For Heaven's sake, that was NOT Brutus! That was Galileo. Who, incidentally, was NOT burned at the stake, but just barely so; thanks to close connections he had at the Vatican, he managed to convert what would have been a death penalty to what amounted to an intellectual life sentence: he was forbidden to meet his fellow scientists and talk about his ideas. Which, nevertheless, he went out of the "court" famously muttering, "Eppur si muove..." (and yet it moves).
The Church, however, was really well known for applying the Barbecue Principle to any political, moral or scientific dissidents. What we really don't lack is a long list of scientists and philosophers -- who could be considered, IMHO, their ages' gees -- either killed or terrified out of their wits by this compassionate institution. If you MUST have names, Savonarola and Jan Hus come immediately to mind (both were burned, in Firenze and Prague, respectively); and Spinoza was a virtual recluse in the confines of his own head.
But all of this is, of course, pretty irrelevant, considering that a few centuries later a Pope stands out and says OOPS, SORRY, GUYS...
You can use both Napster AND its alternatives; actually, IMO, that's what we all should do, at least until we get a clear idea about which of the alternatives has the greatest following. As for what I'll do right now: put up my WHOLE collection back for uploading, of course! (AND continue dlding like there's no tomorrow, of course...)
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For Heaven's sake, that was NOT Brutus! That was Galileo. Who, incidentally, was NOT burned at the stake, but just barely so; thanks to close connections he had at the Vatican, he managed to convert what would have been a death penalty to what amounted to an intellectual life sentence: he was forbidden to meet his fellow scientists and talk about his ideas. Which, nevertheless, he went out of the "court" famously muttering, "Eppur si muove..." (and yet it moves).
The Church, however, was really well known for applying the Barbecue Principle to any political, moral or scientific dissidents. What we really don't lack is a long list of scientists and philosophers -- who could be considered, IMHO, their ages' gees -- either killed or terrified out of their wits by this compassionate institution. If you MUST have names, Savonarola and Jan Hus come immediately to mind (both were burned, in Firenze and Prague, respectively); and Spinoza was a virtual recluse in the confines of his own head.
But all of this is, of course, pretty irrelevant, considering that a few centuries later a Pope stands out and says OOPS, SORRY, GUYS...
You can use both Napster AND its alternatives; actually, IMO, that's what we all should do, at least until we get a clear idea about which of the alternatives has the greatest following. As for what I'll do right now: put up my WHOLE collection back for uploading, of course! (AND continue dlding like there's no tomorrow, of course...)