There's one complaint I have about Slashdot, though. The most insightful and informative comments are shoved down at the bottom, while the 'obligatory' "I for one, welcome," "In Soviet Russia," and "but does it run Linux" jokes fill up the top.
Rho Casspioiae is supposedly near the brink of explosion, too, and aside from that, I remember hearing about some luminous supergiant or hypergiant expected to explode in the same constellation, Casspioia.
Another levelling treadmill. I've seen it before. The crowd jumps from one game to another to another while I sit on the sidelines. Each time the crowd says they genuinely like it, and this game won't be as boring or as like a leveling treadmill as the last, and they won't get bored with it because this one has safeguards against that. First it was Ultima Online, then Final Fantasy XI, then World of Warcraft, then City of Heroes, then City of Villains, and now Final Fantasy XI again. Why do you people keep falling for it?
Now, according to an August 2004 redacted DHS Inspector General report, the Terrorist Screening Center has a phone number and e-mail address where "federal and local organizations," presumably by which they mean law enforcement, can call about mistakes in the Database, suggesting there has been mistakes in this Database. A Washington Post story says an anonymous official said a 'very, very small fraction' of the names in this database are U.S. citizens.
If these names are used by the NSA in deciding whose phone calls to track and who to look up in SWIFT, very probably they could accidentally, or "accidentally," infringe on citizens' rights. There is no way to know this, because the database is classified, and there is also no way to know for certain that this database is used in those operations, although I would guess they probably are.
In order to get into the database, minimum information includes your name and personally identifying information, such as a birthdate, in the director of the Terrorist Screening Center's words. Coincidentally perhaps, this is the information taken when boarding a flight at two international airports. Information is sent to the Transportation Security Authority, and who knows what happens there, though they claim not to keep it forever. The length information obtained at international airports may be preserved and kept by the government is determined by the National Library and Archives in a certain file of theirs. That file is not available online, but I would suppose they'd keep it indefinitely for certain reasons. I learned this through this report. The more you know, eh?
Anyway, hope I've not abused Slashdot karma. Thanks for reading.
3,673 records had been removed from the Terrorist Screening Database since its creation in June 2004 until this DOJ Inspector General report came out in May 2005. The page of the Inspector General report clarifies that when a possible misidentification of a suspect with Terrorist Screening Database records is found by the Terrorist Screening Center, the Quality Assurance team reviews the information with the agency (either the National Counterterrorism Center or a certain FBI unit) that nominated the record to be included in the database. Removal of the name from the Terrorism Screening Database is an option.
Previously, two databases were maintained, a Terrorist Threat Integration Center database that was classified, which would have information from files removed before being moved to an unclassified Terrorist Screening Database for use by law enforcement.
Local law enforcement centers, and certain international airports, would get a copy of the database, and if they saw a face and name that matched up with a file in their copy, they would call a phone number. The Terrorist Screening Center would advise them on what to do based on four handling codes, which were redacted by the FBI as sensitive information in Department of Justice Inspector General reports, but I have them right here. There was a computer malfunction that resulted in Handling Code 4's being tagged as "armed and dangerous" in the database due to an error in the programming language of a program that was supposed to automatically merge together a certain database into the larger one. I wonder if this resulted in any false arrests. The handling codes have been updated since they were first released.
Handling Code 1: WARNING - APPROACH WITH CAUTION. Arrest this individual. This individual is associated with terrorism. Once this individual is arrested, immediately contact the Terrorist Screening Center at (866) 872-9001 for additional information and direction. If you are a border patrol officer immediately call the NTC [National Targeting Center]
Handling Code 2: WARNING - APPROACH WITH CAUTION. Please detain this individual for a reasonable amount of time for questioning. This individual is of investigative interest to law enforcement regarding association with terrorism. Immediately contact the Terrorist Screening Center at (866) 872-9001 for additional direction. (As appropriate, the TSC will facilitate an immediate response from an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force [JTTF] or other appropriate law enforcement entity.) If you are a border patrol officer immediately call the NTC.
Handling Code 3: DO NOT ALERT THIS INDIVIDUAL TO THIS NOTICE. The person queried through this search may be an individual identified by intelligence information as having possible ties with terrorism. Contact the Terrorism Screening Center at (866) 872-9001 for additional identifying information available to assist you in making this determination. DO NOT ARREST THIS INDIVIDUAL UNLESS THERE IS EVIDENCE OF A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL STATUTES. Conduct a logical investigation using techniques authorized in you jurisdiction and ask probing questions to determine if this individual is identical to the person of law enforcement interest. WARNING - APPROACH WITH CAUTION. If you are a border patrol officer immediately call the NTC. Handling Code
4: DO NOT ALERT THIS INDIVIDUAL TO THIS NOTICE. The person queried through this search may be an individual identified by intelligence information as having possible ties with terrorism. DO NOT ARREST THIS INDIVIDUAL UNLESS THERE IS EVIDENCE OF A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL STATUTES. Attempt to obtain sufficient identification information to positively identify this individual in a manner consistent with the techniques authorized in you jurisdiction. You may be contacte
Neato. Maybe now they'll make less errors in that Terrorist Screening Database they have. You know, the one that has the names of over 250,000 people tagged as terrorists used in everything from no-fly lists to border crossings ever since the administration wanted all such watchlists to be consolidated into a single big one. That one the NSA probably uses. That one that, according to Department of Justice Inspector General reports, may be riddled with errors.
Read the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security Inspector General reports. They redact sensitive information in some cases, but based on context you can identify information in some places they've failed to redact in others. Keep on reading and you'll remember things to fit together a bigger picture.
I guess they joined Pakistan in censoring the exact same blogging services, which was done to make sure no one in Pakistan could see the Mohammad cartoons. They even reportedly blocked Wikipedia for about two or three days, before it was decided that block should be lifted. (Pakistan blog headline: "Pakistani Supreme Court goes and pulls a China on us")
Yes, exactly. If they intended on creating video games from movies just to shamelessly rip off ideas for plots, rather than generating some quick cash, they would also be looking through books for such ideas.
But if they designed video games based on books, they would have the creative freedom to design the characters and backgrounds, rather than copying what was shown in the movie, and everyone knows how much the type of people that make these movie-to-video game rip-offs hate creative freedom....
that another video game will ever be produced for a console with graphics on the same level as that experienced by NES games, and that people will buy it?
Also, I find it odd how many video games based on movies are coming out at the sacrifice of both gameplay and plot in order to cash in on the franchise. You'd think they'd have learned from the E.T. video game, but apparently the better graphics have changed that? Why must a book usually be made into a movie before a video game is based on it?
Yes, that's the impression you get from the news coverage, but there are many goals of the mission you could read about on the Wikipedia entry. I've linked to a specific revision so you won't have to worry about coming across a vandalized version.
I'll save you the trouble of clicking on it. Equipment delivered to the ISS:
1 new astronaut on board the ISS, Thomas Reitner from the European Space Agency, to stay with the current crew for six months.
80 C Freezer: This freezer is known as the Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The French-built unit comprises four independent drawers which can be set to operate at different temperatures (image). Initially, temperatures of 80 C, 26 C, and +4 C will be used during on-orbit ISS operations. Both reagents and samples will be stored in the freezer. As well as storage, the freezer is designed to be used to transport samples to and from the ISS in a temperature controlled environment. The total capacity of the unit is 300 liters.
The European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) for biological experiments. This consists of a gas tight incubator in which there are two centrifuges, each able to carry four experimental cartridges. Two "Ground controls"--exact copies of the equipment and experiments--will be run on the ground. One will be in Europe and one at NASA's Ames Research Center.
New oxygen generation system. This device is considered a test for an equipment design with potential for use on postulated future long durations to the Moon and Mars. The system will initially run below its maximum capacity, though it is designed for enabling the ISS to support a crew of six in the future. It will supplement the Russian-built Elektron system operating in the Zvezda module.
New cycling machine for the ISS crew. A Danish built device, the Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation System (CEVIS). (They have to exercise or else they'll dramatically lose bone mass due to lack of gravity, of course.)
Replacement common cabin air assembly heat exchanger used to control the internal air temperature of the ISS.
All of the above equipment is to be installed in the Destiny Laboratory Module. Additionally the orbiter and ISS computer printers will be swapped.
That's just because some idiots saw the Slashdot article and are trying to repeat the vandalism. It seems to have been removed again now. I'll keep a close eye on it.
Oh, now I see! Darn old Slashdot linked to the wrong revision! Maybe they meant this one where they used the word "Polaco" everywhere? It took eleven hours for it to be fixed in this revision.
I guess all the Wikipedians with this article on their watchlists were asleep at the wheel?
I ask because oddly the Catalan Wikipedia uses "català," and the English Wikipedia uses "català" on the sidebar to direct you to the Catalan equivalent of an article. I can't access the article because it's Slashdotted. Is it really wrong, and why?
Technically, under the conditions of Congress's 2001 authorization, it goes on for as long as any single member of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have not perished, surrendered, or been captured. I'd say that'd be at least sixty years.
Even then, they could extend it even more, I suppose. It says 'authorization to use military force against the people, organizations, governments, or parties that caused the September 11, 2001 attacks and the people, organizations, governments, or parties that help or protect them. Rumor has it Osama has training camps for al-Quaeda over in Somalia, taking advantage of the anarchy caused by the fighting of rival warlords.
The radical Islamic Courts Union, the judicial branch of an old government, turned into a dictatorship led by the former Chief Justice and used its military to attack Somalia towns. They recently gained a major victory by capturing the capital of Somalia, and then the base where rival factions had fleed to after the takeover. There are rumors that they have links with al-Qaeda, and in light of afforementioned news reports, wouldn't it be something special if they were true? Under Congress's distasterously wide authorization, Bush could deploy hundreds of thousands of troops to Somalia and he wouldn't so much as have to utter a breath before Congress again to do it!
I guess when you consider either the qualifiers of "when every single al-Qaeda, Taliban, or Islamic Courts Union member is dead" or "a non-war supporting president is elected," it makes Rumsfeld's recent PR term "the long war" literally "the long war." Odd that the Somalia dictatorship came from the judicial branch. Usually it's been depicted as coming from the executive branch, or in the case of Palpatine, the legislative.
Hm... how can Congress say that the president may have inherent constitutional authority to spy on Americans when the Supreme Court already disagreed in East District of Michigan v. Nixon? That ruling was before FISA even came into existance, but considering this is about "inherent constitutional authority," FISA's existance can be disregarded in that consideration.
Hm...
how can Congress say that the president may have inherent constitutional authority to spy on Americans when the Supreme Court already disagreed in East District of Michigan v. Nixon? That ruling was before FISA even came into existance, but considering this is about "inherent constitutional authority," FISA's existance can be disregarded in that consideration.
This website allows you to read an entire Holt, Rhineheart, and Winston textbook online if you already have a keyword from a textbook you buy online. If you're into foreign languages, it has French, German, and Spanish, and aside from that,
They do still have tapes from later Apollo missions, right? Wouldn't those high resolution tapes of other times astronauts walked on the moon still be equally good proof we've been there? Why don't they preserve those by sending them out to be copied if they still have them? Sadly, my question will probably go unnoticed because of all the +5 funnies drowning out all the +5 insightfuls.
I'm guessing that they could so something like have the player simultaneously control the Pac-Man avatar on the screen while the player controls a plastic block being moved throughout the maze with the joystick. The block would be scented with cheese, which the mice would then chase. The block could also be scented by pheremones of the opposite sex of the species used to control the ghosts.
I think he's most upset about it mentioning that in the 1970s he burnt his draft card on television, and even after Jimmy Carter gave the pardon to the draft-dodgers, he's worried someone will hold it against him.
Slashdot Mirror
What is an aggregate of highly modded comments from a previous Slashback? Backslashback?
If every industrial country is waiting for the others to make the first move, who is going to go first?
Sorry there, I was thinking of a type 1a star causing a supernova, not a type 1a supernova being caused by a binary system.
There's one complaint I have about Slashdot, though. The most insightful and informative comments are shoved down at the bottom, while the 'obligatory' "I for one, welcome," "In Soviet Russia," and "but does it run Linux" jokes fill up the top.
Rho Casspioiae is supposedly near the brink of explosion, too, and aside from that, I remember hearing about some luminous supergiant or hypergiant expected to explode in the same constellation, Casspioia.
Coincidentally, two other supernovas have ocurred in that area, one of which was the one Tycho Brahe saw. Keep an eye on the hypergiants (see: Wikipedia's explanation of how stars are classified)
Windows Genuine Advantage mistakes 20% of genuine XP operating systems as counterfeit. If you install the update, you have a 1 in 5 chance of kissing your operating system goodbye. The summary for installation says it will then "help you obtain a licensed copy of Windows."
Another levelling treadmill. I've seen it before. The crowd jumps from one game to another to another while I sit on the sidelines. Each time the crowd says they genuinely like it, and this game won't be as boring or as like a leveling treadmill as the last, and they won't get bored with it because this one has safeguards against that. First it was Ultima Online, then Final Fantasy XI, then World of Warcraft, then City of Heroes, then City of Villains, and now Final Fantasy XI again. Why do you people keep falling for it?
Now, according to an August 2004 redacted DHS Inspector General report, the Terrorist Screening Center has a phone number and e-mail address where "federal and local organizations," presumably by which they mean law enforcement, can call about mistakes in the Database, suggesting there has been mistakes in this Database. A Washington Post story says an anonymous official said a 'very, very small fraction' of the names in this database are U.S. citizens.
If these names are used by the NSA in deciding whose phone calls to track and who to look up in SWIFT, very probably they could accidentally, or "accidentally," infringe on citizens' rights. There is no way to know this, because the database is classified, and there is also no way to know for certain that this database is used in those operations, although I would guess they probably are.
In order to get into the database, minimum information includes your name and personally identifying information, such as a birthdate, in the director of the Terrorist Screening Center's words. Coincidentally perhaps, this is the information taken when boarding a flight at two international airports. Information is sent to the Transportation Security Authority, and who knows what happens there, though they claim not to keep it forever. The length information obtained at international airports may be preserved and kept by the government is determined by the National Library and Archives in a certain file of theirs. That file is not available online, but I would suppose they'd keep it indefinitely for certain reasons. I learned this through this report. The more you know, eh?
Anyway, hope I've not abused Slashdot karma. Thanks for reading.
3,673 records had been removed from the Terrorist Screening Database since its creation in June 2004 until this DOJ Inspector General report came out in May 2005. The page of the Inspector General report clarifies that when a possible misidentification of a suspect with Terrorist Screening Database records is found by the Terrorist Screening Center, the Quality Assurance team reviews the information with the agency (either the National Counterterrorism Center or a certain FBI unit) that nominated the record to be included in the database. Removal of the name from the Terrorism Screening Database is an option.
Previously, two databases were maintained, a Terrorist Threat Integration Center database that was classified, which would have information from files removed before being moved to an unclassified Terrorist Screening Database for use by law enforcement.
Local law enforcement centers, and certain international airports, would get a copy of the database, and if they saw a face and name that matched up with a file in their copy, they would call a phone number. The Terrorist Screening Center would advise them on what to do based on four handling codes, which were redacted by the FBI as sensitive information in Department of Justice Inspector General reports, but I have them right here. There was a computer malfunction that resulted in Handling Code 4's being tagged as "armed and dangerous" in the database due to an error in the programming language of a program that was supposed to automatically merge together a certain database into the larger one. I wonder if this resulted in any false arrests. The handling codes have been updated since they were first released.
Handling Code 1: WARNING - APPROACH WITH CAUTION. Arrest this individual. This individual is
associated with terrorism. Once this individual is arrested, immediately contact the Terrorist Screening
Center at (866) 872-9001 for additional information and direction. If you are a border patrol officer
immediately call the NTC [National Targeting Center]
Handling Code 2: WARNING - APPROACH WITH CAUTION. Please detain this individual for a
reasonable amount of time for questioning. This individual is of investigative interest to law enforcement
regarding association with terrorism. Immediately contact the Terrorist Screening Center at (866) 872-9001 for additional direction. (As appropriate, the TSC will facilitate an immediate response from an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force [JTTF] or other appropriate law enforcement entity.) If you are a border patrol officer immediately call the NTC.
Handling Code 3: DO NOT ALERT THIS INDIVIDUAL TO THIS NOTICE. The person queried through
this search may be an individual identified by intelligence information as having possible ties with terrorism. Contact the Terrorism Screening Center at (866) 872-9001 for additional identifying information available to assist you in making this determination. DO NOT ARREST THIS INDIVIDUAL UNLESS THERE IS EVIDENCE OF A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL STATUTES. Conduct a logical
investigation using techniques authorized in you jurisdiction and ask probing questions to determine if this individual is identical to the person of law enforcement interest. WARNING - APPROACH WITH CAUTION. If you are a border patrol officer immediately call the NTC.
Handling Code
4: DO NOT ALERT THIS INDIVIDUAL TO THIS NOTICE. The person queried through
this search may be an individual identified by intelligence information as having possible ties with terrorism. DO NOT ARREST THIS INDIVIDUAL UNLESS THERE IS EVIDENCE OF A VIOLATION OF
FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL STATUTES. Attempt to obtain sufficient identification information to
positively identify this individual in a manner consistent with the techniques authorized in you jurisdiction. You may be contacte
Neato. Maybe now they'll make less errors in that Terrorist Screening Database they have. You know, the one that has the names of over 250,000 people tagged as terrorists used in everything from no-fly lists to border crossings ever since the administration wanted all such watchlists to be consolidated into a single big one. That one the NSA probably uses. That one that, according to Department of Justice Inspector General reports, may be riddled with errors.
Read the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security Inspector General reports. They redact sensitive information in some cases, but based on context you can identify information in some places they've failed to redact in others. Keep on reading and you'll remember things to fit together a bigger picture.
I guess they joined Pakistan in censoring the exact same blogging services, which was done to make sure no one in Pakistan could see the Mohammad cartoons. They even reportedly blocked Wikipedia for about two or three days, before it was decided that block should be lifted. (Pakistan blog headline: "Pakistani Supreme Court goes and pulls a China on us")
Let's see if India does the same thing.
I can't wait for the next mission.
Yes, exactly. If they intended on creating video games from movies just to shamelessly rip off ideas for plots, rather than generating some quick cash, they would also be looking through books for such ideas.
But if they designed video games based on books, they would have the creative freedom to design the characters and backgrounds, rather than copying what was shown in the movie, and everyone knows how much the type of people that make these movie-to-video game rip-offs hate creative freedom....
that another video game will ever be produced for a console with graphics on the same level as that experienced by NES games, and that people will buy it?
Also, I find it odd how many video games based on movies are coming out at the sacrifice of both gameplay and plot in order to cash in on the franchise. You'd think they'd have learned from the E.T. video game, but apparently the better graphics have changed that? Why must a book usually be made into a movie before a video game is based on it?
Yes, that's the impression you get from the news coverage, but there are many goals of the mission you could read about on the Wikipedia entry. I've linked to a specific revision so you won't have to worry about coming across a vandalized version.
I'll save you the trouble of clicking on it. Equipment delivered to the ISS:
1 new astronaut on board the ISS, Thomas Reitner from the European Space Agency, to stay with the current crew for six months.
80 C Freezer: This freezer is known as the Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The French-built unit comprises four independent drawers which can be set to operate at different temperatures (image). Initially, temperatures of 80 C, 26 C, and +4 C will be used during on-orbit ISS operations. Both reagents and samples will be stored in the freezer. As well as storage, the freezer is designed to be used to transport samples to and from the ISS in a temperature controlled environment. The total capacity of the unit is 300 liters.
The European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) for biological experiments. This consists of a gas tight incubator in which there are two centrifuges, each able to carry four experimental cartridges. Two "Ground controls"--exact copies of the equipment and experiments--will be run on the ground. One will be in Europe and one at NASA's Ames Research Center.
New oxygen generation system. This device is considered a test for an equipment design with potential for use on postulated future long durations to the Moon and Mars. The system will initially run below its maximum capacity, though it is designed for enabling the ISS to support a crew of six in the future. It will supplement the Russian-built Elektron system operating in the Zvezda module.
New cycling machine for the ISS crew. A Danish built device, the Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation System (CEVIS). (They have to exercise or else they'll dramatically lose bone mass due to lack of gravity, of course.)
Replacement common cabin air assembly heat exchanger used to control the internal air temperature of the ISS.
All of the above equipment is to be installed in the Destiny Laboratory Module. Additionally the orbiter and ISS computer printers will be swapped.
That's just because some idiots saw the Slashdot article and are trying to repeat the vandalism. It seems to have been removed again now. I'll keep a close eye on it.
Oh, now I see! Darn old Slashdot linked to the wrong revision! Maybe they meant this one where they used the word "Polaco" everywhere? It took eleven hours for it to be fixed in this revision. I guess all the Wikipedians with this article on their watchlists were asleep at the wheel?
I ask because oddly the Catalan Wikipedia uses "català," and the English Wikipedia uses "català" on the sidebar to direct you to the Catalan equivalent of an article. I can't access the article because it's Slashdotted. Is it really wrong, and why?
Technically, under the conditions of Congress's 2001 authorization, it goes on for as long as any single member of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have not perished, surrendered, or been captured. I'd say that'd be at least sixty years.
Even then, they could extend it even more, I suppose. It says 'authorization to use military force against the people, organizations, governments, or parties that caused the September 11, 2001 attacks and the people, organizations, governments, or parties that help or protect them. Rumor has it Osama has training camps for al-Quaeda over in Somalia, taking advantage of the anarchy caused by the fighting of rival warlords.
The radical Islamic Courts Union, the judicial branch of an old government, turned into a dictatorship led by the former Chief Justice and used its military to attack Somalia towns. They recently gained a major victory by capturing the capital of Somalia, and then the base where rival factions had fleed to after the takeover. There are rumors that they have links with al-Qaeda, and in light of afforementioned news reports, wouldn't it be something special if they were true? Under Congress's distasterously wide authorization, Bush could deploy hundreds of thousands of troops to Somalia and he wouldn't so much as have to utter a breath before Congress again to do it!
I guess when you consider either the qualifiers of "when every single al-Qaeda, Taliban, or Islamic Courts Union member is dead" or "a non-war supporting president is elected," it makes Rumsfeld's recent PR term "the long war" literally "the long war." Odd that the Somalia dictatorship came from the judicial branch. Usually it's been depicted as coming from the executive branch, or in the case of Palpatine, the legislative.
Hm... how can Congress say that the president may have inherent constitutional authority to spy on Americans when the Supreme Court already disagreed in East District of Michigan v. Nixon? That ruling was before FISA even came into existance, but considering this is about "inherent constitutional authority," FISA's existance can be disregarded in that consideration.
Hm... how can Congress say that the president may have inherent constitutional authority to spy on Americans when the Supreme Court already disagreed in East District of Michigan v. Nixon? That ruling was before FISA even came into existance, but considering this is about "inherent constitutional authority," FISA's existance can be disregarded in that consideration.
This website allows you to read an entire Holt, Rhineheart, and Winston textbook online if you already have a keyword from a textbook you buy online. If you're into foreign languages, it has French, German, and Spanish, and aside from that,
These sites teach you basic Japanese if you study enough.
Parents just have to watch to make sure their children aren't looking at porn instead of studying and help them along.
They do still have tapes from later Apollo missions, right? Wouldn't those high resolution tapes of other times astronauts walked on the moon still be equally good proof we've been there? Why don't they preserve those by sending them out to be copied if they still have them? Sadly, my question will probably go unnoticed because of all the +5 funnies drowning out all the +5 insightfuls.
I'm guessing that they could so something like have the player simultaneously control the Pac-Man avatar on the screen while the player controls a plastic block being moved throughout the maze with the joystick. The block would be scented with cheese, which the mice would then chase. The block could also be scented by pheremones of the opposite sex of the species used to control the ghosts.
I think he's most upset about it mentioning that in the 1970s he burnt his draft card on television, and even after Jimmy Carter gave the pardon to the draft-dodgers, he's worried someone will hold it against him.