I am a grad student. To help me plan my research strategy and predict the outcome of my experimental setups, I highly recommend my brother grad students to take the spice melange. Not only has it drastically reduced the probability of failure in my lab setups (I can find out before hand if the experiment will or will not work), I also now have the ability to navigate my car better and forsee if there will be a traffic jam on the highway even before I step into the car. I also now have the baby blue eyes that all the chicks love. I was even told that I will live longer. Even better, this product is 100% natural and organic. So what are you waiting for?
Not this nonsense again. I think it has been mentioned before, but many of these intellectuals were recruited in universities. Universities are known worldwide for being a hotbed of revolutions and counter cultural ideas. It is also full of idealistic young students who want to change the world. Unless this article is trying to ban engineering and universities in general, I don't think this is anything new.
HL Tau eh? Quick, direct the SETI people to listen to the system. I wager they will hear something along the lines of join us for the greater good or something simialr.
I was not aware that the web have a production cycle. Where can I buy the latest version of the web or can I sign up for beta testing of Web 1.90c? I am also worried that my Web 1.0 won't be compatible with Web 2.0 when it comes out. Will Microsoft release a patch to update my web? Help me Slashdot Web Gurus. Enough with this "Web 2.0" crap. Is this even a real designation? I have even heard of "Web 3.0" being bandied around by the same people who use words like "leveraging", "paradigm-shift" and "synergy".
"In one, a touch-sensitive screen acts as the system's keyboard and mouse, allowing you to slide your finger across the screen to immediately shut off the display and keep what you're working on confidential."
I have an even better idea. I want the computer to restart when I wave my middle finger in front of the screen. This will be handy for BSODs and driver crashes.
The death of a machine of this caliber is a significant event. Did they invite high ranking Techpriests during the wake? Was the Machine Spirit's pain eased through the proper invocations? If not, then I have a suspicion that there might be a taint of heresy in holding such a wake.
I used to subcribe to Time Magazine for 5 years and my father subcribed to Reader's Digest for almost 15 years. However, we finally stopped subcribing when both publications have a distinctly biased right-wing slant. I stopped reading Time Magazine after their blatantly false coverage of the lead-up to the second Iraq war and the Reader's Digest after they had the nerve to compare Bush and his lackeys to Churchill and Eisenhower. So, I am not suprised to see this article being written there.
No, I think you're wrong. From my observation, suicide bombing is a "technology" used to counter the high tech weaponry of the U.S and its allies. The "die as a martyr" part is just propaganda to convince volunteers to die, similar to "Uncle Sam wants you" or "England expects that every man will do his duty" etc. If given the choice, I would think most commanders of insurgent/ terrorist/ guerrilla/ freedom fighters will prefer to kill the other guy without losing their own.
and this is a good thing. Since the fall of the USSR, the US government, and to some extent, their citizens, have been throwing their weight around too much. I interpret this emerging Sino-phobia as the first symptoms of USians realizing that the party is over. China has 1 billion people versus 300 million of the US, so it will win any war of attrition. China is rapidly modernizing, what they can't innovate, they will buy or steal. China is nuclear capable and have taken the first steps to space. With its rapidly growing economy comes wealth, which will and have been used to buy influence and support from other countries. Despite wishful thinking by Western doom sayers, China will probably reclaim their historical role of regional superpower in the next 10 years and a global one in 20 years. From the standpoint of a muslim and non-USian, a strong China is just what the world needs to balance the power of the USA. Couple this with a resurgent Russia, we will see a return to the US stepping more carefully instead of stamping their boots around the world.
As the founding member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Spy Satellites (SPCSS), I decry this inhumane move by the US government. This story follows an all too familiar pattern. An owner buys a new satellite just because it is trendy to do so but the first minute something goes wrong, he goes for the anti satellite missile. Just because the poor spy satellite is in distress does not mean we should just shoot it. This spy satellite only have the misfortune of being at the wrong place and at the wrong time through entirely not of its own fault. Clearly, a more humane solution must be found. Perhaps we can find another suitably loving country who can overlook past its imperfections and adopt this spy satellite if the US no longer wants it. Help prevent cruelty to spy satellites.
Since anti gravity won't be invented any time soon, I prospose someone should design an aiship in the shape of a Klingon Bird of Prey. I will then fly it over the ocean to terrorize Finnish whalers and save the future.
Yay! My country of origin (Malaysia) is in the same league as the US. We have a national identity card (NRID)which was introduced during British colonial times and we just got used to it. You can't apply for anything or do any official business in Malaysia without an I.D. I suppose most Malaysians consider the identity card to be a fact of life and even a useful tool. It has become a rite of passage. You apply for a birth certificate and NRID when you child is born, get a full version of the card the they turn 12 and finally update the card when they turn 18. I remembered waiting eagerly to receive the NRID as a symbol of growing up. On another note, during the communist insurgency in the 50s, the British and later the Malayan government introduced a law called the Internal Securities Act (ISA) which is similar to the Patriot Act. Again, we have gotten so used to it (though there are always some rumblings)that the act is still used despite the communists having surrendered 20 years ago. It is now being used to detain dangerous criminals when the evidence is not enough (yet) and unfortunately, political activists as well, though prisoners under this act are treated relatively well compared to the U.S. Guantanamo bay prison. Their imprisonment is announced publicly,they are allowed legal representation, visits by families, and on some occasions compassion visits during family tragedies. Most will not remain uncharged for more than a year and if not charged will be released. It is interesting that the U.S used to regularly badger our government about the ISA but after 9/11, this has stopped.
I agree with many of your points but I could not miss your assumption that Western civilizations and values are superior to others. You mentioned that we Muslims have no right to prevent free speech in non-Muslim countries. Fair enough. However, please go to Germany (a Western nation, last time I checked) and publish a cartoon in a mainstream newspaper, ridiculing Jews and denying the Holocaust. I frequent muslim online forums as well as Slashdot and substituting a few words, your comment above is identical to what I see there. I am not saying muslim culture is better than western culture. Each developed to fit its own environment. For example, while you might find the Hijab (veil) worn by muslim women a form of discrimination, I find the use of women's bodies to sell hamburgers (of all things) repulsive. I have lived for almost 5 years in several "Western" nations and from my observations, it is no better or worse that "Muslim" nations. So called secular nations have replaced the Church with Political Correctness, Environmentalism etc. and introduced laws that are as restrictive as those made by the Church. Politicians of what ever colours, religion and political leanings all still want the same thing: to stay in power. Normal people like you and I want the same things: to lead a happy and comfortable life and make a decent living. Bear in mind that the two greatest bloodshed ever committed in the history of the planet were started by Western nations. The first nations to use WMD were also Western nations. I fail to see how this translates to superiority of Western values over others.
I am sure someone have mentioned it before, but what may seem patently obvious to us may or may not be true. Scientists not only discover new things but also validate prior observations. For example, no one is really sure why yawning is contagious or why do we hiccup. This research might help us explain how politicians can whip a crowd into a fury or how a soldier will cheerfully march to his death. One interesting idea that I get from this research is to plant "actors" in the movie theaters who are told to act like they enjoy the movie. If enough signals are seen, this might influence what the rest of the audience thinks of the movie.
Some people can see a flea across the ocean but not the elephant in front of their own noses. Solve your own problems first before trying to "spread democracy" or climbing on the moral soapbox.
No technology (encryption etc.) is fool proof. If you build it, someone will hack it. A human soldier receiving suspect orders will try to double confirm and if the orders are unlawful, there is a chance that they will not do it (I hope). A robot will obey what ever it is programmed to do, no exceptions. Safeguards put into place can be overcome. The advantage of human soldiers versus robot soldiers is that humans know when to quit. A robot will always fight to the end. The concept of truce, surrender and minimising loss of life and property will go out of the window. Like Toastyken said, this will embolden politicians and generals to declare war when the political cost of dead soldiers is removed from the equation. The question now is not if we can make these robots but whether we should make one at all.
Normally I don't use expletives on the Internets but Fuck you! I am a muslim and I find your suggestions barbaric to the extreme. Did you know that most of the detainees in Gitmo were randomly or falsely accused. Did you know that they have no chance of finding out what the accusation were and even if they did, they couldn't do anything about it? Would you agree to muslims forcing non-muslims to follow our own practices, since this is similar to what you are proposing? Praying and reading the Koran is the most BASIC requirement to a muslim, not as you say a reinforcement to fundamentalism. I had hoped that Slashdot is populated by brother geeks who are above making such hate comments. If you are an American, than good luck to you when your government decides that you are a threat to national safety. Sure you say, they won't go after you. But maybe you download porn and as we know, porn is immoral. Maybe you pirate music and as we know, piracy is hurting the economy. Maybe you smoke weed and as we know, the war on drugs is still on. Maybe you buy products not made by American companies and thus you are not patriotic. We no longer view your country as a beacon of democracy and equal opportunity. Your country is no longer the good guys and no longer have the moral authority to chastise third world dictatorships if people like you condone torture and imprisonment without trial.
No it won't. Since the early 80's, people have been saying that the days of human fighter pilots are over. After all, fighters are already flying at Mach 2.0 and missiles will take over the job. It turns out that dogfights happens at much lower speed and nothing beats a human for on the spot decision making. Granted that the current fighter pilots are more system administrators than the seat of the pants pilots of WWII but I don't see them being replaced unless a HAL-like AI can be created.
Problems with AI aside, I don't understand why anyone will want to create an intelligent machine that have the potential to surpass us humans, or worse, fail, and create a monster. We have read about robotic anti-aircraft guns going haywire and killing people. It is just plain evolutionary suicide. As cheesy as they sound, those sci-fi stories have some truth in them. For good or for evil, we are masters of this planet. Why jeopardise this position? Maybe, instead of creating robots of the Asimovian mold, we should place a limit on the potential intelligence of robots, maybe at most of an obedient dog.
I don't know if it is just me, but I get turned off the moment I come across any reference to "Web 2.0". For some reason, this raises the snake-oil and marketeerspeak warning flags in my mind.
I am moved to post after reading the horribly xenophobic posts in this thread. I am a Muslim but I am also a scientist. I am now doing my PhD in New Zealand, studying the evolution of hyperthermophilic archaeon and fully sponsored by the government of Malaysia, a nominally Muslim country. Despite what many of the posters here have said, not all muslims are Arabs and not all Arabs are muslims. To paint broadly as have been done is doing injustice to muslims who are trying to regain our Golden Age. The largest number of muslims reside in Indonesia and there are 20 million muslims in China alone. Contrary to what you see in movies and the media, there exist modern and affluent muslim societies. Just as there are poor and backward "Christian" countries, there are also poor and backward Muslim countries. Don't make the mistake of generalizing from what the media shows you. For your information, Islam does not advocate the discrimination of women. I will not go into detail of this matter as it will take ten pages but the discrimination that you see in the Arab world is largely cultural, not religious. In Malaysia, we have women nuclear engineers, aerospace engineers, scientists, central bank managers, members of Parliment etc. Islam does not prohibit war but it is telling that the only surah in the Quran that deals directly with war does not begin with "In the name of Allah". Islam also does not prohibit the search of knowledge. The first words of the Quran revealed to the Prophet Muhammad implores him to read. This have been taken by all muslims to mean we must always seek knowledge. Which brings back to my field of study. How can a muslim like me, who believe in Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus do research involving evolution? My view is that what mankind have known and can ever know of the universe and beyond is like a drop of water in the ocean. Under this assumption, I approach my research with humility and I will never make the arrogant claims that atheists make. Perhaps the theory of evolution is only part of a larger pattern that we may never penetrate. So please, painting all muslims as terrorists and medieval book burners will only expand the gulf of understanding between muslims and westerners. I did not support the terrorists and I believe the majority of muslims don't as well, just as I believe not all Westerners are imperialists who seek to colonise us again.
There is a way to get around taking people's photograph without their permission. My knowledge on photography is very little, but if they just lengthen the exposure time for the camera, only the static buildings will show up (I think). I don't know if this will work for digial cameras though. Maybe they can just photoshop everybody out or take photos at 3:00 am. Just superimpose a daytime sky on the background and play around with the brightness setting.
Seen through the looking glass:
Silly Americans, don't you know stealth bombers are for kids? When they realize they can't do it remotely, the marines will "medal of honor" themselves to get the job done. That's the insidiousness of the American Imperialists.
Seriously, I expect to see lazy terms like 'Islamic Fascists' on Fark.com, not on Slashdot. The fact that an American President cannot feel safe in the country of one of his most staunchest ally is telling isn't it? Soldiers fighting for a cause and who believe in it will frequently sacrifice their own life to get the job done. Does that makes them 'Fascists'? And don't get me started on civillian casualties or 'collateral damage'.
I love it how alot of people on the Internet claim they will automatically go 'die hard' on the rampaging shooters if they were there. I have never served in the military, never (thankfully) have my life threatened by someone, never been in the same situation as those in VT. The question is, have you? I consider myself reasonably courageous, I know martial arts, but don't we tend to over estimate our capabilities, even if we're carrying a gun. If I was to find myself in the same situation as at the VT, I would probably piss my pants and run away if I can. I would probably put myself first and forget the others. The military takes 6 month to drill people to overcome their natural aversion to killing and to be killed. Do you think you will have the same reflexes, proficiency and tactical knowhow without the same training? So, before others like you spew out more macho talk and dream of becoming heroes, take stock of your own capabilities. Will you make the ultimate sacrifice? Will you put yourself in the line of fire to save people you barely know while equally knowing that you might leave your wife and children forever? Will you accept the responsibility if by your actions, you have made the situation worse?
Slashdot Mirror
I am a grad student. To help me plan my research strategy and predict the outcome of my experimental setups, I highly recommend my brother grad students to take the spice melange. Not only has it drastically reduced the probability of failure in my lab setups (I can find out before hand if the experiment will or will not work), I also now have the ability to navigate my car better and forsee if there will be a traffic jam on the highway even before I step into the car. I also now have the baby blue eyes that all the chicks love. I was even told that I will live longer. Even better, this product is 100% natural and organic. So what are you waiting for?
Not this nonsense again. I think it has been mentioned before, but many of these intellectuals were recruited in universities. Universities are known worldwide for being a hotbed of revolutions and counter cultural ideas. It is also full of idealistic young students who want to change the world. Unless this article is trying to ban engineering and universities in general, I don't think this is anything new.
HL Tau eh? Quick, direct the SETI people to listen to the system. I wager they will hear something along the lines of join us for the greater good or something simialr.
I was not aware that the web have a production cycle. Where can I buy the latest version of the web or can I sign up for beta testing of Web 1.90c? I am also worried that my Web 1.0 won't be compatible with Web 2.0 when it comes out. Will Microsoft release a patch to update my web? Help me Slashdot Web Gurus. Enough with this "Web 2.0" crap. Is this even a real designation? I have even heard of "Web 3.0" being bandied around by the same people who use words like "leveraging", "paradigm-shift" and "synergy".
"In one, a touch-sensitive screen acts as the system's keyboard and mouse, allowing you to slide your finger across the screen to immediately shut off the display and keep what you're working on confidential." I have an even better idea. I want the computer to restart when I wave my middle finger in front of the screen. This will be handy for BSODs and driver crashes.
The death of a machine of this caliber is a significant event. Did they invite high ranking Techpriests during the wake? Was the Machine Spirit's pain eased through the proper invocations? If not, then I have a suspicion that there might be a taint of heresy in holding such a wake.
I used to subcribe to Time Magazine for 5 years and my father subcribed to Reader's Digest for almost 15 years. However, we finally stopped subcribing when both publications have a distinctly biased right-wing slant. I stopped reading Time Magazine after their blatantly false coverage of the lead-up to the second Iraq war and the Reader's Digest after they had the nerve to compare Bush and his lackeys to Churchill and Eisenhower. So, I am not suprised to see this article being written there.
No, I think you're wrong. From my observation, suicide bombing is a "technology" used to counter the high tech weaponry of the U.S and its allies. The "die as a martyr" part is just propaganda to convince volunteers to die, similar to "Uncle Sam wants you" or "England expects that every man will do his duty" etc. If given the choice, I would think most commanders of insurgent/ terrorist/ guerrilla/ freedom fighters will prefer to kill the other guy without losing their own.
and this is a good thing. Since the fall of the USSR, the US government, and to some extent, their citizens, have been throwing their weight around too much. I interpret this emerging Sino-phobia as the first symptoms of USians realizing that the party is over. China has 1 billion people versus 300 million of the US, so it will win any war of attrition. China is rapidly modernizing, what they can't innovate, they will buy or steal. China is nuclear capable and have taken the first steps to space. With its rapidly growing economy comes wealth, which will and have been used to buy influence and support from other countries. Despite wishful thinking by Western doom sayers, China will probably reclaim their historical role of regional superpower in the next 10 years and a global one in 20 years. From the standpoint of a muslim and non-USian, a strong China is just what the world needs to balance the power of the USA. Couple this with a resurgent Russia, we will see a return to the US stepping more carefully instead of stamping their boots around the world.
As the founding member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Spy Satellites (SPCSS), I decry this inhumane move by the US government. This story follows an all too familiar pattern. An owner buys a new satellite just because it is trendy to do so but the first minute something goes wrong, he goes for the anti satellite missile. Just because the poor spy satellite is in distress does not mean we should just shoot it. This spy satellite only have the misfortune of being at the wrong place and at the wrong time through entirely not of its own fault. Clearly, a more humane solution must be found. Perhaps we can find another suitably loving country who can overlook past its imperfections and adopt this spy satellite if the US no longer wants it. Help prevent cruelty to spy satellites.
I believe this is the right time to say, I am Spartacus!
Since anti gravity won't be invented any time soon, I prospose someone should design an aiship in the shape of a Klingon Bird of Prey. I will then fly it over the ocean to terrorize Finnish whalers and save the future.
Yay! My country of origin (Malaysia) is in the same league as the US. We have a national identity card (NRID)which was introduced during British colonial times and we just got used to it. You can't apply for anything or do any official business in Malaysia without an I.D. I suppose most Malaysians consider the identity card to be a fact of life and even a useful tool. It has become a rite of passage. You apply for a birth certificate and NRID when you child is born, get a full version of the card the they turn 12 and finally update the card when they turn 18. I remembered waiting eagerly to receive the NRID as a symbol of growing up. On another note, during the communist insurgency in the 50s, the British and later the Malayan government introduced a law called the Internal Securities Act (ISA) which is similar to the Patriot Act. Again, we have gotten so used to it (though there are always some rumblings)that the act is still used despite the communists having surrendered 20 years ago. It is now being used to detain dangerous criminals when the evidence is not enough (yet) and unfortunately, political activists as well, though prisoners under this act are treated relatively well compared to the U.S. Guantanamo bay prison. Their imprisonment is announced publicly,they are allowed legal representation, visits by families, and on some occasions compassion visits during family tragedies. Most will not remain uncharged for more than a year and if not charged will be released. It is interesting that the U.S used to regularly badger our government about the ISA but after 9/11, this has stopped.
I agree with many of your points but I could not miss your assumption that Western civilizations and values are superior to others. You mentioned that we Muslims have no right to prevent free speech in non-Muslim countries. Fair enough. However, please go to Germany (a Western nation, last time I checked) and publish a cartoon in a mainstream newspaper, ridiculing Jews and denying the Holocaust. I frequent muslim online forums as well as Slashdot and substituting a few words, your comment above is identical to what I see there. I am not saying muslim culture is better than western culture. Each developed to fit its own environment. For example, while you might find the Hijab (veil) worn by muslim women a form of discrimination, I find the use of women's bodies to sell hamburgers (of all things) repulsive. I have lived for almost 5 years in several "Western" nations and from my observations, it is no better or worse that "Muslim" nations. So called secular nations have replaced the Church with Political Correctness, Environmentalism etc. and introduced laws that are as restrictive as those made by the Church. Politicians of what ever colours, religion and political leanings all still want the same thing: to stay in power. Normal people like you and I want the same things: to lead a happy and comfortable life and make a decent living. Bear in mind that the two greatest bloodshed ever committed in the history of the planet were started by Western nations. The first nations to use WMD were also Western nations. I fail to see how this translates to superiority of Western values over others.
I am sure someone have mentioned it before, but what may seem patently obvious to us may or may not be true. Scientists not only discover new things but also validate prior observations. For example, no one is really sure why yawning is contagious or why do we hiccup. This research might help us explain how politicians can whip a crowd into a fury or how a soldier will cheerfully march to his death. One interesting idea that I get from this research is to plant "actors" in the movie theaters who are told to act like they enjoy the movie. If enough signals are seen, this might influence what the rest of the audience thinks of the movie.
Some people can see a flea across the ocean but not the elephant in front of their own noses. Solve your own problems first before trying to "spread democracy" or climbing on the moral soapbox.
No technology (encryption etc.) is fool proof. If you build it, someone will hack it. A human soldier receiving suspect orders will try to double confirm and if the orders are unlawful, there is a chance that they will not do it (I hope). A robot will obey what ever it is programmed to do, no exceptions. Safeguards put into place can be overcome. The advantage of human soldiers versus robot soldiers is that humans know when to quit. A robot will always fight to the end. The concept of truce, surrender and minimising loss of life and property will go out of the window. Like Toastyken said, this will embolden politicians and generals to declare war when the political cost of dead soldiers is removed from the equation. The question now is not if we can make these robots but whether we should make one at all.
Normally I don't use expletives on the Internets but Fuck you! I am a muslim and I find your suggestions barbaric to the extreme. Did you know that most of the detainees in Gitmo were randomly or falsely accused. Did you know that they have no chance of finding out what the accusation were and even if they did, they couldn't do anything about it? Would you agree to muslims forcing non-muslims to follow our own practices, since this is similar to what you are proposing? Praying and reading the Koran is the most BASIC requirement to a muslim, not as you say a reinforcement to fundamentalism. I had hoped that Slashdot is populated by brother geeks who are above making such hate comments. If you are an American, than good luck to you when your government decides that you are a threat to national safety. Sure you say, they won't go after you. But maybe you download porn and as we know, porn is immoral. Maybe you pirate music and as we know, piracy is hurting the economy. Maybe you smoke weed and as we know, the war on drugs is still on. Maybe you buy products not made by American companies and thus you are not patriotic. We no longer view your country as a beacon of democracy and equal opportunity. Your country is no longer the good guys and no longer have the moral authority to chastise third world dictatorships if people like you condone torture and imprisonment without trial.
No it won't. Since the early 80's, people have been saying that the days of human fighter pilots are over. After all, fighters are already flying at Mach 2.0 and missiles will take over the job. It turns out that dogfights happens at much lower speed and nothing beats a human for on the spot decision making. Granted that the current fighter pilots are more system administrators than the seat of the pants pilots of WWII but I don't see them being replaced unless a HAL-like AI can be created.
Problems with AI aside, I don't understand why anyone will want to create an intelligent machine that have the potential to surpass us humans, or worse, fail, and create a monster. We have read about robotic anti-aircraft guns going haywire and killing people. It is just plain evolutionary suicide. As cheesy as they sound, those sci-fi stories have some truth in them. For good or for evil, we are masters of this planet. Why jeopardise this position? Maybe, instead of creating robots of the Asimovian mold, we should place a limit on the potential intelligence of robots, maybe at most of an obedient dog.
I don't know if it is just me, but I get turned off the moment I come across any reference to "Web 2.0". For some reason, this raises the snake-oil and marketeerspeak warning flags in my mind.
I am moved to post after reading the horribly xenophobic posts in this thread. I am a Muslim but I am also a scientist. I am now doing my PhD in New Zealand, studying the evolution of hyperthermophilic archaeon and fully sponsored by the government of Malaysia, a nominally Muslim country. Despite what many of the posters here have said, not all muslims are Arabs and not all Arabs are muslims. To paint broadly as have been done is doing injustice to muslims who are trying to regain our Golden Age. The largest number of muslims reside in Indonesia and there are 20 million muslims in China alone. Contrary to what you see in movies and the media, there exist modern and affluent muslim societies. Just as there are poor and backward "Christian" countries, there are also poor and backward Muslim countries. Don't make the mistake of generalizing from what the media shows you. For your information, Islam does not advocate the discrimination of women. I will not go into detail of this matter as it will take ten pages but the discrimination that you see in the Arab world is largely cultural, not religious. In Malaysia, we have women nuclear engineers, aerospace engineers, scientists, central bank managers, members of Parliment etc. Islam does not prohibit war but it is telling that the only surah in the Quran that deals directly with war does not begin with "In the name of Allah". Islam also does not prohibit the search of knowledge. The first words of the Quran revealed to the Prophet Muhammad implores him to read. This have been taken by all muslims to mean we must always seek knowledge. Which brings back to my field of study. How can a muslim like me, who believe in Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus do research involving evolution? My view is that what mankind have known and can ever know of the universe and beyond is like a drop of water in the ocean. Under this assumption, I approach my research with humility and I will never make the arrogant claims that atheists make. Perhaps the theory of evolution is only part of a larger pattern that we may never penetrate. So please, painting all muslims as terrorists and medieval book burners will only expand the gulf of understanding between muslims and westerners. I did not support the terrorists and I believe the majority of muslims don't as well, just as I believe not all Westerners are imperialists who seek to colonise us again.
There is a way to get around taking people's photograph without their permission. My knowledge on photography is very little, but if they just lengthen the exposure time for the camera, only the static buildings will show up (I think). I don't know if this will work for digial cameras though. Maybe they can just photoshop everybody out or take photos at 3:00 am. Just superimpose a daytime sky on the background and play around with the brightness setting.
Seen through the looking glass: Silly Americans, don't you know stealth bombers are for kids? When they realize they can't do it remotely, the marines will "medal of honor" themselves to get the job done. That's the insidiousness of the American Imperialists. Seriously, I expect to see lazy terms like 'Islamic Fascists' on Fark.com, not on Slashdot. The fact that an American President cannot feel safe in the country of one of his most staunchest ally is telling isn't it? Soldiers fighting for a cause and who believe in it will frequently sacrifice their own life to get the job done. Does that makes them 'Fascists'? And don't get me started on civillian casualties or 'collateral damage'.
I love it how alot of people on the Internet claim they will automatically go 'die hard' on the rampaging shooters if they were there. I have never served in the military, never (thankfully) have my life threatened by someone, never been in the same situation as those in VT. The question is, have you? I consider myself reasonably courageous, I know martial arts, but don't we tend to over estimate our capabilities, even if we're carrying a gun. If I was to find myself in the same situation as at the VT, I would probably piss my pants and run away if I can. I would probably put myself first and forget the others. The military takes 6 month to drill people to overcome their natural aversion to killing and to be killed. Do you think you will have the same reflexes, proficiency and tactical knowhow without the same training? So, before others like you spew out more macho talk and dream of becoming heroes, take stock of your own capabilities. Will you make the ultimate sacrifice? Will you put yourself in the line of fire to save people you barely know while equally knowing that you might leave your wife and children forever? Will you accept the responsibility if by your actions, you have made the situation worse?