If you are a government worker/contractor "you may notice a strong smell of politics in the room."
If you're a private company worker, you're in the same boat. They get their money from a government agency. This has probably all been chewed over some where in the depths of 0.
It's a War zone buddy. A distributed war. Pretty much covers the globe. The odds are different in different places don't ya know.
If you're young and you think you're invincable, or just want to try to play the odds,
Hey, be careful and good luck Dude --- Ya, Stephenson quote.
Uh, Yeah, right.
However, Grand Juries are often presented with 'cases' when an ambitious prosecutor or a federal agency has an agenda.
"The grand jury at the federal level has had a troubled history. Required by the Constitution as a check on judicial and prosecutorial abuse, it has often been used as a tool of abuse against political dissidents. Most grand juries are mere "rubber stamps" for prosecutors, but others become "runaway" grand juries, taking the lead in investigations of official corruption and abuse."
Info here
(I know, I know, obviously just another commie, pinco, left-wing liberal FUD site.)
In another article
"And unlike a search warrant situation, where the agent has to obtain permission and authority from a judge to seize records or property after demonstrating probable cause to believe an offense has been committed, in the case of a grand jury subpoena the discretion of the prosecutor is virtually unfettered."
OK, so I was wrong. He apparently IS in opposition to Genetically Modified foods. (RTFADA).
I wonder though, what those folks would have thought if he had been a part of this project. Frankenstein?
This whole thread was moderately 'off topic' anyway, as the topic is *not* genetically modified foods.
That being said, and having perused some of the comments in this thread, I have to point out that this issue has been discussed many times here.
I don't think you can characterize G.M. food products as "terrorist activities". Monopolistic attempts, yes; Very different than 'selective breeding', yes; Dangerous, yes.
I too am kind of lazy this morning so I'm not going to post a million threads to 'prove it', but any of you folks that think G.M. food products are so great should do a little research of your own.
(And just wait until some of the G.M stuff thats being used to grow drug products escapes and crosses with regular crops)
I know I'm gonna catch shit for posting drunk (again, FU)
You're posting too late, the mods are asleep.(prolly)
No, I think we can safly take refuge in the whatsamagigger amendment here .,br>
I meant to say something else but I forgot what it was.
Thats the only hope ordinary folk have.
The ability to find an alternative. It's a feedback system. As the big money folk gain more influance they can but gain more influance.
This is actually a business opertunity, If you are in an area, for instance, where Hi Speed access isn't available, Sell Those Folk Bandwidth! This is NOT rocket science.)
Well ok so it is.
ROFL!
About 3-4 years ago I tried to upgrade my copy of McAfee after my home system became contaminated with *some* virus.
Thus began a saga-like struggle to fight my way through a maze of poorly linked pages.
After spending several hours trying to BUY an upgrade, I discovered that, in fact, the ONLY way I could complete this process was to go back to the beginning and repeat the process using IE instead of Netscape.
This pissed me off so badly that I instead bought a new subscription to Norton AntiVirus.
I STILL get undesired spam from McAfee although I 'opted out' of their 'advisories' a couple of times.
This review dumps on both McAfee and Symantec, though I haven't had many issues with Symantecs product to date.
I did have to call my buddy "BlueHairedDave" over to get rid of a trojan one time, though I count that as my own fault since I clicked on a.pif in some spam by accident.
I plan to move over to an open source product when it looks like one has achieved some level of maturity.
The Motly Fool has some interesting comments on R&D.
From the article:
"Still, not all companies are the same. Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) metes out only 2% of sales on R&D, but continues to keep investors very happy"
"However, patents don't necessarily translate into money-making products. Think of Xerox (NYSE: XRX). For years, the company's PARC research center developed one breakthrough technology after another, but failed to make money on them. Its inventions, like the laser printer and the mouse, are now in the hands of competitors."
This is not strictly true.(I was at Xerox PARC when they spun off SpectraDiode and still have my Alto manual)
Xerox had(has) MANY successful spinoffs, as well as many dismal failures. But thats another story.
Companies may do very well through acquisitions of technology in liu of R&D of their own.
Interesting study in Sweden:
"The
study reported in this thesis describes and analyzes technology-related acquisitions and spin-offs. The basic idea is that an economic system where large and small firms interact through technology-related ownership changes is highly conducive to overall innovativeness and long-term growth, given certain conditions"
Cisco certainly is successful at acquiring technology through acquisition, though they do a lot of their own R&D also..
I could go on with lots more examples.
The question is whether Dells model will hold up in the long run.
So far they seem to be doing ok with their 'Business Partner' model. Only time will tell.
Just like the original poo-poo'd reports on torture in Iraq, this story
is just the tip of the iceberg.
The postings here interested me in looking around for more info.
Unfortunately, it led to this horrendous rant!
The Patriot act, Secret Courts and Homeland
Security
It only gets worse. The new Patriot Act
extension recomendations by Ashcroft includes:
From
CNN:
"A draft of the new domestic security bill
Ashcroft is seeking, published by a nonprofit government watchdog group
in February, indicates that among other things, it would prohibit disclosure
of information regarding people detained as terrorist suspects and prevent
the Environmental Protection Agency from distributing "worst-case scenario"
information to the public about a nearby private company's use of chemicals.
In addition, the measure would create a DNA
database of "suspected terrorists;" force suspects to prove why they should
be released on bail, rather than have the prosecution prove why they should
be held; and allow the deportation of U.S. citizens who become members of
or help terrorist groups."
The Patriot act, linked with the Homeland Security
Act, has gutted the Freedom of Information Act.
From
Wired News
Dec. 02, 2002
"One of the most egregious and potentially
dangerous of these travesties is the Homeland Security Act's creation of
new and very broad exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act. Businesses
now have a new way to evade liability for safety violations, hazards to
consumers and other abuses. They need merely report the information about
their behavior -- even totally unclassified activities -- to the federal
government, and claim it's related to homeland security. In the parlance
of the Homeland Security Act, they declare the data to be "CII," or Critical
Infrastructure Information."
Local News
"Federal agents sought 1,727 warrants from
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for electronic eavesdropping
and physical searches last year, according to a Justice Department filing
with Congress. Just four applications were rejected, and two of those were
later revised and approved. The number of so-called FISA warrants jumped
by 500 from 2002 and has almost doubled since 2001, when 934 applications
were approved."
"By comparison, there were 1,442 wiretap
petitions in federal and state courts for crimes like drugs and racketeering,
according to a separate report from the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts."
How much abuse has been identified?
Inspector general's report on Patriot act abuses:
( They *only* found 34 *credible* cases in the 272 complaints. But please remember, it's all secret and there is no public oversight.)
The ACLU issued a report on how the Patriot Act is actually being used.
Link Here. The Migration Policy Institute says:
'Moreover, among those detained (and of the 1,200, the MPI could only identify a third) were "persistent violations of due p
Very interesting! This is fantastic science and may lead to great advances in many fields. As some other posters note, however, I see potential serious problems on the horizon however.
Here are some specifics: We already have problems with Genetically engineered crops, now it appears we have custom bacteria on the way. (here already, actually)
An earlier Slashdot topic addressed this, though without many supporting links.
Here are a few:
"Toxic pollen from widely planted, genetically modified corn can kill monarch butterflies, Cornell study shows"
These links only scratch the surface of the problems with G.E crops but serve to illustrate the point.
As far as I can see no 'special' precautions are being taken to isolate these experiments from the biosphere. Indeed, the work is being performed in ordinary university labs and *some* of the work at least is being done with common human bacteria.
The article claims "self policing" has worked for recombinant-DNA technology and calls for an Asilomar Conference to address the issue of safety.
I refer you to this
article
"The parts for a DNA synthesizer can now be purchased for approximately $10,000. By 2010 a single person will be able to sequence or synthesize 10^10 bases a day. Within a decade a single person could sequence or synthesize all the DNA describing all the people on the planet many times over in an eight-hour day or sequence his or her own DNA within seconds. Given the power and threat of biological technologies, the only way to ensure safety in the long run is to push research and development as fast as possible. Open and distributed networks of researchers would provide an intelligence gathering capability and a flexible and robust workforce for developing technology."
Sounds like bio-hackers are on the way.
I remind you, once the geni is out of the bottle it's damn hard (impossible) to put it back!
Slashdot Mirror
Which Iraquis? Or which Saudis, Afganies?
If you are a government worker/contractor "you may notice a strong smell of politics in the room."
If you're a private company worker, you're in the same boat. They get their money from a government agency.
This has probably all been chewed over some where in the depths of 0.
It's a War zone buddy. A distributed war. Pretty much covers the globe. The odds are different in different places don't ya know.
If you're young and you think you're invincable, or just want to try to play the odds,
Hey, be careful and good luck Dude
---
Ya, Stephenson quote.
Best quote:
"It is just as cold in Finland as in Canada so programmers are never tempted to go outside."
An absolutely brilliant, thorough, and well deserved Fisking by the Good Professor!
God I love that word!
However, Grand Juries are often presented with 'cases' when an ambitious prosecutor or a federal agency has an agenda.
Info here
(I know, I know, obviously just another commie, pinco, left-wing liberal FUD site.)
In another article
Article here
Oh, thats just Opinion?
How about this
Case eventially dismissed/dropped: Info Here
More info on Grand Jury abuse Here
OK, so I was wrong. He apparently IS in opposition to Genetically Modified foods. (RTFADA).
I wonder though, what those folks would have thought if he had been a part of this project. Frankenstein?
This whole thread was moderately 'off topic' anyway, as the topic is *not* genetically modified foods.
That being said, and having perused some of the comments in this thread, I have to point out that this issue has been discussed many times here.
I don't think you can characterize G.M. food products as "terrorist activities". Monopolistic attempts, yes; Very different than 'selective breeding', yes; Dangerous, yes.
I too am kind of lazy this morning so I'm not going to post a million threads to 'prove it', but any of you folks that think G.M. food products are so great should do a little research of your own.
(And just wait until some of the G.M stuff thats being used to grow drug products escapes and crosses with regular crops)
I know I'm gonna catch shit for posting drunk (again, FU)
,br>
I meant to say something else but I forgot what it was.
Thats the only hope ordinary folk have.
You're posting too late, the mods are asleep.(prolly)
No, I think we can safly take refuge in the whatsamagigger amendment here .
The ability to find an alternative. It's a feedback system. As the big money folk gain more influance they can but gain more influance.
This is actually a business opertunity, If you are in an area, for instance, where Hi Speed access isn't available, Sell Those Folk Bandwidth! This is NOT rocket science.)
Well ok so it is.
ROFL!
In other news . . . Scientists predict hugh THC shortage, millions of puffers depressed.
WHat the heck!
I previewed this post and STILL the article link doesn't show up!
Area51 re-visited!
Oh well Here it is again. (reviews-zdnet BTW.)
The lawyers always win.
.pif in some spam by accident.
About 3-4 years ago I tried to upgrade my copy of McAfee after my home system became contaminated with *some* virus.
Thus began a saga-like struggle to fight my way through a maze of poorly linked pages.
After spending several hours trying to BUY an upgrade, I discovered that, in fact, the ONLY way I could complete this process was to go back to the beginning and repeat the process using IE instead of Netscape.
This pissed me off so badly that I instead bought a new subscription to Norton AntiVirus.
I STILL get undesired spam from McAfee although I 'opted out' of their 'advisories' a couple of times.
This review dumps on both McAfee and Symantec, though I haven't had many issues with Symantecs product to date.
I did have to call my buddy "BlueHairedDave" over to get rid of a trojan one time, though I count that as my own fault since I clicked on a
I plan to move over to an open source product when it looks like one has achieved some level of maturity.
Hey I will indulge you for *FREE*
BTW, re: bsDaemon anyone else think this handle is hilarious?
LOL - IE couldn't POSSIBLY be the problem now could it. You must be posting at work again huh?
Oops bad link.
The Motly Fool has some interesting comments on R&D.
The Motly Fool has some interesting comments on R&D. From the article:
"Still, not all companies are the same. Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) metes out only 2% of sales on R&D, but continues to keep investors very happy"
"However, patents don't necessarily translate into money-making products. Think of Xerox (NYSE: XRX). For years, the company's PARC research center developed one breakthrough technology after another, but failed to make money on them. Its inventions, like the laser printer and the mouse, are now in the hands of competitors."
This is not strictly true. (I was at Xerox PARC when they spun off SpectraDiode and still have my Alto manual)
Xerox had(has) MANY successful spinoffs, as well as many dismal failures. But thats another story.
Companies may do very well through acquisitions of technology in liu of R&D of their own.
Interesting study in Sweden:
"The study reported in this thesis describes and analyzes technology-related acquisitions and spin-offs. The basic idea is that an economic system where large and small firms interact through technology-related ownership changes is highly conducive to overall innovativeness and long-term growth, given certain conditions"
Cisco certainly is successful at acquiring technology through acquisition, though they do a lot of their own R&D also..
I could go on with lots more examples.
The question is whether Dells model will hold up in the long run.
So far they seem to be doing ok with their 'Business Partner' model. Only time will tell.
Hey!
Come on now, picking on Stallman is one thing, but whats wrong with drugged out hippies?
(10's probably too many though, never get any work done)
Wow! Great.
So now we have *yet another way* to spy/be spied upon!
Van Ech Phreaking (original paper, SW source for Echbox, simplified description ) is bad enough, now we have to watch for shotgun mikes!
Hook this up with Wardriving and Let The Games Begin.
Although, apparently, this has a *LONG* way to go before a full password capture is feasible using the technique.
(By the way there is a wireless security presentation here that is quite good (had info on some stuff I hadn't heard about. For example Warchalking)
Just like the original poo-poo'd reports on torture in Iraq, this story is just the tip of the iceberg.
The postings here interested me in looking around for more info.
Unfortunately, it led to this horrendous rant!
In similar news . . . Photographer arrested for taking pictures of vice president's hotel
The Patriot act, Secret Courts and Homeland Security
It only gets worse. The new Patriot Act extension recomendations by Ashcroft includes:
The Patriot act, linked with the Homeland Security Act, has gutted the Freedom of Information Act.
In other News from the press: everything is classified now, and won't be released anytime soon. (See "Amendment To Executive Order No. 12958")
How much is this being used now?
How much abuse has been identified?
Sounds good. Can I get this for my Inflateable Mateable?
Though I don't want to go as far with it as this guy!
We already have problems with Genetically engineered crops, now it appears we have custom bacteria on the way. (here already, actually)
An earlier Slashdot topic addressed this, though without many supporting links. Here are a few:
"Toxic pollen from widely planted, genetically modified corn can kill monarch butterflies, Cornell study shows"
Genetically Engineered Corn Appears in One-Tenth of Grain Tests"
Nebraska soybeans were contaminated with engineered corn grown by ProdiGene in 2001"
These links only scratch the surface of the problems with G.E crops but serve to illustrate the point.
As far as I can see no 'special' precautions are being taken to isolate these experiments from the biosphere. Indeed, the work is being performed in ordinary university labs and *some* of the work at least is being done with common human bacteria.
The article claims "self policing" has worked for recombinant-DNA technology and calls for an Asilomar Conference to address the issue of safety.
I refer you to this article
Sounds like bio-hackers are on the way. I remind you, once the geni is out of the bottle it's damn hard (impossible) to put it back!
Dude,
It's survival of the fittest.
This shit is jus tools to do job!
May the best tool win!
Damn bubba, get a clue.
( my rate:90% trol
the second 90% info.)
oh, software huh.