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Army Looks at Robotic Dogs
mr. squishie writes "Someone important must have gotten an Aibo...According to Wired news, the Army's Tank-automotive and Armaments Command has just awarded a $2.5 million contract to build a prototype of a large robot dog that would follow soldiers into battle and carry food, ammunition, and medical supplies. This is apparently part of a larger movement by various branches of the military investigating the uses of robots based on various types of wildlife, ranging from engine-repairing robot elephant trunks and mine-destroying robot lobsters to the cliched robot-fly-spy-on-the-wall trick. I wonder if they're looking into giant robot anteaters as an alternative to costly bunker-buster bombs?"
I wonder if they're looking into giant robot anteaters as an alternative to costly bunker-buster bombs?
No, they're not.
United States of America, good ol' backers of world peace.
I'm not a libertarian.
Enron was not capitalist -- Enron was a great example of mercantilism. Enron would have no grown had it not been for government helping them out every step of the way. Do not believe that capitalism causes fiascos like that.
All of your inventions sound great, but its a sliver compared to everything else we use every day that was invented by private funding.
Money should never be stolen by the threat of force (taxes) and given to others. Sure, SOME government programs eventually help others, but at what cost to you?
You pay over 50% of your income to taxes at all levels. What could you have put your money into if you had it back? Your choice should matter, not the choice of some bureaucrat. It is a huge debate, the biggest debate of anarchocapitalists such as myself. I do not want government taking my money to help anyone else. If I want to help them, I will pick the ones I help.
Hungry children are better supported by churches or private charities. Space programs are better supported by companies that have a fiscal interest -- NASA's budget last year was $20 billion or so, or about $70 per living American per year. Not a lot, really, but did we all get something beneficial out of it? $70 in a year could have bought me something I wanted or my family needed.
Benefiting the general population at the expense of others is NOT the job of the Federal government. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments of our Constitution prove that. We need to restrain the Federal government so that we, the people, have more choice, more freedom, and more security against tyranny.