A patent tax seems the most reasonable course to patent reform today, and an escalating cost per year will also make them less likely to be held if they're non-profitable. A second clause - a patent that is used to sue without having created anything is immediately void. This would significantly reduce patent trolls. The justification for this one is that no harm was done as you did not lose any potential sales.

I think the most interesting part of this is that yes, we are not yet out of revolutions. Interesting times, while an ancient Chinese curse, is certainly more fun than living without these new innovations. Bring them on!

And I agree, getting older these days means you may have greater insight. The worst waste of time I see in programming is the "re-invention" cycle that occurs every 5-7 years with the latest new language or methodology. And after the newness wears off, the same old approaches are gravitated towards, because they work.

Because a previous post was already linked to WHO information and was referenced. Also, this is slashdot - those were the first 3 results in a google search on "death heart disease rank". I wasn't making a full argument, merely posting a secondary link the GGP might find more palatable, given the apparent anti-establishment viewpoint they exhibited. A WHO link probably would not have made any impact on them. Shockingly enough, those types of people trust wikipedia more than government backed studies. And, as you point out, the WHO link is on the Wikipedia page - along with others. So what's your point?

I did not look up the disease trends through time, but I did note the increasing lifespan from 1900 onwards, a gain of about 20 years. If you knock out all those things that kill you earlier, you're going to be left with age increasing diseases like heart disease and diabetes, the latter of which, Type II, generally starts around 45, and with a peak diagnosis around 55-60. If you die before that, as in earlier days, then obviously as the lifespan increases the incidents will also increase. It's not as black and white as you make it out to be. I'm also not arguing that the US doesn't have a few unhealthy eating habits. Just that your statements are on the extreme side.

Wikipedia is hardly a source of trusted information. I'd rather go to WHO directly thank you.

The death rate is much lower in the US, fourfold lower in fact and in the third lowest grouping. The US does have a huge consumption of soda and fast food as both are cheap with their associated high grease and added sugar. So we have more diabetes than we used to, and perhaps worse cardiovascular disease, but compared worldwide, apparently not more so. Note - we also live longer, so some of these diseases, diabetes and heart disease, are more prevalent the older you get. Decades ago people were dying from complications from smoking and alcohol consumption, both of which have appeared to have been reduced some.

What the NSA does externally, as long as that activity is in accordance with all treaties etc, is acceptable, otherwise it might be taken as acts of war. Spying on foreigners has never been considered illegal. Snowden should not have said a word about the activities against foreign governments that were not in violation US law. For that he might be rightfully branded a traitor. Had he just blown the whistle on the illegal US spying, there might have been hope for him.

It's not their job nor charter to violate the 4th amendment. They did both in spirit and in fact, regardless what the nitpickers at the DOJ say.

were there any alarm words you left out?

I'll have to agree with i kan reed, you're way way way on the outer fringes. How about the world lifeexpectancy link the AC gave you. Or, if you're a wikipedia truster you'll see the same thing - heart disease is the number one killer worldwide. The US rate is lower than the world wide rate, so maybe it's time to change your rant, like maybe drop it entirely and catch back up with the real world.

TBBA - It appears even the most minor google search will prove that hemp (cannabis) was not only a source of fiber for textiles and rope, but a common medicine as well. I sincerely doubt that would have been the case if it was significantly less strong than the common weak varieties today.

>No, it is not. It is a *part* of TS. Not "above.

It requires special accreditation procedures to carry SCI data and a simple TS network accreditation cannot do it. Above simple SCI, there is additional accreditation required for SAP/SAR. So I think you are mistaken, although it could all just be semantics if you wish. The fact of the matter is you can have a TS-only clearance, a TS/SCI clearance with the standard compartments, TS/SCI with special compartments requiring poly, and TS/SCI with special requirements requiring a full-scope lifestyle poly. Each of these is harder to get, and it is "fair" to think of them as above one another, because they have increasingly stringent access requirements.

> If your idea of "having an online presence" is tweeting and having a Facebook page, I would not hire you.

It remains to be demonstrated that you are anything resembling a good employer. A sweeping generalization for all "technical jobs" like this leaves this very much in doubt, I'm afraid.

That used to be the way things worked. Now, "smart" bankers have offloaded the risk by selling those loans, so they no longer own them.

Today, yes, in the 1700s and 1800s, no. To round out the facts, the general hemp plants grown at the time were not as strong as some available today, only because they hadn't done as much hybridization.