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Comment Depends (Score 1) 41

On exactly what the detector is capable of detecting. If they're looking, at any point, for radio waves, then I'd start there. Do the radio waves correspond to the absorption (and therefore emission) band for any molecule or chemical bond that is likely to arise in the ice?

This is so basic that I'm thinking that if this was remotely plausible, they'd have already thought of it. This is too junior to miss. Ergo, the detector isn't looking for radio waves (which seems the most likely, given it's a particle detector, not a radio telescope), or nothing obvious exists at that frequency (which is only a meaningful answer if, indeed, it is a radio telescope).

So, the question is, what precisely does the detector actually detect?

Comment Re:Don't forget Starlink (Score 1) 109

Back in the days of the Rainbow series, the Orange Book required that data that was marked as secure could not be transferred to any location or user who was (a) not authorised to access it or (b) did not have the security permissions regardless of any other authorisation. There was an additional protocol, though, listed in those manuals - I don't know if it was ever applied though - which stated that data could not be transferred to any device or any network that did not enforce the same security rules or was not authorised to access that data.

Regardless, in more modern times, these protocols were all abolished.

Had they not been, and had all protocols been put in place and enforced, then you could install all the unsecured connections and unsecured servers you liked, without limit. It wouldn't have made the slightest difference to actual security, because the full set of protocols would have required the system as a whole to not place sensitive data on such systems.

After the Clinton email server scandal, the Manning leaks, and the Snowden leaks, I'm astonished this wasn't done. I am dubious the Clinton scandal was actually anything like as bad as the claimants said, but it doesn't really matter. If these protocols were all in place, then it would be absolutely impossible for secure data to be transferred to unsecured devices, and absolutely impossible for secure data to be copied to machines that had no "need to know", regardless of any passwords obtained and any clearance obtained.

If people are using unsecured phones, unsecured protocols, unsecured satellite links, etc, it is not because we don't know how to enforce good policy, the documents on how to do this are old and could do with being updated but do in fact exist, as does the software that is capable of enforcing those rules. It is because a choice has been made, by some idiot or other, to consider the risks and consequences perfectly reasonable costs of doing business with companies like Microsoft, because companies like Microsoft simply aren't capable of producing systems that can achieve that kind of level of security and everyone knows it.

Comment Re:Trump is throwing out migrants too (Score 1) 109

When you are paying big bucks for fresh fruit & vegetables because the price went up 4X then you will wished the government didn't deport all the Latinos, the migrant farm workers are why fruit & vegetables are affordable

So you think that the subversion of the economic system is fine because it leads to lower fruit & vegetable prices? I am guessing you have no morals.

I am fine with deporting personnel who are not here legally, It should be done with respect and the people who are providing the employment should be punished severely, as in prison time or more. But that is not what is happening. The FBI launched a huge "capture" of illegals at Ambiance Apparel and Home Depot in Los Angeles. Did they try to capture the owners of those businesses? As far as I know, they are sleeping in their own beds tonight while the people they employed are looking to be sent to Sudan or somesuch absurdity. Does any of that sound fair to anyone?

Comment Re:Honestly this is small potatoes (Score 1) 109

In and of itself, that's actually the worrying part.

In the 1930s, and even the first few years of the 1940s, a lot of normal (and relatively sane) people agreed completely with what the fascists were doing. In the Rhythm 0 "endurance art" by Marina Abramovi, normal (and relatively sane) people openly abused their right to do whatever they liked to her, at least up to the point where one tried to kill her with a gun that had been supplied as part of the installation, at which point the people realised they may have gone a little OTT.

Normal (and relatively sane) people will agree with, and support, all kinds of things most societies would regard as utterly evil, so long as (relative to some aspirational ideal) the evil is incremental, with each step in itself banal.

There are various (now-disputed) psychology experiments that attempted to study this phenomenon, but regardless of the credibility of those experiments, there's never really been much of an effort by any society to actually stop, think, and consider the possibility that maybe they're a little too willing to agree to stuff that maybe they shouldn't. People are very keen to assume that it's only other people who can fall into that trap.

Normal and sane is, sadly as Rhythm 0 showed extremely well, not as impressive as we'd all like to think it is. The veneer of civilisation is beautiful to behold, but runs awfully thin and chips easily. Normal and sane adults are not as distant from chimpanzees as our five million years of divergence would encourage us to think. Which is rather worrying, when you get right down to it.

Comment Re:Biden's Cyber Policies? (Score 1) 109

I've always maintained that the best politician, the best leader, does as little as possible. Biden's policies were simply those of maintaining the stable political status quo which, among other things, granted freedom and prosperity up til now, which you enjoy. Boggles my mind how many want to burn it all down.

Did all citizens benefit from this "stable political status quo" or only "some" citizens? The paperwork that founded this absolutely amazing country specified that ALL citizens were to be afforded the "luxury" of: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Oh right, only 94.2% (sorry Tony) are afforded that luxury. Your stable status quo was completely unacceptable. It is better that everything be torn down than try to continue the charade. If you don't like it, then you shouldn't have treated some people less equally. Afraid of losing sovereignty? Maybe you shouldn't have fucked around because you ARE finding out.

The Republicans, literally The Bad Guys right now, are tearing down this country... and the Democrats (also bad guys, they did approve of Trumps cabinet) let/made them do it.

America is in severe danger of collapsing all because some people couldn't treat others fairly. Selfish Assholes.

Comment Re:Honestly this is small potatoes (Score 0) 109

Pretty much agree, I'd also add that we don't have a clear impression of who actually did the supposed rioting, the media were too busy being shot by the National Guard to get an overly-clear impression.

(We know during the BLM "riots" that a suspiciously large number of the "rioters" were later identified as white nationalists, and we know that in the British police spy scandal that the spies often advocated or led actions that were more violent than those the group they were in espoused, so I'd be wary of making any assumptions at the heat of the moment as to exactly who did what, until that is clearly and definitively known. If this had been a popular uprising, I would not have expected such small-scale disturbances - the race riots of the 60s, the Rodney King riots, the British riots in Brixton or Toxteth in the 80s, these weren't the minor events we're seeing in California, which are on a very very much smaller scale than the protest marches that have been taking place.)

This is different from the Jan 6th attempted coup, when those involved in the coup made it very clear they were indeed involved and where those involved were very clearly affiliated with domestic terrorist groups such as the Proud Boys. Let's get some clear answers as to exactly what scale was involved and who it involved, because, yes, this has a VERY Reichstag-fire vibe to it.

Comment Re:So, 94.2% have landed jobs? (Score 1) 84

Personally, I'd be pretty happy with a 94.2% chance of success.

Well sure; however, let's look at the implications with simple numbers: Assuming a group of 1 million people and not having success means slavery or death, then a 94.2% chance translates into 58 thousand people per year doomed to suffering and death. Now, odds are, you won't be one of those 58,000, so why worry about them?

For myself, I am NOT happy with a 94.2% chance of success. I guess we will agree to disagree.

Comment Re:Honestly this is small potatoes (Score 2) 109

I would have to agree. There is no obvious end-goal of developing an America that is favourable to the global economy, to Americans, or even to himself, unless we assume that he meant what he said about ending elections and becoming a national dictator. The actions favour destabilisation, fragmentation, and the furthering of the goals of anyone with the power to become a global dictator.

Exactly who is pulling the strings is, I think, not quite so important. The Chechen leader has made it clear he sees himself as a future leader of the Russian Federation, and he wouldn't be the first tyrant to try and seize absolute power in the last few years. (Remember Wagner?) We can assume that there's plenty lurking in the shadows, guiding things subtly in the hopes that Putin will slip.

Comment Re:Always online (Score 1) 150

You are speaking sense; however, the people in charge have never had ANY direct experience with a reality that tells them no. They are completely incapable of leading a project like this and they will not give up enough control to allow anyone who could do it, to actually do it.

No. We are locked into permanent incompetence now. Look at the Secretary of Defense. ROFL.

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