If data shows that the number of planets which could support life like ours is high then another factor must be pushed down, because we aren't getting any visitors, and we aren't getting any communications from other species...
...that we know of. I know it sounds kind of tinfoil-hatty, but it is not unreasonable to think that if ET's were visiting this planet, they might try to keep themselves hidden, so as not to alarm anyone. I would also think that if they had made contact, say with a government, that government might keep it a secret as well (see sig for more insight). Governments aren't the most forthcoming institutions these days, their military and intelligence operations even less so.
Besides that many people, including military people, have claimed to see things they consider not of this earth. You may not believe them, but it is possible they are right.
Re:No successful terrorist attacks since 9/11?
on
Top Secret America
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· Score: 2, Insightful
Or the DC Snipers? This is another example of people hearing something so much that they internalize it and treat it as fact. It's like when people thought that Sadam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks. The government and media want you to think that so they keep saying it or alluding to it until people think it's true.
...2: Apple tells AT&T where to stick it since the moment they allow every carrier to have it, their sales will almost double. AT&T is a deal-breaker for a lot of customers.
I'm betting on #2 happening real soon. They are exactly like Sony in that way - predictably greedy. And, yes, despite the fact that I don't like Apple as a company, I'll buy one the second I can get it to work with T-Mobile.
AT&T is the deal-breaker for me. If I could get an iPhone on Verizon, I'd do it.
Maybe I'm naive, but is it such a big deal to have lots of traffic cameras to enforce speed limits? It sounds a little ridiculous to say we can't have traffic cameras because there exists a possibility that they will be used to create "Big Brother." Shouldn't we be able to implement traffic cameras without using them for unrelated surveillance?
In Taiwan, there are cameras everywhere (not for traffic purposes), their crime rates are very low, and Big Brother is not a concern. It seems like they prefer having someone looking over them in case a crime is committed. I'm not doing anything wrong so Big Brother can look all he wants to.
Really? Define "wrong". Oh, that's right, it's not what you define as wrong, but what Big Brother defines as wrong that matters. Are you sure you'll always agree with him?
The problem with speed cameras is that they haven't been shown to reduce speeding. What they do do is cause traffic. People know where the cameras are, so they slow down just before the camera, and then speed up again when they pass it. Traffic bunches up around the camera, increasing the risk of accidents.
I am of the opinion that aliens are and have been visiting this planet for some time. Further, I think they are keeping themselves largely hidden because they are concerned about the reaction if they were to reveal themselves in an unambiguous way; they would be worshipped or attacked, or both and they don't want the responsibility or drama.
How is this claim about UFOs/aliens any different, reality-wise, than the millions of people around the world who actually believe that a Jew thousands of years ago raised himself from the dead, or that Moses made the sea split so he could travel across it, or that Jacob wrestled with an angel?
It is quite different in that the UFO claim has a much higher probablility of being true.
I have often thought someting along these lines. I believe in the existence of life on other planets, and that they have visited this one. But I don't fear an alien invasion.
If they have developed such high technology, I expect that they have learned to not subjugate others and not to solve problems with force. Both of those behaviors have held us back on this planet and would on others.
I thought the same thing when I read the summary. Some large enterprises are seriously considering moving to GMail? Like who? As a sys admin I would be not at all comfortable using Gmail for my company's email, calendaring and contacts; for most of the same reasons you describe.
We have a whistle-blower law to protect the American taxpayer, but if it's deemed classified, all bets are off.
Great, just great! So, if I want to be a crooked government official, I just need to be able to classify it as "Secret" and "National Security" and I'm off to the Bahamas!
Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. One need look no further than United States v. Reynolds to see that classification will be abused.
Just why is it that we need to do away with a physical throttle cable anyway? There was nothing wrong with throttle cables. They have been giving us reliable acceleration (and provided a means of "brute forcing" deceleration in "sticky" situations more or less since the dawn of automobiles.
Drive-by-wire (DBW) systems enable many features of modern cars. Stability control, throttle response control, direct injection, knock detection, and some variable valve timing systems require DBW. It provides more fine grained control of the throttle and fuel system than a traditional cable drive. As the driver of a modified turbocharged car, I appreciate the advantages of DBW. But I can understand your trepidation. Leaving control of critical functions to a computer introduces risk.
If you are averse to cars equipped with DBW, you should take good care of your current car. DBW is the way of the future, for good or ill. Like power windows, soon every car will have it.
The terrorists have already won, we have lost our liberty and freedoms through fear and who helped the terrorists to win? Our wonderful all powerful governments, by slowly stripping away our rights, one by one, without most people even knowing or caring.
The terrorists got what they wanted, total fear of them from the general populace. The governments have curtailed our freedoms, just what all governments have wanted.
Sad times we live in now...
It seems the interests of the terrorists and our governments are aligned. And the media works to further them both. Kind of makes you wonder...
You have a point. But can we please dispense with the "free market"? It doesn't exist and never has. All business is done within a framework of government regulation.
Right, so the country's culture and artistic freedom should be reduced so that a few individuals continue to make money the way they always have. Is that about right?
People achieve office based on their ability to convince enough people to vote for them (and rigging elections). Sadly, and obviously, it says nothing about their ability to responsibly and intelligently govern.
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I own skis, you insensitive clod!
If data shows that the number of planets which could support life like ours is high then another factor must be pushed down, because we aren't getting any visitors, and we aren't getting any communications from other species...
Besides that many people, including military people, have claimed to see things they consider not of this earth. You may not believe them, but it is possible they are right.
Or the DC Snipers? This is another example of people hearing something so much that they internalize it and treat it as fact. It's like when people thought that Sadam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks. The government and media want you to think that so they keep saying it or alluding to it until people think it's true.
My car gets 40 rods to the hogs head, and that's the way I likes it!
Who do you think works for the corporations? Answer: The taxpayers.
The same taxpayers that haven't gotten a significant raise in the past decade, while corporate profits soared? I'm sure they'll reap the benefits.
...2: Apple tells AT&T where to stick it since the moment they allow every carrier to have it, their sales will almost double. AT&T is a deal-breaker for a lot of customers.
I'm betting on #2 happening real soon. They are exactly like Sony in that way - predictably greedy. And, yes, despite the fact that I don't like Apple as a company, I'll buy one the second I can get it to work with T-Mobile.
AT&T is the deal-breaker for me. If I could get an iPhone on Verizon, I'd do it.
Instant zoom feature!
That's pretty shaky ground. Laws are there for a reason. You can't just chop and choose what laws you want to follow...
Sure you can! I do this every day.
Maybe I'm naive, but is it such a big deal to have lots of traffic cameras to enforce speed limits? It sounds a little ridiculous to say we can't have traffic cameras because there exists a possibility that they will be used to create "Big Brother." Shouldn't we be able to implement traffic cameras without using them for unrelated surveillance?
In Taiwan, there are cameras everywhere (not for traffic purposes), their crime rates are very low, and Big Brother is not a concern. It seems like they prefer having someone looking over them in case a crime is committed. I'm not doing anything wrong so Big Brother can look all he wants to.
Really? Define "wrong". Oh, that's right, it's not what you define as wrong, but what Big Brother defines as wrong that matters. Are you sure you'll always agree with him?
The problem with speed cameras is that they haven't been shown to reduce speeding. What they do do is cause traffic. People know where the cameras are, so they slow down just before the camera, and then speed up again when they pass it. Traffic bunches up around the camera, increasing the risk of accidents.
Indeed, there is something going on.
I am of the opinion that aliens are and have been visiting this planet for some time. Further, I think they are keeping themselves largely hidden because they are concerned about the reaction if they were to reveal themselves in an unambiguous way; they would be worshipped or attacked, or both and they don't want the responsibility or drama.
How is this claim about UFOs/aliens any different, reality-wise, than the millions of people around the world who actually believe that a Jew thousands of years ago raised himself from the dead, or that Moses made the sea split so he could travel across it, or that Jacob wrestled with an angel?
It is quite different in that the UFO claim has a much higher probablility of being true.
I have often thought someting along these lines. I believe in the existence of life on other planets, and that they have visited this one. But I don't fear an alien invasion.
If they have developed such high technology, I expect that they have learned to not subjugate others and not to solve problems with force. Both of those behaviors have held us back on this planet and would on others.
I thought the same thing when I read the summary. Some large enterprises are seriously considering moving to GMail? Like who? As a sys admin I would be not at all comfortable using Gmail for my company's email, calendaring and contacts; for most of the same reasons you describe.
Yeah, that's right.
We have a whistle-blower law to protect the American taxpayer, but if it's deemed classified, all bets are off.
Great, just great! So, if I want to be a crooked government official, I just need to be able to classify it as "Secret" and "National Security" and I'm off to the Bahamas!
Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. One need look no further than United States v. Reynolds to see that classification will be abused.
You must hate it when highway patrol lets you off with a warning.
Just why is it that we need to do away with a physical throttle cable anyway? There was nothing wrong with throttle cables. They have been giving us reliable acceleration (and provided a means of "brute forcing" deceleration in "sticky" situations more or less since the dawn of automobiles.
Drive-by-wire (DBW) systems enable many features of modern cars. Stability control, throttle response control, direct injection, knock detection, and some variable valve timing systems require DBW. It provides more fine grained control of the throttle and fuel system than a traditional cable drive. As the driver of a modified turbocharged car, I appreciate the advantages of DBW. But I can understand your trepidation. Leaving control of critical functions to a computer introduces risk.
If you are averse to cars equipped with DBW, you should take good care of your current car. DBW is the way of the future, for good or ill. Like power windows, soon every car will have it.
I read the linked article at the Times. Man, what a dick!
I thought the same thing. How did some of these companies get the idea that they should be the only ones to sell stuff?
The terrorists have already won, we have lost our liberty and freedoms through fear and who helped the terrorists to win? Our wonderful all powerful governments, by slowly stripping away our rights, one by one, without most people even knowing or caring. The terrorists got what they wanted, total fear of them from the general populace. The governments have curtailed our freedoms, just what all governments have wanted. Sad times we live in now...
It seems the interests of the terrorists and our governments are aligned. And the media works to further them both. Kind of makes you wonder...
If you use it as $100, it is a crime. If you sell it for $100,000 it is art!
I thought the same thing when I read the summary. There is a reason companies provide a stimulant drug to their employees for free.
...antibiotics were commonly proscribed for them.
The antibiotics would have been prescribed for them. Proscribing antibiotics is what the article is considering.
You have a point. But can we please dispense with the "free market"? It doesn't exist and never has. All business is done within a framework of government regulation.
Right, so the country's culture and artistic freedom should be reduced so that a few individuals continue to make money the way they always have. Is that about right?
People achieve office based on their ability to convince enough people to vote for them (and rigging elections). Sadly, and obviously, it says nothing about their ability to responsibly and intelligently govern.