You know, Muslims are supposed to tolerate other religions. Muhammad forbade anyone to attack Christians and Jews, unless in Self-defense.
Except that Muhammad *himself* led the first wars of islamic conquest, unifying the Arabian peninsula, and died while planning an unprovoked attack on Persia (also monotheists) and the Byzantine Empire. His immediate successors carried out these plans.
Point being, Islam is a warrior's religion. Conquered Christians and Jews are to be tolerated, so long as they pay a special tax.
Some quotes from the Koran:
"Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends." (5:50)
"And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him." (3:85)
"Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth." (9:29)
"Fight and slay the Pagans wherever you find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war." (9:5)
"For the worst of beasts in the sight of Allah are those who reject Him." (8:55)
"Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies." (8:60)
"And slay them wherever you catch them... and fight with them until there is no persecution, and religion should be only for Allah." (2:193)
"Fighting is enjoined on you, [even if it] is an object of dislike to you; and it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you, and Allah knows, while you do not know." (2:216)
I am not intending this as a flame, or an insult, or a dis-respectful comment. Others may interpret it otherwise however. As a non-USian, the question I have is: why are the innocent people who were killed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11 any more deserving (or less) of remembrance than the innocent people who have died as the result of other acts of terror - apart from the fact that it hits a lot closer to home?
Why don't you complain about Norway, or China, or Uzbekistan not caring about genocide in Yugoslavia/Rwanda? Why is America expected to equally mourn every slain person in the world, while other countries are allowed to prefer their own dead?
Non-Americans, especially Europeans, often complain when America fails to live up to the non-Americans' internationalist ideals, which the non-Americans don't live up to either.
The US provides military hardware to Israel in its 50 year crusade to ethnically cleanse the "holy land" of Muslims and make that area a Jewish state with Jerusalem as it's capital. (This is called Zionism)
I've always wondered why people bring this up, and never mention the mean and nasty things the Muslims of the area do. Try being non-Muslim in Saudi, Iran, (till recently) Afghanistan. It seems there is a double standard where Israel is expected to act as a "civilized, Western" nation, but such behavior is not expected of the Muslim nations all around, and they are not censured when they set a state religion, oppress religious minorities, oppress women, exhort holy war, etc.
What's up with that?
Anyway, what this is really about is that some fringe Islamist groups DISAPPROVE OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY. That's it. If you think that this relatively tiny cabal should be able to set U.S. foreign policy, I don't know what to tell you.
Imagine someone writes a program, and has it digitally signed by (whoever signs them).
This program is a PC emulator for the PC, which reads arbitrary executable files as data, and executes whichever statements are in the file via a huge switch statement.
Would something like that allow one to run unsigned (or modified, checksum-failing) programs?
I get so sick of hearing this. Here in America (don't know so much about how it is elsewhere) we are indoctrinated to believe a company's sole responsibility is to their shareholders. The only thing that matters is ROI for the shareholders, blah, blah, blah... [...]
I'm just saying the belief that companies have no responsibilities to anyone other than their shareholders is wrong and a company whose sole purpose is to make a profit is incorporated for the wrong reason
This brings up the thorny "who decides" problem. That is, say I want to start a company to sell granite statues, or software. Or something.
Who decides "what else" the company's purpose is. Is it to save Africa? Preserve rainforest? Promote Free Software? Destroy Free Software? Who gets to pick? You? The government we all love and trust so much? A vote of the stock-holders -- whoops, per argument above, that's the only way we can't decide.
Don't forget that there is an outlet for people who want to start a corporation dedicated to things other than profit. They're called non-profits.
Both IBM and Sun want to ease into open source w/o risking too much. Right now, with open source just barely starting to be adopted in the business/government world, hiring someone as visible as Perens might be risky.
I question the corporate utility of hiring any high-visibility Free Software advocate. Remember, Sun and IBM have way different motives from (each other and) Free Software as a whole; they are using Linux because it helps their business make money, not because it is "right". Call this last point "alpha".
If any of these companies hires Perens, the same thing will happen. Perens will happily advocate Linux and Free software from an ethical point of view, and will get into trouble as soon as his vision diverges from that of the corporate masters. This will inevitably happen, because of "alpha", above.
Sun and IBM know that if you hire someone on the basis of him having strong, loud opinions, they shouldn't imagine he'll change them for their convenience. It would be a huge mismatch for both parties.
That said, good luck to Mr. Perens in whatever he puts his hand to next. But don't forget "alpha"!;)
Cell phones make us stupid? I'd agree with that, but they certainly have some other nasty effects on us: [Studies of how
electromagnetic radiation is bad for you]
Mostly, when you were at the grocery store before cell phones, you had an inkling that other folks were dumb, but they mostly kept silent.
I think you guys are missing the content of these grocery-store cell-phone calls. It's mostly guys who have been dragooned into shopping by wife or girlfriend.
You have to listen to these conversations.
"Yes... yes... do I like that brand? But the other one is cheaper per unit volume. Yes, dear.... Where are the canned asparagus? What aisle?... Did you want Fuji apples or, um, red ones? What if there's a soft spot on it? How can I tell if pineapples are ripe, anyway? Jesus Christ I had no idea saffron was so expensive. Sorry dear. Lessee, snackables.... I am not putting that in my cart.... (Sigh)... with or without 'wings'? If I buy cake mix will you bake it?... Please?"
It's not the sound of stupidity, it's the sound of blokes' dignity whimpering softly, circling the drain.
The concept of "futuristic" body armor to make super-soldiers is decades old. (The earliest reference I can think of is "Starship Troopers".)
I find it mind-boggling that they'd risk $50 million dollars to avoid paying some gimp art student (joke, joke) 200 bucks to make a (sigh) clean-room drawing.
MIT also holds lots of IP themselves, so the hypocrisy bell is going DING-DING-DING as we speak.
I really am surprised, I honestly expect better of the MIT boys.
While I'm a skittish about requiring GPL, GPL certainly seems like it would be perfect for not-so-wealthy nations
Hmm...
It sounds great for a poor nation wanting to get an infrastructure on the cheap, sure. But what if they ever want to export software? Aren't they scrod?
[You can take my solaris...] when you pry it out of my cold dead hands.
Oh, you mean after you've been administering it for a week.;)
Seriously, I like Solaris, but I think they are circling the drain, because solutions based on failover of cheap boxen will displace the One Omnipotent Box solution.
Remember
you're the one who says because its their PC and their bandwidth (which they can only afford by virtue of the work I do for them, so really, they are mine) that it goes by they're rules.
The difference here is that they've already compensated you for your work. Your contract probably says (more or less) "You get X dollars per year for working here". It *doesn't* say, "You get X dollars per year for working here, plus you own the machinery". The company didn't buy that machine for *you* as an individual, they bought it for whoever puts their fanny in that seat that day. If you don't believe me, quit your job, then come in and use the bandwidth and PC on the weekends. See how mad they get!;)
Imagine you work as a technician at a cyclotron lab. Your job is "vital" in that the machine won't work without you pushing levers, but does that mean you have some claim of ownership to the mighty cyclotron? Does this buy you the right to run your own experiments on it? Nope. All you get is your salary, and pride in being involved in a great work.
If the EFF starts taking Verizon's money - or, even, if they just accept logistical assistance or cooperate in education or lobbying with Verizon, might the EFF be reluctant to raise a holler when Verizon tries something scummy?
Can't you be allies on one issue and enemies on another? Sheesh!
It's pretty hard to find someone who opposes you in all things. It was pretty funny to see the cognitive meltdown here over the Red Hat article: "Red Hat == Linux == Good. But... they're taking lots of marketshare like MS, hence bad... oh no... paradox... Damn you, Kirk, you win again."
"Ignoring the difference between mean, mode, and median; if you're of average intelligence, half the people you meet are likely dumber than you. In a democracy, they vote. Be afraid."
Of course, anyone you talk to, especially Slashdot people, will believe that he is well above average.;)
It makes me wonder exactly how much variation there is, really.
Sometimes I get stuck on windows box for a second and find myself hitting the ESC key. HA!
Most Windows programs exhibit strange behavior when trying to move into command mode (that is, pressing the Escape key five or six times in a row. You do this too, don't deny it). Dialog boxes disappear -- with who knows what default -- and programs exit. Chaos reigns.
How do I know this? Well, I use a vi clone on Windows, and if you get the wrong window in focus and start doing "vi stuff", you are in for a world of pain.
Clearly, Windows is broken, if it has all those millions of lines of code and it can't even support one little application!
I just watched lord of the rings and it really is hard to tell real from CG
That thing where the Balrog has wings -- totally fake. Computer added. Everyone knows that the Balrog doesn't really have wings. I mean he lives underground for Iluvitar's sake.
Public Libraries are _public_ places, owned by the _government_. The government has a right to collect information from the library. It is not a private citizen's business or residence
Public Libraries are _public_ places, owned by the _people_. The people have a right to peacebly educate themselves, assemble, and petition government for greviences. They have a right to perform these activities anonymously, else they could be subject to harrassment by those individuals who currently control the government.
As to that last... *is* there really any right to anonymity? I mean, in a legal sense. If you borrow books from the library, do they or do they not have a legal right to store this information?
That said, my borrowing habits are innocuous enough that I'm having trouble mustering a lot of outrage over this whole business.
They're innocuous right now. Wait until your favorite author publicly supports something unpopular. Wait until these records become even more public; you'll be looking for a job and the interviewer won't like your taste in books. You could get turned down for a mortgage because the bank sees you return books late sometimes.
Jeez, guy, how slippery is your slope? If you read the article you'll recall that it is not about the library giving this information to banks and employers; it is about giving it to the FBI if they have a warrant. Yes, it is one of those PATRIOT Act super-warrants (& a whole 'nother debate), but a warrant all the same. Please explain where banks and employers come in to this.
I don't go to the library- I buy a lot of used books. My borrowing habits are about as innocuous as you can get, not being on their records. I've still got outrage enough to spare. Wake up and muster some yourself.
Your comments, uselessly snide as they may be, do make me wonder about the anonymity people... do they really want there to be no consequences for their actions? If you read books about bomb making a) if you check them out of the library and expect librarians to protect you from the FBI, you deserve whatever you get, and b) have the courage of your convictions. Don't feel like you're living on the edge because you're reading a second-hand copy of "Anarchist's Cookbook" by flashlight huddled under a blanket.
If your opinions are so odious that they make people unwilling to work with you, maybe it's time for a little self-examination, eh? You live in a community, after all.
the difference was that you probably wouldn't have been wearing a suit if your corporate master hadn't told you to. They may have conformed to each other, but they chose to do so.
The evil of Conforming by choice is less than that of Conforming for money. And choosing to be in an environment where you are forced to conform in appearance shows a lack of self-respect
Er... I submit you may have underestimated the art school story. Those kids were under extreme social pressure to conform... imagine if one of them wanted to wear a suit and tie. He'd be eaten alive. So if a kid wants to go to art school, he must submerge his desire to dress like Alex P. Keaton, just like I, as a businessman, refrain from dressing like Jerry Garcia.
Point is, whatever culture or subculture you get involved with will try to impose its standards (dress code or otherwise) on you. You can always vote with your feet, but usually the benefits -- salary, learning art, etc -- outweigh the silly dress code.
Slashdot Mirror
Point being, Islam is a warrior's religion. Conquered Christians and Jews are to be tolerated, so long as they pay a special tax.
Some quotes from the Koran:
"Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends." (5:50)
"And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him." (3:85)
"Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth." (9:29)
"Fight and slay the Pagans wherever you find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war." (9:5)
"For the worst of beasts in the sight of Allah are those who reject Him." (8:55)
"Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies." (8:60)
"And slay them wherever you catch them... and fight with them until there is no persecution, and religion should be only for Allah." (2:193)
"Fighting is enjoined on you, [even if it] is an object of dislike to you; and it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you, and Allah knows, while you do not know." (2:216)
Non-Americans, especially Europeans, often complain when America fails to live up to the non-Americans' internationalist ideals, which the non-Americans don't live up to either.
No disrepect, guys, but
What's up with that?
Anyway, what this is really about is that some fringe Islamist groups DISAPPROVE OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY. That's it. If you think that this relatively tiny cabal should be able to set U.S. foreign policy, I don't know what to tell you.
Imagine someone writes a program, and has it digitally signed by (whoever signs them).
This program is a PC emulator for the PC, which reads arbitrary executable files as data, and executes whichever statements are in the file via a huge switch statement.
Would something like that allow one to run unsigned (or modified, checksum-failing) programs?
Just a thought.
Who decides "what else" the company's purpose is. Is it to save Africa? Preserve rainforest? Promote Free Software? Destroy Free Software? Who gets to pick? You? The government we all love and trust so much? A vote of the stock-holders -- whoops, per argument above, that's the only way we can't decide.
Don't forget that there is an outlet for people who want to start a corporation dedicated to things other than profit. They're called non-profits.
If any of these companies hires Perens, the same thing will happen. Perens will happily advocate Linux and Free software from an ethical point of view, and will get into trouble as soon as his vision diverges from that of the corporate masters. This will inevitably happen, because of "alpha", above.
Sun and IBM know that if you hire someone on the basis of him having strong, loud opinions, they shouldn't imagine he'll change them for their convenience. It would be a huge mismatch for both parties.
That said, good luck to Mr. Perens in whatever he puts his hand to next. But don't forget "alpha"!
You have to listen to these conversations.
"Yes
It's not the sound of stupidity, it's the sound of blokes' dignity whimpering softly, circling the drain.
Talk about a great marketing pitch!
8^D
The concept of "futuristic" body armor to make super-soldiers is decades old. (The earliest reference I can think of is "Starship Troopers".)
I find it mind-boggling that they'd risk $50 million dollars to avoid paying some gimp art student (joke, joke) 200 bucks to make a (sigh) clean-room drawing.
MIT also holds lots of IP themselves, so the hypocrisy bell is going DING-DING-DING as we speak.
I really am surprised, I honestly expect better of the MIT boys.
It sounds great for a poor nation wanting to get an infrastructure on the cheap, sure. But what if they ever want to export software? Aren't they scrod?
Thanks a lot, "http://slashdot.org/"
Seriously, I like Solaris, but I think they are circling the drain, because solutions based on failover of cheap boxen will displace the One Omnipotent Box solution.
Please take whatever I say with a huge salt lick.
... The United States Postal Service.
Imagine you work as a technician at a cyclotron lab. Your job is "vital" in that the machine won't work without you pushing levers, but does that mean you have some claim of ownership to the mighty cyclotron? Does this buy you the right to run your own experiments on it? Nope. All you get is your salary, and pride in being involved in a great work.
Um...
I think if you do (ahem) that so much, it'll be your wife climbing the walls.
It's pretty hard to find someone who opposes you in all things. It was pretty funny to see the cognitive meltdown here over the Red Hat article: "Red Hat == Linux == Good. But
... Don't they only work well with Apples?
Maybe with ice cream on the side...
It makes me wonder exactly how much variation there is, really.
How do I know this? Well, I use a vi clone on Windows, and if you get the wrong window in focus and start doing "vi stuff", you are in for a world of pain.
Clearly, Windows is broken, if it has all those millions of lines of code and it can't even support one little application!
Sheesh!
If your opinions are so odious that they make people unwilling to work with you, maybe it's time for a little self-examination, eh? You live in a community, after all.
... but the library could have a service where they download a book into your eBook or other reader, set to expire when the book is "due".
If their software doesn't keep records -- which they won't have to, as "overdue" downloads remove themselves -- there is nothing to subpoena.
That said, my borrowing habits are innocuous enough that I'm having trouble mustering a lot of outrage over this whole business.
Point is, whatever culture or subculture you get involved with will try to impose its standards (dress code or otherwise) on you. You can always vote with your feet, but usually the benefits -- salary, learning art, etc -- outweigh the silly dress code.