Ante ikke at norske brukere var utestengt grunnet nasjonalitet på IRC, kanskje det har noe med at hvis jeg i det hele tatt ender opp på IRC så er det gjerne en Freenode-basert kanal.
Håper kommentaren om "typene som vanker her" har med nerdeinteresser å gjøre og ikke politikk:)
well since you're a cute squirrel leftist the righteous will have nothing against you! Squirrels are cute and the righteous realize that. Political bickering is sabotaged! but seriously, I am righteous
I disagree Re:Only one remote hole ...
on
OpenBSD Turns 10
·
· Score: 1
I'm no OpenBSD wiz (just a dabbler) but I found it extremely positive and refreshing that they admit to having had a remote hole in the default install at some point during the last eight years. To me it signals a large and rare amount of honesty and integrity in contrast to the usual blurbs other operating systems use. And of course as long as X remains low it is impressive like few other things.
It also sends a strong and extremely sensible signal that one should not take security for granted in any way - it's an attitude and an eternally iterative process.
Anyway I wouldn't mind having both a "X years with Y remote holes in default install" message as well as a "No holes in default install for X years". The messages aren't mutually exclusive. Still there must be some kind of timeout as well, no point talking about a remote hole if it's like a decade old unless they say something like "Only X remote holes in default install ever!" which would be cool:)
Back onto the main topic: happy 10th OpenBSD & team!
First: I do think you are nothing but a troll but there are many who honestly and earnestly hold your opinions. Perhaps they will read this and start thinking.
Daily ratio of Iraqi civilians dead: almost all caused by ignorant, xenophobic, theologically racist, triggerhappy morons in the name of Islam which they in no way represent (they can't have read or understood anything in the Koran, otherwise they would realize they are blasphemers). What else than a blasphemer can one call someone who says they kill in the name of a God when that God says that killing another person is like killing a universe, that the person killing will be held responsible for the destruction of an entire world? Those who shout Allah Akhbar (God is great) when they hurt and kill others are probably reserved a special place in hell if the Koran is to be believed.
In other words: do you blame US troops for terrorists killing Iraqi citizens? How delusional is that?
Humans dead from H5N1: about 60 and a lot more would have died if one hadn't taken any measures at all - that is even if it doesn't turn into a man-to-man pandemic. If it does turn into such a pandemic only our preparations, enormous effort to find a cure, and the mercy of God will help us.
In other words: are you saying doctors and scientists, as well as health officials and just about anybody shouldn't do their best to prevent disease and death? Do you think it even matters whether or not it has a "natural" origin?
Biological attack? Since any disease is a biological attack I presume you actually mean that as in a military biological weapons attack. Do you believe the CIA created HIV? Otherwise you realize that H5N1 is completely natural and that similar viruses has appeared throughout human history (last really big one was the Spanish flu).
In other words: are you livining in your own little world of shadowy conspiracies made to order to explain all those things you either simply don't or can't understand or which in your opinion it takes to much of your time to educate yourself about? Do you believe you are well informed?
The earthquake in Pakistan is beyond the current level of human knowledge to avoid. One can prepare for it with building codes and organisation. After the fact one can help the survivors as much as possible. In either case what does not help is if the country is rife with bad blood and civil struggles, underdeveloped and engaged in a miniature cold war (with India) as well as a low-level hot one (terrorism), and has spent more money on nuclear weaponry than elevating the living standard of its population - that being said I recommend all to give to NGO's and the Red Cross Red Cresent (I have and I'm not rich, far from it this computer I use to write this is the most expensive thing I have ever owned).
In other words: do you think that humans are that powerful? Is there no limit to your hubris?
I do not believe you work in the Turkish poultry industry, I do not even believe you are a Turkish citizen. If you think you are a muslim I cry for you. If you think you are informed I feel pity for you. If you think you are awake, alert, and using your brain I think you are delusional.
"...their blood temperature must stay around 10 degrees Celcius..."
Depending on where in the world and when (seasons) this at least should be no problem - think about northern Europe most of the year for example (which fits fairly well with WWII).
Not that this means any of it is neccessarily true - I'm just being sceptic of the sceptic in addition to the original poster:)
Even though I love Discovery Channel I wouldn't base my arguments on them, they mangle a lot of science (seldom really badly but usually enough that one can notice). Also remember that anything you see there, at least among the more scientific programs, is usually at least four years old (production takes time and then add reruns to that) and a lot of details/understanding tends to change in four years. I think we know far too little to definetly say that they couldn't survive over a wider range of pressures, at least for short periods.
Anyway yeah the whale surfacing with a attached squid seems plausible any which way (the squid might actually have been dead for all we know - it might still be an effort to remove its suckers, and if it died in the later part of the ascension it might still be twitching/moving).
Are anyone else finding that it is actually easier to remember longer passwords?
I recently started using passwords of about 30 characters and they are much much easier to remember than small ones (and I actually have short-term amnesia! Or maybe that's the explanation?). Actually I'm even thinking about trying out 60 characters the next time I need a serious password (I'm not talking about stuff like logging into Slashdot which I simply don't bother remembering).
With the long passwords I have the flexibility to use a few standard words combined with pseudo-random keyboard patterns as well as meta-information (information I immediately associate with the password itself).
A generic example could be: word word, several pseudo-random pattern strings, meta-information
The words act as a sort of list lookup or trigger effect for the rest of the password. So the first "word" I remember if I think for example "black morning" is the rest of the password, it becomes kind of a synonym in my own private dictionary.
A specific example could be (created for this occasion of course): Black mOrNing Xr7o_:AW#OKjh FFF:D 1c#(
Thats 37 characters and filled with patterns of various kinds (most importantly the pattern established in my brain after typing it regularily). The seemingly jibberish patterns all have a distinct meaning to me, lots of personal human stuff that would not only require an AI or two to figure out (probably even if I told them) but those AI's would have to be very similar to myself (fat chance!):)
Also I throw in at least 1 "rule-breaker" into the password (usually the most difficult thing to remember in the start).
Btw for using about 60 characters I'm considering iterating the process one step based on an intial 30ish password.
And as to speed I would guess I use something akin to 10 seconds typing in the about 30 character passwords, perhaps 15, anyway it is fast and becomes automatic after a while.
I'll tell you the real reason as I see it; the american government under any administration, hate them or love them, actually avoid signing stuff they have no intention of following or that they simply think is fatally flawed. Some examples: - ban on mines only being applicable to nationstates and in no way guaranteeing the end of use of mines among the less orderly of those nor permitting the orderly and important use of them as is usual in stable democracies like South Korea - Kyoto treaty not actually solving the problem to any sufficient degree and in a sensible manner
One might disagree with the opinions but don't disregard that they actually base their decisions on what the majority in the senate and/or congress agrees upon.
And when they find it in their interest to do stuff prohibited by a treaty they have already signed then they're actually honest and respectful enough to withdraw from the treaty concerned before doing so and usually in a friendly manner like they did with Russia on the ABM treaty.
If more countries actually followed this example there would be a lot less hypocrisy in world politics, a lot less paperpushing bullshit floating around, and a lot less opportunities for mindless america-bashing.
Contrast this with the old Soviet Union signing the Geneva conventions while still telling their soldiers to disregard not firing upon red cross marked vehicles etc.
Contrast this with the Baath regime signing ceasefire agreements with the coalition (US/UN) of the first Gulf war which they broke in numerous ways for example by firing on patrolling coalition planes in air exclusion zones as well as by impeding every UN weapons inspection according to the testimony of Blix himself (this list could go on at some lenght).
Contrast this with Iran signing up to nuclear non-proliferation while continuing to aim for solutions that begs for misuse in proliferation.
Contrast this with nations like North Korea that participate in the UN and sign various treaties but should have no admittance there considering their gross violations.
The US aren't angels but they're a lot better than most idiots realize. Oh and just to make it clear: I hate the quagmire on the legal status of those imprisoned in Guantanamo as much as everybody else but anyone tempted to compare the trouble related to the fact that terrorists are actually not governed by the Geneva conventions with any of the above examples has shit for brains - it's not a valid comparison (and would be obvious as such if for instance the average jerk-off journalist took the trouble to read the conventions, then again they might not have the needed literacy).
Sorry if I sound cross, it's not personal I'm just fed up of all the moronic memes that keep getting repeated from certain quarters.
You're spot on. The NewScientist angle is no surprise really, at least not to me and I've been reading NewScientist on and off for years - they often pay lip-service to the less rational segments of society/university culture in Britain to boost their circulation.
What else can one call a "news report" that says: "Although the Sterne strain is not thought to be harmful to humans and is used for vaccination"
but still avoids mentioning the fact that anthrax has to be militarized to be classified as a biological weapon and then goes on to cry wolf even though it should be clearly selfcontradictionary to even a casual reader? They're obviously playing on the fact that most of their readers don't have a clue about anthrax as naturally occuring in the soil (and who in their right mind would classify the soil itself as a biological weapon? Doing so would be as bizarre as the "news"...). Or maybe they're betting on most of those readers willfully ignoring this if they are aware of it in order to revel in their already firmly established selfgratifying world-view.
Sunshine Project http://www.sunshine-project.org/ is just another typical activist organisation and not someone exactly brimming with scientific credibility (they're an NGO who find scientists that support them just like any other halfassed activist group like Greenpeace).
I bet 95% of all slashdotters will gobble this "news" up without much further thought (lest this post prevents that).
Not that NewScientist is a real scientific journal, it's just a popular science rag, but this is the same reasons society needs something better to replace the often ambiguous claims to being "a peer-reviewed journal/publication" or in general those words that have sadly lost any meaning beyond their buzzword value like "integrity" and "independent".
No matter the kind or size of media we need to know who those "peers" are (and not just the final link but all the way into the news source) and how and what they were thinking to make any such system have any real credibility (no more hiding behind anonymous facades or dubious groups). In short: we need truly responsible transparent journalism to replace what has become a putrid wound festering with personal political bias, plain corruption and lack of understanding and knowledge be it scientific or otherwise. Otherwise the noise-to-signal ratio will simply always remain so high as to make it all irrelevant to any intelligent reader.
Surely this must be a conspiracy of the manicurists industrial complex?
After decades of covert lobbying, scheming, and the occasional staged nipple broadcast on national tv, the bribed and corrupt politicians of the MIC have succeded!
The next step will be a law under the Patriot Act mandating that everyone must sleep with their hands above the blanket subject to individual one-night dispensations for married couples above thirty for procreation activity.
In related news it today became illegal to let pets poo in view from public spaces... the chief of Homeland Security is quoted as saying "These acts while natural in themselves have a propensity to be caught on government surveillance and we obviously can't have the government break its own laws! This defecation has got to stop and so we do a preemptive strike on poodles in preparation of new Patriot Act amendements". She then went on to say that it is the DoHS view that this will be a great victory in the war on hairy palms, significantly cutting down on the amount of possible deviant material inadvertently created by your tax dollars.
In entertainment news Larry Flynt's "Fahrenheit 9on1" won acclaim at the Cannes International Film Festival. The screening received overwhelming applause, praise, and a wild orgy of debauchery.
(hey Flynt if you're reading this and like the movie suggestion feel free to send me a few "consultants" and I'll work out the practical details)
"...is because the average slashdot reader is educated and reasonably intelligent."
Using this in an argument is utter folly no matter what the gist of your argument is, or are you reading a different Slashdot than the rest of us? Sure, we all think we are those things but few actually are:)
"They tend to seek out news for themselves without automatically accepting the news that the media spoon feeds them which just so happens to echo the corporate/political party line."
Group-think is as prevalent on Slashdot as anywhere else and almost all the positively modded posts in this thread are solid proof to that effect. When will those people realize that substituting one group-think for another makes no difference and just as much "bad" as if they belonged to those they criticize? Probably never.
Anyway, cudos to you for at least avoiding namecalling any particular party or group.
As for the original story I'm not convinced it isn't just a typical journalistic ploy to create a story (common among all flavours of media be it big or small). And boy did it work, suddenly lots of people (at Slashdot) start responding like this is a common occurance all over Britain lol. "We" wont get any better media (be it big or small) before people wise up and stop swallowing stuff like this hook, line and sinker.
"This cost does not include money spent on marketing or development"
Which translates into: "Nothing to see here except a fine example of bullshit reporting which actually doesn't contain any useful information. Made up to get people riled up about something that isn't actually relevant while keeping any reader ignorant or paying homage to aleady delusional ideas on how things work out there in the real world".
Although you are right that there are such people I doubt it is the case here; some simply get modded down because they're stupid.
A woman being stupid is no different from a man being stupid, it's still stupid, and thinking it is not sexist. And just how are we meant to be sure the poster was a woman? Trust the posters name? Who cares? It might just as well be a pimply teenage loser getting his kicks out of trolling people.
Yes I think the grandparent was stupid to the point of being a troll, there are female astronauts and unless one lives in a cave one should know that. Guess who was Commander for the last shuttle flight? STS-114 Commander Eileen Collins http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/multimedia/elli ngton_field_gallery.html and she didn't get the job because she was a woman, she got it because she's the best - and that's an example not an exception (read the page and you'll see another female crew member on the same STS-114 flight: Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence).
Oh that's right maybe she doesn't count as she publicly states that she thinks the sex issue (the fact that she is a woman) is totally irrelevant! How that must hurt for those who love to play the subject to their own ends and like to pretend that women like these don't exist: http://www.astronautix.com/articles/womspace.htm
(start sarcasm) Oh my god! They're not even all white! How is that even possible? (end sarcasm)
1 mission, 2 women one of which is the Commander + grandparents trollish whine = a fair mod down.
No worries - I overreacted since I myself don't really like the way the "word" AI is used (I even don't think any real high-level intelligence can be called artificial, synthetic perhaps but not artificial:) which of course at least opens up yet another can of worms lol).
Are you saying AI to you means nothing more than a few nested loopback feeds or cascading decisions? (Nope I doubt you actually think so).
Bah I wont care to get dragged into any debate on definitions -- my post was a joke with a kernel of truth in it and I think everybody got it even if "AI" is a misnomer (which it always is afaiac).
This is normal, this is how disasters actually are, turn on CNN or search the net for the interview with Jan Egeland on this, he's more knowledgeable that either one here and he said this is how big disasters are - simply because it is unfeasible to do enough stuff fast enough for anyone - and that it always gets worse in the period of 5-6-7 days after the disaster before getting better.
So don't be disappointed in America: the U.S. is no more a superman nation than any other. Yes people within the U.S. and outside, people pro-american or anti, all have some tendency to overestimate the might and power of the U.S. of A. in some respect or other - but that doesn't make it true that so is the case, and indeed it is not.
What you are seeing is a natural disaster, but the important bit is that you're seeing it from a close perspective, much closer than the tsunami, almost from the inside out because of the extensive media coverage and much more so because it happens inside the U.S.A. on the front porch of some of the biggest media in the world.
It's simple: no amount of knowledge can really prepare anyone for the reality of such a massive disaster, so it will always have an element of surprise even when one knows it's coming. The only thing that really can make people understand is living through it or to a lesser extent having been involved directly on the scene in previous disasters.
(Not an example that does the above or the situation justice but it's a bit similar to experiencing a real 3rd world slum for the first time, you might have seen it plenty on tv but nothing you see will ever prepare you for the shock of actually being there which is something completely different)
That being said I think the silver lining of this awful disaster is that with the intimate media coverage it might actually help a lot of people begin to understand if they realize just how extremely big of an event this was (especially in New Orleans).
All this is not meant as an excuse not to try to do better and aim higher for the future, so please do not take it that way - yes there have been failures, things everybody agrees should have been way different.
Slashdot Mirror
Hehe får følelsen av at det lett kan bli en selvoppfyldende profeti ;)
Ante ikke at norske brukere var utestengt grunnet nasjonalitet på IRC, kanskje det har noe med at hvis jeg i det hele tatt ender opp på IRC så er det gjerne en Freenode-basert kanal.
:)
Håper kommentaren om "typene som vanker her" har med nerdeinteresser å gjøre og ikke politikk
well since you're a cute squirrel leftist the righteous will have nothing against you! Squirrels are cute and the righteous realize that. Political bickering is sabotaged! but seriously, I am righteous
Du er norsk også? Overraskende mange her...
Best
:)
disclaimer
ever!
Seriously, I liked it
p.s. 5-5 vertical/horizontal (7-7 with this line)
I'm no OpenBSD wiz (just a dabbler) but I found it extremely positive and refreshing that they admit to having had a remote hole in the default install at some point during the last eight years. To me it signals a large and rare amount of honesty and integrity in contrast to the usual blurbs other operating systems use. And of course as long as X remains low it is impressive like few other things.
:)
It also sends a strong and extremely sensible signal that one should not take security for granted in any way - it's an attitude and an eternally iterative process.
Anyway I wouldn't mind having both a "X years with Y remote holes in default install" message as well as a "No holes in default install for X years". The messages aren't mutually exclusive. Still there must be some kind of timeout as well, no point talking about a remote hole if it's like a decade old unless they say something like "Only X remote holes in default install ever!" which would be cool
Back onto the main topic: happy 10th OpenBSD & team!
First: I do think you are nothing but a troll but there are many who honestly and earnestly hold your opinions. Perhaps they will read this and start thinking.
Daily ratio of Iraqi civilians dead: almost all caused by ignorant, xenophobic, theologically racist, triggerhappy morons in the name of Islam which they in no way represent (they can't have read or understood anything in the Koran, otherwise they would realize they are blasphemers). What else than a blasphemer can one call someone who says they kill in the name of a God when that God says that killing another person is like killing a universe, that the person killing will be held responsible for the destruction of an entire world? Those who shout Allah Akhbar (God is great) when they hurt and kill others are probably reserved a special place in hell if the Koran is to be believed.
In other words: do you blame US troops for terrorists killing Iraqi citizens? How delusional is that?
Humans dead from H5N1: about 60 and a lot more would have died if one hadn't taken any measures at all - that is even if it doesn't turn into a man-to-man pandemic. If it does turn into such a pandemic only our preparations, enormous effort to find a cure, and the mercy of God will help us.
In other words: are you saying doctors and scientists, as well as health officials and just about anybody shouldn't do their best to prevent disease and death? Do you think it even matters whether or not it has a "natural" origin?
Biological attack? Since any disease is a biological attack I presume you actually mean that as in a military biological weapons attack. Do you believe the CIA created HIV? Otherwise you realize that H5N1 is completely natural and that similar viruses has appeared throughout human history (last really big one was the Spanish flu).
In other words: are you livining in your own little world of shadowy conspiracies made to order to explain all those things you either simply don't or can't understand or which in your opinion it takes to much of your time to educate yourself about? Do you believe you are well informed?
The earthquake in Pakistan is beyond the current level of human knowledge to avoid. One can prepare for it with building codes and organisation. After the fact one can help the survivors as much as possible. In either case what does not help is if the country is rife with bad blood and civil struggles, underdeveloped and engaged in a miniature cold war (with India) as well as a low-level hot one (terrorism), and has spent more money on nuclear weaponry than elevating the living standard of its population - that being said I recommend all to give to NGO's and the Red Cross Red Cresent (I have and I'm not rich, far from it this computer I use to write this is the most expensive thing I have ever owned).
In other words: do you think that humans are that powerful? Is there no limit to your hubris?
I do not believe you work in the Turkish poultry industry, I do not even believe you are a Turkish citizen. If you think you are a muslim I cry for you. If you think you are informed I feel pity for you. If you think you are awake, alert, and using your brain I think you are delusional.
So right back at you: wake up yourself.
"...their blood temperature must stay around 10 degrees Celcius..."
:)
Depending on where in the world and when (seasons) this at least should be no problem - think about northern Europe most of the year for example (which fits fairly well with WWII).
Not that this means any of it is neccessarily true - I'm just being sceptic of the sceptic in addition to the original poster
Even though I love Discovery Channel I wouldn't base my arguments on them, they mangle a lot of science (seldom really badly but usually enough that one can notice). Also remember that anything you see there, at least among the more scientific programs, is usually at least four years old (production takes time and then add reruns to that) and a lot of details/understanding tends to change in four years. I think we know far too little to definetly say that they couldn't survive over a wider range of pressures, at least for short periods.
Anyway yeah the whale surfacing with a attached squid seems plausible any which way (the squid might actually have been dead for all we know - it might still be an effort to remove its suckers, and if it died in the later part of the ascension it might still be twitching/moving).
Damned this was funny lol
:)
So please moderators mod this gem up.
Thank you LordFnord you made my day! (and it's still morning over here)
Are anyone else finding that it is actually easier to remember longer passwords?
:)
I recently started using passwords of about 30 characters and they are much much easier to remember than small ones (and I actually have short-term amnesia! Or maybe that's the explanation?). Actually I'm even thinking about trying out 60 characters the next time I need a serious password (I'm not talking about stuff like logging into Slashdot which I simply don't bother remembering).
With the long passwords I have the flexibility to use a few standard words combined with pseudo-random keyboard patterns as well as meta-information (information I immediately associate with the password itself).
A generic example could be:
word word, several pseudo-random pattern strings, meta-information
The words act as a sort of list lookup or trigger effect for the rest of the password. So the first "word" I remember if I think for example "black morning" is the rest of the password, it becomes kind of a synonym in my own private dictionary.
A specific example could be (created for this occasion of course):
Black mOrNing Xr7o_:AW#OKjh FFF:D 1c#(
Thats 37 characters and filled with patterns of various kinds (most importantly the pattern established in my brain after typing it regularily). The seemingly jibberish patterns all have a distinct meaning to me, lots of personal human stuff that would not only require an AI or two to figure out (probably even if I told them) but those AI's would have to be very similar to myself (fat chance!)
Also I throw in at least 1 "rule-breaker" into the password (usually the most difficult thing to remember in the start).
Btw for using about 60 characters I'm considering iterating the process one step based on an intial 30ish password.
And as to speed I would guess I use something akin to 10 seconds typing in the about 30 character passwords, perhaps 15, anyway it is fast and becomes automatic after a while.
I'll tell you the real reason as I see it; the american government under any administration, hate them or love them, actually avoid signing stuff they have no intention of following or that they simply think is fatally flawed. Some examples:
- ban on mines only being applicable to nationstates and in no way guaranteeing the end of use of mines among the less orderly of those nor permitting the orderly and important use of them as is usual in stable democracies like South Korea
- Kyoto treaty not actually solving the problem to any sufficient degree and in a sensible manner
One might disagree with the opinions but don't disregard that they actually base their decisions on what the majority in the senate and/or congress agrees upon.
And when they find it in their interest to do stuff prohibited by a treaty they have already signed then they're actually honest and respectful enough to withdraw from the treaty concerned before doing so and usually in a friendly manner like they did with Russia on the ABM treaty.
If more countries actually followed this example there would be a lot less hypocrisy in world politics, a lot less paperpushing bullshit floating around, and a lot less opportunities for mindless america-bashing.
Contrast this with the old Soviet Union signing the Geneva conventions while still telling their soldiers to disregard not firing upon red cross marked vehicles etc.
Contrast this with the Baath regime signing ceasefire agreements with the coalition (US/UN) of the first Gulf war which they broke in numerous ways for example by firing on patrolling coalition planes in air exclusion zones as well as by impeding every UN weapons inspection according to the testimony of Blix himself (this list could go on at some lenght).
Contrast this with Iran signing up to nuclear non-proliferation while continuing to aim for solutions that begs for misuse in proliferation.
Contrast this with nations like North Korea that participate in the UN and sign various treaties but should have no admittance there considering their gross violations.
The US aren't angels but they're a lot better than most idiots realize. Oh and just to make it clear: I hate the quagmire on the legal status of those imprisoned in Guantanamo as much as everybody else but anyone tempted to compare the trouble related to the fact that terrorists are actually not governed by the Geneva conventions with any of the above examples has shit for brains - it's not a valid comparison (and would be obvious as such if for instance the average jerk-off journalist took the trouble to read the conventions, then again they might not have the needed literacy).
Sorry if I sound cross, it's not personal I'm just fed up of all the moronic memes that keep getting repeated from certain quarters.
... if you are willing to pay a high 12-digit number of US dollars in advance.
Lol!
:) Even though it is not a fish delicacy I can certainly see it being used if this trend continues! :)
And next up should be smalahovud
Some info with pictures for those lucky enough not to know (yet): http://www.bjorkasen.no/bcd/bcd0-99/food.htm
It could probably be fun to settle and live somewhere with such an exotic address as:
267th Lefse Drive
Mount Raspeball
Mars
You're spot on. The NewScientist angle is no surprise really, at least not to me and I've been reading NewScientist on and off for years - they often pay lip-service to the less rational segments of society/university culture in Britain to boost their circulation.
What else can one call a "news report" that says:
"Although the Sterne strain is not thought to be harmful to humans and is used for vaccination"
but still avoids mentioning the fact that anthrax has to be militarized to be classified as a biological weapon and then goes on to cry wolf even though it should be clearly selfcontradictionary to even a casual reader? They're obviously playing on the fact that most of their readers don't have a clue about anthrax as naturally occuring in the soil (and who in their right mind would classify the soil itself as a biological weapon? Doing so would be as bizarre as the "news"...). Or maybe they're betting on most of those readers willfully ignoring this if they are aware of it in order to revel in their already firmly established selfgratifying world-view.
Sunshine Project http://www.sunshine-project.org/ is just another typical activist organisation and not someone exactly brimming with scientific credibility (they're an NGO who find scientists that support them just like any other halfassed activist group like Greenpeace).
I bet 95% of all slashdotters will gobble this "news" up without much further thought (lest this post prevents that).
Not that NewScientist is a real scientific journal, it's just a popular science rag, but this is the same reasons society needs something better to replace the often ambiguous claims to being "a peer-reviewed journal/publication" or in general those words that have sadly lost any meaning beyond their buzzword value like "integrity" and "independent".
No matter the kind or size of media we need to know who those "peers" are (and not just the final link but all the way into the news source) and how and what they were thinking to make any such system have any real credibility (no more hiding behind anonymous facades or dubious groups). In short: we need truly responsible transparent journalism to replace what has become a putrid wound festering with personal political bias, plain corruption and lack of understanding and knowledge be it scientific or otherwise. Otherwise the noise-to-signal ratio will simply always remain so high as to make it all irrelevant to any intelligent reader.
Surely this must be a conspiracy of the manicurists industrial complex?
After decades of covert lobbying, scheming, and the occasional staged nipple broadcast on national tv, the bribed and corrupt politicians of the MIC have succeded!
The next step will be a law under the Patriot Act mandating that everyone must sleep with their hands above the blanket subject to individual one-night dispensations for married couples above thirty for procreation activity.
In related news it today became illegal to let pets poo in view from public spaces... the chief of Homeland Security is quoted as saying "These acts while natural in themselves have a propensity to be caught on government surveillance and we obviously can't have the government break its own laws! This defecation has got to stop and so we do a preemptive strike on poodles in preparation of new Patriot Act amendements". She then went on to say that it is the DoHS view that this will be a great victory in the war on hairy palms, significantly cutting down on the amount of possible deviant material inadvertently created by your tax dollars.
In entertainment news Larry Flynt's "Fahrenheit 9on1" won acclaim at the Cannes International Film Festival. The screening received overwhelming applause, praise, and a wild orgy of debauchery.
(hey Flynt if you're reading this and like the movie suggestion feel free to send me a few "consultants" and I'll work out the practical details)Considering that the list is full of the usual shit I as a fan consider it an honour that Dark Skies isn't on it :)
Dark Skies - for those who think The X Files is way too shallow and incoherent.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Skies
"...is because the average slashdot reader is educated and reasonably intelligent."
Using this in an argument is utter folly no matter what the gist of your argument is, or are you reading a different Slashdot than the rest of us? Sure, we all think we are those things but few actually are :)
"They tend to seek out news for themselves without automatically accepting the news that the media spoon feeds them which just so happens to echo the corporate/political party line."
Group-think is as prevalent on Slashdot as anywhere else and almost all the positively modded posts in this thread are solid proof to that effect. When will those people realize that substituting one group-think for another makes no difference and just as much "bad" as if they belonged to those they criticize? Probably never.
Anyway, cudos to you for at least avoiding namecalling any particular party or group.
As for the original story I'm not convinced it isn't just a typical journalistic ploy to create a story (common among all flavours of media be it big or small). And boy did it work, suddenly lots of people (at Slashdot) start responding like this is a common occurance all over Britain lol. "We" wont get any better media (be it big or small) before people wise up and stop swallowing stuff like this hook, line and sinker.
"This cost does not include money spent on marketing or development"
Which translates into: "Nothing to see here except a fine example of bullshit reporting which actually doesn't contain any useful information. Made up to get people riled up about something that isn't actually relevant while keeping any reader ignorant or paying homage to aleady delusional ideas on how things work out there in the real world".
Morons.
Although you are right that there are such people I doubt it is the case here; some simply get modded down because they're stupid.
A woman being stupid is no different from a man being stupid, it's still stupid, and thinking it is not sexist. And just how are we meant to be sure the poster was a woman? Trust the posters name? Who cares? It might just as well be a pimply teenage loser getting his kicks out of trolling people.
Yes I think the grandparent was stupid to the point of being a troll, there are female astronauts and unless one lives in a cave one should know that. Guess who was Commander for the last shuttle flight? STS-114 Commander Eileen Collins http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/multimedia/elli ngton_field_gallery.html and she didn't get the job because she was a woman, she got it because she's the best - and that's an example not an exception (read the page and you'll see another female crew member on the same STS-114 flight: Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence).
Oh that's right maybe she doesn't count as she publicly states that she thinks the sex issue (the fact that she is a woman) is totally irrelevant! How that must hurt for those who love to play the subject to their own ends and like to pretend that women like these don't exist: http://www.astronautix.com/articles/womspace.htm
(start sarcasm) Oh my god! They're not even all white! How is that even possible? (end sarcasm)
1 mission, 2 women one of which is the Commander + grandparents trollish whine = a fair mod down.
Surely they have enough trouble as it is without the need to see their party relegated to obscurity by an onslaught of smarter individuals/voters!
/* yes this is a +5 Funny post - everyone should be able to laugh at this one no matter which political affiliation they have */
Lol come on it's an excellent pun :)
Typical nerdy humour which any true nerd should recognize instantly.
Or maybe, just maybe, we humans will have to do our best to convince it that we are in fact alive and intelligent :)
No worries - I overreacted since I myself don't really like the way the "word" AI is used (I even don't think any real high-level intelligence can be called artificial, synthetic perhaps but not artificial :) which of course at least opens up yet another can of worms lol).
Are you saying AI to you means nothing more than a few nested loopback feeds or cascading decisions? (Nope I doubt you actually think so).
Bah I wont care to get dragged into any debate on definitions -- my post was a joke with a kernel of truth in it and I think everybody got it even if "AI" is a misnomer (which it always is afaiac).
I'll believe in real AI when the robot tying your shoelaces ties them together to trip you :)
This is normal, this is how disasters actually are, turn on CNN or search the net for the interview with Jan Egeland on this, he's more knowledgeable that either one here and he said this is how big disasters are - simply because it is unfeasible to do enough stuff fast enough for anyone - and that it always gets worse in the period of 5-6-7 days after the disaster before getting better.
So don't be disappointed in America: the U.S. is no more a superman nation than any other. Yes people within the U.S. and outside, people pro-american or anti, all have some tendency to overestimate the might and power of the U.S. of A. in some respect or other - but that doesn't make it true that so is the case, and indeed it is not.
What you are seeing is a natural disaster, but the important bit is that you're seeing it from a close perspective, much closer than the tsunami, almost from the inside out because of the extensive media coverage and much more so because it happens inside the U.S.A. on the front porch of some of the biggest media in the world.
It's simple: no amount of knowledge can really prepare anyone for the reality of such a massive disaster, so it will always have an element of surprise even when one knows it's coming. The only thing that really can make people understand is living through it or to a lesser extent having been involved directly on the scene in previous disasters.
(Not an example that does the above or the situation justice but it's a bit similar to experiencing a real 3rd world slum for the first time, you might have seen it plenty on tv but nothing you see will ever prepare you for the shock of actually being there which is something completely different)
That being said I think the silver lining of this awful disaster is that with the intimate media coverage it might actually help a lot of people begin to understand if they realize just how extremely big of an event this was (especially in New Orleans).
All this is not meant as an excuse not to try to do better and aim higher for the future, so please do not take it that way - yes there have been failures, things everybody agrees should have been way different.
My heart goes out to all affected.