Assume, no...assert...yes! As far as evidence for the existence of god...there is infinite evidence for stuff that nobody comprehends or understands in the slightest (if slashdotters have properly checked their egos at the door, even THEY will acknowledge that fact)...with no way of knowing if that evidence is or isn't evidence of the existence of god you can't really make any assertions.

...they are controversial though...so much so that they tend to insight riots.

This product is fantastic:

http://www.neat.com/

I use mine all of the time.

How do you say "Nuttin' don't get done wit'out it don't get done by da union" in Swahili?

Most B2B contracts I've seen, particularly ones involving services, have a "non-solicit" agreement where each party agrees not to hire the other's employees away for a set period of time. It's not uncommon and I'd be willing to wager that all of these companies have done business with one another in some way, shape or form. Entering into this kind of an agreement without legitimate business that might expose the parties to one another's valuable human resources might be a problem. The part about collectively limiting their employees rights to bargain for raises...well...I don't see how that's possible. My philosophy (and practice) has always been to ask for what you want...if you don't get it, move on...if you DO get what you ask for...then turn right around and decide you want something else...I'd rather have you be the competition's problem. :-)

Tanks for validating my joke...was it too dry?

Next.

It seems nefarious in nature, but the techniques used to accomplish the task (for the government customer) are used to understand how to PREVENT similar attacks as well as perpetrate them. Maybe we could call this "Gray Hat".

P

The work was being done for a government agency. White Hat.

:-)

Ever hear of whistle blower laws? You get a cut of the money you save the government...

These apply to Intel agencies as well.

Anytime anyone calls someone a "genius" I'm always on alert...especially when people doing the labeling aren't qualified to do so.

:-)

The value of IP stolen from the U.S. by China alone is probably impossible to calculate but it would seem to me that it's far past the Trillions of dollars. Think about it...every major corporation's IP is in Chinese hands....all IP from major pharma companies...all IP from aerospace and defense contractors...let alone tech and software firms.

It's almost unfathomable how much money these types of IP cost to research and develop.

We can only hope that our security awareness improves (a lot) and we slow the exodus of stolen IP from the U.S. Another consolation (in my mind at least) is that innovation is the key to real leadership.

I agree.

There is no way for WikiLeaks to peruse such a large amount of data and determine which information may be harmful or useful...that's the problem with stolen information...there's no way of telling if it's real, fabricated, fictional, useful, or harmful. It's just a guess.

Every government, business, and for that matter every individual person bargains or uses leverage to improve their overall security and prosperity. That's the way it is, and it may not always seem fair or nice.

Just because some douche-bag has gained access to stolen information doesn't mean it's "valuable journalism" to expose it to the world. In fact, exposing various bargains that governments have made can and will seriously undermine that government's international effectiveness at the least and may result in unnecessary deaths or war at worst.

Wow...it's not often you see Orrin Hatch and Al Franken agreeing on something...must be some good money at stake! P

It is *exactly* like what guys like George Soros and many, many others do...the "wiseguys" decided to create their own unfair advantage without paying off politicians first, though...that just won't do.

According to the CEOs blog their customer base is mostly Firefox anyway...read more about the company's vision and motivations here:

http://blog.xmarks.com/?p=1945