Comment Re:First (past the) Post (Score 1) 639
sigh, undoing mod
Submission + - This XKCD just gets its own thread (xkcd.com)
Comment Re:I've got a solution! (Score 2) 575
Use biometrics instead of a password.
The only way to unlock your system is if your friend puts his eye up to his smartphone's camera and you put your smartphone up to your computer's iris scanner.
Then they would only need a picture of his eye themselves. 20 ways to get that outside of extradition.
Submission + - A Libertarian Visits OccupyWallStreet (blogspot.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The reporting of the occupation of Wall Street by protesters unhappy with the current economic climate follows the tired, predictable pattern of the fight between Republicans and Democrats. This fresh take is a third point of a view, that of a Libertarian. It's both supportive and critical, but not in the way you might expect.
Submission + - US assassinates it own citizens with no due proces (boingboing.net) 5
mutherhacker writes: Science fiction novelist and technology activist Cory Doctorow blogs about the recent U.S. government assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen, without any due process (no chance to face his accusations in a court of law), a clear violation of the 5th amendment. To top it all, U.S. citizens cheered the assassination of their fellow citizen. First Bin Laden, now al-Awlaki, next? CmdrTaco is my guess.More details.
Submission + - US State Dept. confirms no legal basis in Anwar al (state.gov) 1
An anonymous reader writes: “It’s interesting,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at Friday’s daily briefing amid a barrage of questions on the airstrike that killed al-Awlaki in Yemen. Nuland said she asked State Department lawyers whether the government can revoke a person’s citizenship based on their affiliation with a foreign terrorist group, and it turned out there’s no law on the books authorizing officials to do so. “An American can be stripped of citizenship for committing an act of high treason and being convicted in a court for that. But that was obviously not the case in this case,” she said. “Under U.S. law, there are seven criteria under which you can strip somebody of citizenship, and none of those applied in this case.”
Comment 2011 (Score 1) 143
Couldn't we use translation software and then some proofreaders/editors to make the corrections for 5% of the stated cost?
Submission + - Two More Google Software Dogs Go to Heaven
theodp writes: Two more software products will be going to Google Software Heaven shortly. On Friday, Google issued a death certificate for Google Health (date of death = Jan. 1, 2012), and added that the lights will go out on Google PowerMeter on Sep. 16, 2011. 'We've observed that Google Health is not having the broad impact that we hoped it would,' said Google. 'There has been adoption among certain groups of users like tech-savvy patients and their caregivers, and more recently fitness and wellness enthusiasts. But we haven't found a way to translate that limited usage into widespread adoption in the daily health routines of millions of people.' Regarding PowerMeter, Google's 'Green Energy Czar' had this to say: 'We're pleased that PowerMeter has helped demonstrate the importance of this access and created something of a model. However, our efforts have not scaled as quickly as we would like, so we are retiring the service.' Google added that the White House will carry on the fight after being inspired by success stories like the Harker School (tuition: $36,435), which used grant money to acquire off-the-shelf sub-metering technology that revealed their energy bill could be reduced by not air conditioning the gym from 9pm-3am.
Comment dupe, sorry (Score 1) 1
Didn't realize this was a dupe. Missed that discussion.
Submission + - FCC Commissioner approves merger, joins Comcast (washingtonpost.com) 1
odd42 writes: Meredith Baker, one of five FCC Commissioners, voted 4 months ago to approve Comcast's takeover of NBC Universal.
She is set to become Senior Vice President of government affairs for NBC Universal. On June 3, less than a month before her term was set to expire, she makes this switch.
She is set to become Senior Vice President of government affairs for NBC Universal. On June 3, less than a month before her term was set to expire, she makes this switch.
Submission + - House Extends Key Provisions of Patriot Act (wsj.com)
odd42 writes: The House voted 275-144 Monday night to extend three key provisions of the Patriot Act, overcoming a small uprising of House Republicans last week that briefly delayed the measure.
Wisconsin GOP Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner's proposal allows federal agents to continue to use enhanced surveillance powers until Dec. 8. The extension still needs Senate approval to become law.
Wisconsin GOP Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner's proposal allows federal agents to continue to use enhanced surveillance powers until Dec. 8. The extension still needs Senate approval to become law.
Comment Re:good job Republicans! (Score 5, Informative) 284
Good job Republicans! Wow, never thought I'd say that.. Well, after being in power for 17 of the last 20 years, it's about time you did something right.
Um... 90% of Repubs voted FOR extending it...! http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll026.xml
Comment Re:When this happens to the US or its allies (Score 1) 406
Uh. The US barely 'won' against a FAR inferior Iraq, and is losing badly against a stone age country. I'm pretty sure Iran would do just fine, especially seeing as how they have control of 100% of the straits of Hormuz.
Long-term Iraq and Afghanistan "wars" were failures as police-actions (after any major military conflict) in attempts to eliminate civilian casualties, having this goal to maintain legitimacy in initiating the conflicts. Iranian war on the US (the feasibility of which if judged according to the above US difficulties in Iraq/Afghanistan) is not advisable by any sane person.
Comment Re:Pick the one that CREATES energy... (Score 1) 633
Pick the one that CREATES energy... not consumes it. The only logical choice is the warp drive.
The first law of course is 'Energy can neither be created nor destroyed: it can only be transformed from one state to another.'
Though your general line of reasoning stands, in solving the energy problem.
