Manufacturers are going to be too frightened to do this, though, as the firmware upgrade would be a copyright circumvention device and illegal under the DMCA. Isn't the US great?
What really concerns me is that bills like this may pass and become law.
Mandating backdoored crypto will mean nothing to people who are
willing to take hundreds to thousands of lives! I'm relatively
certain that terrorists and potential terrorists don't even flinch at the
thought of breaking U.S. laws.
Additionally, as somebody else already mentioned, there are many well
documented crypto implementations--reimplimenting any of these
(sans backdoor) would be a trivial task at best. I've even seen some
Slashdot users agreeing that this might be a good idea! I heartily
disagree: I can't really put my faith in any law that only serves
to take away the freedoms of innocent citizens. I'm not even a huge
privacy nut--I usually only encrypt sensitive information (passwords, etc.)
and digitally sign my outbound mail--but nonetheless, the thought of this
bill gives me the willies. I have a hard time trusting people in positions
of power based on what I've seen in the past, and I certainly wouldn't
trust them with the ability to get into my private data. I won't even
go into the possibility of Joe Blow getting access to such a backdoor...
Finally, I think that this is just the beginning--I've already seen
members of Congress using this disaster to back their own personal
propaganda. I think that's positively disgusting (and I'm not easily
appalled) and if I catch anyone from my state doing it, you can bet they
won't get my vote when they're up for reelection.
I've been enjoying full screen video over the Internet for 6 years! I started on a *14.4*! On a 56k modem, I've made well over 30fps with this streaming technology (which on average uses only 2.5-3k/s). Now, sure, Quake 2 and Quake 3 need a little more bandwidth to play bell, but....
Not to mention that I still haven't figured out how to use grep on my dead-tree literature. I don't think any *IX variants (well, maybe NetBSD, I haven't checked) have been ported to tree pulp yet, not to mention that those evil publishers seem to be using some kind of proprietary I/O interface that still hasn't been reverse-engineered. Is anyone working on any OS ports to wood pulp?
I figured I'd throw together my zsh prompts for consumption by the masses. Since/.'s comment code would undoubtedly devour it with great prejudice, I'll throw you here
instead--there's an html and a png sample as well as the relevant chunk from my zshrc.
All of these prompts have a lot of (what some would call superflous) information in them--I usually use prompt1, and I use all of the information it provides me on a regular basis. zsh's RPROMPT feature (which allows you to have part of the prompt tacked onto the right side of the terminal) is especially handy here, as it makes everything feel less cluttered. (There's no way in hell I'd have all that information otherwise--I'd be rather annoyed to have half of my screen real-estate gobbled up mercilessly by my prompt.)
I'm of the opinion that those who complain about prompts with lots of information are
masochists (no, I LIKE having to whip out 3 or 4 commands every time I want to know some information I use on a regular basis!)
lazy/inexperienced (Yeah, I could do that, but I lack the ambition/knowledge to do that and I'm jealous)
several times my age (back in MY day, we didn't have any of these newfangled monitor things--hell, my tractor only had one prompt, and that was for gas!
Just my.02 (since I like complaining:) -- Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
This gives ample time for (someone to buy|aliens to abduct|George Dubya to blow up) Mir once more, realize it's a lost cause, then let the remaining piece(s) fall through the earth's atmosphere.
-- Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
Here's a standard mirror of the beast, since (as posted earlier), the site has a limit of 60 anonymous connections, and I didn't notice any mirror that wasn't FreeNet based.
Our FTP server has a limit of 15 anonymous users, so I'd highly recommend using the HTTP mirror unless some BOFH firewalled port 80 outbound. (I've seen it happen!).
-- Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
1) War on Drugs (by Tim Doran)
The War on Drugs has been a consistently neglected topic in discussions surrounding this federal election. My question is, do you believe the War on Drugs has been an unqualified success, and if not, what would you change about it if elected president?
Bush: I will personally see to it that we start running anti-drug commercials with subliminmal messages in them to help keep drug out of our childrens' lives. Furthermore, I will make sure that all drug offenders are executed, because the death penalty helps to reduce crime. In fact, you can take a look at my record in Texas to back that up! Gore: My position as Vice President has taught me that drugs are okay as long as you don't inhale. I will see too it that criminals who commit violent crimes will be placed in a lockbox but drug users who don't inhale will not suffer any ill consequences. CmdrTaco: Personally, I believe drugs are great. I even bought one of CowboyNeal's infernal torches since I thought it'd be a great way to help me smoke up on the go.
2) Minority Religions... (by Electric Angst)
What will you do to protect the rights of atheists and those who hold minority faiths, such as Wicca, Santaria, Shinto, et al? Gore: While Tipper and I passionately believe in Christianity, we both believe that it's very important to keep freedom of religion in the United States and throw all of those who don't believe in freedom of religion into an iron clad lockbox. CmdrTaco: Religions are great, and I believe that everyone should be able to choose their own faith and have it protected by the federal government. Bush: You mean there are religions besides Christianity? Well by golly, they must not be very important, I almost never hear about them on the news!
3) Why give a tax cut? (by funkman)
With the surplus, everyone has been saying "Let's have a tax cut, Let's have a tax cut." In the meantime, Alan Greenspan and friends are trying to keep inflation and the speed of the growing economy in check so it doesn't burst. Which they are doing by raising interest rates periodically. (6 times this year). A tax cut flies in the face of what Greenspan is trying to do. A tax cut will inject more money into the economy and do what Greenspan is preventing. Why is a tax cut so big? Wouldn't the money be better spent on the deficit so when worse times roll along, a tax cut can be easily given by not paying as much on the debt? CmdrTaco: I believe that tax cuts should be granted to all citizens, but these cuts should be small enough to keep the economy running smoothly and inflation rates stable. Bush: Rich people pay more taxes than those who are not! This simple is an unfair and unjust practice and I want to see to it that the playing field is leveled for every citizen. Gore: My opponents tax cut is simple bizarre. I propose giving tax cuts only to those who are in need of it and putting the rest of money in a lockbox to make sure that money helps reduce the national debt.
4) electoral reform (by carleton)
Some people, especially those that favor '3-rd' party candidates, have called for the ending of the electoral college system to be replaced by a simple purely popular vote, or at least allowing for splitting the electoral votes by each state. The best recent example was the Bush-Clinton election. Clinton received 43% of the popular vote (but a sufficient majority of the electoral vote), whereas Perot got at least 10% of the popular vote but zero electoral votes. If memory serves, Vermont is the only state which does currently allow for its votes to be split; if someone wins 60% of the Vermont popular vote, they get 2 votes and the 40% candidate gets 1. This in contrast to California, where someone can get 51% of the popular vote, and therefore gets 53 (or whatever it is nowadays) electoral votes. What is your position on this issue? Bush: I believe that this is a very important issue, and that we should give all the electoral votes to the republican party so that we can stop letting partisanship interfere with the way the Government works. Gore: If my opponent's plan went into effect years ago, I may not have been able to get into the government position I was in when I invented the Internet. The drastic positive changes the Internet has made in our daily lives goes to show that my opponent's plan is bad for the American people. Politicians like Mr. Bush should be put into a lockbox. CmdrTaco: I totally agree with this and will push to get the electoral system reformed if I am elected. The current system makes it nearly impossible for anyone who's not part of the major two political parties to be elected.
5) How Do You Feel About Intellectual Property? (by Phil Gregory)
In this age of the Internet, intellectual property has become a very important concept to many people. Many companies make their living on the artificial scarcity provided by intellectual property laws, selling information that they have either created or aggregated. Some others, mostly in the Free Software world, make their living seemingly in spite of these laws, selling their services based on information that is freely given. Do you feel that out current system of intellectual property is a good one? Which parts of it (e.g. trademarks, patents, copyrights) do you feel are well suited to the world of the Internet and which do you think need to be changed (and, if changes are needed, what changes are needed)? Gore: When I invented the Internet, I foresaw these problems and they're one of the reasons I'm running for president. The current intellectual property laws need to be drastically reformed, and I will strive to make sure that they are, and that the old laws are put into a lockbox. CmdrTaco: The current IP system is so broken that nothing but a complete re-drafting of the entire IP system can fix it. I, too, will push for this if I am elected. Bush: I believe that intellectual property should be put into the hands of the people, not big government. I also believe that violations of intellectual property laws should be punishable by the the death penalty, because it helps to reduce crime
6) Encryption.... (by SquadBoy)
Many tech people think that strong encryption is one of the best ways we have to protect freedom both now and for future generations. For example to preserve information that future not so friendly governments may think we don't need to have and to make sure that things we want to have remain private remain private. Given this what would you do to help preserve our right to privacy through the use of strong encryption? Also in a related question what are your thoughts and what do you plan to do about the fact that we can not export many forms of strong encryption? CmdrTaco: I believe that we must fight to protect our rights to encryption and that we also must fight to allow exportation of all kinds of encryption. Not only does this help protect citizens, but it will help strengthen the economy by letting corporations securely communicate with foreign subsidiaries. Bush: I believe that the decisions about encryption should be placed into the hands of the people, not handled by big government. I believe that the American public is smart enough to make their own decisions. Gore: I strongly believe in encryption rights for everyone, domestic and foreign. Everybody should have the right to their own personal lockbox to protect their private information.
7) Rising Political Protests (by sterno)
In the last year or so we have seen a tremendous escalation in the quantity and size of political protests against globalization and the rising power of corporate multi-nationals. Do you believe that these people have reason to be concerned? If you do believe that they have reason for concern, what steps would you take as president to deal with their concerns? Bush: I believe that everyone has the right to peacefully demonstrate, but I want to make sure that when protests go violent, everyone is arrested and sentenced to death. I believe this is the only way to keep our streets safe and preserve our childrens' future. Gore: I agree with the concerns of many of these people, and I propose using antitrust laws to help put these companies in a lockbox so that they cannot gain any more power. CmdrTaco: I have to agree that this is a problem, and I want to make sure that the power of big corporations are kept in check by the government, rather than the current policy which seems to be promoting it.
8) Asteroid Defenses (by Ethelred Unraed)
Would you renew funding of programs to research and develop global defense systems against asteroids or other such threats from space? Gore: Yes, I believe that it's important to develop a system which can stop incoming astral threats so that we can both protect our citizens and put the threads in a lockbox to more closely study them. CmdrTaco: Maybe, though I don't believe that this will be a problem in the immediate future based on current projections. Bush: I believe that aliens invaders should suffer the death penalty if they try to harm our citizens. Not only is this a great way to protect our citizens, but it also sends a message of "hey, don't screw with us" to other aliens who may consider attacking us.
9) The Future of the Country, and of Humanity (by 11223)
I'm very concerned with the future of the country, and about what our national mission seems to be. Looking back through American history, every period seems to have a defining popular mission - like the "manifest destiny" movement in the 19th century, the Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. During these times, there would be one struggle or idea that captivated the attention of the nation, sort of providing a national mission. I'm a little confused as I look around today. What is our mission? To me, it seems to be "to watch TV and use the Internet." What would you say the defining national mission of today is? What should it be? Furthermore, how would you show this in your activities as a lawmaker? (For instance, if our national mission is the pursuit of science, then would you increase funding for scientific pursuits in the budget?) CmdrTaco: Quite frankly, I'm quite content with watching TV and using the Internet. Bush: I believe our mission must be returning power to the citizens. The government simply can't make optimal choices based on the wide variety of people living in America today. Gore: I believe that we should continue our missions of developing the Internet, trying to ensure that all families have access to the Internet, and also to ensure that every American family has a lockbox.
Note: This is satire. Please don't hurt me. -- Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
Sound like the definition of religion? It's not; it's the definition of cult according to Webster's 1913 Unabridged Dictionary. It goes on to state that 'That which was the religion of Moses is the ceremonial or cult of the religion of Christ.' The point is that cults and religions are essentially the same thing. In modern times, cult is also used to mean a religion where a single living person is revered as God or some such thing, but otherwise still essentially the same. So, even though I don't agree with what you said in one sense, you failed to make your point in another. Wicca is most certainly a religion, and most who subscribe to the religion believe in at least one God and one Goddess, though some believe in more. Though many Wiccans are solitary, some belong to a Coven (a small gathering similar to a congregation). Now this certainly sounds like a religion to me, even though it may not be terribly popular. Wicca is a Pagan religion. Not all Pagans are Wiccan, but all Wiccans are inherently Pagan.
Furthermore, Paganism in general does not claim to be the "one true religion" as many others do, nor does it encourage the bigotry that often exists in popular religions (even though those religions don't necessarily encourage it). Part of this is probably due to the fact that almost nobody (or at least nobody I've ever met) has taken a belief in Paganism in any form without knowing and understanding it, and because of that, they may follow their religion more closely. Most Christians are forced into their religion by their parents or other family members and may consequently know almost nothing about it.
What *does* bother me about religion is the number of people who will merrily make claims about a religion they have almost no information about. This plague of feigned expertise is far more disturbing to me than any religion or cult I've ever dealt with. Pretending to know about something you don't is a pet peeve of mine regarding anything, not just religion, but it's especially bad in the area of religion since it's a very deep and important subject for most people.
It's bad enough that people already have misconceptions about less popular religions (Paganism, Wicca, whatnot), but people like this one who make stabs in the dark at a religion they know little about is infuriating. I'd almost be willing to bet that you believe the pentagram is nothing but a symbol of evil, though in fact this is a misconception popularized by Christianity while they tried to stronghold paganism out of existence.
OK. Enough ranting.
Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again to all Pagan readers of this comment:)
-- Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
> Taiwan or Malta would be good - they don't have copyright laws there at all, so MS couldn't really do anything about it.
Wrong: What operating system do you think the governments of these countries use (for the most part, anyway)? Micr*ft has the leverage to easily prod the government into forcing the removal of the document(s). This holds true for almost any government, since the company is such a behemoth nowadays.
Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
Okay, why is the NOAA stalking me? I mean, sure, I complain about the NOAA sometimes, but when they start forecasting my actions, I have to get a little worried.. Of course, I do find it a little mysterious that they're announcing the fact they're stalking me... The government works in mysterious ways, I suppose!
Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
Slashdot Mirror
Manufacturers are going to be too frightened to do this, though, as the firmware upgrade would be a copyright circumvention device and illegal under the DMCA. Isn't the US great?
What really concerns me is that bills like this may pass and become law. Mandating backdoored crypto will mean nothing to people who are willing to take hundreds to thousands of lives! I'm relatively certain that terrorists and potential terrorists don't even flinch at the thought of breaking U.S. laws.
Additionally, as somebody else already mentioned, there are many well documented crypto implementations--reimplimenting any of these (sans backdoor) would be a trivial task at best. I've even seen some Slashdot users agreeing that this might be a good idea! I heartily disagree: I can't really put my faith in any law that only serves to take away the freedoms of innocent citizens. I'm not even a huge privacy nut--I usually only encrypt sensitive information (passwords, etc.) and digitally sign my outbound mail--but nonetheless, the thought of this bill gives me the willies. I have a hard time trusting people in positions of power based on what I've seen in the past, and I certainly wouldn't trust them with the ability to get into my private data. I won't even go into the possibility of Joe Blow getting access to such a backdoor...
Finally, I think that this is just the beginning--I've already seen members of Congress using this disaster to back their own personal propaganda. I think that's positively disgusting (and I'm not easily appalled) and if I catch anyone from my state doing it, you can bet they won't get my vote when they're up for reelection.
Just my 0.02.
I've been enjoying full screen video over the Internet for 6 years! I started on a *14.4*! On a 56k modem, I've made well over 30fps with this streaming technology (which on average uses only 2.5-3k/s). Now, sure, Quake 2 and Quake 3 need a little more bandwidth to play bell, but....
Not to mention that I still haven't figured out how to use grep on my dead-tree literature. I don't think any *IX variants (well, maybe NetBSD, I haven't checked) have been ported to tree pulp yet, not to mention that those evil publishers seem to be using some kind of proprietary I/O interface that still hasn't been reverse-engineered. Is anyone working on any OS ports to wood pulp?
All of these prompts have a lot of (what some would call superflous) information in them--I usually use prompt1, and I use all of the information it provides me on a regular basis. zsh's RPROMPT feature (which allows you to have part of the prompt tacked onto the right side of the terminal) is especially handy here, as it makes everything feel less cluttered. (There's no way in hell I'd have all that information otherwise--I'd be rather annoyed to have half of my screen real-estate gobbled up mercilessly by my prompt.)
I'm of the opinion that those who complain about prompts with lots of information are
Just my
--
Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net
bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
My guess would have to be...
2001-04-05 23:52:30
This gives ample time for (someone to buy|aliens to abduct|George Dubya to blow up) Mir once more, realize it's a lost cause, then let the remaining piece(s) fall through the earth's atmosphere.
--
Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net
bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
Here's a standard mirror of the beast, since (as posted earlier), the site has a limit of 60 anonymous connections, and I didn't notice any mirror that wasn't FreeNet based.
HTTP: http://www.bluecherry.net/~rain/shasm.tgz
FTP: ftp://ftp.bluecherry.net/pub/misc/shasm.tgz
Our FTP server has a limit of 15 anonymous users, so I'd highly recommend using the HTTP mirror unless some BOFH firewalled port 80 outbound. (I've seen it happen!).
--
Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net
bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
1) War on Drugs (by Tim Doran)
The War on Drugs has been a consistently neglected topic in discussions surrounding this federal election. My question is, do you believe the War on Drugs has been an unqualified success, and if not, what would you change about it if elected president?
Bush: I will personally see to it that we start running anti-drug commercials with subliminmal messages in them to help keep drug out of our childrens' lives. Furthermore, I will make sure that all drug offenders are executed, because the death penalty helps to reduce crime. In fact, you can take a look at my record in Texas to back that up!
Gore: My position as Vice President has taught me that drugs are okay as long as you don't inhale. I will see too it that criminals who commit violent crimes will be placed in a lockbox but drug users who don't inhale will not suffer any ill consequences.
CmdrTaco: Personally, I believe drugs are great. I even bought one of CowboyNeal's infernal torches since I thought it'd be a great way to help me smoke up on the go.
2) Minority Religions... (by Electric Angst)
What will you do to protect the rights of atheists and those who hold minority faiths, such as Wicca, Santaria, Shinto, et al?
Gore: While Tipper and I passionately believe in Christianity, we both believe that it's very important to keep freedom of religion in the United States and throw all of those who don't believe in freedom of religion into an iron clad lockbox.
CmdrTaco: Religions are great, and I believe that everyone should be able to choose their own faith and have it protected by the federal government.
Bush: You mean there are religions besides Christianity? Well by golly, they must not be very important, I almost never hear about them on the news!
3) Why give a tax cut? (by funkman)
With the surplus, everyone has been saying "Let's have a tax cut, Let's have a tax cut." In the meantime, Alan Greenspan and friends are trying to keep inflation and the speed of the growing economy in check so it doesn't burst. Which they are doing by raising interest rates periodically. (6 times this year). A tax cut flies in the face of what Greenspan is trying to do. A tax cut will inject more money into the economy and do what Greenspan is preventing. Why is a tax cut so big? Wouldn't the money be better spent on the deficit so when worse times roll along, a tax cut can be easily given by not paying as much on the debt?
CmdrTaco: I believe that tax cuts should be granted to all citizens, but these cuts should be small enough to keep the economy running smoothly and inflation rates stable.
Bush: Rich people pay more taxes than those who are not! This simple is an unfair and unjust practice and I want to see to it that the playing field is leveled for every citizen.
Gore: My opponents tax cut is simple bizarre. I propose giving tax cuts only to those who are in need of it and putting the rest of money in a lockbox to make sure that money helps reduce the national debt.
4) electoral reform (by carleton)
Some people, especially those that favor '3-rd' party candidates, have called for the ending of the electoral college system to be replaced by a simple purely popular vote, or at least allowing for splitting the electoral votes by each state. The best recent example was the Bush-Clinton election. Clinton received 43% of the popular vote (but a sufficient majority of the electoral vote), whereas Perot got at least 10% of the popular vote but zero electoral votes. If memory serves, Vermont is the only state which does currently allow for its votes to be split; if someone wins 60% of the Vermont popular vote, they get 2 votes and the 40% candidate gets 1. This in contrast to California, where someone can get 51% of the popular vote, and therefore gets 53 (or whatever it is nowadays) electoral votes. What is your position on this issue?
Bush: I believe that this is a very important issue, and that we should give all the electoral votes to the republican party so that we can stop letting partisanship interfere with the way the Government works.
Gore: If my opponent's plan went into effect years ago, I may not have been able to get into the government position I was in when I invented the Internet. The drastic positive changes the Internet has made in our daily lives goes to show that my opponent's plan is bad for the American people. Politicians like Mr. Bush should be put into a lockbox.
CmdrTaco: I totally agree with this and will push to get the electoral system reformed if I am elected. The current system makes it nearly impossible for anyone who's not part of the major two political parties to be elected.
5) How Do You Feel About Intellectual Property? (by Phil Gregory)
In this age of the Internet, intellectual property has become a very important concept to many people. Many companies make their living on the artificial scarcity provided by intellectual property laws, selling information that they have either created or aggregated. Some others, mostly in the Free Software world, make their living seemingly in spite of these laws, selling their services based on information that is freely given. Do you feel that out current system of intellectual property is a good one? Which parts of it (e.g. trademarks, patents, copyrights) do you feel are well suited to the world of the Internet and which do you think need to be changed (and, if changes are needed, what changes are needed)?
Gore: When I invented the Internet, I foresaw these problems and they're one of the reasons I'm running for president. The current intellectual property laws need to be drastically reformed, and I will strive to make sure that they are, and that the old laws are put into a lockbox.
CmdrTaco: The current IP system is so broken that nothing but a complete re-drafting of the entire IP system can fix it. I, too, will push for this if I am elected.
Bush: I believe that intellectual property should be put into the hands of the people, not big government. I also believe that violations of intellectual property laws should be punishable by the the death penalty, because it helps to reduce crime
6) Encryption.... (by SquadBoy)
Many tech people think that strong encryption is one of the best ways we have to protect freedom both now and for future generations. For example to preserve information that future not so friendly governments may think we don't need to have and to make sure that things we want to have remain private remain private. Given this what would you do to help preserve our right to privacy through the use of strong encryption? Also in a related question what are your thoughts and what do you plan to do about the fact that we can not export many forms of strong encryption?
CmdrTaco: I believe that we must fight to protect our rights to encryption and that we also must fight to allow exportation of all kinds of encryption. Not only does this help protect citizens, but it will help strengthen the economy by letting corporations securely communicate with foreign subsidiaries.
Bush: I believe that the decisions about encryption should be placed into the hands of the people, not handled by big government. I believe that the American public is smart enough to make their own decisions.
Gore: I strongly believe in encryption rights for everyone, domestic and foreign. Everybody should have the right to their own personal lockbox to protect their private information.
7) Rising Political Protests (by sterno)
In the last year or so we have seen a tremendous escalation in the quantity and size of political protests against globalization and the rising power of corporate multi-nationals. Do you believe that these people have reason to be concerned? If you do believe that they have reason for concern, what steps would you take as president to deal with their concerns?
Bush: I believe that everyone has the right to peacefully demonstrate, but I want to make sure that when protests go violent, everyone is arrested and sentenced to death. I believe this is the only way to keep our streets safe and preserve our childrens' future.
Gore: I agree with the concerns of many of these people, and I propose using antitrust laws to help put these companies in a lockbox so that they cannot gain any more power.
CmdrTaco: I have to agree that this is a problem, and I want to make sure that the power of big corporations are kept in check by the government, rather than the current policy which seems to be promoting it.
8) Asteroid Defenses (by Ethelred Unraed)
Would you renew funding of programs to research and develop global defense systems against asteroids or other such threats from space?
Gore: Yes, I believe that it's important to develop a system which can stop incoming astral threats so that we can both protect our citizens and put the threads in a lockbox to more closely study them.
CmdrTaco: Maybe, though I don't believe that this will be a problem in the immediate future based on current projections.
Bush: I believe that aliens invaders should suffer the death penalty if they try to harm our citizens. Not only is this a great way to protect our citizens, but it also sends a message of "hey, don't screw with us" to other aliens who may consider attacking us.
9) The Future of the Country, and of Humanity (by 11223)
I'm very concerned with the future of the country, and about what our national mission seems to be. Looking back through American history, every period seems to have a defining popular mission - like the "manifest destiny" movement in the 19th century, the Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. During these times, there would be one struggle or idea that captivated the attention of the nation, sort of providing a national mission. I'm a little confused as I look around today. What is our mission? To me, it seems to be "to watch TV and use the Internet." What would you say the defining national mission of today is? What should it be? Furthermore, how would you show this in your activities as a lawmaker? (For instance, if our national mission is the pursuit of science, then would you increase funding for scientific pursuits in the budget?)
CmdrTaco: Quite frankly, I'm quite content with watching TV and using the Internet.
Bush: I believe our mission must be returning power to the citizens. The government simply can't make optimal choices based on the wide variety of people living in America today.
Gore: I believe that we should continue our missions of developing the Internet, trying to ensure that all families have access to the Internet, and also to ensure that every American family has a lockbox.
Note: This is satire. Please don't hurt me.
--
Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net
bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
2. A system of religious belief and worship.
:)
Sound like the definition of religion? It's not; it's the definition of cult according to Webster's 1913 Unabridged Dictionary. It goes on to state that 'That which was the religion of Moses is the ceremonial or cult of the religion of Christ.' The point is that cults and religions are essentially the same thing. In modern times, cult is also used to mean a religion where a single living person is revered as God or some such thing, but otherwise still essentially the same. So, even though I don't agree with what you said in one sense, you failed to make your point in another. Wicca is most certainly a religion, and most who subscribe to the religion believe in at least one God and one Goddess, though some believe in more. Though many Wiccans are solitary, some belong to a Coven (a small gathering similar to a congregation). Now this certainly sounds like a religion to me, even though it may not be terribly popular. Wicca is a Pagan religion. Not all Pagans are Wiccan, but all Wiccans are inherently Pagan.
Furthermore, Paganism in general does not claim to be the "one true religion" as many others do, nor does it encourage the bigotry that often exists in popular religions (even though those religions don't necessarily encourage it). Part of this is probably due to the fact that almost nobody (or at least nobody I've ever met) has taken a belief in Paganism in any form without knowing and understanding it, and because of that, they may follow their religion more closely. Most Christians are forced into their religion by their parents or other family members and may consequently know almost nothing about it.
What *does* bother me about religion is the number of people who will merrily make claims about a religion they have almost no information about. This plague of feigned expertise is far more disturbing to me than any religion or cult I've ever dealt with. Pretending to know about something you don't is a pet peeve of mine regarding anything, not just religion, but it's especially bad in the area of religion since it's a very deep and important subject for most people.
It's bad enough that people already have misconceptions about less popular religions (Paganism, Wicca, whatnot), but people like this one who make stabs in the dark at a religion they know little about is infuriating. I'd almost be willing to bet that you believe the pentagram is nothing but a symbol of evil, though in fact this is a misconception popularized by Christianity while they tried to stronghold paganism out of existence.
OK. Enough ranting.
Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again to all Pagan readers of this comment
--
Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net
bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
> Taiwan or Malta would be good - they don't have copyright laws there at all, so MS couldn't really do anything about it.
Wrong: What operating system do you think the governments of these countries use (for the most part, anyway)? Micr*ft has the leverage to easily prod the government into forcing the removal of the document(s). This holds true for almost any government, since the company is such a behemoth nowadays.
Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net
bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/
Okay, why is the NOAA stalking me? I mean, sure, I complain about the NOAA sometimes, but when they start forecasting my actions, I have to get a little worried.. Of course, I do find it a little mysterious that they're announcing the fact they're stalking me... The government works in mysterious ways, I suppose!
Ben Winslow..........rain@bluecherry.net
bluecherry internet..http://www.bluecherry.net/