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Comment Re:and that means it doesn't cost any more? (Score 3, Insightful) 231

generally all citizens paying into something makes it cost more, not less, as the ready availability of other people's cash saps the desire to cut costs.

This is an oft touted claim of conservatives, but it just isn't true. Socialized health care gives far more bang for the buck than privatized. Take a look at how much Americans pay in healthcare costs pro capita (pre-Obamacare if you like, so you won't have that to blame), and compare that with factors like lifespan and health. Columbia pays far more and gets far less precisely because it's so privatized.
The problem is that with a capitalized system, what matters is maximizing profit, and prices will converge at the highest cost the buyers are is willing to pay. When what you pay for is your life and health, the sky is the limit.

Why do Americans go to Canada to buy prescription drugs? Because the free market does not mean lower costs. Rather the opposite.

Comment Re:Cellphone reception issues? (Score 1) 202

The only way your phone doesn't have a preference list is if its brand new, never been activated on anyones network and never had a sim card in it.

For Android:
Settings -> Wireless & networks -> Mobile networks -> Access Point Names
Choose "Reset to default" from the menu.

That gives me an empty list.

Comment Re:About time for a Free baseband processor (Score 1) 202

Interestingly, the Constitution does recognize Common Law as existing authority, and under Common Law the DOI had no weight, it was just a political document.

That's putting the cart before the horse. Before the constitution, civil law was what was in effect. The constitution cannot retroactively change that for the time the declaration of independence was written.

Comment Re:ShirtStorm (Score 1) 337

Those who think that images of women in lingerie are degrading need to visit a therapist. Female sexuality is not degrading.

The shirt is unprofessional. Sexuality is an awkward subject, and bringing it up in the workplace is delicate. Not a subject for t-shirts.

But holy crap I love the response shirt: https://twitter.com/SMLXist/status/532928903778934784/photo/1

Comment Re:About time for a Free baseband processor (Score 1) 202

What is or isn't part of the US Constitution is fact, not a matter of opinion. And the Declaration of Independence is not part of it.

No, but without the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution has no legality. It's just pieces of paper you could wipe your ass with if it were softer.
The DOI is the foundation on which the Constitution rests, and from which it derives its powers.

Comment Re:About time for a Free baseband processor (Score 1) 202

There is nothing in the Constitution about using arms against our oppressively corrupt government. You are thinking of the preamble of the Declaration of Independence.

Yes, I was. Which I consider a part of the constitution, because without the DOI, the constitution is null and void.

And to those who focused on the word "arms", I was not referring to firearms and the 2nd amendment at all - it's our duty to use what means we have to overthrow a despotic government no matter what type of arms we use - whether it's pitchforks, a designer virus, muskets, Internet mobs or beating them to submission with pink teddy bears. The trouble may be to get enough people to agree whether a government is despotic. In my view ruling on despite not having a majority of the eligible voters behind them should qualify.

Comment Re:"... Spread of Diseases Using Wikipedia" (Score 1) 61

No, silly - the diseases themselves are not using Wikipedia; people are going to use Wikipedia to spread diseases.

(I rather enjoy the triple meaning ambiguity in this headline)

Wouldn't it be nice if headlines used commas and reflexive pronouns?
Or if there were someone who checked them over before publishing, like a proofreader?

I too read it as using Wikipedia to spread the diseases. Which is, I guess, doable, if logging gene sequences there, which someone else can splice into harmless but compatible bacteria.
Would publishing that kind of information be illegal?

Comment Re:Cellphone reception issues? (Score 1) 202

Cell phones don't ALWAYS use the strongest signal, in fact, I don't know of any cell phone in the US which is set to use signal strength as the highest value in its tower selection.

Any GSM phone that is set to full roaming, where it deliberately picks the provider based on signal strength, not provider.

And 911 calls, especially for devices that do not have a provider. When I go hiking, I bring a cell phone without a SIM card, expecting it to work for 911 calls, without anyone being able to contact me. And I expect anything it contacts that identifies as a tower to be able to relay my calls for help.

Comment Re:Change? (Score 1) 202

Isn't it about time we changed that line in The Star-Spangled Banner from: O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ...to: O'er the land of the watched and the foul suspected knaves?

I think my country, 'Tis of Thee, would be a better and more mellow place if we reverted to the original lyrics to the song..
Our problem is that too many fellow fucking Americans spend time looking for bogeymen instead of entwining the myrtle of Venus with Bacchus' vine.

Comment Dumbed down for ... who? (Score 4, Interesting) 202

Not even having encryption on one's phone, like found in Apple's iPhone 6, prevents this interception.

WTF does this statement have to do in TFS? There cannot possibly be any slashdotters ignorant enough about technology to think that encryption of a device would have any impact on the radio signals?

I really miss /. - where did it go?

Wikipedia

Researchers Forecast the Spread of Diseases Using Wikipedia 61

An anonymous reader writes Scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory have used Wikipedia logs as a data source for forecasting disease spread. The team was able to successfully monitor influenza in the United States, Poland, Japan, and Thailand, dengue fever in Brazil and Thailand, and tuberculosis in China and Thailand. The team was also able to forecast all but one of these, tuberculosis in China, at least 28 days in advance.

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