"able to read what the teacher is writing on the whiteboard."
How 'bout a touch of humor and nostalgia mixed together? When I was in school, we had blackboards. Mostly, they really were black - but sometimes they were a dark green, or a dark blue. But, we wrote on those blackboards with chalk - not some newfangled dry-wipe markers.
Anyway - at some point, I remember learning that we no longer had "blackboards", but "chalkboards". "Huh?" says I. "It's the same old blackboard it's always been!"
But, no, with the civil rights movement, it was somehow derogatory toward black PEOPLE to notice that a black BOARD was black.
Oh-key - here's the humor. I'm gonna sue people for calling a white board a white board.
I'm not even really white, but most people assume I'm white when they meet me, so that's close enough for my discrimination lawsuit!
For the record - is ADHD a brand new ailment in the history of mankind? Or, do you think maybe some really famous people had it, and were never diagnosed? I propose that ADHD was common throughout man's history, and that it has served man well. ADHD is not the problem, the problem are the parents and teaches who can't cope with an active child.
For starters, you might examine the lives of some military heroes. Start with Stephen Decatur. There was an ADHD if ever one existed!
Why conform, when the conformists are so fucked up?
You saved me from making this rant. I would have modded you up, but hey, look at your score already!!
Yeah, if I were drugged up and pressured to conform, I'd probably be fighting several mental illnesses. Of, to put it more simply, I'd be stark raving crazy.
Ages ago, I came home from the Navy, and visited with one of my old buddy's sisters. She had a kid in preschool already (I was two years older, and not even married yet) and was giving him his dose of Dilantin. I asked why. The answer was "Without it, he just runs and screams all day!" I asked, "Have you forgotten the way your brothers and I ran and screamed from one end of the county to the other? If we weren't audibly raising hell, our parents came looking for us, because they KNEW we were doing something WRONG!"
Everyone wants a baby, but no one wants a kid these days.
Let's identify the "real problem" then. User ignorance and apathy, right? Gullibility? The average individual's memory is no longer than the length of his penis or her bust size. (Notice that girls come out the winner in that comparison, LOL) The average brain works only during a bowel movement, and most people are constipated anyway.
Advertising. Funny how that works. They promise the world, deliver nothing, but the customer feels great for having been suckered. Strange.
Personally, when I actually WANT something, I go looking for it, compare features, compare prices, compare features again, then choose the lowest price for the feature set I decide upon. If I'm to believe what I read about people, almost everyone is an impulse buyer, who makes purchases of things they don't even need, simply because a flashy ad caught their eye, or because their neighbor/cousin/coworker has one.
I believe that we think alike, regarding extensions. I love all the functionality, and the unique blend of customizations. But, face it. IT TAKES MEMORY AND CAUSES A BIG HIT ON PERFORMANCE!! In my Windows VM, I allocate 1 gig of memory, and Firefox takes HALF of that memory! In the Linux host machine, I have only a couple addons enabled, and I'm still using 251,000 k of memory. I mean, like, HOLEE SHITZ MAN!!
Yes, it's time for Firefox to do something different. Some of those most essential addons should be built into the browser, in a manner that they don't require all that memory, and don't impact performance.
I drove Midori around for awhile today. The difference is like night and day - the same page that Firefox takes a second or two to load, Midori just snaps it into place. Memory footprint? 24.3 MB. Simply awesome. Even videos load and play faster. Yeah, I know - really, I know - I don't gain any bandwidth with a different browser, so the videos at Youtube can't really load any faster. But, test it for yourself.
Midori can be found at twotoasts.de Oh yeah - Midori also passes all the acid tests, with perfect scores, since about two versions back. Try it out, just to fully appreciate what a dog Firefox is with all your addons installed.
"but after a stressful day/week of courses and exams I found myself wanting to unwind and relax with a fun and mindless flick"
Back in the old skool, we unwound and relaxed with a fun and mindless chick. Oh well - someone already pointed out that it takes different strokes for different folks.
Eh. Dolls. I don't know how anyone can get past that vacuous look on a doll's face. Some broad looking at me in disgust would be better than those faces.
They've paid for what they've got - but what they've got will wear out sooner or later. Can they transfer all their existing licenses onto new hardware, and possibly add seats?
What they've got works - today. What about tomorrow, when things change? Don't ask me what's going to change - maybe the company will change it's product lineup, and existing software just won't do the job in the plant. Or, they want changes in the sales department, but there's no longer any support. Or, any number of things.
The staff are used to it? Well - I know that's a big point in some places. Other places - if you want to keep your job, you'll learn the boss's new system, or he'll hire someone who will. When times are hard, the boss isn't going to cater to office staff who refuses to keep up with the changing times.
Mind you - I'm pointing out near-worst-case scenarios. If middle and upper management are feeling the pinch, they WILL stop spending money on software, and it will be up to the staff to make things work without all that fancy proprietary software. Even if they have to hire some nerdy pimple faced college boy to do some hacking and coding for them.
Kudos to Acer. 3 instances, and they care enough to do something about it. As opposed to all those Apple devices which have been documented, and Apple just says, "Not our fault - buy another (new and improved) iPhone/iPod or whatever.
When I'm ready to buy again, I will remember that Acer is more concerned with my safety than some of the competition. That is enough incentive to forego some other enticing feature on a similar product.
Opinion only: Little to no effect yet. Most companies are trying to ride out the recession. (Read, management is still enjoying a nice paycheck, and most of their usual perks) When, and only when, management is looking at cuts to their own pay and/or benefits will they look at FOSS as an alternative. Then, there will be problems. All those donations to schools has ensured that most people only know the MS way of life, and it will cost to migrate to anything else.
But, if the recession isn't solved within the next 24 to 36 months, THEN we will see a mass migration. If profit margins drop to mere multiples of what a corporation is spending on software, the software will be axed, plain and simple.
As an aside - I wonder just how much a company like Bank of America spends on software each year? I'm certain that money could support my home town - maybe the entire county!!
This is the mentality that legislators throughout Europe and the English speaking nations are working with. Specific examples? Just google for any story about computers being confiscated so that the law and/or corporate cronies can build a case against you.
Yes, I know, I'm not addressing the GP's post specifically - just pointing out that he can't be very far wrong based on recent reading.
No worries, Mate. We'll track AC down, and hit his country right after Yemen. Fricking inbred tribal shouldn't be on the internet anyway. He'll be extinct soon, too!
-noun, plural nexuses, nexus. 1. a means of connection; tie; link. 2. a connected series or group. 3. the core or center, as of a matter or situation. 4. Cell Biology. a specialized area of the cell membrane involved in intercellular communication and adhesion. Origin: 1655-65; s
Hmmmm. Sounds a little bit like what a telephone does. Sounds a lot like a plain old English word. Did Phillip K. Dick copyright the English language, perchance? Someone tell the Dick estate to go get themselves some freaking JOBS. Stop trying to rip off people who are trying to create jobs.
FTFY. I've always said that buying consoles and the games to fit them was a simple minded activity. Granted, I had an Atari, and a Commodore - ages ago. When the PC became the "Big Thing", I never bought another console, or console game. Aside from the two platforms mentioned, every single game that I've ever paid for are playable on my current machine.
Ahh well - if you're a Christian, Jesus said that the simple will always be with us.
I guess it's possible. I can and have gotten inside of networks. But - I know squat about the banking industry. If I had every detail about your banking, and there were billions at my fingertips, I don't know how to move it around. I mean - should I go see my banker, and explain that I've hacked your system, and that I want him to transfer 8 billion dollars into liquid assets, all in my name? Uh-huh. I've an idea that when the banker has all the necessary details, I will become an unnecessary liability, and be disappeared.
I don't guess that even with the money right in front of me, I could learn overnight how to move it around untraceably.
How about you? Can you maybe break into a system, with a little luck? What would YOU do with billions of dollars? Remember - the clock is ticking. The longer you take to decide, the more certain you are to be discovered.
"With the government, I can vote the asshats out."
Good luck with that. When the killing went down at Chappaquiddick, millions of people said they Ted would never get another vote in this country. But in reality, only the Grim Reaper was able to remove that asshat from office.
There have been literally dozens of politicos that have just sickened me, some of them I've campaigned against. The scummier the lowlife is, the harder he is to get out of office. Teflon Bill? Good grief.
Besides - we in the states lack any sort of recall election. Mayor Bill White of Houston made that city into a "Sanctuary City" for criminals of all types, primarily illegal aliens. The drug mules, child slavery and child prostitution rings, money launderers, and run of the mill gang bangers were more than happy to take advantage of Bill's generosity. And, Houston voters were stuck with that crap.
It's a dirty business, and I have no idea how to clean it up. Term limits would be a good start. Career politicians should become extinct, plain and simple. Remove their pensions and medical benefits, and they WOULD be extinct very soon! The president and the vice don't even deserve what we give them for pensions, let alone the congress critters. And, don't get me started on civil service - we've been taken for a walk down the garden path with that too.
We're told that the unions ruined so many of our corporations - but civil service has benefits to put most unions to shame.
Kill 'em all, let God sort them out. Start with the lawyers - those are the bastards who spend years in college studying how to best confuse the issues. Ever notice how many politicians have law degrees?
Let me see if I can get this meme anywhere close to right.
"I'm a 49 year old grandmother, coder, and contributor, and I've not given Ubuntu one single MAN-hour in my life!! What's wrong with WOMAN-hours? Quite frankly, I'm offended that those sexist pigs are overlooking some of their most valuable contributors. How about an award for WOMAN-hours? I could use a new maidenform, or a g-string, or just some FLOWERS! I don't want no stinkin' sweaty t-shirt, that probably only comes in one size - "Obese MoFO". See if I write another line of code for Canonical!"
When I read the title, I pictured a machete attack. Really. Those South Americans do that kind of thing. Just go south of the border, and let it be known that you're a Satanist, and you need some children for sacrifices. The next child to disappear will cue the townsfolk beating your door down, armed with torches and machetes.
Alright, so maybe I'm not really geeky or techie enough to be posting here. Or, maybe my background interferes with my reading of "hacked".
But, you gotta admit - someone who bilks thousands to millions of people out of hard earned money in a ponzi scheme deserves a nice machete party.;^)
Posting just to say thank you, right now. I've only begun reading - and it's enlightening. The first two pages confirm some of my views, and alter others. I got a chuckle out of this, though:
INR's Alternative View: Iraq's Attempts to Acquire Aluminum Tubes
Some of the specialized but dual-use items being sought are, by all indications, bound for Iraq's missile program. Other cases are ambiguous, such as that of a planned magnet-production line whose suitability for centrifuge operations remains unknown. Some efforts involve non-controlled industrial material and equipment -- including a variety of machine tools -- and are troubling because they would help establish the infrastructure for a renewed nuclear program. But such efforts (which began well before the inspectors departed) are not clearly linked to a nuclear end-use. Finally, the claims of Iraqi pursuit of natural uranium in Africa are, in INR's assessment, highly dubious.
I wish I had this in 2002 when I was arguing with the warmongers on the home forum. Obviously it would have altered some of my arguments - but I could have shot down some of the stupidest arguments that THEY fired back at me.;^)
Thank you, sir. I believe that you are correct - the ORIGINAL statements regarding a ~40 minute deployment were about chemical and bio weapons. However, in the runup to war, someone, somewhere, got excited and swapped that out to nuclear weapons. Which, was farcical - but the media took off with it, and Bush & company never bothered to correct the hype. The hype served their purposes, so why bother correcting it?
Those months immediately before and after the invasion were - shall we say - an emotional time for Americans, with 9/11 fresh in their memories, and the anthrax scare on the east coast. It had been 60 years since a couple thousand Americans had been killed, and almost everyone wanted to punish someone - and Saddam was an easy scapegoat.
So, yes, everyone heard and believed the nonsense about a nuke. You'll find that SOME people still believe that Saddam had that nuke ready, and capable of flying with a 40 minute warning.
Google around some if you like. Tenet specifically said multiple times that Iraq was NOT an "imminent threat" to the US. Tenet's CIA stated multiple times that Iraq was NOT a threat, imminent or otherwise. The CIA never supplied intel that Iraq was producing WMD - in fact, in the article I linked to, he is basically apologizing for allowing Iraqi defectors taint CIA testimony.
The only people who believed Iraq had WMD were the gullible, and the fearful - often the same thing.
The British and the United States administrations were cooking all that "intel" in a damned bar, or at cookouts. Even after the war started, the CIA supplied little to no "intel" about the crap going on in Iraq, they didn't advocate those "extreme interrogation" methods, and the administration had little use for the CIA.
In short - the CIA and most of the rest of the United States intelligence community acted professionally, while the administration cooked the books, and instilled fear in the population.
I'll be happy to look at any citations you may have, in which genuine intelligence agencies painted the bleak picture which George and his administration painted, and which the American media happily blared over the airwaves. Remember, now, I want INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY people - professionals from the CIA, NSA, or some other alphabet soup group. Not a political appointee, and almost anyone at the Pentagon is out. The Pentagon was basically subverted by the administration, for it's own purposes.
Good luck with that idea. An action taken, or a decision made, as part of your official duties is pretty much immune from civil action. IANAL, but I know that the politicians have their asses covered every which way. To get past the legal hoop-la, you would have to first credibly propose that there were some kind of a conspiracy to subvert the law. Once you work around to charges of conspiracy, it's a whole 'nother ball game. Then, you can begin to work in a civil rights angle, for which there are few defenses.
So, quit posting on slashdot, and program something better than Green River. Rescue your government's integrity. Good grief. Almost everything China produces is an inferior copy of someone else's work. Stand up and be a man, alright? MAKE SOMETHING ORIGINAL THAT'S WORTH A SHIT!
Slashdot Mirror
"able to read what the teacher is writing on the whiteboard."
How 'bout a touch of humor and nostalgia mixed together? When I was in school, we had blackboards. Mostly, they really were black - but sometimes they were a dark green, or a dark blue. But, we wrote on those blackboards with chalk - not some newfangled dry-wipe markers.
Anyway - at some point, I remember learning that we no longer had "blackboards", but "chalkboards". "Huh?" says I. "It's the same old blackboard it's always been!"
But, no, with the civil rights movement, it was somehow derogatory toward black PEOPLE to notice that a black BOARD was black.
Oh-key - here's the humor. I'm gonna sue people for calling a white board a white board.
I'm not even really white, but most people assume I'm white when they meet me, so that's close enough for my discrimination lawsuit!
For the record - is ADHD a brand new ailment in the history of mankind? Or, do you think maybe some really famous people had it, and were never diagnosed? I propose that ADHD was common throughout man's history, and that it has served man well. ADHD is not the problem, the problem are the parents and teaches who can't cope with an active child.
For starters, you might examine the lives of some military heroes. Start with Stephen Decatur. There was an ADHD if ever one existed!
Why conform, when the conformists are so fucked up?
You saved me from making this rant. I would have modded you up, but hey, look at your score already!!
Yeah, if I were drugged up and pressured to conform, I'd probably be fighting several mental illnesses. Of, to put it more simply, I'd be stark raving crazy.
Ages ago, I came home from the Navy, and visited with one of my old buddy's sisters. She had a kid in preschool already (I was two years older, and not even married yet) and was giving him his dose of Dilantin. I asked why. The answer was "Without it, he just runs and screams all day!" I asked, "Have you forgotten the way your brothers and I ran and screamed from one end of the county to the other? If we weren't audibly raising hell, our parents came looking for us, because they KNEW we were doing something WRONG!"
Everyone wants a baby, but no one wants a kid these days.
Let's identify the "real problem" then. User ignorance and apathy, right? Gullibility? The average individual's memory is no longer than the length of his penis or her bust size. (Notice that girls come out the winner in that comparison, LOL) The average brain works only during a bowel movement, and most people are constipated anyway.
Advertising. Funny how that works. They promise the world, deliver nothing, but the customer feels great for having been suckered. Strange.
Personally, when I actually WANT something, I go looking for it, compare features, compare prices, compare features again, then choose the lowest price for the feature set I decide upon. If I'm to believe what I read about people, almost everyone is an impulse buyer, who makes purchases of things they don't even need, simply because a flashy ad caught their eye, or because their neighbor/cousin/coworker has one.
I believe that we think alike, regarding extensions. I love all the functionality, and the unique blend of customizations. But, face it. IT TAKES MEMORY AND CAUSES A BIG HIT ON PERFORMANCE!! In my Windows VM, I allocate 1 gig of memory, and Firefox takes HALF of that memory! In the Linux host machine, I have only a couple addons enabled, and I'm still using 251,000 k of memory. I mean, like, HOLEE SHITZ MAN!!
Yes, it's time for Firefox to do something different. Some of those most essential addons should be built into the browser, in a manner that they don't require all that memory, and don't impact performance.
I drove Midori around for awhile today. The difference is like night and day - the same page that Firefox takes a second or two to load, Midori just snaps it into place. Memory footprint? 24.3 MB. Simply awesome. Even videos load and play faster. Yeah, I know - really, I know - I don't gain any bandwidth with a different browser, so the videos at Youtube can't really load any faster. But, test it for yourself.
Midori can be found at twotoasts.de Oh yeah - Midori also passes all the acid tests, with perfect scores, since about two versions back. Try it out, just to fully appreciate what a dog Firefox is with all your addons installed.
Or, it could be, everyone in Castro STARRED in the damned thing, and they can't bear to watch it again?
"but after a stressful day/week of courses and exams I found myself wanting to unwind and relax with a fun and mindless flick"
Back in the old skool, we unwound and relaxed with a fun and mindless chick. Oh well - someone already pointed out that it takes different strokes for different folks.
"Some people like demographics."
Apparently, some people like masturbation as well. That doesn't mean they shouldn't get a life.
Eh. Dolls. I don't know how anyone can get past that vacuous look on a doll's face. Some broad looking at me in disgust would be better than those faces.
http://www.liberator.com/eng/video/all/22
Watch the dolls "interacting" with their - uhhh - "handlers".
They've paid for what they've got - but what they've got will wear out sooner or later. Can they transfer all their existing licenses onto new hardware, and possibly add seats?
What they've got works - today. What about tomorrow, when things change? Don't ask me what's going to change - maybe the company will change it's product lineup, and existing software just won't do the job in the plant. Or, they want changes in the sales department, but there's no longer any support. Or, any number of things.
The staff are used to it? Well - I know that's a big point in some places. Other places - if you want to keep your job, you'll learn the boss's new system, or he'll hire someone who will. When times are hard, the boss isn't going to cater to office staff who refuses to keep up with the changing times.
Mind you - I'm pointing out near-worst-case scenarios. If middle and upper management are feeling the pinch, they WILL stop spending money on software, and it will be up to the staff to make things work without all that fancy proprietary software. Even if they have to hire some nerdy pimple faced college boy to do some hacking and coding for them.
Kudos to Acer. 3 instances, and they care enough to do something about it. As opposed to all those Apple devices which have been documented, and Apple just says, "Not our fault - buy another (new and improved) iPhone/iPod or whatever.
When I'm ready to buy again, I will remember that Acer is more concerned with my safety than some of the competition. That is enough incentive to forego some other enticing feature on a similar product.
Opinion only: Little to no effect yet. Most companies are trying to ride out the recession. (Read, management is still enjoying a nice paycheck, and most of their usual perks) When, and only when, management is looking at cuts to their own pay and/or benefits will they look at FOSS as an alternative. Then, there will be problems. All those donations to schools has ensured that most people only know the MS way of life, and it will cost to migrate to anything else.
But, if the recession isn't solved within the next 24 to 36 months, THEN we will see a mass migration. If profit margins drop to mere multiples of what a corporation is spending on software, the software will be axed, plain and simple.
As an aside - I wonder just how much a company like Bank of America spends on software each year? I'm certain that money could support my home town - maybe the entire county!!
"Three strikes and you're OUT!"
This is the mentality that legislators throughout Europe and the English speaking nations are working with. Specific examples? Just google for any story about computers being confiscated so that the law and/or corporate cronies can build a case against you.
Yes, I know, I'm not addressing the GP's post specifically - just pointing out that he can't be very far wrong based on recent reading.
No worries, Mate. We'll track AC down, and hit his country right after Yemen. Fricking inbred tribal shouldn't be on the internet anyway. He'll be extinct soon, too!
What does nexus mean, anyway?
-noun, plural nexuses, nexus.
1. a means of connection; tie; link.
2. a connected series or group.
3. the core or center, as of a matter or situation.
4. Cell Biology. a specialized area of the cell membrane involved in intercellular communication and adhesion.
Origin:
1655-65; s
Hmmmm. Sounds a little bit like what a telephone does. Sounds a lot like a plain old English word. Did Phillip K. Dick copyright the English language, perchance? Someone tell the Dick estate to go get themselves some freaking JOBS. Stop trying to rip off people who are trying to create jobs.
"Simple marketing."
Marketing to the simple.
FTFY. I've always said that buying consoles and the games to fit them was a simple minded activity. Granted, I had an Atari, and a Commodore - ages ago. When the PC became the "Big Thing", I never bought another console, or console game. Aside from the two platforms mentioned, every single game that I've ever paid for are playable on my current machine.
Ahh well - if you're a Christian, Jesus said that the simple will always be with us.
I guess it's possible. I can and have gotten inside of networks. But - I know squat about the banking industry. If I had every detail about your banking, and there were billions at my fingertips, I don't know how to move it around. I mean - should I go see my banker, and explain that I've hacked your system, and that I want him to transfer 8 billion dollars into liquid assets, all in my name? Uh-huh. I've an idea that when the banker has all the necessary details, I will become an unnecessary liability, and be disappeared.
I don't guess that even with the money right in front of me, I could learn overnight how to move it around untraceably.
How about you? Can you maybe break into a system, with a little luck? What would YOU do with billions of dollars? Remember - the clock is ticking. The longer you take to decide, the more certain you are to be discovered.
"With the government, I can vote the asshats out."
Good luck with that. When the killing went down at Chappaquiddick, millions of people said they Ted would never get another vote in this country. But in reality, only the Grim Reaper was able to remove that asshat from office.
There have been literally dozens of politicos that have just sickened me, some of them I've campaigned against. The scummier the lowlife is, the harder he is to get out of office. Teflon Bill? Good grief.
Besides - we in the states lack any sort of recall election. Mayor Bill White of Houston made that city into a "Sanctuary City" for criminals of all types, primarily illegal aliens. The drug mules, child slavery and child prostitution rings, money launderers, and run of the mill gang bangers were more than happy to take advantage of Bill's generosity. And, Houston voters were stuck with that crap.
It's a dirty business, and I have no idea how to clean it up. Term limits would be a good start. Career politicians should become extinct, plain and simple. Remove their pensions and medical benefits, and they WOULD be extinct very soon! The president and the vice don't even deserve what we give them for pensions, let alone the congress critters. And, don't get me started on civil service - we've been taken for a walk down the garden path with that too.
We're told that the unions ruined so many of our corporations - but civil service has benefits to put most unions to shame.
Kill 'em all, let God sort them out. Start with the lawyers - those are the bastards who spend years in college studying how to best confuse the issues. Ever notice how many politicians have law degrees?
Let me see if I can get this meme anywhere close to right.
"I'm a 49 year old grandmother, coder, and contributor, and I've not given Ubuntu one single MAN-hour in my life!! What's wrong with WOMAN-hours? Quite frankly, I'm offended that those sexist pigs are overlooking some of their most valuable contributors. How about an award for WOMAN-hours? I could use a new maidenform, or a g-string, or just some FLOWERS! I don't want no stinkin' sweaty t-shirt, that probably only comes in one size - "Obese MoFO". See if I write another line of code for Canonical!"
"How was the Ponzi mastermind hacked?"
When I read the title, I pictured a machete attack. Really. Those South Americans do that kind of thing. Just go south of the border, and let it be known that you're a Satanist, and you need some children for sacrifices. The next child to disappear will cue the townsfolk beating your door down, armed with torches and machetes.
Alright, so maybe I'm not really geeky or techie enough to be posting here. Or, maybe my background interferes with my reading of "hacked".
But, you gotta admit - someone who bilks thousands to millions of people out of hard earned money in a ponzi scheme deserves a nice machete party. ;^)
Posting just to say thank you, right now. I've only begun reading - and it's enlightening. The first two pages confirm some of my views, and alter others. I got a chuckle out of this, though:
INR's Alternative View: Iraq's Attempts to Acquire Aluminum Tubes
Some of the specialized but dual-use items being sought are, by all indications, bound for Iraq's missile program. Other cases are ambiguous, such as that of a planned magnet-production line whose suitability for centrifuge operations remains unknown. Some efforts involve non-controlled industrial material and equipment -- including a variety of machine tools -- and are troubling because they would help establish the infrastructure for a renewed nuclear program. But such efforts (which began well before the inspectors departed) are not clearly linked to a nuclear end-use. Finally, the claims of Iraqi pursuit of natural uranium in Africa are, in INR's assessment, highly dubious.
I wish I had this in 2002 when I was arguing with the warmongers on the home forum. Obviously it would have altered some of my arguments - but I could have shot down some of the stupidest arguments that THEY fired back at me. ;^)
Thank you, sir. I believe that you are correct - the ORIGINAL statements regarding a ~40 minute deployment were about chemical and bio weapons. However, in the runup to war, someone, somewhere, got excited and swapped that out to nuclear weapons. Which, was farcical - but the media took off with it, and Bush & company never bothered to correct the hype. The hype served their purposes, so why bother correcting it?
Those months immediately before and after the invasion were - shall we say - an emotional time for Americans, with 9/11 fresh in their memories, and the anthrax scare on the east coast. It had been 60 years since a couple thousand Americans had been killed, and almost everyone wanted to punish someone - and Saddam was an easy scapegoat.
So, yes, everyone heard and believed the nonsense about a nuke. You'll find that SOME people still believe that Saddam had that nuke ready, and capable of flying with a 40 minute warning.
Citations? Let's see them.
http://articles.latimes.com/2004/feb/06/world/fg-tenet6
Google around some if you like. Tenet specifically said multiple times that Iraq was NOT an "imminent threat" to the US. Tenet's CIA stated multiple times that Iraq was NOT a threat, imminent or otherwise. The CIA never supplied intel that Iraq was producing WMD - in fact, in the article I linked to, he is basically apologizing for allowing Iraqi defectors taint CIA testimony.
The only people who believed Iraq had WMD were the gullible, and the fearful - often the same thing.
The British and the United States administrations were cooking all that "intel" in a damned bar, or at cookouts. Even after the war started, the CIA supplied little to no "intel" about the crap going on in Iraq, they didn't advocate those "extreme interrogation" methods, and the administration had little use for the CIA.
In short - the CIA and most of the rest of the United States intelligence community acted professionally, while the administration cooked the books, and instilled fear in the population.
I'll be happy to look at any citations you may have, in which genuine intelligence agencies painted the bleak picture which George and his administration painted, and which the American media happily blared over the airwaves. Remember, now, I want INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY people - professionals from the CIA, NSA, or some other alphabet soup group. Not a political appointee, and almost anyone at the Pentagon is out. The Pentagon was basically subverted by the administration, for it's own purposes.
http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=19565
Good luck with that idea. An action taken, or a decision made, as part of your official duties is pretty much immune from civil action. IANAL, but I know that the politicians have their asses covered every which way. To get past the legal hoop-la, you would have to first credibly propose that there were some kind of a conspiracy to subvert the law. Once you work around to charges of conspiracy, it's a whole 'nother ball game. Then, you can begin to work in a civil rights angle, for which there are few defenses.
So, quit posting on slashdot, and program something better than Green River. Rescue your government's integrity. Good grief. Almost everything China produces is an inferior copy of someone else's work. Stand up and be a man, alright? MAKE SOMETHING ORIGINAL THAT'S WORTH A SHIT!