Dude, filesystem access is a very dangerous thing to give a competent hacker. Access to read config files (or just /etc/passwd (free usernames -> password guessing just got extremely simplified)) is VERY dangerous. Once you have filesystem access, elevating your privileges to root is usually not that big a challenge on a mismanaged UNIX system. I havent read TFA but in the 90's if you had shell/filesystem access, getting to root from there was minutes away, sometimes seconds.

We're talking about one of the highest levels of government here, in the only remaining superpower in the world, the website should be locked down like nothing else.

We've all seen the documentaries, we all know where its going to hit; downtown New York!

Highlighted the reason why. Let me make up som example numbers;

Sweden - actual rapes 1,000 - reported 50% = 500 rapes.
Exampleistan - actual rapes 20,000 - reported 1% = 200 rapes.

Which country has the most rapes?
See the problem?

Lies, damn lies and statistics.

You are talking about changes of 3-5% over a period of 10 years. If you had included the data on how much goods were shipped during the same period I wouldnt be surprised if the amount doubled. EU has grown significantly over those 10 years and so has the trade. I dont see how you could double the existing train capacity and destination diversity over only 10 years.

For the US on the other hand you have only included one data point so a comparison is impossible.

And to claim that the US has optimized its rail system for anything is total BS. You just had hundreds of companies throwing out rail at random to serve passengers. When commercial flight became possible and passengers started going away the rail companies didnt have much else to do but ship goods around.

So what happens if a terrorist gets a hold of one and runs it into the freedom tower (aside from USA invading another OPEC country)?

Do they just bounce off or actually cause any damage?

Indeed, who to trust?

(a) A for-profit company where the CEO and board gets kicked if their bottom line turns red. Denying treatment after you have made the payments is by far the most profitable (unfortunatly for you).

or,..

(b) The society at large, ultimately represented by the government, which has a huge incentive to cure you and get you back to work as soon as possible so that you can pay taxes again instead of living off what others pay.

The government fails in the case of the US of A because you have insane politicians who care more about their wallet (health industry and medical company payoffs ("campaign contributions")) and their impending retirement benefits than they do about the normal man on the street.

USA is a very nice place to be rich im sure. Unfortunatly that only applies to 1-2% of the population.

USA is going down the toilet sooner or later. I think (and hope) sooner. (The world doesnt need another police state)

Fixed that for you.

My ISP changed their network a couple of months ago. I have broadband, what they call broadband anyways, but now they only assign local addresses (192.168.x.x) to our home computers and proxy our shit... pisses me off, but what can I do, Im locked into an email address I dont want to change...

Noone is kidding, it IS bad. Give me a second to tippex out bad in my dictionary and replace it with star wars holiday special.

Maybe thats what happened to Venus; no oceans, meaning the energy went straight into the atmosphere making it 600 degrees. All those poor venutians and their computers...

Maybe its breaking news to you but Microsoft was convicted in court for using their monopoly in the operating system market to gain a monopoly in the browser market. I'd wager that meets your criteria of "illegally affecting the market".

Its just too bad the US government didnt have the balls to step in and do something about it. EU shows the way.

The question I see before me is,

Which for-profit company will patent and profit from the work? And in the process stifle innovation in protein folding for the next 20+ years.

"How did y.." He clicks. "It's you isn't it? THE BASTARD OPERATOR FROM HELL!"

Today there is no incentive to get rid of DRM (if you listen to RIAA/MPAA).

If you go bankrupt there is no incentive to incur extra costs to disable the DRM on media that your former customers purchased.

And there is no legal ramification for not doing it either.

With time being infinite, the chance of a company going bankrupt is also infinite. Thus the chance of your DRM media paper-weight'ing over time is infinite.

Good luck.

Holy crap thats a lot of passwords all with lower-case statistically predictable letters. And even if they do contain any uppercases, in most cases it will only be the last one.