You just don't understand those of us who see the world through the lens of war. Fake attacks on ships? What are you referring to there?
Vietnam was part of the cold war, and we won the cold war, for the good of mankind. You apparently don't realize how great an achievement that was.
Electricity is a regional issue. We're doing just fine over here in Utah.
Network connectivity is the least of my concerns. I have 6mbit comcast, and the hosts seem to be the limiting factor for me. I'm schedule to have fiber installed to my home in the next 2 years. (http://www.utopianet.org/) Again, a regional issue. Move if you're dissatisfied.
America is the forerunner in private space development. I have my gripes about NASA, but the opportunities for private development of space has always excited me.
Big business in politics bothers me to no end, but it's a deeply rooted problem, and there is no solution in sight. And don't tell me it's a problem with conservatives only, corporate kickbacks are the foundation of any presidential campaign. As far as I can tell, both sides are equally bad.
America's image in other countries? Who fucking cares. I think other countries are to blame for all of the problems in the middle east. They are politically impotent. You could do everything right and they'd still throw all the shit your way.
I have heard your concerns over increasing debt (of course I have). It's stupid. I have an MBA, I studied economics quite thoroughly, and you have to understand that in this country debt works FOR us. We win, either way. It's not like people, where you need to pay off your debt BEFORE you die, because this country isn't going to die. Investing in America is the best thing in the world, right now. That's what it means. The money comes here and it stays here, and if the dollar drops in value we will all go on living like we were, we may just buy more American goods at that point. The sad story here is that China dumps money into the US economy at the expense of their own people, who are starving and dieing of disease and pollution. There is only speculation on what would happen should the dollar crash, but look at things for what they are. That money is used to build up our great nation, it's non liquid.
As for pollution, I think those problems will solve themselves. It works agianst us to try to "stop pollution". It also works against us to accellerate technological solutions. You'll start to see companies like nanosolar solving our energy problems, long time coming but look, nothing but the free market to thank for it.
Oil problem is serious. The thing I hate the most in the world. Rising gas prices takes the biggest toll on the lowest class of Americans, and puts it into the pocket of the richest Arabs, who build super yachts with missile launchers on them. Back when American companies owned most of the oil production around the world, things were good, real good. Meanwhile, I heard a statistic, something like oil prices have outpaced oil consumption by 8 fold. They make more and more off the hardest working people in the world (working class Americans) and, coincidentally, most of the problems in the world center around them over there in the middle east. Same old story of corruption. I'd like to say the Iraq war WAS for oil, but I expect nothing will change. I'll be the first to build solar panels on my roof and drive battery powered car, once it's affordable.
You know, another thing I want to say is John Bolton is doing a fantastic job, and looking back on the crap Democrats in the senate were giving him ("he's too mean!", and his performance recently in the UN, in hindsight I think it's safe to say they were completely wrong. He is exactly what that shitty organization needs, those are the sort of qualities I think GW can see in people, his entire administration is full of firebrands like that. I love it.
The use of the word "executive" is not meant to mean "most important"
I know exactly what I am talking about, but it doesn't look like you know. Allow me to clarify for you. It is the branch with executive authority. It doesn't just execute the law, the president is authorized to do things that require immediate action (execution), like a declaration of war. In the past, when war was in the foreseeable future, the president has asked congress to give express authorization for war, but that isn't really necessary (just ties up loose ends, if you know what I mean). So you can see now the relation between executive authority and autonomy. If the president HAD to get authorization for war, or for foreign surveillance, other countries may take advantage of that. How easy do you think it would be for Iran to sponsor a mole in the senate armed services comittee to obstruct, obstruct, obstruct everything? I think it's silly to label any US president a tyrant. The constitution has *very* effective safeguards in place. Mere public opinion would be sufficient reason to give him the boot, as was the case in California before the governator came into office. I don't think we have to worry about a tyrant administration getting out of control.
If you want to talk about the patriot act, you can't single out the president, since it was voted on by the legislature. He didn't even write it, did he? Wasn't it the attourney general?
Finding, reporting on, and fighting corruption and abuse of power are some of the chief duties of any lover of freedom.
I agree wholeheartedly, which is why we should bomb Iran's leadership ASAP, get the revolution started. These "abuses" you pick out about our own government PALE (!!!can't emphasize this enough!!!) in comparison to what's going on elsewhere in the world. I'm so proud to have a president who takes action and will put his career and legacy on the line for what he believes in. All you ever hear him talk about is freedom, and his actions speak much louder than his words.
Right. War crimes is one thing. But if a fighter pilot drops a bomb on someones house, they don't get to sue the pilot for wrongful damage to their property.
I think this has more to do with a mole hunt than anything else. Someone so eager to share their personal opinions may share it with the public. To be a CIA employee, you have to go through psychological screening which looks for attributes like this. You don't hire a new york times journalist to run phone taps.
Another aspect here is that she is forming alliances with people who also disagree with the leadership, and that's bad. Now that others know how she feels, they may be inclined to share secrets with her, knowing that her sense of ethics may conflict with the leadership.
Whoops, soldiers are immune from prosecution in respect to following orders. You can't sue a soldier for killing your brother, because he was acting in the name of another authority. My point there is vague and probably has more to do with another debate, forget I said it.
I thought Nixon was an excellent president, he was politically savvy, but he HAD to be held accountable for his actions. It was 100% political and had nothing to do with MY interests, and he should have known better.
The government doesn't listen to my conversations. If I ever get a call from Abu Dhabi, I will assume the conversation is being recorded. Your orwellian nightmares have blinded you to the reality, that cargo containers coming into the united states have always been checked but these days the threat has become more intangible and requires new methods.
You haven't been spied on by the NSA. I don't even know who you are but the odds are so good, I'd be willing to bet my life savings that you haven't been spied on and never will.
You know, soldiers are immune from prosecution. The courts don't have oversight over everything in our government. In this case, it is up to the god damn legislature to do something about this. They can vote to stop it. Will they? No, it would be political suicide. The public supports this program and that gives GW a lot of clout in dealing with politically motivated lawsuits like this.
Totalitarian fascist? There seems to be a disconnect between you and reality. You obviously have no idea what either of the terms means, and you're an embarassment to the people who find rational justification for their hatred of GW. I've put plenty of thought into what drives the terrorists. I'm a man, I understand their inherently violent nature, but I think the main difference between these Arabs and the rest of the world is that the rest of the world is happy, these people are oppressed to no end! Their laws are sick and twisted. What you see going on right now is pure lawlessness, some asshole who thinks he is above the law, THE LAW OF THE LAND. The peasantry get their hands cut off for stealing a loaf of bread, but their leaders can order rockets fired into urban areas wrecklessly?
I remember when Saddam Hussein's army invaded Kuwait, like he was General Sherman marching to the sea, destroying everything in his path. That doesn't count as terrorism? Isn't that who we were after, the butcher of Baghdad himself? Did Saddam Hussein not offer money to the families of suicide bombers? Do you raise the same defence for Iran, they sell weapons to terrorist militias, but I'm sure you'd like to say no terrorists ever came from Iran? Hezbollah is an Iranian organization!
Sorry I wasn't referring to your post, I was referring to the post printed on the slashdot homepage.
I think you have to grant the president some level of autonomy, after all, he heads the executive branch. If the president tried to change the rules so that he stayed in office longer than 8 years, it would certainly set off alarms, at least for me. The best way to have someone held accountable is to force them to take vacations or to switch jobs, in the president's case, he leaves office and the next guy comes along and says "well well, what the hell is going on HERE?!". For police, you call for backup whenever something is going down, you don't kick down doors alone, that is inviting trouble and misjudgement. I think there is accountability in this administration, for sure. Moreso than probably 90% of the other national governments on earth. May his actions be scrutinized after he leaves office, I'm all for that. I believe the USA *SHOULD* be held to higher standards, but like I said, this has become a spectacle.
Personally I'm tired of hearing this news. Just an opportunity for people to whine some more. I dont' think he's worried about being impeached or sent to jail or whatever you idiots want to see, he just doesn't want people making a spectacle of the USA.
One of these days there'll be spy drones flying all over the globe looking for terrorists. Least intrusive way to effectively find them and prevent terrorist attacks. Wait for it...
By the way, the original post is full of bias. Calling his actions illegal is premature. He doesn't think it's illegal, YOU do... so you call it "controversial", not illegal. The man is our leader and he's acting in the nations best interest, you think he's just doing this to protect his image, like Nixon?
I first heard about his efforts a number of years ago and have been periodically checking up on this project. Bigelow is taking huge risks. He has spent estimated 70 million so far, of his 500m+ fortune. He is undoubtedly doing it mostly for his own interest. I read that he is a very effective manager and can do this sort of thing for cheap. Why hire a $50,000 camera crew when you have a camcorder, and a tripod you got free for applying for a capital one card at the vegas auto show. (DOH!)
I had my doubts, but he currently has an orbiting spacecraft. Now he's got everybody's attention. By the way, this spacecraft is due to be de-orbited, it is only a test model, not intended to earn revenue. I suppose when he is ready there will be manned launchers from companies like SpaceX.
Interesting topic, I can relate to an experience I had as a child. If you shoot a red rider BB gun at an aluminum can, the BB punctures it, but if you shoot it at a big plastic inflatable punching bag (you remember, the kind with sand on the bottom) it bounces right off and hits you in the face, scaring the bajesus out of you.
What I'm saying is, I think the inflatable kevlar bag has more potential of stopping the meteor dead in it's tracks than the aluminum can called ISS. It's also more forgiving if the meteor hits closer to the edge and is deflected. I'm sure Bigelow has done tests, so long as it is as safe or safer than the ISS, they're fine. It is a serious consideration for passengers, I'm sure.
this new technology has the potential to making stations much much larger than the ISS and allow for more dare I say it... spacious interiors for research and living quarters
I think it just makes more sense to keep a space station as close to earth as possible. You're better shielded from cosmic radiation, and people don't want to look out into the vast emptiness of space, earth is a much more appealing sight. Also, the sun-earth L4 and L5 are chock full of asteroids, it'd end up being a disaster in wait.
Save the lagrange points for telescopes and what not.
I can't help but be fascinated by Bigelow. If I had the resources I'd build myself a vacation home on my favorite asteroid. I wonder if he has the same goal.
An interesting question I present is, if the future is truly this grim, and I would say that the odds are significant of everything you've mentioned, then is it in the worlds best interest to combat these problems right now?
North Korea certainly is a festering wound, in hindsight I see that you have to eradicate these stalinist dictatorships before they develop nuclear weapons. Right now would be as good a time as any to remove Kim Jong, he hasn't even tested his nukes, they are primitive design. Before he's dead he may have H-bomb capability, it starts with the missiles, next thing you know he's testing his damn nukes.
I was thinking the other day, how hard do you think it would be to take over a country like north korea using 100% covert tactics, that is sneak a team into his bedroom in the middle of the night, somehow, kill him and dress an imitation kim-jong up to take his place, lead the country in new directions... the hard part would be getting in unnoticed, he's probably got a batallion of armed guards surrounding his house. We tried it once in cuba didn't we? Except we didn't have the military surveillance capabilities we do now.
I think there's something to learn from religion. I see people dedicating a sizable portion of their existence to their deity of choice. Take that a step further and you can say that people have it in them to devote themselves to something they believe in. Me I believe we can accomplish a lot of amazing things all as one people. If we all say, decided to become a race of travellers, which I think is a worthy cause, then we could all start building massive spaceships that could transport a colony between stars. Outer space is our destiny, Sol isn't going to last forever.
So to sum up, I think if we were all to build something massive (spaceships, telescopes, beacons, space elevators maybe), and everyone had a job, it would help the world in so many ways, less crime, better quality of living, and the dream of living in space (for many people anyways). It has to be pitched like religion is, something you can be a part of. I'd dedicate my life to something like that, no doubt about it. As it is, the only thing I aspire to is getting rich and living well, helping others when I can.
Slashdot Mirror
Vietnam was part of the cold war, and we won the cold war, for the good of mankind. You apparently don't realize how great an achievement that was.
Electricity is a regional issue. We're doing just fine over here in Utah.
Network connectivity is the least of my concerns. I have 6mbit comcast, and the hosts seem to be the limiting factor for me. I'm schedule to have fiber installed to my home in the next 2 years. (http://www.utopianet.org/) Again, a regional issue. Move if you're dissatisfied.
America is the forerunner in private space development. I have my gripes about NASA, but the opportunities for private development of space has always excited me.
Big business in politics bothers me to no end, but it's a deeply rooted problem, and there is no solution in sight. And don't tell me it's a problem with conservatives only, corporate kickbacks are the foundation of any presidential campaign. As far as I can tell, both sides are equally bad.
America's image in other countries? Who fucking cares. I think other countries are to blame for all of the problems in the middle east. They are politically impotent. You could do everything right and they'd still throw all the shit your way.
I have heard your concerns over increasing debt (of course I have). It's stupid. I have an MBA, I studied economics quite thoroughly, and you have to understand that in this country debt works FOR us. We win, either way. It's not like people, where you need to pay off your debt BEFORE you die, because this country isn't going to die. Investing in America is the best thing in the world, right now. That's what it means. The money comes here and it stays here, and if the dollar drops in value we will all go on living like we were, we may just buy more American goods at that point. The sad story here is that China dumps money into the US economy at the expense of their own people, who are starving and dieing of disease and pollution. There is only speculation on what would happen should the dollar crash, but look at things for what they are. That money is used to build up our great nation, it's non liquid.
As for pollution, I think those problems will solve themselves. It works agianst us to try to "stop pollution". It also works against us to accellerate technological solutions. You'll start to see companies like nanosolar solving our energy problems, long time coming but look, nothing but the free market to thank for it.
Oil problem is serious. The thing I hate the most in the world. Rising gas prices takes the biggest toll on the lowest class of Americans, and puts it into the pocket of the richest Arabs, who build super yachts with missile launchers on them. Back when American companies owned most of the oil production around the world, things were good, real good. Meanwhile, I heard a statistic, something like oil prices have outpaced oil consumption by 8 fold. They make more and more off the hardest working people in the world (working class Americans) and, coincidentally, most of the problems in the world center around them over there in the middle east. Same old story of corruption. I'd like to say the Iraq war WAS for oil, but I expect nothing will change. I'll be the first to build solar panels on my roof and drive battery powered car, once it's affordable.
You know, another thing I want to say is John Bolton is doing a fantastic job, and looking back on the crap Democrats in the senate were giving him ("he's too mean!", and his performance recently in the UN, in hindsight I think it's safe to say they were completely wrong. He is exactly what that shitty organization needs, those are the sort of qualities I think GW can see in people, his entire administration is full of firebrands like that. I love it.
I know exactly what I am talking about, but it doesn't look like you know. Allow me to clarify for you. It is the branch with executive authority. It doesn't just execute the law, the president is authorized to do things that require immediate action (execution), like a declaration of war. In the past, when war was in the foreseeable future, the president has asked congress to give express authorization for war, but that isn't really necessary (just ties up loose ends, if you know what I mean). So you can see now the relation between executive authority and autonomy. If the president HAD to get authorization for war, or for foreign surveillance, other countries may take advantage of that. How easy do you think it would be for Iran to sponsor a mole in the senate armed services comittee to obstruct, obstruct, obstruct everything? I think it's silly to label any US president a tyrant. The constitution has *very* effective safeguards in place. Mere public opinion would be sufficient reason to give him the boot, as was the case in California before the governator came into office. I don't think we have to worry about a tyrant administration getting out of control.
If you want to talk about the patriot act, you can't single out the president, since it was voted on by the legislature. He didn't even write it, did he? Wasn't it the attourney general?
I agree wholeheartedly, which is why we should bomb Iran's leadership ASAP, get the revolution started. These "abuses" you pick out about our own government PALE (!!!can't emphasize this enough!!!) in comparison to what's going on elsewhere in the world. I'm so proud to have a president who takes action and will put his career and legacy on the line for what he believes in. All you ever hear him talk about is freedom, and his actions speak much louder than his words.
Right. War crimes is one thing. But if a fighter pilot drops a bomb on someones house, they don't get to sue the pilot for wrongful damage to their property.
Another aspect here is that she is forming alliances with people who also disagree with the leadership, and that's bad. Now that others know how she feels, they may be inclined to share secrets with her, knowing that her sense of ethics may conflict with the leadership.
Whoops, soldiers are immune from prosecution in respect to following orders. You can't sue a soldier for killing your brother, because he was acting in the name of another authority. My point there is vague and probably has more to do with another debate, forget I said it.
The government doesn't listen to my conversations. If I ever get a call from Abu Dhabi, I will assume the conversation is being recorded. Your orwellian nightmares have blinded you to the reality, that cargo containers coming into the united states have always been checked but these days the threat has become more intangible and requires new methods.
You haven't been spied on by the NSA. I don't even know who you are but the odds are so good, I'd be willing to bet my life savings that you haven't been spied on and never will.
You know, soldiers are immune from prosecution. The courts don't have oversight over everything in our government. In this case, it is up to the god damn legislature to do something about this. They can vote to stop it. Will they? No, it would be political suicide. The public supports this program and that gives GW a lot of clout in dealing with politically motivated lawsuits like this.
I remember when Saddam Hussein's army invaded Kuwait, like he was General Sherman marching to the sea, destroying everything in his path. That doesn't count as terrorism? Isn't that who we were after, the butcher of Baghdad himself? Did Saddam Hussein not offer money to the families of suicide bombers? Do you raise the same defence for Iran, they sell weapons to terrorist militias, but I'm sure you'd like to say no terrorists ever came from Iran? Hezbollah is an Iranian organization!
I think you have to grant the president some level of autonomy, after all, he heads the executive branch. If the president tried to change the rules so that he stayed in office longer than 8 years, it would certainly set off alarms, at least for me. The best way to have someone held accountable is to force them to take vacations or to switch jobs, in the president's case, he leaves office and the next guy comes along and says "well well, what the hell is going on HERE?!". For police, you call for backup whenever something is going down, you don't kick down doors alone, that is inviting trouble and misjudgement. I think there is accountability in this administration, for sure. Moreso than probably 90% of the other national governments on earth. May his actions be scrutinized after he leaves office, I'm all for that. I believe the USA *SHOULD* be held to higher standards, but like I said, this has become a spectacle.
One of these days there'll be spy drones flying all over the globe looking for terrorists. Least intrusive way to effectively find them and prevent terrorist attacks. Wait for it...
By the way, the original post is full of bias. Calling his actions illegal is premature. He doesn't think it's illegal, YOU do... so you call it "controversial", not illegal. The man is our leader and he's acting in the nations best interest, you think he's just doing this to protect his image, like Nixon?
I had my doubts, but he currently has an orbiting spacecraft. Now he's got everybody's attention. By the way, this spacecraft is due to be de-orbited, it is only a test model, not intended to earn revenue. I suppose when he is ready there will be manned launchers from companies like SpaceX.
What I'm saying is, I think the inflatable kevlar bag has more potential of stopping the meteor dead in it's tracks than the aluminum can called ISS. It's also more forgiving if the meteor hits closer to the edge and is deflected. I'm sure Bigelow has done tests, so long as it is as safe or safer than the ISS, they're fine. It is a serious consideration for passengers, I'm sure.
Not to mention the bouncy walls :)
Save the lagrange points for telescopes and what not.
I can't help but be fascinated by Bigelow. If I had the resources I'd build myself a vacation home on my favorite asteroid. I wonder if he has the same goal.
That last number is 107908475819842.8359375, so you're off by 0.8359375 or 1.94631866179406642913818359375e-10 internets
Hairy palm make switching easy
North Korea certainly is a festering wound, in hindsight I see that you have to eradicate these stalinist dictatorships before they develop nuclear weapons. Right now would be as good a time as any to remove Kim Jong, he hasn't even tested his nukes, they are primitive design. Before he's dead he may have H-bomb capability, it starts with the missiles, next thing you know he's testing his damn nukes.
I was thinking the other day, how hard do you think it would be to take over a country like north korea using 100% covert tactics, that is sneak a team into his bedroom in the middle of the night, somehow, kill him and dress an imitation kim-jong up to take his place, lead the country in new directions... the hard part would be getting in unnoticed, he's probably got a batallion of armed guards surrounding his house. We tried it once in cuba didn't we? Except we didn't have the military surveillance capabilities we do now.
So to sum up, I think if we were all to build something massive (spaceships, telescopes, beacons, space elevators maybe), and everyone had a job, it would help the world in so many ways, less crime, better quality of living, and the dream of living in space (for many people anyways). It has to be pitched like religion is, something you can be a part of. I'd dedicate my life to something like that, no doubt about it. As it is, the only thing I aspire to is getting rich and living well, helping others when I can.