"The hacker says his aim was simply to raise awareness about the vulnerability of the security system of the Parliament, at a time when the NSA spying scandal was shaking public opinion across Europe.
The hacker sat in a public place near the Parliament building in Strasbourg and managed to make nearby smartphones and computers pass through the “wifi” of his computer to connect to the internet. That was the hardest part of the procedure, he explained.
Then he accessed an application most MEPs use and which signals when new mail arrives in their inbox. The app does warn the user that an intruder is trying to access their data, but the message is “obscure”, the hacker said, and most users click OK, thereby giving access permission."
In Europe people are willing to PAY for a proper education system. Higher tax rates are considered a price worth paying for a more civilized society.
There seems to be less solidarity in the USA: "Why should I pay for someone else's problems? Lower the taxes!".
This serves the elite greatly, but hurts the country as a whole. Poor public schooling makes it easier to control the dumb masses. Fear mongering will be more effective. But it also means the country will be less productive and innovative.
Compared to Europeans, Americans seem quite "patriotic". But if you say you love your country so much, then why are you not willing to invest into it?
Sadly I see Europe moving gradually closer to the same path.
This is sad news. The man really was a legend in synthesizer land, where I spend a lot of my time.
I used to hang out on the Analogue Heaven mailing list a few years ago. At that time the news that Mr. Moog would come out with a modern version of his classic Minimoog synth was all the hype.
Lots of people were willing to fork over $2500 for this monophonic synth... many even paid a few hundred bucks extra for a "Signature Edition" which the man had personally autographed. I thought this was all a bit ridiculous, but it was evidence of his synth superstardom. I wonder if these autographed Minimoogs will raise in value now that the man has passed away...
Sounds familiar. The way of the Dell: get customers to your site because they heard you sell good, cheap systems, and then use all sorts of clever tricks to make them spend more.
You really need to know what you're doing to get a good deal. So instead of just telling a computer illiterate relative which cheap system to buy at Dell, I did the actual ordering for her.
And yes, one of the gotchas is that the really cheap systems don't even have dvd-drives, and "upgrades" can be very expensive.
Disney just did their part in the war on terror by providing Mr. Rumsfeld with this devastating torturing tool to be unleashed on the most hardened Guantanamo Bay detainees.
However, the fact that this weapon of mass brain cell destruction has now been posted on the front page of Slashdot must be one of the most evil acts of cyber terrorism ever to hit the US.
Some more anecdotal evidence that the US is not the only country where the native language gets mangled:
I'm Dutch, and the forums here in the Netherlands are full of poor spelling and grammar too.
It's hard for me to say if it is just as bad as in the US though, since I've never actually been in your country and obviously English isn't my native language.
One major source for spelling errors in the Dutch language is that Dutch verbs often end with either "d", "t" or "dt". The pronounciation is the same, but the spelling is different. The rules to derive the correct spelling really aren't very difficult, but I guess a lot of people just don't care.
You don't need to go to the US to be ridiculed for not being totally fluent in the country's language either. I've been to the UK quite a few times, and lacking English language skills certainly aren't appreciated here either. I'm used to American rather than British accents, and Brits on the streets often speak in a bit of a mumbled voice - when I can't understand some of what they say, their facial expression often says something like "stupid bloody tourist".
Two seriously hip dudes enter a seriously hip party. The sight of all the hot, hip chicks in the crowd puts a sexy smile on their tanned faces.
A stunning, scantily clad blonde approaches them. "Wow, is that an iPod?", she asks to one of the studs, who is conspicuously wearing a set of earbuds. "Err, no, it's er... a Rio. It's just like an iPod..."
"Oh...", the sexy female utters, "I thought it was an iPod". She gives the two one last disdainful look, turns her head and walks away.
While our two hip dudes stare at eachother, a geeky, pimple faced guy enters the room. He clumsily trips, loosing his glasses and barely hanging on to the small white device he was so preoccupied with.
"Oh my god, it's an iPod!!!", some hot chick screams. She drops her cocktail on the floor and runs towards the geek. However, by the time she reaches him, she is unable to elbow her way through the crowd of horny chicks, all lustfully touching the nerd and his white babe magnet.
As the confused geek squirms in pleasure, the hip dude with the Rio throws his iPod rip-off on the floor in total frustration, crushes it with his foot, and barges out of the party.
"Dude, where are you going?", his friend yells.
"To the Apple store!!!"
Re:in case you don't know what the heck he means..
on
The Neuron Drive
·
· Score: 1
the painting would be more interesting without that hard drive stuck there (and with a few lighter colors or highlights so it isn't so dark overall).
I agree, but fortunately he seems to have another piece of art that may be more to your liking. Check this picture, the piece can be seen hanging tastefully on the door behind the artist. It features some lovely bright colors and apparently it is called "Happy birthday".
I'm glad joining the Air Force turned out to be a good deal for you. I really am.
The point is that for quite a few people the military turns out to be somewhat less idyllic: missing limbs, psychological trauma, death.
I'm not from the US, but it seems a really sick to me that the only way America let you out of the ghetto is by risking your life for the rich white elite in some remote third world country.
This is basically the story of the evil Syndrome character from the Pixar movie The Incredibles: a geek so obsessed by super heroes that he invents his own super gear to beat them at their own game.
Slashdot Mirror
The included links of the submission don't provide any further details about this "white hat hacker".
This link does: http://www.euractiv.com/specialreport-cybersecurity/eu-parliament-investigating-hack-news-531877
"The hacker says his aim was simply to raise awareness about the vulnerability of the security system of the Parliament, at a time when the NSA spying scandal was shaking public opinion across Europe.
The hacker sat in a public place near the Parliament building in Strasbourg and managed to make nearby smartphones and computers pass through the “wifi” of his computer to connect to the internet. That was the hardest part of the procedure, he explained.
Then he accessed an application most MEPs use and which signals when new mail arrives in their inbox. The app does warn the user that an intruder is trying to access their data, but the message is “obscure”, the hacker said, and most users click OK, thereby giving access permission."
In Europe people are willing to PAY for a proper education system. Higher tax rates are considered a price worth paying for a more civilized society.
There seems to be less solidarity in the USA: "Why should I pay for someone else's problems? Lower the taxes!".
This serves the elite greatly, but hurts the country as a whole. Poor public schooling makes it easier to control the dumb masses. Fear mongering will be more effective. But it also means the country will be less productive and innovative.
Compared to Europeans, Americans seem quite "patriotic". But if you say you love your country so much, then why are you not willing to invest into it?
Sadly I see Europe moving gradually closer to the same path.
Looks like it, considering these responses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEWq0_XR39w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjOKJF2cwOE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL1ccifCqXk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydTMBHtzOdY :)
Just wanted to add another documentary to your list:
Orwell Rolls in his Grave
This one explains the role of the US media, which - as you said - are owned by a few huge corporations.
I used to hang out on the Analogue Heaven mailing list a few years ago. At that time the news that Mr. Moog would come out with a modern version of his classic Minimoog synth was all the hype.
Lots of people were willing to fork over $2500 for this monophonic synth... many even paid a few hundred bucks extra for a "Signature Edition" which the man had personally autographed. I thought this was all a bit ridiculous, but it was evidence of his synth superstardom. I wonder if these autographed Minimoogs will raise in value now that the man has passed away...
If you look at the Dell website, you'll notice that they often offer free shipping.
You really need to know what you're doing to get a good deal. So instead of just telling a computer illiterate relative which cheap system to buy at Dell, I did the actual ordering for her.
And yes, one of the gotchas is that the really cheap systems don't even have dvd-drives, and "upgrades" can be very expensive.
(2005) Let's send up a space ship to an asteroid 80 million miles away... and SHOOT IT!
However, the fact that this weapon of mass brain cell destruction has now been posted on the front page of Slashdot must be one of the most evil acts of cyber terrorism ever to hit the US.
I'm Dutch, and the forums here in the Netherlands are full of poor spelling and grammar too.
It's hard for me to say if it is just as bad as in the US though, since I've never actually been in your country and obviously English isn't my native language.
One major source for spelling errors in the Dutch language is that Dutch verbs often end with either "d", "t" or "dt". The pronounciation is the same, but the spelling is different. The rules to derive the correct spelling really aren't very difficult, but I guess a lot of people just don't care.
You don't need to go to the US to be ridiculed for not being totally fluent in the country's language either. I've been to the UK quite a few times, and lacking English language skills certainly aren't appreciated here either. I'm used to American rather than British accents, and Brits on the streets often speak in a bit of a mumbled voice - when I can't understand some of what they say, their facial expression often says something like "stupid bloody tourist".
So while it may make economic sense to use Russian rockets, the message would then be "Russia is #1". Try selling that to US politicians.
Two seriously hip dudes enter a seriously hip party. The sight of all the hot, hip chicks in the crowd puts a sexy smile on their tanned faces.
A stunning, scantily clad blonde approaches them. "Wow, is that an iPod?", she asks to one of the studs, who is conspicuously wearing a set of earbuds. "Err, no, it's er... a Rio. It's just like an iPod..."
"Oh...", the sexy female utters, "I thought it was an iPod". She gives the two one last disdainful look, turns her head and walks away.
While our two hip dudes stare at eachother, a geeky, pimple faced guy enters the room. He clumsily trips, loosing his glasses and barely hanging on to the small white device he was so preoccupied with.
"Oh my god, it's an iPod!!!", some hot chick screams. She drops her cocktail on the floor and runs towards the geek. However, by the time she reaches him, she is unable to elbow her way through the crowd of horny chicks, all lustfully touching the nerd and his white babe magnet.
As the confused geek squirms in pleasure, the hip dude with the Rio throws his iPod rip-off on the floor in total frustration, crushes it with his foot, and barges out of the party.
"Dude, where are you going?", his friend yells.
"To the Apple store!!!"
I agree, but fortunately he seems to have another piece of art that may be more to your liking. Check this picture, the piece can be seen hanging tastefully on the door behind the artist. It features some lovely bright colors and apparently it is called "Happy birthday".
This baby did't need some silly demand to die. Plus, it featured the "click of death" (TM).
Ah well, they just don't make 'm like they used to!
I'm glad joining the Air Force turned out to be a good deal for you. I really am. The point is that for quite a few people the military turns out to be somewhat less idyllic: missing limbs, psychological trauma, death. I'm not from the US, but it seems a really sick to me that the only way America let you out of the ghetto is by risking your life for the rich white elite in some remote third world country.
This is basically the story of the evil Syndrome character from the Pixar movie The Incredibles: a geek so obsessed by super heroes that he invents his own super gear to beat them at their own game.