Aren't your parents married?.....

Because they offer nothing that I want to listen to or watch. I haven't purchased a CD in over 4 years and I cannot even remember the last movie that I went to the cinema to watch. I can get plenty of live music locally and all those ever so expensive movies end up on TV within six months and I don't have to pay anything extra to watch them. Should I wish, I can also record them from TV without breaking any laws. That's why I object to having to pay a tax just so that others can continue to download illegally. I don't think that 'see Canada for precedence' would hold much sway in a European court.

The summary quite clearly states that it is a 20 pound a year tax that is being considered. Other posters are still absolutely right however, that those who are not currently downloading music or films (and I reckon that it is still the vast majority of internet users) will be paying to subsidise the activities of those who want to continue their illegal activities. Oh, come on, filesharers may think it is their right to copy whatever they want to, but it is still illegal. The copyright is still held by someone and they have said that no copies can be made without their express permission so, whether we like it or not, under the current law it is illegal. So to those who would like to benefit from any potential tax that I might have to pay I suggest that you get the law changed rather than believe that you are some sort of Robin Hood character who is actually doing the world a favour.

On this side of the pond we often use the phrase 'clued-up'. It does, however, mean exactly as you have surmised.

Interestingly, the 'toyota.com' site opened on my FF (3.0.5) running on linux with no apparent display problems. What does it do on your computer?

I'm not criticising the OP but rather this particular thread which has, once again, turned a technical issue into a political slanging match without debating the benefits of the proposal.

Not being an American, it is not my place to comment on either party but I did hear Obama's speech. Do you recall the bit about 'everyone contributing' and 'all working together' to try to sort out the current mess? Have you even considered it, you know, like cooperating with each other rather than acting like little children and pointing fingers and blame at the kid that sits on the other side of the class?

The election is over, Obama is president. Deal with it. Can we please move on and try to discuss geek issues like adult geeks?

Oh yes, I think that a country that can deliver mail to every home, has roads that criss-cross the country and ensures that everyone can have a telephone of some kind or another, should be more than capable of meeting the challenge of getting broadband to everyone so that your businesses can compete, so that your kids can have access to information, and so that everyone can have a choice where they shop and thus bring back competition to bring down prices. Six billion seems more of an investment rather than a waste of money.

I realise that the article is referring to Ukraine, but your phrase 'Russia-area' covers 11 time zones and either 12 or 14 countries which directly border upon Russia, depending on whether you include the enclave of Kaliningrad: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China and North Korea. That is a considerable chunk of the world, the majority of its population, and totally irrelevant to the subject. After all, your sweeping generalisation of Russia-area includes China which is where you have also heard the virus originated.

Why didn't you just say 'Ukraine'?

You do realise that Ukraine is no longer aligned with Russia? Are you honestly suggesting that the Ukraine is about to attack someone?

Hang about - I've already been through the visa application and vetting system, and now you also demand that I must have access to the internet? Why? Is the internet now some form of security device that everyone must have, or is it still something that is optional and might even be considered a luxury item? The online application requires me to say in which hotel I will be staying? Why? Can't I just arrive and book a hotel of my choice - well obviously not. What will the next requirement be? Must I also buy an American car, or deposit some money into a US bank account, or tell someone which restaurant I intend to use for each meal?

I have never before seen a powerful nation become so frightened by shadows. It's your country and I, for one, will leave you to it. You are, I suppose, correct - 'I (now) don't really care that much about coming in the first place'.

Let's turn this around a little

Imagine that the program to kill the botnet is written by China or Russia. If they released it and allowed it to run on computers in the US there would be a major outcry. "This is eWar!" or "We are under eAttack!" would be heard far and wide and the US would use it as a reason to raise the alert state at the very minimum and could even begin a shooting war to defend the US internet and their citizens.

Now, why do you think it should be any more acceptable to other countries if the US authorises its agencies to do a similar stunt? Running unauthorised software on someone's computer is an offence regardless of who does it. The only way that this could be acceptable is if the program is released publically and users can choose to run it on their own computer.

Until they make the use of SSH tunnels or even encryption illegal. After all, if you have nothing to hide, why would you even consider using either? - or so their argument will go.

What can you see that is coloured red? Each linked page looks completely normal to me.

It also allows market traders to continue to sell their wares in imperial units without displaying metric units at all. Now that might not be the intention of the new ruling but it is certainly how it has been interpreted at the 2 locations that I know reasonably well - the NW and SW.

That law was rescinded only a few months ago. We have been given 'EU permission' to continue with our imperial values.

So, are you claiming that the road signs now indicate distances in km rather than miles? Or are we now using 'metric' miles rather than the traditional ones with 1760 yards to each of them? That would be 1760 metric yards, each of 3 metric feet in length which, in turn, contain 12 metric inches? Are horse races now measured in metric furlongs - 8 metric furlongs to each of your metric miles, perhaps?

Yep, you've convinced me than we have gone metric. Now, I'm a Brit so I might be wrong about all of this, but where are you from? It's still legal to use pounds and ounces, or gallons, or miles or any other imperial units, but you are equally welcome to use metric units if you wish.

No problem. I'm not an American so the US Government threatens me no more or no less with this data than it does today. If you are suggesting that the US government 'might' use such information to persuade citizens of other nations to do something that they might otherwise not do or to apply pressure in any other way, then Americans need to sort out their government. Of course, some Americans might be of the opinion that anything that their government does to 'foreigners' is OK (ignoring the fact that we might actually be allies), to which I can only reply that their Government represents to the world each and every American citizen, and if that is how they wish to be perceived by others then so be it.