--Just listen to your local radio stations and their hourly samplings of what's on CD.--
No, so I can find out what the main-stream, garbage laden, steaming turd of a song they've put on the album so that the masses will go ga-ga over it for two days and their ratings will go up. Repeat for next song. Most of the really good songs *never* make it to radio, and some of the stuff that's on the radio is *NOT* a reflection of the band... (take system of a down for instance.)
--Those record labels paid good money to those radio stations --
Somone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the other way around? Radio stations don't GET paid by the record companies, they PAY them. Their (the radio station) income is usually supplied by advertisers, which is the reason that most of the radio stations around my town boast "MORE MUSIC THAN ANYONE ELSE!!! LOTS OF MUSIC WITH FEW COMMERCIALS!!!" Of course, they say those things during their "commercial free" music blocks....then stuff 20 minutes of commercials into the hour....
Please tell me you did not just link to FoxNews as a legitimate news source. I know that lots of them aren't exactly perfect, but dear god man... FoxNews??!! Words cannot express....
Sadly, this is probably going to get shot down because I've only read about these things offline and don't have handy references for all to see. I'm attaching my name on here simply because I won't hide behind AC.
On the subject of the whole Kurdish incident. Yep, as far as I can tell, he did it. Also, as far as I can tell, we sold him the equipment and processes and training to be able to manufacture those chemicals.
Here's a salt shaker. Take a grain and pass it around.
Actually, the only thing that I can think of is "Sure, go ahead and put scanners on EVERYTHING. It's still not going to help when the guy walks down onto the subway infected with smallpox or Plague." Nothing is ever secure.
Mostly local stores where I get to know the owners, they usually don't have enough of a customer base to make mass marketing / spamming profitable. And I get the added benefit of usually getting some kind of discount after a little while of frequenting there;-)
I've already started doing that with my circle of friends. I don't go to Wal-Mart, Circuit City, use MSFT (*sighs* other than windows...be gentle...) products, I don't go to Target either. I'm afraid that sometime soon though, I won't have anywhere left to shop!!!
I've been reading/. now for a couple of years, and only recently has it REALLY become apparent that yeah... if ANYONE else does something... it's a good thing. If Msft does it though, it's GOT to be bad. It gets lame and old after a while.
--I happen to believe pornography is a bad thing. It has destructive effects on families, individuals and societies.--
I'm sorry man, but I have a hard time believing that simply looking at pictures or videos somehow corrupts you. It's what you DO with those images that could possibly sow the seeds for wrongdoing. There is nothing wrong with the depiction of a natural act. (now whether you will agree that latex and strangulation are natural...*shrugs* up to you..) I've noticed that the societies and cultures that put the most emphasis on restriction of behaviour are also the most repressive and close-minded ones. Telling someone "You shouldn't do that!!" to most things is simply putting them in a position that BEGS them to break the rules. It also leads to some really stupid things being said... "Masturbation causes insanity!", "Marijuana will make you into a crazed killer!", and other such nonesense.
People who follow the more restrictive religons strike me as afraid of their very nature. Sex is bad, porn is bad, alcohol is bad, masturbation is bad, gay people are bad, anyone who doesn't think / look / act like you is bad.... Instead of teaching their children to be able to think clearly and rationalize things, they teach them "what I/God/The Church says is right... anyone telling you otherwise should not be listened to." Not something I personally would like to teach my children.
Sadly I really get the feeling that most of my fellow countrymen just like to hate. They hate themselves, they hate people just like themselves, they hate people different from them too. What disturbs me the most is that we're doing *exactly* what we're accusing all the "bad" people of doing, but saying it's for a 'good' reason... and PEOPLE BELIVE THEM.
I for one am just scared out of my mind at where this is headed. Our Declaration of Independence and Constitution were created to PREVENT **exactly** this sort of thing from happening, but fear and ignorance are blinding the American public... it's a sad state of affairs for all involved.
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. (don't remember who said it but they're right.)
Or you could do as the Founding Fathers requested:
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
--Our company has a rule about viewing "web sites that portray the company negatively" from the company network. Just visiting some URL's will trigger alarms.--
You know, in some ways... I almost understand that type of rule...in some ways. Then again, I used to work for a sub-contractor for AT&T. They screwed their employees, point blank. There was no "well..." no. They messed with the time cards, found *any* reason to fire someone with more than a year in the company (Most of the BOSSES and higher-ups were not promoted, they were hired directly into their positions.) etc. They had one of those rules...mostly because they were actively trying to make themselves seem like such great people when they were in reality...screwing people over. I can't help but think that *most* companies with this type of policy are trying to hide something.
It seems to me that you simply have a problem with D&D and/or Role playing games in general. It happens, but I think you're putting a bit more into this than is really necessary. The manuals go into a little bit of history, a little bit of mythology, and a little bit of fantasy... If you're not usually reading that type of material then chances are fairly good that you're going to learn something that you didn't know before....on an unrelated note, when the hell did/. start checking for scripts with *EVERY* post... even if you're logged in??/me shrugs
Actually, I always learn something. Whether it's improving my strategy or critical thinking skills or simply exploring a concept that was brought up during the session, I'd say that I *have* 'enriched myself'. As for judging "my amusement" as more worthy, nope... just stating my 2 cents worth of opinion.
Personally I think that paper & dice games such as D&D are a lot less of a 'waste of time' than regular video games. With vid games you just go in a linear path to a known end. D&D allows so many options that no two games are alike. Also, D&D allows you to ACT through your character, not just walk him/her around and blow shit up. (well, most of the time anyway...)
Most of what I've seen BW research for is for developing resistant strains that are highly infective(?). BW research is how we now have a few strains of VERY resistant Anthrax...
Slashdot Mirror
--Just listen to your local radio stations and their hourly samplings of what's on CD.--
No, so I can find out what the main-stream, garbage laden, steaming turd of a song they've put on the album so that the masses will go ga-ga over it for two days and their ratings will go up. Repeat for next song. Most of the really good songs *never* make it to radio, and some of the stuff that's on the radio is *NOT* a reflection of the band... (take system of a down for instance.)
--Those record labels paid good money to those radio stations --
Somone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the other way around? Radio stations don't GET paid by the record companies, they PAY them. Their (the radio station) income is usually supplied by advertisers, which is the reason that most of the radio stations around my town boast "MORE MUSIC THAN ANYONE ELSE!!! LOTS OF MUSIC WITH FEW COMMERCIALS!!!" Of course, they say those things during their "commercial free" music blocks....then stuff 20 minutes of commercials into the hour....
My 2c.
Please tell me you did not just link to FoxNews as a legitimate news source. I know that lots of them aren't exactly perfect, but dear god man... FoxNews??!! Words cannot express....
Why not just link directly to the source??
http://www.newamericancentury.org/
My 2c.
Sadly, this is probably going to get shot down because I've only read about these things offline and don't have handy references for all to see. I'm attaching my name on here simply because I won't hide behind AC.
On the subject of the whole Kurdish incident. Yep, as far as I can tell, he did it. Also, as far as I can tell, we sold him the equipment and processes and training to be able to manufacture those chemicals.
Here's a salt shaker. Take a grain and pass it around.
Actually, the only thing that I can think of is "Sure, go ahead and put scanners on EVERYTHING. It's still not going to help when the guy walks down onto the subway infected with smallpox or Plague." Nothing is ever secure.
2 points for the A.C., I hadn't been interested enough to actually look that up, thanks for the info!!! ^_^
A.A
Dear Mr. AC,
Enclosed, please find one (1) clue. Hopefully this will help you in your attempt to find your obiviously misplaced sense of humor.
Best wishes,
A.A
-- How discriminatory and non-PC.... --
The word "I" is not short... it's length challenged, get it right!
A.A
Mostly local stores where I get to know the owners, they usually don't have enough of a customer base to make mass marketing / spamming profitable. And I get the added benefit of usually getting some kind of discount after a little while of frequenting there ;-)
A.A
I've already started doing that with my circle of friends. I don't go to Wal-Mart, Circuit City, use MSFT (*sighs* other than windows...be gentle...) products, I don't go to Target either. I'm afraid that sometime soon though, I won't have anywhere left to shop!!!
A.A
I've been reading /. now for a couple of years, and only recently has it REALLY become apparent that yeah... if ANYONE else does something... it's a good thing. If Msft does it though, it's GOT to be bad. It gets lame and old after a while.
dude? It was a JOKE. Admittedly it might not have been hysterical, but it was a joke :P
A.A
I don't like the words "Law" and "execute" in the same post...especially when talking about *MY* government....
A.A
Commodore!!! Haven't typed ,8,1 in FOREVER lol. Thanks for the trip down memory lane :)
A.A
--I happen to believe pornography is a bad thing. It has destructive effects on families, individuals and societies.--
I'm sorry man, but I have a hard time believing that simply looking at pictures or videos somehow corrupts you. It's what you DO with those images that could possibly sow the seeds for wrongdoing. There is nothing wrong with the depiction of a natural act. (now whether you will agree that latex and strangulation are natural...*shrugs* up to you..) I've noticed that the societies and cultures that put the most emphasis on restriction of behaviour are also the most repressive and close-minded ones. Telling someone "You shouldn't do that!!" to most things is simply putting them in a position that BEGS them to break the rules. It also leads to some really stupid things being said... "Masturbation causes insanity!", "Marijuana will make you into a crazed killer!", and other such nonesense.
People who follow the more restrictive religons strike me as afraid of their very nature. Sex is bad, porn is bad, alcohol is bad, masturbation is bad, gay people are bad, anyone who doesn't think / look / act like you is bad.... Instead of teaching their children to be able to think clearly and rationalize things, they teach them "what I/God/The Church says is right... anyone telling you otherwise should not be listened to." Not something I personally would like to teach my children.
My 2c and *opinion*...
A.A
Sadly I really get the feeling that most of my fellow countrymen just like to hate. They hate themselves, they hate people just like themselves, they hate people different from them too. What disturbs me the most is that we're doing *exactly* what we're accusing all the "bad" people of doing, but saying it's for a 'good' reason... and PEOPLE BELIVE THEM.
I for one am just scared out of my mind at where this is headed. Our Declaration of Independence and Constitution were created to PREVENT **exactly** this sort of thing from happening, but fear and ignorance are blinding the American public... it's a sad state of affairs for all involved.
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. (don't remember who said it but they're right.)
A.A
"You assist an administration most effectively by obeying its orders and decrees. An evil administration never deserves such alligance."
-Ghandi
More and more I respect this guy.
A.A
Or you could do as the Founding Fathers requested :
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
--Our company has a rule about viewing "web sites that portray the company negatively" from the company network. Just visiting some URL's will trigger alarms.--
You know, in some ways... I almost understand that type of rule...in some ways. Then again, I used to work for a sub-contractor for AT&T. They screwed their employees, point blank. There was no "well..." no. They messed with the time cards, found *any* reason to fire someone with more than a year in the company (Most of the BOSSES and higher-ups were not promoted, they were hired directly into their positions.) etc. They had one of those rules...mostly because they were actively trying to make themselves seem like such great people when they were in reality...screwing people over. I can't help but think that *most* companies with this type of policy are trying to hide something.
my 2c.
A.A
It's threads like this that remind me the stocks are a lot more in depth than what I played with in 7th grade...
Good luck and thanks for the info!
A.A
Are you speaking of ECT? (Electro-Convulsive Thearpy)
A suggest full physical castration. Consider it chlorinating the Gene Pool.
A.A
It seems to me that you simply have a problem with D&D and/or Role playing games in general. It happens, but I think you're putting a bit more into this than is really necessary. The manuals go into a little bit of history, a little bit of mythology, and a little bit of fantasy... If you're not usually reading that type of material then chances are fairly good that you're going to learn something that you didn't know before. ...on an unrelated note, when the hell did /. start checking for scripts with *EVERY* post... even if you're logged in?? /me shrugs
A.A
Actually, I always learn something. Whether it's improving my strategy or critical thinking skills or simply exploring a concept that was brought up during the session, I'd say that I *have* 'enriched myself'. As for judging "my amusement" as more worthy, nope... just stating my 2 cents worth of opinion.
YMMV
A.A
Personally I think that paper & dice games such as D&D are a lot less of a 'waste of time' than regular video games. With vid games you just go in a linear path to a known end. D&D allows so many options that no two games are alike. Also, D&D allows you to ACT through your character, not just walk him/her around and blow shit up. (well, most of the time anyway...)
My 2c
A.A
Most of what I've seen BW research for is for developing resistant strains that are highly infective(?). BW research is how we now have a few strains of VERY resistant Anthrax...
my 2c
A.A