I think it is like any other object (abstract or physical) in that it must be proven by its merits. While many joke, more are foolishly serious that those 'simple' folk simply are not as intelligent, sophisticated or l337 enough to comprehend this vast gift we want to bestow on them. They back this up with the 'get off my land city slicker' mentality seen only in the most senile and inconsiderate fools. Which by the way is what urbanites are generally seen as. Aint it a bitch how generalizing works both ways and is a self perpetuating beast?
Either way, many are simply too pragmatic to see any need for something that takes time away from their lives and their work (which are often one and the same on many agriculture based livings). They may have a trusted and true method of achieving maximum efficiency (based on research and experience) in their tasks. If they are told that they are missing out on progress, yet only see a complex, finicky and fragile system that ends up costing much more in money and sanity (both from the initial learning curve as well as the upkeep and maintenance)... well, then don't be surprised at all if they begin to not only think of you as a slack jawed moron who deserves pity (but at a safe distance), but that after many repeats of this they generalize that computers are only tools for the lazy and foolish who can't hack (pun intended) it on their own. That the computer is not a tool to assist them, but a crutch that they depend on.
Most IT is really only self serving, with the actual services that are external being more of the exception rather than the rule (my observation of course). These people will either not care one bit about it due to the frightening ability for it (it meaning IT) to enslave humanity in some Orwellian meat grinder or they will simply just not have the time to devot to it.
Now, if it is presented (not sold, no marketing BS here please) as a tool to assist them, to actually INCREASE productivity... well then you might have a winner. For the record, I personally believe this endevor is a great idea, but I just want to share my own observations and opinions on how it could be performed better.
We have tried recently to use UML for an existing project that was horribly managed and implemented. Our reason was to bring order out of chaos, but this time after the fact. That means we still wanted the benefits of having a system out there that we did not have to 'reinvent' simply to have a consistent (within our group) diagram, documentation and representation structure. When it was suggested we use UML, we thought we would try it out.
Well, after being thoroughly confused many times (I think the Activity diagram was the real bad one), and failing to understand how this could actuall ADD to our productivity (it usually slowed us down) I have to agree with you. I really WANT to like UML. Or rather, I want to have a standardized system of putting the analysis/design portions into form and that can then translate to the different parts of the program (software development, hardware specs, etc.) We will try a different approach later, but for now we had to pass. The fact that it was causing more problems than it solved was the reason for us dropping it, unfortunately.
Now, having said that, I am fully aware that none of us had any real experience with UML, and that could have been the biggest problem (the learning curve). However, that does lead right back to the purpose of this post... a book aimed at beginners. I think this book would be good, since it is 'cheap' so I think we will give it a try. However, I really wish more would pop up soon.
instead of "Lucas has really sold out THIS time" perhaps it would be more accurate to just say, "Lucas continues along on his well established journey of selling out"
Lucas cares little about telling a well involved story for the purpose of entertaining. He just wants to hook in more people, which we know will buy toys and other merchandise that will equal more dinero for Lucas. I have long read the books (granted not ALL of them) and have always been fascinated by the universe it set up. I have also been very fascinated in seeing how things got the way they did, and I was hoping the prequel trilogy would tell that. It is apparent that Lucas does not have the ethics or talent necessary to produce movies that have adult themes and do not 'cute' their way into the wallets, er hearts, of children. LOTR was a good example of how you can make a story appeal to all, make it a family story yet without 'dumbing it down'. It is a shame that: 1) Lucas has not the ability to perform this, and 2) Refuses to admit it and let others who DO have that talent do his writing.
It seems to me, that if he let writers from the book series write the story FIRST, then had (still not him) a person write the screen adaptation, then we would have a great set of movies.
ARE YOU READY TO MERCHANDISE? Soon, no retail outlet, grocery, greeting card, toy or pet store will be free from the clutches of the merchandising machine. And of course the internet will be bursting at the seems with adds and fanboy sites. I would consider myself a fanboy, but not of Lucas. Lucas created a great idea, and deserves great credit for it. However, as evidenced by the number of people who prefer Empire Strikes Back, I think we all know that Lucas is not the one to pick to write (or oversee the writing) of any more movies, from that initial idea.
Well, just my idea. OK, I have my flame retardant gear on, so fire away!
The European Union is an undemocratic syndicate of nations, formed without the will of the people. The sooner we can get out of it, the better.
I know of a couple other mutlinational groups like that. *cough* UN *cough*
What is funny (not in the 'haha' way) is that so many people believe that propoganda (why stop there, how about just plain ol Tyranny and coruption) is ONLY corporations or government. Yet, here we see yet another example of how they are so very similar. Government being basically a very over bloated and innefficient and all around poorly run company, but where the people have ZERO choice (as opposed to very little which is often the case with many conglomerates). So sad. Hang in there, some people actually read their history books instead of burning or rewriting them.
I wonder what the Jews in Germany circa 1925 would have said about this... then take another poll every 5 years and compare the results. Regardless of any planned conspiracy to wipe anyone out, the facts as history teaches them simply say that things like this end up being very bad, whether through inefficiency, incompetence, negligence or malevolence. It is amazing that on one hand how the science fiction themes from the past are creeping up on us, but what I think is even more amazing is how you have two sides that argue on the technology, while overlooking the fact that the technology is simply a tool of a consistently proven bad idea. No, the sides aren't always the two major parties, but they often play the sides to gather the votes.
Actually, the trully sad and pathetic part is not that the elite would wish this, it is their nature and wise men should come to expect that by now, no rather it is the fact that in cases like this the 'fors' and 'againsts' will primarily be made up of willfully ignorant parrots that spew forth rhetoric without FULLY taking the time to comprehend the nature of the issue. I encourage everyone to fight this like you should fight any battle, with honor and courage. Don't stoop to the level of the bureaucrats and politicians by selectively choosing only those facts that will support your side, rather approach everything more like a third (unbiased) party with a more scientific method. Let the facts lead those that are logical and ethical on their own merit, do not deceive and conceive 'facts'.
Okay, that sounds preachy but I am really tired now, so forgive me please.
basically, it is very much a YRO post simply because it deals with rights. We are dealing here with a groups rights to voice their opinion on what they personally deem as 'appropriate'. Furthermore (and here is the really important aspect) it emphasizes my rights to completely disregard those opinions. That is the great thing about opinions, you can do whatever you want with them.
While many here see it as pathetic and overreacting to spurn many of the toys they list, that does not mean you should then turn coat and act in the same manner. Well, shouldn't is qualified here, as 'shouldn't if you are a logical and rational person not prone to fits of hypocricy and childish reactions to the outside world."
I personally know a fair share of children that use several of these toys (and many other related types). They are very well behaved children, are very curteous and frankly have more honor and respect than the majority of adults I have come across. While I do not agree with the people of this site, I respect their rights to form and voice their own opinion. However, I must agree (and for more reasons than they imply) on their point about McFarlane's quote and therefore his target audience. I think it is foolish and very slimey (read: lawyerish) to specifically target children with a merchandise item from something that is touted as 'mature'. And yes, I am aware of the stupidity and inconsistency of the various entertainment rating boards and their systems.
On a side... I am against market targeting in the first place, especially with anything in the entertainment industry. Just make a game, tell a story, entertain... don't try and dumb it down to achieve the largest market you can think of. Hmmm, I am now thinking of SW Episode I... I wonder why my brain put that in there?:) Just thinking about the POTENTIAL for that movie, but 2 months befor seeing all the reports of the crap ready to be released (and that stupid theatrical preview with the 'cute' crap about Jar-Jar and 'making a new friend' done by a narrator that sounded like a narrator for Fisher Price... I had a bad feeling at that point and should have not been so surprised or disappointed therefore... oh well. Maybe episode 2 will be good?
(dont read this it is long and more of a brain dump than anything)
I personally don't have a problem with proprietary layers from various sources. As with the MPEG4 spec, it clearly states that its framework is the starting point and was intended to be both a superset to select from while also the basis for a grander 'format'. However, since it was planned and designed that way, apparently the hope is that any 'optimizations' added are just that, and to be blessed as a true MPEG4 based standard, it would need to be compatable with any other vanilla MPEG4 readers/writers.
An analogy would be cars on the road, and the standard of how they operate. If I produce a different style of car, perhaps a completely radical powerplant and driving controls, it would still need to operate as any other car would. If my potential customers have to completely relearn how to drive, they will then cease to be my customers. If they cannot easily switch between their other (or their friends') cars, then still they will not like me. Even if the car flies and can operate like a submarine, it would still need to operate the 'same' as any other car when on land.
The key here is long term planning. While the tactic we most often see in M$ is a basic short term assumption that by making their stuff incompatable with everyone elses, that the users will be forced to adopt the rest of MS's 'stuff'. This plan worked for awhile, when there was really no real competition. Now however, we see many development houses, enterprise customers, and individual customers demanding that the products they buy actually work as promised, with the features as promised, and do indeed act as a tool of the information age should... to interconnect with other information age tools. It is not just M$'s strong arm tactics that drove people away, but rather it is the very market that they operate in. Funny thing about the free market, it is like watching many people fight. When a bully type of aggressor lashes out to strike his latest victim, a wise person notices that he generally opens himself up to attack. The Samurai knew this and counted on it, so that someone attacking them (and that did not know better) would just see some scared looking soldier accepting death. Well, they definitely accepted death, but where not scared... the result was accepting a glancing blow (hopefully none at all) while ripping their attacker up. (and usually gaining a weapon to boot).
Whether this is about MPEG4, internetworking protocols, messaging protocols, display, etc... it all comes down to "how easy will it be for customers to use my products and services?" I can tell you from personal experience, that after going through MANY vendors for certain functionality, that we found that the main problem was not proprietary formats of internal logic and control, but when those proprietary wrappings extended to the actual display, interface and interconnectivity of the various inter and intra components. By 'hardwiring' in these aspects instead of practicing modern professional abstracted design, we found that their products would cost us more in the tooling (integration and config), software and hardware upgrading and switchover, and the maintainence and training for these new setups.
Sorry, but gotta use another analogy. If I want to by a new lawn watering system, what if I found that this system didn't follow 'standard' hookup and operation? What if I would then have to switch my internal plumbing to this new 'innovative' format? And because my electrical system is grounded through this, I then find that it is dangerous in its 'legacy' format and I must then 'upgrade' the electrical system to be compatable. This of course makes most of my electrical devices in the house not work with the new electrical wiring. I can buy the water system company's converters for some of my electrical devices, but only for some of them, and they would operate less efficiently (due the the conversion overhead and such). So, I am going to have to by a ton of new stuff. Gee it just soooo happens that this Landscaping company also makes TV's, VCR's and DVD's... however I will not be able to use my existing set of VCR's and DVD's... etc, etc, etc.
I also see here a tie in to the patent issue. I think that there is a definite parallel between a company or individuals choice on what is patented and how their little 'innovation' interacts and interfaces with the world. If I make either a new car or a new sprinkler system, I can guarantee you that it would be in my best long term interests to make it compatable with as large a group of existing systems and people as possible and to make it as simple as possible to integrate. I also would then be foolish to try to patent the idea and interface, because of the already stated reasons. However, my IMPLEMENTATION can easily be patented if I so desire. I think that we will continue to see a tremendous growth in Linux, not just because of its strive toward quality, but because it is becoming a tool for the user, not forcing the user to become its slave. A smart designer of systems would do well to learn from recent history and not hardcode so many aspects of their products as to make them impossible (and more expensive) to port and update.
this is not a complex issue unless you wish it to be.
First of all, let us not act like angry monkeys throwing our feces at each other. Let us not fall into the trap of hostile hypocricy that only hurts us and our 'causes' more than anything else.
That said, I believe that self filtering/censoring is up to each individual. Some use the phrase, "if you don't like what is posted, dont read it". This is a good if simplistic representation of the entire issue. However, it is used by those who are frankly nothing but parrots who repeat words without understanding either the words' meanings or the collective meaning behind the phrase, thus relegating it quickly to the knee-jerk cliche trash heap.
I see many situations where this phrase comes in handy. After all, it does no good to get all worked up because of some flamer that is just pathetically attempting to get a rise out of people. But before the rhetoric spouters begin their little crusades of mentioning how "if you don't like what is posted, then don't read it", let us look at what is ruffling the feathers first.
If I have a forum site that polices topics in specific threads, and perhaps even has a 'general thread' for offtopic posts, is it then bad to filter out offtopic posts relative to the section posted in? What if I have only one topic and the stated rules about 'appropriate behavior' clearly let everyone know to keep on subject due to the very nature of the board?
Now, let us say that I police content that is considered uncivilized, like personal attacks, slandering, cussing, etc. Is this bad? If in this situation, it is easy to see how many defending it would say, "If you don't like it then you don't have to be a part of the forum" See how that sounds so similar? Wouldn't someone who is trully 'tolerant' extend that tolerance towards those that he views as intolerant? Am I to claim enlightenment and tolerance by letting any subject be posted regardless of the topic at hand, or how negatively or positively it is posted, yet ONLY if I agree with said posts? Guess what, that is NOT TOLERANT? No matter how many fancy words, quotes, etc I throw at it, it is intolerant due to my very own definition. It is the worst sort individual that can not even stand the judgement of his own criteria that he applies so readily towards others.
If you want an open board, then good for you. If you believe that is morally and ethically superior, then continue to do so confident in that knowledge. Let education and your actions inspire others to do the same. If however, you attack others (and I will expand that below) in an attempt to free them, then by your own definition (and that of histories) you are a tyrant. Attacks consist of direct attacks such as slander, malicious statements, etc. but also very much include actions that attempt to shut others down (If you choose, good for you, if you 'organize' others to sheepishly follow you through fancy words and hateful rhetoric, that is much different). Also included is an inconsistent application of ethics or morals. You must be better than those you attack and must police yourselves first before you jump on any bandwagons to burn, rape and pillage others.
I am curious how many here have ever defended someone who they do not agree with, but did not wish to see an opponents rational addition of opinions and ideas be trampled under the draconian boots of some intollerant moderators. I also wonder how many would support laws, people, ideas (ATTACKS) that would take away the choices of forum maintainers and creators to filter their boards for what they themselves believe is important. I then wonder how many of these people that support the above, would then ironically do so under the banner of tolerance and being open minded. How many would admit that they simply wish to get rid of those they do not like or agree with. (it would be more respectful in that case).
This can be applied to so many other aspects of life too. I remember a time before the draconian laws restricting smoking in many private domains where gaining in popularity. I remember many smokers saying that not only were such laws bad, but the 'constitution' protected smokers from being "oppressed" in private restaraunts and the like. Oppressed for them meant that I as a shop/restaraunt owner could not restrict anyone from smoking. So, once again it became a lawyers game between two bands of zealots whom when looked upon with even the slightest scrutiny where seen for what they where... two different shades of brown from the same pile of manure.
first of all, this is not a troll. If it angers you, that is indicative of a problem with you. I simply point this out for thought.
His consistancy and ethics are admirable, but...
I am not the symantics police, but I do believe that it is VERY important that people understand these two words: 'ethics' and 'consistancy'. Regardless of what we think or agree with in terms of Stallman, the fact is that he is not consistent. Furthermore, he has willfully misrepresented himself and has become emotionally unstable with his decisions (decisions should be made with logic and reason and directed by emotion, not the other way around). While he claims to be for free software and his stated reasons claim that it is a direct extention of the very freedoms of the individuals that come in contact with it. However, if I am restricted from making development and licensing decisions myself (restricted by law nonetheless), then I am being restricted. Period. The analogy of 'making an omlete requires cracking some eggs' is not only incorrectly applied (as in inconsistently, the other word above), but is frightening when you look at others through history who have used that justification for their actions and choices.
I personally believe that open source software is superior. I personally believe that free software is fantastic and for that matter, anything free is great. I believe that lobbiests, politicians and the laws that result in restrictions of my freedoms are unconstitutional because they go against the very foundations of liberty, freedom and sovereignty (and dignity as well). But I am a results oriented person, who tries hard not to be taken in by my, or anyone elses, emotions. When rhetoric and hidden agendas top results and goals, then it is a sign we are the very evil we 'fight'. If I spend more time putting my rhetoric through a 'word-wizard' to hide my true agenda and make it more 'saleable' while ignoring content, then I have no integrity and therefore no ethics. If I then say one thing and do another, if my proposals are the antithesis of my stated goals and desires then I am NOT consistent. If I am selective in my litmus tests and lash out with obvious anger and malice then I am not either ethical or consistent, I am an agent of chaos.
Stallman would do well, as would his supporters, to ask themselves this simple question: "In my quest for openness, freedom and liberty, will I attempt to gain my desired ends through education and assistance or will I resort to a hypocritical mix of restrictions and limits on choice while treating consumers and developers as sheep for us to either devour or 'protect' as we choose?"
Again, this is not an attempt to flame. Forgive any wording that sounds negative, but I am merely trying to be blunt and straightforward. I do not question the desires of encourageing free software (and open source as another matter)... I merely question the motives and integrity of the group that claims to desire these ends. That is not negative. Maturity and efficiency REQUIRE that we always question ourselves, our attitudes and our actions/choices. Otherwise we are just one more problematic cog to add to the wheel of control over others. Police yourselves, THEN you can begin to look at others, and ALWAYS apply the same standards of judgement to yourself that you wish to apply to others. There is my rather long rant.
and there is the problem. Many will indeed stick to the 'standards', after all why not make my robots and their actions more efficient by reading special 'for robots only' signs that give instructions and meta data. However, the real point is that many will not stick to the standards. Furthermore, the ones that spam you don't care a bit about your privacy, and will circumvent simple measures like a robot.txt to get to their prize. The most effective solution is for content providers to ensure they have adequate security and a good architecture. This comes from planning out what you want to do, and then finding how that can happen (which includes, how can this not happen and how can other things I never wanted to happen... happen) By reading up on topics related to these, whether through journals, magazines, books or online, a responsible content provider will treat his job seriously. It is sad that with all the technology and promise, that there is still such a large army of people that seem to think that web=html and no other. Furthermore, that since the web IS ONLY html, then lets only focus on presentation and cuteness. Funcionality has taken a backseat and with that, many have effectively refused to seriously consider the integrity of their sites.
I for one, would like to see a complete list of those sites that are listing passwords, credit card numbers and other similar information. (By listing I am refering to those sites/admins that allow such information to be easily obtained). If I know this, then I will NEVER do business with them, or at least until they can prove that they realize their error (which includes the error of policy and mentality for ever letting that happen in the first place) and fix it. After all, this is yet another example of what kind of foolishness can happen when we fail to apply critical thought to our actions. Yet again, this is an example of an error in thinking that the web (and the services performed on it) are 'new ideas' when they are in fact just newer implementations.
Question to those who know the legal side of things... Hypothetically. If I find that a restaurant is leaving all of their receipts (with complete numbers, addresses, names and expiration dates) out in the open, perhaps in a special bin marked 'receipts and ledgers' that is left near the bar and is easily viewed by anyone who walks by there... and if in this hypothetical situation, I find that mine and others' credit card numbers are then used illegally for purchases, what would be the legal situation here? Would I be able to sue the company to recover the cost? (and ONLY the cost, I don't care about any 'litigation as an income' scum out there) Also, shouldn't credit card companies and the banks that provide them be responsive to such situations and police any irresponsible companies that do let such sensitive information loose?
Personally, I am getting rid of all credit cards (and debit cards as well) because of this irresponsibility. However, when making large purchases of computer equipment (well, anything really) it is nice to have the extra leveraging power of the credit card company behind you if the vendor tries any funny stuff. Please contribute with what you think... especially the legal issues
this is obviously just confusion between ideas and implementations. After all, radio stations and TV stations have been doing a minor form of this for a VERY LONG TIME. Most people know about the '10 second delay'. That is in essence the very same thing. You simply buffer the time, then have a maximum of 10 seconds to correct what happened.
Sort of the history eraser button... 'cept different!
I often laugh at the Star Trek definition of logic. In the case of taking the ship and running, you have to weigh both facts and from pattern recognition of past performance in similar situations weigh several hypothesis to find the 'best one'. While the end result could very well be 'take the ship and run', if the mission profile was to explore and except dangers that would be a 50/50 split then. If there was a large chance that allowing the Captain to be killed when a chance existed to save him, and furthermore that a dead captain would only serve to destroy the relations of Vulcans and Humans, not to mention the possibility of pissing off the very Honor driven Klingons... well you get the picture. Oh well...
"Humans have achieved world peace, yet captains and admirals are all white males." Perhaps they have overcome racism and hypocritical bigotry and hate. Now they use the best qualified that happens in this case to be white males. Racism is racism is racism.
"Computers have speech capability, yet voice activation is not yet invented." I assume you mean of complex computer controls, but that would be more a function of artificial intelligence than speech recognition. Unless it is speech for every simple little or even big command and tweak. The Captain seemed to use voice activated controls with his logs, which knew enough (some AI there mind you) to take the phrase 'computer pause/stop' and 'computer resume' to be commands not to be included. (Where was that audible escape character anyway?!)
"And of course what we all expected -- no gender-neutral language yet." Well, it would seem that time has a way of neutering many things that we find through history to once have had added, altered or completely reversed meaning. Perhaps 'Sir' could have been agreed on as neutral... actually, I really didn't pay attention to that. Which brings me to a confusing, on my part, issue of your statement (the first half) I didn't expect much of anything except it to be about 100 or so years before the Kirk time. Then again, I don't generally go through life looking for trouble and trying to find problems and people coming after me... because I would then find them.
Unless you consider our Founding Fathers to be tree hugging hippies, et al.
The 'if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry' is a short sighted and historically proven FALSE claim. However it is exactly that sort of illogic that empowers and justifies any secret police or totalitarian regime. So, it does indeed have its uses.
"Its beautiful to be American and argue these differences" That is exactly the case here. If you 'enforce' that freedom you take it away. there are lots of quotes from our Founding Fathers about trading freedom for security and such, and of course the 'I disagree with you and what you say but will fight to the death your right to continue to do so" or something like that:)
Outside the teeter-totter of left and right (and 'moderate'... what a joke) is the true sense of balance and enlightenment that this country was founded on. Good luck finding it
It is horrid that anything like this can happen, but when you really look at it, you find that this behavior is (like with so many recent computer 'innovations' uhhh, not aimed at MS I swear) simply a higher amplitude, not a newer idea or even implementation. (Planes and other vehicles have been used like this before) 2 + 2 = 4. Extremist that targets civilians and freely kills self in his goal + using a vehicle as a kinetic and incendiary weapon 'as is', as seen before so many times = gee, not surprised here, but still sickened.
I can personally not understand the hate that one can harbor to do this, or to cheer it as so many in this and other country have (I think that is a bigger threat in the long term).
However, I really liked your comment on complacency (not your words). This country is basically a country of cowards and slackers. Sure it is great that 'we all pull together' but I noticed many times in the past that the love and compassion is very temporary and very much a fad. I have many bruises and I think a cracked rib (hurts to breath) from training to guard against this particular threat... box cutters? WTF? Box cutters, who here has used one of them... geez. The point is to do a little simple mathematics. OK, if I submit then I tell myself I will be ok, and this obviously violent man who is taunting that we will all die (and those like him have proven to back up their intent in the past) will let me live? Uhhh, hi! I am logic... WAKE UP!!!
The math part is this. Realistically, you have zero chance if you give up control. Remember that these are not people robbing a store (who's goal is candy, booze and money) these people kill innocents for fun and 'glory'. You are a sheep waiting to be slaughtered in their eyes. YOU HAVE ZERO CHANCE TO SURVIVE!!! If you fight, then you have a little. Even 0.0001% chace is better than ZERO, as in NULL.
Also, for efficiencies sake, dont wrestle or fight the first baddy. Kill him within 2 seconds or less then move on to the next. The more time you waste on the first murderer, the more time you give them to take control of the ship pand situation (and cut you). Also, you will crap yourself out. Geez, why do I bother. This gets me all worked up, time to go work out.
Just please wake up people. Be nice. Be honorable and be ethical. But when the you know what hits the fan, then fight like your life depends on it... because, duh...
I really fell horrible for these poor families and friends, because what can you do? These people are dead because they where guilty of being civilians and not Muslim or whatever. (yes, it is possible we could find out this was not the work of extremist muslims I suppose)
Well, I will count the seconds until this is mod'ed down, but I feel a lot better now myself:)
attacking crypto and its use by private citizens, developed by private funds and especially to secure the basic rights guaranteed by the first amendment is not the way to attack terrorism. That would be like making writing illegal in order to 'eliminate' written correspondance between terrorists, or making guns illegal for law abiding citizens yet not prosecuting real criminals... oh, scratch that one. The argument for these restrictions is one of childishness and foolishness (not to mention shortsightedness). If you take away these methods, then others, like distributed and embedded (fractal and stuff) methods will be used.
Lets face the real problem. This is not a department of justice issue. Some scum bag did not just come murder a 7-11 clerk while taking some beer and Huggies, this was a blatant act of war. So, like with any action, it is not revenge or vindication, merely excising a cancerous tumor that is killing you. Take it out. Nuff said. Let us begin the surgery and then let the patient heal.
and in my message it states why. The bastardization of the concepts and words is the problem, not the ideology that they really stand for.
Politics is when a person can confortably sit behind a nice protected site and send 18 yo's to kill and be killed, or order a strike on one area 'for the people/humanity' yet ignore another area that has equal or even greater problems of the same type, and finding out it was a political deflection and personal gain that was the true motivation.
Honor is personal and does not say if you look at me wrong, I wrong you back. It is the thing that keeps you quiet and humble in the face of adversity (being spit on and cursed) because you know that your cause is righteous. Honorable people do not resort to violence, only cowards who are afraid of solving the problem do.
Who is trully the coward, the bully that beats on a weaker foe, or the one who helps him up and faces the ridicule from his 'friends' with upraised eyes?
I often was persecuted for this and basically told to shut up an never ask questions, but in reality Christ tells us to very much question your own faith. Otherwise, how strong is it trully, and how would you expect it to hold up in trully trying times. It would be like the Marines sitting down recruits and showing them a nice video demonstration of 'How to be a Marine' then actually being suprised (in a real situation) when half of them blow their own heads off, and the other half run and hide. Steel is tempered by will, skill, strength and also pressure and intense heat. It is my belief that we should strive to achieve that within ourselves.
what you have said (and what is often repeated) is exactly the problem. Let my just state a few other things to see if it helps (I am not a teacher, mind you). First of all, Christ advocated seperation of Church and State and the value of personal choice. He also was against judgements against your neighbors, but as a side let us remember that there is a difference between judging actions and judging individuals. When you say that Christianity has done horrible things in the past, you are right. However, remember that regardless of the type or name of organization, history if full of people who by self proclamation claim to 'represent' their organization, yet act in horrid ways that go against the very foundation of what they claim to represent. The key (and this is in the bible) is to police yourself and the company you keep. Someone once said that "Religion is the worst thing that could have happened to someones personal relationship with God". I tend to agree.
So, even if religion is taken out and politics is substituted in, the same applies, as history proves so many times to those that wish to learn. Personally I am prompted to ask that you and others not 'judge' Christians by the actions of the bad, but I realize fully that this is a two way relationship. I trully empathize, as I had massive issues with elitism and hypocricy in my youth.
Well, I really have got to get back to business, as I am tremendously busy, but thought I would share. I enjoy civil intellectual discussions and if you want to discuss this, email me. And be careful about them redneck statements, I am a DSL redneck!!! Not AOL, I do have SOME dignity! hehe
In closing however, rereading your comment on the Nazi comparison and the world being better off without religion, I will say this. If you look at the teachings of Christ, not some pediphilic groping priest, you will find all the elements for a very enlightened and loving society. It is when people either rebel for the sake of sheer rebelling and spitefullness or let emotional zeal cloud the true lessons that you have problems... I suppose that you will find that lesson in every other aspect of life as well.
"He Who Knows Others Is Wise. He Who Knows Himself Is Enlightened." -Tao Te Ching
unfortunately our society and country as a whole is getting soft. Valor has been replaced with rhetoric, honour has been replaced with egotism, and courage replaced with bravado and posturing.
It is sad that it takes things like this to wake people out of their soma induced stupor. I keep hearing things like "now is the time for us to come together and be kind/nice". Excuse me whilst I wretch. EVERY TIME is the time to be kind and work with not against your fellow man.
There will probably be a lot of touchy feely movements (with a lot of showboating and posturing), that will soon disipate. It is like with new mothers... after birth, their hormones make them love themselves, their baby, the world, and everything... then a week later the baby is found starved to death because the mother neglected it while screwing her fifth boyfriend of the week... its temporary and not legitimate. I sincerely hope that people learn that it is vigilance and consistency (and continuity) that is important... if people are touched by this and make a LIFE CHANGE to be better people, then that is great. But I have seen too many post tragedies in which the love of your neighbor is really only a fear induced fad. Hate to sound cynical, but I think there are many that need to learn that introspection is the first and last step to enlightenment.
I am a Christian, and I no more believe that the Crusades where the work of Christ than do I believe that the Inquisitions were Christian. This is not the forum for a religious debate mind you, but I thought I would shed a little light.
I address you as 'Government' because like the greatest thinkers and action takers of history, including the US founding fathers, did not believe it was logical to get wrapped up in politics and partisanship. Plus, history (and those men and women) have taught those who wish to learn that you are the same spiked wheel that crushes all freedom and liberty, regardless of the color of paint you have on your outside or who turns the wheel.
So, without further delay... dear Uncle Sam. It has come to my attention that you have been ignoring the constitution for a quite some time now. I notice that you are pulling yourself and the country (and perhaps the world) down into a bottomless pit of despair, slavery and subjective servitude. I noticed that you are following the pattern of so many great civilizations that fell from within, by going against your core foundations while extending and expanding beyond what you were meant to do.
I notice that defense has taken a backseat to police actions and 'wag-the-dog' situations in order to further your members' political careers and fame. I have also seen that in your laughable Department of Defense, you have chosen to abandon the code of the warrior and instead focus on creating and promoting politicians, yes-men, career-minded wimps and fraternity laden pretty boys.
I have also noticed that a rather alarming amount of resources (economical, personnel and chronological) has been diverted to give lip service and fill government buildings in order to give off the front that you 'care' about various causes. I notice that, just like the founding fathers warned against and made the constitution for, that you are stripping the honest hard working and decent citizens of this country of their rights, liberties, property and dignity all in the name of 'the people' (although it is more accurate to say "For the CHILDREN"). I notice that criminals of all sorts, the world over are living in a Utopia of opportunity while victims are ignored and forgotten just as the lessons from the past and present are forgotten.
I notice that you have mimicked countries like the USSR and Nazi Germany in your policy of having the general populace always under suspicion, while you play your little power nabbing games and empower the criminals. I notice that while I myself choose not to poison my mind and body with drugs, that you have deigned it necessary to involve yourself in that personal decision, while always as a policy of 'helping protect us from ourselves'.... yet as history has shown before, you punish the choosers, but the criminals that hurt and kill regardless of their chemistry at the time are set free.
I notice that our military and other 'agencies' are being used to extend that iron fist to other countries even after innocents are murdered and the cause later justified as righteous because you 'meant well'. I notice on the technological front that there is a borderless and boundary-less communication and interaction network in place that you wish to subvert and: monitor, censor, control, restrict, incarcerate and zone off because you 'don't know what people might be trading, sharing or discussing'. I notice that the government is the largest employer in the world, and that despite the well known fact that government is full of incompetent self serving politicians (especially the officer corps of the military), that you only laugh at the comedians jokes but don't heed the call for change.
I notice that you spend sooooo much to punish citizens that you don't protect those very citizens you are charged to defend.
I would ask that you open up the constitution, the Bill of Rights and the writings of our founding fathers and gain from the collective wisdom. I would specifically ask that you end the War on Innocents that you call 'The War on Drugs' that has proven to only stuff our prisons, kill innocents and erode the foundations of personal responsibility and vigilance that this country was founded on. End that, and then run a filter through the military... get rid of the bags, and then start acting like a military. Then commit to defending the citizens of this country as well as the very country itself (the combination of the citizens and the Constitution that guarantees that we are citizens... not subjects). Please do this so that we may continue to live the lives we choose, free from fear of either an international terrorist or a domestic governmental terrorist or any other thug and criminal out for personal gain at our expense.
Thank you, American Citizen (by choice not by birth)
our country, my religion or any other thing or organization I 'belong to' commited such an act... or anyone else commited this act, I would NEVER celibrate. If our 'enemies' had this happen, I would weep. I really hope that I am watching some soccer match crowd right now, and that those aren't really Palestinians that are celibrating this blatant act of mass murder.
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Either way, many are simply too pragmatic to see any need for something that takes time away from their lives and their work (which are often one and the same on many agriculture based livings). They may have a trusted and true method of achieving maximum efficiency (based on research and experience) in their tasks. If they are told that they are missing out on progress, yet only see a complex, finicky and fragile system that ends up costing much more in money and sanity (both from the initial learning curve as well as the upkeep and maintenance)... well, then don't be surprised at all if they begin to not only think of you as a slack jawed moron who deserves pity (but at a safe distance), but that after many repeats of this they generalize that computers are only tools for the lazy and foolish who can't hack (pun intended) it on their own. That the computer is not a tool to assist them, but a crutch that they depend on.
Most IT is really only self serving, with the actual services that are external being more of the exception rather than the rule (my observation of course). These people will either not care one bit about it due to the frightening ability for it (it meaning IT) to enslave humanity in some Orwellian meat grinder or they will simply just not have the time to devot to it.
Now, if it is presented (not sold, no marketing BS here please) as a tool to assist them, to actually INCREASE productivity... well then you might have a winner. For the record, I personally believe this endevor is a great idea, but I just want to share my own observations and opinions on how it could be performed better.
Well, after being thoroughly confused many times (I think the Activity diagram was the real bad one), and failing to understand how this could actuall ADD to our productivity (it usually slowed us down) I have to agree with you. I really WANT to like UML. Or rather, I want to have a standardized system of putting the analysis/design portions into form and that can then translate to the different parts of the program (software development, hardware specs, etc.) We will try a different approach later, but for now we had to pass. The fact that it was causing more problems than it solved was the reason for us dropping it, unfortunately.
Now, having said that, I am fully aware that none of us had any real experience with UML, and that could have been the biggest problem (the learning curve). However, that does lead right back to the purpose of this post... a book aimed at beginners. I think this book would be good, since it is 'cheap' so I think we will give it a try. However, I really wish more would pop up soon.
perhaps it would be more accurate to just say, "Lucas continues along on his well established journey of selling out"
Lucas cares little about telling a well involved story for the purpose of entertaining. He just wants to hook in more people, which we know will buy toys and other merchandise that will equal more dinero for Lucas. I have long read the books (granted not ALL of them) and have always been fascinated by the universe it set up. I have also been very fascinated in seeing how things got the way they did, and I was hoping the prequel trilogy would tell that. It is apparent that Lucas does not have the ethics or talent necessary to produce movies that have adult themes and do not 'cute' their way into the wallets, er hearts, of children. LOTR was a good example of how you can make a story appeal to all, make it a family story yet without 'dumbing it down'. It is a shame that: 1) Lucas has not the ability to perform this, and 2) Refuses to admit it and let others who DO have that talent do his writing.
It seems to me, that if he let writers from the book series write the story FIRST, then had (still not him) a person write the screen adaptation, then we would have a great set of movies.
ARE YOU READY TO MERCHANDISE? Soon, no retail outlet, grocery, greeting card, toy or pet store will be free from the clutches of the merchandising machine. And of course the internet will be bursting at the seems with adds and fanboy sites. I would consider myself a fanboy, but not of Lucas. Lucas created a great idea, and deserves great credit for it. However, as evidenced by the number of people who prefer Empire Strikes Back, I think we all know that Lucas is not the one to pick to write (or oversee the writing) of any more movies, from that initial idea.
Well, just my idea. OK, I have my flame retardant gear on, so fire away!
What is funny (not in the 'haha' way) is that so many people believe that propoganda (why stop there, how about just plain ol Tyranny and coruption) is ONLY corporations or government. Yet, here we see yet another example of how they are so very similar. Government being basically a very over bloated and innefficient and all around poorly run company, but where the people have ZERO choice (as opposed to very little which is often the case with many conglomerates). So sad. Hang in there, some people actually read their history books instead of burning or rewriting them.
Actually, the trully sad and pathetic part is not that the elite would wish this, it is their nature and wise men should come to expect that by now, no rather it is the fact that in cases like this the 'fors' and 'againsts' will primarily be made up of willfully ignorant parrots that spew forth rhetoric without FULLY taking the time to comprehend the nature of the issue. I encourage everyone to fight this like you should fight any battle, with honor and courage. Don't stoop to the level of the bureaucrats and politicians by selectively choosing only those facts that will support your side, rather approach everything more like a third (unbiased) party with a more scientific method. Let the facts lead those that are logical and ethical on their own merit, do not deceive and conceive 'facts'.
Okay, that sounds preachy but I am really tired now, so forgive me please.
While many here see it as pathetic and overreacting to spurn many of the toys they list, that does not mean you should then turn coat and act in the same manner. Well, shouldn't is qualified here, as 'shouldn't if you are a logical and rational person not prone to fits of hypocricy and childish reactions to the outside world."
I personally know a fair share of children that use several of these toys (and many other related types). They are very well behaved children, are very curteous and frankly have more honor and respect than the majority of adults I have come across. While I do not agree with the people of this site, I respect their rights to form and voice their own opinion. However, I must agree (and for more reasons than they imply) on their point about McFarlane's quote and therefore his target audience. I think it is foolish and very slimey (read: lawyerish) to specifically target children with a merchandise item from something that is touted as 'mature'. And yes, I am aware of the stupidity and inconsistency of the various entertainment rating boards and their systems.
On a side... I am against market targeting in the first place, especially with anything in the entertainment industry. Just make a game, tell a story, entertain... don't try and dumb it down to achieve the largest market you can think of. Hmmm, I am now thinking of SW Episode I... I wonder why my brain put that in there? :) Just thinking about the POTENTIAL for that movie, but 2 months befor seeing all the reports of the crap ready to be released (and that stupid theatrical preview with the 'cute' crap about Jar-Jar and 'making a new friend' done by a narrator that sounded like a narrator for Fisher Price... I had a bad feeling at that point and should have not been so surprised or disappointed therefore... oh well. Maybe episode 2 will be good?
I personally don't have a problem with proprietary layers from various sources. As with the MPEG4 spec, it clearly states that its framework is the starting point and was intended to be both a superset to select from while also the basis for a grander 'format'. However, since it was planned and designed that way, apparently the hope is that any 'optimizations' added are just that, and to be blessed as a true MPEG4 based standard, it would need to be compatable with any other vanilla MPEG4 readers/writers.
An analogy would be cars on the road, and the standard of how they operate. If I produce a different style of car, perhaps a completely radical powerplant and driving controls, it would still need to operate as any other car would. If my potential customers have to completely relearn how to drive, they will then cease to be my customers. If they cannot easily switch between their other (or their friends') cars, then still they will not like me. Even if the car flies and can operate like a submarine, it would still need to operate the 'same' as any other car when on land.
The key here is long term planning. While the tactic we most often see in M$ is a basic short term assumption that by making their stuff incompatable with everyone elses, that the users will be forced to adopt the rest of MS's 'stuff'. This plan worked for awhile, when there was really no real competition. Now however, we see many development houses, enterprise customers, and individual customers demanding that the products they buy actually work as promised, with the features as promised, and do indeed act as a tool of the information age should... to interconnect with other information age tools. It is not just M$'s strong arm tactics that drove people away, but rather it is the very market that they operate in. Funny thing about the free market, it is like watching many people fight. When a bully type of aggressor lashes out to strike his latest victim, a wise person notices that he generally opens himself up to attack. The Samurai knew this and counted on it, so that someone attacking them (and that did not know better) would just see some scared looking soldier accepting death. Well, they definitely accepted death, but where not scared... the result was accepting a glancing blow (hopefully none at all) while ripping their attacker up. (and usually gaining a weapon to boot).
Whether this is about MPEG4, internetworking protocols, messaging protocols, display, etc... it all comes down to "how easy will it be for customers to use my products and services?" I can tell you from personal experience, that after going through MANY vendors for certain functionality, that we found that the main problem was not proprietary formats of internal logic and control, but when those proprietary wrappings extended to the actual display, interface and interconnectivity of the various inter and intra components. By 'hardwiring' in these aspects instead of practicing modern professional abstracted design, we found that their products would cost us more in the tooling (integration and config), software and hardware upgrading and switchover, and the maintainence and training for these new setups.
Sorry, but gotta use another analogy. If I want to by a new lawn watering system, what if I found that this system didn't follow 'standard' hookup and operation? What if I would then have to switch my internal plumbing to this new 'innovative' format? And because my electrical system is grounded through this, I then find that it is dangerous in its 'legacy' format and I must then 'upgrade' the electrical system to be compatable. This of course makes most of my electrical devices in the house not work with the new electrical wiring. I can buy the water system company's converters for some of my electrical devices, but only for some of them, and they would operate less efficiently (due the the conversion overhead and such). So, I am going to have to by a ton of new stuff. Gee it just soooo happens that this Landscaping company also makes TV's, VCR's and DVD's... however I will not be able to use my existing set of VCR's and DVD's... etc, etc, etc.
I also see here a tie in to the patent issue. I think that there is a definite parallel between a company or individuals choice on what is patented and how their little 'innovation' interacts and interfaces with the world. If I make either a new car or a new sprinkler system, I can guarantee you that it would be in my best long term interests to make it compatable with as large a group of existing systems and people as possible and to make it as simple as possible to integrate. I also would then be foolish to try to patent the idea and interface, because of the already stated reasons. However, my IMPLEMENTATION can easily be patented if I so desire. I think that we will continue to see a tremendous growth in Linux, not just because of its strive toward quality, but because it is becoming a tool for the user, not forcing the user to become its slave. A smart designer of systems would do well to learn from recent history and not hardcode so many aspects of their products as to make them impossible (and more expensive) to port and update.
First of all, let us not act like angry monkeys throwing our feces at each other. Let us not fall into the trap of hostile hypocricy that only hurts us and our 'causes' more than anything else.
That said, I believe that self filtering/censoring is up to each individual. Some use the phrase, "if you don't like what is posted, dont read it". This is a good if simplistic representation of the entire issue. However, it is used by those who are frankly nothing but parrots who repeat words without understanding either the words' meanings or the collective meaning behind the phrase, thus relegating it quickly to the knee-jerk cliche trash heap.
I see many situations where this phrase comes in handy. After all, it does no good to get all worked up because of some flamer that is just pathetically attempting to get a rise out of people. But before the rhetoric spouters begin their little crusades of mentioning how "if you don't like what is posted, then don't read it", let us look at what is ruffling the feathers first.
If I have a forum site that polices topics in specific threads, and perhaps even has a 'general thread' for offtopic posts, is it then bad to filter out offtopic posts relative to the section posted in? What if I have only one topic and the stated rules about 'appropriate behavior' clearly let everyone know to keep on subject due to the very nature of the board?
Now, let us say that I police content that is considered uncivilized, like personal attacks, slandering, cussing, etc. Is this bad? If in this situation, it is easy to see how many defending it would say, "If you don't like it then you don't have to be a part of the forum" See how that sounds so similar? Wouldn't someone who is trully 'tolerant' extend that tolerance towards those that he views as intolerant? Am I to claim enlightenment and tolerance by letting any subject be posted regardless of the topic at hand, or how negatively or positively it is posted, yet ONLY if I agree with said posts? Guess what, that is NOT TOLERANT? No matter how many fancy words, quotes, etc I throw at it, it is intolerant due to my very own definition. It is the worst sort individual that can not even stand the judgement of his own criteria that he applies so readily towards others.
If you want an open board, then good for you. If you believe that is morally and ethically superior, then continue to do so confident in that knowledge. Let education and your actions inspire others to do the same. If however, you attack others (and I will expand that below) in an attempt to free them, then by your own definition (and that of histories) you are a tyrant. Attacks consist of direct attacks such as slander, malicious statements, etc. but also very much include actions that attempt to shut others down (If you choose, good for you, if you 'organize' others to sheepishly follow you through fancy words and hateful rhetoric, that is much different). Also included is an inconsistent application of ethics or morals. You must be better than those you attack and must police yourselves first before you jump on any bandwagons to burn, rape and pillage others.
I am curious how many here have ever defended someone who they do not agree with, but did not wish to see an opponents rational addition of opinions and ideas be trampled under the draconian boots of some intollerant moderators. I also wonder how many would support laws, people, ideas (ATTACKS) that would take away the choices of forum maintainers and creators to filter their boards for what they themselves believe is important. I then wonder how many of these people that support the above, would then ironically do so under the banner of tolerance and being open minded. How many would admit that they simply wish to get rid of those they do not like or agree with. (it would be more respectful in that case).
This can be applied to so many other aspects of life too. I remember a time before the draconian laws restricting smoking in many private domains where gaining in popularity. I remember many smokers saying that not only were such laws bad, but the 'constitution' protected smokers from being "oppressed" in private restaraunts and the like. Oppressed for them meant that I as a shop/restaraunt owner could not restrict anyone from smoking. So, once again it became a lawyers game between two bands of zealots whom when looked upon with even the slightest scrutiny where seen for what they where... two different shades of brown from the same pile of manure.
I personally believe that open source software is superior. I personally believe that free software is fantastic and for that matter, anything free is great. I believe that lobbiests, politicians and the laws that result in restrictions of my freedoms are unconstitutional because they go against the very foundations of liberty, freedom and sovereignty (and dignity as well). But I am a results oriented person, who tries hard not to be taken in by my, or anyone elses, emotions. When rhetoric and hidden agendas top results and goals, then it is a sign we are the very evil we 'fight'. If I spend more time putting my rhetoric through a 'word-wizard' to hide my true agenda and make it more 'saleable' while ignoring content, then I have no integrity and therefore no ethics. If I then say one thing and do another, if my proposals are the antithesis of my stated goals and desires then I am NOT consistent. If I am selective in my litmus tests and lash out with obvious anger and malice then I am not either ethical or consistent, I am an agent of chaos.
Stallman would do well, as would his supporters, to ask themselves this simple question: "In my quest for openness, freedom and liberty, will I attempt to gain my desired ends through education and assistance or will I resort to a hypocritical mix of restrictions and limits on choice while treating consumers and developers as sheep for us to either devour or 'protect' as we choose?"
Again, this is not an attempt to flame. Forgive any wording that sounds negative, but I am merely trying to be blunt and straightforward. I do not question the desires of encourageing free software (and open source as another matter)... I merely question the motives and integrity of the group that claims to desire these ends. That is not negative. Maturity and efficiency REQUIRE that we always question ourselves, our attitudes and our actions/choices. Otherwise we are just one more problematic cog to add to the wheel of control over others. Police yourselves, THEN you can begin to look at others, and ALWAYS apply the same standards of judgement to yourself that you wish to apply to others. There is my rather long rant.
I for one, would like to see a complete list of those sites that are listing passwords, credit card numbers and other similar information. (By listing I am refering to those sites/admins that allow such information to be easily obtained). If I know this, then I will NEVER do business with them, or at least until they can prove that they realize their error (which includes the error of policy and mentality for ever letting that happen in the first place) and fix it. After all, this is yet another example of what kind of foolishness can happen when we fail to apply critical thought to our actions. Yet again, this is an example of an error in thinking that the web (and the services performed on it) are 'new ideas' when they are in fact just newer implementations.
Question to those who know the legal side of things... Hypothetically. If I find that a restaurant is leaving all of their receipts (with complete numbers, addresses, names and expiration dates) out in the open, perhaps in a special bin marked 'receipts and ledgers' that is left near the bar and is easily viewed by anyone who walks by there... and if in this hypothetical situation, I find that mine and others' credit card numbers are then used illegally for purchases, what would be the legal situation here? Would I be able to sue the company to recover the cost? (and ONLY the cost, I don't care about any 'litigation as an income' scum out there) Also, shouldn't credit card companies and the banks that provide them be responsive to such situations and police any irresponsible companies that do let such sensitive information loose?
Personally, I am getting rid of all credit cards (and debit cards as well) because of this irresponsibility. However, when making large purchases of computer equipment (well, anything really) it is nice to have the extra leveraging power of the credit card company behind you if the vendor tries any funny stuff. Please contribute with what you think... especially the legal issues
Sort of the history eraser button... 'cept different!
I often laugh at the Star Trek definition of logic. In the case of taking the ship and running, you have to weigh both facts and from pattern recognition of past performance in similar situations weigh several hypothesis to find the 'best one'. While the end result could very well be 'take the ship and run', if the mission profile was to explore and except dangers that would be a 50/50 split then. If there was a large chance that allowing the Captain to be killed when a chance existed to save him, and furthermore that a dead captain would only serve to destroy the relations of Vulcans and Humans, not to mention the possibility of pissing off the very Honor driven Klingons... well you get the picture. Oh well...
"Humans have achieved world peace, yet captains and admirals are all white males." Perhaps they have overcome racism and hypocritical bigotry and hate. Now they use the best qualified that happens in this case to be white males. Racism is racism is racism.
"Computers have speech capability, yet voice activation is not yet invented." I assume you mean of complex computer controls, but that would be more a function of artificial intelligence than speech recognition. Unless it is speech for every simple little or even big command and tweak. The Captain seemed to use voice activated controls with his logs, which knew enough (some AI there mind you) to take the phrase 'computer pause/stop' and 'computer resume' to be commands not to be included. (Where was that audible escape character anyway?!)
"And of course what we all expected -- no gender-neutral language yet." Well, it would seem that time has a way of neutering many things that we find through history to once have had added, altered or completely reversed meaning. Perhaps 'Sir' could have been agreed on as neutral... actually, I really didn't pay attention to that. Which brings me to a confusing, on my part, issue of your statement (the first half) I didn't expect much of anything except it to be about 100 or so years before the Kirk time. Then again, I don't generally go through life looking for trouble and trying to find problems and people coming after me... because I would then find them.
The 'if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry' is a short sighted and historically proven FALSE claim. However it is exactly that sort of illogic that empowers and justifies any secret police or totalitarian regime. So, it does indeed have its uses.
"Its beautiful to be American and argue these differences" That is exactly the case here. If you 'enforce' that freedom you take it away. there are lots of quotes from our Founding Fathers about trading freedom for security and such, and of course the 'I disagree with you and what you say but will fight to the death your right to continue to do so" or something like that :)
Outside the teeter-totter of left and right (and 'moderate'... what a joke) is the true sense of balance and enlightenment that this country was founded on. Good luck finding it
I can personally not understand the hate that one can harbor to do this, or to cheer it as so many in this and other country have (I think that is a bigger threat in the long term).
However, I really liked your comment on complacency (not your words). This country is basically a country of cowards and slackers. Sure it is great that 'we all pull together' but I noticed many times in the past that the love and compassion is very temporary and very much a fad. I have many bruises and I think a cracked rib (hurts to breath) from training to guard against this particular threat... box cutters? WTF? Box cutters, who here has used one of them... geez. The point is to do a little simple mathematics. OK, if I submit then I tell myself I will be ok, and this obviously violent man who is taunting that we will all die (and those like him have proven to back up their intent in the past) will let me live? Uhhh, hi! I am logic... WAKE UP!!!
The math part is this. Realistically, you have zero chance if you give up control. Remember that these are not people robbing a store (who's goal is candy, booze and money) these people kill innocents for fun and 'glory'. You are a sheep waiting to be slaughtered in their eyes. YOU HAVE ZERO CHANCE TO SURVIVE!!! If you fight, then you have a little. Even 0.0001% chace is better than ZERO, as in NULL.
Also, for efficiencies sake, dont wrestle or fight the first baddy. Kill him within 2 seconds or less then move on to the next. The more time you waste on the first murderer, the more time you give them to take control of the ship pand situation (and cut you). Also, you will crap yourself out. Geez, why do I bother. This gets me all worked up, time to go work out.
Just please wake up people. Be nice. Be honorable and be ethical. But when the you know what hits the fan, then fight like your life depends on it... because, duh...
I really fell horrible for these poor families and friends, because what can you do? These people are dead because they where guilty of being civilians and not Muslim or whatever. (yes, it is possible we could find out this was not the work of extremist muslims I suppose)
Well, I will count the seconds until this is mod'ed down, but I feel a lot better now myself :)
Lets face the real problem. This is not a department of justice issue. Some scum bag did not just come murder a 7-11 clerk while taking some beer and Huggies, this was a blatant act of war. So, like with any action, it is not revenge or vindication, merely excising a cancerous tumor that is killing you. Take it out. Nuff said. Let us begin the surgery and then let the patient heal.
Politics is when a person can confortably sit behind a nice protected site and send 18 yo's to kill and be killed, or order a strike on one area 'for the people/humanity' yet ignore another area that has equal or even greater problems of the same type, and finding out it was a political deflection and personal gain that was the true motivation.
Honor is personal and does not say if you look at me wrong, I wrong you back. It is the thing that keeps you quiet and humble in the face of adversity (being spit on and cursed) because you know that your cause is righteous. Honorable people do not resort to violence, only cowards who are afraid of solving the problem do.
Who is trully the coward, the bully that beats on a weaker foe, or the one who helps him up and faces the ridicule from his 'friends' with upraised eyes?
I often was persecuted for this and basically told to shut up an never ask questions, but in reality Christ tells us to very much question your own faith. Otherwise, how strong is it trully, and how would you expect it to hold up in trully trying times. It would be like the Marines sitting down recruits and showing them a nice video demonstration of 'How to be a Marine' then actually being suprised (in a real situation) when half of them blow their own heads off, and the other half run and hide. Steel is tempered by will, skill, strength and also pressure and intense heat. It is my belief that we should strive to achieve that within ourselves.
So, even if religion is taken out and politics is substituted in, the same applies, as history proves so many times to those that wish to learn. Personally I am prompted to ask that you and others not 'judge' Christians by the actions of the bad, but I realize fully that this is a two way relationship. I trully empathize, as I had massive issues with elitism and hypocricy in my youth.
Well, I really have got to get back to business, as I am tremendously busy, but thought I would share. I enjoy civil intellectual discussions and if you want to discuss this, email me. And be careful about them redneck statements, I am a DSL redneck!!! Not AOL, I do have SOME dignity! hehe
In closing however, rereading your comment on the Nazi comparison and the world being better off without religion, I will say this. If you look at the teachings of Christ, not some pediphilic groping priest, you will find all the elements for a very enlightened and loving society. It is when people either rebel for the sake of sheer rebelling and spitefullness or let emotional zeal cloud the true lessons that you have problems... I suppose that you will find that lesson in every other aspect of life as well.
"He Who Knows Others Is Wise. He Who Knows Himself Is Enlightened." -Tao Te Ching
It is sad that it takes things like this to wake people out of their soma induced stupor. I keep hearing things like "now is the time for us to come together and be kind/nice". Excuse me whilst I wretch. EVERY TIME is the time to be kind and work with not against your fellow man.
There will probably be a lot of touchy feely movements (with a lot of showboating and posturing), that will soon disipate. It is like with new mothers... after birth, their hormones make them love themselves, their baby, the world, and everything... then a week later the baby is found starved to death because the mother neglected it while screwing her fifth boyfriend of the week... its temporary and not legitimate. I sincerely hope that people learn that it is vigilance and consistency (and continuity) that is important... if people are touched by this and make a LIFE CHANGE to be better people, then that is great. But I have seen too many post tragedies in which the love of your neighbor is really only a fear induced fad. Hate to sound cynical, but I think there are many that need to learn that introspection is the first and last step to enlightenment.
I am a Christian, and I no more believe that the Crusades where the work of Christ than do I believe that the Inquisitions were Christian. This is not the forum for a religious debate mind you, but I thought I would shed a little light.
Thank you both.
Thank you
So, without further delay... dear Uncle Sam. It has come to my attention that you have been ignoring the constitution for a quite some time now. I notice that you are pulling yourself and the country (and perhaps the world) down into a bottomless pit of despair, slavery and subjective servitude. I noticed that you are following the pattern of so many great civilizations that fell from within, by going against your core foundations while extending and expanding beyond what you were meant to do.
I notice that defense has taken a backseat to police actions and 'wag-the-dog' situations in order to further your members' political careers and fame. I have also seen that in your laughable Department of Defense, you have chosen to abandon the code of the warrior and instead focus on creating and promoting politicians, yes-men, career-minded wimps and fraternity laden pretty boys.
I have also noticed that a rather alarming amount of resources (economical, personnel and chronological) has been diverted to give lip service and fill government buildings in order to give off the front that you 'care' about various causes. I notice that, just like the founding fathers warned against and made the constitution for, that you are stripping the honest hard working and decent citizens of this country of their rights, liberties, property and dignity all in the name of 'the people' (although it is more accurate to say "For the CHILDREN"). I notice that criminals of all sorts, the world over are living in a Utopia of opportunity while victims are ignored and forgotten just as the lessons from the past and present are forgotten.
I notice that you have mimicked countries like the USSR and Nazi Germany in your policy of having the general populace always under suspicion, while you play your little power nabbing games and empower the criminals. I notice that while I myself choose not to poison my mind and body with drugs, that you have deigned it necessary to involve yourself in that personal decision, while always as a policy of 'helping protect us from ourselves'.... yet as history has shown before, you punish the choosers, but the criminals that hurt and kill regardless of their chemistry at the time are set free.
I notice that our military and other 'agencies' are being used to extend that iron fist to other countries even after innocents are murdered and the cause later justified as righteous because you 'meant well'. I notice on the technological front that there is a borderless and boundary-less communication and interaction network in place that you wish to subvert and: monitor, censor, control, restrict, incarcerate and zone off because you 'don't know what people might be trading, sharing or discussing'. I notice that the government is the largest employer in the world, and that despite the well known fact that government is full of incompetent self serving politicians (especially the officer corps of the military), that you only laugh at the comedians jokes but don't heed the call for change.
I notice that you spend sooooo much to punish citizens that you don't protect those very citizens you are charged to defend.
I would ask that you open up the constitution, the Bill of Rights and the writings of our founding fathers and gain from the collective wisdom. I would specifically ask that you end the War on Innocents that you call 'The War on Drugs' that has proven to only stuff our prisons, kill innocents and erode the foundations of personal responsibility and vigilance that this country was founded on. End that, and then run a filter through the military... get rid of the bags, and then start acting like a military. Then commit to defending the citizens of this country as well as the very country itself (the combination of the citizens and the Constitution that guarantees that we are citizens... not subjects). Please do this so that we may continue to live the lives we choose, free from fear of either an international terrorist or a domestic governmental terrorist or any other thug and criminal out for personal gain at our expense.
Thank you, American Citizen (by choice not by birth)
our country, my religion or any other thing or organization I 'belong to' commited such an act... or anyone else commited this act, I would NEVER celibrate. If our 'enemies' had this happen, I would weep. I really hope that I am watching some soccer match crowd right now, and that those aren't really Palestinians that are celibrating this blatant act of mass murder.