j_b Posted April 22, 2005 Posted April 22, 2005 "under a bill pending in the U.S. Senate, it might all disappear. The bill, introduced last week by Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., would prohibit federal meteorologists from competing with companies such as AccuWeather and The Weather Channel, which offer their own forecasts through paid services and free ad-supported Web sites. Supporters say the bill wouldn't hamper the weather service or the National Hurricane Center from alerting the public to hazards — in fact, it exempts forecasts meant to protect "life and property." But critics say the bill's wording is so vague they can't tell exactly what it would ban. "I believe I've paid for that data once. ... I don't want to have to pay for it again," said Scott Bradner, a technical consultant at Harvard University. He says that as he reads the bill, a vast amount of federal weather data would be forced offline." [...] http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/epaper/2005/04/21/m1a_wx_0421.html Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted April 22, 2005 Posted April 22, 2005 Don't they have anything better to do? Time to take a recess... Quote
olyclimber Posted April 22, 2005 Posted April 22, 2005 "Santorum"....is that some sort of bizarre and disgusting act? Quote
Bill_Simpkins Posted April 22, 2005 Posted April 22, 2005 I wonder if someones filling his pocketbook .... Quote
dberdinka Posted April 22, 2005 Posted April 22, 2005 And where exactly are they getting their forecast information from? Another part of the bill should require those same commercial weather forecasting sites to develop their own private satellite networks etc from which to develop their forecasts. You gotta love what these assholes try to pass off as the free market, government welfare for the corporations so they can turn a profit. Sickening. Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted April 22, 2005 Posted April 22, 2005 "Santorum"....is that some sort of bizarre and disgusting act? Welcome to where time stands still No one leaves and no one will Moon is full, never seems to change Just labeled mentally deranged Dream the same thing every night I see our freedom in my sight No locked doors, no windows barred No things to make my brain seem scarred Sleep, my friend, and you will see That dream is my reality They keep me locked up in this cage Can't they see it's why my brain says rage? Santorum, leave me be Santorum, just leave me alone Quote
Dr_Flash_Amazing Posted April 22, 2005 Posted April 22, 2005 "Santorum"....is that some sort of bizarre and disgusting act? According to Dan Savage, it's the frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex. Santorum. Quote
Cobra_Commander Posted April 22, 2005 Posted April 22, 2005 did you click the link in DFA's cookie jar? who me? yes you! not me! then who? Quote
robert Posted April 22, 2005 Posted April 22, 2005 PA was at the heart of a similar issue with government run internet access competing with other ISP's. Some people don't think that competition is a good thing. Quote
ScottP Posted April 23, 2005 Posted April 23, 2005 "Santorum"....is that some sort of bizarre and disgusting act? According to Dan Savage, it's the frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex. Santorum. Hmmm... he may be onto something... Quote
foraker Posted April 25, 2005 Posted April 25, 2005 I've seen the accuweather et al goobers at conferences. they're basically packaging and prettifying data and forecasts that's already been generated by the government. hardly a free market. as has been said, we shouldn't have to pay for it more than once and if they want their own weather forecasts, they should develop their own forecast codes, satellite systems, and satellite data ingest codes. Fat chance that'll happen. Quote
lummox Posted April 25, 2005 Posted April 25, 2005 it is a public safety issue so i dont see that shit goinng away. ever. weatherfax and radiofax for example are absolutely needed and aint no fukin private company gonna do that for free. Quote
jmace Posted April 25, 2005 Posted April 25, 2005 Welcome to canadian weather folks, truth of the matter is most people dont give a fuck and all they want to know is if they shold bring an umbrella to work. Sucks for outdoor enthusiasts but like everythnig else in this world you eventually got a pay for it, here its 2.99 a minute. here is a little caption from Environment Canada when the decided to stop telling us what is going on and replaced it with a sun cloud rain icon. Q. You used to have weather synopses on your Web site. What happened to them? A. Synopses were discontinued in September 2001. We have conducted public and media opinion research and we found that 85% of the media did not even read the synopsis. In addition, pages giving the synopses had low traffic. Since we rely heavily on the media to broadcast our bulletins, if the media do not use a bulletin, this bulletin becomes a candidate for cancellation. This allows us to focus on higher-priority services. We have not completely terminated the total functionality of the synopsis, however. When we anticipate that some significant weather conditions are going to affect certain regions of the country, we issue special weather statements to inform the concerned population of the situation. By issuing these special weather statements, we hope to satisfy the need for descriptive information on the general weather situation when circumstances call for it. Quote
Kitergal Posted April 25, 2005 Posted April 25, 2005 I just got this from my kiteboarding group... Cut from kiteforum. "Here we go again. Apparently for-pay weather companies (specifically Accuweather) have lobbied Senator Rick Santorum to introduce a bill to ban the National Weather Service from 'competing.' The NOAA just made data available for free on the internet in XML format. Essentially, that means no more free data, and the possible elimination of the NOAA web presence all together. Nothing like being able to buy off a clueless Senator - lets hope the rest do not fall in line, as I for one, do not like to pay for my information twice." This debate picks up where the last one left off. According to the article, the bill's biggest critics are complaining of the bill's vague wording which makes it unclear what exactly is being banned. If you are an American (US), let Sen. Santorum know what you think about National Weather Services Duties Act of 2005 at http://santorum.senate.gov/ I did: Sir: I have for years enjoyed access to meteorological data from NWS and NOAA. your bill would cut public access to this info, limiting citizens to paying for dumbed-down, ad-laden products (aka crap) from private co's -TWC, etc. Millions of citizens-- mariners, aviators, outdoors people -and myself - depend on free access to quality data that the government gathers for the sole purpose of serving our interest. Many times our very lives may depend on this information. Withdraw this foolish bill. Do not support any bill limiting access to this vital information. If you think ordinary citizens should pay for weather forecasts, just try paying for a private marine or aviation forecast yourself. Every day. Sincerely, BWD Quote
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