Is it really an issue? Is kiddie porn really as pervasive as the main stream media and internet alarmists declare?
Years ago, Playboy had an article that stated that the U.S. number one distributor of kiddie porn was the U.S. Postal Service in the form of sting operations created to snare "criminals".
Granted, I haven't went out looking for kiddie porn, but in the six years that I've been online, I've yet to stumble across kiddie porn. Is it really there or is it simply the boogey man of free-speech?
To the dismay of right-wing moralists, the adult porn industry has a firm grip on the internet. I'm beginning to believe that kiddie porn is not the target at all. The target is all porn (and anything else deemed objectionable).
Not only that. The IOC banned all weblogs also. The athletes were not allowed to publish text accounts of their experiences during the Olympics.
And yes... you're wrong. The Olympics are not about sports and competition. You do not get to watch your chosen athletes nor your chosen sports. It's about advertising and the last time I checked, a spot during a major sporting event on television costs much more than a banner ad on a web site.
[cynicism hat on]
On television, the shows are not the product. We the viewers are the product that is being bought and sold.
[cynicism hat off]
Oh... and sports and competition... right... there is nothing sporting about sending the NBA to the Olympics. Sure, it wasn't really fair to compete against government funded athletes but so what? At least when you won, it meant something.
cheers...
Re:Why is the war still raging?
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Re:Why is the war still raging?
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It is apparent to me that morality can not be legislated.
Right right... that's all part of the plan. Part of the reason that the drug war has lasted this long is that it has somehow been turned into a morality issue as if I'm more moral while I drink and smoke cigarettes than Robert Downey Jr simply because my drugs are legal.
That said... I do agree with you. Our government should stop trying to legislate morality. It's a lost cause and simply tramples over the rights of non-criminals.
Here's a question. Is it immoral to break the law?
Re:Innovative, but not new :)
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I'm confused. "Point of No Return" and "La Femme Nikita" are practically the same movie. Same director, same story, same shots. One is French. The other, English.
Trying to remember anything good that has been released since Combat Flight Simulator... European Air War was excellent. Jane's WWII Fighters failed. Activision's Fighter Squadron: SDOE missed the mark again. I haven't seen B17 yet, but what I've read doesn't inspire confidence. What have I missed?
Absolutely... Falcon 3.0 had flaws but it was the attempt to be realistic that's noteworthy. (Okay... there were some obvious failures.)
I can't recall realistic flight models being a selling point before Falcon 3.0. Maybe Chuck Yeager's Air Combat is worth noting.
I don't think any of the "realistic" sims have hit the mark, but there are a few that have come close.... Jane's F-15, Jane's Longbow II, Microprose's Falcon 4.0.
IMHO, Falcon 4.0 has probably hit closer to the mark than any other sim. It's a shame that Hasbro bought Microprose, released a faulty sim and then promptly killed further development. Hell, Hasbro does not offer support for Falcon 4.0 at all. No patches... nothing anymore. It's a shame. The continuing work of ad-hoc organizations have made Falcon 4.0 more stable, more realistic and more complete. The Realism Patch Group is an excellent example of open source success. Without their work and the work of iBeta, Falcon 4.0 wouldn't be as good as it is.
After I posted that, I then began to wonder. What influence?
I think that you can trace the origin of Myst back to text adventures. Was Myst influential? Hard to say. It sold a lot of copies but I can't recall anything following it that would indicate the birth of a genre. Unlike Castle Wolfenstein/Doom that begat an entire industry in FPS.
Agreed. I know of no other similar transaction (CDs, cars, TVs, etc.) which requires original authors (creators, etc.) to be compensated for each subsequent sale.
Kinda makes you wonder why the RIAA hasn't went after The Wherehouse for selling used CDs in the store. I've often looked at the new rack, found what I wanted and then made certain the same album wasn't in the used rack before proceeding to the checkout.
It's greed and the fact that Amazon is a great big fat easy target.
It's not completely moronic. You'll find the same sort of implicit agreements with magazines. Send a "letter to the editor" and it becomes property of the publisher. It's the same thing.
There will never be a cure for cancer or aids, etc. There is no money in it. The real money is to be made on giving people the ability to LIVE with their disease(s). My only wish is that I could have gotten in on the ground floor of the pharmeceutical industry.
Slashdot Mirror
Is it really an issue? Is kiddie porn really as pervasive as the main stream media and internet alarmists declare?
Years ago, Playboy had an article that stated that the U.S. number one distributor of kiddie porn was the U.S. Postal Service in the form of sting operations created to snare "criminals".
Granted, I haven't went out looking for kiddie porn, but in the six years that I've been online, I've yet to stumble across kiddie porn. Is it really there or is it simply the boogey man of free-speech?
To the dismay of right-wing moralists, the adult porn industry has a firm grip on the internet. I'm beginning to believe that kiddie porn is not the target at all. The target is all porn (and anything else deemed objectionable).
Of course, I could be wrong...
We magically transformed into voters competent to elect people to judge for us all?
We aren't. That's what the Electoral College is for.
Excellent point. The Olympics used to be noble. It was about athletes meeting without regard to nationality or political boundaries.
Now, it's just corporate greed... that is... unless it's being used as a political tool.
Not only that. The IOC banned all weblogs also. The athletes were not allowed to publish text accounts of their experiences during the Olympics.
And yes... you're wrong. The Olympics are not about sports and competition. You do not get to watch your chosen athletes nor your chosen sports. It's about advertising and the last time I checked, a spot during a major sporting event on television costs much more than a banner ad on a web site.
[cynicism hat on]
On television, the shows are not the product. We the viewers are the product that is being bought and sold.
[cynicism hat off]
Oh... and sports and competition... right... there is nothing sporting about sending the NBA to the Olympics. Sure, it wasn't really fair to compete against government funded athletes but so what? At least when you won, it meant something.
cheers...
You mean they don't? Take a look at this.
Hemp fiber is sold. It's not advertised. Why?
It is apparent to me that morality can not be legislated.
Right right... that's all part of the plan. Part of the reason that the drug war has lasted this long is that it has somehow been turned into a morality issue as if I'm more moral while I drink and smoke cigarettes than Robert Downey Jr simply because my drugs are legal.
That said... I do agree with you. Our government should stop trying to legislate morality. It's a lost cause and simply tramples over the rights of non-criminals.
Here's a question. Is it immoral to break the law?
I'm confused. "Point of No Return" and "La Femme Nikita" are practically the same movie. Same director, same story, same shots. One is French. The other, English.
IMHO, if one is horrible, so is the other.
Shit... didn't close the link. It's Aces High.
Trying to remember anything good that has been released since Combat Flight Simulator... European Air War was excellent. Jane's WWII Fighters failed. Activision's Fighter Squadron: SDOE missed the mark again. I haven't seen B17 yet, but what I've read doesn't inspire confidence. What have I missed?
I noticed WarBirds on the runner-up list. I think has picked up the arena sim baton and is running with it.
Absolutely... Falcon 3.0 had flaws but it was the attempt to be realistic that's noteworthy. (Okay... there were some obvious failures.)
I can't recall realistic flight models being a selling point before Falcon 3.0. Maybe Chuck Yeager's Air Combat is worth noting.
I don't think any of the "realistic" sims have hit the mark, but there are a few that have come close.... Jane's F-15, Jane's Longbow II, Microprose's Falcon 4.0.
IMHO, Falcon 4.0 has probably hit closer to the mark than any other sim. It's a shame that Hasbro bought Microprose, released a faulty sim and then promptly killed further development. Hell, Hasbro does not offer support for Falcon 4.0 at all. No patches... nothing anymore. It's a shame. The continuing work of ad-hoc organizations have made Falcon 4.0 more stable, more realistic and more complete. The Realism Patch Group is an excellent example of open source success. Without their work and the work of iBeta, Falcon 4.0 wouldn't be as good as it is.
After I posted that, I then began to wonder. What influence?
I think that you can trace the origin of Myst back to text adventures. Was Myst influential? Hard to say. It sold a lot of copies but I can't recall anything following it that would indicate the birth of a genre. Unlike Castle Wolfenstein/Doom that begat an entire industry in FPS.
What... no Zork?
Good to see Falcon 3.0 on the list. It's a shame that this is a dying genre. There's simply no real market for realistic flight sims.
Agreed. I know of no other similar transaction (CDs, cars, TVs, etc.) which requires original authors (creators, etc.) to be compensated for each subsequent sale.
Kinda makes you wonder why the RIAA hasn't went after The Wherehouse for selling used CDs in the store. I've often looked at the new rack, found what I wanted and then made certain the same album wasn't in the used rack before proceeding to the checkout.
It's greed and the fact that Amazon is a great big fat easy target.
What's next? Ford wanting a cut when I sell my used car?
No. We have the government for that. Buy a new car... pay sales tax. Buy a used car... pay sales tax... rinse, lather, repeat.
It's not completely moronic. You'll find the same sort of implicit agreements with magazines. Send a "letter to the editor" and it becomes property of the publisher. It's the same thing.
Katz has it right. Corporatism is evil.
Next, you'll have companies filing lawsuits against Andover because of the Slashdot effect.
Let's see... do the fixes include more scenes with Natalie Portman?
...or possibly Jar-Jar naked and petrified?
Hey man... I'm with you. I posted the comments about Brion James.
Thou shalt not make off topic jokes while there is serious discussion of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Pssshaw...
It won't stand up in court. If you grab a domain name with that sort of bad faith goal, you can't win in court.
I think it will come in handy for the people or organizations that wish to compete for a name but both have good faith reasons for doing so.
Taste like chicken?
Damn straight. I will not live my life with a belief system based upon fear.
Curing cancer...
There will never be a cure for cancer or aids, etc. There is no money in it. The real money is to be made on giving people the ability to LIVE with their disease(s). My only wish is that I could have gotten in on the ground floor of the pharmeceutical industry.
FALALALA LALA LALA.
I've lost nothing.