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Just in case no one has pointed this out already, but there was no use of electricity to animate Frankenstein's monster in Mary Shelley's novel. That idea came solely from Hollywood's bad adaptations of the novel. There's mention of electricity, lightening, and galvanism in chapter 2, but those just serve as motivating factors that lead Victor Frankenstein to attend college to study science. In fact, there is scarcely anything mentioned about what Frankenstein specifically did to bring his creation to life.

The producers of capitalism have also brought you such wonderful things as George W. Bush.

I guess you're right: People are just not going to "get more intelligent" anytime soon.

Is wasn't Capitalism, as in Adam Smyth's "On Wealth of Nations" or tinyurl that brought Bush along. More like the Corporate Aristocracy Thomas Jefferson and Alexis de Tocqueville warned people about that is responsible.

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
Thomas Jefferson, 1814

I guess I better dump all my mp3s down the memory hole...

That doesn't seem right. The page I linked to had the full text of Orwell's 1984 , for example, and that was published in 1949.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I just browsed around and these books are not actually "available" to read in full. The only pages you can get at are those with matches to your search. You can't just choose to go to page 1, and click "next page" until you get to the end of the book. If you want to actually read these books in full, try something like http://www.online-literature.com/

try here, for a start

It is now official. Netcraft has confirmed: Pirates are dying

One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Pirates community when IDC confirmed that Pirates' market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all outlaws. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that Pirates have lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Pirates are collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by faling dead last in the recent Literature Network coolness test.

You don't need to be Hattori Hanzo to predict Pirates' future. The hand writing is on the wall: Pirates face a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for Pirates because Pirates are dying. Things are looking very bad for Pirates. As many of us are already aware, Pirates continue to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

Sea Pirates are the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time Sea Pirates Jordan Hubbard and Long John Silver only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Sea Pirates are dying.

All major surveys show that Pirates have steadily declined in market share. Pirates are very sick and their long term survival prospects are very dim. If Pirates are to survive at all they will be among outlaw dilettante dabblers. Pirates continue to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save them at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Pirates are dead.

Fact: Pirates are dying.

And for those who are going to ask: But does it run Linux? The answer is: Linux == communism; Systems run by large powerhungry pigs == communism --> Smithfield will be Linux only. Or maybe it will come bundled with GNU Hurd and Duke Nukem Forever.

(And for large powerhungry pigs with modpoints: This comment is meant as an attempt at humour)

Hell, everyone should go nuts on this... you are using genetics to create a sub-human hybrid, for what purpose? Has no one read The Time Machine and the lessons of the Morlocks? Or A Brave New World, where a genetic sub-race of humans is created to be pure workers? No no, we're "just" going to do it to study disease.. but you know that every discovery is constantly yearning for applications.

Everyone reads The Uplift War and says "oh boy, we can use the good parts of being human to improve our friends the animals", but you know that it is human nature to domesticate animals, and make them workers... what better to create an animal with human dexterity without the burden of intelligence, without the moral dillema of the "handicapped"... such a worker would toil in a sweatshop with singlemindedness, as oxen would plow a field. Well, scientific culture and its wild abandon of any moral forethought has led to this, so I guess its time to reap what we sowed...

Either way we can call it a 1984 decision...
if they vote pro grockster it's a 1984 betamax decision style 1984, and if they vote against, it's a George Orwell style 1984 decision...
"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU..."

That seems reminiscent of this proposal.

According to the 1898 H.G. Wells original story (of which the infamous radio play was just a dramatization, not the original source material), the Martians were eating earth foodstuffs and water and it was basically food poisoning that did them in.

To wit:

But there are no bacteria in Mars, and directly these invaders arrived, directly they drank and fed, our microscopic allies began to work their overthrow.

And from the epilog:

At any rate, in all the bodies of the Martians that were examined after the war, no bacteria except those already known as terrestrial species were found.

( I would like to thank The Literature Network and google for their assistance in the preparation of this post. No martians were harmed in the research. )

( oh, and I wouldn't lose much sleep over Martian bugs - there are plenty of diseases in strange corners of our own world against which we have no defenses - I's rate this whole article "-1 : FUD" )

Bloody hell -- don't kids read anything nowadays???
Read 1984. It is the most frightening book in the world. And the most prophetic.

Fascists are masters of media,

Indeed. They are the pigs in Animal Farm.

translation anybody?

Preparing for the future.

Think Metropolis, Modern Times, 1984 (to me rather a remake of Jevgenij Samjatin), RFID+Neurochips.

Add remote control! Imagine!

CC.

Sun specifically will not under any circumstance include GPL'd code in the Solaris kernel. Sun was recently somewhat screwed by Intel. Sun had been waiting for Intel to release wireless drivers (mainly for Solaris x86 laptop/wireless users). When Intel finally did release the code, they did it under GPL. Thus, completely screwing Sun's ability to include the drivers in their distribution. Technically, they could add the drivers, but they strictly adhere to the idea that NO GPL code will become part of the Solaris kernel.

I'm not suggesting Sun hasn't contributed anything to the tech-community, but to say they were "founded on open source" reminds me of Animal Farm.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Sun kernel guru, but I know some. Some of the "facts" above may be a little munged in translation.

However, this type of development is important to watch. Ignore those who disagree, as they are sceptical of sceptics and contribute to society in a different manner which isn't pertinent to subjects like this.

If you haven't read 1984, or haven't read it in a long time, I encourage a visit.

= 9J =

However, this type of development is important to watch. Ignore those who disagree, as they are sceptical of sceptics and contribute to society in a different manner which isn't pertinent to subjects like this.

If you haven't read 1984, or haven't read it in a long time, I encourage a visit.

= 9J =

Sorry I should have explained the context a bit further. Winston is writing in his diary (itself an offence punishable by death) about how the dominance of the Party could be broken. He knows that despite the destruction of uncomfortable records of the past by the Party, he knows they have falsified history because he has his own memory of at least one incident where he held the evidence in his hand.
I won't spoil it it for you in case you haven't read the book but you can read it all online here

I'm sorry, but the fact that a law entitled "USA PATRIOT Act" passed the Senate almost unanimously, just 45 days after a major terrorist attack on US soil, with NO discussion or debate, does not strike you as un-democratic?

Thankfully ONE of our senators, Russ Feingold (D-WI), actually has a clue.

I, for one, do NOT believe that the USA PATRIOT Act has stopped ANY terrorist attack, anymore than the No-Child Left Behind Act. After all, we haven't had any terrorist attacks since NCLB passed, right? Repeat after me: Correlation != Causation.

The failures that led to 9/11, as I understand them, were not from a lack of power or authority by intelligence agencies. It was due to poor communication and poor management. The "war on terror" is, IMHO, the new "war on drugs". It's an Orwellian war - never-ending war on a faceless enemy that you must support or else you are unpatriotic.

Are terrorists out there? Yes. Not all of them are hail from Saudi Arab^H^H^HIraq. Some are American citizens (McVeigh, for one. And anyone remember the Unabomber?) Will giving up our essential freedoms protect us from the terrorists? No. I don't feel any safer on an airplane now that I know no one on board has a tweezers, nail clips, or cuticle scissors. I don't feel safer knowing the the FBI can demand my library reservations, financial records, and health history, all without my knowledge (secret searches), with no judicial oversight. If you think I'm exaggerating, I suggest you read up a bit.

But the terrorists are really out to get us, folks. They tell us every day, and they are not kidding.

So who are we fighting again? The Eurasians or Eastasians?

• Constantly hungry: Tax cuts for the wealthy, abolition of the estate tax, tax breaks for corporations, the near-elimination of Section 8 -- all to promote the centralization of wealth
• Constantly scared: Terrorism. Weapons of Mass Destruction. Anthrax. Guns in Our Schools. The Evils of Drug Abuse, etc.
• Constantly Stupid: "No Child Left Behind", school vouchers, "reality television", most advertising, etc.

The cynic in me says that they would just extend copyright on the lot, for ever; claim tax exemption on the cost as 'necessary cost of doing business'; pass the extra costs on to the consumer; and also cut the payout to the artists. As Orwell said: If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face -- for ever. . But, as Kingsley Amis said in "New Maps of Hell" (paraphrasing from memory) "It doesn't much matter if the boot bears a picture of a swastika, or a Coca-Cola trademark, except that in the latter case the victim can be made to pay for the privilege of having his face stamped."

One other thing that's come up more over the last 12 months is this notion of indemnification [against patent and copyright claims].

Yes I wonder who is making it an issue.

More and more customers are asking us, "Help me understand what you do from an indemnification perspective versus HP or IBM or Red Hat or Novell." That's weighing into decisions more and more. ...

Yes because again Microsoft are trying to tie people down with fear that what they will touch they will loose again because the big Microsoft guys will spoil thier fun.

Customers began introducing it and asking me about it more than I was introducing it to them. And I began to say, "Wow. We really stand behind our technology in a pretty aggressive way.

Hahahah yes you are plenty aggressive, like a cornered animal, even the Ministry of Truth could learn from you guys.

We should make sure that we get credit for that compared to Linux in many ways." And it's actually been something that tips the scales sometimes when people are on the fence.

Is that the barbed wire elecrified fence of 10 year supply deal, licensing terms, special backhanders, propriatary formats et al.

Lets all hug this guy. Anyone notice how Microsoft are finding security holes in its own software right when it wants you to upgrade?

... at least if USA continues accellerating it's quest for 1984.

Personally, I'm afraid to fly. Yes, I know it's unjustified, but that is the deal with most peoples fears - they are irrational.

Sometime in my life however I'll have to fly. Honeymoon, business, something will take me in the air. But another problem I have is rage. (think Punch Drunk Love) I'm Bi-Polar, and a liberal. Enough to blacklist me from any flight.

Now, I'm not saying that I would, but I think I know what I'd want to do if this happened to me. If I had to fight with the government, especially because I did nothing, I'd want to go crazy. Not just cursing Tom Ridge out crazy either. I'm talking hijacking, shooting Homeland Security employees, and homicidal mania crazy. When faced with a huge obstacle like that many people will get just as mad as I would.

Imagine you are trying to fly to Tucson to see your daughter get married. Some guy won't let you on the plane even though you've never hurt anyone in your life. Likely the cause would be a bill you didn't pay in 1972.

What would you do? Would you ask yourself what would Jesus have done or would you get medieval on their asses?

My point? This system will make someone so mad that they will want to take revenge and hurt a lot of people in the process. People who don't have control have nothing to lose. It is that simple - people will not stick up for this "saftey" crap any longer when it stops them from seeing a dying relative or getting their job done. (BTW, why do terrorists, of any type, use terror? It is their last resort. 1984, chapter 5: the Party was invincible. ... You could only rebel against it by secret disobedience or, at most, by isolated acts of violence such as killing somebody or blowing something up. )

The worst thing is that if we get four more years of Bush he'll push this system off on trains and busses too. Next thing you'll know you won't be allowed on the highway if you didn't get a doctors check-up in the last six months.

I'm not known for supporting or even tolerating anything that infringes on anyone[']s civil liberties, but I don't really have a problem with people having to show ID to fly aboard a commercial carrier.

Ah, you have mastered the art of Doublethink. Perhaps I could entertain you with the 10th Edition of the Newspeak dictionary?

Of course, they just made it so that you have to tell the myour name when asked, but as far as I know it's not illegal to lie about what your name is, unless you actually end up being arrested.

Yes yes, nothing is really illegal until you are arrested, since there are no laws (no written laws) in the first place. They'll just vaporize you. And once you're gone in the present, you'll have never existed in the past either.

Seriously, are the parallels to George Orwell's 1984 THAT FUCKING VAGUE that the millions of people that (possibly forcibly in English class) read it don't have a problem with (or even realize) the slow removal of basic rights? Go to Amazon, visit your local book store, go to the library, or just read the online version!!

If you still don't "get it" after reading it, then maybe ignorance IS strength...

Remember Space: 1999? Where's our moon base? What about the artificial intelligence we were supposed to have by now, according to 2001: A Space Odyssey? And what about George Orwell's 1984 first published in 1949? Who ever thought it would end up as a reality-TV show? And who ever could have predicted that porn would be so accessible and abundant because of the Internet? Star Trek (the original series) did kind of predict the cell phone technology, though, but off by a few... um... centuries.

A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Make the TV go both ways.

Sound familiar?

Reading the whole book is recommended, but for those that don't...

"Strange," mused the Director, as they turned away, "strange to think that even in Our Ford's day most games were played without more apparatus than a ball or two and a few sticks and perhaps a bit of netting. imagine the folly of allowing people to play elaborate games which do nothing whatever to increase consumption. It's madness. Nowadays the Controllers won't approve of any new game unless it can be shown that it requires at least as much apparatus as the most complicated of existing games." He interrupted himself.

Screw 1934. From where I'm sitting, it's starting to look a lot like a 1984.

They seemed mostly head, with little scrawny bodies, long necks and six legs, or, as I afterward learned, two legs and two arms, with an intermediary pair of limbs which could be used at will either as arms or legs. Their eyes were set at the extreme sides of their heads a trifle above the center and protruded in such a manner that they could be directed either forward or back and also independently of each other, thus permitting this queer animal to look in any direction, or in two directions at once, without the necessity of turning the head.

The ears, which were slightly above the eyes and closer together, were small, cup-shaped antennae, protruding not more than an inch on these young specimens. Their noses were but longitudinal slits in the center of their faces, midway between their mouths and ears. There was no hair on their bodies, which were of a very light yellowish-green color. - A Princess of Mars , Chapter 3.

I really doubt this is the case. The idea of radios spewing out progaganda you can only turn down but not off is from 1984.

The important part here is that they are not open about it. Go read Animal Farm by George Orwell. There you will see how bad things go when agendas are hidden.

Openness is the fundamental safety mechanism in democracy. This is the failure of most of the former communist countries. Not because of communism per se, but because of the lack of openness in the leadership. Animal Farm is indeed a very strong criticism of and a satirical allegory of the russian revolution and Stalin's Russia.

Go read 1984 as well. The term "language" (especially connected to "propaganda") will have a new meaning after words.

The important part here is that they are not open about it. Go read Animal Farm by George Orwell. There you will see how bad things go when agendas are hidden.

Openness is the fundamental safety mechanism in democracy. This is the failure of most of the former communist countries. Not because of communism per se, but because of the lack of openness in the leadership. Animal Farm is indeed a very strong criticism of and a satirical allegory of the russian revolution and Stalin's Russia.

Go read 1984 as well. The term "language" (especially connected to "propaganda") will have a new meaning after words.

This government is not the first of its type, merely the finest in a long tradition of governments that care.

A horror of this great darkness came on me. The cold, that smote to my marrow, and the pain I felt in breathing, overcame me. I shivered, and a deadly nausea seized me. Then like a red-hot bow in the sky appeared the edge of the sun. I got off the machine to recover myself. I felt giddy and incapable of facing the return journey. As I stood sick and confused I saw again the moving thing upon the shoal - there was no mistake now that it was a moving thing - against the red water of the sea. It was a round thing, the size of a football perhaps, or, it may be, bigger, and tentacles trailed down from it; it seemed black against the weltering blood-red water, and it was hopping fitfully about.

This dredged up an old memory from Dicken's Pickwick Papes.

The section about half way down the page.

The Inscription

... net nanny software installed in American libraries. People have always found a way around it. I'm sure that some clever individuals will find a way to get around this Orwellian nonsense in no time.

Don't forget that most US institutions are going the same route. Major corporations have assigned passwords and hold the employee liable for any misconduct using their account regardless of the total lack of security of the underlying system, Windoze. Public terminals at Universities are quickly dissapering, replaced by terminals that require logins and passwords. You can hardly find wifi that does not demand some crappy client software anymore. If you know ways around these things, let me know. I hate having my activity tracked and stored in databases my federal government thinks they have a right to. While you are at it, you might tell me a way to avoid pharmacies and other stores indiscriminately sharing purchase information.

Also, with the millions and millions of people using the Internet in China, that's a lot of data being generated on what people are doing. How would they parse data of this magnitude?

The same way Carnivore parses the data. The burden is placed on the local provider, but control resides with the central authority. All communications are monitored locally for interesting tidbits which can be retrieved later. With enough processors distributed at enough choke points, you can monitor and parse everything.

This might slow down the spread of undesirable information, but won't stop it.

This is not so much about the consumption of information as it is about information creation. No organized opposition can exist if all communications are monitored this way. If you can't exchange information with your peers, you don't know what's true and what is not. If you don't know the truth, you can't tell it. Sure opposition is possible, it's just that much more difficult. Would you be willing to do anything if big brother might be watching? Yeah, they really want to instill the "Big Brother is Watching You" fear. It works and you can afford a little information being out there. Nothing new here. See 1984 again:

You could grasp the mechanics of the Society you lived in, but not its underlying motives. ... [Goldstein's book] The programme it sets forth is nonsense. The secret accumulation of knowledge -- a gradual spread of enlightenment -- ultimately a proletarian rebellion -- the overthrow of the Party. ... You understand well enough how the Party maintains itself in power. ... The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. ... One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. ... power is collective ... power is power over human beings. Over the body but, above all, over the mind. ... 'How does one man assert his power over another, Winston?' Winston thought. 'By making him suffer,' he said. 'Exactly. By making him suffer. ... Unless he is suffering, how can you be sure that he is obeying your will and not his own? Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation.

Nasty, eh?

Better yet, check this out for the free online version.

The problem is this. First we have the cards issued, and everything is nice and fluffy. No you don't have to carry it with you etc. etc.

How long before it's compulsory to carry the card?

How long before everyone's DNA is required and index linked to the card ID?

How long before it's illegal to not carry the card at all times?

Who can demand to see it? ("Papers please.") and when can it be asked for? ("Why are you out at this time of night? Papers please.")

How long before they are index linked to the IMEI of your mobile phone and periodic logs of your location taken and an easy to access system provided to civil servants?

How long before banks are required to log all your financial transactions provided in an easy to access system provided to civil servants?

How long before all your telephone, SMS, email and web access logs are indexed to your card and provided in an easy to access system to civil servants? (Note to Americans - all of the above is already logged by law under the RIPA Act and the government will be making available to bodies such as the Food Standards Agency and the local council).

How long before someone starts a side development to chip children (to protect them from all those pesky paedophiles) and integrate this with location technology to allow parents to see where they are at any time?

How long before it becomes law to have children chipped at birth? (don't forget the paedophiles!)

How long before it's illegal to remove the chips?

How long before someone gets the "bright idea" that they can be used instead of those pesky ID cards?

How long before we are treated like nothing more than cattle?

Either read Orwell's novel 1984 or bone up on database admin - both should leave you feeling concerned.

Welcome to Animal Farm.

I don't believe that the 'average schlub' is quite as bad off as you (or George Orwell) say, but your point may not be very far off the mark either.

I don't believe that the 'average schlub' is quite as bad off as you (or George Orwell) say, but your point may not be very far off the mark either.

"See the pattern?"

Yes. We have always been at war with Eastasia.

Under Clinton, most Americans saw their net worth grow. The prosperity of the average american was greater under Clinton then at anytime in the past.

100% Agreed - but please understand that 1) This isn't a good thing, and 2) this state of affairs had nothing to do with either of the two presidents in question.

Bill Clinton inherited something called the dot-com boom, which resulted in tremendous employment and profits. But it was a bubble that burst. It would be short-sighted of us to simply say that it was a good time economically. Clinton inherited the bubble as it filled. Bush inherited the bubble after it burst. Neither president had any effect on either of those two things.

Every upside has an equivalent downside. Instead of cheering whenever times go well, and booing when they go poorly, we should cheer when we reach the stable point. If the stock market goes through the roof, the government has a surplus, and unemployment is at 2%, maybe we should all demand a tax increase! :-) Nobody will ever do this, but it is the logical approach.

In addition, unless you are rich, you most likely have a higher overall tax burden now then you did under Clinton.

I'm sorry to be so harsh, but that statement is purely propoganda. Both the republicans and the democrats would disagree with it! The democrat party line isn't that Bush raised taxes on anyone - they acknowledge that everyone now has lower taxes. No question there. If you are going to argue against Bush, stick to truthful arguments, there are lots of valid ones. The basic counterargument against Bush's tax plan is that although he lowered them for everyone, he lowered them more on the rich - which means he is playing the trickle-down card.

Has anyone else noticed that no matter what president is in office or what they have done, most people claim that their taxes are now higher than before? Maybe the Chocolate ration will be raised again next month.

Ok, I can understand this for health care personnel in case of another 9/11 scale attack... but computer specialists?

Is it to help Homeland Security protect us by installing "telescreens" in our houses?

Maybe I'm just being dense... which works in my favor. Thankfully I was dumb enough to go for an arts degree and mess with computers as a hobby instead of a career.

Unfortunately, most Sci-Fi writers fall into two categories:

Two categories that I suspect you would define as crap. Always remember, 90% of everything is crap.

Taking the "human condition" to the extreme.

It's a common technique in fiction to try and distill down something "pure" about humanity, to reveal things hidden by day-to-day life. Typically this is done by creating an unusual setting to eliminate reader's preconceived notions. You might do this by trapping children on an island, sending someone to fictional lands, or having animals play the parts of humans. That you might set people into a future distopia or future utopia doesn't change the basic technique.

Futures where sex is the only thing driving humanity.

Geez, as a kid I sought out the slightly racier sci-fi and I never saw anything that bad. Sure, I saw books that had alot of sex in them (looks to Heinlein), but where it's the only driving force? Perhaps you're confusing erotica set in a sci-fi setting with the wide variety of sci-fi options.

I hate to break it to the authors, but this sort of society would quickly degrade due to a lack of scientific focus. Not to mention that human feelings on the subject are actually pretty immutable. (No matter what anyone says.)

I hate to break it to you, but many people would argue that lots of human advancement is the indirect result of a desire for nookie. Even ignoring the iffy assumption that human feelings are immutable, if they are immutable they are immutable in that people want sex; not real complicated.

Most of them have space travel as a background to get to a fantasy-like world.

Heaven above, was your reading limited to erotica and Stasheff? Yes, there is alot of great sci-fi that doesn't fit into these two categories. Did Heinlein, Clarke, Orwell, and Asimov never exist? What in the world are you looking for?

Personally, I thought Heinlen's juveniles were the best examples of Sci-Fi.

Oh, that's what you're looking for. Boy's adventure stories and pulp adventure. Great stuff, I enjoy them myself, but it's an amazingly small subset of sci-fi. Sci-fi includes a wide variety of writing, just like historical fiction, fantasy, or modern stories.

Ironic that DARPA has hired "MetaCarta" for its global surveillance, while the "Magna Carta" is the cornerstone of individual liberty and freedom from tyranny of the state. Never has limited government meant such unlimited government.

"WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH"
- Karl Rove (just kidding)

Cole declared the ruling "a victory for everyone who believes the war on terrorism ought to be fought consistent with constitutional principles."

It's great that this is the first blow towards stamping out parts of the Patriot Act, but it's not winning the whole war.

I hope that Maher Arar sues the pants off of the US Government. To quote the article:

The Syrians locked Arar in an underground cell the size of a grave: 3 feet wide, 6 feet long, 7 feet high. Then they questioned him, under torture, repeatedly, for 10 months.

I hope that this man gets compensation for what he had to endure. I'm crossing my fingers that in the process of him doing so that most of these police-state laws that have gone into effect go the way of the dinosaur.

This isn't 1943, and this isn't 1984. The law should reflect that.