I used to work at walmart during the gta3 release, apparently if I remember correctly, it was temporarily banned in the Au for lack of receiving a proper rating...That finally blew over, but not before seeding a myriad of roomers here in the states that gta3 was going to be banned and made illegal by the government. At least among typically joe sixpack walmart shoppers. I recall statements multiple times of the sort "Oh good you guys still have this yet, I need to get it before the ban" - or something to that effect.
It's just sickening how grossly a misunderstanding these people have of free speech and it's effect on them. And how they were perfectly complacent and saw no wrong in what the government was "doing." - Gross
They're also wrong. There is really very little difference between cane sugar & high fructose corn syrup... Such a small difference isn't going to cause an obesity epidemic, unless you're consuming gallons of soda each day.
You're right, the type of sweetening agent used isn't going to cause an obesity epidemic alone, there must be other factors - namely increased mass consumption. The key culprit is not just the mainstream inclusion of HFCS into our diet, but the general industry-wide switch to processed foods. All foods commonly consumed and purchased now contain mostly processed ingredients and/or artificial agents. Even so called health foods now contain HFCS and other artificial agents, unless one purchases true organic at a much greater cost. Which most don't know exist, and most don't understand the health benefits of eating, and Why?
It's overall consumer stupification which has caused the obesity epidemic. Just like rats, we eat what is presented to us, by our corporate overloads; by TV. We eat what we like -Apple Jacks. We eat unquestioningly what is dumped into our dishes, regardless to any trickery or foul play on the other end. So you are correct, it is not just HFCS which is killing us, it's those who control us. Our government and the corporations which run it are systematically converting our food sources against us, not for genocide purposes, but for mass-profit. Like all industries there is a great deal of money to be earned by cutting corners and shaving costs; switching to processed food (HFCS) saves arguably billions per year industry-wide. Likewise, and quite obviously there is also a great deal of money to be earned through increasing consumption; through advertising.
And this is the key, the answer to our obesity epidemic. It is not directly the fault of the consumer, it's not directly the fat persons fault they are fat, it's our negligent masters. Although in the end it was the obese person's own hand who has feed his face, it's not his fault. After all he has only been doing what decades of training have taught him, blindly consume; don't think: "Eat more, buy more, it's free, so do it, only 35 cents more! Now." And who wouldn't after being programmed for decades to do so by TV?
Genetics do play a small part in the epidemic, some are wired to crave food more, just as some are wired to be sex-fiends or easily prone to rage, but how can one be to blame for the way he was born? And when put into a system whose only message is "more!" How can one be blamed for not abstaining from his own bodily urges? Although it is true, and ultimately he alone will be held accountable, to alone only blame the man and not the misguided machine which controls him, especially with an epidemic as this scale is impossible. The machine is equality guilty, if not more.
To simply blame a single agent such as HFCS or a person's own gluttony for a massive nationwide epidemic is largely unwise. We must open our eyes to the larger picture, what's going on outside the big-media box we live in. We must unplug, from the system, from TV and from processed foods; because it's killing us.
Your right people arn't going to store Menthynol/Hydrogen in their homes, that's doubtful. And will probaby be banned by some pork-law. Instead common battery companies are going to suppy the fuel in small pricey ammounts in modular reservoirs. Laptops will run on D reservoirs, or something similar, and everything will cost 5x what it does now.
These companies not only do very little to foster innovation, they hinder innovation! This is blatant patent abuse. They squat some non-implemented idea until someone implements it, rape the implementer (hindering progress), and then in some cases attempt to remove it from the marketplace entirely. This is blatant inappropriate use, a pure contradiction to everything 'the patent' stands for - and I don't understand why this practice is allowed to continue.
This is corporate racketering! Their fundimental actions are no different than those of an organized crime syndicate, buying off political figure-heads, favors and such.
And nobody in the mainstream populus cares - because they've already bought (are) the media, how convenient.
The internet's our last viable option for the dissemination of truth and anti groupthink - until they shut it down, so get ready!
But isn't that just a bit ironic that every great game you mentioned was at least a sequel? Not to contradict you, I've played several of them and they were enjoyable. But I believe it's the industry which is getting 'a bit jaded'.
"But I *really do* want to know that the person boarding the airplane with me is who they say they are and not on an expired visa with a fraudulantly obtained ID (like the 9-11 hijackers on expired visas with fraudulantly obtained Virginia driver licences). I *really do* want the government (all of it including state and local subdivisions) to enforce immigration laws and to know if somebody's visa is expired.
So thank you for the information, I will call/fax my senator to let him know that I want him to vote in favor of Real ID."
And good sir, how do you propose this will actually fix these problems? There's nothing about it being nationally issued which makes it any safer or less difficult to falsify. In fact it's arguably much less safer and more un-secure because all this information will inherently need to be stored and maintained in a single national monolithic archive. It solves none of your questioned problems and only serves as another line of 'pork' obfuscating any real danger you still and will face upon it's implementation.
If you want the government to enforce immigration laws and visa expiration dates, then why don't you call and write your senators and tell them? - Because this my friend is irrelevant.
And please don't refer to 9-11 hijackers, terrorist whatever, it's really cliché, cheesy and low - and basically just invalidates your whole argument, as it's anymore only used as a crutch to support totalitarian pork barrel projects. It runs about analogous too 'Think of the children.'
The government hates you, doesn't care about you - or your freedoms, and will only do what's minimally required of it to maintain a contrary image, meanwhile behind your back making every attempt to undermine and destroy you. It will however on its own initiative install, implement, and otherwise take on any devious means to usurp any remaining freedoms you currently still have. And it seems that you are all too willing to just toss them away, in the name of more 'perceived' security!
Why did they post this just today!? Seriously, it would have been so nice to have at least 2 days heads up. Now I have to magically allocate some in my already booked schedual to draft a letter to these assholes, which will ultimantly do no good, but which must be done.
Fools, they should have called it Xbox 2*PI. They are loosing out on a significant sect of mathimaticions and engineers who think it's low to work in degrees.
Seriously though, I'm one of them, but I also think the name is just inherently dumb. 360 has been overused by skateboard and rollerbladers anyway. Although since that is their primary market, the name makes sence. Also 360 > 3, which is > playstation 3. Which was probably the true reason it was picked over the other name canidates.
It's shame we won't ever see a Xbox*Xbox, Xbox^2, log Xbox, lim x->oo Xbox, box (x) though.
free as in trick-kids-into-reading-something free
on
Free Comic Book Day 2005
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· Score: 3, Funny
No their going to give out those crappy ones you got a few times as a kid, you know what I'm talking about? The ones where Spiderman gets sexually molested and has to talk about it with his parents? At first you thought, oh cool free comics! But then after page 3 you realized they were fake. I'm serious. I've got another one where Daredevil helps me remember not to leave the stove on when I cook my snack after school.
Thanks Stan Lee, through your characters we're forming a better America!
"Even if it does, HP will still have to work for years to gain peoples trust."
We cannot nor we must not ever trust a corporation for any matter large or small. Certainly some corporations naturally carry more credibility than others, based off their current and past set of actions, but trust, no we must never trust them. For a corporation is nothing but a physical and legally instantiated embodiment of greed. As with all greed, it is all-powerful and all-corrupting and they will all eventually sour. Instead we must always keep a tilted eye and watchful minds, and never let our guard down. The moment we do they'll poison your water to save a few bucks. We must always watch and react swiftly; we must rebuke them through our buying power. Greed only understands greed, this is the only way they may be educated. Instruct them in these ways!
Amidst all the scoffing here, am I the only one who sees a semi-bright future for us though this and alike projects?
I'm talking about DRM, TCPA, police-ware, Palladium - whatever it's called now - the only substantial threat to our freedom of computing movement. Not just the ability to install this week's trendy flavor of Linux on your Gateway, but the whole concept of using a computer as anything more than a glorified VCR is at steak here. The Internet is a powerful tool, for the rapid dissemination of unflattering information, organization, collaboration, it breads free-speech and revolutionary ideas - and does many other things scary to those in power. And the easiest way to kill it? Pull the plug on consumer hardware. Lock it down, restrict it. Subject all files to corporate/government run blacklists. Force viewing of advertisements and propaganda. And whether this is implemented by a bipartisan corporate consortium or stone cast in law, that's largely irrelevant. As long as it's implemented slowly (so people don't notice), and it's ubiquitous - there are no alternatives, it will largely put any social gains we've made in the last 20 years (especially the last 10) on ice.
And my friends, assuming this dark prediction unfolds, Open Hardware would go underground (along with freedom), and that might be our only means of real communication.
"We must continue our shared public-private efforts to deter piracy and promote intellectual property rights in every corner of the globe. Our children's ability to learn, create and innovate must be protected now and in the decades ahead."
A classic maneuver; stating two unrelated topics in the same paragraph deceiving lay readers into drawing nonexistent conclusions between them. This is especially prevalent with statistics, where correlations between two data sets are often shown (which do exist), but where any actual connection between the two is purely happenstance. For example: "After using product X for 2 weeks Rob's weight dropped 25 pounds." At first glance Rob's use of product X and his weight seem to be related, but their not. The real reason for his weight drop was he stopped having his hourly burrito during that time period.
- Piracy and children have nothing in common, and this man's an asshole for even implying such a connection exists.
What the Fuck!?
"The Family Entertainment and Copyright act?" This is absolutely ridiculous. I don't believe this shit; if this isn't total and unequivocal proof that our government is completely and permanently fragged I don't know what is. It's about time for a violent revolution, starting with a complete absterge of Washington.
Well I'm starting a clock; either 5 years till the information age re-revolution, or 20 years till our downfall (governmental collapse into an Orwellian police state run by corporate America).
But unfortunately based on the current trend of shitty laws, paid-for politicians, and the nullified MTV populous, I think were more headed towards option two. The entire infrastructure for this is largely already in place; it just needs to be 'switched on' without anyone noticing...Hence the 20 years.
Hopefully I'm wrong and history will repeat itself (similar suppression attempts failed with the printing press, radio, player piano, ect) and they won't be able to put the freedom-of-information gene back into the bottle. But as I said, the tools to suppress this are now in place, and were living inside an unprecedented veil of seemingly benign misrepresentation and oppression; the safeguards to keep this from happening might have already been 'switched off'. If our government is as fatally wounded as suspected, then this time bureaucracy and reliance on the system's ability to self heal will be fatal. We need to do a cold reset, purge everything.
But "The Family and Entertainment and Copyright Act," seriously - that's proof enough, sounds like it came straight from the Ministry of Love.
And one obligatory - Fuck Bush.
Exactly, because despite popular opinion they're goal is not to go out and kill every single American. Their goal is to go out and make every single American afraid of them, afraid to live their lives.
And Mission Accomplished.
They have successfully reduced my dad, into a withered old man afraid to ever leave the country, who does nothing but curse these damn 'rag-heads'. "We need more legislation and more intrusive government, cause those bastards are everywhere. They want to kill us all. So we need to get em first. Nuke those bastards. We need to kill any and all of them, cause they're all rag-heads and they all want us dead with their 'Islam'."
YES! Because terrorist are everywhere! They are outside your house, they are in the mall, they are living next door to you, and their going to GET You. Unless you give your mind and soul to the only one who can help, Big Government. Big Government can help you; He'll save you from all these nasty nasty terrorists. You just have to unquestionably follow him, do as he says blindly, and never fall out of line, because then you'll be one.
Because remember, they're everywhere. They're anyone, anyone who doesn't really believe in Big Government, anyone who is or thinks different than you, and especially anyone who is critical of Big Government!
And remember to do your part citizens in stopping these nasties! If you ever see anyone exhibiting these actions, don't forget to notify the police or the FBI so Big Government can help them.
Just for the record, although this is currently modded +5 funny, I would like to state that it's probably the most insightful thing I have read all day - And it seems reasonable to infer that this IS actually what they are doing.
I mean think about it: 1. Sony defines dead pixels as a non-malfunction, non-defect! Of course it is, and they recognize this up-to the point of appeasing vocally dissatisfied customers. But it remains that, because of this qualification they are free to just 'recycle' and pass these broken displays back off to new and hopefully benign users who won't demand a display. And because most consumers don't even turn in their mail-in rebates, this works. 2. Sony is a multinational corporation, and alike all multinational corporations, in it's eyes, laws, treaties, decency, fair-use, environmental restrictions and morality do not and should not apply to it or interfere with it's God-given right to usurp total unrestrained profits from anyone for any reason it chooses.
I find this very frustrating that colleges are justifying bandwidth censorships by deeming protocols and online actions unrelated to academia, and therefore unacceptable on-campus. That's crap! If that reasoning was true, they'd cancel all student activates, sporting events and anything else not explicitly related to the 3 academic pillars, and the TV's in dorms would only receive the Discovery and History channels.
I enjoy listening to internet radio as I do my homework, but they throttle it and drop my connection after 10 MB. And perhaps a website I'm doing research from has a 200 MB video attachment, Nope, that's not academic related either. Sorry, you can't learn from anything that's not in an ASCII text file!
How do they expect students to live on bread alone? For some of us the internet is our lives and they our denying that though denying us bandwidth! Dammit!
Yeah I was definatly poor, I never had a nintendo when I was growing up, but I invited myself over to my friends house at every waking moment to play. Not having for so long instilled a deep love of them in me and now it has become my passion to make them.
To Get More Bandwidth:
on
Contrabandwidth
·
· Score: 3, Funny
The parent gave me a good idea, bring 2 laptops, network then with crossover or adhoc wifi, tell kids about the basic network.
Then prewrite a simple python chat program or networked tictactoe ( 200 lines). Briefly review the script, make sure they understand YOU wrote it and it's not just the computer. Kids this age have a hard time understanding the abstraction between hardware and software. This is your goal, teach them of this, get them to understand the idea that everything the computer does must be programmed by somone, and someone has written every single program they use on their computer. This is what should spark the intrest, that they can make a computer do anything they want to though code.
Then let them have a go at it. Perhaps show them how to change the color and fonts in the code, ect.
See, I'm pretty sure that the MPAA won't be paying the ISP to implement this technology, to purchase the additional equipment to use it, and to maintain it.
Exactly, that's a no-brainer. It will either be funded directly by you, as an additional $25.00 copyright enforcement fee, or indirectly by you, as an extra 15% compounded onto your entertainment tax. And I'm guessing the latter will be more likely than the former, judging from the gargantuan amount of bullshit anti-consumer legislation being cast in their favor these days.
Be sure to write in and thank your congressman! Maybe he'll be able to take you for a ride on his new yacht...
Slashdot Mirror
I used to work at walmart during the gta3 release, apparently if I remember correctly, it was temporarily banned in the Au for lack of receiving a proper rating...That finally blew over, but not before seeding a myriad of roomers here in the states that gta3 was going to be banned and made illegal by the government. At least among typically joe sixpack walmart shoppers. I recall statements multiple times of the sort "Oh good you guys still have this yet, I need to get it before the ban" - or something to that effect.
It's just sickening how grossly a misunderstanding these people have of free speech and it's effect on them. And how they were perfectly complacent and saw no wrong in what the government was "doing." - Gross
They're also wrong. There is really very little difference between cane sugar & high fructose corn syrup... Such a small difference isn't going to cause an obesity epidemic, unless you're consuming gallons of soda each day.
You're right, the type of sweetening agent used isn't going to cause an obesity epidemic alone, there must be other factors - namely increased mass consumption. The key culprit is not just the mainstream inclusion of HFCS into our diet, but the general industry-wide switch to processed foods. All foods commonly consumed and purchased now contain mostly processed ingredients and/or artificial agents. Even so called health foods now contain HFCS and other artificial agents, unless one purchases true organic at a much greater cost. Which most don't know exist, and most don't understand the health benefits of eating, and Why?
It's overall consumer stupification which has caused the obesity epidemic. Just like rats, we eat what is presented to us, by our corporate overloads; by TV. We eat what we like -Apple Jacks. We eat unquestioningly what is dumped into our dishes, regardless to any trickery or foul play on the other end. So you are correct, it is not just HFCS which is killing us, it's those who control us. Our government and the corporations which run it are systematically converting our food sources against us, not for genocide purposes, but for mass-profit. Like all industries there is a great deal of money to be earned by cutting corners and shaving costs; switching to processed food (HFCS) saves arguably billions per year industry-wide. Likewise, and quite obviously there is also a great deal of money to be earned through increasing consumption; through advertising.
And this is the key, the answer to our obesity epidemic. It is not directly the fault of the consumer, it's not directly the fat persons fault they are fat, it's our negligent masters. Although in the end it was the obese person's own hand who has feed his face, it's not his fault. After all he has only been doing what decades of training have taught him, blindly consume; don't think: "Eat more, buy more, it's free, so do it, only 35 cents more! Now." And who wouldn't after being programmed for decades to do so by TV?
Genetics do play a small part in the epidemic, some are wired to crave food more, just as some are wired to be sex-fiends or easily prone to rage, but how can one be to blame for the way he was born? And when put into a system whose only message is "more!" How can one be blamed for not abstaining from his own bodily urges? Although it is true, and ultimately he alone will be held accountable, to alone only blame the man and not the misguided machine which controls him, especially with an epidemic as this scale is impossible. The machine is equality guilty, if not more.
To simply blame a single agent such as HFCS or a person's own gluttony for a massive nationwide epidemic is largely unwise. We must open our eyes to the larger picture, what's going on outside the big-media box we live in. We must unplug, from the system, from TV and from processed foods; because it's killing us.
A non corporate engineered definition of HFCS is here: http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/cornsyrup. html
Cheers!
Your right people arn't going to store Menthynol/Hydrogen in their homes, that's doubtful. And will probaby be banned by some pork-law. Instead common battery companies are going to suppy the fuel in small pricey ammounts in modular reservoirs. Laptops will run on D reservoirs, or something similar, and everything will cost 5x what it does now.
These companies not only do very little to foster innovation, they hinder innovation! This is blatant patent abuse. They squat some non-implemented idea until someone implements it, rape the implementer (hindering progress), and then in some cases attempt to remove it from the marketplace entirely. This is blatant inappropriate use, a pure contradiction to everything 'the patent' stands for - and I don't understand why this practice is allowed to continue.
This is corporate racketering!
Their fundimental actions are no different than those of an organized crime syndicate, buying off political figure-heads, favors and such.
And nobody in the mainstream populus cares - because they've already bought (are) the media, how convenient.
The internet's our last viable option for the dissemination of truth and anti groupthink - until they shut it down, so get ready!
Games are still cool and fun, your right.
But isn't that just a bit ironic that every great game you mentioned was at least a sequel? Not to contradict you, I've played several of them and they were enjoyable. But I believe it's the industry which is getting 'a bit jaded'.
"But I *really do* want to know that the person boarding the airplane with me is who they say they are and not on an expired visa with a fraudulantly obtained ID (like the 9-11 hijackers on expired visas with fraudulantly obtained Virginia driver licences). I *really do* want the government (all of it including state and local subdivisions) to enforce immigration laws and to know if somebody's visa is expired. So thank you for the information, I will call/fax my senator to let him know that I want him to vote in favor of Real ID."
And good sir, how do you propose this will actually fix these problems? There's nothing about it being nationally issued which makes it any safer or less difficult to falsify. In fact it's arguably much less safer and more un-secure because all this information will inherently need to be stored and maintained in a single national monolithic archive. It solves none of your questioned problems and only serves as another line of 'pork' obfuscating any real danger you still and will face upon it's implementation.
If you want the government to enforce immigration laws and visa expiration dates, then why don't you call and write your senators and tell them? - Because this my friend is irrelevant.
And please don't refer to 9-11 hijackers, terrorist whatever, it's really cliché, cheesy and low - and basically just invalidates your whole argument, as it's anymore only used as a crutch to support totalitarian pork barrel projects. It runs about analogous too 'Think of the children.'
The government hates you, doesn't care about you - or your freedoms, and will only do what's minimally required of it to maintain a contrary image, meanwhile behind your back making every attempt to undermine and destroy you. It will however on its own initiative install, implement, and otherwise take on any devious means to usurp any remaining freedoms you currently still have. And it seems that you are all too willing to just toss them away, in the name of more 'perceived' security!
Why did they post this just today!? Seriously, it would have been so nice to have at least 2 days heads up. Now I have to magically allocate some in my already booked schedual to draft a letter to these assholes, which will ultimantly do no good, but which must be done.
Fools, they should have called it Xbox 2*PI. They are loosing out on a significant sect of mathimaticions and engineers who think it's low to work in degrees.
Seriously though, I'm one of them, but I also think the name is just inherently dumb. 360 has been overused by skateboard and rollerbladers anyway. Although since that is their primary market, the name makes sence. Also 360 > 3, which is > playstation 3. Which was probably the true reason it was picked over the other name canidates.
It's shame we won't ever see a Xbox*Xbox, Xbox^2, log Xbox, lim x->oo Xbox, box (x) though.
No their going to give out those crappy ones you got a few times as a kid, you know what I'm talking about? The ones where Spiderman gets sexually molested and has to talk about it with his parents? At first you thought, oh cool free comics! But then after page 3 you realized they were fake. I'm serious. I've got another one where Daredevil helps me remember not to leave the stove on when I cook my snack after school.
Thanks Stan Lee, through your characters we're forming a better America!
"Even if it does, HP will still have to work for years to gain peoples trust."
We cannot nor we must not ever trust a corporation for any matter large or small. Certainly some corporations naturally carry more credibility than others, based off their current and past set of actions, but trust, no we must never trust them. For a corporation is nothing but a physical and legally instantiated embodiment of greed. As with all greed, it is all-powerful and all-corrupting and they will all eventually sour. Instead we must always keep a tilted eye and watchful minds, and never let our guard down. The moment we do they'll poison your water to save a few bucks. We must always watch and react swiftly; we must rebuke them through our buying power. Greed only understands greed, this is the only way they may be educated. Instruct them in these ways!
Amidst all the scoffing here, am I the only one who sees a semi-bright future for us though this and alike projects?
I'm talking about DRM, TCPA, police-ware, Palladium - whatever it's called now - the only substantial threat to our freedom of computing movement. Not just the ability to install this week's trendy flavor of Linux on your Gateway, but the whole concept of using a computer as anything more than a glorified VCR is at steak here. The Internet is a powerful tool, for the rapid dissemination of unflattering information, organization, collaboration, it breads free-speech and revolutionary ideas - and does many other things scary to those in power. And the easiest way to kill it? Pull the plug on consumer hardware. Lock it down, restrict it. Subject all files to corporate/government run blacklists. Force viewing of advertisements and propaganda. And whether this is implemented by a bipartisan corporate consortium or stone cast in law, that's largely irrelevant. As long as it's implemented slowly (so people don't notice), and it's ubiquitous - there are no alternatives, it will largely put any social gains we've made in the last 20 years (especially the last 10) on ice.
And my friends, assuming this dark prediction unfolds, Open Hardware would go underground (along with freedom), and that might be our only means of real communication.
"We must continue our shared public-private efforts to deter piracy and promote intellectual property rights in every corner of the globe. Our children's ability to learn, create and innovate must be protected now and in the decades ahead."
A classic maneuver; stating two unrelated topics in the same paragraph deceiving lay readers into drawing nonexistent conclusions between them. This is especially prevalent with statistics, where correlations between two data sets are often shown (which do exist), but where any actual connection between the two is purely happenstance. For example: "After using product X for 2 weeks Rob's weight dropped 25 pounds." At first glance Rob's use of product X and his weight seem to be related, but their not. The real reason for his weight drop was he stopped having his hourly burrito during that time period.
- Piracy and children have nothing in common, and this man's an asshole for even implying such a connection exists.
What the Fuck!? "The Family Entertainment and Copyright act?" This is absolutely ridiculous. I don't believe this shit; if this isn't total and unequivocal proof that our government is completely and permanently fragged I don't know what is. It's about time for a violent revolution, starting with a complete absterge of Washington. Well I'm starting a clock; either 5 years till the information age re-revolution, or 20 years till our downfall (governmental collapse into an Orwellian police state run by corporate America). But unfortunately based on the current trend of shitty laws, paid-for politicians, and the nullified MTV populous, I think were more headed towards option two. The entire infrastructure for this is largely already in place; it just needs to be 'switched on' without anyone noticing...Hence the 20 years. Hopefully I'm wrong and history will repeat itself (similar suppression attempts failed with the printing press, radio, player piano, ect) and they won't be able to put the freedom-of-information gene back into the bottle. But as I said, the tools to suppress this are now in place, and were living inside an unprecedented veil of seemingly benign misrepresentation and oppression; the safeguards to keep this from happening might have already been 'switched off'. If our government is as fatally wounded as suspected, then this time bureaucracy and reliance on the system's ability to self heal will be fatal. We need to do a cold reset, purge everything. But "The Family and Entertainment and Copyright Act," seriously - that's proof enough, sounds like it came straight from the Ministry of Love. And one obligatory - Fuck Bush.
"The terrorists have already won"
Exactly, because despite popular opinion they're goal is not to go out and kill every single American. Their goal is to go out and make every single American afraid of them, afraid to live their lives.
And Mission Accomplished.
They have successfully reduced my dad, into a withered old man afraid to ever leave the country, who does nothing but curse these damn 'rag-heads'. "We need more legislation and more intrusive government, cause those bastards are everywhere. They want to kill us all. So we need to get em first. Nuke those bastards. We need to kill any and all of them, cause they're all rag-heads and they all want us dead with their 'Islam'."
Who's the real terrorists again dad?
YES! Because terrorist are everywhere! They are outside your house, they are in the mall, they are living next door to you, and their going to GET You. Unless you give your mind and soul to the only one who can help, Big Government. Big Government can help you; He'll save you from all these nasty nasty terrorists. You just have to unquestionably follow him, do as he says blindly, and never fall out of line, because then you'll be one.
Because remember, they're everywhere. They're anyone, anyone who doesn't really believe in Big Government, anyone who is or thinks different than you, and especially anyone who is critical of Big Government!
And remember to do your part citizens in stopping these nasties! If you ever see anyone exhibiting these actions, don't forget to notify the police or the FBI so Big Government can help them.
May really not be enough for everyone, but it's sure as hell enough for terrorists and/or high-tech muggers!
Just for the record, although this is currently modded +5 funny, I would like to state that it's probably the most insightful thing I have read all day - And it seems reasonable to infer that this IS actually what they are doing.
I mean think about it:
1. Sony defines dead pixels as a non-malfunction, non-defect! Of course it is, and they recognize this up-to the point of appeasing vocally dissatisfied customers. But it remains that, because of this qualification they are free to just 'recycle' and pass these broken displays back off to new and hopefully benign users who won't demand a display. And because most consumers don't even turn in their mail-in rebates, this works.
2. Sony is a multinational corporation, and alike all multinational corporations, in it's eyes, laws, treaties, decency, fair-use, environmental restrictions and morality do not and should not apply to it or interfere with it's God-given right to usurp total unrestrained profits from anyone for any reason it chooses.
Just mod me so He can see my sig ;).
I find this very frustrating that colleges are justifying bandwidth censorships by deeming protocols and online actions unrelated to academia, and therefore unacceptable on-campus. That's crap! If that reasoning was true, they'd cancel all student activates, sporting events and anything else not explicitly related to the 3 academic pillars, and the TV's in dorms would only receive the Discovery and History channels.
I enjoy listening to internet radio as I do my homework, but they throttle it and drop my connection after 10 MB. And perhaps a website I'm doing research from has a 200 MB video attachment, Nope, that's not academic related either. Sorry, you can't learn from anything that's not in an ASCII text file!
How do they expect students to live on bread alone? For some of us the internet is our lives and they our denying that though denying us bandwidth! Dammit!
Yeah I was definatly poor, I never had a nintendo when I was growing up, but I invited myself over to my friends house at every waking moment to play. Not having for so long instilled a deep love of them in me and now it has become my passion to make them.
Press up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, select, start
The parent gave me a good idea, bring 2 laptops, network then with crossover or adhoc wifi, tell kids about the basic network.
Then prewrite a simple python chat program or networked tictactoe ( 200 lines). Briefly review the script, make sure they understand YOU wrote it and it's not just the computer. Kids this age have a hard time understanding the abstraction between hardware and software. This is your goal, teach them of this, get them to understand the idea that everything the computer does must be programmed by somone, and someone has written every single program they use on their computer. This is what should spark the intrest, that they can make a computer do anything they want to though code.
Then let them have a go at it. Perhaps show them how to change the color and fonts in the code, ect.
You leave the house?
What's it like out there?
See, I'm pretty sure that the MPAA won't be paying the ISP to implement this technology, to purchase the additional equipment to use it, and to maintain it.
Exactly, that's a no-brainer. It will either be funded directly by you, as an additional $25.00 copyright enforcement fee, or indirectly by you, as an extra 15% compounded onto your entertainment tax. And I'm guessing the latter will be more likely than the former, judging from the gargantuan amount of bullshit anti-consumer legislation being cast in their favor these days.
Be sure to write in and thank your congressman! Maybe he'll be able to take you for a ride on his new yacht...