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Don't complain. You got an extra 10 years. You should have "gone on" a decade ago. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074812/ for details.

Moonraker

If you have a better plan for long-term control of carbon emissions than cutting our dependency on the internal combustion (and diesel) engine, I'd love to hear it.

1. The first target should be coal-fired power plants. Replace those with wind, solar, hydroelectric, and nuclear (which has problems but not as much of a CO2 problem).
2. The second target should be replacing long-distance trucking with rail, which is far more efficient.
3. The third target should be cars, SUVs, etc. Current hybrid tech gets you about halfway there, full electric (if it works well and is reasonably convenient) would get you the other half, because now you've gotten rid of the worst power plants.
4. Then go after the oil-fired power plants, replacing those with renewables.

One nice thing about this proposal is that it doesn't require technology that doesn't currently exist. One of the approaches to the problem that I find no good at all is funding research and expecting a perpetual cheap energy machine to pop out of nowhere a la The Saint. Of course, it does require seriously large investments, so it won't happen until the costs of global warming outweigh the cost of doing something about it.

A quote from Billy Madison popped into my head while reading your comment:

"Mr. [fuzzyfuzzyfungus], what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

Memorable quotes for
Looker (1981)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082677/quotes

"John Reston: Television can control public opinion more effectively than armies of secret police, because television is entirely voluntary. The American government forces our children to attend school, but nobody forces them to watch T.V. Americans of all ages *submit* to television. Television is the American ideal. Persuasion without coercion. Nobody makes us watch. Who could have predicted that a *free* people would voluntarily spend one fifth of their lives sitting in front of a *box* with pictures? Fifteen years sitting in prison is punishment. But 15 years sitting in front of a television set is entertainment. And the average American now spends more than one and a half years of his life just watching television commercials. Fifty minutes, every day of his life, watching commercials. Now, that's power."

##

"The United States has it's own propaganda, but it's very effective because people don't realize that it's propaganda. And it's subtle, but it's actually a much stronger propaganda machine than the Nazis had but it's funded in a different way. With the Nazis it was funded by the government, but in the United States, it's funded by corporations and corporations they only want things to happen that will make people want to buy stuff. So whatever that is, then that is considered okay and good, but that doesn't necessarily mean it really serves people's thinking - it can stupify and make not very good things happen."
- Crispin Glover: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000417/bio

##

"It's only logical to assume that conspiracies are everywhere, because that's what people do. They conspire. If you can't get the message, get the man." - Mel Gibson (from an interview)

##

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." - William Casey, CIA Director

##

"The real reason for the official secrecy, in most instances, is not to keep the opposition (the CIA's euphemistic term for the enemy) from knowing what is going on; the enemy usually does know. The basic reason for governmental secrecy is to keep you, the American public, from knowing - for you, too, are considered the opposition, or enemy - so that you cannot interfere. When the public does not know what the government or the CIA is doing, it cannot voice its approval or disapproval of their actions. In fact, they can even lie to your about what they are doing or have done, and you will not know it. As for the second advantage, despite frequent suggestion that the CIA is a rogue elephant, the truth is that the agency functions at the direction of and in response to the office of the president. All of its major clandestine operations are carried out with the direct approval of or on direct orders from the White House. The CIA is a secret tool of the president - every president. And every president since Truman has lied to the American people in order to protect the agency. When lies have failed, it has been the duty of the CIA to take the blame for the president, thus protecting him. This is known in the business as "plausible denial." The CIA, functioning as a secret instrument of the U.S. government and the presidency, has long misused and abused history and continues to do so."
- Victor Marchetti, Propaganda and Disinformation: How the CIA Manufactures History

##

George Carlin:

"The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, they're an irrelevancy. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehous

Memorable quotes for
Looker (1981)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082677/quotes

"John Reston: Television can control public opinion more effectively than armies of secret police, because television is entirely voluntary. The American government forces our children to attend school, but nobody forces them to watch T.V. Americans of all ages *submit* to television. Television is the American ideal. Persuasion without coercion. Nobody makes us watch. Who could have predicted that a *free* people would voluntarily spend one fifth of their lives sitting in front of a *box* with pictures? Fifteen years sitting in prison is punishment. But 15 years sitting in front of a television set is entertainment. And the average American now spends more than one and a half years of his life just watching television commercials. Fifty minutes, every day of his life, watching commercials. Now, that's power."

##

"The United States has it's own propaganda, but it's very effective because people don't realize that it's propaganda. And it's subtle, but it's actually a much stronger propaganda machine than the Nazis had but it's funded in a different way. With the Nazis it was funded by the government, but in the United States, it's funded by corporations and corporations they only want things to happen that will make people want to buy stuff. So whatever that is, then that is considered okay and good, but that doesn't necessarily mean it really serves people's thinking - it can stupify and make not very good things happen."
- Crispin Glover: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000417/bio

##

"It's only logical to assume that conspiracies are everywhere, because that's what people do. They conspire. If you can't get the message, get the man." - Mel Gibson (from an interview)

##

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." - William Casey, CIA Director

##

"The real reason for the official secrecy, in most instances, is not to keep the opposition (the CIA's euphemistic term for the enemy) from knowing what is going on; the enemy usually does know. The basic reason for governmental secrecy is to keep you, the American public, from knowing - for you, too, are considered the opposition, or enemy - so that you cannot interfere. When the public does not know what the government or the CIA is doing, it cannot voice its approval or disapproval of their actions. In fact, they can even lie to your about what they are doing or have done, and you will not know it. As for the second advantage, despite frequent suggestion that the CIA is a rogue elephant, the truth is that the agency functions at the direction of and in response to the office of the president. All of its major clandestine operations are carried out with the direct approval of or on direct orders from the White House. The CIA is a secret tool of the president - every president. And every president since Truman has lied to the American people in order to protect the agency. When lies have failed, it has been the duty of the CIA to take the blame for the president, thus protecting him. This is known in the business as "plausible denial." The CIA, functioning as a secret instrument of the U.S. government and the presidency, has long misused and abused history and continues to do so."
- Victor Marchetti, Propaganda and Disinformation: How the CIA Manufactures History

##

George Carlin:

"The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, they're an irrelevancy. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehous

In the US a pair of tits will get you an R rating instantly

Airplane (1980) did this in one scene and got a PG anyway. So how did that happen?

Times, tastes, and standards changed a LOT in the past 32 years, is what happened.

In the US a pair of tits will get you an R rating instantly

Airplane (1980) did this in one scene and got a PG anyway. So how did that happen?

CAPTCHA: contour (How apt! :D)

[That's what it was, I messed up and the CAPTCHA is now 'trapped' :(]

This is why I appreciate sites like imdb.com (films reviews), where you have to provide your cell phone number to which IMDB sends a SMS containing a code that you use to activate your reviewer and rater status.

Any news about the Hyperion movie? I am waiting eagerly.

Marches on steady. Unstoppable and with an insatiable appetite for new technology

One might even go so far as to say that we've seen this movie [Brazil (1985)] before.

... didn't make that list but it shows up in IMDB as being available in 2013.

It probably doesn't make the list, because, despite IMDB's forecast, there is no data. Ender's Game is scheduled for release in November 2013, and has already filmed. I find it hard to believe that any movie with modern special effects for release in 2013 would not have completed filming already, much less be uncast.

No, he's the Bartender.

... didn't make that list but it shows up in IMDB as being available in 2013.

He may have been talking about http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0305224/

And yes, The Core is one of the most hideously inaccurate, ostensibly scientific films ever made.

Yes, I thought it was the most scientifically inaccurate movie ever created. And then, 2012 happened.

Someone's been watching Primer.

You failed twice

No, it's from Austin Powers in Goldmember.

They did this a long time before The Core. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059065/ with really disastrous results.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005148/

That was Delroy Lindo apparently. Can't really give you a hard time, I briefly thought it was Morgan Freeman which is clearly ridiclous. Morgan Freeman has been on my mind since that YouTube video I saw awhile ago, so maybe that's it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eV8l_Qb8Fc

That wasn't Lawrence Fishburne, that was Delroy Lindo. And yes, The Core is one of the most hideously inaccurate, ostensibly scientific films ever made. What galls is that the film itself isn't awful in terms of character development or plotting - it's just oriented around a series of terribly wrong fundamental assumptions, and then ties itself into progressively more ridiculous knots to support them.

On the other hand, it is riotously funny to watch with a room full of tipsy geologists.

Bad idea. Escape from Staten Island just doesn't have the same ring.

It's Melancholia (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/)!

I can say that about *one* of the female scientists that I work with*. It's actually more likely that a male scientist will go on paternity leave than a female on maternity.

My theory is that because of the gender bias, the females are either selected who aren't going to start a family, or they actively choose not to do so for fear of supporting the myth you claim. I can't say which one, as I'm involved in the hiring of scientists. Or, it's like in Idiocracy, where the smart ones are just less likely to have kids.

* And I can only say that she's in her 20s or 30s and went on maternity leave; I can't make any claims as to the timing vs. the minimum time elapsed, as I believe she's been here for at least 2.5 years.

(disclaimer: I work with scientists at a US government agency; it's possible it may be different in other countries or in the commercial / academic area, or even in different scientific fields)

"The United States has it's own propaganda, but it's very effective because people don't realize that it's propaganda. And it's subtle, but it's actually a much stronger propaganda machine than the Nazis had but it's funded in a different way. With the Nazis it was funded by the government, but in the United States, it's funded by corporations and corporations they only want things to happen that will make people want to buy stuff. So whatever that is, then that is considered okay and good, but that doesn't necessarily mean it really serves people's thinking - it can stupify and make not very good things happen."
  - Crispin Glover
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000417/

2013: After a Software Update to the Curiosity Rover, the Rover begins acting independently of NASA's control. All attempts to reset the rover fail.
2035: The first manned mission to Mars lands successfully.

Curiosity has been waiting...

Okay, it's sort of a rip-off of Red Planet. Maybe add in a little Star Trek: The Motion Picture as Curiosity dismantles the various other landers on Mars for parts or something.

2013: After a Software Update to the Curiosity Rover, the Rover begins acting independently of NASA's control. All attempts to reset the rover fail.
2035: The first manned mission to Mars lands successfully.

Curiosity has been waiting...

Okay, it's sort of a rip-off of Red Planet. Maybe add in a little Star Trek: The Motion Picture as Curiosity dismantles the various other landers on Mars for parts or something.

(Bitter Satire)
Hi user mtrachtenberg.

Are you the actress Michelle Trachtenberg? http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005502/
With an ID that low and the "wrong" gender I am guessing not.

This reminds me of a clip from a British show called Yes, minister. This clip is about how to get two completely opposite answers on same topic, but in much shorter time.
While the series is about political tactics and machinations and it's satire of a political systems, it's spot-on. And if you watch real news after watching it, you'll uncontrollably laugh all the way.

http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0030014/quotes

and quoted, below (Sir Humphrey is a senior civil servant and Mr. Woolley, his junior):

Sir Humphrey Appleby: [demonstrating how public surveys can reach opposite conclusions] Mr. Woolley, are you worried about the rise in crime among teenagers?
Bernard Woolley: Yes.
Sir Humphrey Appleby: Do you think there is lack of discipline and vigorous training in our Comprehensive Schools?
Bernard Woolley: Yes.
Sir Humphrey Appleby: Do you think young people welcome some structure and leadership in their lives?
Bernard Woolley: Yes.
Sir Humphrey Appleby: Do they respond to a challenge?
Bernard Woolley: Yes.
Sir Humphrey Appleby: Might you be in favour of reintroducing National Service?
Bernard Woolley: Er, I might be.
Sir Humphrey Appleby: Yes or no?
Bernard Woolley: Yes.
Sir Humphrey Appleby: Of course, after all you've said you can't say no to that. On the other hand, the surveys can reach opposite conclusions.
[survey two]
Sir Humphrey Appleby: Mr. Woolley, are you worried about the danger of war?
Bernard Woolley: Yes.
Sir Humphrey Appleby: Are you unhappy about the growth of armaments?
Bernard Woolley: Yes.
Sir Humphrey Appleby: Do you think there's a danger in giving young people guns and teaching them how to kill?
Bernard Woolley: Yes.
Sir Humphrey Appleby: Do you think it's wrong to force people to take arms against their will?
Bernard Woolley: Yes.
Sir Humphrey Appleby: Would you oppose the reintroduction of conscription?
Bernard Woolley: Yes.
[does a double-take]
Sir Humphrey Appleby: There you are, Bernard. The perfectly balanced sample.

The more I compare modern politicians with the script for "Quatermas II", the more concerned I become.

I figure The Arrival is actually a better fit for current events...

oblig:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098546/quotes?qt=qt0322104

Memorable quotes for
Looker (1981)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082677/quotes

"John Reston: Television can control public opinion more effectively than armies of secret police, because television is entirely voluntary. The American government forces our children to attend school, but nobody forces them to watch T.V. Americans of all ages *submit* to television. Television is the American ideal. Persuasion without coercion. Nobody makes us watch. Who could have predicted that a *free* people would voluntarily spend one fifth of their lives sitting in front of a *box* with pictures? Fifteen years sitting in prison is punishment. But 15 years sitting in front of a television set is entertainment. And the average American now spends more than one and a half years of his life just watching television commercials. Fifty minutes, every day of his life, watching commercials. Now, that's power."

##

"The United States has it's own propaganda, but it's very effective because people don't realize that it's propaganda. And it's subtle, but it's actually a much stronger propaganda machine than the Nazis had but it's funded in a different way. With the Nazis it was funded by the government, but in the United States, it's funded by corporations and corporations they only want things to happen that will make people want to buy stuff. So whatever that is, then that is considered okay and good, but that doesn't necessarily mean it really serves people's thinking - it can stupify and make not very good things happen."
- Crispin Glover: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000417/bio

##

"It's only logical to assume that conspiracies are everywhere, because that's what people do. They conspire. If you can't get the message, get the man." - Mel Gibson (from an interview)

##

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." - William Casey, CIA Director

##

"The real reason for the official secrecy, in most instances, is not to keep the opposition (the CIA's euphemistic term for the enemy) from knowing what is going on; the enemy usually does know. The basic reason for governmental secrecy is to keep you, the American public, from knowing - for you, too, are considered the opposition, or enemy - so that you cannot interfere. When the public does not know what the government or the CIA is doing, it cannot voice its approval or disapproval of their actions. In fact, they can even lie to your about what they are doing or have done, and you will not know it. As for the second advantage, despite frequent suggestion that the CIA is a rogue elephant, the truth is that the agency functions at the direction of and in response to the office of the president. All of its major clandestine operations are carried out with the direct approval of or on direct orders from the White House. The CIA is a secret tool of the president - every president. And every president since Truman has lied to the American people in order to protect the agency. When lies have failed, it has been the duty of the CIA to take the blame for the president, thus protecting him. This is known in the business as "plausible denial." The CIA, functioning as a secret instrument of the U.S. government and the presidency, has long misused and abused history and continues to do so."
- Victor Marchetti, Propaganda and Disinformation: How the CIA Manufactures History

##

George Carlin:

"The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, they're an irrelevancy. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehous

Memorable quotes for
Looker (1981)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082677/quotes

"John Reston: Television can control public opinion more effectively than armies of secret police, because television is entirely voluntary. The American government forces our children to attend school, but nobody forces them to watch T.V. Americans of all ages *submit* to television. Television is the American ideal. Persuasion without coercion. Nobody makes us watch. Who could have predicted that a *free* people would voluntarily spend one fifth of their lives sitting in front of a *box* with pictures? Fifteen years sitting in prison is punishment. But 15 years sitting in front of a television set is entertainment. And the average American now spends more than one and a half years of his life just watching television commercials. Fifty minutes, every day of his life, watching commercials. Now, that's power."

##

"The United States has it's own propaganda, but it's very effective because people don't realize that it's propaganda. And it's subtle, but it's actually a much stronger propaganda machine than the Nazis had but it's funded in a different way. With the Nazis it was funded by the government, but in the United States, it's funded by corporations and corporations they only want things to happen that will make people want to buy stuff. So whatever that is, then that is considered okay and good, but that doesn't necessarily mean it really serves people's thinking - it can stupify and make not very good things happen."
- Crispin Glover: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000417/bio

##

"It's only logical to assume that conspiracies are everywhere, because that's what people do. They conspire. If you can't get the message, get the man." - Mel Gibson (from an interview)

##

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." - William Casey, CIA Director

##

"The real reason for the official secrecy, in most instances, is not to keep the opposition (the CIA's euphemistic term for the enemy) from knowing what is going on; the enemy usually does know. The basic reason for governmental secrecy is to keep you, the American public, from knowing - for you, too, are considered the opposition, or enemy - so that you cannot interfere. When the public does not know what the government or the CIA is doing, it cannot voice its approval or disapproval of their actions. In fact, they can even lie to your about what they are doing or have done, and you will not know it. As for the second advantage, despite frequent suggestion that the CIA is a rogue elephant, the truth is that the agency functions at the direction of and in response to the office of the president. All of its major clandestine operations are carried out with the direct approval of or on direct orders from the White House. The CIA is a secret tool of the president - every president. And every president since Truman has lied to the American people in order to protect the agency. When lies have failed, it has been the duty of the CIA to take the blame for the president, thus protecting him. This is known in the business as "plausible denial." The CIA, functioning as a secret instrument of the U.S. government and the presidency, has long misused and abused history and continues to do so."
- Victor Marchetti, Propaganda and Disinformation: How the CIA Manufactures History

##

George Carlin:

"The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, they're an irrelevancy. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehous

It's from a movie!

An episode of NCIS had a girl bumping into strangers with a NFC skimmer http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1683271/ NCIS season 8 episode 8 - Enemies Foreign

Anywhere you stand in an airport you hear a repeated announcement every two minutes. Basically an authoritative voice telling you [...]

When I saw Strange Days in 1995, with its constant authoritative announcements in the background, I thought it was bad science fiction. Then it happened.

Strange days indeed! Most peculiar, mama.

Do yourself a favour and watch The Manhattan Project as well. :-)

http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0091472/

Anywhere you stand in an airport you hear a repeated announcement every two minutes. Basically an authoritative voice telling you [...]

When I saw Strange Days in 1995, with its constant authoritative announcements in the background, I thought it was bad science fiction. Then it happened.

Oddly, despite having the bigger team, we usually lose.

Well, doh. It's kind of the opposite of WarGames: the only losing move is not to play.

Want change? Make it happen yourself. Or are you one of those who
asks others for change?

I LOVED Miami Vice!

Michael Mann is a renaissance mann!

Producer, director, scientist, ..... up yours DaVinci!

I LOVED Miami Vice!

Michael Mann is a renaissance mann!

Producer, director, scientist, ..... up yours DaVinci!

Of course! It was even demonstrated in "Iron Sky" movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034314/

*hiding*

Unless your perfect girl is the sort of person who sits at home alone (or with you :p), reading slashdot (or equivalent sites). In which case I recommend okcupid. (Because that's where most of the people like that hang out, assuming they're looking for a partner to be antisocial and shun the world with).

This is very much a YMMV (says the person waiting for his fiancee to get home from a rehearsal for a play coming up next month). Another interesting date from OKC was a (smoking hot) law student and serial entrepreneur -- frankly, I might have pressed more for a follow-up if it had felt more like a date and less like a competition over who had the more interesting career (and that would be her, by quite a long shot).

Back to the fiancee -- when she was first introducing me to her friends, they were utterly flabbergasted to learn that was where we met, since "nobody" finds Mr/Mrs Right on OKCupid. That said, our relationship otherwise isn't topical -- completely different fields; her various careers have included catering, jewelrymaking, acting (mostly stage and a few indie films), teaching, nannying... the closest thing we have to an overlapping skillset is entry-level DBA work.

Frankly, I quite like that we have large areas of knowledge that overlap very little -- there's a very great deal I can learn just from being around her, which is something I quite enjoy. I dated an electrical engineer for a bit in college, and found that most of the places where our knowledge bases overlapped tended to be points of friction.

Memorable quotes for
Looker (1981)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082677/quotes

"John Reston: Television can control public opinion more effectively than armies of secret police, because television is entirely voluntary. The American government forces our children to attend school, but nobody forces them to watch T.V. Americans of all ages *submit* to television. Television is the American ideal. Persuasion without coercion. Nobody makes us watch. Who could have predicted that a *free* people would voluntarily spend one fifth of their lives sitting in front of a *box* with pictures? Fifteen years sitting in prison is punishment. But 15 years sitting in front of a television set is entertainment. And the average American now spends more than one and a half years of his life just watching television commercials. Fifty minutes, every day of his life, watching commercials. Now, that's power."

##

"The United States has it's own propaganda, but it's very effective because people don't realize that it's propaganda. And it's subtle, but it's actually a much stronger propaganda machine than the Nazis had but it's funded in a different way. With the Nazis it was funded by the government, but in the United States, it's funded by corporations and corporations they only want things to happen that will make people want to buy stuff. So whatever that is, then that is considered okay and good, but that doesn't necessarily mean it really serves people's thinking - it can stupify and make not very good things happen."
- Crispin Glover: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000417/bio

##

"It's only logical to assume that conspiracies are everywhere, because that's what people do. They conspire. If you can't get the message, get the man." - Mel Gibson (from an interview)

##

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." - William Casey, CIA Director

##

"The real reason for the official secrecy, in most instances, is not to keep the opposition (the CIA's euphemistic term for the enemy) from knowing what is going on; the enemy usually does know. The basic reason for governmental secrecy is to keep you, the American public, from knowing - for you, too, are considered the opposition, or enemy - so that you cannot interfere. When the public does not know what the government or the CIA is doing, it cannot voice its approval or disapproval of their actions. In fact, they can even lie to your about what they are doing or have done, and you will not know it. As for the second advantage, despite frequent suggestion that the CIA is a rogue elephant, the truth is that the agency functions at the direction of and in response to the office of the president. All of its major clandestine operations are carried out with the direct approval of or on direct orders from the White House. The CIA is a secret tool of the president - every president. And every president since Truman has lied to the American people in order to protect the agency. When lies have failed, it has been the duty of the CIA to take the blame for the president, thus protecting him. This is known in the business as "plausible denial." The CIA, functioning as a secret instrument of the U.S. government and the presidency, has long misused and abused history and continues to do so."
- Victor Marchetti, Propaganda and Disinformation: How the CIA Manufactures History

##

George Carlin:

"The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, they're an irrelevancy. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehous

Memorable quotes for
Looker (1981)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082677/quotes

"John Reston: Television can control public opinion more effectively than armies of secret police, because television is entirely voluntary. The American government forces our children to attend school, but nobody forces them to watch T.V. Americans of all ages *submit* to television. Television is the American ideal. Persuasion without coercion. Nobody makes us watch. Who could have predicted that a *free* people would voluntarily spend one fifth of their lives sitting in front of a *box* with pictures? Fifteen years sitting in prison is punishment. But 15 years sitting in front of a television set is entertainment. And the average American now spends more than one and a half years of his life just watching television commercials. Fifty minutes, every day of his life, watching commercials. Now, that's power."

##

"The United States has it's own propaganda, but it's very effective because people don't realize that it's propaganda. And it's subtle, but it's actually a much stronger propaganda machine than the Nazis had but it's funded in a different way. With the Nazis it was funded by the government, but in the United States, it's funded by corporations and corporations they only want things to happen that will make people want to buy stuff. So whatever that is, then that is considered okay and good, but that doesn't necessarily mean it really serves people's thinking - it can stupify and make not very good things happen."
- Crispin Glover: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000417/bio

##

"It's only logical to assume that conspiracies are everywhere, because that's what people do. They conspire. If you can't get the message, get the man." - Mel Gibson (from an interview)

##

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." - William Casey, CIA Director

##

"The real reason for the official secrecy, in most instances, is not to keep the opposition (the CIA's euphemistic term for the enemy) from knowing what is going on; the enemy usually does know. The basic reason for governmental secrecy is to keep you, the American public, from knowing - for you, too, are considered the opposition, or enemy - so that you cannot interfere. When the public does not know what the government or the CIA is doing, it cannot voice its approval or disapproval of their actions. In fact, they can even lie to your about what they are doing or have done, and you will not know it. As for the second advantage, despite frequent suggestion that the CIA is a rogue elephant, the truth is that the agency functions at the direction of and in response to the office of the president. All of its major clandestine operations are carried out with the direct approval of or on direct orders from the White House. The CIA is a secret tool of the president - every president. And every president since Truman has lied to the American people in order to protect the agency. When lies have failed, it has been the duty of the CIA to take the blame for the president, thus protecting him. This is known in the business as "plausible denial." The CIA, functioning as a secret instrument of the U.S. government and the presidency, has long misused and abused history and continues to do so."
- Victor Marchetti, Propaganda and Disinformation: How the CIA Manufactures History

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George Carlin:

"The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, they're an irrelevancy. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehous

The power of marketing seems so vast that we are willing to buy products which don't even exist yet. Even if there were a good financial incentive (20% off or something) for pre-ordering, I would still be baffled by people who would buy a cell phone without reading reviews first. It's not even only about the money - cell phone is something you have to use every day, and if the size, or ergonomics or the user interface isn't right for you, it will make you miserable.

I can see how Apple users (and I am one) trust Apple to make generally good laptops or phones, but there is still a difference between favoring one manufacturer and buying their products blindly.

Mandatory viewing: Czech Dream, a documentary about a couple of guys who get thousands of people to show up for a grand opening of a supermarket which doesn't exist.

I think Snow Walker gives a pretty realistic picture of just how isolated these Innuits are (not) today.

"so surely this insult to Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism will have the members of respective religions storming embassies and murdering people all over the place? "

I suspect you're too young to remember the deaths that 'Christians' caused after having seen the movie 'Jud Süß' The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 8, 1940 and received rave reviews, earning the top award.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jud_S%C3%BC%C3%9F_(1940_film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032653/

Yes, I am too young to remember Nazi propaganda films. leaving aside whether or not it was a "Christian" film - it is much more aligned to NAziism than Christianity, I will make two points:

1. 1) I doubt if you would find any mainstream Christian denomination that would support this today
2. 2) Muslims are fond of pointing out a time in history or an individual who acts like them and use it as justification. They say "yes we blew up the World Trade Centre, but McVeigh bombed the Oklahoma building", or "Yes we go on murderous rampages but so did Medieval Christians". In my view the attempt to say that it is OK to behave in the worst way that anybody else ever has done is wrong. Setting of bombs and killing is wrong, even if you can show that someone else did it before.