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User: Chowderbags

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  1. Re:Hey, the right to speek freely... on UCLA Students Urged to Expose 'Radical' Professors · · Score: 1

    As the 1932 Enciclopedia Italiana says of fascism: "The State not only is authority which governs and molds individual wills with laws and values of spiritual life, but it is also power which makes its will prevail abroad... For the Fascist, everything is within the State and... neither individuals nor groups are outside the State... For Fascism, the State is an absolute, before which individuals or groups are only relative... Liberalism (poster's note: this is classic definition of liberalism, not the American definition) denied the State in the name of the individual; Fascism reasserts the rights of the State as expressing the real essence of the individual."

    Hmm, we've got Bush's goals of ending pornography, faith-based initiatives, and intelligent design to mold out spiritual life. We've got Bush invading two countries, and if it were possible we would be in more. The enactment of the PATRIOT Act and other bills to "protect us against terrorism" often don't do anything more than give the president more power, which he has been shown to abuse with the wiretapping scandal, and anyone who critisizes this is called unpatriotic and unamerican and is said to support terrorists.

    Just because we aren't putting the Muslims into camps doesn't mean we should let the president get away with abuses with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Wake up people, the president is using the war on terror as an excuse to pass through legislation that has nothing to do with Osama. There is no reason for the anti-porn initiative beyond personal hangups, yet somehow those behind the bill aren't called on their attempt to squash what they don't like. After porn, what's next? Beer? Gays? Atheists? What? Just because we can sit here and say "naw, they aren't doing anything too bad" doesn't mean we shouldn't be concerned.

  2. Re:$212 Million??? on NASA Overjoyed at Catch From Stardust · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Maybe, just maybe you could see that by learning more about what we came from, we might actually learn things? You know, it's part of that whole "science" thing that those ivory tower intellectuals keep talking about. I know that you may not like anything that doesn't give you a pretty picture or that doesn't beat those damn commies, but you know what, NASA is one of the few governmental agencies that does it's job well (aside from a few mishaps here and there, but then, that's common in government). I find it aggrivating how people want to keep cutting the budget for NASA, yet it gets less in a year than the War in Iraq gets in 3 months. Comon, people, NASA is what gets you your satalite TV, your cell phone service, your XM and Sirius radio, if it wants to actually go out and do some science beyond that, is it really that bad to toss it a few billion dollars to research our origins or explore the planets around us, what's so bad?

  3. Re:You're misrepresenting the Knox case on DoJ search requests: Yahoo, AOL, MSN said "Yes" · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If that were true, shouldn't the parents of every model on childsupermodels.com be brought to court for what they allow? Every site on there is obviously marketed as softcore porn. Now, I'll say that the problem of child porn is vastly overblown in many cases, and I really wouldn't care if the age of consent and the age for legally being in porn were reduced to 16, but there's a big difference between a hot 16 year old that's actually gone through most of puberty, compared to a pre-teens who have no development of sexual features.

  4. Re:Check again. on Beijing's New Enforcer - Microsoft · · Score: 1

    Try Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3: "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes", where it's pretty clear what congress can do (well, actually it's a bit more than just buying and selling, as Gibbons v. Ogden made clear).

  5. Re:tides? on UK Judge: Who needs software patents? · · Score: 1

    No. The side of the earth facing the moon is pretty obvious since it's closer to the gravity source, but when it's on the opposite side, it's high because it's so far from the gravity source that the force is far less. It's at a 90 degree angle that the vectors of the forces pull the water in a bit, causing low tides.

  6. Re:There are a few good patents as well on UK Judge: Who needs software patents? · · Score: 1

    The computer was patented. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly of the University of Pennsylvania held the patent for awhile based on their work on the ENIAC until a court case ruled that the ENIAC was a derivative of the Atanasoff Berry Computer, invented by John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry at Iowa State University. You can read the court documents if you really want. http://www.cs.iastate.edu/jva/court-papers/

  7. Re:The problem with foreign workers... on Real ID Act Poses Technical Challenges · · Score: 1

    So why not toughen up laws on companies that hire illegal immigrants in the first place? If it's illegal for someone to be here, it should be illegal to hire them for a job (although it probably already is). If someone is caught hiring an illegal immigrant, they should be forced to have all their employees checked for citizenship status, and for each person who isn't legally accounted for, fine the company. It wouldn't look so attractive to hire a janitor for 50 cents an hour if you knew that the feds could be on your ass for $100,000 if you're caught with them.

  8. Re:Selfish and shallow on FCC to Auction Airwaves for Inflight Internet · · Score: 1

    Comon now, since when has management been known to be productive?

  9. Re:T1,2,3 on "St Lawrence of Google" · · Score: 1

    Is it really that different from paying for insurance, where if I get injured and use insurance, I'm not paying the full cost of the medical bills, the insurance company is. That means that if you and I were on the same insurance, you'd be footing some of the bill. Down with the Communist insuarance industry! Oh, wait.

  10. Re:Actually I think You missed the point as well on Scientists Figure Out How Bees Fly · · Score: 1

    Yes, it's so very much different than Creationism, which has God creating all the animals and plants and Adam and Eve several thousand years ago in a span of 6 days, as according to Genesis. Intelligent Design merely states that some omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent power intelligently designed the life on this planet, including humans, both male and female, in an uncertain timespan at some point in history. Obviously the first is religious fundamentalism, but the second is clearly sane, rational thought rooted in the scientific method.

  11. Re:PatentHawk charges $125/hour on The Patent Epidemic · · Score: 1

    The world of Kerploosh was created 3 billion years ago. It went around a big red star, and developed bacteria. Let's examine the bacteria as they expand across the planet for a few hundred billion years. Chapter One Jimmy the prokaryote was attempting to absorb some primoridal soup, when all the sudden, Biff, the bad virus/protein complex... Stay tuned, for the most epic book of all time, no matter how boring it is!

  12. Re:No conspiracy to see here [OT?] on The Patent Epidemic · · Score: 1

    Could you imagine a system of laws for every individual person (which is what it essentially boils down to, since anyone could change their mind on a law at any level)? What kind of a nightmare is that for copS? If I think it's ok to go screaming at 90 mph down streets right next to a school, should I be able to do that? Should I be able to rape some hot woman, because it wouldn't interfere with my morals (hypotheticly)? I appreciate freedom, too, but I appreciate it as far as your freedom doesn't infringe upon mine, nor mine on yours. Your fist is free to swing as much as you want it to, but only up to my nose.

  13. Re:Who does the law protect? on Google Talk Targeted In Patent Lawsuit · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The majority of countries with high protections for IP have been well off for decades, if not hundreds of years. Do you think that if, say, the Congo instated US patent law in full force, that all the sudden they would become the patent producing capitol of the world? Ain't gonna happen.

    Those countries which have time to invent in the first place also happen to have time to dick around with IP laws, and generally they aren't helpful to the little guy if the court case to protect his IP is going to end up costing him more than he'd get from licensing.

    I'm not going to go so far as to say that all patents should be eliminated, cause that's no better than the above, but I also think that unless a company is actually producing (or trying to produce) a product with it's patent, they shouldn't get to sue someone. That would at least eliminate patent leeches on some level.

  14. Re:But they use the net differently on Women Now Outnumber Men Online · · Score: 1

    And we wouldn't want a gaping hole in the data! No, we only want the tightest data imaginable. So tight, and young, and... *fwap**fwap**fwap*

  15. Re:Intelligent Design tantamount to teaching relig on Slashback: Little Red Hoax, Firefly, Google · · Score: 2, Funny

    So why don't we just pray to Bob?

  16. Re:Intelligent Design tantamount to teaching relig on Slashback: Little Red Hoax, Firefly, Google · · Score: 1

    However, I guarantee you that molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles will still be talked about by educated people hundreds of years from now. Evolution, too, will still be in the framework of biology. Not because of some ivory tower intellectuals, but because the science has overwhelmingly supported it so far, and the only way that evolution as a whole will be disproven is if the Invisible Pink Unicorn gallops into a science lab and neighs the truth to people in lab coats. There will be changes, yes, and refinements, as with all science, but it probably won't be any worse than something like, oh, the theory of gravity (although who knows, it may just be Intelligent Falling, wait, I'm gonna go write "Of Apples and People")

  17. Re:Been there, done that, this worries me! on Nissan and Microsoft Create Videogame Car · · Score: 1

    If you're really that concerned about lighting, might I suggest a dimmer switch? Perfect for moodsetting, too!

  18. Re:quite right on Tennessee to Tax Software as Property? · · Score: 1

    Hey, we've found entirely new ways to oppress people! That's gotta count for something...

  19. Re:quite right on Tennessee to Tax Software as Property? · · Score: 1

    You're right. It's generally about ruthlessness, power (physical, financial, or mental), and luck. The only problem is that human interaction rarely advances society. It's not the diplomats and lawyers who make society better in the long run, it's the thinkers who are figuring out new ideas and ways of doing things. True, an IQ test proves nothing, but that doesn't mean we should be terribly eager to listen to the musings on political of someone with an IQ of 80.

    (Note: This post should in no way be interpreted to be meaningful in regards to contemporary politicians)

  20. Re:Christmas Gift on Bird Flu May Be Developing Drug Resistance · · Score: 1

    Not only is Christmas gift giving as old as Christmas itself, it's older! Io, Saturnalia!

  21. Re:And the winner for 2006 is... on Evolution Named Scientific Achievement of 2005 · · Score: 1

    Mod parent +1 Hilarious!

  22. So we all know the true problem... on Why Do Computer Games Claim Lives? · · Score: 1

    Too many levers! I blame big lever. All those folks at Acme are the reason we're in our War for Levers.

  23. Re:That drill bit better ... on Journey Towards The Center of the Earth · · Score: 3, Informative

    A believable framework? Fooled this guy...: http://www.intuitor.com/moviephysics/core.html

  24. Re:Under-waged on U.S. Engineers Undercounted · · Score: 1

    75%? I've heard leading market research saying that it's more like 43.6%.

  25. Re:Video games made him do it! on Teen Charged With Harassing Thompson · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well I don't know about you, but when it gets up to 6 wanted stars, it's hard *not* to get caught. Damn those Rhino tanks. ;_;