Slashdot Mirror

This is correct and should be modded up.

For a great and comprehensive look at the payola problem, check out Eric Boehlert's articles on Salon. The complete opus can be found here.

Arguing about who is right in the daily battles obscures the underlying reality.

We can debate "the underlying reality" if you like, but "the superficial reality" is that on one side you have suicide bombers targeting random families and on the other side you have police and soldiers trying to target the suicide bombers. Religion has nothing to do with it, most people are going to see one side as the bad guys and the other side as the good guys.

The fact is that the land of Israel was populated with Arabs before the Jews came. Arabs were moved off the land to make room for Jews.

If the jewish refugees showed up with guns and shipped people off in trains it's the first I've heard of it.

I'm not an expert on history, so feel free to clear up any errors here: For the most part the current population of Israel was born there. I think that's enough to pretty much end it, but I'll continue. The people who immigrated to the area for the most part did so legally, right? It's not like they showed up with guns and broke in. They mostly bought homes, or bought land and paid to have homes built, right? Possibly some of them settled on unused land? (Even in that case, if it was the US they would gain rightful ownership of the land after some number of years.) At some point the vast majority of the population of the area decided modify their government and call it Israel. Pretty much every nation on earth has recognized that government.

Are you suggesting that Israel shouldn't exist? Maybe several million people should be be "driven into the sea"? All Israelis? Or just the jewish ones? You did say they want you to kill them, right?

Osama bin Laden's main complaint is U.S. support for the House of al Saud.

I don't know much about Saudi government. Did the US overthrow the recognized government and install the current government? Or was the current government already the recognized official government?

He wants Saudis to determine their own fate. Logically, U.S. citizens must support that

Have free elections been blocked by the US? Or are you proposing a violent overthrow of the current government? If you're proposing violent revolution you have a pretty tough hurdle to overcome to persuade me, and you'd better have a pretty solid majority of the population demanding it. And even if I agreed with you that a revolution was appropriate, dealing with the current legitimate government would still fall into a grey area.

Greg Palast is an investigative reporter that researches and goes deep into various issues (he broke the news on the Florida ballot cleaning in 2000). The book covers a number of interesting topics from Enron and its alliances to the government and how they got preferential treatment and how they used this in the US and abroad to their advantage.

A few months ago, someone told me `Remember: all governments lie', which I figured, seems pretty acurrate, but not much to debate over dinner in that topic. I think there is a tacit agreement that governments lie.

The shocking news came from reading Daniel Ellsberg's Secrets book in which he details how five consecutive adminisrtrations lied to congress, and lie to the american people about what they were doing in Vietnam. An interesting interview with Daniel Ellsberg in Salon (here) gives a quick overview of the book. For those who do not know, Daniel took some secret documents from the government in the 70's and got them published by the New York Times. The documents exposed the lies from the five administrations. Although the government tried to stop the publication of the documents (known from then on as "The Pentagon Papers", google found this which gives you some context, as well as the history around the event).

So anyways, the short story is that democracy needs to be revamped with new technology. Hundreds of years ago it was perfectly possible to elect a leader/representative, trust him to do what he promised on behalf of the voters and revisit the issue on an upcoming election.

But today's leader's loyalty is not to the voters, but to those who allow them to get the votes, people with enough funds to drive the agenda in any direction they please. Greg Palast's book points out that the current administration unlike previous administrations no longer has to deal with external lobbysts, the lobby now has got offices right in the White House (he goes on detail about the Enron's hand-picked policy makers and those who reverted Clinton's decisions regarding Enron's involvement in California).

With the technology available today, democracy could be referendum-based, through electronic voting on key issues.

Miguel.

Look, it's a YANSR -- Yet Another Negative Solaris Review. How is this 'another view', exactly? The first Solaris-related story (a few months ago) concluded that 'it'll probably suck'. The recent review proclaimed that 'it sucks' (in so many words), and now this 'new perspective' reveals that -- whoa there -- it _really_ sucks.

I mean, come on. Soderbergh guilty of being a film student (I guess I'll have to boycott Taxi Driver and Raging Bull from now on)? A 'trick' ending (I'd love to hear an explanation of what was so 'tricky' about it)? A cynical, jaded New York audience not giving George 'what a plebeian' Clooney the benifit of the doubt (SHOCK!! HORROR!!!)?

Granted, the movie does have some very real faults (hint: it's not the 'conceit somewhat larger than a fully grown blue whale'. God, that's the worst fucking simile I've ever had the misfortune to chance upon). Sadly however, none of them are addressed in this 'new review'. On the other hand, it _is_ so terrifically 'biting', 'cutting' and 'cynical' in that wonderful New York way we all know and love -- I should think that alone places it a cut above the sort of review that attempts to honestly 'discuss' the 'content' of the 'movie at hand'.

Perhaps 'Solaris bashing' should be added to the list of Slashdot topics. I can see it now:

Step 1: Bash Solaris
Step 2: Bash Solaris some more
Step 3: Profit!!

or maybe even

IN SOVIET RUSSIA, Solaris bashes YOU!

P.S.
For a far more balanced (if not uncritical) perspective, you might try
the Salon review

On-topic satire!<Image>

I wonder if they'll plug this as hard as they did with their other products: by writing advertisements-as-articles in Salon and National Geographic.

Personally, I'd consider prostitution before I'd led a marketing guy anywhere near my subconcious mind...

Or patent or trademark or whatever the heck Mickey is at this point. The Sonny Bono Act will only carry them so far. (Don't blame him for what Disney forces him to lobby for.)

Genetically engineered mice can be patented, so bioengineered or cloned progeny of Mickey may be attractive to Disney Genetics and Licensing, Inc. There is some suspicion Mickey himself is engineered, as he has not aged in over 60 years.

Set Mickey free!

It has come to my attention that the entire Linux community is a hotbed of so called 'alternative sexuality,' which includes anything from hedonistic orgies to homosexuality to pedophilia.

What better way of demonstrating this than by looking at the hidden messages contained within the names of some of Linux's most outspoken advocates:

• Linus Torvalds is an anagram of slit anus or VD 'L,' clearly referring to himself by the first initial.
• Richard M. Stallman, spokespervert for the Gaysex's Not Unusual 'movement' is an anagram of mans cram thrill ad.
• Alan Cox is barely an anagram of anal cox which is just so filthy and unchristian it unnerves me.

I'm sure that Eric S. Raymond, composer of the satanic homosexual propaganda diatribe The Cathedral and the Bizarre, is probably an anagram of something queer, but we don't need to look that far as we know he's always shoving a gun up some poor little boy's rectum. Update: Eric S. Raymond is actually an anagram for secondary rim and cord in my arse. It just goes to show you that he is indeed queer.

Update the Second: It is also documented that Evil Sicko Gaymond is responsible for a nauseating piece of code called Fetchmail, which is obviously sinister sodomite slang for 'Felch Male' -- a disgusting practise. For those not in the know, 'felching' is the act performed by two perverts wherein one sucks their own post-coital ejaculate out of the other's rectum. In fact, it appears that the dirty Linux faggots set out to undermine the good Republican institution of e-mail, turning it into 'e-male.'

As far as Richard 'Master' Stallman goes, that filthy fudge-packer was actually quoted on leftist commie propaganda site Salon.com as saying the following: 'I've been resistant to the pressure to conform in any circumstance,' he says. 'It's about being able to question conventional wisdom,' he asserts. 'I believe in love, but not monogamy,' he says plainly.

And this isn't a made up troll bullshit either! He actually stated this tripe, which makes it obvious that he is trying to politely say that he's a flaming homo slut!

Speaking about 'flaming,' who better to point out as a filthy chutney ferret than Slashdot's very own self-confessed pederast Jon Katz. Although an obvious deviant anagram cannot be found from his name, he has already confessed, nay boasted of the homosexual perversion of corrupting the innocence of young children. To quote from the article linked:

'I've got a rare kidney disease,' I told her. 'I have to go to the bathroom a lot. You can come with me if you want, but it takes a while. Is that okay with you? Do you want a note from my doctor?'

Is this why you were touching your penis in the cinema, Jon? And letting the other boys touch it too?

We should also point out that Jon Katz refers to himself as 'Slashdot's resident Gasbag.' Is there any more doubt? For those fortunate few who aren't aware of the list of homosexual terminology found inside the Linux 'Sauce Code,' a 'Gasbag' is a pervert who gains sexual gratification from having a thin straw inserted into his urethra (or to use the common parlance, 'piss-pipe'), then his homosexual lover blows firmly down the straw to inflate his scrotum. This is, of course, when he's not busy violating the dignity and copyright of posters to Slashdot by gathering together their postings and publishing them en masse to further his twisted and manipulative journalistic agenda.

Sick, disgusting antichristian perverts, the lot of them.

In addition, many of the Linux distributions (a 'distribution' is the most common way to spread the faggots' wares) are run by faggot groups. The Slackware distro is named after the 'Slack-wear' fags wear to allow easy access to the anus for sexual purposes. Furthermore, Slackware is a close anagram of claw arse, a reference to the homosexual practise of anal fisting. The Mandrake product is run by a group of French faggot satanists, and is named after the faggot nickname for the vibrator. It was also chosen because it is an anagram for dark amen and ram naked, which is what they do.

Another 'distro,' (abbrieviated as such because it sounds a bit like 'Disco,' which is where homosexuals preyed on young boys in the 1970s), is Debian, an anagram of in a bed, which could be considered innocent enough (after all, a bed is both where we sleep and pray), until we realise what other names Debian uses to describe their foul wares. 'Woody' is obvious enough, being a term for the erect male penis, glistening with pre-cum. But far sicker is the phrase 'Frozen Potato' that they use. This filthy term, again found in the secret homosexual 'Sauce Code,' refers to the solo homosexual practice of defecating into a clear polythene bag, shaping the turd into a crude approximation of the male phallus, then leaving it in the freezer overnight until it becomes solid. The practitioner then proceeds to push the frozen 'potato' up his own rectum, squeezing it in and out until his tight young balls erupt in a screaming orgasm.

And Red Hat is secret homo slang for the tip of a penis that is soaked in blood from a freshly violated underage ringpiece.

The fags have even invented special tools to aid their faggotry! For example, the 'supermount' tool was devised to allow deeper penetration, which is good for fags because it gives more pressure on the prostate gland. 'Automount' is used, on the other hand, because Linux users are all fat and gay, and need to mount each other automatically.

The depths of their depravity can be seen in their use of 'mount points.' These are, plainly speaking, the different points of penetration. The main one is obviously /anus, but there are others. Militant fags even say 'there is no /opt mount point' because for these dirty perverts faggotry is not optional but a way of life.

More evidence is in the fact that Linux users say how much they love `man`, even going so far as to say that all new Linux users (who are in fact just innocent heterosexuals indoctrinated by the gay propaganda) should try out `man`. In no other system do users boast of their frequent recourse to a man.

Other areas of the system also show Linux's inherit gayness. For example, people are often told of the 'FAQ,' but how many innocent heterosexual Windows users know what this actually means. The answer is shocking: Faggot Anal Quest: the voyage of discovery for newly converted fags!

Even the title 'Slashdot' originally referred to a homosexual practice. Slashdot of course refers to the popular gay practice of blood-letting. The Slashbots, of course are those super-zealous homosexuals who take this perversion to its extreme by ripping open their anuses, as seen on the site most popular with Slashdot users, the depraved work of Satan, http://www.eff.org/.

The editors of Slashdot also have homosexual names: 'Hemos' is obvious in itself, being one vowel away from 'Homos.' But even more sickening is 'Commander Taco' which sounds a bit like 'Commode in Taco,' filthy gay slang for a pair of spreadeagled buttocks that are caked with excrement. (The best form of lubrication, they insist.) Sometimes, these 'Taco Commodes' have special 'Salsa Sauce' (blood from a ruptured rectum) and 'Cheese' (rancid flakes of penis discharge) toppings. And to make it even worse, Slashdot runs on Apache!

The Apache server, whose use among fags is as prevalent as AIDS, is named after homosexual activity -- as everyone knows, popular faggot band, the Village People, featured an Apache Indian, and it is for him that this gay program is named.

And that's not forgetting the use of patches in the Linux fag world -- patches are used to make the anus accessible for repeated anal sex even after its rupture by a session of fisting.

To summarise: Linux is gay. 'Slash -- Dot' is the graphical description of the space between a young boy's scrotum and anus. And BeOS is for hermaphrodites and disabled 'stumpers.'

FEEDBACK

What worries me is how much you know about what gay people do. I'm scared I actually read this whole thing. I think this post is a good example of the negative effects of Internet usage on people. This person obviously has no social life anymore and had to result to writing something as stupid as this. And actually take the time to do it too. Although... I think it was satire.. blah.. it's early. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

Well, the only reason I know all about this is because I had the misfortune to read the Linux 'Sauce code' once. Although publicised as the computer code needed to get Linux up and running on a computer (and haven't you always been worried about the phrase 'Monolithic Kernel'?), this foul document is actually a detailed and graphic description of every conceivable degrading perversion known to the human race, as well as a few of the major animal species. It has shocked and disturbed me, to the point of needing to shock and disturb the common man to warn them of the impending homo-calypse which threatens to engulf our planet.

You must work for the government. Trying to post the most obscene stuff in hopes that slashdot won't be able to continue or something, due to legal woes. If i ever see your ugly face, i'm going to stick my fireplace poker up your ass, after it's nice and hot, to weld shut that nasty gaping hole of yours. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

Doesn't it give you a hard-on to imagine your thick strong poker ramming it's way up my most sacred of sphincters? You're beyond help, my friend, as the only thing you can imagine is the foul penetrative violation of another man. Are you sure you're not Eric Raymond? The government, being populated by limp-wristed liberals, could never stem the sickening tide of homosexual child molesting Linux advocacy. Hell, they've given NAMBLA free reign for years!

you really should post this logged in. i wish i could remember jebus's password, cuz i'd give it to you. -- mighty jebus, Slashdot

Thank you for your kind words of support. However, this document shall only ever be posted anonymously. This is because the 'Open Sauce' movement is a sham, proposing homoerotic cults of hero worshipping in the name of freedom. I speak for the common man. For any man who prefers the warm, enveloping velvet folds of a woman's vagina to the tight puckered ringpiece of a child. These men, being common, decent folk, don't have a say in the political hypocrisy that is Slashdot culture. I am the unknown liberator.

ROLF LAMO i hate linux FAGGOTS -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

We shouldn't hate them, we should pity them for the misguided fools they are... Fanatical Linux zeal-outs need to be herded into camps for re-education and subsequent rehabilitation into normal heterosexual society. This re-education shall be achieved by forcing them to watch repeats of Baywatch until the very mention of Pamela Anderson causes them to fill their pants with healthy heterosexual jism.

Actually, that's not at all how scrotal inflation works. I understand it involves injecting sterile saline solution into the scrotum. I've never tried this, but you can read how to do it safely in case you're interested. (Before you moderate this down, ask yourself honestly -- who are the real crazies -- people who do scrotal inflation, or people who pay $1000+ for a game console?) -- double_h, Slashdot

Well, it just goes to show that even the holy Linux 'sauce code' is riddled with bugs that need fixing. (The irony of Jon Katz not even being able to inflate his scrotum correctly has not been lost on me.) The Linux pervert elite already acknowledge this, with their queer slogan: 'Given enough arms, all rectums are shallow.' And anyway, the PS2 sucks major cock and isn't worth the money. Intellivision forever!

dude did u used to post on msnbc's nt bulletin board now that u are doing anti-gay posts u also need to start in with anti-black stuff too c u in church -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

For one thing, whilst Linux is a cavalcade of queer propaganda masquerading as the future of computing, NT is used by people who think nothing better of encasing their genitals in quick setting plaster then going to see a really dirty porno film, enjoying the restriction enforced onto them. Remember, a wasted arousal is a sin in the eyes of the Catholic church. Clearly, the only god-fearing Christian operating system in existence is CP/M -- The Christian Program Monitor. All computer users should immediately ask their local pastor to install this fine OS onto their systems. It is the only route to salvation.

Secondly, this message is for every man. Computers know no colour. Not only that, but one of the finest websites in the world is maintained by a Black Man . Now fuck off you racist donkey felcher.

And don't forget that slashdot was written in Perl, which is just too close to 'Pearl Necklace' for comfort.... oh wait; that's something all you heterosexuals do.... I can't help but wonder how much faster the trolls could do First-Posts on this site if it were redone in PHP... I could hand-type dynamic HTML pages faster than Perl can do them. -- phee, Slashdot

Although there is nothing unholy about the fine heterosexual act of ejaculating between a woman's breasts, squirting one's load up towards her neck and chin area, it should be noted that Perl (standing for Pansies Entering Rectums Locally) is also close to 'Pearl Monocle,' 'Pearl Nosering,' and the ubiquitous 'Pearl Enema.'

One scary thing about Perl is that it contains hidden homosexual messages. Take the following code: LWP::Simple -- It looks innocuous enough, doesn't it? But look at the line closely: There are two colons next to each other! As Larry 'Balls to the' Wall would openly admit in the Perl Documentation, Perl was designed from the ground up to indoctrinate it's programmers into performing unnatural sexual acts -- having two colons so closely together is clearly a reference to the perverse sickening act of 'colon kissing,' whereby two homosexual queers spread their buttocks wide, pressing their filthy torn sphincters together. They then share small round objects like marbles or golfballs by passing them from one rectum to another using muscle contraction alone. This is also referred to in programming 'circles' as 'Parameter Passing.'

And PHP stands for Perverted Homosexual Penetration. Didn't you know?

Thank you for your valuable input on this. I am sure you will be never forgotten. BTW: Did I mention that this could be useful in terraforming Mars? Mars rulaa. -- Eimernase, Slashdot

Well, I don't know about terraforming Mars, but I do know that homosexual Linux Advocates have been probing Uranus for years.

That's inspiring. Keep up the good work, AC. May God in his wisdom grant you the strength to bring the plain honest truth to this community, and make it pure again. Yours, Cerberus. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

*sniff* That brings a tear to my eye. Thank you once more for your kind support. I have taken faith in the knowledge that I am doing the Good Lord's work, but it is encouraging to know that I am helping out the common man here.

However, I should be cautious about revealing your name 'Cerberus' on such a filthy den of depravity as Slashdot. It is a well known fact that the 'Kerberos' documentation from Microsoft is a detailed manual describing, in intimate, exacting detail, how to sexually penetrate a variety of unwilling canine animals; be they domesticated, wild, or mythical. Slashdot posters have taken great pleasure in illegally spreading this documentation far and wide, treating it as an 'extension' to the Linux 'Sauce Code,' for the sake of 'interoperability.' (The slang term they use for nonconsensual intercourse -- their favourite kind.)

In fact, sick twisted Linux deviants are known to have LAN parties, (Love of Anal Naughtiness, needless to say.), wherein they entice a stray dog, known as the 'Samba Mount,' into their homes. Up to four of these filth-sodden blasphemers against nature take turns to plunge their erect, throbbing, uncircumcised members, conkers-deep, into the rectum, mouth, and other fleshy orifices of the poor animal. Eventually, the 'Samba Mount' collapses due to 'overload,' and needs to be 'rebooted.' (i.e., kicked out into the street, and left to fend for itself.) Many Linux users boast about their 'uptime' in such situations.

Inspiring stuff! If only all trolls were this quality! -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

If only indeed. You can help our brave cause by moderating this message up as often as possible. I recommend '+1, Underrated,' as that will protect your precious Karma in Metamoderation. Only then can we break through the glass ceiling of Homosexual Slashdot Culture. Is it any wonder that the new version of Slashcode has been christened 'Bender'???

If we can get just one of these postings up to at least '+1,' then it will be archived forever! Others will learn of our struggle, and join with us in our battle for freedom!

It's pathetic you've spent so much time writing this. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

I am compelled to document the foulness and carnal depravity that is Linux, in order that we may prepare ourselves for the great holy war that is to follow. It is my solemn duty to peel back the foreskin of ignorance and apply the wire brush of enlightenment.

As with any great open-source project, you need someone asking this question, so I'll do it. When the hell is version 2.0 going to be ready?!?! -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

I could make an arrogant, childish comment along the lines of 'Every time someone asks for 2.0, I won't release it for another 24 hours,' but the truth of the matter is that I'm quite nervous of releasing a 'number two,' as I can guarantee some filthy shit-slurping Linux pervert would want to suck it straight out of my anus before I've even had chance to wipe.

I desperately want to suck your monolithic kernel, you sexy hunk, you. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

I sincerely hope you're Natalie Portman.

Dude, nothing on slashdot larger than 3 paragraphs is worth reading. Try to distill the message, whatever it was, and maybe I'll read it. As it is, I have to much open source software to write to waste even 10 seconds of precious time. 10 seconds is all its gonna take M$ to whoop Linux's ass. Vigilence is the price of Free (as in libre -- from the fine, frou frou French language) Software. Hack on fellow geeks, and remember: Friday is Bouillabaisse day except for heathens who do not believe that Jesus died for their sins. Those godless, oil drench, bearded sexist clowns can pull grits from their pantaloons (another fine, fine French word) and eat that. Anyway, try to keep your message focused and concise. For concision is the soul of derision. Way. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

What the fuck?

I've read your gay conspiracy post version 1.3.0 and I must say I'm impressed. In particular, I appreciate how you have managed to squeeze in a healthy dose of the latent homosexuality you gay-bashing homos tend to be full of. Thank you again. -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

Well bugger me!

ooooh honey. how insecure are you!!! wann a little massage from deare bruci. love you -- Anonymous Coward, Slashdot

Fuck right off!

IMPORTANT: This message needs to be heard (Not HURD, which is an acronym for 'Huge Unclean Rectal Dilator') across the whole community, so it has been released into the Public Domain. You know, that licence that we all had before those homoerotic crypto-fascists came out with the GPL (Gay Penetration License) that is no more than an excuse to see who's got the biggest feces-encrusted cock. I would have put this up on Freshmeat, but that name is known to be a euphemism for the tight rump of a young boy.

Come to think of it, the whole concept of 'Source Control' unnerves me, because it sounds a bit like 'Sauce Control,' which is a description of the homosexual practice of holding the base of the cock shaft tightly upon the point of ejaculation, thus causing a build up of semenal fluid that is only released upon entry into an incision made into the base of the receiver's scrotum. And 'Open Sauce' is the act of ejaculating into another mans face or perhaps a biscuit to be shared later. Obviously, 'Closed Sauce' is the only Christian thing to do, as evidenced by the fact that it is what Cathedrals are all about.

Contributors: (although not to the eternal game of 'soggy biscuit' that open 'sauce' development has become) Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, phee, Anonymous Coward, mighty jebus, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, double_h, Anonymous Coward, Eimernase, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward, Anonymous Coward. Further contributions are welcome.

Current changes: This version sent to FreeWIPO by 'Bring BackATV' as plain text. Reformatted everything, added all links back in (that we could match from the previous version), many new ones (Slashbot bait links). Even more spelling fixed. Who wrote this thing, CmdrTaco himself?

Previous changes: Yet more changes added. Spelling fixed. Feedback added. Explanation of 'distro' system. 'Mount Point' syntax described. More filth regarding `man` and Slashdot. Yet more fucking spelling fixed. 'Fetchmail' uncovered further. More Slashbot baiting. Apache exposed. Distribution licence at foot of document.

ANUX -- A full Linux distribution... Up your ass!

The article is careless; they must be talking about fMRI, not MRI. The latter is the more familiar technology that provides images of brain morphology, usually by tweaking water protons. While the researchers are doubtless imaging to provide reference localization -- that is, a map of the brain -- the fMRI is entirely different because it measures brain metabolism, which is higher in parts of the brain that are more active, and so buring more sugar. So the first is a picture that looks like sliced brain, the latter is a map of hot spots that looks like an IR sensor image. They can integrate this with EEG (electroencephalogram), also, something we also couldn't do with old MRI. Cool.

Check here -- the first image you see is an overlay of functional hot spots (color) over a regular MRI (B&W). While on the topic of medical acronyms, there is not "CAT scan" anymore, it's CT for computed tomography. The earliest machines could only do axial cuts, hence "A" in CAT. But the public and TV shows like saying CAT. I used to work around CT, too, almost 20 years ago.

I'm jealous because I did research on psychiatric patients with MRI ten years ago, which was limited to detected tumors, atrophy, and other gross physical changes. That's very useful -- people with mental illnes have in some cases revealed what appears to be long-term degeneration marked by atrophy (shrinkage) of relevant lobes --but does not have the amazing possibilities of instantly detecting changes in brain activity. This is quite a bit short of reading your mind! Just 10 years ago the imaging MRI was a stunning achievement, now we're spoiled and moving into the next phase.

Is this research for marketing purposes invasive? Nah. It's just an (expensive) attempt to further quantify reaction to marketing, as has been done up to now with questionnaries and the like. It's not sneaky like subliminal advertising, which didn't work anyway despite being a compelling idea and making for a great episode of Columbo (conspiracy theorists disagree; scientists generally don't; but advertisers and maybe Republicans still try it anyway).

Anyway, advertisers have long had a general idea (sex) of (sex) what (sex) moves (sex) product (send me money). The marketers looking upon consumers as a horde of cattle, that's kind of patronizing, but it's nothing new.

i am just curious what the laws are, well, there aren't any federal laws i suppose. spamlaws.com has a good summary of the last congress.

It just seems like there would be commercial speech issues that would ultimately uphold spam. States have passed laws though, right? there was that story on salon the other day about someone suing Elizabeth Dole for political spam. I just wonder if any studies have been done on the various state laws that have been passed, and which states those are. seems like a worthy study.

A 1997 Wired story early described how analysts get paid for being quoted (Forrester denies this, sort of).

A 2000 Salon article.

NYT 12/1999 ($$$): The original magazine article titled "$6 Billion in Online Holiday Sales by the End of This Month! $24 Billion in Internet Ads by 2003! 2.3 Trillion E-Biz Predictions by 2010!". :)

NYT 5/2002 ($$$): Jupiter "crumbles" (uh-oh! better get some quotes out)

And yesterday the Times parroted the Reuters story.

Parenthetically the Jupiter founder Josh Harris went on to another interesting project you may have heard of. (Sadly, it's long since disbanded.)

the spoiler obsession, born of the Internet's fan-geek culture, is the enemy of real criticism, real discussion and maybe even real thought.

Andrew O'Hehir, at Salon.com

For the people altogether too stupid to make the connection between purchasing music and supporting the bands they like, well... I guess maybe they'll get it once there aren't any new songs to download. emphasis mine

Read this. Fact is, when you buy a CD you might be hurting the band. Boycott the RIAA-protected labels, and let the musicians know that if they want you to listen to their music, they'll have to use channels you like, such as P2P. :)

What they have in China is a capitalist dictatorship, if you have to stick a "ism" on it, its cloest name is Fascist. It is not in the "jew-killing" racial way. More in the way of m-w.com definition:

that exalts nation and often race (N/A here) above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

Somewhere in there I see where US is turning into, I thought about posting anonymously for fear of being put on no fly list , but I can't do that.

...gives so much of his [clip]...to third world countries...

Strictly to buy favor for his corporation...don't think for one shrink-wrapped minute his heart bleeds for anything but his bottom line.

gates deserves as much respect as an unlined trashcan.

This article (originally referred to in this submittal) comprehensively outlines how it's an uphill battle for Microsoft.

Mozilla's tabbed browsing is ideal for posting links on /.

So for a $15 CD, where's the other $7 going?

• To the songwriter, at a federally mandated US$0.08 per track.
• To the lawyers who verified that the songwriter didn't unconsciously rip off somebody else's song.
• To the producer and recording studio, for the licensed audio engineers who mixed and mastered the album and the makers of the production equipment that they used to produce the album.
• To the artists who did the CD's manual.
• To the music video studio (if they didn't use somebody cheap like Cicierega or the guys who did "White America" for Eminem).

For more information, ask Courtney Love, who did the math.

Movies cost on average only 10-30% more than their soundtracks

A movie soundtrack containing popular music (that is, not the movie's score or some other music composed specifically for the movie) typically contains music from several artists on several labels, and it costs big $$$ to negotiate with those labels for those tracks.

• Quicken or
• San Jose Mercury News or
• Salt Lake Tribune or
• Salon.com or
• ABC News or Time Warner's own
• Money magazine.

Wait, he killed his own wife?!

I didn't get that at all! /reads Salon article Oh shizznizz! I missed the whole sammy jankis was him thing!

Time to go see that movie again!

I don't mind paying for something, but the middlemen in the music biz add very little value, and IMHO screw a lot up!

I want to listen to lots of music but I can't afford to with a big mortgage and kids. I have several music mad friends who buy 100's of CD's a year - and they'd buy more if they could afford to. Basically we want to pay the creators of the music, and I don't see these services moving towards that so I shan't support them.

Read this Courtney Love article - she is so right (even if I was a bit dismissive of her before I read this).

That's what it's all about, not whether I can buy 'n download from the net! That kind of tech is just a way for us (musicians & fans) to cut out the fat cat middlemen, and introduce middlemen who get paid for the value they add... Thanks for listening, Andy. (UK)

Actually, MS is rated #10 in the corporate world, when you compare the amounts given out annually, versus corporate worth. It may seem like he's giving out more when the amounts are listed alone, but when the value of the other corporations in the top ten are considered, MS/Gates is late to the party, with day old bread. Dollar for dollar...net worth for net worth...corporate earnings for corporate earnings, Gates is far behind Ellison, Bezos and McNealy...and me. Why is that? Why do you want to front row the man when he's Malcolm in the middle?

Your glowing admiration reflects a misplaced love for the guy. My lack of admiration reflects the statistics. If he gave (even only) in equal amounts to the others, I'd be the first to pin a medal on him. If he donated the same percentage of his worth as the others and/or as you or I, he'd get more publicity than he could ever buy. He doesn't, and that's a shame as well.

Your claim that I disdain his charity is twisting the conversation. I disdain his methods and motives...scorn hasn't been displayed yet. I never claimed his charitable sums, in any form, are a bad thing. Give us both credit and stay on topic, please.

From an article on this subject at Salon...

"Microsoft gives, but increasingly with an eye fixed on what it will get in return. Andrew Carnegie supported libraries, too, but unlike Microsoft, he didn't fill the shelves with Carnegie-compatible books designed to create a pool of future Carnegie customers, nor did he view philanthropy as a strategic tool in accumulating more wealth. Microsoft may have learned the value of giving, but not what it means to be truly generous. "

The stuff you browse on the web isn't exactly completely free of charge. There're bandwidth costs to be paid, servers... etc.

If they didn't want to pay bandwidth costs, they wouldn't have placed their site online. That is an assumed cost of operating.

Yes, we browse their sites for free, and it's perfectly within their rights to send us pop-up ads. But I agreed to no terms of service when I typed in their address.

If they're going to recoup their costs, they're going to have to do it smarter. Salon, for example, won't let you access their premium content unless you pay, and that's fair. They've implemented a system that doesn't make assumptions. It doesn't really work, but it's still fair.

...all they're asking in return is for you to do your part and look at those ads... is it that big of an inconvenience?

Whether or not it's a big inconvenience is a matter of opinion, a moot point, and not worth discussing. The issue is whether or not I'm allowed to block their pop-ups altogether.

Wait, scratch that. That's how they want us to think. The issue is whether or not they are allowed to force me to see what they want me to see.

I say no.

most people I know who've done the not-anti-social drugs (i.e. not coke or PCP) simply wouldn't want to work for somebody who makes something that kills other people. Now, why would you want to go and make something that kills other people? You know in the bible, god says, "thou shalt not kill," and you'd be surprised how many anti-drug bible-thumpers out there have no problems working in the defense industry and making things that kill people. Now you might say to yourself, but it's for *defense* it's only if people *attack* me. Well did you know about the shoulder-launched missiles?? They were made and sold to go against the EVIL communists and we gave them to people in Afghanistan to shoot down Soviet planes. And now, they might be used by Al Quaida to shoot down civilian planes. So the problem isn't in the intentions, but in the unintended consequences. So if you're going to do this thing, please do all of us a favor, and think about all of the consequences that could happen with the thing you will be making that can kill people. And ask yourself, where did the people who are telling me about this get their information, and where did that information come from, and question everything. On the other hand, missile defense seems like a silly waste of resources, so congrats on landing a boondoggle. I heard they had to use a gps device on the missile to get the defense mechanism to be able to find it in the tests they used to show the president. My request - please don't use your intelligence to make something that could kill people. Please use it to think about how to create civilization such that people don't want to kill each other and also free of coercion.

Yeah, just like Henry Hyde, Newt Gringrich and the mother of all crooks... Nixon

Yeah, just like Henry Hyde, Newt Gringrich and the mother of all crooks... Nixon

Yeah, just like Henry Hyde, Newt Gringrich and the mother of all crooks... Nixon

Let's hope the US Government gets it. ..."Microsoft seeks government partnership"

If, like me, you're not pleased with the current (and soon to be republican dominated) government, you might want to do this: Encourage the government to join up with MS for a two-year contract, and make it a very visible decision. Then, furtively encourage hackers to fsck with all the new security holes in the governmental systems, in ways that do not directly hurt anyone but cause public outrage by privacy breaches, scandal exposures, and whatever else. Then, when elections come around, everyone will vote the republicans out, we can all get the new government to switch away from MS, and all will be fine in the world of tech and politics. :-)

Let's hope the US Government gets it. There is cause for concern (article titled "Microsoft seeks government partnership").

I've never been a subscriber to Salon, and I wouldn't say their content is all great, but one of the things that worries me most these days is the airtight corporate control over all our major (and minor for the most part) media. Salon at least does some independent investigative journalism and is not afraid to print stories from one of my favorite journalists, Greg Palast, including his exposé of the Florida election theft in 2000, and his "re-exposé" of the same thing still going on in this year's election there. Also, Joe Conason's Journal is a regular Salon political column that is almost always great. I can get stuff like this elsewhere, but, sadly not often from a place as "reputable" as Salon. If Salon disappears the pickings will be even slimmer and the Palasts and Conasons of the world will be even more marginalized.

Investigative reporting costs tons of money, and even if Salon has the best of intentions, the bottom line will prevent them from doing lots of stories. Maybe we can use the slashdot effect to really make a difference, and not only save them, but give them the funds to actually improve. Our corporate government and out-of-control military-industrial complex need to keep the people blissfully ignorant in order to continue getting away with murder every day. Ownership of the media is their biggest weapon in this war against us, and so I've decided I can afford to pay $18.50 (or $30 with no ads) to try and save a dying breed. Who's with me?

I've never been a subscriber to Salon, and I wouldn't say their content is all great, but one of the things that worries me most these days is the airtight corporate control over all our major (and minor for the most part) media. Salon at least does some independent investigative journalism and is not afraid to print stories from one of my favorite journalists, Greg Palast, including his exposé of the Florida election theft in 2000, and his "re-exposé" of the same thing still going on in this year's election there. Also, Joe Conason's Journal is a regular Salon political column that is almost always great. I can get stuff like this elsewhere, but, sadly not often from a place as "reputable" as Salon. If Salon disappears the pickings will be even slimmer and the Palasts and Conasons of the world will be even more marginalized.

Investigative reporting costs tons of money, and even if Salon has the best of intentions, the bottom line will prevent them from doing lots of stories. Maybe we can use the slashdot effect to really make a difference, and not only save them, but give them the funds to actually improve. Our corporate government and out-of-control military-industrial complex need to keep the people blissfully ignorant in order to continue getting away with murder every day. Ownership of the media is their biggest weapon in this war against us, and so I've decided I can afford to pay $18.50 (or $30 with no ads) to try and save a dying breed. Who's with me?

The only way for us to become aware of such abuses is to have a strong alternative to the mainstream media. So I would urge all slashdotters, even those who are usually apathetic to political issues, to invest some time and energy in political awareness and support for independent journalism. Otherwise, someday you may find yourself at the wrong end of a law enforcement process gone out of control.

mhack

The only way for us to become aware of such abuses is to have a strong alternative to the mainstream media. So I would urge all slashdotters, even those who are usually apathetic to political issues, to invest some time and energy in political awareness and support for independent journalism. Otherwise, someday you may find yourself at the wrong end of a law enforcement process gone out of control.

mhack

Where's the /.-like community at Salon?

Funny you should ask that. Scott Rosenberg addressed that issue in his blog today.

I don't know about a left vs. right slant in Salon...

Left. Waaaay left. Salon slants so far left, they've toppled over.

Rosenberg is one of the reasons I haven't deleted Salon's bookmark yet. He's one of the last of a dying breed there: The rational liberal. I think they're trying to troll their way back to health. The rhetoric has become increasingly shrill and occasionally paranoid. And I don't know what medication Joe Conason is on, but he really needs to have his dosage adjusted. Salon claims to be the last bastion of intelligent journalism, but yet they stoop to pushing the same hot buttons as the screaming heads that pass for commentators on MSNBC. You all know the type. They believe that the entire political spectrum can be represented by one bit: 1 for Liberal, 0 for Conservative.

It's a shame, really. Outside the realm of politics, they actually live up to their billing. I particularly like the sports columnists, Allen Barra, King Kaufman, and Keith Olbermann. But I can't support them with a subscription without also endorsing the horribly skewed politics of their editors. So, they don't get my money. Apparently, they don't get anyone's money.

Bah. You think this is only affects conservative books? "Stupid White Men" became an immediate best seller, and Michael Moore went through hell to publish it.

Regarding web sales...lets take a look at Moore's book's sales rank on Amazon.com. Wow! 24th! And it was first published in February. (Slander was published in June, and is at 148.)

All this only underscores the final point you made, however: there is a serious disconnect with marketing people and what they think sells.

Gah! I forgot to post the link for the blurb I quoted. Viz:

"The greatest weakness of Internet users -- all of us -- is our failure to recognize the value of intellectual property. Of course we love free access to information -- the more the better. For years, those of us who are information junkies have been like pigs in mud. It has been fun, but those something-for- nothing days are over. There is a difference between the Internet mantra that "information loves to be free" and free information."

Sorry about that.

• Smart-ass commentary where the writer ridicules some less than optimal decision by (the President, Congress, CEO's, investors, Major League Baseball, whatever) thanks to his perfect 20/20 hind-sight, yet never has to own up to his own mispredictions, no matter how gross.
• Brain dead coverage of foreign events, particularly the Middle East. And by that I don't mean coverage I ideologically disagree with, I really mean _brain dead_, completely clueless, too stupid to live. Like a cover article they ran hailing the Saudi "peace plan" (remember that?) as the solution to all the Middle East's ills yet never bothering to read its actual text and see that it did nothing to address the Palestianian "right of return" issue that lead to the blow up at Camp David. There's also its moronic attempt to project domestic politics onto it so that if Republicans and Christian evangelicals support Israel (never mind that the country is more socialistic than France) it must be bad, and if the Palesitians are brown, poor, and miserable they must be good, never mind how many school buses or seder dinners they blow up in their nihilistic, barbarian rage.

So in short, I won't be shedding too many tears over their demise, as there are a lot more online journals out-there, including some meta ones that have always been better anyway.

• Smart-ass commentary where the writer ridicules some less than optimal decision by (the President, Congress, CEO's, investors, Major League Baseball, whatever) thanks to his perfect 20/20 hind-sight, yet never has to own up to his own mispredictions, no matter how gross.
• Brain dead coverage of foreign events, particularly the Middle East. And by that I don't mean coverage I ideologically disagree with, I really mean _brain dead_, completely clueless, too stupid to live. Like a cover article they ran hailing the Saudi "peace plan" (remember that?) as the solution to all the Middle East's ills yet never bothering to read its actual text and see that it did nothing to address the Palestianian "right of return" issue that lead to the blow up at Camp David. There's also its moronic attempt to project domestic politics onto it so that if Republicans and Christian evangelicals support Israel (never mind that the country is more socialistic than France) it must be bad, and if the Palesitians are brown, poor, and miserable they must be good, never mind how many school buses or seder dinners they blow up in their nihilistic, barbarian rage.

So in short, I won't be shedding too many tears over their demise, as there are a lot more online journals out-there, including some meta ones that have always been better anyway.

.. if for no other reason than to see the Spock pr0n.

Ever play Black and White?

That after yesterday's article, Microsoft freebies turn India gov. against open-source. Oh, the sweet, sweet irony!

Professional writers do use Abiword.

It will support tables soon, like before the end of the year.* For many people Abiword is already a usable word processor that imports and exports .docs. And it has a lot of features--check out the plugins.




*And footnotes, IIRC.

I've never worked in Wal-Mart, but I've read a bit about a decent book about a woman who *did* work there... here's an article about her experience. From everything I've read (and I wish I had time to read more), Wal-Mart pays less than is a livign wage in most places, but because they kill all surrounding retail businesses, employees have no choice but to work there.

And, as your friend more about his job at MS. Generally "contracting" means working as a traditional W-2 employee through a head shop that does pay 1/2 taxes, just like a normal job. Only difference is that you're technically working for that head shop instead of the big company (like MS). I did that for 6 years and make a really nice chunk of change. Much more than the poor slobs who worked "permanent" jobs. And, like I said, life was much better for me... I left at 5:00PM on the dot, or I got paid more. I usually got to skip beauracratic meetings... those were left for the "permanent" people. And, I could switch jobs as often as I'd like because it was expecetd. If I were still in IT, I definitely wouldn't mind working for MS. The few jobs that I spoke to them about (as a contractor) paid quite well.

> One of the things that makes a physical protest
> effective is that, well, it's physical. If you fill up
> downtown Washington with people, somebody's
> bound to notice (even politicians).

Even a physical protest can be ignored if there's no press. For example, families of the victims of the September 11 attack got together for a protest in D.C. earlier this year, but the march was virtually ignored because Ashcroft chose the exact same time to report on the alleged 'dirty bomb" suspect al Muhajir that they had arrested a month before.

Or more recently, it's been estimated that close to 100,000 people attended rallies around the country to protest the proposed Iraq Resolution. However, no one in the mainstream media except USA Today (IIRC) bothered to cover it.

Protests are generally only effective if they get the attention of everyone else via the mainstream press. The on-line protest of McDonalds might get some press once simply because of the novelty of it. But after that, it won't be very effective.

"I'm going to make five times as much money as Francis [Ford Coppola] on these science- ficton toys and I won't have to make The Godfather," he boasted to cult filmmaker John Milius. "I've made what I consider the most conventional kind of movie I can possibly make."

Recommended reading:
his Salon article on the Star Wars Universe, named "Star Wars" despots vs. "Star Trek" populists,
the followup essay on his own Web site,
and the essay on Attack of the Clones.

• Reports the existance of a list of about 1,000 travellers who are to be singled out for "special treatment" by airline security
• That so far the evidence is that people who are being singled out are simply those in high profile positions in non-mainstream politics. Examples include prominent members of groups like Amnesty International.
• Abuses have included "suspects" having to drop their pants in full view of the other passengers, and one individual, an advisor to Ralph Nader's election compaign, being interogated for several hours - long enough to be forced to miss his flight - for calling President Bush "as dumb as a rock" while waiting in line.

From the article: After a 5% decline in the sales of recorded music in 2001, the first fall in living memory,.

That statement would be correct if nobody could remember way back to 1997. In those heady days of the Clinton presidency and the dot com boom, the folks at the RIAA reported a 6.5% decrease in annual sales. Back then they didn't have the p2p bogeyman to blame so they laid the blame on retailers streamlining their inventories.

On the whole 'who to blame' angle, I'm amazed that nobody is talking about the role of Clearchannel's radio monopoly on decreased music sales. Before one company dictated that there would be only a handful of radio formats across most major cities, stations were more likely to expand their playlists to include local acts, independent musicians, and songs that local programming personnel liked. Now, playlists are sent down from the home office, and there is more homogeneity among playlists. What does that mean? Fewer new songs get any real airplay, thus giving the listeners of Big Radio fewer unique albums to consider buying...

Back to EMI: The description of their system has so many vague statements that I seriously doubt that this will take off (and we know that EMI never tries to mislead listeners). What listeners want is ease and freedom.

Here's what needs to happen for online music to be profitable for the labels:

1. Record companies have to realize that consumers really don't care who produces or distributes an album. When I go to a record store to by an album, I don't have to know whether it's a BMG or Sony album, I just go to the store and buy it. With these disperate online music services, each with their own catalogs, consumers are supposed to care about these things.

2. Give me the freedom to listen to my music how I want and when I want. Too many of these services offer limited ability to burn CDs or copy to mp3 players. Stop that. I bought the damn music, let me listen to it the way I want. Stop treating your customers like crooks.

It's not that hard. Record executives have a hard time realizing that the music industry is about the artists. Yes, Mr. Exec I'm sure you're a really neat guy, and I know you spend a lot of time doing important things like Bribing radio stations to play your music and engaging in $480,000,000 in price fixing, and I can only imagine how difficult it is to threaten academic researchers. But seriously, you may be getting just a teansy bit greedy and irrational.

Man, I need some sleep...

Gee, I was being facetious just now when I insinuated a conspiracy to kill Senator Wellstone, but some people are taking it seriously. I should not be so naive, I've been reading the last week about the "Apollo Hoax."

Conspiracy theorists, I don't need to hear from you -- I'll just turn your names over the CIA.

Joel Spolsky often grates on me (especially when he falls into, "here's how Microsoft solved the problem with near infinite access to manpower, so clearly you should do the same thing."), but this article really rang true. People might also be interested in a similar article published in 1998 on Salon, "The dumbing-down of programming." The author comes from a slightly different point of view, but comes to a similar conclusion: we need to be wary of becoming too detached from the low level details.