You are correct phasor3000, that is "proof by assertion".

You're saying that Bush knew that thousands of Americans would be killed

Well, he was warned in a PDB that Al Qaeda was determined to strike, with planes, and he ignored it. He ought to be impeached on that basis alone.

This from the guy who sometimes breaks down in tears when he talks about fallen soldiers?

Those are staged tears, just as his famous malapropisms are also staged. Bush is in fact a fairly intelligent man who has read over 60 books recently and also reads newspapers. His public personae is carefully managed by Machiavelli student Carl Rove.

your claim basically puts him on the same level with a Hitler or a Pol Pot

No, that would be Dick Cheney.

I'm sure this administration would have a place for the Rastas. Thy snd lk thr knd f ppl.

The python is hunting rats, that's why he's there. In the 90's my parents spent three years in China teaching ESL (English as a second language) and they had rats come into their home through the toilets. So much so that they put a brick on the lid to keep them out. So I imagine a sort of ecosystem develops where the rats are looking for food and the snakes eat the rats.

The quality of your sewage system might be a leading economic indicator. I bet China's is better by now.

Wow, so you can kiss Italy goodbye.

Does that mean for servers in Italy, or just Italy's domain or does it mean any citizen of Italy? Even if that citizen's blog is on US servers? How can they possibly enforce it?

I don't understand Rick, I liked the glitter lamb and there is nothing wrong with appreciating Hoagland for his kookiness.

BTW, Big Dead Place
http://bigdeadplace.com/

is really interesting and worth taking a look at.

It's nice to know that Bush is an equal opportunity asshole employer.

Wow! You can just smell the unresolved Oedipal conflicts in this thread can't you?

Pyros said:

"if bad things happen to people, in this case a government shot through with corruption—then people must have brought it on themselves somehow."

Lessig does not make this argument. What he does say is that those who enable bad actors like the pedophile in story one share some of the responsibility.

"his idea that society is best improved by the efforts of the elites among us is dangerous and wrong. People act according the their interests. If elites are able to reform government in any way it will be for their own benefit. Mr. Lessig’s proposed solution is for us to change our attitude about corruption. How this is to take place he doesn’t really elaborate except by hinting that technology may hold the answer."

Lessig does not make this argument either. Nowhere does he claim that society is best improved through the actions of elites. I think that what you perceive as elitism is simply due to the fact that the video is a power point presentation before an audience of his peers. It is not directed to a general audience.

"The truth is that people do not need help from elites. Most of the problems our government currently experiences could be solved if the mechanisms for expanding popular power were created and implemented."

I think we need help from where ever we can get it from. Academic scholars have tremendous advantages over most people in both time and resources. Oh and let me guess what your idea of "expanding popular power" is. Would you be yet another Libertarian troll? Please spare us.

Agency's do rip off artists. They will frequently ask for proposals from a artist and under current law the artist gives up their rights when they do. Then the agency is free to use the submitted material without compensating the artist. That appears to have been the case here.

Via Gothamist

"Sony Bravia Ad rip off Artists work The Sony Bravia ad that we were so fond of earlier this week has started to come under some controversy. It turns out that LA based artists KozyNDan had created a panoramic with bunnies taking over NYC a number of years ago. They were contacted by Passion Pictures, whom produced the spot, for samples of the working (including the panorama) but never heard from them again. Two years later, this amazing ad is released. It's hard to not see the blatant rip off of KozyNDan's work, and we hope that something positive comes out of it for them. Read this article on Gizmodo as they go into a bit more detail."

Wow, everyone here gets it. A couple of years ago that wouldn't have been true. Interesting that isn't it?

Now all we need is to realize that we have the power to stop this shit.

Question 1: yes
Question 2: yes
Question 3: no

"Hoagland had and has disgruntled insider friends at NASA hdqts passing him images and information, info no one is supposed to know, images that were ordered destroyed"

That is one possibility, the other is that Hoagland is lying or deluded when he makes that claim. If NASA is hiding anything it is hiding military activity and not ancient alien artifacts on the Moon or Mars. I can understand Mark's interest though. This stuff is great material. It's already fiction.

Can't wait to see their add for chunky peanut butter.

I've known about this for a long time. If I'd known it would interest you I would have posted it in "suggest a link".

Have you ever heard of TopMod Mark?

"TopMod3d can create models that can be developed into flat surfaces using software such as Pepakura, Lamina Design, Rhinoceros3D, and Paracloud. It can also create solid models that can be prototyped using various rapid prototyping technology."

It was originally developed by Dr. Ergun Akleman

" Topological Mesh Modeling is my main research direction and TopMod is a manifold mesh modeling system that includes all the work presented in our Topological Mesh Modeling papers. Using TopMod, you can find a wide variety of ways to create high genus shapes; almost all subdivision algorithms, wide variety of ways to remesh shapes, new extrusions and more."

It is now a Google App, like SketchUp. It's pretty fun to play with though you will need Blender or other 3D app to render your models with. It is of course open source.

Is there a flickr stream of Leo Tanguma's art? The pis at WestWord were too small. And... we do have a shadow government and they of course hold great power with no oversight and are completely pure and uncorrupted and have only our very best interests in mind.

LOL It says "The World is Flat". I didn't know that "give it six more months" Thomas Friedman was around back then.

;)

bill's got a colorful past - he was once a member of the communist party

Gosh doesn't that sound familiar? Hmmm, Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the filth that calls itself the neocons were also dyed-in-the-wool Marxists.

I smell a personality disorder.

It should hardly come as a surprise. Torture is practiced not just outside Americas borders, but within them as well. You just don't hear about it so much.

"It appeared as though Ms. Gotbaum had possibly tried to manipulate the handcuffs from behind her to the front, got tangled up in the process, and they ended up around her neck area," Hill said.

That doesn't seem physically possible to me. If it isn't possible for her to have done it, then it seems to me she must not have done it.

Not quite FreeTibet, the idea is that you distract people from the real conspiracy by encouraging the more outlandish ones. So if all you really did was you looked the other way while Atta and his cohorts boarded planes you just find someone gullible and feed them crap about "it was a missile that struck the pentagon" or whatever. Then you show them up for the fools they are and you have successfully poisoned that well.

It's like watching a magician, you don't pay attention to the hand that is the focus of attention, you watch the other one.

In fact, the most logical conclusion I can draw from the existing evidence is that 9-11 theorists are themselves covert government operatives, dedicated to confusing the public, distracting activists from their tasks, equating all dissent with the lunatic fringe, and provoking the counterculture’s misplaced belief in the competency of its foes. That’s the real conspiracy.

And we know from FOI requests that they have in the past infiltrated activist organizations and then used their influence to discredit and defuse from within.

Your government considers you it's property.

Here is the URL Flying Squid
http://crimsonreading.org

Go there and see for yourself. Just click on any random course and you get several referrals. The "buy" link takes you to Amazon or Barnes and Noble or whatever.

It is nothing like Pirate Bay at all.

Here is one:
Applied Statistics and Probability for Engineers

Half.com Used 63.10
B&N; Used 80.82
eCampus New 126.58

I think it's pretty self evident.

The internet has not been kind to paranoid schizophrenics.

I think the idea that someone somewhere allowed 9-11 to happen is plausible but I don't "believe" in it. And I also think it isn't much of a stretch to think they might encourage some of the worst 9-11 crap just to cover up their own monumental incompetence. I'm sure the first reaction of many in the gov. was "Holy shit we fucked up, heads are gonna roll!" Only they didn't.

On the other hand, a LOT of sci-fi comes straight out of the lunatic fringe. Stargate SG-1 (among many others) is one example that follows David Icke's reptilian delusions almost word for word. And Phillip K Dick had at best a tenuous hold on the real world.

These are horrible horrible things but let's get a little perspective. There is nothing new or unusual going on here. People have been doing this and more, far more, since the dawn of time.

Do you really want a one world government that could prosecute such crimes? Just who do you have in mind as a world wide police force? The US military? Blackwater? The United Nations?

Do you want the US military to go in to Miramar or the Congo and occupy their country? Hell, we can't even police ourselves very well. The Jena 6 are not atypical, they were just lucky enough to get some media attention.

Do you know what it's like to work in a public ER and watch the infant girls come in time after time with torn vaginas? It happens more than you want to know. Right now, in your city, the odds are fairly good that a woman is being beaten or raped, or a child, boy or girl.

Of course we should try to do something, I'm just sayin'.

"However, UFO sightings might be nothing more than a symptom of decadent cultures. It takes a certain cultural background to sight and/or believe in UFO's."

Not true DJ Perl. While share your disbelief in UFO's, I don't agree that it takes a decadent culture for the myth to arise. There have been thousands of reported sightings across the world from every continent and virtually every nation. The UFO map that you link to is clearly very biased and only reports sightings in the US and the UK. There have been many hundreds of sightings in South America, Australia, the USSR, China and so on all across the world.

Drug use might be important, especially DMT. It seems weird but apparently our brains are wired to have the standard alien abduction hallucination with just a little push from the right chemicals. Drug use is not a sign of decadence either. Most traditional cultures make use of the local "pharmacy".

No Dybbuk, you are not funny, you're a troll. What was really funny was Cory "dis-emvoweling" you. That was just brilliant.

Clearly we should not embarrass the mentally deficient like Sherrie. Whoopie (and all other well educated people) should be made to wear an ear piece that blares loud noises every few seconds. That way they can't ask humiliating questions. This will spare the likes of Sherrie from the trauma of not knowing such difficult subjects.

Wouldn't want to damage their fragile psyches.

I further propose that we build a rocket ship, then start a PR campaign on how Jebus will meet them in the clouds on Venus. I am sure they'd go for it. Venus really is beautiful this time of year ya know. All the leaves are turning, it's quite a sight. I'd pay for Sherrie's ticket.

It's a miracle!

"On the other hand, it could just be another burp in the software."

OT Teresa, I have been experiencing quite a few "burps" in whatever software BB is using. I'm not sure that I can characterize it or reproduce them but there are clearly some "annoyances" to be ironed out.

Oh, I am my own sockpuppet, so there.

Well that isn't going to happen now is it Spoon? Because I am sure that everyone turns a nice little profit all around, Harvard, Barnes and Noble and the Cooperative Society. This is about protection. Protecting your business from encroaching technology that allows consumers choice.

Textbook Price-Saving Site Endures

For their part, administrators said last spring that they were hesitant to endorse the enterprise due to concerns that it would hurt the market fortunes of the Harvard Coop.

And there you have it. Oh, and they have asked for administration support.

“Since Harvard refuses to provide us with course reading lists and the Coop refuses to provide us with course reading lists we have to be here, and manually build those lists up, and hound professors and TFs to give them to us so that we can provide this student service,” Staff said.

All that CrimsonReading.org does is it allows undergraduate textbook shoppers to view Coop prices alongside those charged by other retailers, such as Half.com and Amazon.com.

Would something like this work for re-districting in the US? Maybe not a Wiki per se but some sort of web interface to google maps where local residents hash out different boundaries for congressional districts. It's a bit of a pipe dream I know but I would like to see some way of returning power to the people.

Maybe a market where people put a nominal amount towards specific local legislation? It would be interesting to at least try the experiment and a small local community would perhaps be the best place to start.

The Harvard "co-op" is being rational, they are just trying to stay in business. The way you do that these days is by whatever means possible.

Dat's ah nice little website youse got yer self there. Shame if sumpin should ah... happen to it. Capiche?"

Business seeks naturally to capture, contain and control it's market. Technological progress upsets that arrangement and shifts the balance of power. In this case in favor of the consumer though not always.

Did anyone notice the real irony here? The co-op was once little more than a bunch of students pooling their limited resources to save some money. In other words it was a socialist (at least in spirit) bookstore. Now it is owned or licensed or whatever arrangement they have, by a behemoth corporation and it is the students website that now more truly reflects the original student co-operative.

So irony isn't dead after all.

Didymos
"I must have missed something. When did tasers become lethal?"

You have been out of the loop haven't you?

Taser death at Vancouver Airport

I can't wait till the police start using "puke sticks". The YouTube videos are going to be wild.

Here are the rules:

1. Corporations posses the right to do as they please, how they please and to whom they please.
2. Government's only role is to mediate contract disputes between corporations and to defend corporate interests at home and abroad. It has no other role in society whatsoever.
3. You have no rights save the right to consume. You posses no human rights and corporations have no duties or obligations to respect your person.

Welcome to the Corporate Empire.

There is a word for this. It's called "Future Shock" and they thought Alvin Toffler was nuts back then.

Interesting discussion. I still feel that others have a different opinion of the same facts than you have RealCatholicMen. They read the same laws and are aware of the same facts and yet reach very different conclusions. And I very strongly feel that there is a clear need for action along the line that RU has given. Discussion, debate and networking for those who are interested in these issues is a good thing.

Across the country, people who do more than watch "American Idol" are worried and frightened. I believe they have good reason to be. That deep pervading sense that this country is going in the wrong direction is probably why RU decided to make these proposals.

And I still feel, very strongly, that this administration has committed impeachable offenses. Rising to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

You may think that I am a bit of an alarmist RealCatholicMen. No so, among my circle I am the calm rational one.

Actually it's "noen" which means "anyone" in Norwegian. I'm from Minnesota.

yah... you betcha...

Kyle:
Against whom do you revolt, exactly? This is the central problem for people who actually do want to revolt. But what do you do?

Voting would help. Most Americans do not vote. Contacting your senator or congressperson helps too. They really do respond to that. Do you even know who your local reps (city, county, state) are? If not, get to know them and let them know what your issues are. Volunteer locally, attend caucuses or however it is set up in your state. Campaigns always need people to do things like stuff envelopes or to canvas a neighborhood. And yes, these things really do make a difference.

Don't panic. Violence will not solve anyone's problems and we are not anywhere close to a situation calling for it. Perhaps as a very last resort but like I said, we are nowhere near that. Don't forget that the internet has a way of distorting things. This is not 1933, and remember that Naomi Wolf is selling books. She tends to exaggerate a bit. Though I think she is correct in general, I have my doubts about just how dire things really are. There are signs that things are improving.

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Isaac Asimov

Think about that.

Well Josh it's just my opinion, that's all. And I certainly agree that we should be careful about criminalizing speech but when White says:

"We'll mail directions to their homes to every white man in Louisiana if we have to in order to find someone willing to deliver justice."

Call me old fashioned but I think that crosses the line. I happen to think that is solicitation to commit a criminal act but like I said I could be wrong.

Even though yes, we ought to err on the side of allowing speech there is still a line. If there is a line then someone will cross it and when they do they ought to be prosecuted or don't you believe in the rule of law?

"what possible reason would the be messing with Lotus Notes?"

Can you say industrial espionage? I knew you could.

RealCatholicMen you make some good points. I'll consider them. However other people that I trust arrive at different conclusions.

To get back on topic, I think RU Sirius's proposals sound very good and hopefully they will change things for the better. But I am still deeply alarmed by and very distrustful of this administration. I do not trust it with the kind of power it has been accumulating to itself. You can say that these are perfectly normal and who would want the gov to act in a natural emergency. But then why all these exceptions buried here and there?

You say torture is inadmissible but what you don't say is that we define torture to mean whatever we want it mean. So this gov says with a straight face that it does not torture because it has defined waterboarding as not meeting it's definition. And yet it is torture and has been for hundreds of years.

You say the MCA does not apply to US citizens and yet we did indeed detain and torture a US citizen (Padilla) on no evidence at all and kept him in sensory deprivation so long that his mind was effectively wiped clean.

I really hope that RU's proposals do some good and become a positive force today, we need more like that. What I am afraid of is that it may be too little too late. I hope I am wrong.

"Dick Cheney and the Beast of the Apocalypse"?

RU, we already have right now criminals in the White House who have staged a coup.

This is the time for resistance, not pretty slogans.

RealCatholicMen
My nick is "noen" not neon. It means "anyone" in Norwegian.

Section 948a of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 is what you're looking for.

According to Bill Goodman, Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Joanne Mariner, from FindLaw, this bill redefines unlawful enemy combatant in such a broad way that it refers to any person who is

"engaged in hostilities or who has purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States."

This makes it possible for US citizens to be designated unlawful enemy combatant because

"it could be read to include anyone who has donated money to a charity for orphans in Afghanistan that turns out to have some connection to the Taliban or a person organizing an anti-war protest in Washington, D.C."

Societies are closed down bit by bit and by the time most people realize what is happening it is already too late. That is why this stage of denial "it can't happen here" is so dangerous.

Posse Comitatus has also been whittled away. It is a reality that today Bush could declare an emergency and federalize the National Guard. You could wake up tomorrow to find Blackwater guarding federal buildings and there is nothing anyone could do about it.

It is too late to organize yet another third party. We need to act and we need to act now.

Our society is closing now. We have already legalized torture. The president already has the power to declare you and enemy of the state and have you arrested and detained with no right to habeas corpus. In February you will need to apply to the state for permission to travel within the country and you will be required to carry with you your Real ID. Even to enter a federal building. Does it sound to you like you have time to print banners, blow up balloons and debate party slogans?

It bothers me that every time there is a post on BoingBoing with political implications there is some kind of follow up that tries to spin the issue. They are usually added without comment. I'd like to see some discussion of how people are apparently successful in inserting their own political agenda into BoingBoing posts.

I would also appreciate it if BoingBoing discussed the politicization of blog comments. Not just here but everywhere as far as I can tell. For instance, is "BTPearcy" really a liberal? Maybe, but increasingly comments like his (I am a liberal but...) show up all over. Or take the first "Anonymous" above, does he have a political agenda and is he a paid concern troll?

Not much one can do about comments but I am bothered by the first issue. You're getting p'wnd Mark. Maybe you could add a note that said: "Here is the nutcase libertarian view from the Cato Institute." or "Here is the corporate sociopath multi-billionaire spin". It would help.

"I'll third the AdBlock Plus recommendation. Awesome add-on."

Why not just edit your hosts file?
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

It has the advantage that if you do get infected it blocks malware from dialing out.

No, she wasn't fed her own "vitriol". Alan didn't really address her question and just said that as far as he knew the Federal Reserve didn't know about the billions being thrown around in Iraq. He didn't know about it or was out of the loop.

He basic premise seems to hold. Even if the trolls here say otherwise.

Bush is out of control. Completely and utterly out of control and must be stopped.

#38 posted by bobolikebeer -- I didn't label you. I thought I was pretty clear about who I consider a threat and who I don't. One thing that happens a lot is that people do not reply to what they agree with but what they disagree with another post. In my case I wanted to spell out my concerns and I am very glad you are not one of them.

I am GLBT and highly aware that the people now in charge, the religious groups on the ascendency today, would like nothing more than to make my very life a crime punishable by death. Not kind of, not sort of, but for real.

I am happy for Zack and wish him all the best but my life is on the line. I'll believe it when I see it.

What? No tasing of the Ninja's by clueless campus police? I'm so disappointed.

Your production values are very poor. Try paying attention to transitions! Xeni could be lit a little better too.

"Holden: The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over but it can't. Not without your help. But you're not helping.

Leon: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I'M NOT HELPING?

Holden: I mean you're not helping! Why is that, Leon?"

Mike Friedman said:
no, it doesn't belong to the public! It's a bunch of fiber lines and switches and every single one of those is owned by a company, a government, or a private individual. None of it is owned by the "public".

Actually Mike, it does belong to us. Even though every TV station is owned by a company none-the-less the airwaves are indeed publicly owned. You might want to double check what you wrote there. Can you spot the error? I can.

What has happened is that the Rethuglicans have sold off vast portions of government (that's us ya know) owned property (frequencies) to their buddies in corporate America. They feed off of and destroy what was once held in common.

They destroy the environment, they destroyed radio, they destroy everything everything they touch. Corporations are engines for resource extraction. As you say "that's their job" but they are unable to create what is not already there. Obviously, that presents a bit of a problem over time doesn't it?

There is a saying:

That which cannot continue will stop"

As indeed I expect it will.

The people who are saying "Well, let them use Tor" are missing an important point. Most people barely understand their computers at all and have little ability to use tools like Tor. I am not much of a geek by BoingBoing standards but I am according to those around me. Most people have never even heard of FireFox and they sure as hell are never going to be able to re-route around Net Neutrality.

The people around me ask me to help them with their PC's and when I look it is a living nightmare. Their machine is usually chock full of adware and viruses and God knows what else. They have lives and don't have the inclination or the time to become savvy enough to run a clean PC.

They are the Eloi.

That's what Net Neutrality is all about. It's about putting a fence around property.

I can has jihadist chat rooms?
KTHXBAI!

When the National ID goes into effect you will need government permission (in the form of the ID) to cross state lines or enter Federal lands or buildings, including Federal Parks. No ID = no entry.

Does it smell like fascism yet?

Actually Mark, Naomi is a "moonbat" which is a derogatory term the right uses for the left. "Wingnut" is the derogatory term we use to describe the right.

Risser: Bush may be many things but stupid isn't one of them, he just plays one on TV. It's all an act. He reads books and newspapers constantly even though publicly he says otherwise. Why? Because it's what "The Prince" would do.

If you are going to be pedantic "Tim the Pedant" at least get it right.

fas·cism /[fash-iz-uhm]
–noun

a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

or

A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

or

A system of government that flourished in Europe from the 1920s to the end of World War II. Germany under Adolf Hitler, Italy under Mussolini, and Spain under Franco were all fascist states. As a rule, fascist governments are dominated by a dictator, who usually possesses a magnetic personality, wears a showy uniform, and rallies his followers by mass parades; appeals to strident nationalism; and promotes suspicion or hatred of both foreigners and “impure” people within his own nation, such as the Jews in Germany. Although both communism and fascism are forms of totalitarianism, fascism does not demand state ownership of the means of production, nor is fascism committed to the achievement of economic equality. In theory, communism opposes the identification of government with a single charismatic leader (the “cult of personality”), which is the cornerstone of fascism. Whereas communists are considered left-wing, fascists are usually described as right-wing.

Note: Today, the term fascist is used loosely to refer to military dictatorships, as well as governments or individuals that profess racism and that act in an arbitrary, high-handed manner.

Clearly there are fascistic elements at work today but whether or not we will become a full blown fascist state really doesn't matter. Our rights and freedoms are being systematically taken away and we live in an increasingly authoritarian and repressive state.

Nation of Islam: White people were created in a lab.

Well, that one is true.

Add "treason" to the growing list of war crimes and crimes against humanity this administration should be impeached for.

Just what does Bush have to do for Nancy Pelosi to put impeachment back on the table?

You could also make some of the circles different colors. Warm or cool, whatever you wanted in order to achieve a desired effect.

We have a symbiotic relationship with many bacteria on our skin and in our gut. The relationship being "We'll let you stay if you don't harm us too much and keep out the really nasty folks that want to trash the place. Be a good guest, deal?"

Life is a balance. Living like a pig, probably not good. Living with a sterile skin and gut, also probably not good.

Doesn't look to me like you are getting censored "CantStopTheSignal". But you aren't really that interesting either.

If you are left-leaning and you surround yourself with only lefties and you talk with only lefties then you are operating in a dangerous vacuum where you don't get dissenting opinions to check your rationale against.

Well sure, but when I visit Michele Maulkin or Little Green Footballs or Instapundit I feel pretty secure about the general correctness of my political opinions. "Reality has a Leftwing Bias" ya know. And when it comes to the Right on questions of scientific facts... well... humor has it's place in the world I suppose.

America is not a fascist state, it is a surveillance society. There are general signs and they sure are frightening but who knows what tomorrow will bring? I don't.

It's pretty hard to have a rational debate in the comments on a blog "CantStopTheSignal". I'd look for that in a well moderated forum somewhere. Good luck with that.

I am skeptical that real, true altruism exists in any species. Cooperation is not altruism and many behaviors that people claim to be altruistic on closer examination carry a benefit.

Natural selection does not operate at the group level.

There's a lot more transvestitism and boob-jokes in this episode than IT jokes, alas,

Feeling a bit insecure are we? I suppose for some wearing a bit of lipstick is "transvestitism". Heavens! Next you know men will be wearing earrings or a touch of eyeliner.

Ok now... get up off the floor and go lie down for a bit in the other room...

And Camille Paglia should know about pudding brains. She's a high class wingnut and will be one of the first up against the wall when the revolution comes.

While I'm not certain that her worst fears will come true it is true that no one has gone wrong assuming the worst from this administration. Indeed it's hard to keep up.

anangbhai said:

It's cool and all that people are realizing that we're not exactly nation building in Iraq but what's with the overemphasis and obsession with Blackwater? Private security firms and armies have existed since before this country was in existence? Hessians wtf?

If you are Bush and have, as we now know, an openly stated desire to turn the US into a fascist state. Then you need some loyal thugs willing to do your bidding without question. Something which has also "existed since before this country was in existence". And don't look now but the borders are already closing. Peace activists are now finding they are not allowed to leave the country.

Blackwater provides sicurrity, they protect VIPs and shit.

They do more than that. There is every reason to think that they are the death squads in Iraq. Oh look! and here is David Addington, the man behind the death squads in Nicaragua, working with Dick Cheney.

Partition has always been the goal for Iraq. Death squads are the means to attain that goal. Blackwater is just the sort of company to do it. This will turn out to be bigger than Abu Griab.

So I wonder if Clarence "Long Dong Silver" Thomas recused himself?

Fake? oh, you mean they don't have permission from Sanrio? Heh, the AK is all the permission they need! lol

BlackAndy, while it a bit late for this story, I wasn't responding to you. I just wanted to raise those questions for consideration. I was hoping to spur the discussion. Nothing more.

Jack Balkin of Balkinization offers his thoughts. His analysis breaks into two possible ways of approaching the issue. One, it represents a "true threat"

When are Websites Threats? The Jena 6 Website

If persons who planned to attack the students in the future-- or people they worked with-- were responsible for the website, it is a true threat and unprotected. Indeed, the website is evidence of intent to carry out a conspiracy and it is also an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. In particular, it makes a threat and it provides information to people to carry it out. But if it is simply a racist website designed to frighten people, it is not a true threat.

The other is if the website is solicitation to commit a crime.

There is another possible theory: If the website was an attempted solicitation of a crime which also seeks to assist murder by offering information that would be helpful to the persons solicited, then it would also not be protected. [...] This is not how people usually solicit others for first degree murder, but just as websites today might perform the same function as burning crosses once did, the Internet might provide a new spin on many old familiar crimes.

My opinion is that this particular website rises to the level of an internet cross burning. I could certainly be wrong though. Marty Lederman, a contributor to Balkinization disagrees.

"There is no such thing as 'Sucking-Chest-Wound Bear.'"

oh, I'm heartbroken. I would buy a Sucking-Chest-Wound Bear.

The Day of the Dead Skulls gourmet chocolate looked kinda cool.

If at this point in history, you are dumb enough to leave packages in plain sight... in a mall parking lot... during Christmas rush... well... you just aren't very bright are you?

I'm not convinced that soap doesn't kill bacteria. I was pretty sure that the surfactant action of soap does dissolve many bacteria (bacteri?) cell walls. Put some soapy water into a culture of bacteria and end up with one dead, or mostly dead culture. I'm not discounting the mechanical action. That is probably just as important.

tmoore1081 - Yeah, you're probably right. What I said wasn't intended to be a slam, just a side note, nothing more.

gdlw

"'ll b bsy tkng ths bks hv by hr nd dmpng thm n th trsh."

Tht wld b rlly slly n "ct ff yr ns t spt yr fc" knd wy. Th ntrnt rprsnts hg prdgm shft fr mny, mny ppl. vn s, thnk sh hs lgtmt bf.

tmoore1081 said:

"Like other posters, I haven't looked at the lecture yet"

Speak for yourself. I watched the entire video before posting. BTW, "homiletic" isn't that big of a word.

And I want to add a pre-apology to Pyros if it turns out that he is not "yet another Libertarian troll". That species has so poisoned internet discussion that it is a good bet, still, I could be wrong.

Lessig's point is that institutional corruption like that seen in story one isn't adequately addressed merely by punishing the offender. We need to also look at the role played by those who enabled the offender. Simply going after the bad guys will not work. Lessig's solution is to change that dynamic. Pyros doesn't offer a solution other than some vague prescription for more populism (read: Libertarianism).

The charge of "elitism" is a typical neocon smear. They want to do for academia what they've done to the rest of the country, turn everything into shit.

Hey! here's a thought. How about we stop doing the shit that creates terrorists in the first place? You know, like laying waste to entire countries and sucking them dry of every natural resource while making sure the natives are still living in mud huts even after we've gone and moved on to the next one.

It's a crazy idea, I know.

The she finished her bowl of blueberries and turned the bowl on her head, hilarity ensued.

When your country is being turned into a fascist police state it's kinda hard to stay calm.

If you think that playing by their rules will stop it you are delusional.

The last one is the best fit. Alcohol fumes ignited but were not powerful enough to char the wood or cause much other damage. It was strong enough to blow the hatches but not much more, it could happen. Capt and crew were scared shitless though, they knew how much alcohol was below and what it could do, so they took the instruments and retreated to the lifeboat in case there were further explosions. A storm came up and swept them away. End of story.

Second thought, if that is what happened they would want to be far as possible from the ship. I mean, if they were really afraid it would blow and with that much alcohol on board, you'd want to more than a few yards away. So they used a long line as a tether to the ship. The line became entangled in a storm or rough seas and broke. Separating them from the ship and dooming them to die on the open sea.

It's either that or Cthulhu (praise be).

bobolikebeer, I don't know what planet you are from but on this one what bricology (#30) gave was pretty much the Nicene Creed. Restated a bit but it's mostly there.

Studies have shown that fundamentalists don't actually read their Bibles as much as they say they do. When they do they are more likely not to read outside of a few narrow verses. They rarely read the social gospels for instance.

Would that be you?

The whole point of a list like this isn't to keep anyone safe nor is it to catch or deter terrorists. In a police state the point of repression IS repression. There is no other justification.

Eventually, every single person will have to choose which side they are on. Hiding will not save you. Trying to rationalize it away will not save you. Going along and trying to live your life as usual will not save you. Sooner or later you will have to choose.

They were just following orders

Where have I heard that before?

Of course there are many Christians who are able to make common cause with progressives. They are not the problem although joining with them may give us an advantage. The problem is not the majority of Christians or Evangelicals. It is the Robertsons and Falwells, the Dominionists and the ultra fundamentalists and the Corporatists who are the problem. It is the white racist authoritarians who are the problem.

It is the Bush crime family and it's use of Soviet mafia style rule that is the problem. It is the Dominionists who would literally bring back slavery and make being gay a capital offense who are the problem. It is world wide corporate hegemony that is the real threat.

There can be no compromise with them. Opposing cultures do not "compromise". One or the other emerges as the winner while the other is exterminated. And that is usually the one that is the most violent and aggressive.

"The meek shall inherit nothing" -- Frank Zappa

I think that was the first time I actually cheered when someone got tased by the cops. As an ACLU supporter I felt almost guilty at the pleasure of seeing that obnoxious dude go down.

LIE

You are a paid concern troll. You are paid to come here and sow seeds of doubt.

No police state has ever been successfully resisted by peaceful means only. Even the Orange Revolution had the police tacitly on their side. The outrages keep coming faster and faster don't they? Pretty soon they will come after you Mark, like they did this woman.She is just a music scholar but that didn't stop the DHS. You'll be next Mark, after all they consider you a dirty communist anyway.

In every police state you eventually are forced to choose which side you are on. That's sort of the whole point.

Which side are you on readers? What will you do to stop them?

"Who ya gonna call? Terrorist Busters!"

There is also a certain history of activists in this country going to extreme, sometimes deadly means of supporting their causes.

Actually, there is a history of government "agent provocateurs" infiltrating activist organizations and then instigating violent act in order to disrupt and discredit them. There was a recent example of police joining a street protest dressed as protesters and then violently engaging the uniformed police.

coaxial, time to put down your dolls (I mean "action figures") and come out of your moms basement and join the adult world.

"anything with Richard C. Hoaglands name on it is guaranteed to be absolute bullshit."

I totally agree with that. Hoagland is clearly delusional, probably paranoid but he is interesting in a weird sort of way. There is always the possibility that those who are less than sane may never-the-less stumble over a truth of a sort. I'm not sure it's worth it wading through the mountains of BS though.

I don't think the link to a hate site should be published. You could spell it out in text but other than that I'd object to a direct link.

I haven't a clue to how you should deal with this kind of hate speech online. Is it a terroristic threat? In my mind it is but if don't know it that's so legally. By publishing their names and addresses and encouraging others to lynch the Jena 6 has he deprived them of their civil rights? Not directly but maybe indirectly he has.

What would happen if the same thing were done in print? Or on TV? If he or others get together and physically go to the defendants homes and threatened them would that be a crime? If so then why not doing the same online? Burning a cross is I think considered a terroristic threat and illegal. What is the equivalent online version of a cross burning?

Get with the program Simon. Everyone knows the HAARP scalar waves control the weather and the aliens are on our side against the Illuminati, sheesh.

tainted pete:
"What about legitimate P2P? I wouldn't even know what to look for. Maybe back copies of Make magazine?"

I belong to a group of CG production artists who regularly distribute content through bitorrent. Training materials and even raw HD plates are sent out. One person may be matchmoving, another does rotoscope work or wire removal, the 3D artist does his or her thing and it all gets sent to the compositor. Some of this is done through FTP but but the large files are distributed through bitorrent, privately of course.

Some software companies are also using P2P to distribute training, often more valuable than the software, to their customers. So there are plenty of legitimate uses.

As boingboing has said repeatedly, much of the blame for the current situation lies squarely with the studios. Had those got out ahead of the technology people would have been used to buying music (the prime mover in all this) online much earlier. But that would have meant not gouging their customers and not charging 20 dollars for a CD full of shitty music and one or two decent songs. They chose not, they made this bed and they get to lie in it.

Congressional Democrats are complicit in dismantling our constitutional rights. They know exactly what is going on in the Bush admin and they don't mind it one bit. They approve of spying on you and they have already taken away your right to a fair trial. They approve of torture and extraordinary rendition even for American citizens. They approve of the war in Iraq and the coming nuclear war with Iran. People think the Dems are afraid or weak. They are not. Dems do not object because they do not object.

Maybe dfmzfr, maybe. But there is a clear pattern by now isn't there? Large multinationals are turning countries world wide into repressive authoritarian regimes. America, Canada, France, England and Australia all have or have had the fascist neocons installed into power. All are enacting increasingly repressive legislation that caters to the desires of the global corporate hegemony.

Schizophrenia is a terrible disease. I hope he gets proper treatment.

I have yet to see any porn and what people did with these pics is none of my or your business. What I have seen are erotic images that appeal mostly to men. Pin up girls are not porn.

"Obviously, there was no malice involved..."

Of course not, everyone was just doing their job and following orders. We are all good Germans.

I'll have my hot Dr. Pepper with a nice helping of lime/cottage cheese jello please.

"Been there, done that. Boyfriend bought one at San Diego Comic-Con and we got it back to NYC just fine."

You must have used the psychic paper then huh? Now THAT would be handy to have.

It'll never get past TSA. They'd freak for sure.

I think the combination of Coop and glitter is perfect... snobs.

They aren't lost. Your gov is compiling lists. Just like every other gov in the world.

Ok ok, I concede. You know, there are a lot of us who are horrified by the past 7 years. This entire conversation would have been branded nutty conspiracy theory not long ago. Even now it's sort of on the fringe. I can explore these ideas here (liberal-ish blogs) but probably not too many other places.

Why oh why didn't I take the blue pill?

You're right. The "Your Letters" page shows the real cover. Pages 1 & 2 were photoshoped. Well done though.

Where is the holy sauce? I think depictions of his noodleage should include The Holy Sauce.

I don't believe they destroyed ALL of the tapes.

This is hardly over, the bill has merely been tabled until the Senate reconvenes in January. It is a small victory though and Sen Dodd is to be congratulated for his hard work. Be sure to let him know how much you appreciate it.

January is a long time away and there is plenty of time for arms to be twisted. It is important to remember that this isn't really even about immunity for the Telecoms. This is about protecting this administration. They have committed crimes that would be revealed in discovery if the lawsuit against ATT goes forward. That is what this is ultimately about and this admin will do whatever it takes to keep those secrets.

George Bush committed a felony when he chose to ignore FISA. Telecom immunity keeps discovery frozen so that it cannot be used again in the next case and it also keeps his article II wartime powers claim alive. "Team Dick" will not allow that to happen because this administration cannot survive discovery.

S'mores nativity, because baby jebus is yummy.

"What a load of crap. It was science that told us the universe does not revolve around the Earth."

Oh, I see you took me literally. Do you really think that I meant that science cannot tell us our position in space? Don't concretize everything.

"That has got to be the longest, most rambling 'comment' I've ever seen on a blog"

Meh... I've seen far longer and far less coherent.

Another way to spot a Cylon is they wear American flag lapel pins all the time.

This is well supported in the literature. Even smiling can change your mood from mildly depressed to a more positive outlook. It is in fact a part of cognitive behavioral therapy that the patient adopt a "half-smile" as a part of the treatment plan.

"As you think, so shall you become."

"why is it impolite to talk about religion, politics, and sex in public or among friends?"

Because the resulting arguments get you nowhere and only alienate you from your friends or family.

"the term Conspiracy Theory is an epithet often used by the guilty for eliminating articulate dissent.

Sometimes, more often it is little more than the delusions of the insane. It is great material for a SF writer though. That's why boingboing is interested in this.

Mysticism is just the attempt of pre-scientific societies to understand and explain the world and our place in it. We are story tellers and mysticism and science are two forms of narrative. Science can help us to understand the world but it doesn't have much to say about what our place in the universe is. People need to feel their lives have a purpose and non-scientific narratives fulfill that need.

Finally, could people please stop claiming that "it's not America that's wrong, just the current government". Sorry, it's far too late for that. You're a democracy. You didn't just elect Bush, you *re-elected* him

Not true, in both cases the elections were stolen outright, and for the record I don't believe we are a true democracy. Probably haven't been for a long time.

You've had every opportunity to impeach him - but not only does the Republican party refuse to do so, even the *Democrats* refuse to do so. They haven't done so, because there simply hasn't been a popular outcry from Americans to do so.

As a Dem I am deeply disappointed with my party but you do have to understand that we do not have a parliamentary system. The Dems have one vote, one vote. That vote is Joe Lieberman, a GOP patsy. You are right to point out that Americans are not protesting. The media here is heavily censored though and many people are uninformed. The rest are stupid and vile human beings like "om" above.

Kidnapping and torture IS the policy of America. The "it's a small temporary minority doing it" defense no longer works. It's America doing it.

I understand your sentiments, I really do but it isn't a "small minority". It is deeply entrenched corporate power that has wound it's way into every aspect of government and daily life. In addition, the Bush family (and hence the GOP) is run like a Mafia crime family. Why are there so many closeted gays and fetishists in the GOP? Well, that is how you build loyalty. They are "made men". If you hold the photos and the videos of them doing their thing... that is a man you can trust to do as he is told. That is how you build a powerful machine and it is why no matter if millions were protesting in the streets, the GOP would not budge and would not vote to impeach. It probably includes a few Dems also, though many are bought off by corporate interests and this war has been extremely profitable. That is why impeachment cannot happen.

Still, there are hopeful signs. We may step back from the brink.

The design is intended to be "womb-like" and supposedly helps babies to feel safe and comforted.

"Q.Should I stop bathing my baby in the TummyTub® when it is 6 months old?"

"Although the TummyTub® was originally developed for babies from birth to 6 months, many midwives and parents tell us that their children love being in this familiar and trusted environment for much longer."

You have to wonder if that's really a good idea. How long before we have tummytubs for adults?

"The site you linked to, I should add for those who haven't visited it, has a comments section that they apparently think Dodd might actually read."

Oh they do, as do Keith Obermann's people, there is no question of that. They have told us as much. FDL has some bright legal minds starting with Jane herself. You would probably like this thread at Emptywheel too Nick:

Someone Doesn’t Want the Telecoms to Get Immunity

Because they're leaking--and leaking big--to James Risen, Eric Lichtblau (and Scott Shane) again. Almost two years to the day since their first big scoop.

The big bombshell is this:

"The bombshell in the NY times story was that NSA wanted access to the Class 5 switches. Thats the smoking gun that confirms that the Administration has been lying all along."

Class 5 switches are the ones closest to your house, where subscriber and end-user telephone lines connect.

marksb comments:
Everything changed in the early 2000’s.
(1) Packets won over ATM cells for network traffic, and both IP packets and ATM on the backbone network became vulnerable to analysis–even real time analysis–because the analysis equipment advanced enough to do the capture in real time, or near-real time.
(2) Computing equipment, especially huge parallel processing ‘farms’, became “off the shelf” and enabled massive traffic tracking and real time, or near-real time content-driven analysis. Also, network system software advanced to the point were people could write this stuff and have it work reliably.
(3) Legal requirements forced all new switch installations and any retrofit upgrades at all telecoms to allow “legal intercept”, a nice word for tapping.

and

"That’s exactly why the greedy f**ks want to control the Internet. They want to control what kind of content you are allowed to send, and at least have you pay for it. Again, in 2001 we were discussing a “micro-penny-per-packet” business model to the telecos. But you have to control the traffic to get there."

Actually Cicada, some are thinking that it is the other way around. The Telecos are expremely powerful. They own this country's central nervous system.

Dodd, FISA and the Filibuster — How It’s Going To Go Down

"The latest word from the Dodd camp regarding what will happen on the FISA bill is that tomorrow, Dodd will take the floor and not yield.

He can take "questions" from other senators during the filibuster, which can be no more than 20 minutes. We understand that Kennedy and Feingold so far have agreed to do this."

This is good news. My initial pessimism has so far been wrong.

You are welcome to your old-school conservative concepts of coherency.

The internet has not been kind to paranoid schizophrenics.

I can't feel any sympathy for a prisoner who attempts suicide and is indignant when his captors save his life.

You've never been tortured have you? There are some things worse than death.

One thing that all such societies have in common is "The Confessional". Skull and Bones, Scientology and even Catholicism have a means of getting deep personal (often sexual) confessions from their members that can then be use to control them.

After all, that is the very definition of political power, the ability to control others. If you have video tapes or photos of someone with "A dead hooker or a live boy" then you can rest assured that when you place him in a position of power he (or she) will do as he/she is told.

Explains a lot of recent news doesn't it?

realcatholicmen said:

"So according to the ABC news story, torture does indeed work and deliver valuable, timely information that has disrupted enemy attacks and saved lives."

Is he telling the truth?

Devilstower
"It's hard to see Kiriakou's story as anything but an attempt to redeem the use of waterboarding, and other forms of torture, as effective means of interrogation. After all, say torture supporters, why would people keep using torture if it doesn't work?"

"Why? Because it's satisfying, that's why. Because when you have someone who you think is a bad guy in front of you, someone you think is scum, you don't want to befriend them. You don't want to feed them and give them some damn mat to pray on. You want to hurt them. And then hurt them some more. People want torture to be effective for the same reason that people endlessly sift statistics for some sign that capital punishment is effective. Because vengeance is fun."

Transcript of interview with CIA officer, John Kiriakou (PDF) part 1 and part 2

What one finds after reading this is (1) Kiriakou never witnessed the waterboarding. It was carried out by another group of individuals. (2) None of the information provided by Zubaydah concerned threats inside the United States. The bigger question becomes "is Kiriakou telling the truth?" How would we know? The tapes that would show if he is or not have already been destroyed.

Waterboarding is torture as defined in the Convention Against Torture & Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The US is a signatory to this convention which defines torture as:

". . . any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions."

Article 2 - No Exceptional Circumstances Warranting Torture
Article 3 - No State Party shall expel, return (”refouler”) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
Article 4 - Acts of Torture Are Criminal Offenses
Article 10 - Education & Information Regarding Prohibition on Torture Provided in Training
Article 16 - Each State to Prevent Acts of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

George Bush has committed war crimes.

You could be right Nick. I tend to get to close to this. After all backroom deals have been going on in politics for a long time. The internet acts like a new telescope or microscope. It allows us to see things we couldn't see before. In the long run it may be a good thing but for now the sight sure is ugly.

Setting the record straight, Spencer Ackerman has a more complete version of Nancy Pelosi's statement about when she was briefed on torture techniques.

"On one occasion, in the fall of 2002, I was briefed on interrogation techniques the Administration was considering using in the future. The Administration advised that legal counsel for the both the CIA and the Department of Justice had concluded that the techniques were legal."

Or in other words, the Bush admin lied and told Pelosi they were acting within the law. They just forgot to mention part where they hired John Yoo to tell them that the Geneva accords did not apply and that waterboarding was not torture (even though it has been for centuries).

Then, when administration opponents in the CIA released the report that Iran had no nuclear program, the White House retaliated by dropping this bomb on the Dems hoping to alienate the leadership from its base. Which they have succeeded doing.

Kevitivity is just another 23 percenter. "Instaputz" is not that reliable hun.

FISA background information

Harry Reid's actions on Friday

Senators of the 110th Congress contact info

Which bill will Reid make the base bill on Monday? The Judiciary bill without immunity for the Telecos or the Intelligence Committee bill that guts the rule of law? We don't really know. Response has been good and maybe that will change how this plays out. You never know, I have a tendency to be overly pessimistic sometimes.

The purpose of repression is repression.

That is what you are all missing here. No single person is guilty, the authorities were doing their job, the man was panicked and out of control and Tasers are so and so and blah blah blah. The big picture is that there is a system of repression in place that gradually forces good people into more and more extreme situations. You've noticed that haven't you?

That is how police states come into being. Gradually over time ordinary people are forced to compromise their values bit by bit. A little bit of heavy handedness here... he was "out of control", perhaps some brutality there.. but that was just one "bad apple".

It is the system in place that forces people to behave the way they do. I don't fly but I guess we now have special "secure" holding areas. Can you guess what comes after that? I can.

Events like these will continue to grow in frequency as they become more and more extreme. You will get used to it, even come to accept it. The next one will be even more extreme just as this one is worse than any before it. And yet again rationalizations will be made and they will be right in the details and given whatever the circumstances may be. And yet they will all be wrong.

Sooner or later you will all have to choose. That is what repressive military regimes are all about. They are engines for crushing dissent and nonconformity. That is the only reason they even exist.

How about rather than making personal attacks, we debate the issues?

Real men don't torture or even think that torture is a subject for "debate". That is the cowards path, is that what you are? Torture is not up for debate. That you think it can be tells me all I need to know about your state of moral decay.

Many conservative websites are grossly sensational as well, but that's not a license for everyone else to mimic their style.

Correct, it is no justification for sensationalism. However, while both the left and the right have their faults the distinction has been drawn sharper of late hasn't it? Torture is a bright shining line as far as I am concerned.

Under normal circumstances I would be somewhere in the middle, disgusted by the racism and fascist mentality of the right or amused by the silliness of the far left. But that was long ago. These are no longer normal times and I have been pushed more and more to the left by the unrelenting horror coming from the right.

I realize that the truth isn't nearly as interesting most of the time so fighting sensation with truth seems to be a losing battle.

Truth? I have yet to see any truth from you. You know, those pesky things called facts coupled with something called reason. No, I take that back. There was an earlier exchange where I did moderate my views because of something you said. So you see I am not as narrow minded as you might want to portray me.

However in this thread all you have done is play the concern troll. Are you paid for that? You have presented no contrary evidence at all. That makes me suspicious. It makes me think you are just playing a game.

America loves the taste of horseshit. The texture and the aroma are so appealing to the American palate.

Considering how sometimes permanent death is a result of DWI I'm all for waterboarding to get these people off the streets. I can't imagine an officer having to result in serious harm to extract blood and I can't imagine that police would ever use excessive deadly force without a gosh darn good reason to do so.

Who do you really work for RealCatholicMen? We know that the conservative extremists pay people to post comments on blogs. Many extremist bloggers like Michele Maulkin among others are paid directly by the GOP. Who pays your bills?

Frankly, I don't think you're a real man at all.

Here is what happened today. Harry Reid: "I ask consent the mandatory quorum be waived as required under rule 22 and the cloture vote occur at 12 noon Monday Dec 17"

Cloture is a request to end debate. The need to call for a quorum has already been waved. Only 2/3 of those present need to vote to invoke cloture to stop any filibuster. Dodd will get 35min and Feingold 15. Cloture vote at 12 noon on Monday. About an hour of debate prior. 41 votes required to block. If/when that fails, the amendments that have already been filed will be considered. Then 30 hours, then the final vote.

Background:
There are two bills pending which amend the existing FISA laws. One version came from the Senate Intelligence Committee, and it grants immunity for the telecom companies which illegally wiretapped U.S. citizens for years.

The other bill is from the Senate Judiciary Committee. That bill very pointedly does *not* grant such retroactive immunity. (which makes more sense, since it was illegal at the time, plus there are still a lot of unknowns as to exactly what these companied did). Harry Reid chose to introduce the version granting retroactive immunity to those companies which have been intercepting our phone calls, e-mails, and god knows what else.

--
From the EFF link above:

"I also urge you to support Senator Leahy, Senator Dodd, and others in an amendment to strip retroactive amnesty from the bill."

Are you aware that Leahy signed Reid's request for cloture? In other words, Leahy has agreed to scuttle his own Judiciary bill (the one without immunity) in favor of Reid's maneuver which will guarantee immunity.

You are being played.

Hunny, it's already over. You lost.

I think it unlikely that Obama will win the nomination. It'll probably be Hillary. A Hillary-Obama ticket would be a winner and as VP, Obama could do a lot for net neutrality.

The last two comments show why this is such a bad, bad idea. Because once crap like that starts happening and people start getting shot things can rapidly spin out of control. Bush is just a bully and this is how bullies think. Bullies don't negotiate.

Rob @ 11
"How is this legal?"

It's legal because if the president say it's legal, it is. That's what makes Empire so much fun.

There has been a coup. The criminal gang in the White House are guilty of crimes, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The particulars are not the story here Spoon. This is about arrogance and the abuse of power by the current administration. Their attitude is "We can do whatever the f*ck we want" is just typical for them. They are thugs. There is nothing "reasonable" about their position. It is an expression of shear power, nothing more.

"Canadians where told to hold him and they did (which is presumably legal under Canadian law)"

Try again.

Ottawa Citizen
Mr. Tollman successfully fought an attempt to extradite him in a quiet court case last year, when a judge slammed the actions of U.S. officials and made an exceptional ruling of "abuse of process," after a trail of e-mails and notes made clear their attempt to avoid Canadian extradition laws.

The reason that you have treaties with other nations is because if you run around violating their laws things can escalate into open hostilities. Of course, if you think you are sent by God to save the world, that you have no obligation to respect any other nation, that you have the right to do whatever you want... and you have the power to back that up. That has another name. It's called Imperialism.

absimiliard, the sign that I see is the latest NIE that was released this past week. It has derailed Dick Cheney's jonesing for nuclear war with Iran. Why did it happen? Well, there is considerable opposition coming from within the government. I take that as a good sign.

Other good signs that I see are the recent implosion of Mike Huckabee and the still swirling controversies surrounding Giuliani and his mistress. Mitt Romney will never be elected president. In general, the GOP is going down in flames and the Dems look to be picking up perhaps 20 seats.
PDF

Yes, the Dems suck but we in the base have been working hard to correct that and rid ourselves of corporate patsies Like Rahm Emanuele

We are not out of danger though:

Hannah Arendt
"The stubbornness with which totalitarian dictators have clung to their original lies in the face of absurdity is more than superstitious gratitude to what turned the trick.... Once these propaganda slogans are integrated into a "living organization," they cannot be safely eliminated without wrecking the whole structure."

This is why Bush has tried to spin the NIE report showing that Iran had given up it's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons into a "The fact that they tried only proves we should bomb them now" argument.

Knowledge is power. Knowing what is going on and why gives you the power to make difference choices than you would otherwise.

You mean Ghost Hunters? LOL, that was a stupid show. The only interesting thing about it was the psychodrama between some of the characters. And no, this doesn't look like a footprint of an animal at all to me.

Peter:
Just wondering if you read Blindsight, by Peter Watts

Yes I have and the rifters trilogy before as well. I highly recommend it, if people like this topic they'll love Blindsight. (I have been reading his blog too but it's been awhile, I should check it again) And yeah, I am making the argument that we are machines though to be honest I think Peter fudges things a bit and buys into EvPsych more than perhaps I would, but what do I know?

Peter also argues that free will is an illusion, that there are no truly altruistic acts and that self awareness might be an evolutionary dead end. I'm not sure I agree with all that.

XOPL
Everybody who tortures a dog is a sicko. NOT everybody who tortures a Pleo (or the like) is a sicko.

Agreed. I wonder how much we truly disagree? My experience in comments in blogs and on forums is that many, if not a majority, of disputes are due to miscommunication. Also because if you reply to someone you naturally pick out points of disagreement. Otherwise why bother? You Xopl, seem to be focusing on the Pleo while I and perhaps others are jumping a long way down the road. I personally don't think that any robot that is so simple it could be copied onto a HD qualifies as an artificial sentient being. Even so, I would not have a lot of respect for someone who got off torturing a Pleo. Frankly, I would be suspicious of someone who got off torturing a plush toy.

Insects are automatons. If you interrupt them during say a mating ritual they are forced by instinct to start all over again. You can keep doing that over and over. They will never get it. Still, I felt uncomfortable with that cockroach robot where the researchers put a partially dissected bug on a ping pong ball. That was creepy.

Can the WallMart model be far behind? Services to be held in the parking lot. We'll circle the motor homes.

Kyle:
People who are able to abuse a toy are not sociopaths. They just know the difference between "real" and "not real."

Really? Do you know the difference? Do you have a daughter Kyle? Let's say I make a perfect replica. She looks, behaves, sounds, and even smells like your daughter. She even bleeds. I tell you all this and then proceed to torture her in front of you. Her screams are piercing, her tears are wet and salty and she's been well programmed to plead for her life as I burn off her simulated flesh. She writhes in pain just like your daughter would.

You're cool with that huh? It's just a machine, why are you so upset?

it's not a Turing test, it's a Voigt-Kampff test!

I think the upshot is that the robot in question has to pass a robust turing test first. I could go with that. I could even go with those who think the Pleo doesn't meet their definition for "real", whatever we mean by that. The Pleo just provides us the excuse to discuss these issues because it sure looks like the technology is headed in that direction.

We are machines. There is no ghost hanging around our hypothalamus, no bio-field departs when we die. We just die. We humans feel empathy for other living things (well, most of us do) because evolution has determined it is in our advantage to have those feelings. Our perception of ourselves as disembodied minds is due to the illusion created by many sub processes that also inhabit this "meat CPU" we live in. It is they who create the illusion of a continuous 3D reality that exists "outside" our skin. We are symbol processors sitting in our Chinese Room exchanging tokens with the external world.

And we can be hacked.

The uncanny valley isn't mine at all. You would cite Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori.

Yes, it is crazy talk. Any crazy can think of a story involving the government and random-disaster-of-the-day, and lots of crazies do, but they're just stories if you don't have any evidence. Any story is just a story without evidence.

Sure, I know that. On the other hand there is indeed evidence for some of what I said. I don't believe in the feverish dreams of the conspiracy theorists but I don't believe in the gov/media narrative either. So where does that leave the rest of us? Expressing my concerns is my way of trying to figure it out.

Labeling a narrative as "just a story" is a little disingenuous too. Science is "just a story" also, only backed up with evidence but what counts as evidence is itself fuzzy sometimes. We no longer believe that science is "Nature's own language" but where does that leave us? It's "narrative all the way down"?

To get back on topic what happened here is that Cory constructed a narrative about a security sticker. Then other commenters came along and added to it. "Are they right or wrong" is not a helpful question to ask. Better is "Does this narrative help me understand the world around me?"

My narrative lies somewhere between "We don't torture" and "The Illuminati/Free Masons/CIA control everything". Where exactly I don't know but I have a hunch there are some very bad actors in there. I bet there are even video tapes.

JoshuaZ - Sure, with a less insane, power driven and sociopathic administration I would be less concerned. But as far as needing the National ID to cross state lines or to enter federal property including parks, that isn't my idea. That is a direct quote of DHS.

Our political, educational and health systems are broken. I just hope Bush brings his guitar to California. Maybe he can sing a song.

Burrowing dinosaurs may have been more common than paleontologists previously suspected, he suggests.

Indeed, perhaps they even survive to this day. Venturing to the surface to feed. Bwahahahaaaa.

Given that their absence didn't foil the July 2005 bombers I'm not sure why we don't have them back and stop people piling drink cans on escalators and any flat surface.

Because then you would lack the proper attitude. The whole point is not to thwart terrorism but to use your fear as an excuse to drive more and more repressive laws. The objective is a heavily repressed authoritarian state. Terrorism is merely the means to that end.

For example, you remember the British Intelligence Officer who was discovered to have been deeply embedded in the IRA right? He wasn't just observing, he was leading, directing, encouraging. And he was just one, there were 65 in all. Here in the US the first bombing attack on the WTC was lead by an undercover FBI agent. Likewise he wasn't just monitoring, he was leading and helping the terrorists. Even going so far as to teach them how to mix the bomb, how to place it and providing the van.

But this is all just crazy talk of course. Your government loves you so very much. It would never harm a flea. No government would ever place biological agents in a subway system. They would never hire prostitutes to give LSD to unwitting strangers. They would never feed radioactive mush to poor black children just to see what happened.

As far as our governments are concerned, we are cattle.

Assuming arguendo Cory was a US citizen, how exactly would that matter?

Because we US citizens are despised around the world now. Thanks George Bush. Wait... Cory is not an American? ZOMG ZOMG TERRIST!!

The sugar in the cookies was probably very effective in burning skin. Ever get oven hot sugar on your skin? It burns bad and the burn goes deep too. Nasty and not at all "fun".

cryptomundo has an article on it too.

They show a pic and to be honest it doesn't look like a primate's foot print to me.

yummmm, tasty Eloi. They go well with barbecue sauce.

Throw another Eloi on the barbi eh?

Re: "the garroting of a prisoner at Bilibid Prison in the Philippines"

Since it doesn't cause major organ failure or death (when done correctly) this device depicted here only simulates actual strangulation. The Bush administration thanks you for adding yet another safe, legal and non-torturing technique in their quest to save you from those hordes of brown people who will force you to live under Sharia.

there seems to be this jejune need to view their culture as backward, despite all evidence. Why is this?

For the same reason we think that the "Orange Revolution" was a spontaneous expression of anti-Russian nationalism (and that the good guys won) or that Hugo Chavez is a dictator.

Everyone knows that super toys last all summer long.
See you at the flesh fairs.

There is another way.

These questions go far deeper than mere appearances Tarmle. How do you know that you are alive? How could you tell? Maybe you are simply programed to think that you have free will. Maybe it is we who are the machines and this thing we call "selfhood" is just a convenient illusion. When you reach for something the signal is already on its way to your arm before you even "decide" to move it. You are just the CEO and what you think is a seamless 3d reality around you is really a construct created by your workers. They send you a notice, "Hey, we are moving your arm now" and like all CEO's you live in the delusion that you are the one in charge. You aren't.

is not unreasonable to see appearance as the definition of consciousness in others - a person is suffering if they appear to be suffering, an animal is suffering if it screams in pain or terror.

Animals suffer and feel pain even though they cannot always communicate that. Infants also suffer even though they lack the ability to tell us so. For many years doctors were convinced that new born infants could not feel pain. And countless circumcisions were done with no anesthetics for that reason.

Were we to see a group of people hurting an animal simply for the sake of witnessing its apparent suffering we would think them inhumane. This is despite the fact we have no evidence that the animal is capable of feeling pain other than its reactions to the stimulus.

Plants do not have a nervous system and they do not have minds so yes, there is a real evidentiary difference. We have MRI's and PET scans these day and they are a lot better than just looking and guessing. Animals and infants have minds and their pain receptors lite up just like any adult humans' does.

But what then is evinced in this video by the individuals who "hurt" this machine simply to witness its apparent suffering?

I think our discomfort is due to our recognition that here is someone whose mirror neurons are lacking or undeveloped. Such people represent a danger because they are, well, sociopaths or potentially so. We should be concerned when a child pulls off the wings of a fly not because we care about they fly. It really is an automaton. We should be concerned because what is says about the child's future if he goes on to torture small animals and then becomes a schoolyard bully or even perhaps president of the US. That's when the real fucking begins.

From Adam's links:
"Mr Christensen said: “Would it be acceptable to kick a robotic dog even though we shouldn’t kick a normal one?"

No, it wouldn't be acceptable and for much the same reasons. The reason that we have laws against the abuse of animals isn't primarily out of concern for the animal. This is of course important but it is also because we know what it does to us. Unfortunately this would be a tough sell in America today. We have a significant percentage of people who are borderline sociopaths.

I saw the you tube video where they lite Tickle Me Elmo on fire. My first "Flesh Fair!" I think the difference is that Elmo doesn't cross the line. His AI isn't robust enough to make it across the uncanny valley. Even though I still think the boys who did that should be whupped, for the reasons I outlined above.

I think we should re-name the Storm worm "Lenie Clark".

Don't believe this, they've pulled this game on us before. They are masters at kabuki theater. Do not trust that there is no secret under the table deal that will will grant immunity at a later time. It'll be done quietly, behind the scenes.

It seems like good bills always get killed in the Senate (as I suspect this one will). Why is that?

Because your needs and interests do not matter.

This is all really very simple, it's about power, it's always about power. There are no laws, no rules, no morals, only power.

At the upper levels we are ruled by sociopaths. The corporations themselves are sociopathic in their behavior. The is only one law for them, we have all the power, you have none. In Mexico there are fishermen who have lived for generations fishing locally. The corporations sweep in and now what happens? They work like the slaves they are and are strictly forbidden to eat the fish they now catch for the corps. So what do they get to eat? Fish entrails. And so they do, and so will you. Look at coal mining areas in the US, what do they look like? The f*cking surface of the moon. 400 years and what do the people of the region have to show for it? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

Take a look at this video "Not The Daily Show, With Some Writer"

What are the studios saying? They say that writers deserve nothing from internet content because it is worthless yet these very same corps turn around and sue YouTube for billions. Does that make any kind of rational or moral or legal sense at all? No, of course not. The only way to understand their position is by what I talked about above. That is: there is only one law, power. There is only one rule, power. They admit of no other constraint.

There is shit in our food, lead in our toys, poison in the water. They will utterly destroy our world through pollution and global warming because frankly, they think they can ride it out while the rest of us die by the millions. This is your future unless we do something about the sociopaths among us.

The ever helpful Wikipedia:

As of August 9, 2007, the price of copper is $3.50 per pound and zinc is $1.57 per pound. At these prices, the pre-1982 copper cent contains 2.34 cents worth of copper, which makes them an attractive target for melting by people wanting to sell the metal at a profit. However, the United States Mint, in anticipation of this practice, implemented new regulations on December 14, 2006 which criminalize the melting of cents and nickels and place limits on export of the coins. Violators can be punished with a fine of up to 10 000 USD and/or imprisoned for a maximum of five years.

Why would you purchase anything from Best Buy when there is NewEgg?

/snark on
Why shouldn't we scam the corps, they scam us. They feed us plastic in our food, poison our planet, poison our culture and poison or government. Corporations live by one rule "Everything not forbidden is allowed". No, that's wrong, they don't even follow that. They rob us of our privacy, spy on us, give that information to a criminal cabal and then get legislators to retroactively declare their crimes legal.

So why shouldn't we take them for anything we can get? We are just playing by their rules.
/snark off

"Is it just me or is their a block of posters who frequently jump to the defense of corporations, the government, or the police"

On the liberal political blogs it's well known that some trolls are indeed paid GOP operatives. There is documentation to back it up and I think former Sec Def Romney admitted to such. They operate out of the Pentagon. You are pretty naive if you haven't figured out by now what's going on.

"If I sold two computers and then years later someone was busted using them for some crime, would that mean that anyone I had supported for election was now tied to that crime?"

That isn't quite what happened here. This latest news isn't proof, it's circumstantial, but it does raise questions and there does seem to be a pattern of criminality here.

This is how all police states work, you get the people to inform on each other. It's like pouring battery acid on society but it does give power to the authorities.

Flooding DHS with fake reports would probably not work. They would just use that as an opportunity to expand their power. "Halp! we're flooded with terrorists! We need more unconstitutional power and more brutish thugs to enforce them!"

Monkfishy:
"I'm a middle-aged caucasian woman... TSA didn't even bat an eye. It seems like there's no consistency"

jere7my - I accept that there may be some validity to that. It's just that when I see "Prevention Mag" I think "bottom of the barrel health info."

"YTF are they vaporizing pigs brains in the first place?"

Well they aren't quite doing that. What they do is use a blast of compressed air to pop the pig brains out of the skull. Pig brains are valuable. I am sure it's quick and easy. The thing is that in the process a lot of blood and tissue is getting into the air. The workers are breathing that in and some are getting sick. No one knows why right now.

It's just a guess, I mean it could be anything. A lot of diseases target he central nervous system and here you have a wonderful environment for transmission of just about anything. A high power spray that aerosolizes blood and tissue into the air, all in a non sterile room. It's just begging for opportunistic bugs and virii. "Hey you! Come over here! We've got an oxygen rich culture set up just for you and when you're done infecting everyone in sight, the nice hosts will take you home!"

I knew a gal who worked for the CDC and this would be in her territory. She worked the Dakotas and western Minnesota and boy was she busy during the chronic wasting disease scares a few years ago. I bet the gov didn't tell us the half of it either. And of course, CWD has nothing what-so-ever to do with scrappies, CJD, BSE... yeah, riiiight.

Oh and just because only a few are showing signs doesn't mean it isn't prions. Under normal conditions they take 30 years or so to do their thing. Perhaps the workers that are affected are just the ones who received an extra large infusion?

Prions, I bet it's prions. Ice Nine for biology. Wonderful, just friggen wonderful.

jere7my:
Prevention Magazine!? Are you kidding me? Was that "study" next to the copper bracelet arthritis cure (or is it magnets these days?) or the silver chelation therapy cure for cancer?

"These three men are proposing to make colleges into a subsidy system for the MAFIAA."

We are all made men, we are all wise guys now.

Oh MY, how the worm turns.

The Politico has a letter from Reyes and Hoekstra to Hayden. In his message to CIA employees, Hayden has said that: "The leaders of our oversight committees in Congress were informed of the videos years ago and of the Agency’s intention to dispose of the material." This seems to be false.

Reyes and Hoekstra claim:
"Based upon available records and our best recollection, this simply is not true," said a joint letter from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) and the committee's ranking member and former chairman, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.).

Ron Suskind (who has sources in the CIA) has claimed that Abu Zubaydah was tortured on Bush's orders, and over CIA protests. We also know that typically Bush has claimed he was not informed in past scandals. This time however Bush is playing the Alberto Gonzales gambit and says he can't remember.

I bet Bush is consulting daily with those criminal defense lawyers he hired just recently.

Not to worry folks. They are just undocumented workers. We can always get more, plenty where they come from. It isn't like they have any rights anyway.

daylmer, I do submit things from time to time. I just don't always know what interests BB. They aren't interested in everything that I am.

I bet there is porn about this already and no, I don't want to know. Really, I don't.

Prufrock451, you might want to read Glen Greenwald's post on Salon about this.

There is another aspect of this pattern of lawlessness highlighted by yesterday's revelations: the endless complicity by two key Democrats on the Intelligence Committees -- Jay Rockefeller and Jane Harman -- in many, if not most, of the incidents of Bush law-breaking. As the ranking Democrats on the Intelligence Committees (Harman's tenure as such ended this year when Nancy Pelosi wisely refused to name her as Committee Chairman), both have been notified of most of these abuses, and in virtually every case, they have done nothing to stop them.

And Marty Lederman at Balkinazation

Jay Rockefeller is constantly learning of legally dubious (at best) CIA intelligence activities, and then saying nothing about them publicly until they are leaked to the press, at which point he expresses outrage and incredulity -- but reveals nothing. Really, isn't it about time the Democrats select an effective Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, one who will treat this scandal with the seriousness it deserves, and who will shed much-needed light on the CIA program of torture, cruel treatment and obstruction of evidence?

The Democrats are complicit.

While this is very important, it's kind of odd you haven't reported on the SAFE Act. But maybe I missed it.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill saying that anyone offering an open Wi-Fi connection to the public must report illegal images including "obscene" cartoons and drawings--or face fines of up to $300,000.

That broad definition would cover individuals, coffee shops, libraries, hotels, and even some government agencies that provide Wi-Fi.

And like all things Bush, it is hardly as benign as it may seem. They really do want to drag us back to Victorian times and not the fun bits either.

The definition of which images qualify as illegal is expansive. It includes obvious child pornography, meaning photographs and videos of children being molested. But it also includes photographs of fully clothed minors in overly "lascivious" poses, and certain obscene visual depictions including a "drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting." (Yes, that covers the subset of anime called hentai).

Oh, and Harper and his party are NeoCon filth. They will rape and pillage Canada just as they have the US. I think it is very unlikely that asking nicely "Please Sir, may I have more gruel?" will get you any results.

Isn't it interesting that only the most progressive and forward leaders get targeted by a lone assassin? Only those who seem to be truly influencing the world for the better seem to get gunned down in cold blood. I think it's odd.

I sent this in months ago via suggest a link.

Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator

"Noen, you want to unpack that one?

You really want me to? Doesn't anyone read Freud any more? He really did have some powerful insights into how people tick. If you don't watch out I might even bring in Jacques Lacan too.

No one knows what an Oedipal Conflict is these days? That is when an adolescent / young adult male has conflicted feelings about his place vis a vis older males. It just screams at you in this thread. Hell, it's what Rock 'n Roll is all about. Well, that and sex.

More generally it's called castration anxiety and here you see a whole bunch of gamma males peeing all over themselves at the thought of being pulled over by a cop and given a reward for good behavior. Man, that is hilarious stuff. I'm laughing my ass off over here.

If we think about this a bit more you can see that one reason people object to the police pulling people over to reward them is because it only serves to re-enforce the power dynamic. It's bad PR because it only makes people resentful. People want to feel that there is some give and take in the relationship. Flashing your lights and pulling people over doesn't do that.

Realcatholicmen's suggestion of a car wash is a very good idea because it places the police in a submissive role. Sort of the equivalent of the alpha male rolling on his back and exposing his throat. It helps pack unity.

How one chooses to perceive reality affects your relationship with it. Change your attitude and you change your world.

Drugs are just chemicals, they are neither good nor bad. They just are. It is one's relationship with such things that is the problem.

America is sick. It has a dysfunctional relationship with a whole host of things: Drugs, sex, violence and on and on.

The cure for our disease is not going to be pleasant. It's going to be the same cure that every other civilization has gone through. With any luck this won't happen in my lifetime.

"American Taliban" isn't just rhetoric.

Huckabee:

"It is now difficult to keep track of the vast array of publicly endorsed and institutionally supported aberrations—from homosexuality and pedophilia to sadomasochism and necrophilia."

It would be interesting to know exactly which government programs Mike Huckabee believes support necrophilia.

"I think I'm stronger than most people because I truly understand the nature of the war that we are in with Islamo fascism. These are people that want to kill us. It's a theocratic war. And I don't know if anybody fully understands that. I'm the only guy on that stage with a theology degree."

Huckabee does not have a theology degree. He only spent a year in seminary.

Huckabee suspiciously ordered the destruction of computer hard drives in 83 desktop and four server systems in the Governor's office. Huckabee exhausted $13,000 from an emergency fund to destroy the systems, the replacement of which then cost Arkansas taxpayers $335,000.

Huckabee now faces an ethics complaint and possible criminal probes over the felony destruction of state records.

In 2006 Huckabee resorted to using wedding gift registries set up by friends to furnish the couple's new $525,000 home in North Little Rock. Feel free to wish them belated congratulations on their nuptuals: Mike and Janet Huckabee were married in 1974.)

In 2004 Huckabee took the unusual step of offering clemency to Eugene Fields, a four-time DWI offender. Apparently, $10,000 in contributions to the Republican Party of Arkansas and additional gifts to the Salvation Army and a Baptist church charity were sufficient to get Fields a get-out-of-jail free card from Governor Huckabee

In 1998, then 17 year old David Huckabee was dismissed from his job as a Boy Scout counselor at Camp Pioneer in Hatfield, Arkansas for hanging a stray dog. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee then personally intervened to protect his son from legal jeopardy.

There was a UFO hoax a while back where the supposed UFO was following power lines. Some reports seemed to try to debunk it by saying that the power companies already had devices that drew power from the lines and followed them to check for problems. I have no idea if that is true or not. The UFO was of course, just a photoshoped 3D model. But it's kind of odd isn't it? Several months ago we had this UFO hoax and now most of the details turn out to be more or less accurate. Except that it is a gov. UAV instead. I'm not paranoid or anything but that's weird.

BTW, most of these UAV's are platforms that use ducted fans. They can look a lot like traditional UFOs. Whether or not they look like planes they have very good optics. But not to worry, the gov would never abuse that kind of power....

(do your own research) and still deny the existence of these things as a legitimate phenomenon. The evidence is overwhelming.

No, it isn't overwhelming. I've done the best I can from the internet. There is no convincing evidence based on what I can tell. If Nobutaka Machimura really believes this then let him produce the bodies or the hardware that proves his claim. Otherwise he is either a fool or playing a game.

Fundamentalists always cry foul whenever anyone tries to constrain their behavior. To them, freedom of religion means "I have the right to do as I please". That is the kind of 'freedom' they mean. It is in short "Christian Exceptionalism" and it acknowledges no limit what so ever on their rights.

An example is prayer in school. Many fundamentalists and Evangelicals believe that they have not just the right to pray, but the right to conduct school wide prayers that trample on the rights of all other religions. In parts of this country they have had their way for many years. Much to the shock and dismay of non Christians, such as Jews, who move into those communities.

There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio.

Perhaps, but there are still no unicorns (or UFOs).

They ought to have done this as soon as they went on strike. A previous BB article talked about how the music industry is broken due to greed and stupidity. Can video be far behind?

Science is linguistic as well as numerical

Well of course it is. Science is at heart our description of the Universe. The World is that which is outside any description of it. The antiquated notion that mathematics is 'Nature's Own Language' is so TwenCen.

I wouldn't be caught dead in that outfit. Though I wouldn't mind it if it were something more normal. I've always hated high concept fashion.

Oh I am familiar with the Fermi paradox RealCatholicMen.

It's a well stated argument (with math!) that essentially says that the real mystery is why we *haven't* been visited by aliens.

meh.... Not quite so much math as shear guesswork. The math isn't so hard, it's actually knowing the correct values to put into the equation that is the real stumper. How many life sustaining planets are there in our galaxy? No one has the slightest clue. How many Earth like planets give rise to technological civilizations? No one has the slightest clue. How many of those civilizations survive the discovery of nuclear weapons? No one has the slightest clue.

There is a pattern there.

I think it is highly likely that there are other life forms out there. Unfortunately I also think it might be that the vase distances between us makes any kind of galactic civilization impossible. So we may not be alone in the Universe but on the other hand we may be so isolated that we may just as well be.

We have a sneaking suspicion that somebody is being kidded.

Begone unbeliever!

You've just noticed Saul? How old are you, 14?

we haven't killed our Indians for a long time

Our Indians? And they are what, occupying our land right??

You see, I think that is the problem right there.

Are there any health implications for argyria or is it merely cosmetic?

Tensegrity

"Noen@24 I think he used the term "our" to differentiate between the indigenous people in her/his region (South America) as opposed to "our" region (North America)."

"Sort of like saying our self-righteous people versus their self righteous people ;P"

One: I am a she not a he.

Two: I still object the the use of "our". Words make a difference.

I loath bananas.

Answer: "Because we can."

"why do we lodge the real, actual terrorists in medium security prisons, and we house suspects in a horrible place off-shore that no one really seems to supervise?"

For the same reason that we don't really worry about uninspected shipping containers at our ports. This isn't even loosely about "terrorism". It is about using the power of the state to enrich themselves and their friends and to impose their Mafia crime family rule on the rest of us. Every single statement you read or hear about is just their bullshit excuse so that they can keep doing whatever the fuck they want to do.

Why don't they just put us all in cages and be done with it already?

montauk
"Personally, I'd rather someone worshipped my brain than my ovaries. And I don't see any reason to 'get over' that."

I can, a person would think it was pretty obvious.

"Sometimes I feel like a disproportionate amount of the visual art presented on BoingBoing features skinny, busty, white women."

It turns out that your feeling is simply that, your feeling and nothing more.

Time Weiner's article in the NYT contains this inaccuracy:

In September 1950, Congress passed and the president signed a law authorizing the detention of "dangerous radicals" if the president declared a national emergency. Truman did declare such an emergency in December 1950, after China entered the Korean War. But no known evidence suggests he or any other president approved any part of Hoover’s proposal

Truman didn't sign the McCarran Act, dubbed the "concentration camp law", he vetoed it but his veto was over ridden by Congress. It was later ruled unconstitutional.

Hoover also wanted to set up tribunals to try the detainees.

The plan calls for a statement of charges to be served on each detainee and a hearing be afforded the individual within a specified period. The Hearing Board will consist of three members to be appointed by the Attorney General composed of one Judge of the United States or State Court and two citizens. The hearing procedure will give the detainee an opportunity to know why he is being detained and permit him to introduce material in the nature of evidence in his own behalf. The hearing procedure will not be bound by the rules of evidence.

Sound familiar? The current "do not fly" list has some 700,000 names and includes information such as your reading habits. If you had any doubts about exactly what is going on they should be gone by now. But I don't think this criminal cabal is too worried. It isn't like you'll ever do anything about it.

Father Brown
You want deionized water, distilled water. Tap water is too hard, has too many minerals in it. Don't use soap as it leaves a film. Maybe some distilled vinegar at 10% or so and a soft, lint free cloth. Try not to ever touch the screen with you fingers. Do not use paper towels or napkins of any kind. I use some commercial product made by GE I bought at Target that has isopropyl alcohol in it. Works ok.

Mantauk
But to look at the response to my comment, you'd think I called it a racist sexist patriarchy machine or something.

Funny, that is exactly what I thought you intended. I bet this is the first time anyone has ever misunderstood someone on the internet.

Happy Holidays

Ah... the war against Christmas continues... Probably a fascist liberal too.

;)

When I was homeless I would go to a local coffee shop, not Starbucks, buy a cup of coffee and spend a fair amount of time there.

Q: What is the first thing you learn when you are homeless?

A: There are no bathrooms for you anywhere.

Even if you want to stay away from the dealers and the working girls and the thugs on the street you can't. There is no where for you to go. No where for you to sit and rest. No where to relieve yourself. No where to eat. And everyone, everyone, is your enemy or wants something from you.

This was in socialist Minnesota where we actually try to take care of people here. I can't even imagine what it must be like in Georgia. America is a very sick place.

Ah yes, I didn't see that. Though I suspect there is more to the story there. Sorry.

The Nazi's also sent a team to the arctic to perform an experiment to see if the earth was hollow. Loony does describe them quite well.

Anaxaforminges
You were homeless in Minnesota? Damn, I didn't even know Minn. had homeless people. I figured they would die in winter.

Not so many but yeah, and yes, they do. I was homeless for one summer and was able to get into a place by Nov. I was not homeless for the usual reasons, I don't drink or drug and stayed away from those who did. I was a middleclass suburbanite for whom a number of things fell apart for various reasons.

I saw:
Too many children alone
Too many families with children
Too many who worked full time jobs (40% of the homeless in Minn work fulltime jobs).
Too many GLBT folk.
Too many seriously mentally ill.

The assholes, the pushers and hustlers and the gangbangers are not homeless. Every morning when I left the shelter I watched as the office workers bought their drugs at a nearby corner. I didn't hang around though.

Americans like their drugs the same as how they like their sex, nice and dirty.

Father Brown:
"I wouldn't thought that a little soap would leave a film."

No matter how little is in the water you use, when it evaporates the soap and minerals (usually calcium carbonate) in the water are all that is left and it will leave a film. This doesn't matter on your counter tops, it does matter on your LCD screen.

My God puyang and RealCatholicMen, what is the matter with you?

puyang
"First a detainee is strapped to a chair. (I get this much)."

No, you got even this detail wrong. Are you an English speaker? Are you unable to read simple words in English and comprehend their meanings? At least RealCatholicMen can do that much. Though he apparently cannot make the leap that to torture real human beings, even your enemies, is un-American, inhuman and un-Christian.

On this day of all days what the fuck is wrong with you people?

But... but... how will they ever fight the war on terror?

Yummy... and strangely sexual too

"You're stoning the water boarder while seemingly ignoring the mass murderers."

And here you are apologizing for torture on the holiest day in the Christian calender. Tell me how that's gonna fly with Christ your Savior? What are you going to say in your defense? "When the weakest among us were tortured I didn't speak up because I couldn't be bothered" And don't give me any BS about them being "terrorists" (as if that makes it right anyway), most of those we've tortured were innocent and we've known that all along.

Perspective? Don't lecture me about perspective. You see, this post and this thread isn't about India or Africa. It is about torture committed in your name and mine by George W. Bush. And here you are on the birthday of Christ our Lord, telling me it's no big deal because everyone does it or worse. Yeah, you go with that, see how it works out for you.

I thought that maybe, just maybe you had some personal integrity. Turns out you're just another coward who denies Christ on the holiest day of the year. Congratulations.

Is there some kind of battle to see who can gross out Xeni?

Anything that gets Father Brown to freak out is ok in my book. Besides, you know what they say about value judgments, they tells us more about you than than the thing being judged. How many times a day would you say you think about cannibalism Father Brown, huh? But then, communion is basically a cannibalistic blood ritual isn't it? Talk about creepy, if you are orthodox Catholic you believe that the host literally turns into Christ's flesh in your mouth.

I think the Will Smith pic is easiest on the, ahem, eyes. Maybe because it looks like his eyelids are closed and so closer to natural.

The narwhal doesn't have a "horn" it has a tusk. It is, of course a phallic symbol and like all such symbols it has more to do with our libido than anything else.

"I've been surprised to see so many Christmas wishes and Christmas vitriol on a site which is pretty consistently anti-religion."

It's just politics.

His set reminds me of this video.
Peter, Bjorn & John - Up Against The Wall

Eyes for mouth or mouth for eyes doesn't even begin to cover the possibilities.

It is tilting at windmills, but that makes for a good story I hear. I think some Spanish dude already did that.

How do you know when you've won?

Technical Writing Geek, no one has ever sued McDonald's because their coffee is too hot. The elderly woman in that case suffered severe burns directly caused by McDonald's negligence.

The idea that corporations are benign actors who only want what is best for everyone is nuts, but thanks for drinking the Kool-Aide.

How did WWI start again?

Looks like the neocons got their wish.

MSNBC’s Jack Jacob’s is saying that India will start massing troops on the border. The possibility of a nuclear exchange between the two is not out of the question in my mind.

Oh, things are about to change that is for sure Talia. Gold and silver are WAY up. Oil will no doubt follow. You will look fondly back on these days of cheap $3 a gallon gas. You will never see them again.

Looks like Bush will get his WWIII. How fortunate for him.

"Why was this excess in security guards not at her rally???"

The real question to ask is why the vests on the EMTs were all in English.

BTW, al-qaeda claims responsibility.

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1710322437

Yes Simon Greenwood, but it's unusual for the vests to be in English only. I think it's odd, that's all. I also am not surprised that al-qaeda has taken responsibility. They would even if they had nothing to do with it.

"I wish I could throw an impenetrable force field around the whole of the Middle East, so no one could get out or in and let them solve their problems amongst themselves in whatever way they chose."

That will only happen when oil is no longer the engine that drives every economy on the planet.

Ok Simon, I believe you.

Beautiful!

Yeah RCM, this is all about exports. My gd y rlly r gnrnt. Pls tll s mr bt hw trtr s n hnrbl, Chrstn thng why dn't y.

A pretty dumb thing to do, but kids do dumb things. I wonder if the parents will be charged? They should be.

"And how did they trace it back to a kid in his grandparents' house?"

If the beam was visible then it would be easy for the helicopter to find the source. I used to work in a mall in the 90's and when the old laser pointers came out kids brought them there. I got shined once and it was frightening. You don't know where it's coming from and you feel violated. It is very much a power trip for the one doing it. I would put it in the same league as an obscene phone call.

"To me this 'sounds' like all are reading from a script."

Another way to look at it is that other nations are taking advantage of our moral bankruptcy. Any petty thug can now round up his political opponents and say "I'm protecting our homeland from terrorists". What are we going to say them, "Do as I say not as I do?"

"#1: there's not going to be any war with India."
Maybe dainel, I sure hope you are right.

RCM, you know nothing about me or my worldview.

either Bush nor anyone "wants" a WWIII

Michel Ledeen:

Creative destruction is our middle name, both within our own society and abroad. We tear down the old order every day, from business to science, literature, art, architecture, and cinema to politics and the law. Our enemies have always hated this whirlwind of energy and creativity, which menaces their traditions (whatever they may be) and shames them for their inability to keep pace. Seeing America undo traditional societies, they fear us, for they do not wish to be undone. They cannot feel secure so long as we are there, for our very existence—our existence, not our politics—threatens their legitimacy. They must attack us in order to survive, just as we must destroy them to advance our historic mission.

Our "historic mission" is of course world wide domination. That the neocons have been pursuing global hegemony is no secret.

George Bush:

For decades, American policy sought to achieve peace in the Middle East by promoting stability in the Middle East, yet these policies gave us neither. The lack of freedom in that region created conditions where anger and resentment grew, radicalism thrived, and terrorists found willing recruits. We saw the consequences on September the 11th, 2001

In Bush's view, stability in the middle east and the rest of the world is the problem. So if stability is the problem what is the solution?

Glenn Greenwald:

All of these problems are part of the same War, and are all caused by the one big neoconservative sin — stability. [...] the President claims that the reason 9/11 happened is because the foreign policy of both political parties for the last several decades was devoted to preserving stability (i.e., a state of peace, avoidance of war), and stability in the Middle East is our greatest enemy.

That, according to neoconservatives (apparently including the President), is what needs to be changed. Stability is our enemy because it breeds hatred and war. Only instability and war will breed a “lasting peace.” Thus, the more instability and war in the Middle East, the better. That is the central neoconservative warmongering tenet and it is what is coming out of the President’s mouth as he discusses his views of the new war in the Middle East.

And that is what I mean when I say that the neocons got their wish today. George Bush, Dick Cheney and the rest of the neocons have been wishing to see this region go up in flames for some time now. And they are more than willing to make veiled references to end time theology if it helps their cause.

Condoleezza Rice

What we're seeing here, in a sense, is the growing -- the birth pangs of a new Middle East and whatever we do we have to be certain that we're pushing forward to the new Middle East not going back to the old one.

Many see Rice's comment here as referencing the Biblical phrase "birth pangs" (meaning the Apocalypse) welcomed by Christian extremists such as Pat Robertson.

And of course it's about oil.

Yes, I've seen this. It's very good and quite odd. I love the 70's retro feel to it.

If you like this you might also like the
Inspirations page on ToolFarm

ToolFarm is a video production oriented site with industry news, plugins, tutorials and software.

Also see:
Pitchfork's Top 50 Music Videos of 2007

This is funny:

"She says that, but why?"

though not for the reasons they might think. Some things never change, including male cluelessness. (is that a word?)

I'm not sure that I disagree with this. The internet is just too attractive and it's too easy to circumvent any restrictions that this seems to me like a reasonable solution.

Fnarf:
"Personally, I think allowing perverts to wank over internet smut might keep them away from live victims, not encourage them to find more."

Nice theory, but it is wrong, and it ignores how people actually work. If you want to extinguish a behavior you don't do that by rehearsing it over and over and over. In treating any addiction, sex, drugs, gambling, you are unlikely to be successful by repeatedly engaging in the addiction.

This has nothing to do with the Smithsonian and everything to do with this massively corrupt administration.

The Rich Are Different

Michelle Leder at footnoted.org specializes in reading company reports and looking for those little special treats given to those folks who have their feet at the top of the corporate ladder.  

So what has she found?  Marketplace has some of Michelle's best finds for 2007.  

How about the CEO at Qwest, whose daughter gets to use the corporate jet to travel to school?  Puts that kid whose mother pulls up to jr. high in a Hummer in her place.  Cost to the stockholders: about $600,000.

Personal travel was a theme in CEO perks this year.  Just ask the CEO of I2.  The company covered his commuting expenses so he could live in Maine while the company offices were in Dallas.  Cost to the stockholders: $949,000 -- and by the way, the company was busy scrambling to avoid collapse.  I'm sure the other employees got equally nice treatment.

These are the kinds of people that Bush has been stuffing onto every nook and crany he can. Remember what "heck of a job" Brownie was doing as people were dying during Katrina? Getting a manicure.

Sex offenders are categorized so I would agree that perhaps a level one sex offender might be given a clean slate. Level three... not so much. And I wouldn't be surprised if how you decide what level a particular offense would be is highly politicized.

Xeni Jardin
"I thought that read "Batboy" at first glance. Man I miss Batboy. He was hot."

Batboy got fragged in Iraq.

Fnarf gets it right.

"Moonbat" is offensive.

"When you believe in the literal truth of the Bible, isn't a "sex offense" the worst thing anyone could do?"

No.

Asshole

Asshole #2

"Except that the inmate died," I offered.

Clearly he is just another fascist liberal intent on imposing his nanny state on us freedom fighters.

More seriously, John is wrong to believe that the reason the story was suppressed was because "These inmates aren't necessarily sympathetic to our audience". That was just bullshit made up to rationalize his decision.

There is a very good reason why no media "journalist" today will be caught dead speaking truth to power. Those in the past who tried found their careers were over pretty quickly. People notice things like that. They notice that strapping on the kneepads and sucking up to power works a whole lot better.

Media has never been "free" nor have reporters been anything other than employees who do what they are told. It has always been owned by someone and that someone always has an agenda. Even worse, you the reader have an agenda. You have your own biases that you bring to the table.

After Watergate, conservatives were intent on owning and thereby controlling the message. In that objective they've been highly successful, especially in taking over the much hated CBS and getting Dan Rather fired. CNN was also taken away from Ted Turner by force, he didn't want to sell, it was stolen out from under him.

Another way to control the message is you just buy someone off. Meet The Press used be a show where you actually met a panel of press reporters. It's no longer Mett The Press, it's meet Tim Russert, who lied to the FBI in order to protect Dick Cheney.

BTW, Mara Liasson and Steve Inskeep are neocon tools. The GOP couldn't defund NPR, which is what they wanted for a long time. So they have simply fired the good reporters like Bob Edwards and replaced them with willing sycophants.

what's needed is a venue for it that is financially viable enough to fund the cost of getting those stories, by paying people like Hockenberry, etc. The market is there, and I suspect the main reason the need hasn't been met is that the market is not as great as the one for schlock-news

See The Real News

Actually, I disagree with the idea that people are only interested in crap media. I think people like good media, good news, good entertainment. We are fed crap because it is in someone's interest to do so.

Radio used to be a rich, vibrant community full of interesting discussions and great music. Now it is a howling corporate wasteland. Broadcast TV used to be a rich, vibrant community full of hard hitting news with real investigative reporting and genuinely funny sitcoms. Now it is a howling corporate wasteland. Cable never had a chance.

The Internet is now a rich, vibrant community....

Tastes like chicken.

Yes coop is right, these kids are criminals. Let's hope the RIAA can nip this in the bud before they become full fledged terrorists.

Cromulent is correct. Cattle methane from whatever end it comes from is carbon neutral. But if people can figure out ways to contribute less I suppose that is a good thing. Even though it is already too late to prevent climate change.

We have 100-200 years of global warming guaranteed as it is. Nothing can be done about that. Iceland is set to become a tropical island. Might be a good place to resettle. Your grandchildren will thank you.

Tom @ 10 = not funny

Mercer = teh funny.

"where is my damned flying car..."

Next to your jet-pack. Elroy banged it up a bit playing with it, Ru-roh

"Well. if I'm any indication, it's in double digits. But I was seeking adrenalin, not a mate"

Riiiiiight, because women find displays of physical strength and prowess sooooo unattractive.

I wonder how many of the pre-orders are from evangelicals who aren't aware of what they are really buying?

Whether or not this is scripted people like these really do exist in America. Many far more delusional than this family. They really are this self absorbed.

This is the culture that brought you the
Trading Spouses - I'm a God warrior woman.

re: The beauty queen. Clearly what we need is to bring dog and cat show standards into beauty pageants. Precisely defined breeding standards for height, weight, hair/fur and a check for hip dysplasia. Oh and check their teeth too. It's only fair.

I'll take two Mickey burgers to go please. Oh, and an order of Girl Scout Cookies too, thx.

The house pictured is The Single Hauz by Poland's front architects. BLDG BLOG has an article with more pics.

Some of the designs do strike me as not very practicable. Floor to ceiling windows on all sides for every room is not my idea of good living.

Yeah, knew about this 3 months ago. It would be very useful for ArchViz but certainly not for film.

Sketchup doesn't do anything close to what this does. This is a little bit more than just camera matching a photo.

Well, just skimming through the PDF I don't see how you verify this theory. Another question immediately leaps to my mind "If we are a simulated reality then is the world in which we are a simulation also simulated?" Or is it an "objective reality" If it is then why can't we be objectively real? If it isn't then doesn't that invoke an rather nasty infinite regress?

Lord Occam walks in the room "Enough!" snip! "There ya go, kids. You're objectively real as far as you'll ever know. Now get back to work on something important."

The machines are slowly getting us used to the tanks.

The Airlines will be first against the wall when the revolution comes.

He clearly deserves a Darwin award, special internet division.

As I understand it you can actually build a motor of sorts from rare earth magnets but they have no torque. I think that is what Steorn did and so makes them deluded rather than con-artists. The problem with such "motors" is that they repeatedly place the magnets in opposition. This wears them down (they either degauss or become saturated) and may be why this device is slowing down after a few hours.

If you meet Jesus on the road kill him.

25 @ Jeff
"Another is that the dish was offered to prospective customers at a low price to entice them into a brothel."

Riiiiiight. That's what all the Johns say don't they? Those evil prostitutes and their enticing sauces!

And tomorrow we introduce Jeff to twentieth century thought.

It's just the outline, does Rolling Stone own the outline or the image inside it?

These people are out of their f*cking minds.

I don't know what to think of any of this any more. Every UFO claim I've looked into is either blurry lights in the sky or a hoax. Someone is f*cking with us, I blame the military.

"Conclusion: A single, giant, invisible ship that can change shape."

Not quite, a pilot with 30 years experience said: "The lights went from corner to corner" and his wife said "Lights were going up and down the side". So there is the notion that the lights were moving as in a marquee. I suppose they could have been aerial platforms flying in formation but how many of those can outrun an F-16?

I think military flares is the best explanation yet. Though I would think a pilot would know the difference.

I still think it's flares and here's the link to the Betty Hill debunking on Making Light, it's very good.

Still, I am uncomfortable making fun of people simply because they saw something that was so outside their experience they could not sleep. A lot of people seem to have those experiences, even seasoned observers like a pilot who would presumably have seen it all. He saw something that shook him to his core. The others in his party were less affected but that is because they (or one of them) have seen UFOs before. Something extraordinary happened and whatever it was flew over their heads faster than anything known.

Interesting how even with all the laughter this topic gets close to 50 comments.

I try, but don't always succeed, to order things in my mind by probability so I think it was flares, then maybe a top secret craft and way at the bottom something alien. But either way I don't like how secret our gov is and I get the feeling that they do things to mess with society. I don't like that at all.

I like how he releases the dove at the end. "Yee, come on, all right."

What movie is that from?

It's mostly gags. They don't seriously address any of the issues and pass along some misinformation on top of it. Some of the scenarios don't deserve to be treated seriously but others do.

"Most of us believe that the North Pole is a firmly set axis on which the Earth spins. As it happens, however, a fringe group of geologists think it's gone a bit wobbly."

Actually, the wobble or precession of the axis is widely accepted. An immanent pole shift is not however. This article is everything that is wrong with journalism all wrapped up in one package.

"There's nothing wrong with the products - only the people who are handling them."

There's nothing wrong with nuclear weapons - only the people who are handling them.

Funny, I don't feel safer.

People, come on, it's fiction ok? His wife, if he is even married, probably loves playing her part.

We are truly ruled by clowns.

Nice summary earthmann, I think you presented it well.

Does this mean they would also eliminate spam? Somehow I think not. "We don’t feel we have a legal responsibility." That pretty much sums corporate ideas about "morality". I claim all of the rights but accept none of the responsibility is not a plan for a healthy society.

Jeff, there are backdoor keys built into encryption schemes. Your privacy is an illusion. And while Joel did good I don't think that AT&T; is too worried about him or even about BoingBoing. They have the administration and congress bending over backwards just for them. We are no threat.

Modern agriculture is the process where we use land to convert oil into food. We hit peak oil last year so you can forget about ever seeing 25$ a barrel oil again.

Take away the oil and you take away the food.

Bad Santa!

JoshB
"This is the lovely thing about open source. The source code is there for you (and many other) to read it and discover any backdoors."

You mean like the attempt to insert a backdoor into the Linux kernal? I hope they caught every single attempt. But you don't have to alter the source code, compliers can be written so they insert a backdoor without your knowledge. Even going so far as to alter the disassembler so that you never see the altered code. So the source code for your software may be clean but the compiler may not be. RSA key generators can insert asymmetric backdoors so that the software may again be secure but the keys you generate may not be.

MS Windows is not secure and has built in hooks for the NSA. Every single cell phone is compromised and insecure. We already know AT&T; and the other telecos are willing to give the government everything and now they want packet inspection too.

Where is my privacy? I don't see it anywhere.

Of course, the end game here is "Total Information Awareness". That's what the gov wants and it seems like that's what they'll get.

#21 phreatic

I did my own calculation using based on rate of consumption and amount of recoverable oil using publicly available figures. Could be wrong but I think I'm in the right ballpark, sometime between now and 2010.

I think that people tend to get caught up in details and miss the overall picture. It really doesn't matter if there is a direct linear relationship between the price of oil and the cost of food or not. All you need to understand is that we have a large complicated system surrounding the food production chain. Kick out the support columns holding it up and it fails catastrophically. Just like the electrical grid system failed catastrophically a few years ago. A few powerlines went down and took out almost the entire east coast with them.

Would you like to play a game?

It has only just started here and I think we have a ways to go. But I bet there is plenty of info compiled on activists here in the US. My God they are so predictably paranoid aren't they?

They don't look at all similar. Jennifer's look more detailed, have a different design and distinctive features.

steaming pile:
"What's really farked up is that Senate Republicans can veto all kinds of shit with 41 votes, but Democrats have to filibuster the old fashioned way. I hope Harry Reid gets a primary challenge who will remind Nevadans of this fact until they're tired of hearing it."

The reason for this is that while the Dems did win the majority by one measly seat, there still exists a substantial majority (called "blue dog" Dems) who are very conservative and willing to vote with republicans on some issues. Add to that the very strong influence of K Street and you get the current situation.

echolocator
"Way to underscore the fact that there's no real difference between the majority of Dems & Republicans in high office, Reid, you self-serving waterboy."

While I understand the sentiment this kind of thinking is self defeating and who benefits from that? Not you or me. The problem is that if you are a politician these days who is it that helps you get elected? Corporate PACs do, so it should come as no surprise that they are responsive to those who put them in government in the first place. There are people working to change this, Blue America is one but there are many others.

If you want things to be different you will have to do more than complain about it.

Dodd is going to have to filibuster. Wouldn't it be nice if Hilary and Obama would join him and support the rule of law? You can't buy that kind of PR.

These Democratic Senators voted to defeat the bill. Let them know, politely, how disappointed you are in their failure to protect your civil liberties.

Rockefeller, Bayh, Mikulski, Pryor, Salazar, McCaskill, Nelson (FL), Carper, Nelson (NE), Landrieu, Inouye, Johnson

These are the 12 senators who have voted to support Dodd and Feingold last December. Let them know how much their support was appreciated and encourage their continuing support.

name
phone
fax

Akaka
(202) 224-2126
(202) 224-6361

Biden
(202) 224-0139
(202) 224-5042

Boxer
(415) 956-6701
(202) 224-3553

Brown
(202) 228-6321
(202) 224-2315

Cardin
(202) 224-1651
(202) 224-4524

Clinton
(202) 228-0282
(202) 224-4451

Harkin
(202) 224-9369
(202) 224-3254

Kennedy
(202) 224-2417
(202) 224-4543

Menendez
(202) 228-2197
(202) 224-4744

Obama
(202) 228-4260
(202) 224-2854

Sanders
(202) 228-0776
(202) 224-5141

Webb
(202) 228-6363
(202) 224-4024

US Senate Roll Call

It's the Doughy Pantload! (otherwise known as Jonah Goldburg)

No need tog oogle lautaylo - Nasal irrigationt

Because as everyone knows, correlation equals causation.

Antinous, this is what he has to say

"Well, like any good scientist, I decided to see how well my personal experience matches reality. How might one do this?

Well, here's one idea.

1. Get a friend of yours to download, using Facebook, the ten most popular books at every college (manually -- as not to violate Facebook's ToS). These ten books are indicative of the overall intellectual milieu of that college.
2. Download the average SAT/ACT score for students attending every college.
3. Presto! We have a correlation between books and dumbitude (smartitude too)!"

Virgil may be many things but "scientist" or even "intelligent" is not one of them. If he is a working scientist then I really have to question his understanding of even the most basic ideas of science and of statistics. He doesn't even have a weak case for what he claims to be "a correlation between books and dumbitude".

Virgil adds this:
"Yes, I'm aware correlation ≠ causation. You can stop sending me email about this. The results are awesome either way. Thanks."

No honey, it isn't teh awesome, it's so stupid it burns. This is so bad, it isn't even wrong.

I think in retrospect that I was too harsh. I didn't need to be so snarky and I'm sorry about that. Virgil deserves much respect for his previous efforts with wikiscanner. But yeah, this chart is sooo photoshoped.

So is there an American Pirate Party? Probably soon will be I suppose.

Could you have a better example of clueless racists than certain posters to this thread?

The Life Of Bryan - "I’m certain I’ve never come across this one. Of course, I don’t hang out with the people most likely to use this word but I call my Mac a "NIGGERpooter" and I don't understand what all the fuss is about. By the way, I and my white friends are an oppressed minority."

Reverend Robbie - "I'm sorry, but I think this is a bunch of unrelated anecdotes strung together because all my white racist friends are comfortable using "nigger" when they are around me. On the rare occasion when they do feel slightly embarrassed they revert to using "black" instead. I've let them know that I disapprove but not enough to impact our friendship. They all think of me as a Canadian-lover, er... nigger-lover anyway."

JEC - "I'm a Southerner born and bred and I've never heard this but it can't be racism to call someone a nigger because you aren't really denying anyone their basic human rights simply by uttering words. Beside, these are just ordinary guys puffing themselves up. It isn't like there was ever a time when my fellow southerners would have a picnic and find a themselves a nigger to string up, torture and then burn alive all while children were playing, the womenfolk chatting away and the men drinking. Let's not give it more power than it deserves by remembering those uncomfortable times."

Racism:
1. The prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races

2. Discriminatory or abusive behaviour towards members of another race.

Note to Teresa - I claim the right to use the "N" word in order to expose this hate for what it is. I am poor and I live in a poor urban environment. Many of my friends are black and I have spoken out against racism when I see it in my daily life. I myself belong to the GLBT community and have been discriminated against also. There is no surer way to piss me off than by being an ignorant, racist, homophobic jerk.

procrastinet wins the thread.

Here is what will happen. The plane will lift off of the treadmill a few inches and then fall back down. Because it is an ultralight it may even lift off several feet, stall out and fall back to earth because it will have zero air speed.

Imagine a plane resting on a treadmill, both are at rest. The plane does not take off because there is no such thing as magic. You start the engine and the plane begins to accumulate forward momentum but it doesn't move with respect to the ground because the treadmill applies an equal but opposite force to the plane's forward momentum. If the equipment is well designed the plane will remain stationary with respect to the ground. As the propeller gathers speed there may by enough air volume flowing over the wings to create some lift but because it has no air speed it can only lift straight up, stall out and then fall back down.

If this was possible we would already be doing it since it would be a great way to launch an airplane or jet from a ship. The fact that we are not doing this is strong circumstantial evidence that it doesn't work. You'll notice that we use a catapult, the exact opposite of a treadmill, on aircraft carriers.

Case closed.

Why don't we just get it over with and put meth in our food?

#73 dculberson

"The treadmill has no means with which to "[apply] and equal but opposite force." It is only contacting the wheels, which are more or less free to spin however fast they wish."

The wheels are connected to the plane are they not? They are therefore a part of the equation. If the forward force is 8ft per second and the reverse force is -8ft per second the combined forward force is zero and the plane stays where it is. It is assumed that the treadmill is designed so that it exactly counters any forward momentum. Good wheel bearings should be able to handle anything a prop can throw at them.

"A treadmill does not move the air around it except for a minuscule amount against its surface. Why do you think it would?"

I never said it would. You are misreading me.

#74 trieste
"If it was a jet engine strapped to a soap-box car and people were asked if it would remain stationary there would be far less debate."

Not the same at all. Some of the thrust from a jet exhaust comes from the force of the exhaust leaving the body of the jet and some comes from the exhaust pushing against the mass of the surrounding air. I think that a jet on this treadmill would take off because it is pushing against everything, the air, the ground and the treadmill. A comparable analogue would be to place a large vacuum directly behind the jet exhaust and designed so that it sucks in the exhaust gases as fast as they are expelled. In that hypothetical, the jet would not move or only move very little.

#76= EdT.

""Case closed."? Perhaps you'll learn why you're wrong once you realize that you're not necessarily right..."

Oh come on, I said that mainly to get people's goat. This is not that big of a deal. Chill.

For this MythBusters example the plane is a prop plane and it will not move forward because a prop generates forward momentum by the screw action of the propeller. Imagine that you are on a treadmill and you try to move forward by pulling on an infinite rope. You will not move forward because for every step and pull on the rope the treadmill moves back. It would be a different matter if the rope were attached to the treadmill. In that case you could pull yourself forward. In this example it isn't connected to the treadmill and you stay put.

Oh crap, I'm an idiot and a moron. The free-body diagram convinces me. Prop or jet, the plane takes off.

#9 VitaminCM
"But it doesn't say which one is best."

Oh but it does. White anglo-saxon is at the top center, blacks at the bottom, American Indian next up, then Asians. The hierarchy is very clear.

So do you have to keep stimulating the electrodes to get the memory boost? Kind of sounds like it. Anyway, I suffer from depression and "incredibly vivid memories from decades before" are part of the reason. I think I'll pass on re-living that horror thank you.

In other words the man is harmless and the Columians seem to have a solution that works for all involved (unless there is more to the story). In America he would be denied treatment and thrown in jail among hard core criminals. That is why we are so superior.

#5 "I thought we were done with oil."

We are well past peak for the US. That doesn't mean there is no more oil. Only that as prices rise it will become more and more attractive to extract what little is left.

Does it matter how it works as long as it does? Kudos for him.

Sort of points to a need doesn't it? I mean, there are a lot of lonely elderly folk in modern society. You'd think someone would take the hint and just... talk to them. Probably would save money in countless ways. But God forbid that anyone ever do anything nice for people that doesn't have the end goal of sucking every last dollar from them.

Simple electrical coils that you immerse into your cup have been around a long time. But they take time to heat the water to it's boiling point. But his device boils water in seconds. Given my crappy record you'd think I'd learn but... I guess not... I think he is doing exactly what he says he is. Using finely tuned harmonic sound waves to rapidly heat water.

#10 Felix Mitchell
"noen: There's already services you can call to chat to young women, they're normally advertised in the back of magazines."

Honey, I'm not a lesbian but thanks anyway.

#14 Christovir
I'm just saying that there seems to be a need and that if we just sent in maybe some social workers (or something) we could do some good AND same money on hospital visits too. And apparently you have psychic powers because you "can see how he might have driven away his friends in real life". I rather doubt that. I think he simply outlived all his friends.

Given that Bush declared himself dictator by claiming the power to make treaties I suppose it's appropriate.

Well if he's a perv then he should be shot right? How do think therapists treat people with sexual paraphilias? They are compassionate (while maintaining therapeutic boundaries of course).

What the f*ck is the matter with people?

All of Shepard's work is "close to communist propaganda posters." I like the poster, it will be interesting to see if he develops it further.

This is what they want to turn America into.

A good procedure results in 0 deaths.

That is the promise of the police state. You give us your freedom and we will give you security. It never quite works out that way though.

#43 Antinous
Don't feed the troll.

Seconded, otherwise this will end up being another 300 comment post.

Don't feed it.

Japan seems to have a solution that works for them. I doubt it would work here.
Japanese Gun Control

Why should American culture remain married to the gun?

We are huge, a continent really. With vast open spaces and states that are larger than most European countries. It all revolves around population density and so there is a conflict between the western states and the coasts. Everybody thinks that what works for them in Montana should work in Brooklyn N.Y. and vice versa.

And then there are the genuine nutcases who think a society where everyone is armed would be cool. They think they are going to be heroes. That's how it played out here in Minnesota. The left was afraid there would be gun battles in the streets and the right had their wet dream of pulling our their concealed gun during a robbery and saving the world. Neither happened.

What I think we need is community policing (and more police) and moderate gun control.

If there must be guns, why not set high standards?

That would be fine with me. There was a big fight over conceal and carry here. The proponents wanted rules that a sheriff must issue you a permit if you are a legal gun owner and I think thats what they got. Law enforcement didn't like that at all. The current battle is over allowing C&C; into houses of worship. For some strange reason a lot of pastors don't like the idea of their congregation packin' heat. Those of us who don't think you should be able to C&C; anywhere you damn please are winning that one so far.

The other way to restrict C&C; here is if you put up a sign saying "Coffeehouse X bans guns on these premises." And of course the sign has to be on each and every entrance, displayed at eye level and in large legible type. It's nuts.

If you were a Scientologist, and a bunch of people came and told you that your religion (and it is a religion, to a Scientologist) was a sham, would that make you stop being one?

Scientology is a cult. It is not a religion and yes, there is a difference. Anyway, the goal is not to deprogram existing member but to starve the corporation of new victims and to remove Scientology from the internet. Who knows? Perhaps it's possible.

#19 arkizzle
Noen, my apologies. That was overly snarky.

Thanks, It's ok arkizzle. It isn't like I haven't opened my mouth and made a fool of myself, several times, and in rapid succession. It's just the internet.

Glen Greenwald on the FISA agreement:

The essence of the new agreement is that most of the amendments will be subject to a simple up-or-down vote -- if they get 50 votes, then they pass -- while several of the amendments will require 60 votes to pass (allowing, in essence, the Republicans to filibuster those amendments without actually having to go to the Senate floor and engage in a real filibuster).

It seems rather clear what happened here. There are certain amendments that are not going to get even 50 votes -- including the Dodd/Feingold amendment to strip telecom immunity out of the bill -- and, for that reason, Republicans were more than willing to agree to a 50-vote threshold, since they know those amendments won't pass even in a simple up-or-down vote.

...this shouldn't be sold as some sort of great resolve on the part of Democratic Senators, since all this agreement really does is provide the quickest, most painless, and most efficient framework for enabling the Senate to pass a bill with telecom immunity and vast new warrantless eavesdropping powers and get it quickly to the President to sign

The current extension on FISA expires on the 16th but if there is one thing Harry Reid can do it's count votes so he has scheduled voting for the 4th and 5th, the day before super Tuesday. This means that candidates would have to give up campaigning in order to cast their vote, giving them an out.

So it would appear that the fight to remove telecom immunity from the Senate bill is over, but there is still time to call or fax. It is unlikely that the amendment to remove immunity will pass though. The real fight will take place in the House which has yet to pass it's version.

Newpapers have never bee "free", they have always danced to the tune of their owners to some extent. After Vietnam and before Watergate even, certain conservatives decided that they needed to own media and control the message because they didn't like the message at that time. Media, CBS in particular was deeply hated, was blamed for losing Vietnam.

And so we have the situation of today where a handful of virulently conservative nutters own and control virtually all media in the US.

I stopped reading newspapers a couple of yeas ago because I literally felt sick to my stomach reading the filth they published. I no longer listen to NPR and here in Minn we have a strong tradition but still, I cannot stand listening to them any more.

Part of the reason why is that I can see it for what it is, corporate propaganda. But another reason is that at least on the web I can participate. I can have my say and be heard, that is worth a lot to me.

In time, wealth and power will take this away from us. I am convinced of that.

I never cheated, never. I was not well liked though because I usually brought the curve up. I still remember the algebra test that I missed acing because I forgot one measly minus sign, gahhh!

#13 jeff
I don't like NPR because they fired Bob Edwards and replaced him with those neocon mouth pieces Mara Liasson and Steve Inskeep. NPR is better than average but they still have a strong bias towards the received "conventional wisdom" worldview. I also don't like the local MPR call-in shows because they don't really let you participate. Not to the extent that I'm used to on the web.

#15 jimtealiii
The rightwing base says that and I suppose from their extremist point of view it may seem that way to them. But there is very little honest self reflection on the right. I have yet to see any.

Jeff, AT&T; helped to write the FISA legislation. Besides, the Nuremberg defense doesn't cut it.

Feingold "Pleased" with Surveillance Bill Deal

I am pleased that Republicans have finally backed down from their efforts to ram a deeply flawed FISA bill through the Senate without votes on amendments.

blah blah blah...

If the final bill produced by the Senate doesn’t protect the privacy of law abiding Americans or if it includes immunity for telecom companies, I will strongly oppose it and will vote against cutting off debate on it.

Or in other words, he will support the filibuster if the amendment striping telecom immunity doesn't pass. This is good news. About the best that can be hoped for at this time.

You haven't really thought it through Brit and it doesn't sound to me like you've read the article. "The golden goose = golden eggs for everyone" well sure but... so what? Gold is worthless anyway. The only reason it has value is because it's pretty and it's scarce. In an economy where gold is free, hoarding it is a useless activity.

Take this blog as an example. BoingBoing has been around a long time and everything on it is easily copied, reproduced and distributed around the world. So ask yourself what about this blog can't be easily reproduced? Hint: it isn't the content.

Congratulations!!

outerjohn
"The fact is, aside from the publicity some artists (Radiohead) receive by being the first, this WILL eventually destroy the professional artist and writer. Socialism does that."

Wouldn't you be happier back home at Little Green Footballs?

"Many people have said the same about capitalism in general. The alternatives are far worse."

No, there are many varieties, many economic systems that can be tried. What has failed and is utterly broken is Chicago School Neoliberalism that says corporations can do whatever they want and government should just get out of the way.

"The masses taking it upon themselves to take an artist's work without paying them is still theft motivated by socialist sentiment."

It's only theft under the antiquated system. We have created a machine, the internet, that makes reproduction and distribution virtually free. This breaks old economic models but that's ok, we can create new ones. We have that right. It is our system and if we find that it isn't working so well in the internet age then we have to right to change it so that it does work.

Copyright is broken. If you read the article and this blog, which I doubt you do, then you would know that there are alternative systems of copyright that many feel would work better with the new technology.

The answer to these questions is of course, yes.

Isn't that the one mainly about Israel? What does this have to do with that?

When you start a sentence with "The fact is..." and end it with "it's socialism" to me that is a flag that screams troll. And I was being quite honest. Why come here when you'd be happier elsewhere?

Anyway I never said corporations should do whatever they want. But they shouldn't be obliterated and controlled in response to piracy, which is what the anti-DRM herd wants, along with free stuff.

If technological advances make you obsolete then why shouldn't they go into the dustbin of history? Isn't that the magic hand at work? And yes, I do think that we need to regulate or control business. It's what any responsible government does. Are you sure you read the article? Because Kevin does not say businesses should be obliterated

"But since findability can really only happen at the systems level, creators need aggregators. This is why publishers, studios, and labels (PSL)will never disappear."

I think you are over reacting.

Who says the old models aren't working well? The people and *smaller* corporations being sued for p2p theft? The tiny minority willfully bricking their iPhones for esoteric reasons?

Which is it, a herd or a tiny minority? You seem to want things both ways. But yahhhh... everything is just fine.

Oh please, P2P isn't some inevitable technology like the printing press. It's useful, but right now it's mostly just being used to steal stuff.

No, I was talking about the subject of the article, P2P is your thing.

But no, they are failing because people are stealing from them.

Citation Needed. (from an independent source)

Ok Downpressor, outerjohn, let's hear your solution. DRM doesn't work, it gets hacked as fast as they can release it. What should we do? Should let the NSA and AT&T; sniff every single bit on the internet and if you're caught off you go to jail? Should we let Sony and all the other corps put their root kits on every customers' machine and let them all spy on us so they can be sure no one steals a single song? What should be done?

Still not hearing any serious proposals, just attitude.

Jeff, the right wanted for a long time to get rid of NPR and PBS. They couldn't so what they did instead is exactly what Georgia Tills describes happened to Macleans above. You put your people in and you fill it with shit. You're pretty naive if you think all they do is read the news.

Oh yay! NRA paranoid bullshit propaganda on boingboing.

#7 posted by CrypticJ
Good grief, you have to wonder how Microsoft became the standard for most computers the world over with the constant babyish whining from the internet every time the do something practical with their business model. Oh yah, that's right, they pretty much built the whole setup that everyone uses nowadays, especially on the business end of things

Your ignorance of history is so astounding I don't even know where to begin. Microsoft is not an innovator, never has been. But there is one thing for certain, unlike Yahoo, MS will munge up Fliker just like they have everything else they touch.

I don't know why people are feeding the NRA nutcase troll. It isn't like it's possible to have an intelligent debate with him. That should be obvious by now. Now.... where is that greasemonkey script?

I love this piece Mark. Great use of color. Very nice.

This is only tangentially related to the Degas ballerina sculpture. Not really even the same pose. Why do guys need to have female body parts around them in order to feel "manly"? No wait... don't answer that.

BTW guys, did you know that you can put your links in a standard html tag and it won't break the page formating? You're supposed to be geeks, how about doing something geeky and learning to write some basic markup?

All Mediterranean climates are turning to Desert and the process cannot be stopped as we have about 200 years of climate change built in.

Sweatin’ the Mediterranean Heat

In your lifetime, your world will change completely and very much for the worse.

"Most people settle for distressingly low quality in cultural products."

This isn't true for everyone Takuan. I spent some time with a co-op gallery here in Mnpls in the poorer but definitely Hispanic part of town. They support the arts far more than whitebread America does. A friend of mine from that gallery decided to move to Spain because he sold much better there and spoke the language. Asians are also more aware of and supportive of their cultural heritage than we are. America is one of the more culturally illiterate countries in the world. (In my opinion, as far as I can tell, YMMV)

#158 posted by KlokWerk
It just goes to show, what we have here is not a culture that celebrates diversity but a narrow defined culture of intolerance with a different set of things we find tolerable.

This is the "You are a narrow minded bigot just like me" defense common to internet trolls since the '90s. My god you're boring.

#21 Dave
Against - Hilzoy will catch you up to speed

few know what Obama's policies are or Clinton's or McCain's policies are.

If only there were some way to say... look things up on the internet. You know, some kind of... I guess you'd call it a search engine, yeah, something like that.

[shrugs]

But I guess I will just have to remain ignorant until someone invents one.

Sorry for the misunderstanding Moon. I thought you were asking for yourself.

#27
It's a combination of unsustainable agricultural practices exacerbated by climate change.

Obvious design flaw. Clearly the cup isn't big enough. Shouldn't that be a 64oz MegaSlurp and two pounds worth of popcorn chicken?

#4 posted by Jake0748
"Back in the old days when I lived in Iowa, this guy Tom Tauke was a congressman, I don't remember, but I sure hope I voted for him. What a breath of fresh air... a telecom exec with some common sense."

Tom Tauke

Tauke is now Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Policy and Communications for Verizon. He has made recent news with his statements in opposition to the Net Neutrality Bill, which has been a recent source of debate among internet users. As a spokesman for Verizon, one of the main opponents of the bill, Tauke has expressed his discontent with Net Neutrality.

Some beautiful Ayahuasca inspired art by Pablo Amaringo.

The Cosmic Serpent

Could you sum up your book "The Cosmic Serpent, DNA and the Origins of Knowledge"?

Research indicates that shamans access an intelligence, which they say is nature's, and which gives them information that has stunning correspondences with molecular biology.

Jeremy Narby posits that the "junk DNA" in our genome isn't junk, the long repeat sequences such as ACACACACACACACAC function as emitters/receptors tuned to a specific frequency. That's his theory anyway.

Ha! I give you:

Pat Boone - Crazy Train

Top that, I dare ya.

Fondu!

It's a brilliant stunt.

#42 -- Nawww, I disagree, I think this shows the exact opposite. And yeah, Steve and Edie Gorme doing "Blackhole Sun" is much worse.

Sadly,No! covered this long ago.

I think that one thing that comes out in this thread is the breakdown of our society. "Cops have no obligation to protect you" in spite of the well known motto "To protect and serve". I guess they should find a new motto.

The problem is population growth. As the population grows you have to add more police, more courts and more jails. But those in power don't want to pay for more police because they don't think they benefit. Just as they don't want to pay for schools for lower social classes for the same racist reasons. If you go to any American ghetto you'll find many such services under represented and yet the people there do not have the power to change that situation because of how the government is structured.

So it seems to me that the answer is not for everyone to walk around armed. The answer would be to change the structure of government. Of course, that is going to be hard because it is in someone's interest that the poor be kept right where they are. Districts gerrymandered to favor the wealthy and the powerful, laws written for the advantage of the few over the many.

Arming oneself in the face of a police force that refuses to do it's job may seem like a rational response, I suppose it is, but it is also one step away from the rule of war lords and strongmen. That is not civilization, it is in fact a sure sign of it's collapse.

I don't think that Takuan's empathy is mendacious, i.e. a lie, I think he is genuine.

As far as police in 1838, well yeah, that's part of my point. Population has grown tremendously since then and the force of shear numbers will bring it's own demands aside from any political issues. Laws were enforced by the constable or sheriff and there were a lot of abuses back then. The sheriff was analogous to a strongman and they often bullied those they didn't like. That goes on in small town America even today. As the population density grew it became possible to hire law enforcement full time. Today we have a situation where some are better policed than others for reasons I've already outlined. However the needs of the poor and disenfranchised don't just go away so it makes sense to arm oneself in that situation. It is not a sign of better things to come that is for sure. Quite the opposite.

Therefore -- this discussion about the relative merits of guns is pointless. What is needed is more and better government. Neither conceal and carry nor gun control address the root cause.

They were trained in the use of the magic pens huh? Next they'll be trained on the magic moving picture box with the little people inside. But don't take their pictures, they get really upset because they believe you've stolen their souls.

s ths frnd f Xn's? mn, Xn s trnny rght? lwys ssmd sh ws bt nvr sd nythng, dn't mk fn f ppl.

#14 posted by se7a7n7

NOEN: That's just wrong.

Xeni is a very lovely and smart woman.

Maybe you just have gender identification issues.

Of course she is, never said any different. I got transsexual friends who are just as pretty, because that is all that counts, and some who haven't told their husbands yet (I think that's wrong BTW).

No teapunk, I'm not being mean. I have honestly thought Xeni could be trans for some time. I thought it was cool and in fact, I kind of admired her for that if she was.

I thought this was a blog about wonderful things and not about cruel mockery, am I wrong? Seems to be since there is another thread where fat people are cruelly mocked by the commentariot here as well. (BTW, I don't believe Xeni put the video up to mock her, I expect she is as repulsed and disappointed by the reaction here as I am.)

There are a few more vids at ectoplasmosis. Some with her apparent BDSM partner. Not something that I am into but I don't judge and don't give a rat's ass what people do with their lives.

And do please get your facts, ahem... straight. She is a Chillean transvestite. Also do I really need to educate your dumb asses on the differences between transvestites and transsexuals?

I thought you people were supposed to be cool but geeky hipsters who celebrated diversity?

@ 03
If one does not wish to be the potential subject of ridicule, one should not be entering the public sphere.

I don't understand this attitude. It seems to say: "People should stay in their respective closets because I have the right to ridicule anyone that is different than me." Do I have that right?

I think that is a very immature and self centered attitude.

When you step on stage (metaphorically speaking), you take your chances.

True, isn't it interesting how those who reserve to right to criticize others wish to deny that same right to those who criticize them. "I have the right to laugh at you but you don't have to right to get upset about it." It's called white male privilege.

Nightcrawler: Then why not stay in disguise all the time? You know, look like everyone else.

Mystique: Because we shouldn't have to.

(oh I slay me)
Probably another fetish.

Chocolatey Shatner - I don't know, maybe you're right. I'll drop it then.

I think this is a stock photo. It seems as though it really is pretty easy to herd sheep with constant cries of "Look Out - FEAR!"

With the passage ot retreo active imunity we are now effectively a police state. This move is to kill these detainees is because they cannot bring them to trial without exposing themselves to charges of torture and they cannot let them go either. So the solution is, kill 'em.

America is now a police state. If the US government wants to broaden the illegal surveillance and target American citizens, the government can merely establish a "foreign presence", then communicate with the US person in the United States.

- Who says the "foreign target" is a real target, and not something under the US government control, as a ruse?

- What prevents the US government from playing the role of a "foreign target"? Nothing.

- How many US government-controlled "Foreign targets" need to be individually identified; or can a "foreign target" simultaneously communicate with millions of American citizens, thereby bypassing the warrant requirement? Infinite.

- Could a "foreign target" be something that is a switching box, and all foreign targets "connected with that foreign target" expose all US communications through that box to be subject to monitoring without a warrant? Yes.

Expect things to start moving very fast. Get out if you can.

What this bill really did was to open every American to surveilance. The "outside party" can be a switching box and can be used as an excuse to spy on you. Privacy is no offically dead, torture is sanctioned and congress no longer makes the laws, the DoJ does. This will go very bad very fast. I expect the administration to start rounding up political opponents soon.

I don't have a problem with this decision right now. I do want to note one thing though. Every TV station, every radio station, every newspaper and every cable channel says it's advertisers have no effect on editorial policies. We are completely independent they say. Our advertisers do not control the content of our media publication.

But it does, we all know it does. Not at first of course but slowly and over time it does have an effect.

There are significant structural differences that are pertinent to this issue.

You make a good point Teresa, I hope you are right that in the long run blogs won't become as corrupted as traditional media has. I'm just worried. The pattern is very clear though. With technological innovations new media are at first fresh, vibrant, creative communities. It took a while for radio to reach a saturation point but when it did it became the life blood of the community. There was a time when the radio commercial jingle was on everyone's lips. Now look at it. The same was true for TV. At one time you didn't need ask "Did you see All in the Family last night?" because everyone watched just a few shows.

In every case the creators and innovators embrace new media and make something new. Then along comes money and power and proceeds to turn everything into shit. I am not convinced the structural differences will be enough, I hope they are.

The teleco's will get their immunity and then will go on to create a tiered internet. So while you may be able to still publish without advertisers you will find yourself shut out from the larger more prosperous 2nd tier if you don't "play ball". All of that is years down the road but that is the direction that I see things going. Perhaps things will be different this time but I doubt it.

Teresa @ 121
Thank you for your comments, they do help with some of my concerns but I do want to point out one thing. You say:

"Effectively, what you and the rest of the hand-wringers here are saying is that if Boing Boing fails to adequately please Microsoft and they withdraw their advertising"

Please don't characterize me as a "hand wringer". I was simply expressing my concerns and even then they were pretty general and abstract concerns at that. I was in fact trying to steer the conversation away from a MS bash fest to something that was more interesting to me. I actually don't care that much about this deal with MS. I hope it works out for BB. And having yet another "Microsoft is teh EVIL" thread would bore me to tears. What does interest me is the larger question "Will the internet be co-opted and owned the way all traditional media have been"? I wish I knew but I thought maybe it would be an interesting conversation to have.

Now, AT&T; seems to be considering surrendering that immunity. The argument is that if the company makes any attempt to police its network, then it becomes responsible for all the content.

Perhaps they know something we don't know? If the corporate power structure really is intent on turning The US into a full blown police state then AT&T; has little to worry about. The teleco's will get their immunity for crimes they committed in the past at the State's behest. It seems reasonable to assume they'll get the same deal going forward.

"doesn't matter"

I think it does matter.

Well sure, everyone strikes their own Faustian bargain with the world. We are finite, limited beings and if we want to accomplish some things we may have to accept an ad from MS Mobile. You'll get no argument from me about that.

I guess to restate: "How do we keep this good thing we have right now?"

I second that Teresa, more on that please Zuzu. Especially the puppet show. You'll need more hookers though, you always need more hookers.

#14 mrfitz
I take it that information still cannot be transmitted faster than light.

Correct, quantum entanglement does not allow one to communicate at faster than light speeds.

People seem to have the same questions here as with the prospect of Transhumanism and uploading one's mind into a computer. Are you really uploading/teleporting your mind/body or just making a copy that thinks it is the original? What is consciousness? Am I a thing or am I a pattern that is impressed on my biological substrate? I tend to believe the latter but I'm not going into the teleporter booth first. You all go ahead.

Am I the lightbulb or the light?

#1 Takuan

Did we really need to know? Perhaps some lotion would help? ;)

# 5
When white babies start dying, you hope someone finally realizes the need to change.

Fixed it for you.

Beautiful!

It would be interesting to see Spoon's and Technical Writing Geek's recommendations for comics that say something profound or important with genuinely new ideas. Anything?

was this baby American Samoan (i.e., a US national) or a citizen of the state of Samoa?

According to the Honolulu Advertiser both the baby and the nurse are naturalized US citizens with valid passports and traveled with no luggage. "Fried showed the media documents yesterday, including one from U.S. Customs and Border Protection with the word "APPROVAL" in large type and a handwritten note"

During the flight, the boy was hooked up to an oxygen tank.

Later, inside the locked room, Michael's condition worsened. Futi and Veavea began screaming to call 911, Fried said, "and the people outside are saying, 'Stay calm, relax.' "

After another five minutes, the door opened and someone helped perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the baby, he said.

Another 10 minutes passed before paramedics arrived, he said, and eight minutes later they took Michael to the medical center.

They intend to sue. I wish them luck with that but won't be holding my breath.

Who is Cory Doctorow?

Just some guy, I hear he has a blog.

It's true that people are more complicated than their beliefs but one's belief system is a leading indicator that tells others something about you. Objectivism is bad philosophy because it's really a religious/political ideology wrapped up in the trappings of scientific atheism. Objectivists don't do philosophy, they are just antisocial jerks who can point to a system of thought and rationalize their greed and their will to power.

#31 David Bruce Murray

The universe isn't made out of "stuff". It's made out of vibrating one dimensional strings wrapped up in a ten (or eleven) dimension membrane.

#45 MOONBAT

Nice strawmen ya got there. Looks like you're having fun setting them up, knowing them down. But... yawwwwwn... I think it's kinda boring myself.

#47 Joel Johnson

It's just one of many indicators but in general, a high level of sexual acting out is a red flag that something is wrong.

Moonbat - I don't think "Strawman" means what you think it means. I think you are confusing that with "sockpuppet".

Your argument is that those less able are making some kind of predatory power grab by asking for help.

That does seem to me to be a fair criticism of Objectivism. It is certainly a pathological view of humanity though I'm not sure (don't feel qualified to say) that it rises to the level of full blown psychopathology.

Moonbat, for virtually all of human history people have lived in small groups where everyone relied upon and depended on each other in order to survive. One of the central conceits of Ayn Rand, Objectivism, Libertarianism et al is the belief in an extreme form of rugged individualism. "Community? We don't need no stinkin' community." Usually put forward by pudgy white males from their mom's basement. Power fantasies by the powerless.

It's a delusion hun, you wouldn't last five days in the wild.

Moonbat - The reason you are not being successful here is because you want to preselect the terms of the debate. Your "strawman" is the assumptions that you take as given and assert without proof. When people disagree with you and put forward different assumptions you object but you have yet made no attempt engage in honest debate. Repeating yourself or raising the volume does nothing to further your position.

Real debate involves meeting the other where he or she is at and entering into a discussion. It is not predefining your terms so that all objections are automatically nullified. This is not how things work in the real world. In every intellectual discipline, yes even in mathematics, you have to make assumptions and there is a trade off between theory and pragmatism.

There is no such thing as a complete hermeneutically perfect system. Objectivism attempts to be that system and to the extent that it does it must therefore be false. The mistake that Ayn Rand and all objectivists since make is to confuse the map for the territory. You mistake your description of the world for the world. This is the same error that Logical Positivism and other 19th century philosophies made. They mistook science and mathematics for Nature's Own Language.

#69 posted by UrinalPooper

What is it with the anti-Objectivists that make Objectivism seem so suddenly attractive?

That would be a question for you to answer. Why do you feel attracted to something simply because it is unpopular?

...the idea that human life has inherent value, conceptually, is terribly flawed by the fact that life is far too cheap to be valuable. It is a commodity.

Then you won't mind if I take yours. No? Then I'd suggest there is a flaw in your thinking somewhere.

OMG! There are gonna be diagrams?!

If they take USA down and half of Europe giving way to East Asia domination - everyboy will see again what's real driving force of this world. Human action.

Ah yes, this is the big concern of the 23 percenters. The islamofascist Moooslim hoards are gonna over run the west and impose sharia on our wimmuns! Even worse, the Liberalfascists will help them and will accept their Dhimmini status. And I swear I've seen the nickname MOONBAT somewhere, perhaps on Pammela Oshrey's Atlas Shrugs, the woman is insane btw. Regardless, the "argument" is boringly the same. The same arrogance, the same inchoate fears, the same inability to interact rationally with other human beings, it's all there.

BTW Moonbat, I'm a she not a he, thanks. And yes Takuan, it does feel a lot like schizophrenics on the bus. The difference is that I feel sorry for them, much less for these here.

This isn't the America I love. It's a monster.

America has always been monstrous. We committed genocide on Native Americans, even attempting a crude sort of biological warfare. We have been deposing heads of state and installing brutal dictators for a long time. We teach those dictatorships how to torture, torture is nothing new to us. We send in our very own death squads to destablise the country and terrorise the people.

The difference is that, for a time now, we are able to bypass the censorship of the media. This story has not been picked up by AP for a very good reason.

It is my hope--a faint and distant hope that experience has shown is unrealistic--that if I can make you conscious of how you behave, then you might change your behavior.

This isn't going to happen moonbat because you appear to be unable to argue or even engage in rational discourse. What you prefer is to drop pearls of supreme wisdom from your brow. You want supplicants not co-equals. You are an arrogant, self absorbed jerk who lacks even rudimentary debating skills. The reason you are "not interested in making collectivists take me seriously" is because you know from bitter experience that you will get schooled and that would destroy your precious, hyperinflated ego.

You're a hothouse flower moonbat. The moment anyone challenges your BS you collapse in a faint.

Since this is not a forum and I don't have the tools one would have I am just going to italicize your comments and hope that makes who is speaking clear.

That's funny. I thought the reason I was being unsuccessful (unsuccessful at what, I wonder) was that I was called psychopath in the first comment in this thread and that almost every comment since has been insulting, logically fallacious, and inaccurate.

You have been unsuccessful by your own admission. You have complained about your inability to make us evil collectivists see the error of our ways. Re: being called a psychopath in the first comment - not true as Johnny Coelacanth correctly points out, true in latter comments.

In comment #54, I cited specific users who engaged in the behavior I condemned.

But you did so without any explanation, I can't read your mind. A strawman argument is something that you do, not something someone else does to you. Which is why I thought you were simply confusing it with an accusation of sockpuppetry.

A "strawman" is not "the assumptions that you take as given and assert without proof."

It is if those assumptions lead you to misunderstand and misrepresent your opponent. Which is exactly what you've done all through this thread. It is also why people accuse you of being arrogant. You assume things about people that you cannot know, such as accusing everyone here of being "collectivists" and other mind reading stunts of yours, you insult people and then act shocked at their response.

Clearly, you are not seeking the truth and are not willing to change your opinion. A cursory reading of this thread will show that, and I have summarized most of the thread to make that even easier for anyone who wishes to do that.

More mind reading. You have not summarized the thread. That would require you to be objective and you are not. And yes I do respect the truth and I am more than willing to change deeply held beliefs. You have not even argued much less argued well.

Since it so happens my language is reason, I do not see any need to "compromise" with the unreason.

This is incoherent. There is no such language and "the unreason" makes no sense at all. When you adopt a private language like this it makes people think you are less than rational, for good reason.

Remember the strawman? That is a strawman. You claim that Objectivism attempts to be a "hermeneutically perfect" system and, because such a thing is impossible, it therefore fails. Well, of course it's impossible--you made it up!

Are you saying that Objectivism does not attempt to be a perfect interpretive or explanatory system or that such systems cannot exist? I believe you are wrong on both accounts. That may seem contradictory but what I'm saying is that while strong and complete systems can exist e.g. formal systems, they fail as systems for representing reality.

re: confusing the map for the territory
I'm thinking it's not a coincidence that you used a postmodernist catchphrase in that sentence.

A dismissive comment that fails to respond to the argument. Related to your next comment:

If you have a better idea, go for it, but I don't think it's going to yield any moon landings any time soon.

Which is in reply to my assertion that many 19th century thinkers mistook science and mathematics for the language of God or Nature. They were wrong, demonstrably, provably wrong. That does not invalidate the mathematics used in the Moon landings. It simply means that we are limited, finite beings who do not possess Absolute Truth. Our science is a description of the universe, it is our attempt to explain and in that process we have created powerful intellectual tools such as the calculus or quantum mechanics. But they are only tools and more importantly, they are our creations.

Objectivism in my opinion does try to assert a kind of privileged absolute truth. As such it is more closely related to religious or political ideology than to any science. That is why you see the assault on science coming from conservative extremists.

On the other hand I don't have a problem with parts of Objectivism. It is a mish-mash of 19th century thought and taken separately they are fine as they are. The problem is that it is all been superseded by subsequent philosophers who have either refuted errors or else relegated them to history. There is nothing wrong with say, Aristotle but it would be a mistake to elevate him to god-like status. Objectivism, again in my opinion, does attempt to do this, only with 19th century thinkers. It also has distinct features of a personality cult. The same arrogance, the same pretense to absolute truth, the same aggressive response to any criticism.

I should have made it clear that my post at 130 was in reply to moonbat at 124, sorry about that and yes, it's a slow day today.

moonbat @ 128
The idea is that since a) all conclusions are equally valid (or "all is meaningless") and b) all human beings have equal value, therefore a person must be treated with "respect" even if his conclusions are baseless.

This is where you go wrong, this is your strawman argument, or one of them. People do not feel that one should treat others with respect because "all conclusions are equally valid" or even because "all human beings have equal value". You should treat others with respect because that is how you get along in a world with people who are not you and do not believe the same things as you do. It is simple pragmatism. Well, that and a bit of the golden rule i.e. the categorical imperative.

It is this belief of yours, that you do not need to treat those beneath you with any respect, that leads to accusations of psychopathy. It gives you the excuse to act like an ass towards others and then you act all surprised when people call you on your crap.

The problem moonbat is your behavior.

moonbat
You forgot the part where you admit your mistakes and/or condemn similar comments made by your comrades.

Not playing your game hun. I am not responsible for others, despite your attempts to color everyone with the same brush. Have I been rude? No, outside of one comment not addressed to you, I have not. Did my remark about pudgy white males posting from mom's basement offend you? Then I apologise.

You on the other hand have made very offensive remarks to me and about me and I have let them slide.

The core readers of BoingBoing do not afford any respect to the hated groups I listed.

Groups, religions, organizations, ideologies and political parties are not people. Cults like Scientology do not deserve respect based on past behavior. Objectivism does not deserve respect because it is intellectually bankrupt.

Accusations of psychopathy began before I ever commented.

Logically impossible. You are not Objectivism personified. Although you do seem to be typical. I agree with Mojo Jojo that "Believing in something with zero truth value doesn't make anyone a psychopath however, just a moron." I don't think you are a psychopath because... I just don't know. However you are pushing it a bit. I stand by my belief that objectivism allows certain people to rationalize their anti-social impulses. Megan McArdle would be a good example of a narcissist who found in objectivism a convenient justification for her personality disorder.

I don't think your really serious about all this. All it seems that you want to do is pound your chest and whine about your hurt feelings. You have yet to address a single substantive criticism but have instead gone on and on about how deeply offended you are that anyone dared to dis your belief system.

You really need to address the short comings of objectivist epistemology before we continue on.

A winters day
In a deep and dark December;
I am alone,
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
Ive built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain.
Its laughter and its loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

Don't talk of love,
But Ive heard the words before;
Its sleeping in my memory.
I wont disturb the slumber of feelings that have died.
If I never loved I never would have cried.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

I have my books
And my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain;
And an island never cries.

The Many Worlds hypothesis is interesting but it doesn't explain, at least as far as I know, where those 1018 copies of you come from. It isn't just people, at every moment there are countless alternative pathways the universe could take. Where does the mass and energy for all those universes come from? I don't believe the Many Worlds hypothesis has a answer for that. Seems like an awful lot of hand waving for me.

This is my last comment here.

Moonbat is a troll, nothing more. His behavior here has been nothing but flamebaiting and standard troll behavior. There is no substance behind anything he has said and frankly, I doubt he is anywhere nearly as bright as he thinks he is.

I have been fully prepared Tom, to address the many philosophical short comings inherent in objectivist thought but neither JCD nor Moonbat were willing to step up and argue honestly. What I have not been prepared to do is to go to all that work with no prospect of a fruitful discussion. I'm glad I didn't because there is no "other side" only trolls.

Ok, I may regret this but I'll attempt this one last time. Let's let bygones be bygones and see if we can't work something out. What is it you hope to accomplish moonbat? You want an apology? I gave you one. Do you want me to convert to objectivism? That isn't very likely because I consider it to be pseudo-philosophy and morally bankrupt. That is my opinion and it isn't likely to change. So what then?

I take it that you would like all the commentators here to apologize for calling objectivists (and thereby you) psychopaths or at least to recognize their own hypocrisy along with their evil collectivist ways. According to you you've seen this played out in hundreds of other forums all to no avail. So what do you think the odds are this time? Not very good I would think.

Perhaps you should try a different approach? I don't know if you have or not but it would be worth a try wouldn't it? You have to be willing to give a little to get a little in this world but I'm not sure you are willing to do that. If not then you should just accept that you are not ever going to get the things you want from other people.

It matters how you ask for your needs to be met. You have to be willing to negotiate. If you just drop into a conversation already angry and pissed off you are going to get rejected even if your anger is justified. I know that sucks but that is just how things are. I also know that I am not by any means perfect, no one is. I do the best I can, I'm sorry that isn't good enough for you. None of that changes the fact that if you want something from others you are more likely to get it if you negotiate as equals than if you point your finger and accuse.

So... what do you want?

We are so screwed in a real cyber-war.

So.... you're a Time Lord Takuan?

Thank you Moonbat. Goodbye and good luck.

Desperation is the mother of invention for some I guess.

Oh I would much rather be in a traffic accident in the pyramid car. Then I could tell the officer about my pelican neck.

He does sound like Red and I think I saw some duct tape inside the car. Come on, the guy isn't hurting anyone. We sure could use a few more people who pursue their inner goofyness instead of trying to f*ck over others just to get ahead.

This is good news but it's only bound to amp up the crazy in our election. Not looking forward to that.

Technically correct Tom but this is just casual English. "The red button is false" implies "The statement written on the red button is false." Most people will get the implication without having to think about it and it fits much better too.

Neither statements, nor buttons, have truth values.

Statements or propositions can represent truth values. It can also be thought of as an infinite loop if we interpret the red and blue buttons algorithmically.

Or we could just reject the Law of the Excluded Middle altogether. But this does not mean we should accept its negation.

HA!

You're all psychopaths!

#9 Takuan
What do they plan to do with all this personal data? They can't blackmail foreigners in their home countries, it hopefully isn't for lists to sell to spammers, what are they going to do with this data? Even after Bush is flushed, this machine they have built will continue to provide graft and jobs. The data will accumulate.

The Bush's rule like a Mafia crime family so yes, his job is to get as many of "our people" into high government office. The other thing is I'm coming to believe that Alex Jones has a piece of the truth. I think there is a desire to turn this plant into one big gulag.

The third option is that it plays well at home. So who gives a f*ck about Europe? The GOP base hates you all with a passion anyway and the rest of the US electorate, the sheep, can't even find you on a map. The GOP has been pushing the FEAR button for a long time and it has worked out fairly well for them so they are going to keep pushing that button.

As of now the whole wingnutosphere is going absolutely apeshit over Michelle Obama's statement that "For the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country." The crazy is just beginning and there is no reason to believe the Dems have this sewn up. John McCain could win and trust me, he is far more insane than Bush.

BUT... BUT... YOU'RE ALL WRONG AND NOT ONLY ARE YOU ALL WRONG BUT YOU KEEP ON BEING WRONG EVEN WHEN I PROVE TO YOU THAT THE TRUTH VALUE OF EVERYTHING YOU SAY IS FALSE!! I SIMPLY CANNOT REST WHILE THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE MAKING FALSE AND UNVERIFIED STATEMENTS. I MUST GO FROM FORUM TO FORUM CORRECTING YOU AND SHOWING YOU THE ERRORS OF YOUR WAYS. IT'S A TIRESOME AND THANKLESS TASK BUT I MUST KEEP ON BECAUSE THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET, INDEED THE FUTURE OF FREEDOM DEPENDS ON ME!!

I am absolutely convinced Moonbat that everywhere you go you are discriminated against by groupthinking collectivists. I am equally convinced that if you were to create your ideal forum there would one and only one person that would enjoy being there.

I think you're over reacting.

I have to agree with #10 CSLoser. If the goal is to not be tracked then being the one in the crowd wearing the camera defeating LED isn't thinking all the way through. If the goal is to commit a crime well then... maybe. But your goose is cooked if there is one camera that isn't IR sensitive.

This is simply the wrong way to go about all this. The right way is to get these sick f*cks out and put some sanity back into the government. Start putting some accountability and transparency back in too. Get us out of Iraq, end torture and start putting these sociopaths in prison for war crimes.

Yes we can.

The answer is legislation that prevents scumbags like these from taking advantage of people who have no other choices. Having been homeless myself and being poor this all is hardly any news.

One of the first things that I did when I was finally able to get off the street was to get an regular bank account. It was easy for me, I'm white, but it's harder if you are black. We are a racist country you know.

We have these "UnBanks" here and the rates they charge for simple transactions are astronomical. I didn't have any other choice on the street though. There are also places that will let you "rent" furnishings at exhorbitant rates but you pay through the nose and never really own the furniture. It mat be the only option for some people though.

Illiterate does not equal stupid although it does very often equal being black in America.

Jonah Goldberg is the stupidest fucking man in America. This is the man who argues that liberals are really fascists. That Mussolini, who invented fascism and coined the word, was a liberal. That Hitler was a vegetarian, liberals are often vegetarians therefore Hitler was a liberal.

He is just another self-hating closeted homosexual wingnut who, if it wasn't for his mother's trust fund would be asking you "You want fries with that?"

Now THAT is cool.

Can we impeach now?

Hmm...so you didn't have any choice...so what would have happened if those placed had been regulated out of business?

I don't know. What I do know is that my being white opened doors that were closed to others. I still see that every single day. For instance the building I live in has coin-op washing machines and there is a small bank half a block away. So I just go there and buy a roll of quarters even though I don't have an account there. The blacks in my building can't do that. This is liberal Minnesota.

I became homeless for unusual reasons and I was raised middle class, had a decent education and fell on hard times. That isn't how it plays out for most people black or white. For most it is because of drug or alcohol abuse and if you are black that means crack which means a felony which means you are screwed forever. There are a thousand little ways in which discrimination plays out in this country.

Education is another factor. What we see here in Minn is a lot of poor, illiterate, disadvantaged blacks coming up from southern states. That is one of the ways that the southern state are parasitic on the rest of the US. The same way that Cuba dumps their problem people, so do southern racist states dump theirs.

As a member of the hive-mind collective here at boingboing I concur.

Giving people a chance to improve their position through some protection (much like most people think a good education and nutrition in childhood isn't coddling but simply necessary) isn't a bad thing.

This is exactly right. The place that I live at is meant for those coming off the street and it was fought hard by the local community. They believed all the stereotypes. Now they are our biggest supporters. Of course you have to step up too. You have to be clean and sober and working your program. And sometimes people do get asked to leave because they can't maintain their sobriety or for other reasons.

I really don't know what the answer is to payday loans. The ones around here in Minn are not good but nowhere near as bad as in the WSJ article. We have somewhat better laws in place that protect people from such predatory practices.

Eliminate racism. Educate people, there should be no excuse for adult illiteracy in America. Pass legislation to regulate predatory lending. Seems like a plan to me.

It's called emergent behavior grobstein.

The French researchers are already making kilogramme quantities in their Paris laboratories and say the process is almost completely green

or yellow. Sorry, I just had to.

Every grifter and every con artist believes that it is the mark's fault for falling for the con. That is just part of their psychology. This really shouldn't be so hard to figure out. If I lie to you or deceive you and take advantage of your honesty who is morally at fault here? I am. I am still guilty even if I can hire lawyers who can get me acquitted or if I have been able to lobby a congressman and get legislation enacted in my favor.

Waterboarding is torture
Amway is a pyramid scheme
Loan sharks are scum
Scientology is a cult

These things aren't that hard.

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Moonbat is a princess? Ya know, that explains a lot.

John Lennon has been reincarnated.

I bet there would be a market for HotNeighbor.com, but I see nothing but trouble coming from that either.

This is old, I think BB has even covered this story before.

Our goal shouldn't be to make Saudis more "tolerant" it should be to sanction their government and economy until they abide by basic standards of civil liberties and human rights.

Good luck with that. First off, the Bush family and the Royal Saudis are deeply connected. The whole point of the last 8 years of the GOP revolution has been to bring to the US an aristocratic class. The Bush's want to have over here what the Saudis have.

Second, I hear they have this... stuff, without which our entire civilization would collapse like a house of cards. The Saud's have also made threats that any attempts towards energy independence would be punished.

You would think then that switching to an energy source that didn't chain us to a corrupt feudal empire would be a priority. Nope, again it won't happen (see: electric car) because it is in the economic interest of oil giants to keep us dependent on oil.

The Passover Plot

Historicity of Jesus

The Bible and history

Ok ok, sorry David. My mistake.

The woman in the story won't reprogram Elmo because she is afraid it could do the same thing even if she does. She won't accept a replacement either (that won't get you on TV, will it). It's a little ambiguous but it appears that she thinks Elmo is possessed.

LDraw

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It's fun.

Romania: Your Sole Source of Stigmata-Afflicted Vagina Bears

#36 g.park

Oh I sure hope you are right. I'm just not feeling all that optimistic right now. Also, in or out of office the whole point of Cheney's "Unitary Executive" construct is to make it so compelling that succeeding administrations, even Dem ones, will continue to use it.

I simply love these. They're great. Part of his genius is in the details. Like folder names, every bit you see has been carefully thought out.

Coming back to this because I saw the link to the comments on the front page.

I think that I can offer a partial explanation for Moonbat's attempts at mind reading. He's done that before and he is attempting it here with Teresa. I have sometimes felt this way myself and the reason was that I thought I had "The Answer to How People Work". It's very seductive when you feel that you have a special insight into people that few others have. Objectivism does tend to give it's true believers this feeling. I think that is what we are seeing here.

The other thing I'd like to note is the example of LGF. What Moonbat is really complaining about here is his lack of power. He seems to be saying that he sees the same hypocrisy at LGF that he sees at Boingboing. He also appears to feel the same sickening feeling of powerlessness at both blogs. We are both WRONG and yet there is nothing to be done about it. Eventually he leaves in disgust and he has even compared what does to "picking at scabs".

Of course the answer to all this is the one answer that Moonbat and countless other trolls will never accept. Stop. Just stop trying to control others. This is about Moonbat's inability to accept the human condition of lack. In other words, it's about power and the fact that Moonbat doesn't have any here.

The baby NEVER stops being cute. Mine are 13 and 8.

When you hear "Dad? I think I got a girl in trouble." that's when they stop being cute.

It's been known for a long time that Hitler was a failed artist. Most people have probably seen his drawing of a bicycle leaning against a building. He was brutally abused by his father and it's not that unusual for abuse victims to attempt to escape inwardly, fail and then become their abuser. It's too bad really though I doubt if he had been able to succeed as an artist it would have changed things. Another hitler would have simply risen in his place.

I think "beware of the leopard" is good advice indeed. I like this photo too for many of the same reasons.

I have wondered for some time if gerrymandering couldn't be eliminated or at least reduced some by some kind of online internet application. Say for instance you had a web app that made use of Google Maps and that local users could propose how the voting districts should be drawn. You could even have a simple line drawing feature built in. The resulting compromises might be better than our current system.

Wikipedia operates like this. The real action there is behind the scenes where edits to an article are discussed and argued over and eventually a compromise is reached. I don't see why you couldn't have the same success here and you would be basically taking this away from the politicians and returning it to the people.

Of course you would have all kinds of bullshit going on and you would need to verify that a user lived within the state or county. It might not be the best, but I kind of think it would be better than what we have now and it sure couldn't hurt to try. Maybe some sort of pilot project or demonstration of concept to begin with.

Certain elements would fight like hell I suppose, especially in the racist South. That is the whole point of all this gerrymandering. It's intended to disenfranchise black voters and also to prolong the life of the GOP. Which would have collapsed long ago without it. Kind of hard to have a national party when your base is built around the personality of Eric Rudolph.

Next will be the busses.

This is.... that is so... wrong it's.... gah!!!!

#33 posted by Troy
Pyro -- idiot -- learn what a fascist is -- it is a national SOCIALIST -- that's a left-wing ideology. Dolt. If you're gonna insult, do it with the right words.

And here we have the bone stupid meme of Jonah "Doughy Pantload" Goldberg's "Liberal Fascism". Of course it never occurs to the mouthbreathers that the Nazi's lied in order to get elected and then promptly showed their true colors. Sort of like how Bush called himself a "compassionate" conservative. Why don't you tell us Troy, how us liberals are fascists because we tend to be vegetarians just like Hitler!!eleventy11!!"

No, I don't see Fred as gay at all. What about gay anime characters? Naruto is kind of gay. And the Transformers? Definitely.

I, too, am a little confused about the seeming right-wing contingent hanging out at Boing Boing these days. Did Rush Limbaugh do a feature on Boing Boing recently?

They have learned how to goggle. It was bound to happen sooner or later. And for most BB posts you get a smattering of comments from people who have an interest in the subject. There is only a small number who post with any frequency.

And I just like saying smattering.

#@9 Tom
those predictions are for the most part dead and buried in newspaper archives, unlike the caribou herds that continue to flourish.

Those predictions were accurate had accommodations in the pipeline's design not been made.

the only way to deal effectively with serious environmental threats like anthropogenic global warming is to not deliberately mislead people about the nature of the situation

Tell that to Exxon and General Motors. The lies and propaganda against the reality of climate change have been coming chiefly from the corporations affected and from the nutcase right.

#30 Jacques
Can someone tell me why exactly this is "wrong on so many levels"? Someone doesn't have kids if that's what they think.

I've been through this age with my children. You don't need cartoon characters on a thermometer to get them to cooperate and take their temp. It isn't that hard and this really is kind of creepy if you ask me. It's also funny.

#31 Johannes
It has become a witch hunt.
The oil industry has deliberately gamed the debate. They hired "scientists" to submit fraudulent studies. They had their shills in the media ridicule and deceive. The level of pure bullshit is on par with the Creation Science Inst. They deserve to be held to account, though I doubt that will ever happen.

Tom - this has gone way off topic so I don't know if I should pursue this much more. On the other hand Teresa has said that online discussions can meander so I think there is some leeway.

Hummmm... computational physicist, does that mean oil industry? Are you here on your own free time or is this a professional visit?

Re: The Alaska pipeline. My point is that we have an adversarial system. If environmentalists never pushed for clean air and water we'd still have lead in our gas and a Love Canal in your backyard.

I don't see the relevance of your comments regarding Exxon The relevance is that you complained about people being deliberately mislead and I replied by pointing out that the big culprits there are Exxon and other similar interests who do exactly that.

re: The quality of the computer models used by climatologists. From what I have read on Real Climate and other science blogs, the models used are physically based. That is, they model the interactions down to the atomic level using conventional physics. Perhaps you could provide a link to any discussions you've had. I would be interested in reading them.

it is simply not rational to put all concerns into [...] the same bucket as creation "science." In 99 percent of the debates that I have had my opponents were very much in the same league as creationism. They usually get their "facts" from JunkScience.com. Many are illiterate and can barely form a coherent sentence. The rest are exactly at the same level of understanding as any creationist. As a practical matter, I have seen little difference between the two.

Any time I try to bring science up, I get pasted from one side or the other I can understand how frustrating that is. I've had similar experiences in different places too. I have found that it requires a little extra diplomacy on my part. Not fair but whadda ya gonna do?

Likewise Tom, thanks for the discussion. The only reason I asked if you were shilling for big oil is because I know it happens. People are paid as "Blog Warriors" to troll certain websites. I didn't know for sure so I asked.

"I have the right to do whatever I want."

Will always run smack into

"You have no right to intrude on me."

Guaranteeing full employment for lawyers for eternity.

As far as how to serve smokers without subjecting yourself to the toxic fumes, I like feeding tubes that drop down from the ceiling.

Phewwww! That was an exhausting thread. I'm worn out from all the bickering, the sniping and the flamebaiting. Man O man...

Anyone got a square?

I don't think that's smoke. It's pulverized concrete or whatever the pylon is made from.

Why do you need a Post-Apocalyptic Survival Vehicle? Wouldn't you be better off in a fortified self contained encampment? I wonder if there are any architects working on this very important need?

I see what you mean spazzm. Steel huh? Wow, yeah I bet they were hot.

#73 Kyle Armbruster
1) If I were a bar owner, I would fight this law tooth and nail, because I don't like the idea of the government telling me what legal activities I can and cannot allow at my establishment.

So you approve of the right for some restaurants to refuse service to blacks then right? Jim Crow here we come and that's O.K. by you am I correct? If not please fill me in on how you reserve for yourself the right to determine what is or isn't legal and yet deny others that same right. Even if how they might exercise that right would be different than how you would.

This conflict over the rights of the few vs the needs of the many will always exist. The way we settle these conflicts in a civilized society is by petitioning the government and passing legislation. What? You didn't get what you want? Cry me a frickin' river. Too bad and better luck next time.

Sort of perilously close to "look at the colorful natives" though. Not quite, but kinda sliding up next to it.

#102 posted by maddie doll
@95 - Really??? You're going to take it THERE????

Well maddie I was probably flamebaiting a bit so I apologize for that. However, I don't see how once you try to argue that "a restaurant is private property and should be able to serve their patrons as they please" that you can then turn around and say "except when it comes to racial or sexual discrimination". On what legal framework are you going to make that case? Because that is what the civil rights era revolved around. It was structured around property rights: "I have the right to deny service to whomever I please" and also around state's rights: "We have the right to enact a system of racial apartheid (Jim Crow)" The US at large said "No, we don't want to live in that kind of society".

The logic of the arguments being made against restricting smokers in this thread are essentially the same: "I have the right to serve smokers because it is a property rights issue". Once you permit the one, you must permit the other.

Of course laws restricting smoking are not formulated on property rights, they are matters of public health. None the less that is the argument being put forward here and the reason is because they know full well they cannot win on any other grounds.

Isn't choice really the issue???

At one time America was only a few million people spread out over an entire continent. You could do as you pleased because the next person was literally miles away. That ain't so any more. There are now 300 million of us and climbing. With increasing population comes an increasing need to consider how what you do will affect or intrude on the rights of others. In many places you can't burn your leaves any more or have charcoal BBQ's or drive a polluting car because it affects everyone else around you. More people = fewer choices.

This is just common sense and adjusting your behavior so as not to adversely impact others is called growing up. I recommend it.

Either it's close or it isn't; it's either perilous or it's safe.

Otherwise known as black and white, either/or, or as some say "stinkin' thinkin'. The universe isn't black or white Nelson and there is nothing wrong with pointing out: "Hey, that thing over there? It sorta reminds me of this other thing over here." I agree that these photos are pretty, beautiful even and had we been talking in real space you would have gotten that message. This being the internet though that context tends to get lost. So please assume that missing context was there from the beginning.

I've gone out in public clad in nothing but leaves and twigs on more than one occasion, so it's filial, not paternal, affection on my part.

I do understand. My first reaction was "Wow, gorgeous!" The other came later, "mmmm this is a bit like National Geographic." And I believe that the best way to dispel evil spirits is by naming them, so I did.

Took me a while to notice Mom and Dad on either side.

Well if she just stuck some leaves and flowers in it would be much prettier. It also looks like some kind of obscure bondage device.

While you make some valid points Darue there is still quite a bit of difference between the US and Russia. And still more between us and what Russia is becoming. The American Scholar has what looks to be an interesting article on the demise of Democracy around the world in it's current edition.

@ 49
Why do you guys have to make fun of people?

For several reasons. One, it's really all you can do, we've been out of power for 8 years. And it's a fairly effective weapon short of um... actual weapons. Three there is some major league stupid out there and it's not like you can reason with them. You ever try to "debate" a creationist? Finally, religious fundamentalism of whatever faith, represents a very real threat. Yet there is really little we can do, which takes us back to #1.

@ 23
Its hard to put into words just how angry seeing someone's shitty little tag scrawl made me, but it was pretty much the exact opposite of what I wanted to see after hiking the hell away from the noise/pollution of the city.

Did you see any petroglyphs along the trail? Other than 10,000 years what difference is there?

Actually Neuron, we're getting close to having a good understanding of that too. When we do there will be no more reason to posit a supernatural creator for the universe than for say... thunderbolts.

@ 80
So here's the deal: In the Genesis creation account...

Which account? There are two.

"Day" can also mean "Age"

The Biblical creation accounts do not in any way reflect a scientific understanding of the history of the universe or the Earth.

am I to believe that all of the "building blocks" of life just came together, without any cause or causer, despite the incalcuable odds?

A common creationist fallacy. The assertion is often made that the odds against DNA forming randomly are so high as to be unbelievable. This has been debunked. I'm sure you'll find many of your questions dealt with below:

List of creationist arguments

Your specific assertion is addressed here:

The odds of life forming are incredibly small

You are of course welcome to believe whatever you please. Just don't call it science, call it what it is, faith.

What are they going to do when faced with the real world?

All they need to remember is "You want fries with that?" and they'll be fine.

It's ok, needs more editing. This is why you storyboard first.

#15 posted by "I haven't actually read the article" meowdip

If having nanometer dimensions are all that's required then the polymers and dendrimers I make are nanotechnology

No, that would be called butchering the language because you didn't design or engineer them. Having nanometer dimensions isn't all that's required for something to be nanotechnology. Nor do you get credit for the natural activity of your body.

Perhaps you should read the article? Both the Wired one and the one here on BB. Because if you did you would have saved us all this bit of commentary:

There are already plenty of materials with nanometer pores (mostly silica and zeolites), where the pore size can be controlled. Does the nanoness of this material really improve the properties? (emphasis added)

Now scroll up or read the Wired article and see if you can find any mention of zeolitic crystals and how their deliberately engineered nano structures gives them many useful properties.

I think we should have a name for that shouldn't we? Let's call it nanotechnology.

I am myopic and in other times would not have survived or been a poor, blind beggar. However I like to think ours is a better world that makes accommodations to and expends resources for my myopia.

Not that long ago those with downs syndrome were simply institutionalized. They were treated horribly and lived without reaching their true potential. Today they can live far better lives through intensive therapy. We are all better off for that even if treating them does consume resources we might have used in other ways. Third world countries can't afford to and that is so much the worse for them.

BTW, most of the gays I know have kids. It is only a very small minority, %3, who are exclusively homosexual. And they certainly contribute to society as the entire history of the arts reveals. Who's to say that's not adaptive?

I think we can make some room for a few more. So what if they wouldn't have survived in a hunter gatherer society, neither would I. The question is are we better off as a society with the addition of those with some pretty unique talents. I think we are.

There were children at Abu Ghraib.

The world would be a poorer place without the likes of Temple Grandin.

What I really want to know is did the robbers leave any graffiti?

Now look what you did, you broke the internet.

Good idea Apple, close your eyes and pretend it will just go away.

A great big barrel with a perpetual fire going and a sign that says: "Unsolicited scripts here." BTW I copyrighted that idea and will vigorously defend it.

You know how trolls feel about their magic opinions? Naive writers feel that way about their ideas.

You know, for a nanosecond there I almost felt a twinge of pity for the studios Teresa, but then it passed.

I'll show you the life of the mind!

Lots of cheap junk is what the Japanese brought in the 50's and 60's. Then they started to innovate. China will do the same one day.

It's only money, not like it's anything important.