random notes: 10/01/2007

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Today, many of the men who hope to be the next president -- including all of the candidates with a significant chance of receiving the Republican nomination -- have made unreasoning, unjustified terror the centerpiece of their campaigns.

Consider, for a moment, the implications of the fact that Rudy Giuliani is taking foreign policy advice from Norman Podhoretz, who wants us to start bombing Iran "as soon as it is logistically possible."

....

And Mike Huckabee, whom reporters like to portray as a nice, reasonable guy, says that if Hillary Clinton is elected, "I'm not sure we'll have the courage and the will and the resolve to fight the greatest threat this country's ever faced in Islamofascism." Yep, a bunch of lightly armed terrorists and a fourth-rate military power -- which aren't even allies -- pose a greater danger than Hitler's panzers or the Soviet nuclear arsenal ever did.

All of this would be funny if it weren't so serious.

# posted by intcoex : 11:42 PM

Church members routinely picket funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, carrying signs such as "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags."

A number of states have passed laws regarding funeral protests, and Congress has passed a law prohibiting such protests at federal cemeteries. But the Maryland lawsuit is believed to be the first filed by the family of a fallen serviceman.

# posted by intcoex : 5:15 PM

Three lead suspects — Jamal Zougam and Othman Gnaoui of Morocco and Emilio Suarez Trashorras of Spain — were convicted of murder and attempted murder and received prison sentences ranging from 34,000 to 43,000 years. Under Spanish law, the most they will spend in jail is 40 years. Spain has no death penalty or life imprisonment.

# posted by intcoex : 5:15 PM

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

(IDG) -- Hollywood wants a piece of your hard drive.

A proposal now under consideration by a technology standards organization lays the groundwork for content protection capabilities on your next hard drive and has privacy advocates crying foul.

The group responsible for the proposal is called the 4C Entity and is led by industry heavyweights Intel and IBM. The 4C Entity submitted the proposal to the industry committee that controls the standards for hard drives as well as other removable media.

# posted by intcoex : 4:16 PM

If I were to go to a store and take an apple without paying for it, I have committed theft. But what if I were to buy an apple, take it home and take out the seeds and grow an apple tree from them and produce my own apples?

Am I an ‘apple thief’ then?

You might laugh at that, but the question is not a silly one; some companies consider it “seed piracy” to do exactly that.

When you hear the RIAA speak of “theft” of music, they are not talking about people shoplifting CDs from stores, they are talking about the digital equivalent of growing your own apples from seeds. Just because copying a CD is easier and faster than growing apples, does not make it any less so.

At its core, “intellectual property” refers to ideas (aka memes and aggregations of them), be they in the form of books or music or patents or what have you…

“If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others to exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it focuses itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver can not dispossess himself of it. Its peculiar character, too, is that no one possesses the less because every other possesses the whole of it. He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper [candle] at mine, receives light without darkening me.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1813

... thats exactly where they want to be ...
... to start the third world war ...
... "kick me, i need the money" ...
... with the music I doubt, but with seeds and software patents they may get there ...

# posted by intcoex : 3:23 PM

Sunday, October 28, 2007

... if you may have never guessed ...
... no, I don't believe in "civilian" nuclear energy ...

# posted by intcoex : 5:51 AM

Friday, October 26, 2007

... never mind, I guess "there ain't no such thing as free oil" in there ...

# posted by intcoex : 11:43 PM

Between early 2004 and September 2005, 60 surgical patients at Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point, N.J., received implants said to have originated with the corpse-snatching ring. Another 74 patients in Nebraska received stolen bone tissue during surgeries in the same period.

# posted by intcoex : 11:03 PM

La velocità con cui l'uomo ha utilizzato le risorse della Terra negli ultimi 20 anni ha messo a rischio la sopravvivenza della specie

... ma non preoccupatevi ...
... le lobby delle multinazionali, delle chiese e della politica ...
... vi elimineranno prima che il collasso accada ...
... stanno tutti preparando la terza guerra mondiale ...

# posted by intcoex : 2:55 AM

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Otherwise, U.S. forces will be well-defended against a weapon few enemies have, and not defended against the most lethal weapon enemies do have.

# posted by intcoex : 9:21 PM

"The solution is actually rather simple," he tells me. "It is necessary only to lay a formal complaint before (a) the European Commission in Bruxelles and (b) deposit a class action before the European Court of Justice (that's the EU court in Luxembourg, not the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg). However for good measure it would be good politics to register a case with the Court of Human Rights too."

# posted by intcoex : 10:06 AM

... un altro prodotto dell' ufficio complicazione affari semplici ...
... ovvero, quando lo stato di diritto cerca di interferire contro il diritto ...

# posted by intcoex : 9:53 AM

‘Taleban with nukes’ ? No, but time is running out

... why the geniouses in us and canada don't make yugoslavia and somalia nuclear powers too ...

# posted by intcoex : 9:49 AM

... referendum per uscire dalla alleanza militare della NATO ...
... subito ...
... questa gente non e' capace di alleati ...
... siamo tutti "sudditi" di un paese degenerato ...
... in una dittatura sudamericana ...
... aveva ragione De Gaulle ...
... questi non difendono nessuno, solo i loro sporchi interessi ...

# posted by intcoex : 7:48 AM

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

... here, keep the ckeclist handy ...
... so when you listen to your politicians you can tell ...

... in naples they say the fish starts stinking always from the head ...

# posted by intcoex : 4:34 AM

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

... wir danken george und gott am mont klamott :) ...

# posted by intcoex : 1:18 PM

Monday, October 22, 2007

I Verdi: "Gli italiani sono contrari al nucleare"
Secondo la ricerca il 56% degli intervistati è contrario a nuove centrali

Chiediamo a questi signori come mai dopo 60 anni di sviluppo di questa tecnologia, gli Usa hanno dovuto introdurre forti incentivi economici, visto che nessun imprenditore privato investe in nuovi reattori da 30 anni. Il dibattito è originato dal tentativo del governo Usa di evitare un vero e proprio crollo dell’industria nucleare in quel Paese: ma qualcuno vuole raccontarlo ai cittadini?».

Le recenti analisi di Moody’s, rileva Onufrio, «mostrano come nonostante i forti incentivi Usa, in quel Paese verrà realizzata solo una o forse due centrali entro il 2015. Questo anche perchè i costi sono più che doppi rispetto a quanto racconta l’industria».

... perche' non provare l'idrogeno come carburante in centrali termoelettriche ...
... se non altro, se esplode, non c'e' bisogno di aspettare 30 mila anni ...

# posted by intcoex : 3:17 PM

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Dal 2050 con i robot anche a letto
In arrivo androidi identici agli esseri umani, capaci di muoversi, di parlare e di eccitarsi

... interessante ...
... presentateci il risvolto teologico ...
... e giuridico ...
... cosi' ci sappiamo regolare ...

# posted by intcoex : 7:46 PM

Saturday, October 20, 2007

"Ricardo Franco Levi, braccio destro di Prodi, sottosegretario alla Presidenza del Consiglio, ha scritto un testo per tappare la bocca a Internet". Lo scrive nel suo blog Beppe Grillo, che attacca il disegno di legge approvato in Consiglio dei ministri il 12 ottobre, e che all'art. 7 prevede l'iscrizione al registro degli operatori di comunicazione (Roc) anche per chi "svolge attività editoriale su Internet".

... non si fermera' li' ...
... la prossima volta introdurranno l' "imprimatur" ...
... never mind, I'm just joking ...

# posted by intcoex : 2:03 AM

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Anderson died January 6, 2006, a day after being hit and kicked by the guards as the nurse watched after he collapsed while running laps. The 30-minute confrontation was videotaped. Video Watch the video of the incident »
The altercation drew protests in the state capital and marked the end of Florida's system of juvenile boot camps.
Defense attorneys argued that the camp workers were using accepted tactics and that the boy died because of a pre-existing medical condition.

... heard it before ...
... will become the standard for amerikan koncentration kamps ...
... all die for "preexisting konditions" ...

# posted by intcoex : 4:33 PM

Friday, October 12, 2007

As for the government, Prime Minister Romano Prodi's centre-left coalition cabinet is made up of 103 members from nine parties, even more than the 98-member team of his right-wing predecessor Silvio Berlusconi.
Not that Berlusconi scrimped in other areas. He had 81 bodyguards during his last stint as prime minister, from 2001-2006.
Authors Sergio Rizzo and Gian Antonio Stella were as surprised as anyone by the success of "The Caste."
"It was bought mainly by families, so it reached a large readership, which is rare for non-fiction," Rizzo said at the Corriere offices here. "Its success reveals a need for change."
Italy has the most lawmakers per capita among large Western democracies: one per 60,371 compared with one per 66,554 in France, 91,824 in Britain and 112,502 in Germany.
"Like a frog, the Italian political class is swelling, swelling, until it explodes," the 51-year-old Rizzo joked.
"Italian politicians have lost their moral compass. Some situations have become unacceptable," he added.

... news from the cato-marxist kings court ...

# posted by intcoex : 1:23 AM

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Five myths about European economy

# posted by intcoex : 1:33 PM

Much of the stored blood may lack a component vital for it to deliver oxygen to the tissues.
Nitric oxide, which helps keep blood vessels open, begins breaking down as soon as blood goes into storage, two research teams report in separate studies in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

# posted by intcoex : 1:26 PM

Over the last several months, I have had an alarming number of patients being denied medications by their insurance companies or third-party administrators. These medications include heart, blood pressure, diabetes and asthma medications just to name a few. I have had patients in the pharmacy with severe asthmatic attacks being told they had to mail away for the medications and will receive it in 2-4 weeks. In August, New York State announced it was going to sue one of the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers, Express Scripts, Inc., for pocketing as much as $100 million dollars that should have gone to the state. According to an AM New York article, Attorney General Elliot Spitzer said, "They were simply committing fraud." In the July Daily News, Harvey Wachsman wrote an article titled Stop the HMOs Before They Kill Some More. In the article, he explains how HMOs are not held accountable for any decisions they make.

Mr. Wachsman states, "As it stands now, they can get away with what amounts to murder, avoiding any meaningful punishment even when they make egregious and callous decisions that cost people their lives." It seems to me that it is far more profitable for an insurance company to let a sick person die than to save their life. So, what are we to do? The laws seem to favor the insurance companies. We have to get the laws changed.

Filing complaints is part of the answer. If you feel you've been wronged, complain! File complaints with your benefit administrator at work. Write letters to your elected officials and file complaints with the New York State Department of Insurance. This mess we are in did not happen overnight and is not going to be fixed overnight but we better start working on it soon.

... hey, look at the greatest medical system in the western world ...
... losers ...

# posted by intcoex : 3:09 AM

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

buddy
noun buddies
(especially N Amer)
1a. colloq
A friend or companion;
Thesaurus: friend, pal, chum, intimate, mate, fellow, peer, companion, confidant, associate, sidekick (slang), crony; Antonym: stranger, enemy.
Form: bud (sometimes shortened, especially when used as a term of address)(especially N Amer)
1b. colloq
A term of address used to a man, often expressing a degree of annoyance or aggression, etc
Example: Watch it, buddy! Form: bud (sometimes shortened, especially when used as a term of address)
... thank you for the expression, amerikans ...
... very rude, but thank you again ...
... may you all live interesting times ...

# posted by intcoex : 5:21 PM

Monday, October 08, 2007

I due svedesi hanno così raccolto i risultati per analizzarli nel loro complesso e hanno perciò stabilito che le persone che usano il telefonino da un decennio o più hanno il 20% in più di possibilità di contrarre una patologia come il neuroma acustico e il 30% in più di sviluppare un glioma maligno.
... look, cell phones more dangerous for cancer than cigarette smoke ...
... boy, hate those second head radiations ...
... is Hillary going to do something for this or what ? ...

# posted by intcoex : 10:50 PM

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Microsoft opens personal health record site
... hey, why not build a couple of nuclear power plants in seattle - washington ...
... running on microsoft code :) ...

# posted by intcoex : 10:10 AM

Friday, October 05, 2007

... let the "secular branch" handle it, deja vu ...

# posted by intcoex : 3:10 PM

Thursday, October 04, 2007

... in thrust we trust ...

# posted by intcoex : 5:43 PM

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

... wow, nine bucks an hour airplane refueling positions ...

# posted by intcoex : 6:06 PM

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