A Now For Something …

by Bryan

15 comments

1 JuanitaM { 02.20.14 at 8:47 am }

“The NSA, the only part of government that actually listens.”

This would be too funny if it weren’t also too true. 🙂

Glad to hear a judge somewhere had the spine to remember The Constitution.

2 Kryten42 { 02.20.14 at 9:56 am }

Hmmm. So, Scientists just discovered the Antechinus? Curious… Since this Aussie s/w company has been using “Antechinus” as the brand for their s/w products & suite since 1991! (They also registered “Antechinus” as a trade mark). 😕

Antechinus® Creative Suite

It’s free BTW! I’ve been using it for years. You can buy more advanced “Pro” versions, but I find that standard ones sufficient (except the PHP editor, but I use the much more powerful Codelobster for my advanced needs). 🙂

I originally came across them when I was looking for a decent Javascript IDE. It was the only one around for some time, and still the best. 🙂

As for the NSA/DHS thing… *shrug*

3 Bryan { 02.20.14 at 12:11 pm }

I bought that T-shirt for my younger brother, Juanita. I thought it was funny because it would annoy Alexander the Geek. If it had been available when I was in, I would have worn it. What could they have done – sent me to Shemya?

This was a new species with a black tail that lives in a different environment, Kryten. I can’t see them surviving in captivity unless you can pull the males out, because needing to replace all the males every generation is not really a survival trait.

4 Kryten42 { 02.20.14 at 9:12 pm }

I’m thinking of doing a few T-Sirts myself, for ASIO & ASIS and maybe a couple others here. Though, ASIO is a parody of itself, and everyone knows they are a joke (apparently except those who work there… forest, trees). 😉

Yeah, I read the article again. They really didn’t make it that clear at first. Anyway, I like the little guy on their logo (above). Was worth posting iMHO. 😉 😀 And I get a chance to promote a decent Aussie company (we have so few left). Win-win! LOL 😀

…because needing to replace all the males every generation is not really a survival trait.

You talking about the little Antechinus, or Humans now m8? ’cause, you know, the elite’s, Teeps, fundinut’s & the general wingcrazies would be screwing everything in sight if they had their way! Difficult to tell the difference IMO! 😈 LMAO

5 Bryan { 02.20.14 at 10:05 pm }

Yes, but they don’t have the decency to die early. Unlike the wee beastie, the wingers hang around and make the rest of us miserable.

I assume you’ll check the local intellectual property laws on government symbols and logos. The US only bars using them for purposes of misrepresentation of authority, i.e. impersonating a government official. Mocking them is a hallowed American tradition, as NSA and DHS found out.

6 Kryten42 { 02.21.14 at 1:01 am }

Remember what The Chasers got away with when Bush was here! LOL

Yes, but they don’t have the decency to die early.

Ahhh! But m8… that’s easily remedied! The right mix of pheromones on the object of their lust, a little appropriate chemical inducement, and they’d be dead in 24 hours. Remember, they have insatiable greed, have little self-control, and think they are entirely privileged to do whatever the hell they want! They would be soooo easy to manipulate in reality! I even had to take a course on how humans react to various forms and mixes of chemical’s. It is truly surprising how easily humans can be programmed. And somewhat sad. We are in fact affected emotionally, mentally, and physically in many subtle ways (and some not so subtle) by chemicals every day. Most are completely unaware of it. The only real difference between us and machines is that we are organic, simply organic chemical machines. And quite chemically programmable. Just have to find the right key (just like hacking a computer in a way). 🙂

Oh, and machines are intelligent! 😉 😛

7 Bryan { 02.21.14 at 2:48 pm }

Hmm, spike their Viagra, now there’s a thought. 👿

8 Kryten42 { 02.22.14 at 9:22 am }

LOL Yeah… that would do it. 😉 😀

Here’s a surprise for ya m8… The GAO agrees with you about Contractors! 😉

GAO Finds Handling Of Intelligence Contractors Just As Screwed Up As Everything Else It’s Investigated

What a surprise. 😉

And look… Something unheard of in recent times within the USA… competition! LOL

Investors Whine As T-Mobile Finally Forces Verizon Wireless To (GASP) Compete On Price

Not to worry… It won’t last. *shrug*

Lastly… yeah.

Ever since Edward Snowden leaked information about the massive government surveillance being done both domestically and abroad by the NSA, the refrain that such leaks have put people in danger and harmed national security have been ongoing. Supporters of the NSA have specifically noted that leaks about section 215, the PATRIOT Act section that the NSA believes gives it the power to collect all telco traffic records, will prove to be absolutely catastrophic to our safety. Spy bigwig James Clapper himself wrote to Ron Wyden that section 215 leaks “will do significant damage to the intelligence community’s ability to protect the nation.”

Now, in a move that will surprise nobody, since Clapper is a proven liar, he has reversed course and says that the government should have told the American people about section 215.

“What did us in here, what worked against us was this shocking revelation,” he said, referring to the first disclosures from Snowden. If the program had been publicly introduced in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, most Americans would probably have supported it. “I don’t think it would be of any greater concern to most Americans than fingerprints. Well people kind of accept that because they know about it. But had we been transparent about it and say here’s one more thing we have to do as citizens for the common good, just like we have to go to airports two hours early and take our shoes off, all the other things we do for the common good, this is one more thing.”

Unbelievable. So the very same disclosure that turned Edward Snowden into a traitor and was going to do so much harm to American security is something Clapper says he should have done in the first place? With such an admission, where is the backlash against the continued prosecution of Snowden in the court of public opinion? Where is the embarrassed apology for lying to Americans about the dangers of the disclosures made previously? Lies, I might add, designed to scare the living hell out of people and chill speech, disclosures, and journalism.

I typically try to find some humor in every situation, but this kind of flip-flopping is bullshit on a level hitherto unseen. The credibility gap between Clapper and his ilk versus Edward Snowden might as well be the Grand Canyon. I’m a bit amazed the man has been allowed to keep his job, never mind his still being allowed to make media statements.

James Clapper: We Totes Shoulda Told You About Section 215

Clapper won’t lose his job. Obama needs him. You know Obama is trying to figure out a way to enable the use of drones against US citizens that the Administration deems to be involved in *terrorist activity* (those abroad so far, not actually within the USA. But that’s only a matter of time.) Geeee, I wonder who his first target would be?

And the World thought the Bushmoron was bad! LOL

I keep saying it… hypocrites, and the sheeple are morons. *shrug*

9 Bryan { 02.22.14 at 10:11 pm }

You can’t argue with numbers if you live in reality, and the numbers on contractors and other forms of privatization really show what a disaster the concept is, before you even approach the idea of accountability for performance.

The US government is making decisions based on bumper sticker slogans and failed talking points.

I could never work as a ‘real journalist’ because I would preface every statement coming from Clapper with a reminder of his serial lying, so don’t accept even the punctuation. Clapper, Alexander, and Hayden are proof that scum rises to the top.

10 Kryten42 { 02.24.14 at 7:09 am }

Well… speaking of morons, it’s official! 🙂

Here’s an op-ed from Jeff Nesbit, ex-Director of Public Affairs for the NSF.

…
When I worked at NSF, I used to think this sort of basic science test survey was a bit silly and simplistic. People spend years in school learning basic science stuff. Who doesn’t know the Earth orbits the sun and not the other way around? [Test Your Science Smarts: 9 Questions (and Answers)]

Apparently a quarter of the American population, that’s who.

It turns out 26 percent of us in America think the sun is moving around the Earth, and we’re just rooted in place here on Earth watching it sweep across the sky, a recent public survey using the NSF science-literacy test found. Never mind those silly scientists telling us otherwise. A quarter of us can see the sun moving. We’re not moving. The sun is.
…
What is so shocking about the recent NSF survey is how basic the science literacy questions are, the significant percentage of those questions more than 2,000 people surveyed nationally got wrong, and what that means for the public’s ability to grasp the basic science, evidence and facts needed in a functioning democratic society. Those 2,000-plus people who took the NSF science literacy test are representative of the country as a whole — unless, of course, you don’t believe in the science of statistical sampling and polling.

Less than half knew (or believed) that humans have evolved over time. Big percentages didn’t know the center of the Earth is really hot; that the universe began with a huge explosion; or that continents shift over time. When asked whether it was a father’s genes that determined whether a baby was a boy or girl, a whole lot of people got it wrong. (The correct answer is, yes, it is the father’s genes.)

In fact, the average score was abysmal — just 6.5 out of 10. That’s a failing grade for a basic science test that you’d expect most third graders in public schools to answer correctly. But these weren’t third graders taking the NSF literacy test — they were adults. And they got a third of the questions wrong.

…

About 45 percent of the public — including, it seems, pop star Katy Perry — think that astrology is a science. In fact, the percentage of the American public that believes astrology is a science (and, therefore, real or believable) has been increasing every year for the past 10 years. And it isn’t just those who got hooked on horoscopes in daily newspapers. A majority of younger Americans (ages 18-24) think that astrology has some sort of scientific basis. Meanwhile, in China, 92 percent of its public doesn’t believe that astrology is scientific.

Just to state the obvious — this doesn’t bode well for America’s future. A functioning democracy depends on at least a baseline understanding of science, evidence and facts for critical decision-making in policy and politics, so it’s hard to see how this works when the public seems confused on even basic facts and is moving in the wrong direction.

You are soooo screwed!! (And so are we all!)

A Quarter of Americans Think the Sun Orbits the Earth … Sigh

Morons will always vote for morons because they make them feel comfortable and smart. 😐

Truly screwed.

11 Kryten42 { 02.24.14 at 7:36 am }

Oh, meant to post the link to the official NSF 2012 Report (Chapter 7: Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Understanding):

NSF 2012 Report, Chapter 7 – PDF

It’s actually an interesting read, as it gives far more detail about the questions and the responses, demographic’s, comparisons to previous years, etc.

12 Bryan { 02.24.14 at 8:17 pm }

The wingnuts have been taking over the school boards and the results are showing. They don’t believe that what basic science tells us, so they don’t think children need to learn it. They also freak out about math problems where there are letters instead of numbers used in formulas. These are the people responsible for teaching the children, and most of them couldn’t pass sixth year exams.

They want schools to teach the Bible and nothing else.

13 Badtux { 02.27.14 at 12:16 am }

They think that’s okay, that their kids only know about the Bible, because the US can just import smart people from elsewhere (and deport’em back to where they came from once they get old or too expensive). That strategy once relied on Europe being war-ravaged ruins, when the US imported the best and brightest of Europe’s scientists, but now the flow is the other way, Linux Torvalds excepted. Now that strategy relies on India and Pakistan remaining corruption-plagued hellholes where nobody wants to stay, but as Indian millionaires in the Silicon Valley return home for the better lifestyle they have in India, it is inevitable that the flow from India will reverse too. Leaving a US where the only people who know anything are geeks and geezers like us. 3rd world, here we come!

14 Kryten42 { 02.27.14 at 8:21 am }

Yeah, agree with you there badtux. But we know that’s a loosing strategy for several reasons. Of course, they don’t care. they believe that when the World ends, they all get to enjoy ‘The Rapture’. Except of course that anyone who can actually read and understand the Bible, especially the NT not just the OT, knows that most of these idiots would not have a chance at anywhere except *down* (always assuming any of it is even remotely true)!

Which shows how truly insane these morons are! They are betting their lives and future generations on something they believe but have absolutely no proof whatsoever about, just that *some guy’s who are dead said so*! And the other 3/4 of Americans are no smarter, because they all die for nothing, and so does the rest of the World (which, as you know by now, I personally have no problem with.) So, it may be that academically 26%+ of the USA are morons, but about 100% of the World are even bigger imbeciles.

So, don’t worry abut 3rd World m8. It’ll probably all end before then.

15 Bryan { 02.27.14 at 7:57 pm }

The whole problem with believing in the Bible is stream of reports from archaeologists, Israelis primarily, proving that it is wrong. There are people riding camels centuries before camels were domesticated, and stories about what a great city Jerusalem was, except the other groups that lived in the area at the time of this greatness, never mention it, any more than the Egyptians wrote about the Jews leaving Egypt. You would think that someone would have mentioned the plagues. The current opinion is that the Bible was written in Babylonia by exiles, which explains the similarity to stories from Gilgamesh and the rip-off of the Hammurabi Code.

It’s the same as the Rand Cult – some books just get cult followings and you can’t convince the fans to have a reality check.

The people pushing for Bible centered schools had better figure out who is going to help them stay alive when they get old, because their kids will be too poor to help.