Slashdot Mirror
Mimicking Materials and Structures In Nature
eldavojohn writes "From special organic molecules to organic surfaces with special properties to organic concrete, MIT's Technology Review takes a look at inspirations in nature that materials scientists are currently mimicking for human purposes. You may be able to name other fields that have turned to evolution for inspiration as well."
For those veterans who served their country by fighting pointless wars in third-world countries against people who weren't a threat to us (no WMDs after all), in order to expand American imperialism, I say: HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY! We sure were getting distracted by domestic issues until we had another pointless war to fight. Hey, war's good for the economy right? It's especially good for companies that get no-bid contracts for reconstruction in the war-torn areas.
Vets, I hope it was worth it. Remember, "Iraq" is Arabic and it translates to "Vietnam". Was that freedom you thought you were fighting for? HA HA HA it'd be funny if it weren't such a sick joke. If it was freedom then why was it an offensive war and not a defensive one? Now go beat the drum of patriotism and tell us the terrorists hate us because of our freedoms. Nevermind that we use our intelligence services to overthrow their elected governments and install ruthless dictators who are favorable to our economic interests. Not like that might be why they're so pissed at us especially when they think our government represents us (oh, right, you signed up for military service, so in your cases it does). Nevermind that Saddam Hussein was a CIA-trained asset and so was Osama bin Ladin, your short memories won't permit that. Nevermind that the Arabs don't want us to conduct the socioeconomic warfare against them (what Theodore Roosevelt called Dollar Diplomacy) that we used against most of South America (but hey, Pepsico got a cheap plant out of the deal so that makes it okay!). It's our great freedoms they hate us for. Yeah. Just keep telling yourself that so you can sleep at night and keep wondering why something just doesn't feel right. So sign up for the military and fight some sand niggers today! After all, we need all the useful idiots we can get!
"Not all the treasures of the world, so far as I believe, could have induced me to support an offensive war, for I think it murder." - Thomas Paine. Guess what? That means if you voluntarily sign up to go overseas and kill a bunch of people for political purposes who were never a threat to you, that makes you a murderer too. But they won't call you that, they'll call you a hero and that'll make it okay. Right?
The only thing sadder is that you will read this and know it is true, or maybe you'll use a search engine and figure out that it's true, and your only reaction will be to get annoyed at me for saying it and you'll mod me down ASAP to try and shut me up. If it's true, what's wrong with saying it? Oh right, it might upset someone, and God knows that's more important than facing reality. God knows that not offending anyone is so much more important than being honest about the decay of a nation and its rot from within.