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User: blackraven14250

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  1. Re:Treason on Facebook and Microsoft Disclose Government Requests For User Data · · Score: 1

    When it comes to heroes, it's time for a reality check. A huge number of people who the public would call heroes - whether it's the citizens who ran towards the building that collapsed recently in Philadelphia, or the first responders to 9/11, or Sully, the pilot who landed a plane on the Hudson safely - don't consider themselves heroes. There's already a few disparate terms that describe it in media, from hero self-deprecation to the "humble hero". I can't find one that describes this phenomenon in real life, but there's a ton of people out there who fit those types of descriptions, so be real - whether someone considers themselves a hero or not is almost completely independent from their actual hero-or-not status.

  2. Re:Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated. on EA Takes Over Scrabble App, Wipes Player Histories and Switches Dictionary · · Score: 1

    Probably because it won't matter. Besides the refresh to see new moves downgrade, everything else changed is likely serverside - dictionary and player history seem like they wouldn't be stored permanently in users' phones' memories.

  3. Re:Publishers rejoice on Researchers Discover Another Layer To the Cornea · · Score: 2

    Students already would have been purchasing new books, so publishers are probably ambivalent on this development.

  4. Re:so many things on Ask Slashdot: What To Do With New Free Time? · · Score: 1

    I think the solution to that problem is to move to Florida first.

  5. Re:Fear and Ignorance on Bill Regulating 3D Printed Guns Announced In NYC · · Score: 1

    At least when you get to Camden, there's many fewer cops than there used to be due to the layoffs.

  6. Re:time to implement on Apple's War Against Jailbreaking Now Makes Perfect Sense · · Score: 1

    The summary is about how jailbreaking prevented implementation, not market pressure. Market pressure is probably the likely culprit, and possibly some legal issues around disabling phones IIRC.

  7. time to implement on Apple's War Against Jailbreaking Now Makes Perfect Sense · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The summary implies they've had this in the works for multiple iterations of iOS and never did it. I find it highly doubtful they were ready to implement this, but didn't for what, 5 consecutive versions of iOS?

  8. Re:Science works on Fear of Death Makes People Into Believers (of Science) · · Score: 1

    Not the way it was written. "Becoming" by definition requires not being in the end state before the act of becoming.

  9. Re:The bottlenecks are elsewhere on 10GbE: What the Heck Took So Long? · · Score: 1

    Eventually it's just going to be cheaper to include the new standard instead of the old due to manufacturing efficiency, and you'll get it whether you need it or not.

  10. Re:Science works on Fear of Death Makes People Into Believers (of Science) · · Score: 2

    And he was considered the world's foremost expert on her condition. She lived longer than all his other patients, double over the next highest person. And he changed his treatment methods after her success even though it didn't make logical sense, because it had the best results. (Incidentally, that's HOW he became the world's foremost expert on her condition.)

    So, which is it - was the the world's foremost expert before or after? Methinks some shit you said may be made up.

  11. Re:I'm Okay With It on US Mining Data Directly From 9 Silicon Valley Companies · · Score: 1

    Most of what you listed aren't federal crimes.

  12. Re:That's it! on The NSA: Never Not Watching · · Score: 1

    ....or by virtue of being in a business with an extremely high barrier to entry, like a utility. Those are really the only true monopolies that exist anymore, and even they're limited in their power to some degree by being restricted on how much of the total domestic market they can hold.

  13. Re:seems all the politicos are in favor on The NSA: Never Not Watching · · Score: 1

    And if YOU do not know then YOU should not be trying to IMPLY that there is any link between collecting this information and cracking any plots.

    Just heard a congressman on the news during a press conference saying they actually cracked one plot using this metadata.

  14. Re:Constitution on The NSA: Never Not Watching · · Score: 1

    Am I missing the sarcasm, or are you mixing them up? Goring is on the left of Hitler in the foreground, Speer is the furthest right.

  15. Re:Attack on the USS Liberty on Israeli Army Retweeting 1967 War As It Happened · · Score: 1

    I guess Rusk never heard the tapes, because:

    English transcripts of the released tapes indicate that Israel still spoke of hitting an Egyptian supply ship even after the attack had stopped.[85][86] After the attack, the rescue helicopters are heard relaying several urgent requests that the rescuers ask the first survivor pulled out of the water what his nationality is, and discussing whether the survivors from the attacked ship will speak Arabic.[87]

    A summary report of the NSA-translated tapes[88] indicates that at 1234Z Hatzor air control began directing two Israeli Air Force helicopters to an Egyptian warship, to rescue its crew: "This ship has now been identified as Egyptian." The helicopters arrived near the ship at about 1303Z: "I see a big vessel, near it are three small vessels..." At 1308Z, Hatzor air control indicated concern about the nationality of the ship's crew: "The first matter to clarify is to find out what their nationality is." At 1310Z, one of the helicopter pilots asked the nearby torpedo boats' Division Commander about the meaning of the ship's hull number: "GTR5 is written on it. Does this mean something?" The response was: "Negative, it doesn't mean anything." At 1312Z, one of the helicopter pilots was asked by air control: "Did you clearly identify an American flag?" No answer appears in the transcript, but the air controller then says: "We request that you make another pass and check once more if this is really an American flag." Again, no response appears in the transcript. At about 1314Z, the helicopters were directed to return home.

    Unless you're in a position to do what Brad Manning did and release some Top Secret classified documents that prove the existence of any of those communications or the tapes themselves, rather than relying on someone saying "I swear, they exist!", I'm going on the proof that exists.

  16. Re:Attack on the USS Liberty on Israeli Army Retweeting 1967 War As It Happened · · Score: 1

    I guess you didn't read the article either. It's pretty clear that by the time Israel knew it was an American ship, it was too late to get the message through due to unrelated failures and overloads in their communications system, and that another communication breakdown on the US ship's side even had the Liberty firing back at the Israelis.

    It's a friendly fire incident. It happens in war, and you can't always prevent it, and you can't extrapolate high level political motives based on one incident. The only time people think it's reasonable to do so is when they're biased enough against one of the two factions involved.

  17. Re:Old business ideas on New Drugs Trail Many Old Ones In Effectiveness Against Disease · · Score: 1

    Even in the case that you're not in a life-threatening situation, you still wouldn't shop around, which is my entire point about market pressure. Your physician is going to be someone you can relate to personally or who you perceive has the strongest knowledge of medicine, not whoever is cheapest.

  18. Re:Attack on the USS Liberty on Israeli Army Retweeting 1967 War As It Happened · · Score: 2

    You're not biased at all. From your article:

    In May 1968, the Israeli government paid US$3,323,500 (US$21.9 million in 2013) as full payment to the families of the 34 men killed in the attack. In March 1969, Israel paid a further $3,566,457 in compensation to the men who had been wounded. On 18 December 1980, it agreed to pay $6 million as settlement for the final U.S. bill of $17,132,709 for material damage to the Liberty itself plus 13 years' interest.

    Seems like they acknowledged it almost immediately - less than a year to begin to pay the families, which are definitely the most important part of repaying the US. As for an official press release and announcement, you can't forget that the Cold War was going on then, and the entire Middle East was far more unstable than it is even after the Arab Spring.

  19. Re:Old business ideas on New Drugs Trail Many Old Ones In Effectiveness Against Disease · · Score: 1

    Just saying why doctors think it will, not that it actually will. We all know how companies react to a sudden drop in costs, and it's usually not by immediately decreasing prices, except in the case that they're reacting to a competitor's price cuts. Competition in this market is nearly nonexistent, since almost nobody goes to a doctor based on price comparison (so the price drop expected from a market-wide cost drop wouldn't materialize in a reasonable timeframe, if at all), but the people directly faced with a giant insurance bill don't see it that way. My post was really pointing out it's not a matter of greed or incompetence, it's a matter of being trained in medicine and not economics, while being influenced by personal experience that prevents them from seeing the wider picture.

  20. Re:Old business ideas on New Drugs Trail Many Old Ones In Effectiveness Against Disease · · Score: 1

    Most doctors do believe that tort reform will curb costs, because it's a well-defined, large expense their business carries.

  21. Re:What were they THINKING? on U.S. District Judge: Forced Decryption of Hard Drives Violates Fifth Amendment · · Score: 1

    If they discover fingerprints at the crime scene, with no gun present, they can get a warrant to search your house for the gun.

  22. Re:Can't say I agree with this one on U.S. District Judge: Forced Decryption of Hard Drives Violates Fifth Amendment · · Score: 1

    Have you ever wondered why you're free to post this in public, and haven't been neutralized yet? I'm thinking it might be because your view of the state of the world isn't based in reality.

  23. Re:Old business ideas on New Drugs Trail Many Old Ones In Effectiveness Against Disease · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Beyond the patent issues, there's also quite a few newer drugs that have reduced levels of side effects relative to the older ones. Tricyclic antidepressants vs. SSRIs is a particularly good example of this - SSRIs are less effective on many cases of depression, but they're one of the go-tos in cases of depression because their side effects are generally less severe than tricyclics. If you ignore the side effects entirely, sure, tricyclics are better - but keeping side effects to a minimum is always the preferred course of action.

  24. Re:ET was terribad. on Salvaging E.T. In Software, Instead of New Mexico · · Score: 1

    You're speaking the truth. The Arkham games in particular are truly superb examples of games done right, in literally every regard. There's an engaging story with plenty of plot and twists that never gets bogged down, fun and rewarding gameplay with a diversity of experiences ranging from beat'em up style action to stealth (which is nearly impossible to design and implement in an engaging way alongside action) to puzzles to moderate RPG-style character progression elements, plenty of unlockable extras, some of the best graphics around (that aren't the only focus of the game), an incredible soundtrack with great voice actors.... it's nearly impossible to find significant flaws in the Arkham games besides requiring Games for Windows Live on PC, and if that's the only substantial flaw a game has, I'll gladly take it.

  25. Re:great for all civil servants on Montreal Union Wants a Camera On Every Policeman's Uniform · · Score: 1

    In a jurisdiction where wearing a camera is required, they likely do have a legal obligation to produce said video, unlike dash cams in most states, where the cops aren't required to have one at all.