cstross

97 ms·

871.
by cstross 13y ago
They had (and still have) plans for bigger Ekranoplans. Much bigger: http://www.beriev.com/eng/Be-2500_e/Be-2500_e.html (Beriev Be-2500. Remains a paper study, until they can find a backer with US $10-15Bn to fu
872.
by cstross 13y ago
I prefer my sci-fi writers to be dedicated libertarians. So maybe, if you aren't, don't publicize it. Then you prefer to get your ideology and news pre-digested, do you? (I reckon it's always a mistake to restrict your read
873.
by cstross 13y ago
Yup. I note that Assange, aged 42, is a Gen-Xer. (I left him out of the essay because (a) mentioning his name would invite derailing discussion of other personality-related issues, and (b) his being an X-er would obscure the key message in
874.
Edward Snowden and Gen Y: a sign of leaks to come?(antipope.org)
198 points by cstross 13y ago|92 comments
875.
by cstross 13y ago
The existing medical regulatory regime administered by the FDA requires shedloads of clinical trial results to be filed before a medicine can receive a product license, allowing it to be prescribed or sold to the public. There's a good
876.
by cstross 13y ago
I grew up in Leeds in the 70s and early 80s. Eight miles east of my home was the Vickers tank factory, the largest tank factory in Western Europe. Ten miles west was Leeds/Bradford Airport. Eight miles south was the M1/M62 junctio
877.
by cstross 13y ago
I've been out of the print magazine biz for a long time, and was only an editorial content supplier at best, but the figures SkyMall was charging for quarter-page or full-page ads in their magazine were eye-watering . For a top 5 news
878.
by cstross 13y ago
It's not just wifi on flights: if these reports are correct, the FAA is considering relaxing restrictions on electronics during take-off and landing: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/06/stow-it-n
879.
by cstross 13y ago
Looks like he started out on the right, especially economically (see the background on Reaganomics) but since the end of the cold war the Overton Window has shifted so far that he's now on the civil-libertarian end of the spectrum, whi
880.
by cstross 13y ago
And even if the software sucks, it's got a screen made of synthetic sapphire and a body made of an alloy so hard that when civilization collapses around you, you can use it as a hand-axe! (I ordered one yesterday: I am a sucker for t
881.
by cstross 13y ago
Aaaaand ... the other shoe has just dropped: http://order-order.com/2013/07/24/poll-result-86-of-readers-... Guido Fawkes is talking to his lawyers about Libel. (Which under English law -- the reforms haven&#
882.
British Monarchy in the age of the Internet panopticon(antipope.org)
9 points by cstross 13y ago|0 comments
883.
by cstross 13y ago
What makes you think I'm trolling? People seeking refuge from persecution because of [TRAIT] in a country where [TRAIT] is legally protected are being shoved out to a different country where [TRAIT] is persecuted. (This is entirely ort
884.
by cstross 13y ago
In my case they're useless because I read email via IMAP -- I only ever visit the web interface if I don't have access to my laptop or want to flag something as spam. More to the point, I do not want some algorithm "helpful
885.
by cstross 13y ago
It is worth noting that homosexuality is illegal in Papula New Guinea. So the Iranian and other gay asylum seekers heading for Australia are now in a real world of hurt ...
886.
by cstross 13y ago
(a) Real flight simulators are expensive (cost is an order of magnitude less than a real airliner, but still in the millions, and they require skilled operators to put the pilots through their paces), (b) As I understand it , commercial pi
887.
by cstross 13y ago
This wasn't a visitor centre tour. This was a "psst, wanna come visit where I work?" tour from one of the guys who built and ran the plant. Either pre-9/11 or very shortly post-9/11 -- with the rise of the post-9&#x
888.
by cstross 13y ago
Think radiation leaks. In event of a major incident, you do not want rabbits on site burrowing around and then spreading cesium-137 and other pernicious decay products.
889.
by cstross 13y ago
Y'know, if I'd known it was an evergreen I'd have posted it myself, for the link karma. Humph.
890.
by cstross 13y ago
It started in 1919. It was ruled in the Schenk case that the Espionage Act (1917) ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionage_Act_of_1917 ) did not violate the freedom of speech of those convicted under it. Schenk mailed
891.
by cstross 13y ago
I thought you were flat-out wrong for a moment, then did some digging: Feedler 2.0 does indeed support Theoldreader, however Feedler Pro (which was what I was squinting at) is still on version 1.12.5, and only supports Google Reader. As Fee
892.
by cstross 13y ago
Ah, the smear begins. If you don't toe the line on the Washington Consensus you're not a 'journalist', you're an 'activist'. Hint: 'objectively' reporting on only the approved message coming out
893.
by cstross 13y ago
I thought it unlikely he'd fly via Cuba: the great circle route from Moscow flies much too close to US or Canadian airspace for my comfort, if I knew there was an Espionage Act warrant out for my arrest and the establishment wanted t
894.
by cstross 13y ago
Also note that drinking one of small beer or coffee (substitute tea to taste) was a great way of ensuring that your fluid intake wasn't contaminated with viable cholera bacilli. Adding alcohol or boiling water would kill them before th
895.
by cstross 13y ago
Note that at the time Orwell was writing, the only epidemiological research linking lung cancer and heart disease with smoking had been carried out by doctors working in Nazi Germany -- research which was tainted with guilt by association.
896.
by cstross 13y ago
Yup, an account of this incident was also published in "Starman" by Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony, published in 1998 -- a biography of Yuri Gagarin. Only they pointed the finger at a low-flying Su-11, based on reports that surfaced
897.
by cstross 13y ago
The app developers would like the app to own the data. That this isn't in the users' interests should be self-evident. Vertical data silos with doors owned by gatekeepers who want to charge admission: just say no!
898.
by cstross 13y ago
* The security clearance process basically looks for reasonable, honest Americans free of foreign influence.* That might be enough for domestic intelligence, but it's really shooting yourself in the foot if you apply "free of fore
899.
by cstross 13y ago
He did indeed marry Adelle back in April.
900.
by cstross 13y ago
HN folk should be out on the streets, protesting. Or the equivalent, on the internet. Seriously, this is important . Civil rights: use 'em or lose 'em.

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