Slashdot Mirror
History of the First Internet
U96 writes "Ever since the Gore claim to have "invented" the internet, its history has been the subject of misinformation and ridicule. The Institue of Internet History contains an accurate, in-depth examination of the early industrial origins of the internet. An interesting read..."
I don't seem to be able to load the link... it can't be slashdotted already, can it? :P
Join the Empire! http://www.empirereborn.net/
If you say it three times it's true. Not.
Man is a slave because freedom is difficult, whereas slavery is easy.
Ever since the Gore claim to have "invented" the internet, its history has been the subject of misinformation and ridicule.
Considering Gore never claimed to have invented the internet, you've actually managed to include misinformation in a sentence criticizing misinformation. Well done.
Al Gore NEVER CLAIMED TO HAVE INVENTED THE INTERNET!!!
NEVER!
NOT ONCE!
He did claim to have pushed for financing of it, which led to the development of it beyond its original boundaries. This is actually true! But he never claimed to have invented the internet.
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
First the 2000 election was stolen from him, now the vast right-wing conspiracy is attempting to defrock him of his Internet-Inventor title.
When will Republicans stop picking on this man?
I'm a big tall mofo.
Al Gore did NOT claim he invented the internet.
Gabriel Ricard
Gore has ridden the mighty moon worm.
There are two types of people in the world: those who divide people into two types and those who don't.
Claim: Vice-President Al Gore claimed that he "invented" the Internet.
Status: False.
Origins: No, Al Gore did not claim he "invented" the Internet, nor did he say anything that could reasonably be interpreted that way. The derisive "Al Gore said he 'invented' the Internet" put-downs are misleading distortions of something he said (taken out of context) during an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN's "Late Edition" program on 9 March 1999. When asked to describe what distinguished him from his challenger for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey, Gore replied (in part):
http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.htmsarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Perhaps my very f1rst post :-) and just to remind the editors to actually use a spellchecker (Institue).
The link has either been /.ed already or there is a problem with it. Somebody send me a cached copy please.
I don't think anything can survive with a dnsalias address.
Coralized Pages here.
Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
What Gore said is that in an 1999 interview with Wolf Blitzer, "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." As Al Franken wrote:
> The phrase "invented the Internet" first appeared in a
> Republican Party press release and would be repeated by the
> "liberal" press thousands of times during the campaign.
Snopes the urban legend debunking website reported on this as well:
> Claim: Vice-President Al Gore claimed that he "invented" the
> Internet.
> Status: False.
> Origins: No, Al Gore did not claim he "invented" the Internet,
> nor did he say anything that could reasonably be interpreted
> that way. The derisive "Al Gore said he 'invented' the Internet"
> put-downs are misleading distortions of something he said
> (taken out of context) during an interview with Wolf Blitzer on
> CNN's "Late Edition" program on 9 March 1999.
As the Boston Globe [Oct 17,2000] reported:
So, if the Republicans were working to trash Gore's reputation, I guess they could say "Mission Accomplished".
Taco, thanks for proving once again the old proverb, "a lie can make it halfway 'round the world before the truth gets its boots on."
Insert simplistic political, ideological, or personal proselytization here.
Link to debunking of lie.
...before the invention of the spellchecker.
Pah, Gore might have "invented" the Internet, but Dubya invented lots of Internets! Internets on the house for everyone!
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
I think that it's the future of the internet, ie who's going to invent the next better thing for the internet, that really matters, as opposed to the back and forth left vs right arguments we've heard for the last 5 years. I would more say that the person/people who first developed, say, javascript or PHP, etc, should be rewarded more, since that is part of what's made the internet so grand. On the flip side, the inventor of the internet also, by connection, has helped create the hideous spam producers. I say we lynch him just for that!
They proved themselves to be partisan hacks before. And if in you're in the 'truth' business you don't do what they did to Michael Moore and remain trusted.
Granted, that article is correct, but their credibility was killed long ago.
"The only people that claim Gore didn't invent the internet are fat, bible-thumping red-staters that voted for Bush."
Well, there are a lot of them, and they control the correct turf needed to rule.
Go read Tim Berners Lee's book Weaving the Web.
Much better than any link, and it's slashdot-proof.
That site is internet history as well.
Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all
Gore never claimed to have "invented" the Internet. He did, however, correctly take credit for chairing the committee that created the Internet (and yes, the Internet was a government creation). Our bilious politics and the American (and French) habit of analysis by sarcasm, coupled with the media's and citizenry's incredible laziness, led to the damaging sound bites.
This is from the Daily Howler's excellent analysis of this whole issue (http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh120302.shtml) It starts several paragraphs into the piece:
Martin Walker wrote this in The Guardian:
WALKER (12/30/88): American computing scientists are campaigning for the creation of a "superhighway" which would revolutionise data transmission.
Legislation has already been laid before Congress by Senator Albert Gore of Tennessee, calling for government funds to help establish the new network, which scientists say they can have working within five years, at a cost of Dollars 400 million.
Does that sound like he's saying he invented the Internet? It doesn't to me either.
Source of the quote: http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.htm
never mind the fact that Gore never said that, you might want to check what the actual quote is before repeating the rumer.
i ng my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system."
http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.htm
"Dur
but this is slashdot.
Mirrordot got them
python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
Hisory of internet site explains and showcases the era between invention of internet and discovery of slashdot.org.
:P
The "Hisory of internet site" now exists on the historical site archive.org
Striving to be common...
This Institute of Internet History (IOIH) is dedicated to the recording and documenting the history of the Internet...
Click here to start the journey...
Right now it is loading about as fast as a BBS login screen downloading at 300baud to a paper terminal. Talk about a realistic tour of the beginnings of the internet!
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
All those who have seen an IMP in person, raise your hand.
{raises hand}
I saw some BBN technicians install an IMP while I was stationed at McClellan AFB in 1985-6. It took up 4 racks (but probably could have fit in 3). At the time, I had no clue what it was for.
Chip H.
i do beleive that the last 3/4ths of posters are "off topic" or "redundant"
the 3rd or so post linked to the al gore invented the internet, now there are about 20 more to the same site.
so is there a mirror of the article somewhere for us to read?
In our days we used smoke signal .....
This "institute" must be brand spankin' new because there doesn't seem to be any links to it or information about it anywhere. It's not indexed by Yahoo or Google, and there's nothing on Usenet. If the project actually lives up to its name it could be an incredible resource, but so far it looks like a pet project with an ill-planned launch.
As a technophile and a cultural studies nut, I'm really interested in the kind of chronicle that the IOIH alleges to offer.
Btw, sorry to interrupt the Al Gore free-for-all.
He said "The Gore claim." Not "Gore's claim." He did mention misinformation and ridicule; the idea that the infamous "Gore claim" was spoken by Al Gore is misinformation, and the backlash from the technical community from this piece of misinformation is the unwarranted, aforementioned ridicule.
And all this time I thought he invented it no he merely created the 'net.Thank you so much for informing all of this.
Next someone wil tell me the lady in Texas who spilled coffee on herself was a victim who deserved the money.
I still give credit to pong for inventing it.
This is history.
From ISOC.
"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
... Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in devel
- President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998
"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
- President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998
"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
- Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998
"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
- Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998
"We urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
- Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI), Tom Daschle (D-SD), John Kerry ( D-MA), and others Oct. 9, 1998
"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Dec. 16, 1998
"Hussein has
- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999
"There is no doubt that
- Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL,) and others, December 5, 2001
"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."
- Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), Sept. 19, 2002
"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Sept. 27, 2002
"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
- Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), Oct. 3, 2002
"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D-MA), Oct. 9, 2002
"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and w! ill likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years
The proctologist called, they found taco's head.
Okay, since apparently EVERY COMMENT about this article will be an attack on the summary's treatment of Al Gore's "I took the initiative in creating the Internet." comment, has anyone stopped to consider that Gore's comment might - sit down for this one, people - actually be deserving of ridicule and criticism, even if not to the extreme degree that it has occured?
Pointing out the inaccuracy of a criticism is not the same thing as a debunking or an exoneration of the criticized.
Our newly re-elected Dear Leader will find a good 'reason' to take it away.
Everyone will start to cheer when you put on your sailin' shoes.
here's a brief history http://gsulaw.gsu.edu/lawand/papers/sp98/jones.htm l
You know, when I first read this story, I knew this would be posted. A lot. And this must be setting some kind of record for most redundant posts. And while I'm no big fan of George W. Bush, I have to wonder if he would have had so many defenders had he made such a statement that could be taken out of context.
Al Gore said something that made it sound like he created the Internet, which isn't significantly different from saying he invented it. Saying he was the responsible for creating the Internet is as absurd as saying he invented it. Perhaps he did
provide assistance in developing it, but he should've then said that he helped make the Internet what is is, rather than say he took the initiative to create it.
My advisor (David Mills, first chairman of the Internet Architecture Committee and inventor of NTP) mentioned this once. He said that Al Gore's staff were at every technical meeting related to internet development, and that the funding Gore helped push through Congress was critical to the project. Furthermore, he said after that quote was widely distorted in the media (where Gore rightfully claimed credit for providing the funding), he and several others who *did* invent the internet signed a public affidavit attesting to the veracity of the claim.
To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
--E.C. Stanton
At least, ioih.org still seems to be steam-powered after all these years.
Saw an IMP at Carnegie-Mellon University on December 8, 1980 - the same day John Lennon was shot. (sigh)
Some of us with memories back to the mid-1980s actually remember the creation of the InterNet. At that time the federal government approved funds (via Gore's bill) for transcontinental, high capacity computer data lines. This would complement and connect several existing academic and military lines. And businesses would be allowed to connect too. Tapping into these lines meant you had to standardize a few basic protocols not everyone was using at the time.
I'm so darn sick of this Gore talk. I don't CARE if Gore invented the Internet, or if he said he did. This article is about the history of the 'net, not about Al. Get over it. AC so I won't be modded down for expressing my feelings. Sigh.
...and on this day of December 2004, the Internet History site was first Slashdotted!
BTW, the REAL history of the internet is in the Google Cache! I wonder if a fella could make a career out of perusing THAT?
The Christian in me says it's wrong, but the corrections officer in me says, 'I love to make a grown man piss himself.'
isn't slashdotting the site that actually explains how we have evolved to this slashdot community kind of ironical ?
:)
this would be the same as if we all took trucks to visit the first oil pumping station and we would run out of gas
I'd tell you the chances of this story being a dupe, but you wouldn't like it.
Easiest way for people to ignore the actual article? Put a comment about how gore invented the internet of course. It also helps that the article is slashdotted.
check out the best blog ever:
http://oehlberg.com
so you idiots please quit accusing him of saying that...
So taking "the initiative in creating" something isn't inventing it? Am I unreasonable in thinking otherwise?
J.F.K. took the initiative in creating the lunar landers. He didn't invent them, and it is completely unreasonnable to think otherwise.
You can't take the sky from me...
Al Gore is a god to the left. Unlike most folk, the left don't believe in a single divine entity, Gore is one of many.
As a god of the left, Gore was doing service in Congress in the late 60's and took the initiative he claims.
Those of you who do not believe are liars. Do not attempt to twist his words you heathen. He meant what he said and said what he meant.
Al Gore may very well be your father as well. Do not question it.
Even Snopes agrees that Gore is correct. When the internet was created, Gore took the initative. Snopes wouldn't lie about such a thing, they can't. Snopes is always accuarte 1000% of the time. Your bible is full of innacuracies and bullshit, Snopes is not.
All hail Al.
. Quit playing Monopoly with Bill. Switch to one of many non-Microsoft products today.
Technically, SCOTUS handed down an opinion based upon a legally unsound equal protection argument. (That same argument is about to bite them in the ass in Ohio, I hope and pray.) The decision allowed the actual 'election' (which is performed by the electors, not the public) to commence on schedule in January 2001.
So yeah, to nitpick, Our Dear Leader was "elected" in January 2001. Fraudulently.
Everyone will start to cheer when you put on your sailin' shoes.
"Precisely. Didn't you get your Slashdot rules of conduct? This is a "blue" site."
Of course this is a blue site. Why, you ask? Simple. The majority of people who read Slashdot are those also frequently considered "nerds" - the ones who are good with computers. The ones who, for the most part, are quite intelligent (if not a little bit like sheep sometimes). This intelligence is used to see through the veil of lies that the American people are being covered with by Dubya.
Now, the real decision... to log in, or to post anonymously.
Okay. The coffee gave the lady third degree burns, and McDonald's had been warned that their coffee was dangerously and unnecessarily hot several times before. Why shouldn't she have gotten the money?
Look it up. Gores crazy idea for funding this so called "internet" and opening it up for the public sector to use and build upon was OPPOSED by Cheney, both BILLS.
that Al Gore invented for the pro-choice liberal weenies. Its one of the internets that spreads rumors about a draft going on. What about the history of the other internets that don't spread such rumors?
I can't figure out why so many Bush supporters earnestly defend the president for speaking clumisly, saying that we shouldn't judge him for it, and then vow to never forgive this one (mis)quoted sentence of Al Gore's that, while technically true and true in some sense of his meaning, is a little too broad. Not to suggest the Democrats aren't guilty of the same: most of politics revolves around these gaffes. This leads me to a bigger point. In these stupid squabbling matches (which human error gives us the chance to enjoy several times yearly), does anyone here just say it's all stupid? Is anyone here absolutely consistent in their opinion? The only time people seem unable to forgive these errors is when a politician in the party they don't belong to makes them. Can anyone here admit that sometimes people phrase things wrong? Does anyone here have the balls to say, yes, I sometimes fuck up my sentences? Because this is slashdot, and while I now study math and the sciences, the classes from my former writing major tell me that you folks shouldn't be critizing these people for speaking inaccurately. This is doubly true for the people who don't have the internet, as we've at least practiced our reading and writing skills online rather than rot in front of the TV.
I honestly think this lack of perspective signifies the worst about our culture. Stupid petty squabbling about wording or taking sentences to mean the most implausable things they can is not political discussion. Holding others to standards that we'd easily excuse for ourselves and those we care about is how the feeble minded make their points (this is particularly insidious if you don't know your friends are gay or smoke drugs). No one talks about ideas anymore because we can't read or think, and hence we can't speak or seperate this sort of political bullshit from the issues that matter. While in an ideal world this sort of nonsense would occur equally between both parties, the presence of dogmatic thinking absolutely requires these shallow rebuttals when the world-view encompassing dogma is questioned, lest it be contradicted. Democrats can be and often are petty, but when the significance of a person's religion and life thus far - complete with the promise of eternal happiness - are swept away in practical arguments or considerations, these sorts of rebuttals necessarily crop up. See Rush Limbaugh and his 3 divorces + drug use, then compare it to the inability to marry for gay couples and the 50% of the drug population in jail being African-American, mainly incarcarated for using crack, which is punished at 100X the severity of cocaine (they're the same drug, but cocaine is preferred by whites and not in freebase form). If there's a guide book to the battles in America we're facing right now, it's Bertrand Russel's "Why I Am Not a Christian."* I suggest you all read it.
*For those of you who are Christians, most of the book deals with the dogmatic christianity that was still lingering around the turn of the 20th century. While he does take Christianity to task for the shit smears it has stomped into the tapestry of human history, your modern faith will hardly be examined, unless he points out that the reason you find it so palatable is because of the attacks on the Church made by it's enemies across the centuries.
And i should care, because...?
Man is a slave because freedom is difficult, whereas slavery is easy.
If Al Gore invented the internet, why does everything start with W ?
There are enormous gaps in this so called "history" including where the Internet came from.
[o]_O
Cheny also opposed desegregation of schools and the release of Nelson Mandela. So what?
...welcome these and all future Internets.
It's bad enough to take what Gore actually said, that he took a lead role in the creation of the Internet -- which he did, by supporting the project in his political role -- and buy into the urban legend that he said he invented it. It's even worse to put quotes around it and thus falsely claim that that word came from Gore.
So in short, as Cmdr. Taco keeps reminding us, "Hey! We're News For Nerds! News doesn't have to stick to that annoying 'truth' stuff!" (No, he didn't actually say that, but hey, let's put it in quotes as if he did...)
If people are to respect the law, perhaps the law should begin by respecting the people.
Did noone else (who got through and saw ioih.org) guess that this site (and this post) is a hoax? The one poster indicated it wasn't in google but noone cast doubt on the IOIH.
I mean, the site wasn't in google etc, the site mentions a "Aldophus B. Huxley" who's not in google either (nor was the respelled "Did you mean: Adolphus B. Huxley"?)... The site was rife with misspellings and was not even completed. This "Huxley" worked with his engineer "John C. McGinley" -- that's the name of the guy who plays Dr. Perry Cox on the NBC comedy "Scrubs." Ditto the "Guffing Gertie." I mean yeah, it's more likely the Internet was invented by Al Gore than some textile manufacturers in 1839. (Actually, Al just invented the PMRC with his wife.)
http://www.nbc.com/Scrubs/bios/John_C._McGinley.ht ml
I am willing to believe my tinfoil hat is simply too tight today. It's not April 1, is it?
^^
"that he took a lead role in the creation of the Internet -- which he did,"
.....
Well one notes that Gore constantly re-invents himself daily if not overnite, during dream-walkabouts,during the middle of a debate, whenever he smokes a joint, after lunch,
So why couldn't he have invented the net then?
'So always remember the union label'....yar yar
There's no justice.
Lefties should take the SCOTUS Bush vs Gore with a bit of grain of salt. It's your side that created the monster known as the judicial activist, now deal with it.
Were it not for the courts, most of the left wing agenda's anti-american growth agenda would not exist. There would be no bussing. There would be no endless environmental lawsuits. There would be no ACLU. There would be no gun control. And certainly, when you want to argue that gun control is not an individual right, then while doing so please point out the clause in the constitution that guarantees a right to choose.
I think most conservatives would gladly trade a strict constitutional role of the courts, a vast rollback of the insane extensions of the constitution's commerce clause, in exchange for Gore 2000.
This is my sig.
Kind of like an organic thing that grew out of control like california law.
With a summary like that, you should have just posted this in politics.
Why does this get posted every time this comes up? And do you know how much money that was?
I recall, back in late 1993 or maybe early 94, somewhere around there, being infuriated by this guy I'd never heard of before. Some jerk named Al Gore was on national television beaking off about the "Information Superhighway" that was out there.
"SHUT UP!!!" I screamed at the TV. "Everybody's going to want in, just shut up oh please please stop talking!!"
Give him credit for that, at the very least.
Commies to the Left of me,
Fascists to the Right,
Here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you.
The most stupid are posters on Slashdot who take a partisan stance on American politics as if it makes any difference. Like you, for example.
Al Gore didn't take a lead creating in the creation of the internet... the internet started as ARPAnet in the 60's, way before Al Gore had much of a political career.
So, even the idea that Al Gore took a political role in creating the Internet is a falsehood. Al Gore had nothing to do with creating, supporting, enhancing the internet, other than give some nice pork contracts to tech companies that donated money to the Democratic party.
I have a post graduate teaching degree. Was it an intellectual challenge to aquire? Please, don't make me laugh!
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
King Steve Singlehandedly Solved Starvation
Seek other King Steve references as well...
45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
The parent poster explained exactly why it was McDonalds's fault. They sold a food product that was not only unfit for consumption, but so unfit that it caused third degree burns. It melted through the plastic lid of the cup. McDonalds had been warned about 600 times before, and they lied in court saying that this had never happened. There wasn't a GREEDY lawyer, the woman just wanted her hospital bills paid but after hearing the evidence, the jury decided McDonald's deserved punitive damages because what they did was so highly illegal and immoral, they deserved to be punished severely.
This does not parse. Does the string end after "have"? Are you using some sort of degenerate language like Spanish? Or did you use quatation marks where you should have used "single quotes" (ie, apostrophes)? Inquiring minds want to know!
This place is not a serious discussion forum, actually sometimes it is and then it is good enough that I can overlook the rest of the time when /. is a heap of trolls.
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
Judicial activism is such a strawman. Everyone who uses that phrase ignores the actual legal reasoning behind every claim and just repeat the dirty phrase like some parrot whose recording got stuck in the groove.
They ignore conservative "judicial activism", such as making corporations legal individuals back in the 1880s or so, or the more recent remark by Justice Scalia, in the Texas case which gave homosexuals the right to privacy as regards sex in their own bedrooms; where even he admitted the legal reasoning was valid but he voted against it on the grounds it would upset the current conservative moral agenda.
Is that not the definition of judidical activism?
Infuriate left and right
Its just pointing out IRONY. Cheney's people did one of the biggest misinformation attacks on a topic they themselves opposed.
They took an issue that could hurt them and help the opponent and turned it around so it hurt the opponent.
Karl Rove is either a genious with a GOP controlled media, or americans are stupid. (thats not an xor)
They sold a food product that was not only unfit for consumption
That's funny. For everyone (who claimed to be) injured by McDonalds coffee, 23,999,999 other people managed to not get burnt. That's right, only one in 24 MILLION people managed to injure themselves with McD's coffee. That certainl;y does not describe something that is "unfit for consumption".
it caused third degree burns
Only because the clumsy bitch spilled it on herself and then sat there for "2 to 7 seconds" (her own experts testimony!) while it burned her.
It melted through the plastic lid of the cup
Wrong. The bitch put it between her knees (not thighs- knees!) and then tried to remove the lid, spilling it on her own crotch. I guess she's too stupid to have heard of cup holders.
McDonalds had been warned about 600 times before, and they lied in court saying that this had never happened
Wrong again. The plaintiffs were apparently able to document 700 cases of burns from McDonald's coffee over 10 years, or 70 burns per year. But that doesn't take into account how many cups are sold without incident. A McDonald's consultant pointed out the 700 cases in 10 years represents just 1 injury per 24 million cups sold! For every injury, no matter how severe, 23,999,999 people managed to drink their coffee without any injury whatever. (www.Stellaawards.com)
their coffee was dangerously and unnecessarily hot
Um, no.
Coffee is supposed to be served in the range of 185 degrees! The National Coffee Association recommends coffee be brewed at "between 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal extraction" and drunk "immediately". If not drunk immediately, it should be "maintained at 180-185 degrees Fahrenheit". (Source: NCAUSA.)
Al GOre was in charge of the commitee that took the ARPAnet and made it public.
Many people in politicas and governm,ent did not want that to happen, but Al GOre used his political power, took a political risk, and signed the paper the made ARPAnet public.
It was named the internet.
So politicaly, he did create the internet. Which is fine becasue he is a politician. At no time did he take credit for the technical aspects of the Internet, on the political.
Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf acknowledge in a paper titled "Al Gore and the Internet" that Al Gore has probably done more than any other elected official to support the growth and development of the Internet from the 1970's to the present.
the worse part is, people who didn't even bother to try to understand the context used this to hurts Gores election. Which would have been fine if he was running against someone who wasn't a drug using, handicapped frying, dumb ass.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Top Ten Other Achievements Claimed By Al Gore
10. Was first human to grow an opposable thumb
9. Only man in world to sleep with someone named "Tipper"
8. Current Vice President - Moesha fan club
7. He invented the dog
6. While riding bicycle one day, accidentally invented the orgasm
5. Pulled U.S. out of early 90's recession by personally buying 6,000 T-shirts
4. Starred in CBS situation comedy with Juan Valdez, "Juan for Al, Al for Juan"
3. Was inspiration for Ozzy Osboune song "Crazy Train"
2. Came up with popular catchphrase "Don't go there, girlfriend"
1. Gave mankind fire
Look guys go do your homework.... The Internet was first started in the 70's when Gore was smoking dope in collage. Yes there was an Internet long before web browsers and it was a better place to be.
Passing on crap like the author's comments about Gore just means CmdrTaco is irrelevant.
CmdrTaco, you know it's false, so why do you perpetuate it? Maybe you're just an arrogant little prick wannabe-skate-punk who has proven that advertising money from hit counts is more important than truth.
Step aside, jackass. You've lost all remaining credibility (whatever that amounted to).
That is what he invented or at least popularized.
Both statements are equally entirely incorrect:
1) "invent" means "create" in this context.
2) Gore had nothing to do with invention/creation: the Internet was brought into being by other people LONG before Gore ever got to Congress.
Gore lied. The legislation that created the internet that you refer to happened before Gore was in congress.
Much of these are flat out lies. Sir you are an idiot.
really?
refute 1.
we're waiting.
preferably refute it with 3rd party documentation; this would be a party that is not under the control, in ANY way, of the current governmant.
Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
Gore never claimed that.. It was part of a coordinated right-wing disinformation campaign, just one of many many many.. Read about it in about a zillion books on your newsstand now.. David Brock's "Blinded by the Right" and "The Great Republican Noise Machine" both describe this incredible force for evil in chilling detail. He used to be a GOP insider, so he knows of what he speaks. These people have no shame. Now they have targeted blogs.. perhaps the parent post was part of it.. Another big part of the GOP disinfo campaign are framing attacks.. Typically, they describe an issue in terms that have the exact opposite meaning of what they describe.. See this excerpt from the recent book "Don't Think of an Elephant" for more on how this works.. Its excellent.. http://www.chelseagreen.com/images/DTE_Sampler.pdf
Theres also much more on the GOP's deceptive framing attacks at the Rockridge Institute
http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/bookstore/elepha nt
as nutty as Ashcroft could be, I don't think he did anything as A.G. that Janet Reno wouldn't have done with the same powers.
___
It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
total hoax
steam internet, nicely put tho'
but chapman shot lennon, not a us president in the 1800's
tba03
My understanding was that a group of experts conspired to lie to Al Gore in hearings (a felony) and promised him that the internet could never be used for free dialog and the unrestricted flow of information in order to gain support for letting the internet to go commercial.
I recall reading somthing to that effect many years ago, but couldn't find it in searches. Anyone else hear this too?
And you don't care, why?
I come here to see what people's take is on this article (I find it difficult to believe first of all) and instead everybody's arguging about politics. Congratulations to the author of the post who couldn't resist a jab at Gore. Why can't we just leave the ****ing politics where they belong (like maybe another website)?
The page seems like a load of baloney. Also, theres a note on the page that says that people should doubt the veracity of what they read on the internet. Possibly a hint that the page is false?
Doesn't anyone have a sense of humour nowadays? I guess the slashdot crowd is way too nerdy to understand what's meant to be funny. That's probably why we have some indication before the article to imply that it's a joke. It's so sad that what was meant to be joke became a flame-throwing political discussion just because Al Gore was jibed in the description. Maybe I'm a raving lunatic, but I actually find some of the photographs especially funny.
One of the most basic reasons for the rebellion of 1775 was the desire for ruled by law, not ruled by the king.
You conservatives who desire the tyranny of the majority ought to wonder what things would have been like under FDR, or would be like under Hillary.
Infuriate left and right
To you people, made-up information that fits your preconceptions are facts, and facts that make you uncomfortable are liberal propaganda. Either that or you missed your lithium dose this morning. I don't know what the hell you guys get out of supporting the administration. They're making you poor just as fast as they're making everyone else poor. I guess you're all just stupid.
Is this a serious site, or some sort of joke?
They claim "Mark David Chapman" killed Lincoln (he killed Lennon).
What is this?
A site which has the unmitigated GALL to print the following statement:
..."
" In 1865, after Abraham Lincoln was shot dead by Mark David Chapman,
should just have its plug pulled permanently, I'm sorry.
No wonder the rest of the world laughs at us.
"Ehh. He'll be back."
Corollary to Moore's Law: The IQ of new computer owners is declining.
That's odd, how do you explain this Harris Poll that shows the exact opposite? The more education you had, the more likely you were to vote for Kerry. If any moron can get a post-grad degree, then any moron can also get a high school or college degree.
Note in the linked poll that Nader did better among the high school or less crowd than among the "more educated".
I also note that the wank you link to is a hypocrite of the first order. First, "IQ is totally discredited", even though he goes on to say "IQ scores remain fairly constant through life" (linking to a study comparing IQ to longevity), and HE's the doof that brought up the issue in the first place, yet criticizes Kerry for "rationalizing" why he may have done relatively poorly on his entrance score (which were NOT normed with the same populations as the Bush test being compared to, thus any comparison is pretty much worthless without further study). Ever notice that "rationalizing" is usually an answer that is inconvenient to your point of view?
This is one of the most funny articles I have seen about the birth of the internet. For those who did not take the time to RTFA/RTFS (and most of u who posted here obviously did not) it is about the internet being born from steam technology in the early 19th century. Especialy the part about the pings is crude (ping: child of about 6 payed to crawl through steam pipes to clear them and often forgotten when the network was repressurized again)
does anyone here just say it's all stupid? Is anyone here absolutely consistent in their opinion?
Yes.
I am Mr. A Number One Bush detractor, but I frequently point out that holding his verbal gaffes against him is only a step removed from criticizing his leadership because you don't like his haircut. I had to frequently remind my friends while watching the debates that both men misspoke, and that while it's fun to joke about it, it is not substantive.
But to despise him for the dumb shit he seems to believe, well, that's fair game.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
I hate I missed this one, but I only read /. through the week. If anyone reads this lone post in the great vastness of nothing, then please reply to it....
Having a major in English lit and having studied linguistics, semantics and all that shit that I don't use to make a living now, and doing my best to be objective (read my journal), I must say that this issue of Al Gore's famous words regarding the Internet continues to fascinate me.
The mere fact that people defend, vehemently, what he said reveals to me that there's something to it. I.e., "me thinks he doeth protest too much," as one of Shakespeare's characters put it. Which means, the fact that there's all this buzz -- that we can't even discuss the Internet's history without 90% of that discussion going toward Gore -- tells me that surely there's "something rotten in the state of Denmark" (ugh, I'm wearing out the Shakespeare quotes).
1st and foremost, Gore did indeed contribute, perhaps more than any other in his day, to the Internet's development. Now, that means, as a government representative he did what his position could do and did more than any other.
So, did Gore tell the truth? Yes, there was truth in what he said (there's also truth in a joke, a lie, a heresy, and indeed in the truth itself), did his political opponents use his famous words to smear him? Yes. Did they find a weakness and exploit it? Yes. All of this is true.
As I see it, he was speaking the truth regarding some factual happenings, but he was also self-aggrandizing and exaggerating, and that's what bit him in the ass. He broke a cardinal rule of politics and he knew better, so no one should feel sorry for him or, really, defend him any longer (please, let's let this die). Always let your political enemies bury themselves when wounded. Always let your political friends defend you when possible, and always, ALWAYS, let your political friends puff your record. You should come across as humble, kind, gracious, etc. Gore puffed himself for himself all by himself and it cost him greatly. Good job in this thread on explaining the "truth" of the matter, but live with the fact that he screwed the political pooch otherwise....
"All great things are simple & expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." --Churchill