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Comment Re:If you aren't doing anything wrong, (Score 1) 325

Now I just think you're being willfully obtuse and like to call people names, but perhaps the wording of my post was not as clear as I originally though. I was not claiming that sharing files was vital to MY religious freedom. I used religion as one EXAMPLE of what some people might consider "wrong" about other people.

Tell me, when was the last time you were threatened with death or injury because of your religious beliefs? And, what exactly are those beliefs?

I have not been. I imagine Christians in Afghanistan AS AN EXAMPLE might have a different experience. In fact, sharing hidden files might very well be vital to their religious freedom.

My particular beliefs aren't relevant to the discussion. Religion is just one EXAMPLE that serves to show that your position of "if you aren't doing anything wrong, you don't have anything to hide" is an untenable position. There's always somebody who can argue that what you are doing or what you are advocating is "wrong." There's no universal standard for what is "wrong", that was the point of my post, and the point you seem to want to ignore.

Comment Re:If you aren't doing anything wrong, (Score 1) 325

Are you really that blind to the implications of what you are saying? (Never mind that the "if you aren't doing anything wrong" idiocy has been refuted time and time again in these very pages...). Not everybody agrees on exactly what is "wrong", you know. I'm sure some people would love to block any and all messages that would deny the existence of their chosen space wizard, because they consider that to be "wrong". I, on the other hand, consider such communication a vital defense against superstitious thinking. No matter which side of that particular issue you fall on, do you not see that the "if you aren't doing anything wrong" argument completely falls apart?

Comment Re:Was this really bound to happen? (Score 1) 456

When a satellite fails, often it cannot be de-orbited. Several failure modes will cause this - the most common is the malfunction of the controller, communications unit, or onboard power system. When any of these fail, there's no way to command the retro-rocket to fire.

In the case of comm failure, seems like you could program it to automatically do a deorbit burn after, say, 120 days of not receiving any instructions from ground.

Space

Submission + - Eris confirmed to be more massive then Pluto (hubblesite.org)

tigerhawkvok writes: "Using Hubble data, a Caltech professor and his graduate student observed the orbit of Eris's (formally Xena) moon, and confirmed Eris to both be radially larger and more massive than Pluto. Eris was the body that prompted much of the debate over the definition of a planet.

Check out the Hubblesite press release for more information, or Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy Blog for a quick summary."

Privacy

Judge Orders TorrentSpy to Turn Over RAM 726

virgil_disgr4ce writes "In an impressive example of the gap of understanding between legal officials and technology, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian 'found that a computer server's RAM, or random-access memory, is a tangible document that can be stored and must be turned over in a lawsuit.' ZDNet, among others, reports on the ruling and its potential for invasion of privacy."
United States

Submission + - US may require European visitors to register

maximus1 writes: According to this article, Europeans may have to register online two days before they visit the US under a proposal being examined by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The online registration would complement the Automated Targeting System, a program disclosed by the DHS in November that assigns a "risk assessment" to people entering and leaving the U.S.. The registration system would likely require approval by the U.S. Congress before it could be introduced, says Hugo Teufel III, chief privacy officer for the DHS. "It's a fairly new initiative in that we've been discussing it internally for about a month."
Patents

Submission + - eBay may Lose "Buy it Now" Button in Paten (lawbean.com)

Spamicles writes: "A judge has delayed his ruling on the eBay patent infringement case. eBay has been involved in a legal dispute over the use of its popular "Buy it Now" button, which allows consumers to skip the bidding and purchase items on eBay directly. The patent suit was filed six years ago by MercExchange L.L.C. In May of 2003, a jury ruled in MercExchange's favor finding that eBay did in fact infringe on the patent, but in 2005 the US Supreme Court ruled that MercExchange was not automatically entitled to a court order blocking the offending service, essentially handing a victory down to patent reform advocates. However, the ruling by the Supreme Court does not affect the final judgment of the court."
User Journal

Journal Journal: Karma loss

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