SST-sized (shuttle) payloads into LEO. Of course, this approach is unworkable for delivering living beings into space, due to initial G forces.
Baltimore (MD) area McDonalds restaurants trialed the use of "remote" drive-through order takers (located in Wisconsin) this last summer. Reason? - not enough Baltimore area youths were willing to work at McDonalds for what they were willing to pay. This seems to be a more and more frequent refrain from USA employers, used as a justification to either offshore outsource OR hire illegal aliens.
BTW, the Wisconsin connection for trials of offshore outsourcing has been used in the past -- 28 USA states (c 2003) have already offshore outsourced handling of their welfare and unemployment benefits to companies in India.
Not only are the IT jobs shifting offshore (IBM, Microsoft, RedHat, etcetera), but so are the low tech jobs that are the alternatives. Apparently, globalization has the USA economy "circling the drain", since most of the laid off (or soon to be laid off) American autoworkers (Ford & GM) will not be getting a replacement job that will afford them the luxury of purchasing an American made automobile. Wal-Mart emplyees have a tendency of not being able to afford to shop anywhere but Wal-Mart, and at least 75% of Wal-Mart employees draw welfare and/or Medicaid benefits. The American middle class tax base is supporting these employers by providing these benefits, but it should be obvious to all that this is not a sustainable economic plan.
Decisions, decisions... help support an evil **AA corporate phisher (SONY) by buying ANY of their products (new or used), or buy a touchscreen from a company that already thinks GNU/linux is "cool"?
Why would any rational GNU/linux user, already considered to be a F/OSS fringe element "communist" "hacker/terrorist", consider supporting part of the evil (corporate) monopolist empire by supporting SONY?
I can understand IBM's ambivalence regarding their association with SONY, versus their support of F/OSS, anathema to the **AA. SONY will represent IBM's largest Cell Processor customer (once the PS3 rolls out), but SONY also represents the very worst corporate behaviour regarding pushing DRM to its' destructive excesses (at least until Microsoft's Windows Vista synergizes with the latest Trusted Computing platform).
And, we should thank them in a way that cannot be misconstrued -- like boycotting the purchase of ANY/ALL SONY products, not just Sony/BMG. Only through real financial pain can the message get through to the RIAA and MPAA members that their DRM and the DMCA have overstepped the bounds of acceptable behaviour.
Besides a "Nightmare" worm that could sweep across the entire internet within hours, there is also the distinct possibility of zombie computers that mass for a DDoS attack on key routers. There are also the "stupid things people do" clasification, like the instance about 6 months ago in which the emergency preparedness comm center for Washington, DC was repeatedly shut down by attacking the backup power systems' SNMP controls. Finally, many chemical, power generation, water purification facilities, etcetera use SCADA control systems that are exposed (stupidly) to the internet.
So there is a risk, especially with commercial and government facilities that do IT on the cheap, and without following "due diligence" security guidelines -- guidelines, I might add, that have never been thoroughly documented by the single government agency most responsible for establishing such policies -- the DHS.
IMHO, there exists a far greater risk th the USA though lackidasical border, seaport, and air cargo security, which has received even less attention than cyberterrorism. The regime currently in power has focused nearly all of its attention on the (optional) Iraq War, to the detrement of all other vulnerabilities. The response to civilian disasters like Katrina and Rita are prime examples of the Dubya regime's inept governance.
While there ARE a lot of companies that are opponents to Open Source besides Microsoft, which other company besides them has (1) been a convicted but unrepentant monopolist, (2) directly involved with the EU regarding their unseemly monopoly, and (3) have deep enough pockets to "buy off" even the French?
Besides, isn't it only France (and the regime currently in power in the USA) whose justice system is based upon the tenent of "guilty until proven innocent"?
A rather nominally religious America allied itself with Saudi Arabian rabidly religious fundamentalists in order to help throw the godless communist Soviet Union out of Afghanistan. The government that replaced the Soviets in Afghanistan were directly aided by both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, were also rabidly religious funamentalist, and could have been considered unsigned allies in the USA's "war on drugs(TM)".
A continuing presence in, and influence upon Saudi Arabia subsequent to a secular dictator's invasion of Kuwait and threat to invade Saudi oil fields prompted these rabid religious fundamentalists to attack the USA, both overseas and at home. One of these domestic terrorist attacks helped to consolidate the USA's rabid religious funamentalists in power, as well as launch an invasion of Iraq. (The Ba'athist Parties of both Iraq and Syria have longstanding ties to Nazi Germany, as well as a rabid hatred of Jews and Israel.) The USA has militarily largely abandoned Saudi Arabia for Qatar, thus complying with one of Al-Queda's demands. The Dubya regime has turned Iraq into something Afghanistan could never be -- a training ground, weapons depot, and jumping off point for any and all Islamic terrorists worldwide, partially funded with Saudi and Iraqi oil money.
The USA is beginning to realize that if you wage a war, reconstruction, and a peace badly enough, a civil war will result instead of the first blushing blossom of democracy. Of course, the three primary "actors" in the Middle East that surround Iraq have a vested interest in seeing a fractured and powerless Iraq, and to date the rabid Sunni religious fundamentalists appear to hold the key to control the future of Iraq. The USA has acted, or by ommissive action, done far more to support those three Iraqi neighbors positions than the objectives built upon shifting sands by the Dubya regime.
The USA, in the convoluted process of gathering strength to fight the "war on terrorism(TM)", has forsaken those very constitutional principles that separate us from the typical tyrannical government in the land of the eternal egg-timer factory. Our founding fathers would be turning in their graves if they could...
Okay, I stand corrected. Aldous Huxley's "soma" and George Orwell's "1984". But isn't it funny that both of these authors have managed to successfully predict the future of civilization based upon the baser instincts of mankind?
So here's a question to twist your noodle -- did these authors predict the unlikely future that is, or were the works of these men used as a roadmap by our evil would-be overlords?
WTF have you been smoking (, not that I want any of it)?
The majority of Americans are a bunch of sheep. Feed them large doses of "American Idol", "Survival" plots of every type, stir in some "MTV" and "Fear Factor" and all is well. That, and publish totally BS info about how great the economy is, how low the CPI is, and spend a huge portion of TV news focused on movie star excentricities, new movies, a copious amount of time on professional sports, and stir in a little strictly low level political corruption to feel self-righteous about. George Orwell called it "soma", but it got considerably cheaper when it stopped being a pharmacutical and began being distributed electronically over the air waves.
It is only a minority of Americans that still actually give a damn about privacy, and the encroachment of the big brother twins (government and corporations) into every aspect of our lives. Dubya and his neo(Con)artist allies are more than happy to marginalize the opposition, by every means necessary. Electronic vote fraud, seeding propaganda in the press, heneous public attacks against opposing leadership, "dubya"ous felon databases to disenfranchise voters, even their overseas torture chambers -- they keep nibbling away at their political opposition in small, almost unnoticable numbers until it's no more than a paper tiger.
Quantum computing will become useful just about the time that Google's Search Engine becomes self-aware. Then the correct answer will be readily available and discernable from all the simultaneously calculated incorrect answers.
The parent poster is right on target, so it hardly seems fair to quibble over Richo Act(sic) versus RICO statutes (pertaining to racketeering and organized crime).
The neo(Con)artist GOP conservatives make a really big fuss over the "activist" judiciary interpreting legislative law beyond strict constitutional constraints, and have no such problems persecuting the application of the RICO statutes when appied to religious fundamentalist protestors outside of abortion clinics.
They fail a basic constitutional tenent regarding equal protection under the law, however, when it comes to enforcing the law equally. Activist liberal churches face prosecution and loss of non-profit status for making political stands in opposition to the regime in power. OTOH, neo(Con)artist fundamentalist churches with active political agendas face no such strictures - they are rewarded with government funds. Employers that hire illegal aliens are no longer prosecuted, nor are illegals rounded up and shipped home. Non-profits, employers, and even foreign governments are in active collusion to break USA immigration laws - a perfect target for prosecution under the RICO statutes. But nothing happens, and USA borders remain porous.
If there were ever a need for "the people's prosecutor", the US DoJ, to revisit monopoly litigation against some of the worst corporate monopolists, BellSouth (and Microsoft) would be the DoJ poster children for new legal actions. Nobody hold their breath, though, because the USA has a traditional "corporate national socialist" neo(Con)artist regime firmly in power.
"Resistence is futile" and if you do resist then you are not for us. And if you are not for us, you must be against us. If you are against us, you must be terrorists. If you are terrorists, then you need to be imprisoned without benefit of legal counsel, as well as shipped overseas for our friends and subordinates to torture a confession out of. "Resistence is futile."
This may appear to be somewhat OT, but I will risk it. I seek enlightenment, as well as scoring some political points...
When, exactly, did the CDC become part of the Dept. of Homeland Security? Tracking everyone everywhere they go seems more like a DHS wet dream than a CDC objective.
Dubya started office with a serious conflict with the PRC, where upon he "blinked". Today the Chineese can pretty well dictate terms to their biggest debtor customer, the USA.
Dubya's "war on terror" has resulted in scattering the Taliban and Al-Queda in Afghanistan, rather than capturing them and killing Osama bin Laden. On the home front, air travelers are routinely subjected to arduous searches and confiscation of contraband like tweezers and nail clippers, all while our country's borders are largely unprotected, 95% of cargo through our seaports goes unexamined, and almost no air cargo is inspected.
Dubya's "war on Iraq" has had a plan for military victory, but not for "winning hearts and minds", reconstruction, or "winning the peace". And yet again, insufficient manpower to do the job right, including securing Iraq's borders or securing and holding territory. (It's all been "sweep and leave" AND "sweep and leave". Shampoo. Rinse. Repeat.)
Dubya's "war on Katrina" has been an unmitigated cluster-fuck. Insufficient manpower and equipment to perform the rescue, recovery, and reconstruction the right way. (No surprise, since most of the manpower and equipment is over in Iraq.) And yet again we see the results of bad management, a plan poorly conceived and executed, and the quick retort about "not playing the blame game."
Considering this administration's track record regarding management skills, planning and execution, does anyone really think that Dubya's new "war on flu pandemic" would be any more successful than his other misadventures (even going back to Arbusto Drilling, Harkin Energy, and his baseball team before its government bailout) -- misadventures that have disaffected average American citizens in favor of his big defense contractor buddies?
Between NSA, the FBI, and various unnamed DoD agencies are now considerably overworked monitoring their (subjugated) citizens. Merely changing the logic on their surveillance equipment to specifically monitor POTS communications with the low amplitude low octave "C" being broadcast (to shut off their bugs) would certainly free up some manpower and equipment to focus on the "professional" terrorists using voice encryption or other high tech methods. Only "newbie" suicide bomber wannabes would make use of such insecure methods of communications.
If this story was not explicitly a planted news item to spread disinformation, it would surprise me. This has to be a plot lifted directly out of MAD Magazine's "Spy vs Spy" segment.
I am surprised that you could even get away with such "private" discrimination - I have found, much to my dismay, that the region I live in does not allow it. I have been told by local law officers that I cannot keep other people's children off my property, even with fences. They will just flat-out not arrest persons for trespassing, nor even for vandalism of property (unless either I have video tape of it, or if the police witness it.)
This is the age of "entitlement". Parents cannot enforce reasonable standards of behavior with corporal punishment without fear of prosecution as child abusers. Many parents, sadly, don't even care to teach their children to respect other people or their property. And with the lawsuit-happy civilization we find ourselves in today, you pretty much cannot even protect your property with watch dogs. If you do try that, watch how quickly your insurance company will drop your homeowner's policy when they find out. The result, I fear, is going to be a generation or more of absolutely uncontrollable disrespect and riot.
They used to hang horse thieves from the nearest tree. These days, juvenile delinquent gang-banger wannabes can steal you auto at gun-point and wind up in the revolving door of juvenile justice, or even merely placed back into the custody of their legal guardians. Our civilization will reap what it has sown.
Imagine(TM) a cluster of these processor boards (PCI, PCI-X, SLI) with a compiler and IDE able to make use of them all. The Transputer computing engine has (AFAIK) all but died off, but this could conceivably be the 21st century's replacement.
One could always hope that an experimental gene treatment might be available for this to to be used for Dubya's "loyal opposition" in the Congress, the court system, and the Press to "grow a pair" in time for 2006 national elections.
It would seem to me that a total, fully functional F/OSS replacement for MS Exchange/Outlook/Outlook Express would be the "straw that breaks the camel's back" regarding Microsoft's OS/Apps hegenomy. A replacement that was any language, any server, any client would be the "Perfect Storm" for Microsoft.
Ethanol (or bioethanol, if you will) does not burn as efficiently as gasoline in a gasoline engine. Ethanol has more energy per gallon than does gasoline (and it is "oxygenated"). Ethanol requires an 8:1 air:fuel ratio for complete burning, while gasoline requires a 14:1 air:fuel ratio. Standard (regular) gasoline engines use an 8:1 (or maximim 9:1) compression ration without engine precombustion (knocking), while alcohol fueled engines may use a compression ratio as high as 14:1. A street-legal gasoline engine running pure ethanol (assuming a fuel system conversion) would only get about 60% of the fuel economy of that same engine using gasoline.
OTOH, diesel and biodiesel are very nearly the same in combustion parameters, except biodiesel runs more cleanly and with less visible soot.
The oil/energy companies can squeeze more gallons of gasoline out of a barrel of oil than they can of diesel. Between "cracking" the oil molecule, hydrogenation, and additives (in the winter months as much as 10% ethanol), more gallons of gasoline means lower cost per gallon. Diesel fuel has a higher energy content per gallon than does gasoline, but does need to be more highly refined (mainly extraction of sulpher compounds) in order to burn as cleanly (excepting NOx formed by incomplete burning at higher compression ratios). The initial higher cost per gallon for diesel fuel is not really mitigated by the introduction of 20% vegetable oil (that's B-20), since it is smaller scale localized facilities for the conversion to biodiesel to meet (generally) regional demand. Greater demand for biodiesel would eventually lead to larger, more efficient production facilities, as well as expanding the agricultural supply.
But then I also have it on good authority (excluding the rabid neo(Con)artist Bushies) that most of Canada south of the Arctic Circle will be classified as Temperate Zone within 20 years.
Oceanfront property. Brand new construction. 2 BR, 1BA, 875 FT^2. 3400 KW PV/Wind Output. Full Amenities, inc. Broadband. Conforms to the 2052 Solar Homestead Act exemption. Buy before 12/31/2054 and get $10K Movers Coupon. Sun Construction & Realty Co, Topeka KS. $550K (adjusted USD)
People who stick their heads in the sand have a tendency to expose vital body parts to abuse... The Native Peoples that live above the Arctic Circle have been doing so for 7,000 years. They have over 200 words for snow, but none to describe the emerging climate there. They are learning the meaning of the terms "global warming" and "environmental disaster" first hand. Let me be the first to thrust my virtual boot firmly up your virtual backside...
Since it looks like the Moon will be far too dangerous a place to live until it is completely paved over (current Moon dust == silicosous(sic) article), we need to find a way to live here on Earth without the heavy-footed environmental impact we are making today. Denial will not change what is happening, any more than that of a 4 year old's temper tantrum.
Session-Saver is merely a band-aid for the bigger issue -- memory leakage problems. The current culture at Mozilla/FireFox of adding new "bells & whistles" to the browser without fixing core issues is disfunctional.
(1) Why must 2 separate instances of the rendering engine be required when using FoxFire with Thunderbird?
(2) Why is the Mozilla/FireFox version of a software "patch" a complete new version of the browser?
(3) Why are 2+ year old security issues ignored in favor of shiney new "bells & whistles"?
(4) Why should Mozilla/FireFox abandon their all-in-one "Mozilla" in favor of 2 separate memory hogs?
(5) Why initiate yet another marketing "push" on a product that has not had Q_1 thru Q_4 addressed?
While a plumber (or electrician or carpenter) job cannot be offshore outsourced, it can and will (eventually) be taken by one of that vast horde of illegal immigrants that have entered this country. It has been more than a decade since illegal immigrant labor was synonymous with migrant farm labor.
Employer hiring of illegal aliens may be illegal, but the government at all levels (and your politicians) have given that practice tacit approval by failing to control the borders, and by failing to enforce those laws.
Slashdot Mirror
Considering that the EM railgun is far closer to production than any space elevator, perhaps the DoD could release their research data on the railgun to private enterprise. I can see it now - a 10 MegaWatt nuclear reactor used to power railguns capable of delivering SST-sized (shuttle) payloads into LEO. Of course, this approach is unworkable for delivering living beings into space, due to initial G forces.
Correct-o-mundo.
Baltimore (MD) area McDonalds restaurants trialed the use of "remote" drive-through order takers (located in Wisconsin) this last summer. Reason? - not enough Baltimore area youths were willing to work at McDonalds for what they were willing to pay. This seems to be a more and more frequent refrain from USA employers, used as a justification to either offshore outsource OR hire illegal aliens.
BTW, the Wisconsin connection for trials of offshore outsourcing has been used in the past -- 28 USA states (c 2003) have already offshore outsourced handling of their welfare and unemployment benefits to companies in India.
Not only are the IT jobs shifting offshore (IBM, Microsoft, RedHat, etcetera), but so are the low tech jobs that are the alternatives. Apparently, globalization has the USA economy "circling the drain", since most of the laid off (or soon to be laid off) American autoworkers (Ford & GM) will not be getting a replacement job that will afford them the luxury of purchasing an American made automobile. Wal-Mart emplyees have a tendency of not being able to afford to shop anywhere but Wal-Mart, and at least 75% of Wal-Mart employees draw welfare and/or Medicaid benefits. The American middle class tax base is supporting these employers by providing these benefits, but it should be obvious to all that this is not a sustainable economic plan.
Hmmm.
Decisions, decisions...
help support an evil **AA corporate phisher (SONY) by buying ANY of their products (new or used), or buy a touchscreen from a company that already thinks GNU/linux is "cool"?
Why would any rational GNU/linux user, already considered to be a F/OSS fringe element "communist" "hacker/terrorist", consider supporting part of the evil (corporate) monopolist empire by supporting SONY?
I can understand IBM's ambivalence regarding their association with SONY, versus their support of F/OSS, anathema to the **AA. SONY will represent IBM's largest Cell Processor customer (once the PS3 rolls out), but SONY also represents the very worst corporate behaviour regarding pushing DRM to its' destructive excesses (at least until Microsoft's Windows Vista synergizes with the latest Trusted Computing platform).
Yes, we SHOULD thank them!
And, we should thank them in a way that cannot be misconstrued -- like boycotting the purchase of ANY/ALL SONY products, not just Sony/BMG. Only through real financial pain can the message get through to the RIAA and MPAA members that their DRM and the DMCA have overstepped the bounds of acceptable behaviour.
Besides a "Nightmare" worm that could sweep across the entire internet within hours, there is also the distinct possibility of zombie computers that mass for a DDoS attack on key routers. There are also the "stupid things people do" clasification, like the instance about 6 months ago in which the emergency preparedness comm center for Washington, DC was repeatedly shut down by attacking the backup power systems' SNMP controls. Finally, many chemical, power generation, water purification facilities, etcetera use SCADA control systems that are exposed (stupidly) to the internet.
So there is a risk, especially with commercial and government facilities that do IT on the cheap, and without following "due diligence" security guidelines -- guidelines, I might add, that have never been thoroughly documented by the single government agency most responsible for establishing such policies -- the DHS.
IMHO, there exists a far greater risk th the USA though lackidasical border, seaport, and air cargo security, which has received even less attention than cyberterrorism. The regime currently in power has focused nearly all of its attention on the (optional) Iraq War, to the detrement of all other vulnerabilities. The response to civilian disasters like Katrina and Rita are prime examples of the Dubya regime's inept governance.
While there ARE a lot of companies that are opponents to Open Source besides Microsoft, which other company besides them has (1) been a convicted but unrepentant monopolist, (2) directly involved with the EU regarding their unseemly monopoly, and (3) have deep enough pockets to "buy off" even the French?
Besides, isn't it only France (and the regime currently in power in the USA) whose justice system is based upon the tenent of "guilty until proven innocent"?
I rest my case.
I find it rather ironic.
A rather nominally religious America allied itself with Saudi Arabian rabidly religious fundamentalists in order to help throw the godless communist Soviet Union out of Afghanistan. The government that replaced the Soviets in Afghanistan were directly aided by both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, were also rabidly religious funamentalist, and could have been considered unsigned allies in the USA's "war on drugs(TM)".
A continuing presence in, and influence upon Saudi Arabia subsequent to a secular dictator's invasion of Kuwait and threat to invade Saudi oil fields prompted these rabid religious fundamentalists to attack the USA, both overseas and at home. One of these domestic terrorist attacks helped to consolidate the USA's rabid religious funamentalists in power, as well as launch an invasion of Iraq. (The Ba'athist Parties of both Iraq and Syria have longstanding ties to Nazi Germany, as well as a rabid hatred of Jews and Israel.) The USA has militarily largely abandoned Saudi Arabia for Qatar, thus complying with one of Al-Queda's demands. The Dubya regime has turned Iraq into something Afghanistan could never be -- a training ground, weapons depot, and jumping off point for any and all Islamic terrorists worldwide, partially funded with Saudi and Iraqi oil money.
The USA is beginning to realize that if you wage a war, reconstruction, and a peace badly enough, a civil war will result instead of the first blushing blossom of democracy. Of course, the three primary "actors" in the Middle East that surround Iraq have a vested interest in seeing a fractured and powerless Iraq, and to date the rabid Sunni religious fundamentalists appear to hold the key to control the future of Iraq. The USA has acted, or by ommissive action, done far more to support those three Iraqi neighbors positions than the objectives built upon shifting sands by the Dubya regime.
The USA, in the convoluted process of gathering strength to fight the "war on terrorism(TM)", has forsaken those very constitutional principles that separate us from the typical tyrannical government in the land of the eternal egg-timer factory. Our founding fathers would be turning in their graves if they could...
Okay, I stand corrected. Aldous Huxley's "soma" and George Orwell's "1984". But isn't it funny that both of these authors have managed to successfully predict the future of civilization based upon the baser instincts of mankind?
So here's a question to twist your noodle -- did these authors predict the unlikely future that is,
or were the works of these men used as a roadmap by our evil would-be overlords?
WTF have you been smoking (, not that I want any of it)?
The majority of Americans are a bunch of sheep. Feed them large doses of "American Idol", "Survival" plots of every type, stir in some "MTV" and "Fear Factor" and all is well. That, and publish totally BS info about how great the economy is, how low the CPI is, and spend a huge portion of TV news focused on movie star excentricities, new movies, a copious amount of time on professional sports, and stir in a little strictly low level political corruption to feel self-righteous about. George Orwell called it "soma", but it got considerably cheaper when it stopped being a pharmacutical and began being distributed electronically over the air waves.
It is only a minority of Americans that still actually give a damn about privacy, and the encroachment of the big brother twins (government and corporations) into every aspect of our lives. Dubya and his neo(Con)artist allies are more than happy to marginalize the opposition, by every means necessary. Electronic vote fraud, seeding propaganda in the press, heneous public attacks against opposing leadership, "dubya"ous felon databases to disenfranchise voters, even their overseas torture chambers -- they keep nibbling away at their political opposition in small, almost unnoticable numbers until it's no more than a paper tiger.
Damn! That's easy!
Quantum computing will become useful just about the time that Google's Search Engine becomes self-aware. Then the correct answer will be readily available and discernable from all the simultaneously calculated incorrect answers.
Next question?
The parent poster is right on target, so it hardly seems fair to quibble over Richo Act(sic) versus RICO statutes (pertaining to racketeering and organized crime).
The neo(Con)artist GOP conservatives make a really big fuss over the "activist" judiciary interpreting legislative law beyond strict constitutional constraints, and have no such problems persecuting the application of the RICO statutes when appied to religious fundamentalist protestors outside of abortion clinics.
They fail a basic constitutional tenent regarding equal protection under the law, however, when it comes to enforcing the law equally.
Activist liberal churches face prosecution and loss of non-profit status for making political stands in opposition to the regime in power. OTOH, neo(Con)artist fundamentalist churches with active political agendas face no such strictures - they are rewarded with government funds.
Employers that hire illegal aliens are no longer prosecuted, nor are illegals rounded up and shipped home. Non-profits, employers, and even foreign governments are in active collusion to break USA immigration laws - a perfect target for prosecution under the RICO statutes. But nothing happens, and USA borders remain porous.
If there were ever a need for "the people's prosecutor", the US DoJ, to revisit monopoly litigation against some of the worst corporate monopolists, BellSouth (and Microsoft) would be the DoJ poster children for new legal actions. Nobody hold their breath, though, because the USA has a traditional "corporate national socialist" neo(Con)artist regime firmly in power.
"Resistence is futile" and if you do resist then you are not for us. And if you are not for us, you must be against us. If you are against us, you must be terrorists. If you are terrorists, then you need to be imprisoned without benefit of legal counsel, as well as shipped overseas for our friends and subordinates to torture a confession out of.
"Resistence is futile."
This may appear to be somewhat OT, but I will risk it. I seek enlightenment, as well as scoring some political points...
When, exactly, did the CDC become part of the Dept. of Homeland Security? Tracking everyone everywhere they go seems more like a DHS wet dream than a CDC objective.
Dubya started office with a serious conflict with the PRC, where upon he "blinked". Today the Chineese can pretty well dictate terms to their biggest debtor customer, the USA.
Dubya's "war on terror" has resulted in scattering the Taliban and Al-Queda in Afghanistan, rather than capturing them and killing Osama bin Laden. On the home front, air travelers are routinely subjected to arduous searches and confiscation of contraband like tweezers and nail clippers, all while our country's borders are largely unprotected, 95% of cargo through our seaports goes unexamined, and almost no air cargo is inspected.
Dubya's "war on Iraq" has had a plan for military victory, but not for "winning hearts and minds", reconstruction, or "winning the peace". And yet again, insufficient manpower to do the job right, including securing Iraq's borders or securing and holding territory. (It's all been "sweep and leave" AND "sweep and leave". Shampoo. Rinse. Repeat.)
Dubya's "war on Katrina" has been an unmitigated cluster-fuck. Insufficient manpower and equipment to perform the rescue, recovery, and reconstruction the right way. (No surprise, since most of the manpower and equipment is over in Iraq.) And yet again we see the results of bad management, a plan poorly conceived and executed, and the quick retort about "not playing the blame game."
Considering this administration's track record regarding management skills, planning and execution, does anyone really think that Dubya's new "war on flu pandemic" would be any more successful than his other misadventures (even going back to Arbusto Drilling, Harkin Energy, and his baseball team before its government bailout) -- misadventures that have disaffected average American citizens in favor of his big defense contractor buddies?
Sure, it could be water or it could be ice, if you want to place your faith in either the ESA or NASA.
My bet is on a gigantic buried metallic face (a la the movie "Mission To Mars"). Intelligent design is the correct answer.
Exactly so.
Between NSA, the FBI, and various unnamed DoD agencies are now considerably overworked monitoring their (subjugated) citizens. Merely changing the logic on their surveillance equipment to specifically monitor POTS communications with the low amplitude low octave "C" being broadcast (to shut off their bugs) would certainly free up some manpower and equipment to focus on the "professional" terrorists using voice encryption or other high tech methods. Only "newbie" suicide bomber wannabes would make use of such insecure methods of communications.
If this story was not explicitly a planted news item to spread disinformation, it would surprise me. This has to be a plot lifted directly out of MAD Magazine's "Spy vs Spy" segment.
I am surprised that you could even get away with such "private" discrimination - I have found, much to my dismay, that the region I live in does not allow it. I have been told by local law officers that I cannot keep other people's children off my property, even with fences. They will just flat-out not arrest persons for trespassing, nor even for vandalism of property (unless either I have video tape of it, or if the police witness it.)
This is the age of "entitlement". Parents cannot enforce reasonable standards of behavior with corporal punishment without fear of prosecution as child abusers. Many parents, sadly, don't even care to teach their children to respect other people or their property. And with the lawsuit-happy civilization we find ourselves in today, you pretty much cannot even protect your property with watch dogs. If you do try that, watch how quickly your insurance company will drop your homeowner's policy when they find out. The result, I fear, is going to be a generation or more of absolutely uncontrollable disrespect and riot.
They used to hang horse thieves from the nearest tree. These days, juvenile delinquent gang-banger wannabes can steal you auto at gun-point and wind up in the revolving door of juvenile justice, or even merely placed back into the custody of their legal guardians. Our civilization will reap what it has sown.
Imagine(TM) a cluster of these processor boards (PCI, PCI-X, SLI) with a compiler and IDE able to make use of them all. The Transputer computing engine has (AFAIK) all but died off, but this could conceivably be the 21st century's replacement.
One could always hope that an experimental gene treatment might be available for this to to be used for Dubya's "loyal opposition" in the Congress, the court system, and the Press to "grow a pair" in time for 2006 national elections.
It would seem to me that a total, fully functional F/OSS replacement for MS Exchange/Outlook/Outlook Express would be the "straw that breaks the camel's back" regarding Microsoft's OS/Apps hegenomy. A replacement that was any language, any server, any client would be the "Perfect Storm" for Microsoft.
Ethanol (or bioethanol, if you will) does not burn as efficiently as gasoline in a gasoline engine. Ethanol has more energy per gallon than does gasoline (and it is "oxygenated"). Ethanol requires an 8:1 air:fuel ratio for complete burning, while gasoline requires a 14:1 air:fuel ratio. Standard (regular) gasoline engines use an 8:1 (or maximim 9:1) compression ration without engine precombustion (knocking), while alcohol fueled engines may use a compression ratio as high as 14:1. A street-legal gasoline engine running pure ethanol (assuming a fuel system conversion) would only get about 60% of the fuel economy of that same engine using gasoline.
OTOH, diesel and biodiesel are very nearly the same in combustion parameters, except biodiesel runs more cleanly and with less visible soot.
The oil/energy companies can squeeze more gallons of gasoline out of a barrel of oil than they can of diesel. Between "cracking" the oil molecule, hydrogenation, and additives (in the winter months as much as 10% ethanol), more gallons of gasoline means lower cost per gallon. Diesel fuel has a higher energy content per gallon than does gasoline, but does need to be more highly refined (mainly extraction of sulpher compounds) in order to burn as cleanly (excepting NOx formed by incomplete burning at higher compression ratios). The initial higher cost per gallon for diesel fuel is not really mitigated by the introduction of 20% vegetable oil (that's B-20), since it is smaller scale localized facilities for the conversion to biodiesel to meet (generally) regional demand. Greater demand for biodiesel would eventually lead to larger, more efficient production facilities, as well as expanding the agricultural supply.
In a word ... YES!
But then I also have it on good authority (excluding the rabid neo(Con)artist Bushies) that most of Canada south of the Arctic Circle will be classified as Temperate Zone within 20 years.
Q:
What do you call the conjunction of Cray/GNU/linux with Wine and ActiveX and MSIE and MS Windows For Clusters(TM)?
A:
It's called a "cluster-fuck".
Q:
How will this be different from the original MS Windows For Clusters(TM)?
A:
No difference, except that the BSODs will also be available on the SSH terminals.
Ohh..., and the MS "Shared Source(TM)" will require not only a soul-snatching NDA, but also with an implanted RFID-protected DRM scheme.
Oceanfront property. Brand new construction. 2 BR, 1BA, 875 FT^2. 3400 KW PV/Wind Output. Full Amenities, inc. Broadband. Conforms to the 2052 Solar Homestead Act exemption. Buy before 12/31/2054 and get $10K Movers Coupon. Sun Construction & Realty Co, Topeka KS. $550K (adjusted USD)
People who stick their heads in the sand have a tendency to expose vital body parts to abuse...
The Native Peoples that live above the Arctic Circle have been doing so for 7,000 years. They have over 200 words for snow, but none to describe the emerging climate there. They are learning the meaning of the terms "global warming" and "environmental disaster" first hand.
Let me be the first to thrust my virtual boot firmly up your virtual backside...
Since it looks like the Moon will be far too dangerous a place to live until it is completely paved over (current Moon dust == silicosous(sic) article), we need to find a way to live here on Earth without the heavy-footed environmental impact we are making today.
Denial will not change what is happening, any more than that of a 4 year old's temper tantrum.
Session-Saver is merely a band-aid for the bigger issue -- memory leakage problems. The current culture at Mozilla/FireFox of adding new "bells & whistles" to the browser without fixing core issues is disfunctional.
(1) Why must 2 separate instances of the rendering engine be required when using FoxFire with Thunderbird?
(2) Why is the Mozilla/FireFox version of a software "patch" a complete new version of the browser?
(3) Why are 2+ year old security issues ignored in favor of shiney new "bells & whistles"?
(4) Why should Mozilla/FireFox abandon their all-in-one "Mozilla" in favor of 2 separate memory hogs?
(5) Why initiate yet another marketing "push" on a product that has not had Q_1 thru Q_4 addressed?
Good luck to you in your new field of endeavour!
While a plumber (or electrician or carpenter) job cannot be offshore outsourced, it can and will (eventually) be taken by one of that vast horde of illegal immigrants that have entered this country. It has been more than a decade since illegal immigrant labor was synonymous with migrant farm labor.
Employer hiring of illegal aliens may be illegal, but the government at all levels (and your politicians) have given that practice tacit approval by failing to control the borders, and by failing to enforce those laws.