Comment sounds like (Score 1) 308
it's time for a new branch of the military.
Comment Re: Snowden (Score 2) 221
Whistle blower = Bank Robber??
Comment Cane toads (Score 1) 282
Same thing is happening among the cane toads spreading from one side of Austrailia to the other. The fastest ones on the frontier only mate with each other, making super fast cane toads.
Comment Seriously (Score 2) 165
Eric Holder gave a televised interview in which he credited a whistle blower at a bank for allowing the bank executives to be held to account for their part in making money off liar's loans. The reporter missed the obvious follow-up question to Holder, "So whistleblowers are good?"
China Bans "Human Flesh Searching" 109
hackingbear writes The Supreme People's Court, China's top court, has outlined the liabilities of network service providers in a document on the handling of online personal rights violation cases. "Rights violators usually hide in the dark online. They post harmful information out of the blue, and victims just can't be certain whom they should accuse when they want to bring the case to court," said Yao Hui, a senior SPC judge specializing in civil cases. Those re-posting content that violates others' rights and interests will also answer for their actions, and their liability will be determined based on the consequences of their posts, the online influence of re-posters, and whether they make untruthful changes to content that mislead. This essentially tries to ban the so-called human flesh searching. Though this does not stop others from using the chance to highlight the country's censorship problems even though the rulings seem to focus on personal privacy protection.
Comment Intense (Score 1) 20
Jumping building to building in VR... Do these things have an EKG?
Comment If they have nothing to hide... (Score 1) 242
then they have nothing to worry about!
Comment Re:One's dreams may be superseded (Score 1) 91
The consciousness of the future will not be like that of today, same as the consciousness of today is not like that of yesterday. But it may still call itself "human."
Comment like a virus drill (Score 2) 36
Comment Star Trek had a new dystopia every week. (Score 4, Insightful) 191
Counter point: Star Trek needed a universe in which they could tell not just one dystopian story, but a new one every week, by visiting a planet that went off the rails in one of the same ways we might.
Why Atheists Need Captain Kirk 937
New submitter anlashok writes: Atheism and science face a real challenge: To frame an account of science, or nature, that leaves room for meaning. According to this article, atheists have pinned their flag to Mr. Spock's mast. But they need Captain Kirk. Quoting: "I'm pro-science, but I'm against what I'll call "Spock-ism," after the character from the TV show Star Trek. I reject the idea that science is logical, purely rational, that it is detached and value-free, and that it is, for all these reasons, morally superior. Spock-ism gives us a false picture of science. It gives us a false picture of humankind's situation. We are not disinterested knowers. The natural world is not a puzzle. ... The big challenge for atheism is not God; it is that of providing an alternative to Spock-ism. We need an account of our place in the world that leaves room for value."
Comment Time reborn (Score 1) 247
Anyone willing to consider that 3D space is an illusion really needs to look into reading the new book Time Reborn by Lee Smolin.
Smartphone Kill Switch, Consumer Boon Or Way For Government To Brick Your Phone? 299
MojoKid writes We're often told that having a kill switch in our mobile devices — mostly our smartphones — is a good thing. At a basic level, that's hard to disagree with. If every mobile device had a built-in kill switch, theft would go down — who would waste their time over a device that probably won't work for very long? Here's where the problem lays: It's law enforcement that's pushing so hard for these kill switches. We first learned about this last summer, and this past May, California passed a law that requires smartphone vendors to implement the feature. In practice, if a smartphone has been stolen, or has been somehow compromised, its user or manufacturer would be able to remotely kill off its usability, something that would be reversed once the phone gets back into its rightful owner's hands. However, such functionality should be limited to the device's owner, and no one else. If the owner can disable a phone with nothing but access to a computer or another mobile device, so can Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Nokia or Apple. If the designers of a phone's operating system can brick a phone, guess who else can do the same? Everybody from the NSA to your friendly neighborhood police force, that's who. At most, all they'll need is a convincing argument that they're acting in the interest of "public safety."
Comment Argument doesn't seem to make sense (Score 1) 240
If some inventors will "rest," then it's the promise of money that made them invent and patent in the first place. If you take away the patent, and therefore the promise of money, you won't even get the first invention out of the money-motivated. Especially if the patent-free economy is dominated with idea-stealing industrialists.
Those motivated by other-than-money will keep inventing, patents or not.
Comment number one limit to O2 production (Score 1) 54
is limit on the raw material. CO2 is a rare gas by comparison. O2=21% of the atmosphere, CO2 = 0.04%. It used to be the reverse, back before photosynthesis evolved.
