Watch any paper towel commercial, they will never give the name of their competitor, because that would imply their competitor is a worthy adversary. Instead all advertising compares it to "leading brand" or some other ambiguous label.
Actually, there was a sizable article in the 'Advertising' column of yesterday's New York Times about this very topic... in fact, companies often don't make direct comparisons because that opens them up to 'truth in advertising' legal challenges/lawsuits and countercharges - not only in in important things like beer and cola and potato chips, but even in basic boring products such as as dish soap and dental adhesive... or paper towels.
If this is a phpBB exploit, how did my site get hit when I am not using it? (The only PHP software I have within my webspace is Coppermine Photo Gallery.) Either the exploit is able to attack through (similar) PHP as well or it's squirming its way through all the sites on a shared (hosting) server?:/
Clear Channel suggests 150 songs for stations to avoid
Movies and TV aren't alone in reviewing the content of their entertainment in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks. Clear Channel Inc., which owns over 1,200 stations including seven in the Twin Cities, is circulating a list of 150 songs its local programmers might consider avoiding for the time being.
Clear Channel managers here say the list is merely a "memo from the main office," not something they must adhere to.
Many of the songs on the list are heavy-metal warhorses like "Sweating Bullets" by Megadeth, "Seek and Destroy" by Metallica and a half-dozen cuts from AC/DC including "Safe in New York City," "Highway to Hell," "TNT" and "Shot Down in Flames."
Some of the 150 song titles "suggested" by Clear Channel are baffling. John Lennon's "Imagine" and The Youngbloods' "Get Together" would seem to be precisely the sort of message people might like to hear in difficult times. Likewise, who could possibly object to Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World"? Several Beatles songs -- "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Obla Di Obla Da" and "Ticket to Ride" -- are also on the list.
"You know what this is?" says KEEY-FM's operations manager Gregg Swedberg. "It's a bunch of people sitting in a room saying, "Think of anything, anything, anywhere that might possibly be a little too much, that people might be sensitive to.' This is just another idea we get. Something for us to 'consider.' Nothing more than that."
Swedberg adds that K102, a country-music format, returned Garth Brooks' early '90s tune, "We Shall Be Free," to its rotation in reaction to the crisis. Rob Morris, program director for Clear Channel-owned KDWB-FM, said he expected few if any changes to his station's playlist. ABC-owned KXXR-FM, aka 93X, did not respond to several calls asking what changes they might be making to their playlist.
The online music site Launch.com has a news article on this action by Clear Channel (with a comment by a Clear Channel spokeswoman):
From AC/DC To Zombies, Songs Listed As Unsuitable For Radio
The world's largest radio network has generated for its radio stations a staggering list of rock songs and pop songs with words presumably inappropriate for the airwaves in light of last week's terrorist attacks, including such near-standards as John Lennon's "Imagine," Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven," and Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World."
The list, from industry leader Clear Channel, amasses approximately 150 songs considered "lyrically inappropriate," LAUNCH has confirmed; and it includes everything from Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" and Elvis Presley's "(You're The) Devil In Disguise" to current hits such as "Chop Suey!," the single from System Of A Down, currently the number-one selling band in the country.
However, a spokeswoman for Clear Channel tells LAUNCH that the list was not meant as a corporate mandate, it was merely a "grass roots kind of effort" by an employee looking to give stations a reference list of song potentially disconcerting in light of last Tuesday's (September 11) tragedies. "It's clearly up to the local programmer to take the pulse of their own market," she said.
Hard rock acts were prominent on the list--AC/DC has seven songs on the list, Metallica and Alice In Chains four, and Black Sabbath and Soundgarden three. However, no group was singled out like Rage Against The Machine--"all songs" from the aggressive, overtly political group made the list.
Okay people, there's just a bit of overreaction going on here, don't you think?
1. Best Buy is removing copies of the Die Hard series of movies from their stores because the first one featured terrorists blowing up a skyscraper, the second featured terrorists hijacking and crashing airliners, and the third had the subway under the World Trade Center exploding.
2. FOX has permanently pulled the Simpsons episode 'The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson' from syndication because a snippet includes the WTC.
3. Retailers are taking copies of the computer game Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 off the shelves because the game includes a NYC battle scene and fighting over various landmarks; and future copies of the popular computer game Metal Gear Solid 2 are reportedly being modified to take out references to NYC and the WTC.
4. The Baltimore Museum of Art removed a painting from display on Friday because it included the word 'terrorist'.
5. And now this action by Clear Channel...
This is in addition to the already announced changes and edits to upcoming movies and television shows with scenes or references to NYC, and Microsoft's decision to remove the WTC from the NYC part of Flight Simulator. Media and cultural references to the World Trade Center (previous to last Tuesday) are going down the Orwellian Memory Hole, apparently.
Firstly - there are BILLIONS of emails sent daily...if you think there's a guy at a desk just waiting for you to send one so he can read it, don't flatter yourself. They'd need to hire 80% of the people of China to even come close to pulling that off.
So that is how the Chinese have been finding out all of America's secrets. ^_-
How much does the United States actually help the less developed three-quarters of humanity?
Well, right now the United States spends more than $310 billion per year on our armed forces, while all US spending for non-military international affairs totals a mere $20 billion, which has to cover the costs of the State Department and all our embassies, our debt to the United Nations (when we pay it), the economic and social development aid we provide, and all other international and diplomatic activities.
More funds for diplomacy and violence prevention would provide greater security for America than a $100 billion missile-defense fantasy or a similar amount to prosecute a 'war on terrorism'.
The United Nations recommends that developed Member States provide a mere.7 percent of their GNP for development assistance, and another.15 percent directed toward the least developed countries. Some of the Scandinavian countries reach this committment made at the Earth Summit, and other European nations (along with Japan) come close. But the United States? A miniscule tenth of a percent of annual GDP for development aid from the 'richest country in the world'.
Perhaps when the United States pays its 1.3 billion debt to the United Nations and also at least makes an effort to financially address the root causes which contribute to terrorism such as endemic poverty in the developing world, then we can consider proudly proclaiming how much we've 'helped' the world.
From the FindLaw summary on Warrantless 'National Security' Electronic Surveillance...
In Katz v. United States, Justice White sought to preserve for a future case the possibility that in 'national security cases' electronic surveillance upon the authorization of the President or the Attorney General could be permissible without prior judicial approval. The Executive Branch then asserted the power to wiretap and to 'bug' in two types of national security situations, against domestic subversion and against foreign intelligence operations, first basing its authority on a theory of 'inherent' presidential power and then in the Supreme Court withdrawing to the argument that such surveillance was a 'reasonable' search and seizure and therefore valid under the Fourth Amendment. Unanimously, the Court held that at least in cases of domestic subversive investigations, compliance with the warrant provisions of the Fourth Amendment was required. Whether or not a search was reasonable, wrote Justice Powell for the Court, was a question which derived much of its answer from the warrant clause; except in a few narrowly circumscribed classes of situations, only those searches conducted pursuant to warrants were reasonable. The Government's duty to preserve the national security did not override the gurarantee that before government could invade the privacy of its citizens it must present to a neutral magistrate evidence sufficient to support issuance of a warrant authorizing that invasion of privacy. This protection was even more needed in 'national security cases' than in cases of 'ordinary' crime, the Justice continued, inasmuch as the tendency of government so often is to regard opponents of its policies as a threat and hence to tread in areas protected by the First Amendment as well as by the Fourth. Rejected also was the argument that courts could not appreciate the intricacies of investigations in the area of national security nor preserve the secrecy which is required. The question of the scope of the President's constitutional powers, if any, remains judicially unsettled. Congress has acted, however, providing for a special court to hear requests for warrants for electronic surveillance in foreign intelligence situations, and permitting the President to authorize warrantless surveillance to acquire foreign intelligence information provided that the communications to be monitored are exclusively between or among foreign powers and there is no substantial likelihood any 'United States person' will be overheard. (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/a mendment04/05.html#6)
"
History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure." - Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
Part of a typical criminal penalty for corporate executive wrongdoing (fraud, embezzlement, etc) is often being proscribed from becoming an executive or director of any corporation for a number of years... for example, three years in (minimum security) prison and then an additional ten years blocked from corporate management after that in a fraud case I just read about yesterday?
Part of a criminal penalty for corporate executive wrongdoing (fraud, embezzlement, etc) is often being proscribed from becoming an executive or director of any corporation for a number of years... for example, three years in (minimum security) prison and then an additional ten years blocked from corporate management after that in a fraud case I just read about yesterday?
>Right now, you're probably thinking,
>"what do I need to shoot the government
>for?" Well imagine this scenerio: government
>takes guns away from all citizens. The only
>people carrying guns now are police and
>military. The government starts doing things
>you don't like, what are you going to do?
>Throw stones at them? Tiananmen square anyone?
The only people who should be carrying guns *ARE* the police and military. Only the state has the right to the use of force to maintain order.
What do you do if 'the government' starts doing things you don't like? You vote. That's what you're supposed to do, not start marching on Washington DC with your posse. Personally, I'm incensed that President Bush has just trashed the Kyoto Protocol and doomed the planet, but the proper method of change in the United States is by election(*), not the violent overthrow of the state.
(*note: offer not necessarily available in Florida.)
Your anti-goverment paranoia is amusing, but the first thing you forget is that in the United States, the government IS the people. Including the police, including the military. The rabid reactionary concept that there is some big conspiracy to 'take guns' from people and impose some kind of police state like the idea posted above is hilarious.
>Under US law, most of the male citizens are,
>in fact, militia members. Unorganized militia,
>but militia nonetheless... the militia ARE the
>people.
Um, no. If you'd like to join the militia and defend the United States, see your local Army National Guard recruiter.
The private/local community militias of Revolutionary War days over time developed into state-based units by the Civil War (hence all those regimental names on both sides from such-and-such a state like '23rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment' for example), which persisted to World War One.
During that 1870-1915 period, the state units were the bulk of the US (land) armed forces, the actual active Army were amazingly small compared with those kept by other 'powers' (especially considering the vast continental space to defend). And you could even still get together a group of your friends to volunteer and rush off to battle together, like Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders did in Cuba.
When the US entered World War Two and the draft was instituted, the traditional organization and training of the state regimental units was insufficient for the neccessities of the modern industrialized and mechanized warfare, and for most intents and purposes become real Army units.
After the war, these units (now regularized as the National Guard) returned to their local home stations, but now as more standardized units that played a vital role in national defense throughout the Cold War and as a part of the total Army to the present day. Many National Guard units trace their lineage back to Revolutionary War days in honor of those original militias, and of course, National Guard units still come under the dual control of state Governors and Adjutant Generals and the Federal chain-of-command up to the President.
The 'militia' of 1789 has evolved over American history into the National Guard of 2001, and its mention in the Constitution certainly doesn't justify unorganized reactionary gangs to play around in the woods like eight-year-olds with lethal weapons harboring some irrational anti-government paranoia.
I have been in the Active Army for eight years (including a year in the Second Infantry Division on the DMZ in South Korea), and the National Guard for another six, (including a year on peacekeeping duties in Bosnia), and to most professional soldiers all the 'militia' talk bandied about is at best a joke... or worst, dangerous fantasy if it encourages people to live in our communities with assault weapons in the closet.
Re:What are diaries and blogs good for?
on
Online Journals
·
· Score: 1
As I stated in my opening sentence, targeted and topical collaborative weblogs (such as Slashdot) are useful tools to disseminate information, foster community... and additionally, engender discussion on whichever issue is at hand.
My 'view of blogging' expressed above is targeted at what seems to be the majority of them... individual blogs and diaries full of inane 'I went to the store and bought muffins this morning and then I met Bob and he told me his cat is sick...' and 'I feel horrible again today so I'm writing another depressing page of angst...' type entries. ^_-
You're right in that I (incorrectly?) assume that most of these individual blogs are targeted toward a general audience, but that's due to my general feeling that (consciously or not) they're established and promoted by people looking for attention (whatever the underlying motive is) - show-off egotism and exhibitionism, desperate seeking for sympathy, looking to ensnare someone of your preferred romantic persuasion, or just attempting to establish the most links to other webloggers in a popularity contest. Personally I see my online friends pester me to read the latest diary or blog entry they posted a moment ago, in the midst of an IRC or IM conversation; and I believe the interlinky lovefest syndrome that has grown up around blogging is somewhat well known.
Maybe it's just me, but a well written Slashdot post or a thoughtful and edited essay on a personal website is preferable to the minute-by-minute ramblings that most blogs seem to encourage.
What are diaries and blogs good for?
on
Online Journals
·
· Score: 4
While targeted, topical, and intellectual collaborative weblogs can serve as a useful tool in disseminating information and fostering a community, I'm of the opinion that most personal online journals are pointless and/or worthless.
Yes, the majority of my online friends have jumped on this latest fad (establishing online diaries and blogs), but when I peruse them I primarily see just overhyped cookie-cutter angst and cries for sympathy on the diary side, with meaningless mental tidbits coupled with a race to establish the most feel-the-love linkylinks on the blog side.
Thing is, I can't tell if the primary motivation for all these activities is more exhibitionism or narcissism. I have to agree with the above comment by ChuckFlynn when he says online journaling and blogging reinforce self-delusions of grandeur that your trivial day-to-day experiences are somehow relevant or helpful to the world; and the AC who pointed out they're usually 'self-centered unimaginative ramblings' with a limited and egotistical perspective.
"The creators of lain have made a progressive cyberpunk anime which is highly informed and operative on multiple layers, both figuratively and literally." Thought Experiments Lain
"It's a computer lover's show. If you can appreciate the appeal of a powerful computer, or the feeling of urgency associated with needing a new one, you'll like this show. If you live a good percentage of your life online, this show speaks to you. If you feel amputated every time you visit home because there's no ethernet, the makers of this show understand. Better than any other anime I've seen, lain examines our networked society and discusses the implications of our humanity becoming increasingly "wired". a Review of Lain.
I *do* think it would be much better if the anime news has some discernable linkage to technology/computers... for example, the past anime section articles on 'Anime and the Tech Lifestyle' and the interview with the creators of Serial Experiments Lain (a very internet oriented anime) and how they were attempting to portray the dilemmas and possibilities of a Wired society.
Random stories about Tenchi Muyo, Dragonball, or whatever, without some connection to the major themes of Slashdot just seems to: 1) upset those who just don't like anime at all and see it all as 'noise'; 2) not generate insightful and relevant 'signal' commentary.
Moglen didn't seem to understand the removal of 'GPS error'. When the error was removed (basically just a software change to the satellites), the capability remained to reestablish the error for non-US military GPS recievers in regions when necessary (war/conflict). It wouldn't be pinpoint enough to protect Montana missile silos, but it would be able to screw up civilian-purchased GPS in Iraq/Serbia and neighboring areas... just in case Saddam or Slobodan had GPS in use for their forces, for example. Just upload a patch to the appropriate regional satellites in the coverage constellation, and the enemy forces facing US troops are going in circles. ^_^
I'm waiting for IPv7, which will finally and fully link the Wired and the Real World, connecting everyone to the Wired (and each other) without using devices.
"Doko ni datte, hito wa tsunagatte iru." (No matter where, people are all connected) - from Serial Experiments Lain
I nominate "Coronis" to be the name of the Chibi-Pluto... which would make Sailor Lead Crow-sama a planetary Senshi! ^_^
'Coronis' is Lead Crow's original planet, and the only traditional mythological name out of the Sailor Animamates' home planets (http://senshineko.dreamhost.com/crow/eyrie/mythol ogy.htm).
He is using "see" in the common vernacular sense of substituting for 'don't understand'... as in saying 'I don't understand why someone proposed 'dot-dot'!
It does sound like it could lead to more than a bit of confusion, as people end the 'dot-dot' addresses with "www.slashdot.." for example.
I can see the trend of discussion on this article already...
200 posts stating "w1nD0wZ sUx n lInUx r0x!!!!!!"
::: sigh and sweatdrop:::
Actually, this is an interesting and important question that I'd like to see the serious answer to as well. Not that I'm an advocate of either OS, but because it'll probably help many among us who aren't fully up on the differences between them get a better frame of reference for the Windows vs. Linux debate.
Please refer to the second portion of the Slashdot catchphrase, entitled "Stuff That Matters."
No, this doesn't mean "Stuff That Matters To YOU' - it's Stuff That Matters to the Slashdot crew (which the occasional Bay Area party announcements would fall under) as well as what News and Stuff that the Slashdot crew think would be of interest to a significant number of members of this 'community'.
Personally, I don't care for all the articles on the latest insignificant upgrades to some operating system or server software that I'm never going to use, but I certainly wouldn't proclaim that such stories have no place here. Heck, I even browse them on occasion so I might actually learn something interesting! Perhaps approaching Slashdot without the mindset that it all has to be about your definition of 'nerds' or what you think is important would help in your tolerance.
Then again, there's always the preference customization that is available to every logged in user, which allows people not to see those story categories that they don't care for. Basically, if you don't like a certain category of articles, don't read them.
Their usenet archive is alive and well.... http://www.deja.com/usenet/
Sorry, no. Their Usenet archive (prior to May 1999) has been offline since early May of this year, with no firm date as to its return. Read my previous post in this thread that you just replied to.
Slashdot Mirror
Watch any paper towel commercial, they will never give the name of their competitor, because that would imply their competitor is a worthy adversary. Instead all advertising compares it to "leading brand" or some other ambiguous label.
Actually, there was a sizable article in the 'Advertising' column of yesterday's New York Times about this very topic... in fact, companies often don't make direct comparisons because that opens them up to 'truth in advertising' legal challenges/lawsuits and countercharges - not only in in important things like beer and cola and potato chips, but even in basic boring products such as as dish soap and dental adhesive... or paper towels.
If this is a phpBB exploit, how did my site get hit when I am not using it? (The only PHP software I have within my webspace is Coppermine Photo Gallery.) Either the exploit is able to attack through (similar) PHP as well or it's squirming its way through all the sites on a shared (hosting) server? :/
Okay people, there's just a bit of overreaction going on here, don't you think?
1. Best Buy is removing copies of the Die Hard series of movies from their stores because the first one featured terrorists blowing up a skyscraper, the second featured terrorists hijacking and crashing airliners, and the third had the subway under the World Trade Center exploding.
2. FOX has permanently pulled the Simpsons episode 'The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson' from syndication because a snippet includes the WTC.
3. Retailers are taking copies of the computer game Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 off the shelves because the game includes a NYC battle scene and fighting over various landmarks; and future copies of the popular computer game Metal Gear Solid 2 are reportedly being modified to take out references to NYC and the WTC.
4. The Baltimore Museum of Art removed a painting from display on Friday because it included the word 'terrorist'.
5. And now this action by Clear Channel...
This is in addition to the already announced changes and edits to upcoming movies and television shows with scenes or references to NYC, and Microsoft's decision to remove the WTC from the NYC part of Flight Simulator. Media and cultural references to the World Trade Center (previous to last Tuesday) are going down the Orwellian Memory Hole, apparently.
Second Impact was supposed to be September 13 last year. (Unfortunately, nothing happened). ^_-
So that is how the Chinese have been finding out all of America's secrets. ^_-
How much does the United States actually help the less developed three-quarters of humanity?
.7 percent of their GNP for development assistance, and another .15 percent directed toward the least developed countries. Some of the Scandinavian countries reach this committment made at the Earth Summit, and other European nations (along with Japan) come close. But the United States? A miniscule tenth of a percent of annual GDP for development aid from the 'richest country in the world'.
Well, right now the United States spends more than $310 billion per year on our armed forces, while all US spending for non-military international affairs totals a mere $20 billion, which has to cover the costs of the State Department and all our embassies, our debt to the United Nations (when we pay it), the economic and social development aid we provide, and all other international and diplomatic activities.
More funds for diplomacy and violence prevention would provide greater security for America than a $100 billion missile-defense fantasy or a similar amount to prosecute a 'war on terrorism'.
The United Nations recommends that developed Member States provide a mere
Perhaps when the United States pays its 1.3 billion debt to the United Nations and also at least makes an effort to financially address the root causes which contribute to terrorism such as endemic poverty in the developing world, then we can consider proudly proclaiming how much we've 'helped' the world.
In Katz v. United States, Justice White sought to preserve for a future case the possibility that in 'national security cases' electronic surveillance upon the authorization of the President or the Attorney General could be permissible without prior judicial approval. The Executive Branch then asserted the power to wiretap and to 'bug' in two types of national security situations, against domestic subversion and against foreign intelligence operations, first basing its authority on a theory of 'inherent' presidential power and then in the Supreme Court withdrawing to the argument that such surveillance was a 'reasonable' search and seizure and therefore valid under the Fourth Amendment. Unanimously, the Court held that at least in cases of domestic subversive investigations, compliance with the warrant provisions of the Fourth Amendment was required. Whether or not a search was reasonable, wrote Justice Powell for the Court, was a question which derived much of its answer from the warrant clause; except in a few narrowly circumscribed classes of situations, only those searches conducted pursuant to warrants were reasonable. The Government's duty to preserve the national security did not override the gurarantee that before government could invade the privacy of its citizens it must present to a neutral magistrate evidence sufficient to support issuance of a warrant authorizing that invasion of privacy. This protection was even more needed in 'national security cases' than in cases of 'ordinary' crime, the Justice continued, inasmuch as the tendency of government so often is to regard opponents of its policies as a threat and hence to tread in areas protected by the First Amendment as well as by the Fourth. Rejected also was the argument that courts could not appreciate the intricacies of investigations in the area of national security nor preserve the secrecy which is required. The question of the scope of the President's constitutional powers, if any, remains judicially unsettled. Congress has acted, however, providing for a special court to hear requests for warrants for electronic surveillance in foreign intelligence situations, and permitting the President to authorize warrantless surveillance to acquire foreign intelligence information provided that the communications to be monitored are exclusively between or among foreign powers and there is no substantial likelihood any 'United States person' will be overheard. (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/
Part of a typical criminal penalty for corporate executive wrongdoing (fraud, embezzlement, etc) is often being proscribed from becoming an executive or director of any corporation for a number of years... for example, three years in (minimum security) prison and then an additional ten years blocked from corporate management after that in a fraud case I just read about yesterday?
Part of a criminal penalty for corporate executive wrongdoing (fraud, embezzlement, etc) is often being proscribed from becoming an executive or director of any corporation for a number of years... for example, three years in (minimum security) prison and then an additional ten years blocked from corporate management after that in a fraud case I just read about yesterday?
>Right now, you're probably thinking,
>"what do I need to shoot the government
>for?" Well imagine this scenerio: government
>takes guns away from all citizens. The only
>people carrying guns now are police and
>military. The government starts doing things
>you don't like, what are you going to do?
>Throw stones at them? Tiananmen square anyone?
The only people who should be carrying guns *ARE* the police and military. Only the state has the right to the use of force to maintain order.
What do you do if 'the government' starts doing things you don't like? You vote. That's what you're supposed to do, not start marching on Washington DC with your posse. Personally, I'm incensed that President Bush has just trashed the Kyoto Protocol and doomed the planet, but the proper method of change in the United States is by election(*), not the violent overthrow of the state.
(*note: offer not necessarily available in Florida.)
Your anti-goverment paranoia is amusing, but the first thing you forget is that in the United States, the government IS the people. Including the police, including the military. The rabid reactionary concept that there is some big conspiracy to 'take guns' from people and impose some kind of police state like the idea posted above is hilarious.
>Under US law, most of the male citizens are,
>in fact, militia members. Unorganized militia,
>but militia nonetheless... the militia ARE the
>people.
Um, no. If you'd like to join the militia and defend the United States, see your local Army National Guard recruiter.
The private/local community militias of Revolutionary War days over time developed into state-based units by the Civil War (hence all those regimental names on both sides from such-and-such a state like '23rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment' for example), which persisted to World War One.
During that 1870-1915 period, the state units were the bulk of the US (land) armed forces, the actual active Army were amazingly small compared with those kept by other 'powers' (especially considering the vast continental space to defend). And you could even still get together a group of your friends to volunteer and rush off to battle together, like Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders did in Cuba.
When the US entered World War Two and the draft was instituted, the traditional organization and training of the state regimental units was insufficient for the neccessities of the modern industrialized and mechanized warfare, and for most intents and purposes become real Army units.
After the war, these units (now regularized as the National Guard) returned to their local home stations, but now as more standardized units that played a vital role in national defense throughout the Cold War and as a part of the total Army to the present day. Many National Guard units trace their lineage back to Revolutionary War days in honor of those original militias, and of course, National Guard units still come under the dual control of state Governors and Adjutant Generals and the Federal chain-of-command up to the President.
The 'militia' of 1789 has evolved over American history into the National Guard of 2001, and its mention in the Constitution certainly doesn't justify unorganized reactionary gangs to play around in the woods like eight-year-olds with lethal weapons harboring some irrational anti-government paranoia.
I have been in the Active Army for eight years (including a year in the Second Infantry Division on the DMZ in South Korea), and the National Guard for another six, (including a year on peacekeeping duties in Bosnia), and to most professional soldiers all the 'militia' talk bandied about is at best a joke... or worst, dangerous fantasy if it encourages people to live in our communities with assault weapons in the closet.
As I stated in my opening sentence, targeted and topical collaborative weblogs (such as Slashdot) are useful tools to disseminate information, foster community... and additionally, engender discussion on whichever issue is at hand.
My 'view of blogging' expressed above is targeted at what seems to be the majority of them... individual blogs and diaries full of inane 'I went to the store and bought muffins this morning and then I met Bob and he told me his cat is sick...' and 'I feel horrible again today so I'm writing another depressing page of angst...' type entries. ^_-
You're right in that I (incorrectly?) assume that most of these individual blogs are targeted toward a general audience, but that's due to my general feeling that (consciously or not) they're established and promoted by people looking for attention (whatever the underlying motive is) - show-off egotism and exhibitionism, desperate seeking for sympathy, looking to ensnare someone of your preferred romantic persuasion, or just attempting to establish the most links to other webloggers in a popularity contest. Personally I see my online friends pester me to read the latest diary or blog entry they posted a moment ago, in the midst of an IRC or IM conversation; and I believe the interlinky lovefest syndrome that has grown up around blogging is somewhat well known.
Maybe it's just me, but a well written Slashdot post or a thoughtful and edited essay on a personal website is preferable to the minute-by-minute ramblings that most blogs seem to encourage.
While targeted, topical, and intellectual collaborative weblogs can serve as a useful tool in disseminating information and fostering a community, I'm of the opinion that most personal online journals are pointless and/or worthless.
Yes, the majority of my online friends have jumped on this latest fad (establishing online diaries and blogs), but when I peruse them I primarily see just overhyped cookie-cutter angst and cries for sympathy on the diary side, with meaningless mental tidbits coupled with a race to establish the most feel-the-love linkylinks on the blog side.
Thing is, I can't tell if the primary motivation for all these activities is more exhibitionism or narcissism. I have to agree with the above comment by ChuckFlynn when he says online journaling and blogging reinforce self-delusions of grandeur that your trivial day-to-day experiences are somehow relevant or helpful to the world; and the AC who pointed out they're usually 'self-centered unimaginative ramblings' with a limited and egotistical perspective.
Serial Experiments Lain
"The creators of lain have made a progressive cyberpunk anime which is highly informed and operative on multiple layers, both figuratively and literally." Thought Experiments Lain
"It's a computer lover's show. If you can appreciate the appeal of a powerful computer, or the feeling of urgency associated with needing a new one, you'll like this show. If you live a good percentage of your life online, this show speaks to you. If you feel amputated every time you visit home because there's no ethernet, the makers of this show understand. Better than any other anime I've seen, lain examines our networked society and discusses the implications of our humanity becoming increasingly "wired". a Review of Lain.
I *do* think it would be much better if the anime news has some discernable linkage to technology/computers... for example, the past anime section articles on 'Anime and the Tech Lifestyle' and the interview with the creators of Serial Experiments Lain (a very internet oriented anime) and how they were attempting to portray the dilemmas and possibilities of a Wired society.
Random stories about Tenchi Muyo, Dragonball, or whatever, without some connection to the major themes of Slashdot just seems to: 1) upset those who just don't like anime at all and see it all as 'noise'; 2) not generate insightful and relevant 'signal' commentary.
Moglen didn't seem to understand the removal of 'GPS error'. When the error was removed (basically just a software change to the satellites), the capability remained to reestablish the error for non-US military GPS recievers in regions when necessary (war/conflict). It wouldn't be pinpoint enough to protect Montana missile silos, but it would be able to screw up civilian-purchased GPS in Iraq/Serbia and neighboring areas... just in case Saddam or Slobodan had GPS in use for their forces, for example. Just upload a patch to the appropriate regional satellites in the coverage constellation, and the enemy forces facing US troops are going in circles. ^_^
I'm waiting for IPv7, which will finally and fully link the Wired and the Real World, connecting everyone to the Wired (and each other) without using devices.
"Doko ni datte, hito wa tsunagatte iru." (No matter where, people are all connected) - from Serial Experiments Lain
Exactly what I was thinking.
l ogy.htm).
I nominate "Coronis" to be the name of the Chibi-Pluto... which would make Sailor Lead Crow-sama a planetary Senshi! ^_^
'Coronis' is Lead Crow's original planet, and the only traditional mythological name out of the Sailor Animamates' home planets (http://senshineko.dreamhost.com/crow/eyrie/mytho
I don't see ".dot"! C'mon!
He is using "see" in the common vernacular sense of substituting for 'don't understand'... as in saying 'I don't understand why someone proposed 'dot-dot'!
It does sound like it could lead to more than a bit of confusion, as people end the 'dot-dot' addresses with "www.slashdot.." for example.
Information wants to be Free. Superficially, it may seem anthropomorphic. But it is essetially the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
Aha... so that might be another reason why some people are lobbying to get the Second Law Of Thermodynamics repealed.
Wait until the MPAA and RIAA join the Religious Right in that crusade. ^_-
I can see the trend of discussion on this article already...
::: sigh and sweatdrop :::
200 posts stating "w1nD0wZ sUx n lInUx r0x!!!!!!"
Actually, this is an interesting and important question that I'd like to see the serious answer to as well. Not that I'm an advocate of either OS, but because it'll probably help many among us who aren't fully up on the differences between them get a better frame of reference for the Windows vs. Linux debate.
What the hell does anime have to news for nerds?
Please refer to the second portion of the Slashdot catchphrase, entitled "Stuff That Matters."
No, this doesn't mean "Stuff That Matters To YOU' - it's Stuff That Matters to the Slashdot crew (which the occasional Bay Area party announcements would fall under) as well as what News and Stuff that the Slashdot crew think would be of interest to a significant number of members of this 'community'.
Personally, I don't care for all the articles on the latest insignificant upgrades to some operating system or server software that I'm never going to use, but I certainly wouldn't proclaim that such stories have no place here. Heck, I even browse them on occasion so I might actually learn something interesting! Perhaps approaching Slashdot without the mindset that it all has to be about your definition of 'nerds' or what you think is important would help in your tolerance.
Then again, there's always the preference customization that is available to every logged in user, which allows people not to see those story categories that they don't care for. Basically, if you don't like a certain category of articles, don't read them.
Their usenet archive is alive and well.... http://www.deja.com/usenet/
Sorry, no. Their Usenet archive (prior to May 1999) has been offline since early May of this year, with no firm date as to its return. Read my previous post in this thread that you just replied to.