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So, you see, even after considering the tax benefits, one does not magically wind up with more money after donating than if they didn't. But, you know - if reality were different, I guess maybe you would have a point.

So, this article has nothing to do with reality?

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/ 20051221/AUTO01/512210405

And here's a rich guy outright losing money on purpose:

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/ 20051221/AUTO01/512210405

Seriously though, we're a minimum of 5 years away from widespread HD adoption.

Actually, we're a maximum of three years, one month, and 10 days from widespread HD adoption.

Or maybe just pie.

http://images.usatoday.com/life/_photos/2005/06/21 /inside-candy-pie.jpg

It makes me feel much better, considering they cut the CyberSecurity budget to $16 million.

There are several different sites that report the numbers of birds killed by wind turbines in the US and around the world.

• http://web.syr.edu/~bpburtt/Birds/Aug08-04.htm
• http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-01-04-win dmills-usat_x.htm
• DOE.gov
• http://www.njaudubon.org/conservation/Opinions/07- 03.html

Disclaimer: I used to work for GE Energy, which makes wind turbines.

Perhaps he should call well-known philanthropist and First Amendment Center founder John Seigenthaler and ask him to help spread the word!

I am amazed this was modded-up to 'insightful'. The electoral college was created by our founding fathers to preserve liberty. The primary reason for its use is to prevent less densely populated states from being dominated by more densely populated states. Is rural America unworthy of representation, simply because less people live there? A quick glance at the county-by-county map of the 2000 election results clearly show this system works, as Bush carried 2439 counties to 674 for Gore.

Companies need to be held liable for the safety and security of their customer's data. The problem then will go away.

I'm hearing you. I think the way the SSN system works with the financial system is horribly inefficient, insecure, and pront to abuse. But you need to cover both ends. Security on the front end, and proper policing on the back end. Cutting the DHS budget certainly isn't going to help-- especially when hundreds of millions are allocated for projects like the bridge to nowhere.

Coalition forces in Iraq now number fewer than 23,000 from 24 countries, down from about 50,000 from 38 countries in 2003.

I will add a few links for commentary by:

Lawyer & blogger John Hinderaker of Powerline blog

Former Clinton administration Associate Attorney General John Schmidt

A Justice Department response to Congress by Assistant Attorney General, William Moschella

The quick & dirty version is: There is a very strong case this was prefectly legal.

And, of course, Congress was notified of the program.

I'm pretty much there with you.

There is no way that President Bush would ask, say, the NSA to do anything illegal is there?

And, although there may be a few renegades, there isn't much of official Washington that would use secrets for political gain.

But then there is the press which has recently developed some badly misplaced priorities, actively supporting and publicizing leaks of sensitive ongoing intelligence and military operations against the enemy over and over again. You would think it would be easy to understand that this harms our national security, yet much of the mainstream media passes over the issue in silence. On the other hand, they have endless energy and interest in a kerfuffle involving no crime.

Maybe the media will start taking the war more seriously if Al Qaeda makes significant progress in their announced goal of killing four million Americans. Or maybe not. If there are more successful large scale terrorist attacks in the United States, aided by the media's disclosure of on-going military and intelligence operations, I expect that the majority of the media won't engage in self-examination, but will rather most likely start banging the drums from the fever swamp. The fever swamp runs deep, and support for the President among the media is thin.

Well, if the other party gains power, maybe things will change... or maybe not.

Thank goodness we are a country where you can still engage in dissent against the mainstream.

wouldn't be the first time http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2002-09-30 -cd-settlement_x.htm I remember a case back in the late 90's where I got a small check.

Nothing to see here, move along.

Tamiflu might actually kill you on its own: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-11-17-fda -tamiflu_x.htm

So, that's reassuring then... Take it, don't take it, it's all pretty much the same at this point.

I for one am going to get get in my X-Prize design and take my chances with the explosive, toxic moon dust way up there.

-volve

He has the authority to do it:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-051 2210142dec21,0,3553632.story?coll=chi-newsopinionc ommentary-hed

It's the necessary thing to do:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/20 05-12-21-bush-spying-edit-yes_x.htm

It's been done before by your pals Clinton and Carter
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20051222-122610- 7772r.htm

You are all for it when it serves your politics :
http://realclearpolitics.com/Commentary/com-12_21_ 05_MM.html

----------
A Troll post for a Troll post.

Among other things, how about France's illegal trade of oil with Iraq against the UN sanctions and Oil for Food programs? Or perhaps their ongoing (since 1975) campaign to outlaw the use of English words in french advertising and government and scientific papers, like the word "email" because it's too English?

France and the french (yeah, I've been there several times on business) are a bunch of snobs who regularly thumb their noses at America, so screw 'em. There are just a few examples of how France is responsible for their own reputation over here.

Among other things, how about France's illegal trade of oil with Iraq against the UN sanctions and Oil for Food programs? Or perhaps their ongoing (since 1975) campaign to outlaw the use of English words in french advertising and government and scientific papers, like the word "email" because it's too English?

France and the french (yeah, I've been there several times on business) are a bunch of snobs who regularly thumb their noses at America, so screw 'em. There are just a few examples of how France is responsible for their own reputation over here.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2005-11-10 -palmeiro-no-perjury_x.htm

Baseball star Rafael Palmeiro will not be prosecuted on perjury charges after lawmakers said Thursday there isn't enough evidence to prove he lied when he told Congress under oath that he had "never used steroids" six weeks before failing a steroid test.

Perjury is punishable by a fine and/or no more than five years in prison, making it a felony. The fine can be no more than $250,000 for an individual (except in some cases in which money is involved).

I just got that from reading those links, but still, I'm not a lawyer.

show me one repeatable experiment where an animal actually independantly mutates to a genetic advantage.

>but Carnegie gave away most of his money.

Bill Gates intends to eventually give away all his money. Buffett and him have the same attitude towards their fortune, they will only leave abit for their childern but want to see it put to good use in their lifetime.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technolog y/2003-01-12-gates_x.htm

http://www3.sympatico.ca/truegrowth/gates1.html

Who else do you know who has given half their disposable income? Let's compare Gates giving with some other billionaires who aren't so unpopular on slashdot. Larry Ellison: According to this thru Ellison Medical Foundation, Larry is giving $100 million over 5 years for research on aging. That's pocket change for a guy worth $17 billion. Warren Buffet, weighing in at $40 billion, gives away $12 million per year, according to BusinessWeek. Again, pocket change, though Buffet says he plans to eventually give 99% of his money to his foundation.

Here's an old story from 2001 about silicon valley philanthropy. According to it, only David Packard (foundation gives $500m/year) is in the same class as Gates.

At the bottom of this you'll find a Nov 2005 table listing 18 Americans worth over $10 billion. Have any of them given as large a percentage as Gates? I can't find any evidence if they have. My conclusion: compared to billionaires or to ordinary folks, Gates have given away an extrordinary proportion of his net worth.

By the way, for those of you unfamiliar with entities like the Gates, Ellison, and Packard foundations, it works like this. You can give away whatever amount of your wealth you want in any given year, and that amount will be deducted from the income on which you are taxed. One way to give it away is to establish a 501C(3) charity, such as these foundations, and endow it with a big chunk of cash. The foundation is required by law to give away at least 5% of its net worth per year. It also needs to be independent of its endower, so it can't be used as a vehicle to manipulate or control e.g. Microsoft. The Gates foundation got a $20 billion block of Microsoft stock from Gates in the late '90s and immediately sold the MS stock for more conservative investments. I assume it continues to invest its endowment and to give away the requisite 5%, which this year tops $1.1 billion. I believe Gates' father directs the foundation. From what I have seen, the foundation has a special interest in eradicating diseases in the developing world; hence their interest in tuberculosis and malaria. But heck, why listen to me when you cand surf the foundation and read about its priorities.

Imagine the number of every day products which have "true" inventors without a cent to their name...

Sorta sounds like the music industry...

Oh wait, this is SONY.

How did that post have anything to do with mine? Did you even catch onto the nation of reference which has:

  * 200-400 nuclear weapons, most mated to delivery systems
  * Threated Iraq
  * Threatens Iran

But, lets take the bait anyways. So, the Iraqis gained immensely from our invasion, eh? True. They gained this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and this.

Profitability of a sports program is impossible to figure out, because the pro argument is that a successful sports program attracts students and notoriety to the school and also captures more alumni donations that often make up a good percentage of the school's income. If you were to look only at the accounting books though, you can count all the schools with a truely profitable sports program on one hand and still have some fingers left. The elite Division I-A schools will make money from football and basketball, but this only goes to subsidize the volleyball and tennis and swimming programs along with countless other. Only the top 6% of the I-A schools (i.e. the best of the best) operate in the black. Oh and if you're not Division I-A you're definitely losing money and the sports program is being subsidized.

An excerpt from a study done by the NCAA on the profitability of college sports: "Spending changes had no impact on win-loss records. Or on alumni donations. Or on the academic quality of incoming students (based on SAT scores and the percentage of applicants accepted), an indicator of school stature and appeal" (In reference to spending changes from 1993 to 2001).

http://www.ncaa.org/releases/miscellaneous/1996/19 96111901ms.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2003-08-14- spending-revenue-study_x.htm

Can you post a link to the times article you cite?

According to this study the average NCAA-1A football program makes money. http://www.ncaa.org/releases/miscellaneous/1996/19 96111901ms.htm

Of course,the study is kind of dated and I realize the source is the NCAA but if you read the results you will see they weren't seemingly biased to make the sports look good.

A slight newer study seems to support these findings: http://www.ncaa.org/releases/research/2000110601re .htm

Another interesting article detailing how schools tend to lose money on athletics: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/other/2003- 08-14-brand-finances_x.htm with an interesting quote:

The study released Thursday paints a sobering picture, noting that only 6% of Division I-A programs operate in the black without school or state subsidies. Brand [the NCAA president, Myles Brand] counts "a dozen or less" of more than 1,000 overall in the NCAA making money.

Based on these articles you can see that NCAA-1AA, NCAA-II, and NCAA-III almost all lose money on every sport on average as do many NCAA-1A teams.

However, when all is said and done college sports are often more about the money. I live in a small city (apx 40,000 people) that is home to an NCAA-1A university. The athletics departments provide a major source of entertainment and pride to the city. Our teams have accomplished alot in the past ten years (both men's and women') with the Mens football team winning 4 bowl games, 4 conference championships in a row, sent a bunch (16 i think) of players to the NFL, and had 2 heisman finalists, and when they were in NCAA-1AA a couple national championship appearances with at least one championship. The mens soccer team has won its conference a couple times and the ladies soccer team has been a strong force in conference play. The womens tennis team has won the conference and sent players to the national tournament. The womens basketball team has also sent a squad to the NCAA "march madness" tournament. All of this has given the city and school a little bit of national attention at times and given the people who live here an added reason to hold their head high when they talk about their home to outsiders. I have only lived here since 1996 and the level of passion the people of this city have for the college sports has been impressive. The school does a service for the people of the community and the students of the University by having sports; to the folks here it is about more than money.

There also needs to be some provision made for write-in canidates. Write-ins for President are pretty much useless it is possible to win a local electon (like, say for mayor) as a write in.

there was a famous case with ATT but it looks more like an FTC fine than a lawsuit.

Go Braham Bombers! Nationally ranked basketball team from the middle of nowhere in Minnesota.

Firefox? The particular application I have open at this very moment? Perhaps uninterestingly, I have exactly 17 tabs open right now, with no (noticeable) adverse consequenses. 18, if you don't include opening the parent link, of course. I am a somewhat-regular user of fark.com (not sure if I should admit that) which, by its nature, allows itself to opening MANY pages at once. If you would prefer, I can list every link I have open at this exact moment, for reference:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=170983&op=Repl y&threshold=1&commentsort=0&tid=95&mode=nested&pid =14243431 (which is this /. reply page)
http://mail.google.com/mail/
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/state/h c-11154432.apds.m0309.bc-ct--statdec11,0,3518180.s tory?coll=hc-headlines-local-wire
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2005/12/11/nation al/a02121105_02.txt
http://www.pcomelet.com/articles1details.asp?NewsN um=40
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pag ename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid =968163964505&cid=1134344411957&col=968705899037&c all_page=TS_World&call_pageid=968332188854&call_pa gepath=News/World
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/johnleo/20 05/12/12/178651.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AtXC1y50oxBO 7AL1gup9Q5.8vLYF?slug=ap-heat-vangundyresigns&prov =ap&type=lgns
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-12-12-brit ish-inferno_x.htm?csp=34
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051212/od_uk_nm/oukoe _uk_india_bangalore;_ylt=AosQuO8FvVJ0Vd3RebwSpmVva A8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051212/ap_on_el_pr/de mocrats_one_community;_ylt=AsioggEugZtPPwnu2ul_1Ii s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OXIzMDMzBHNlYwM3MDM-
http://www.wfmy.com/watercooler/article.aspx?story id=53576
http://www.wytv.com/news/regional/2075952.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/132 7686.cms
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/technology/5517017 /detail.html?r

I wasn't trying to flame, I was just referring to this article:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/2005-10-20-coming-att ractions_x.htm (2nd posting, scroll down to the lion)

Liam Neeson plays Aslan the Lion in TLWW. Aslan was seen as a parallel to Jesus in the story.

Liam says:
"I feel kind of ashamed," says the actor. "They are such beautiful books. Here I am, a Belfast man. I was born 30 miles from C.S. Lewis." Neeson had to tame his Irish accent for his performance, though. "We Europeanized it, so hopefully it will play all over the world."

You gotta love Liam, one of the greatest actors of our time IMHO.

I was born and raised in MA. I'm now a student @ Carnegie Mellon, and when I graduate, I plan on moving back. I am proud to say I'm a masshole. With that said, however, you didn't explain the whole situation with the students being killed.

While neither student was under the influence, the driver who backed over James Grabowski was under the influence (Another paper, same story.

I'm not sure where you were when the Patriots won, but underage drinking was NOT blamed for what happened in either case. In fact, the keg registration law in Massachusetts was in response to a 1990 alcohol-related drowning, where the individual who drowned was A) underage and B) intoxicated. Our recent sports victories and ensuing mayhem are not the reason you can't buy a keg without the government knowing.

I was looking at this part of these posts:
For what it's worth, the Internet filter at CMP Media, where I work, blocks Overpeer's site as 'spyware.'
and wonder if that is why my dialup provider has this site blocked:
http://www.usatoday.com/
Really. My account is with Gulf Pines Communications, used to be Nexband.
My cable modem provider does NOT have it blocked, and I have to use that to read the news!
  That provider is Suscom.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=buying+vi rtual+real+estate&btnG=Search
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife /2004-06-03-virtual-realty_x.htm

Radio died long before the advancement of XM and Sirius.

Taken from The Myth of Media Piracy: [jmcardle.com]
It died when in 1996, the US Federal Communication Commission changed the laws on radio station ownership, removing the limits on how many stations a single company could own. As a consequence, Clear Channel was able to take over station after station. Within a matter of years, it owned 1,200 stations across the United-States; including 247 of the 250 largest radio markets.[1] This severely limited the amount and variety of new music being played on the airwaves. As Touré, a contributing editor to the Rolling Stones put it, "So now if you can't get through Clear Channel, or you can't get through MTV, how does anybody know your record is out?"[2] The fact is, no one can. Furthermore, polls indicated that youths were being turned off by the lack of fresh music on the air.[3]

Radio seemingly play the same 10 songs over and over. It doesn't help that labels like Sony BMG illegally bribed stations to play the tunes they wanted.[4]

These new technologies represent what radio should be: music. Not the worst crap of the 80s/90s repeated every hour. Unfortunately, these technologies either cost money (Sirius), or have to pay such insane royalty fees that they have no choice but to fall in the realm of illegality (Internet Radio). Did you know that an Internet Radio station has to pay $25,000 in royalties every day if it has 10,000 listeners? [5] Traditional radio on the other hand don't have to pay any royalties.

Sources:
1. http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2001/04/30/clear_ channel/
2. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/musi c/interviews/toure.html
3. http://www.radiodiversity.com/faceofradio.html
4. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050725/music_probe.html?.v =11
5. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002- 07-21-radio_x.htm

Prove it. I can point to things. What can you do?

As I said in my initial response, we can just wait to see how many crying kids @ christmas stories we see in 20 days.

no no no .. i was thinking Guiness TV Ads..

If they could mount this thing on a trailer and deploy it rapidly to trouble spots around the globe, they could really blow away mischief makers. Imagine for example unleashing a few mini-tornatos on a terrorist training camp or on advancing enemy soldiers.

We've got a far more advanced, well developed, already deployed technology to do the same thing - the Air Force. Besides, no whooshy-sounding tornado will match the psychological effect of these.

I mean really people. The proof is right here!!!

If a weatherman from Pocatello, ID can figure it out surely you can too! Now we know the technology exists to have a tornado take out anyone, anywhere at anytime.

get their ass in gear and stop w/the human rights issues and the government coverups

Like the US and the Kyoto protocol? Or Guantanimo Bay?

"Single-letter names under ".com," ".net" and ".org" were set aside in 1993 as engineers grew concerned about their ability to meet the expected explosion in demand for domain names. They weren't sure then whether a single database of names could hold millions -- more than 40 million in the case of ".com" today. Six single-letter names already claimed at the time -- "q.com," "x.com, "z.com," "i.net," "q.net," and "x.org" -- were allowed to keep their names for the time being." source

There seems to be a huge number of people on here who dont realise that there are water problems out there...yes even in America, so this is one time you cant just ignore it.

One link here http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special06/articl es/0722colorado-conflict.html

points out some of the issues. Water is something that will be causing wars in the future as countries sitting on the same major rivers fight for its resource. YES you can waste water, what comes out of the tap does not just go straight back into usable water and fall as rain.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2943946. stm Why world's taps are running dry

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-01-26-wat er-usat_x.htm Water shortages will leave world in dire straits

Some other quotes ripped...

" - The Colorado River Reservoir System will not be able to meet all of the demands placed on it -- including water supply for Southern California and the inland Southwest -- because reservoir levels will be reduced by more than one-third and releases by as much as 17 percent. The greatest effects will be on lower Colorado River Basin states. All users of Colorado River hydroelectric power will be affected by lower reservoir levels and flows, which will result in reductions in hydropower generation by as much as 40 percent.

- In the Central Valley of California, it will be impossible to meet current water system performance levels so that impacts will be felt in reduced reliability of water supply deliveries, hydropower production and instream flows. With less fresh water available, the Sacramento Delta could experience a dramatic increase in salinity and subsequent ecosystem disruption. "

Hey, just because I don't believe in it doesn't mean I can't point it out to somebody who might. After all, the other side certainly has no qualms about beating ME over the head with it every chance they get. I just fight fire with fire.

Are you living in one of the Islamic republics?

There is not, to my knowledge, the Ten Commandments in the Qua'ran. There are supposed to be equivalents scattered around, however.

here in the Western democracies have laws that are based on secular law

Sure, with the TC's carved in freaking stone in front of the courthouse. http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2005-11-20-t encommandments_x.htm Hey, it's what your judges (your, as in "you voted them in!") say, not me!

Western democracies

Heee hee haw haw HA-A-A-ARRR har hoo hoo hah hah ha ha haaaa....

change your meds to help with that anger management issue

OK, but remember, I'll be so happy and mellow that I won't be able to speak up when they censor you on Slashdot!

> That's just sad. I especially think the biotech
> companies have a duty to pick sides here.

You started covering this in your post, but really it's not just Biotech companies. Every technology company has a interest to pick this up.

Charles Darwin exemplifies the human desire explore and understand the workings of the world around us. These are the kinds of exhibits that might spark some kid into thinking science is damn cool.

Bill Gates complained that there aren't enough students focusing on computer science [and related fields] in college. If all technology companies aren't intersted in fostering this kind of thinking, they should close shop now.

Actually, when the Mythbursters invited the MIT guys to San Francisco, MIT's death ray apparatus didn't successfully set a ship on fire.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2005-10-22-de athray_x.htm

that's because shows like this are made as much for law enforcement propaganda as they are for entertainment.

If that's true, then it's backfiring.

"And for generations, students have spent their hard-earned dollars on the music they love in the local college record store. How many of those stores are left now? Makes you realize just what the impact of illegal downloading can be, and why we've taken the actions we have."

First of all, hard-earned is questionable. I know plenty of college students who never worked before or during college, so maybe he should quantify the statement by adding 'parents' hard-earned money. Also, it would be about one generation that has even dealt with this issue, not 'generations' as if file-sharing was something people did back in the Bronze Age.
Second of all, I highly doubt these college 'record' stores closed because of illegal filesharing, more likely they closed due to big-box retailers offering CDs at highly-discounted rates, thereby making money by overall volume of sales, not individual purchases.
Third of all, it doesn't make me realize anything, except that the music industry are hypocrites for having settle a lawsuit for price-fixing/gouging in 2002 and then claim they are losing money now. Was that price-gouged projected earnings, or actual earnings they are losing? This only leads me to believe that the music recording industry is a very greed-driven industry and they probably don't really care about the low-volume 'college record stores' anyway.
Read more here: http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2002-09-30 -cd-settlement_x.htm

Oh, and, once again I guess I'll give you a response to your supposed points...

There is a mass grave outside of Fallujia where a soccer field used to be.

Those aren't innocents who were brutally massacred by a dictator for being the wrong race, they're the terrorists who you think are imaginary, plus some accidental casualties. People who fight from mosques, use human shields, massacre citizens, blow up schools, etc., are meant to be buried in soccer fields. Likewise with your more hypothetical mass graves, the U.S. kills a lot of terrorists, that means fewer jihadis to wage war against infidels like you.

If you can't tell the difference between Saddam's gulags and mass murder, and the coalition's destruction of terrorist scum, then either you're irreparably stupid or you have no moral judgment whatsoever.

Sure he will be killed based on the mickey mouse crimes he has been charged with

Yep, murdering 143 Shiites is a "mickey mouse crime" -- some moral judgment. Why don't you tell that to your Shiite friends, I'm sure they'll be glad to know how much you value their lives.

but it won't be because he gassed the kurds. He has never been charged with that. Maybe he wasn't responsible for that huh? I mean if he was responsible surely we would have included those charges right?

Are you illiterate? I know you're not very bright, but Jesus, don't you read at all? Every news story on Saddam for several months, even in the dumb leftist rags that you probably read, has clearly pointed out that prosecutors are starting with this "mickey mouse crime" (God you're a sick son-of-a-bitch) and will follow it up with charges for WMD attacks on Kurds, invading Kuwait, massacring Shiites and Sunnis, etc.

No I don't believe you are from Canada. You said "our education system" it was a telling slip of your tongue.

OK, I already responded to this one, but I still think it's funny. C'mon, boy, you're like 0-for-3 now, and you're still playing? (Well, probably more like 0-for-53, but I haven't been keeping count.)

Could you please point to your source regarding BMG being the ones who brought DRM into the picture?

Also - what do you suppose Blobmouse thinks of all this? Some mice get all the good mutations..

Because some places refuse to print your work if it looks too good.

Here is one, it doesn't say how much the US is getting but does say total output is down from 2003 pre-war levels.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/20 05-10-10-iraq-oil-usat_x.htm