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Actually, according to Dr. Drake, the inventor of the Drake Equation, founder of SETI, Earth is becoming less visible all the time. The satellites you talk about aren't pointed out into space, they are pointed towards Earth. We have also switched from analog to digital transmissions, so essentially everything we're transmitting at this point is indistinguishable from noise. Broadcasting large amounts of energy into the universe in analog is not something that we can expect other civilizations to do for a very long time, if our own civilization is any guide. Not only that, but the Sun also produces a fair amount of radio-frequency radiation, so there's a pretty high noise floor. Even when we're trying to talk to Mars, the SNR is miserable.

The odds against detecting extraterrestrial transmissions, or extraterrestrials detecting us, are so insurmountably vast as to defy description. I think that Dr. Drake should accept the logical conclusions of his statements and end the SETI project. We have met the Great Filter and he is us.

The Problem is that the majority of Brazil's soil is actually quite poor and loses it's sustainability as arable soil after 2-3 seasons (which is why they keep burning more and more forest).

Well the answer there is "terra preta do indios", or "black earth of the Indians"

The black earth areas, about twice the size of Great Britain, possibly as large as France together had supported as many as three million people - more than had been believed to have ever inhabited the entire Western Hemisphere at any one time. They had realized that the black earth was fertile, but had never imagined that the Amazon basin could be so hugely productive. Saving The Planet While Saving The Farm

Terra petra is fantastically fertile, the Brazilians actually mine this earth for use as potting soil, which is amazing considering most of it's age is measured in millennia not years! Also growing sugarcane doesn't necessarily deplete the soil if the cane field is burned and the char left on the ground, some varieties are even nitrogen fixing.
Additionally converting biomass to char produces distillates that are useful as fuel creating a win-win situation.

I am interested in evidence, of course, it's just that "The Case for Christ" is strongly criticized for being one-sided - it has not done any investigation on the critical side, only on the apologetic side. See all the main Amazon reviews, for instance, or this more in depth review I found when looking for something else.

Here's another book that seems less biased: http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Evidence-Research-Discoveries-Investigated/dp/0062514725/ref=sid_dp_dp/104-5990516-7600706

Eivind.

There were a lot of studies on the idea in the '80's by the DOE, but it was shelved due to low oil prices at the time.

A logical argument until you actually look at Biology and discover that homosexuality is extremely widespread throughout the animal kingdom.

Creationism: An Argument Against Reason

Warning to Creationists: Plug your ears and close your eyes. Don't read this webpage. Run away, hide!

Creationism: An Argument Against Reason

Warning to Creationists: Plug your ears and close your eyes. Don't read this webpage. Run away, hide!

Of course, if it were genetics, according to Darwin, it would be a trait that should have been wiped out long ago since homosexuals cant reproduce.

Consider this possibility. I actually think what you say is right: that if homosexuality were detrimental to the species it would be "bred out". However, the human race is thriving, which suggests that homosexuality is either irrelevant or beneficial to the survival of the species.

Homosexuality isn't exclusively human. Many mammals and birds appear to have gay sex and form same-sex pair bonding as well.

I'm personally leaning towards the "homosexuality is beneficial to the survival of a species" hypothesis, but need more evidence to back up the idea before I'd accept it as a solid theory. However, the anti-hypothesis, that "homosexuality is detrimental to the survival of the species" seems pretty weak considering the evidence that species with homosexual members are thriving.

Shit, it's right-wing propaganda filled BS rants like that that almost make me root for Osama.....

As a Canadian, thanks for your help on D-Day. And Dieppe...oh, wait....I'm sure the Eurpoeans are so glad you waited almost 3 years and until the JAPANESE attacked you before you decided to enter the war on the side of 'democracy'...Oh and thanks for arming the Mujahadeen in the first place...great forsight there from Ronald Reagan and, oh my, Donald Rumsfeld!

As for your timeline damning the Clinton administration I think you need to have your memory cleared up a bit. The 9/11 attack hade been in the planning for YEARS before the Cole. They were two separate attacks carried out by two separate cells of Al Queda. There was no "first the Cole and if it works, World Trade Center!". Even if the US had massively retaliated in response to the Cole, 9/11 would still have happened, perhaps sooner and with more planes. As for the embassies, I seem to remember a few cruise missles being lobbed at Afghanistan in an effort to get OBL for that and then the Republicans and Neo-Cons jumping up and down, claiming Clinton was just doing it to divert attention away from the Lewinski scandal. So when Clinton did try to do something, your ilk, who are NOW suddenly bloodthirsty looking for revenge and willing to fight, stopped him. Gee maybe if you guys had let him lob a few more cruise missle maybe there wouldn't have been a 9/11. Then there's the warnings of an attack your current President ignored. There's plenty of blame for 9/11 to go around in the US so I wouldn't be so quick to start that arguement if I were you.

You know why Europe and Canada were not attacked on September 11, 2001? Because they didn't act like bullies and piss anybody off!!!! We have this annoying tendancy to treat people fairly and not make enemies. To paraphrase Sun Tzu, the real Sage General can conquere his enemy WITHOUT fighting. Check this essay out...written by an USian, I might add.

If you are so sure your course is right, why don't you sign up to go fight in Iraq (or whereever GWB's next target on the Axis of Evil is)? Please, put your money where your mouth is - feel free to send us updates from Paris Island every could of weeks. You sure seem will to put everyone elses ass on the line for your right-wing ideals, I was wondering if you would be willing to put your own there. Or are you just a chickenhawk?

You might also want to read The Case Against The Case For Christ when you're finished. It's not quite as polished a rebuttal as it could be, but edifying reading nonetheless.

I ran accross some information about a DIY version of a device like this at Scott Bidstrup's page about telephone solicitation.

He explains in his section on "Caller ID Filtering" that "One way to filter calls is to use a telephone answering machine to answer the phone with a special recording. If the answering machine message is preceeded by "invalid number" tones, computerized calling machines will falsely sense an invalid number and disconnect you automatically. Many even automatically add your number to their Do Not Call list! You can download a recording of the "invalid number" tones by right-clicking here."

I don't know about the device that you saw advertised, but maybe it works the same way?

I ran accross some information about a DIY version of a device like this at Scott Bidstrup's page about telephone solicitation.

He explains in his section on "Caller ID Filtering" that "One way to filter calls is to use a telephone answering machine to answer the phone with a special recording. If the answering machine message is preceeded by "invalid number" tones, computerized calling machines will falsely sense an invalid number and disconnect you automatically. Many even automatically add your number to their Do Not Call list! You can download a recording of the "invalid number" tones by right-clicking here."

I don't know about the device that you saw advertised, but maybe it works the same way?