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User: gonzo67

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Comments · 194

  1. Re:the first hurdle... on America's Worst Christmas Parties · · Score: 1

    First...the tree is so NOT a Christian icon; it is a Pagan icon that has been co-opted by the Christians. 2nd. Lawsuits. If you have a "Christmas" party or celebration, unless you are a Christian company/organization, you may be in violation of federal EEO laws unless you you also have a Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yule/Diwali/Bodhi Day/Eid Al-Adha/Solstice parties (I do mean PARTIES...plural). A holiday party is neutral to religion, and still allows EVERYONE who wishes the opportunity to celebrate together. Lastly....Learn a bit about the true origins of the symbols used this time of year, such as hanging mistletoe, holly, etc. You may be surprised that "Christmas" is NOT the reason.

  2. Re:Hilarious on Republican Aide Tries to Hire Hackers · · Score: 1

    Actually, federal laws do allow restriction of the freedom of assembly for those of us paid by Uncle Sam. Membership in extremist groups is forbidden for all members of the military.

  3. Re:News for Nerds No Longer on Will the Next Election Be Hacked? · · Score: 1

    You are correct....it was not about sex and never was. It was supposed to be about a land deal in Arkansas. But, after many months and a tonne of money, the ONLY thing that they could come up with was a consensual sexual relationship that violated no law (though was not ethically sound). THAT was used to force the President (the same office that the current Republican neocons say is wrong to talk bad about) to talk about it. And, like many married men who had an affair...he lied.

    Now contrast this to....A Vice President who avoid service because he "had better things to do", a SecDef who served during Vietnam and appears to have not learned from that screwup, a President that was willing to conflate Iraq and Sept 11 despite there being no connection between the two. And an Administration that is decreasing the size of the military while increasing their work load (this is kinda personal for me). And so on and so on. If you wish to make comparisons, then make a COMPLETE comparison. I did not like Clinton, but simply considered him to be another slimy politician. The current administration has shown me that you can go down from there.

  4. Re:I want my fucking piece of paper on Diebold Insider Comments on Voting System Flaw · · Score: 1

    Not everyone has an ID. And this does disenfranchise the poor and is effectively a oll tax unless it is provided free (which it will not be unless the legislation is changed). And, to your aside, in the state of Georgia, the majority of those living at or below the poverty line are minorities.

  5. Re:I want my fucking piece of paper on Diebold Insider Comments on Voting System Flaw · · Score: 1

    While $4 may be a small amount, the fact is that it is $20 cost...upfront. For some, that $20 amy be the difference between eating or not that week/month. Plus, as pointed out, it is effectively a poll tax (which is unConstitutional) unless an acceptable ID is provided free by the state for voting purposes.

  6. Re:Yeah, right. on NRLB Redefines 'Your Own Time' · · Score: 1

    Well, perhaps YOU may want to ACTUALLY READ WHAT CASES THEY TAKE. They DEFEND the rights of students who wish to pray on their own time at their own behest. It is when the SCHOOL or GOVERNMENT is pushing the prayer they get involved in trying ot stop it. Perhaps rather than relying on SECOND or THIRD hand info on what cases they take, perhpas you should LOOK AT THEIR WEBSITE and verify what you are told. Jeez....ignorance is one thing, stupidity is another.

  7. Re:The TSA on TSA Violated Privacy Act · · Score: 1

    One name that destroys your postion: Jose Padilla- Attempted to blow p a plane and is AMERICAN member of Al Qaeda. Being a terrorist does not mean being "Arab" any more. Plus add in the fact there are Blue eyed, blonde Arabs in the world (the result of the common soldiers left behind during the Crusades), what DOES an Arab terrorist look like?

  8. Re:Hopefully the guy was innocent. on Using Google Maps to Get Out of a Traffic Ticket · · Score: 1

    And in Florida, when insurance companies tried to stop renewing policies after a particularly bad hurricane season, the legislature stepped in and prevent them from doing so. And as most insurance companies are part of larger corps. the state can prevent ANY company affiliated with the insurance company from doing business in the state. THAT made the insurance companies work with the state to make certain insruance was available at reasonable cost.

  9. BSA no longer is true to Scouting.. on Hong Kong Boy Scouts to Protect IP · · Score: 1

    I was a scout for many years. But all my scouting was done in England, in British troops (5th Stevenage Air Scouts to be specific). A lot more inclusive there. I then returned to the US (to join the military), and went and checked out the local BSA troop. Did not stay long. Religious prejudice abounded. I am not a Christian...or even a follower of an Abrahamic tradition. And was quickly let known that I was not welcome as a result. So I left. I then looked into the BSA with more detail. And based on my findings, I think the BSA needs to stop associating themselves with the World Scouting Association as the BSA left the ideals of the WSA a long time ago.

  10. Skype on VoIP for Deployed Soldiers? · · Score: 2, Interesting

    A retired soldier (Col Dave Hughes)(http://www.odessaoffice.com/wireless/Himal ayas/Hughes.htm) who set up a wireless network in Nepal has used Skype to talk to the folks there from his home in Colorado, with little latency and good quality. The connection included a sat internet connection and several hops via wireless connection in Nepal.

  11. Re:How is Spam defined? on Dutch Fine Spammers, AOL Reports Drop in Spam · · Score: 1

    Your math is wrong. If 2 out of 3 women were raped, it would be a national scandal. I would lay odds they said 2 out of 3 women were raped OR sexually assaulted. But this does not mean even though women outnumbered men 2 to 1, that every man must have attacked a woman. It simply means that 2 out of 3 women were attacked. This could have been by non-members of the school, a small number of men haveing multiple victims, etc.

    As for the definition of rape, unwelcome sex fits into the legal definition. Some people are reluctant to call it rape, even when victims, due to the stigma attached to being a rape victim. Also, if a person is unable to give consent (ie when intoxicated), it can be considered rape under the law.

    And before you get riled up thinking I am a woman, please note that I am male, and deal with victims of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape (all three are on a line form mild to extreme). As a result, I have had to do a lot of research and study into this issue.

  12. Re:Your rights shot to hell on U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft Resigns · · Score: 1

    The SCOTUS did not review or modify the USA PATRIOT Act. They do not look at any law until an appeal has made it through the appellate system and they accept the appeal. The ONLY parts they have addressed are those that have been challenged in court and been appealled.....and the Feds LOST. So yes, it has been modified in so much as the STOCUS saying that the parts they looked at violated the US Consitution.

  13. Re:Broken window fallacy?-Missing the mark. on Microsoft's Lobbying Priorities: Limiting Open Source · · Score: 1

    Easy...IBM switched to FOSS because it increased their profit margins....even with paying programmers internally and releasing the source back out into the wild. Apple's OSX is based on FOSS, spurred a major upswing for them.

  14. Re:Email voting could work, but not this way. on Absentee Ballots by Email? · · Score: 1

    And this woudl violate the anonymous aspect of voting. Using a CAC card to encrypt, would allow for the potential to see WHO voted for WHOM in the election. This violates LAW>

  15. Re:Yesss! on Absentee Ballots by Email? · · Score: 1

    As a military person, who frequents military focused boards, there is a greater number of serving military and Vets who while they may not prefer Kerry to be president, consider him to be the lesser of two evils. Of course, as an AC, I have no clue if you know what the hell you are talking about...but I do know what I hear every day on base, and other military focused locations.

  16. Re:What was he charged with? on Bikes Against Bush Creator Busted · · Score: 1

    Halliburton also OVERCHARGED the US government and was caught during an audit......and this was when Cheney was CEO. And they were caught doing so again in Iraq.

  17. Re:1st admentment on Bikes Against Bush Creator Busted · · Score: 1

    Actually, that would come under different laws, notably provoking speeches and gestures, as it would be potential grounds for violence.

  18. Re:Security? on Defending The Skies Against Congress And The Elderly · · Score: 1

    One, the actual numbers are not something that can be given out on this medium. Two, we actually had a continual mission in Saudi Arabia during a time when the official word was "the US has no military personnel in Saudi Arabia." We have people in places you would be surpised to learn about, and in numbers that show it is not a simple mission. We have 400 or so stationed on year plus assignements. THAT has never changed. The bulk of personnel in Saudi Arabia are deployed there on 90-179 day rotations. This allows the US to honestly say that "only" 400 or so are assigned to that area. The rest are "assigned" to other duty stations, but are sent there on deployments. Military speak is easy to understand if you actually learn it. Much of the time you can deny things honestly, while having a practical situtation that is much different. Using your analogy, if IBM recalled "all but 400 jobs" from India, but never actually brought those jobs back to the US because they simply hired sub-contractors (who are NOT therefore IBM employees) to do the work instead...what practical difference has occured vis a vis offshoring?

  19. Re:Spanish "Hembra" = bitch on How 8 Pixels Cost Microsoft Millions · · Score: 1

    Actually, Vosotros= Polite/formal form (used when meeting new people, higher position/rank) Ustedes= Informal form (used with those you know, lower in rank or position) Both are used in educated circles in latin America as well as in Spain

  20. Re:Not the first time... on How 8 Pixels Cost Microsoft Millions · · Score: 1

    Actually dude, if you are Spanish (as in from Spain) you are NOT Latino. A Latino is someone from Latin America. You ARE Hispanic (=of Spanish Descent). I am Latino and Hispanic by virtue of being Puerto Rican by descent (via my paternal Grandparents), and of Spanish descent via my paternal Great Grandparents (they were born in Spain and moved to P.R. prior to the Spanish American war). My wife is Spanish (Gitana to be specific, from Alicante). She is not Latina (and would be pissed if it was even suggested...and if you know Gitanas, that is NOT a good thing!).

  21. Re:Security? on Defending The Skies Against Congress And The Elderly · · Score: 1

    Really? They all left? So my buddies in Riyadh right now are not really there? Wow! You must know more than I or the rest of the military does!

  22. Re:Important question for Slashdot on Is Sveasoft Violating the GPL? · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Perhaps one already owns the music on vinyl, and does not wish to pay for a second copy of the same music on CD to simply make a copy for use with a portable MP3 player. As one has already bought a copy, one is allowed by law to have as many forms of that music as one wishes....for one's OWN use. For example, I own the boxed set of Frank Zappa's "Joe's Garage" in vinyl. Shoudl I have to then go out and buy a copy on CD just to make a copy form y Rio Karma? No.

  23. Re:Arrogant on Supreme Court Rules Against Anti-Porn Law · · Score: 1

    There is a difference between persuasion and imposing. The former is voluntary, the latter is not.

  24. Re:Chiropracters == Quacks on Best Results From Bartering Computer Services? · · Score: 3, Informative

    So why is there a Royal National Homeopathic Hospital in London, that the NHS pays for?

  25. Re:ACLU Good/Bad on Justice Department Censors ACLU Web Site · · Score: 1

    Please!! ID has NO reputable scientific support. It is an off-shoot of creationism, a concept rooted in Christian fundamentalism. ID is an attempt to place sheep's clothing over the wolf of religous rhetoric to get it into public schools. If you wish to have your children learn only your religous beliefs, then place them in a private religous school.