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Comment: Re:sNOwden Listen to this (Score 4, Insightful) 273

by penix1 (#46442921) Attached to: Snowden Says No One Listened To 10 Attempts To Raise Concerns At NSA

sNOwden decided to make our nation look completely idiotic in the eyes of the world , decided to put its citizens at risk further...

I would say those that dreamed up the spy program, implemented it, got it sanctioned and enshrined in law and defend it made our nation look bad in the eyes of the world. All Snowden did was leak it's existence. If you don't want the US made to look bad, then maybe the US shouldn't be doing things that make them look bad.

Comment: Re:Probably not Illegal. (Score 2, Informative) 417

by penix1 (#46439041) Attached to: School Tricks Pupils Into Installing a Root CA

Ummm... No...




The Quakers had the same issues and they too migrated to the US to escape religious persecution. Look it up.

So to say it was "religious freedom they were running away from" is totally false.

Comment: Lock up the wild birds! (Score 5, Interesting) 49

by penix1 (#46414709) Attached to: Deadly Avian Flu Strain Penetrates Biosecurity Defenses In Seoul

Lee said they were looking at three possible routes the virus could have taken onto campus: wild birds, NIAS vehicles, and supply deliveries. 'We will determine the reason for the infection, and we are going to hold those responsible accountable,' he said."

OK... Just how do you hold wild birds accountable???

Comment: Re:Oracle Services (Score 3, Informative) 132

by penix1 (#46412835) Attached to: Oregon Withholding $25.6M From Oracle Over Health Website Woes

But I've spoken to a half-dozen or so of their clients, and not one of them has ever had a successful completion of a project, and they've all gone over budget. Purely anecdotal evidence, I know.

I could tell you from a West Virginia perspective it isn't good:


And that's not anecdotal evidence.

Comment: Re:Refund on overhearing my pizza order (Score 5, Interesting) 114

by penix1 (#46392377) Attached to: Government Accuses Sprint of Overcharging For Wiretapping Expenses

What I don't get is why there is an FCC ruling forbidding telcos from being able to bill the government for modifications to their equipment to comply with the law?!?!? So it basically comes down to an unfunded mandate probably passed down to the very customers the government is spying on.

Comment: Re:Frog is boiling.... (Score 1) 500

by penix1 (#46353139) Attached to: Supreme Court Ruling Relaxes Warrant Requirements For Home Searches

WTF is so hard about getting a warrant even in this case? If they had enough probable cause to arrest him then they have enough probable cause for a warrant. Warrants are handed out like candy these days so exactly what is so hard about the police following at least the letter of the law?

Comment: Re:UI Designers Suck (Score 0) 237

by penix1 (#46282073) Attached to: A New Car UI

I currently have an HP Envy M7 laptop with a multi-touch touch screen. It can recognize 10 finger touch gestures... Never use it! Besides despising touch screens in general, multi-touch just adds to the annoyance. Further, multi-touch will still make you have to look at it to ensure you selected the right control. Ooops! I touched it with 3 fingers instead of 2 and now it is adjusting the temperature instead of the radio.

Just stick with knobs / fixed buttons please. All this silly touch screen shit is pure distraction and another expensive part when it breaks.

Comment: Re:wait what? (Score 1) 618

You need to re-read that link you provided. It blasts both the EPA & OSHA but not nearly as much as the WVDEP. The problems at EPA & OSHA can be partially attributed to cutbacks in federal spending and leaving vacant positions unfilled. It is tough for 1 inspector to fully inspect 7 states worth of industries.

Also, this spill, unlike the others, wasn't required to be inspected due to loopholes the industry saw was in place in state law. That is the trick of the feds. If a law is more restrictive in a state than federal law then the feds have to abide by the strictest interpretation of the law. WV's law in many ways is more strict than federal. The problem is the state lacks the will to follow it as was pointed out in that article.

Comment: Re:wait what? (Score 1) 618

So you are saying that the generation today can fuck up the environment for generations to come??? That what happens in West Virginia is going to stay in West Virginia? That is what you are advocating. The condemnation of future generations isn't for this generation to decide all in the name of the all mighty dollar. It is short sighted, arrogant to the max and down right wrong. When the future of the state is at risk due to that shortsightedness, it is up to the feds to provide the will that is lacking in the states. If for no other reason than to keep it from spreading to surrounding states like this spill did. That is why you need the feds to step in.

And reacting in 2014, the next election cycle, does nothing for the people who were affected by this spill now. The damage is done not only to WV but to KY, OH, VA and everyone else down stream. What about their say in it?

Comment: Re:wait what? (Score 1) 618

Ah... Local Government can NEVER be swayed...

Here, let me help you...

From: https://docs.google.com/file/d...

In West Virginia, the vigor with which agencies seek to protect human health and the environment is impacted by actions and statements by state leaders. In recent years, their tone has been clear - too much regulation and too much involvement by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Any serious recognition of the link between protecting a healthy, diversified economy appears lost in these statements.

Leaders have made numerous public statements to the effect, for example, in a 2012 press release announcing that the state is moving forward with its lawsuit against USEPA, Governor Tomblin is quoted das stating:

"This lawsuit is about the rights of our state to regulate itself within the scope of the existing federal and state laws. The EPA has overstepped its bounds, taken that right away and we're fighting to get it back." (Office of the Governor, 2012).

The Attorney General commented on West Virginia's lawsuit against USEPA for its enforcement of the Clean Water Act against a coal mine:

"At its essence, this lawsuit is about jobs in West Virginia and elsewhere... But this case is about more than coal mining. It's about the ability of states such as West Virginia to be able to engage and promote economic development, highway construction, and other needed investments without fearing a federal agency will step in years later and halt the project. That is why we strongly support Mingo Logan Caol Co's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court." (Office of the Attorney General, 2013).

In 2009, before a subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on Environmenta & {Public Works, the [West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection] WVDEP Cabinet Secretary turned the role of the agency upside-down, stating that the "greater concern" for WVDEP is not protecting human health and the environment, but limiting regulation:

"Coal production is the leading revenue generator in West Virginia, and many in the State are concerned about losing the oppertunities for future economic developemtn associated with mountaintop mining. The greater concern for the Department of Environmental Protection, however, as protector of the State's wate resources, is the unintended consequences of the Environmental Protection Agency's recent actions that have the potential to significantly limit all types of mining." (Huffman, 2009)

When confronted by protestors asking Governor Tomblin to better prepare for a decline in coal production in West Virginia, he chose not to meet with the protestors and, instead, issued a statement via his communications director:

"Governor Tomblin has been clear, as have several federal judges, on the overreaching demands of the [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] from this administration... Governor Tomblin's primary focus has always been job creation... Governor Tomblin believes strongly that West Virginia coal and natural gas play a critical role in energy independence - and he will continue to fight for those industires and the jobs they create." (Ward, 2012)

It is within this context that the Freedom Industires spill must be understood - elected officials, agency heads, and members of the Legislature have made it clear that protecting human health and the environment will take a back seat to supporting lax regulation of industry.

So don't tell me that local politics is better than federal. It is far easier to sway local politics when corporations threaten the politicians that they will "lose jobs!" if they are regulated at all much less the little regulation the feds have now.

Comment: Re:wait what? (Score 5, Informative) 618

Maybe all these dick-cheeses that are trying to hamstring the EPA should spend a couple weeks in Charleston, WV during the height of the chemical spill. Maybe we should ship them all the bottled water from the Elk River for their enjoyment.

Sorry for the snark but having lived through this ongoing drama and having to bird bath for a week using bottled water because these asshats prefer money over health is getting to me.
