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Comment Re:easy, (Score 1) 393

"I'm not a billionaire, but..." I'm not a billionaire, so I don't care what happens to them.
"I don't have a uterus, but..." I have a body, and I support a person's choice how to treat their own body.
"I'm not gay, but..." I can make choices, so I support a person's choice.
"I'll never be under-age again, but..." Haha! You're old! (me too, but meh. Get off my lawn and I'll get off yours.)

Stop telling people what they should value. Either they're smart enough to figure it out, or your high-and-mighty attitude is going to antagonize them into the position opposite of yours. Or they just won't change because they just don't care.

Comment A blocker perhaps? (Score 1) 44

Can we bring up and roll out a kevlar fabric style large mesh device that will orbit in front of the station at a far enough away distance so as not to obscure the field of view and act as an absorber of some of these floating objects?

The idea is that it could be unfurled, catch items and when it is degraded enough, it is deorbited and crashes down into an ocean.

Submission + - Nasty Security Flaw Affects 99% Of Android Devices (securityledger.com)

chicksdaddy writes: A security researcher claims to have uncovered a flaw in the Android security model that leaves almost all devices running the mobile operating system vulnerable to attacks and malicious software.

Jeff Forristal, the Chief Technology Officer at Bluebox Security posted a description of the flaw on Wednesday. It affects Android devices running any version of the OS released in the past four years, starting with Version 1.6 (codename: “Donut” ) – a population of nearly 900 million devices. Discrepancies in how Android applications are cryptographically signed and then verified by Android allow a malicious attacker to modify the application package file (or APK) code without breaking the cryptographic signature.

The implications of the flaw are huge. A malicious application installed on a vulnerable Android device could access any data stored on the device, depending on the application's privileges. Speaking to The Security Ledger, Forristal said that, despite his finding, he believes the Android core OS has a strong security architecture. “Where things start to fracture is all of the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customizations and add-ons.” OEMs like handset makers operate “under a ‘get to market’ paradigm (more) than a ‘build it secure’ paradigm,” he wrote.

Submission + - New Study: How Copyright Makes Books and Music Disappear (ssrn.com) 1

An anonymous reader writes: A new study of books and music for sale on Amazon shows how copyright makes works disappear. The research, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2290181 is described in the abstract: "A random sample of new books for sale on Amazon.com shows three times more books initially published in the 1850’s are for sale than new books from the 1950’s. Why? A sample of 2300 new books for sale on Amazon.com is analyzed along with a random sample of 2000 songs available on new DVD’s. Copyright status correlates highly with absence from the Amazon shelf. Second, the availability on YouTube of songs that reached number one on the U.S., French, and Brazilian pop charts from 1930-60 is analyzed in terms of the identity of the uploader, type of upload, number of views, date of upload, and monetization status. An analysis of the data demonstrates that the DMCA safe harbor system as applied to YouTube helps maintain some level of access to old songs by allowing those possessing copies (primarily infringers) to communicate relatively costlessly with copyright owners to satisfy the market of potential listeners.

Submission + - Biologists Program E. Coli To Patrol For Pathogens (acs.org)

MTorrice writes: When hospital patients develop nasty, antibiotic-resistant infections, the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is often the culprit. In a new approach to killing the pathogen, researchers genetically modified harmless Escherichia coli bacteria to detect and destroy P. aeruginosa. The E. coli spot a specific chemical released by the pathogen and then secrete a toxin to kill it (abstract).

Submission + - Scientists Developing a Seawater-Desalination Chip (gizmag.com)

Zothecula writes: Although various alternative technologies are being developed, the large-scale desalination of seawater typically involves forcing it through a membrane that allows the water to pass through, but that traps the salt. These membranes can be costly, they can get fouled, and powerful pumps are required to push the water through. Now, however, scientists from the University of Texas at Austin and Germany’s University of Marburg are taking another approach. They’ve developed a chip that separates salt from water.

Submission + - NSA recruitment drive goes horribly wrong

An anonymous reader writes: The Guardian is running a story about a recent recruitment session held by the NSA and attended by students from the University of Wisconsin which had an unexpected outcome for the recruiters.

Attending the session was Madiha R Tahir, a journalist studying a language course at the university. She asked the squirming recruiters a few uncomfortable questions about the activities of NSA: which countries the agency considers to be 'adversaries', and if being a good liar is a qualification for getting a job at the NSA.

Following her, others students started to put NSA employees under fire too. A recording of the session is available on Tahir's blog.

Comment Re:Yes (Score 2) 533

Something tells me the US Military is well aware of what they drop on people and what they were accusing Saddam Hussein of possessing. It wasn't merely that he was alleged to have them, but that he was alleged to have them in contravention of some treaty, wasn't it? The issue wasn't about the items, but about the treaty or punishment or whatever not being followed.

Comment Re:Wrong by law (Score 1) 601

To ignore them is to passively accept what they're doing. To accept a position of trust, then defy it is treason. It's a Catch-22.

Absolutely wrong.

Treason is working against your nation. He worked for this nation. The enemies of this nation are the traitors he outed.

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