1/26    I hate democracy
        http://www.filibustercartoons.com
        \_ In other news, the Shining Path is a bunch of murdering thugs.
           Do people on the Right really think people who opposed the war
           support Al-Zarqawi?
           \_ The short answer is yes. Why do you think Ann Coulter called
              her book _Treason_?
              \_ Ann Coulter != people on the Right
                 \_ Do you think she is on the Left? Her books sell millions,
                    she is adored by the Freeper crowd and she is one of the
                    thought leaders of modern American conservatism. She
                    certainly does not represent every single American
                    conservative, but hers is part of the mainstream.
                    This is why I said "the short answer." Now you have
                    the long answer. Is there any part of that you
                    disagree with?
                    \_ No dumbass.  She is a person, not people.  And she is a
                       faaaaar right polemicist, not a representative sample.
                       \_ I find it amusing that both conservatives who
                          have bothered to reply have resorted to personal
                          attacks.
                          \_ Why?  When someone's being an idiot I call them on
                             it.
                    \_ By the same token, Mr. Moore is part of the Left
                       mainstream, and is their 'thought leader.'
                       You = drooling moron.
                       \_ You = ad hominem attacks
                          Yes, I would agree that Mr. Moore is part of
                          the Left mainstream. Absolutely. Do you know
                          the difference between the singular and
                          plural in the English Language? One of the
                          thought leaders is not the same idea as
                          The thought leader.
                          Moore:Left::Coulter:Right
                          \_ Heh.  You are the motd thought leader!
                             \_ And here I thought I was a drooling moron...
                                \_ What do you think thought leader means,
                                   thought leader?
                                   \_ This is pretty much what I think it means:
                                      http://csua.org/u/avl
                                      What do you think it means?
              \_ For some reason pointing out how the Bush admin is running
                 this country straight into the ground is treason?

1/27    How safe is it to open spam in pine? Will spammers somehow know I've
        been reading the messages?
        \_ Safe. No, not unless you view the URL, which launches Lynx.
        \_ You are using pine?!? By now, the k1dd35 have your ssn and
           are opening high limit cc's in your name.

1/27    How did a compact SUV, a relatively light object compared to a
        locomotive, cause the train to derail in the LA incident?  I've seen
        some TV documentary where a train hits a school bus.  The school bus is
        cut into two but the train keeps going.
         \_ I think i read that the suicider-suv-er drove his
            car a little farther down on the track and 'parked', so
            the locked wheels combined with the railroad ties
             caused the car to become a very Large Immoveable
             Object.  this is a little different than just
              being in theway at the crossing point.
        \_ I have the same question. Remember the PSA poster saying: "When
           there is a tie at the railroad crossing between a car and a train,
           the train wins."
        \_ Maybe the train here was going faster than the documentary one.
           maybe the track curved at that spot.  who knows..  Wait for a
           TSA report.
        \_ I heard that the engine (the heavy car) was in the rear and the
           the passenger cars in the front are relatively lightweight.
           \_ This is correct: http://csua.org/u/avb (LATimes, brew your own
              login/pwd)
           \_ Great Fucking Design!
              \_ Yes, it is a great design. This is a train. It is not an
                 automobile so that the individual cars are not easily
                 moved out of position relative to one another. Ergo
                 engines since time immemorial have always been positioned
                 at the ends to either push or pull the train. Trains are
                 also not designed to break quickly, nor can they turn,
                 reverse directions, or go over terrain which has no
                 track upon it easily. If you ever had a train set or utilized
                 the common sense part of your brain you'd realize this.
                 In addition, if you're thinking about "writing to your
                 representative" to improve train safety because you somehow
                 believe that trains are unsafe, simply lookup the statistic
                 on how many people die from train wrecks per annum vs.
                 how many die from car accidents. If you argue that fewer
                 individual use trains then you may go ahead and utilize the
                 resources on BART and other light rail systems.
                 -williamc
                 \_ Holy shit.  A williamc post that isn't *completely* moronic.
                    Of course, you have the usual drooling ad homonem, but
                    this is still a potential precedent setter.
                 \_ He's talking about putting the engine in back.  Pushing
                    a bunch of cars is going to be less stable than pulling
                    them if the front one derails or hits something, and will
                    cause more damage as the whole thing is far more likely
                    to jackknife, especially if there's a locomotive in back
                    that keeps pushing for a few moments.  This is not best
                    practice, and while you're right, trains can't just turn,
                    most rail lines use switching yards to move a second
                    engine to the other end of the train when it has to
                    reverse direction (you generally don't just change the
                    direction of a train from pull to push away from terminal
                    stations, which should have other engines standing by for
                    just this purpose.  As for comparative statistics, they
                    are irrelevant if an accident is avoidable--people still
                    die unnecessarily.  -John
                 \- What if someone hijacked a train and crashed it into the
                    White House?
                    \_ There are train tracks going to the White House?
                       \- They could build underground tracks to the White
                          House as an insider job.
                          \_ ali, sign your posts.
                             \- bigup yourself --alig
                    \_ What if someone built a trebuchet and fired it at the
                       White House?
                       \_ http://www.ysabel.org/lj/lotr-catapult1.gif - danh
                    \_ What if someone took a high powered laser and beamed
                       it into Bush's eyeball, from far away, at a speech?
        \_ I wonder how must it would cost to put a simple radar like devie
           in the front of the train, to activate emergency breaks or sound
           alarms if it detects something directly ahead...
           \_ Not expensive, but futile.  Trains are not easy to stop.
              \_ But it doesn't sound like they even tried to stop, the
                 light passenger cars hit the SUV at full speed and derailed.
                 \_ The paper says that conditions were such that the driver
                    likely didn't see the car until s/he was right on top of
                    it.
           \_ Doesn't work on curves.
              \_ Oh no, not the CURVES, I LOVE THE CURVES!!
              \_ Of course not, no sodans can handle the curves.
                 \_ "I want the curves!"
                    "You can't handle the curves!"
                    \_ Hahahaha, oh we are such dorks, damn I love the csua.
                 \_ All sodans suffer from premature ejaculation?
                    \_ Oh that's sick, go back to your hole..
        \_ And in Al Jazeera, they say "Jeep Cherokee, your new terror weapon"
        \_ The SUV body crumpled, but the SUV's engine block caused the train
           to derail.  It's in one of the LA Times articles.
        \_ Crap on the rails is always a problem.  In Holland, lots of trains
           are apperantly late now because teens are finding it cool to put
           stuff on the rails and watch the trains hit it.  There is always
           a chance that a large heavy piece of something will make a train
           derail.

1/27    Gotta love this:
        http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/24/national/main668665.shtml
        Jerald Newberry says that anyone who would criticize 'No Name-Calling
        Week' are people with bad hearts.  Was I just called a bad name?

1/27    Can someone explain why we have /usr/include/netinet/*.h
        as well as /usr/include/linux/*.h, some files seem very
        similar with same structs but occasionally with different
        fields names?
        \_ /usr/include/linux may be for the freebsd linux compatibility.

1/22    Is the movement of the market a random walk?  I planned to read
        the book that says yes, but googled a more recent book that says no.
        So which one is right and which/where I should start reading?
        \_ What is random? -- ilyas
           \_ What, are you playing jeopardy or something?
              \_ Are you op?
              \_ The answer was:
                 The type of men that Yermom would pick off the street.
        \_ Yes.  You're probably talking about A Random Walk Down Wall Street
           by Burton G. Malkiel.  If that's not the book you were planning to
           read, it should be.  What it really describes is something called
           The Efficient Markets Theory which can be summed up as the current
           price of a stock or security incorporates all presently available
           information.  Consequently, you cannot reliable predict prices and
           beat the market by somehow properly timing when you buy and sell.
           -dans
           \- Still a classic:
              Boredcast Message from 'peterm': Wed Jan  8 17:37:16 1997
              You also recommended "A random walk down wall street" ...
        \_ what calendar are you using?  1/22?
              \_ Holy shit.  8 years ago! --PeterM
           \_ Yeah I was referring to that book, but I also googled a more
              recent book titled A not so random walk down wall street, from
              PUP.  I wonder if that means the old theory has been debunked -op
              \_ The Efficient Markets Theory is undercut by all the
                 recent insider trading scandals.

1/26    http://khaaan.com
        \_ no description, to be deleted in the next 5 min...
          \_ In this case, the URL is the description.

1/27    I hate Bush.
        \_ why did you put him up against Lurch?
        \_ Culturally illiterate moron vwapped.
        \_ fuck old people!
        \_ Dubya is a nice guy, but he's dumb and surrounded by smart people
           who all have something seriously wrong with them.
           Dubya's smirk and asshole looks come from being dumb.
        \_ That's okay. He cares not one whit what you think, either.
        \_ I like bush, but don't rule out anal until you've tried it.
           \_ ... or oral.

1/27    We haven't had a major foreign terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
        Are the policies working then?
        \_ terrorist are waiting for hillary
        \_ Perhaps. How many major foreign terrorist attacks have we
           ever had? The incidence is a little too rare to evaluate.
        \_ We didn't have one until Bush took office. Obviously Bush is the
           weak link here.
           \_ First WTC bombing was under Clinton.
              \_ GAAAAAH!  FACTS!!!! IT BUUUUURRRRNNS!!!!
                 \_ ZE GOGGLES DO NUHZING!!!
              \_ That wasn't a "major" attack now was it? Was it? Huh?
                 Yeah that's what I thought. Bitch.
                 \_ RTF911CR.  The *intent* was to kill about a quarter of
                    a million people.
                    \_ NOOOOOOOOOO!  THE FACTS!!!!!  STOOOOOP ITTTTT!!!!!
                 \_ Uh, detonating a large truck full of boom fuel underneath
                    the WTC is not a major attack?  Just because it wasn't
                    as bad as it coulda been... -John
                    \_ 1000 people were injured. Luckily the buildings
                       did not fall.
                    \_ I need some fuel to go boom boom.
        \_ People do think increased airport security is protecting America,
           but the majority also think invading Iraq when they had no WMDs
           and without allies nor enough of our own people made the world
           more dangerous.
           Dubya's people would like to tell you that we're fighting the
           terrorists in Iraq instead of in der Fatherland, I mean Homeland.
                                                \_ Der Vaterland
        \_ Not to sound like a nutjob, but there's a credible Iraqi link in the
           OK city bombing. http://csua.org/u/avr
           \_ If you do some research and still think the Iraqi link is
              credible you ARE a nut job.
              \_ The ok. city bombing iraq connection is my favorite conspiracy
                 theory ever.  Yeah.  The government had TOP SECRET information
                 tying Iraq to the bombing, but hatch a BIG CONSPIRACY to
                 cover it up, while simultaneously making asses of themselves
                 in front of the world trying unsuccessfully to tie Iraq to
                 terrorism.  The illuminati stole my tinfoil hat to give it to
                 the skull and bones so they could play frisbee with the
                 trilateral comission.
              \_ So are you dismissing Jayna Davis' research?  Do you have a
                 refutation of the direct evidence she has?
                 \_ You may find this link helpful:
                    http://www.stopabductions.com/main.htm
                 \_ Swift boat guy!  We missed you!

1/27    9 year old professional athlete in soccer??
        http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/soccer/01/27/phenom.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

1/27    3rd journalist now busted for being on the take from Bush administration
        without disclosing it:
        http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/01/27/mcmanus/index.html
        How soon before we get to refer to Bush as "Comrade President?"
        \_ It's Presidente.  Like Potatoe.
        \_ what about PBS, Sierra Club, Nature Conservatory, NOW,
           Bill Moyers....
           \_ uh, what about them?
              \_ the context of the thread is receiving government
                 funds, so take a wild guess.
           let us be intellectually honest here and not give money
           to any of them.
           \_ If you can't see the difference between the Sierra Club and the
              government secretely paying journalists to promote its agenda,
              umm... you're probably a troll.
              \_ Don't you think that guy really is that stupid?
              \_ Effectively what is the distinction between an advocacy
                 organization and a journalist?  I would argue the
                 organizations, which receive millions, are more insidious.
                 PBS, NPR, and Moyers are not journalists?

1/27    MANIFEST DESTINY!!! Just as we freed the American continent
        with our generosity (free small pox laden blankets for
        American Indians), we should free the Iraq country for
        better use for Americans. MANIFEST DESTINY!!!
        \_ We missed you aaron.

1/27    Why do scientists call Titan "the only celestial body known to have a
        significant atmosphere other than Earth"?  I thought Mars, Jupier and
        Saturn all have thick atmospheres.  Thanks.  -- clueless.
        \_ I've only heard Titan refered to as the only satellite with a
           significant atmosphere.  BTW, you left Venus, Uranus and Neptune
           off your list.
        \_ I've heard Titan refered to as the only satellite with a
           significant atmosphere.  BTW, you left Venus, Uranus and
           Neptune off your list.
        \_ Jupiter and Saturn have an atmosphere only in the sense that they
           are mostly (if not all) atmosphere.

1/27    MANIFEST DESTINY!!! Just as we freed the Tibetan plateau
        with our generosity (free red Mao books laden with Communist
        teachings), we should free the Taiwan province for
        better use for Chinese. MANIFEST DESTINY!!!
        \_ Bring the Gospel to China.  Free China!

1/27    I keep reading about how the US will lose jobs to China. What
        about Europe? Aren't they in the same boat?
        \_ No, they're busy losing jobs to E. Europe.  -John

[ k ]

1/27    ilyas, as a libertarian (ie fuck government, help thyself)
        what do you think about the Chinese culture? For many centuries,
        the Chinese culture has had internal problems which it dealt
        with via means other than government solutions. For example,
        the core of the Chinese culture is a family, where one
        gets financial support (family=business) as well as retirement
        plans (parents always live in the same household), food
        (family cooks/eats same food together), etc. This is a cycle
        of course, where young men know that they have to be a
        productive members of society so that they could raise good
        families so that their children would take care of them in the
        future.
        \_ Let me ask you this, what do Chinese people think about their
           history and culture (the totalitarian/collectivist, or if you
           prefer a more positive word, communal bits)? -- ilyas
           \_ I am not sure I agree that "collectivist" and "communal"
              should be applied to Chinese history and culture,
              at least not until the founding of the PRC.  Where did
              you get the idea?
              \_ I think there are strong communal elements in Chinese
                 culture itself (as well as Russian culture), which is why
                 I think communism was able to take hold there. -- ilyas
                 \_ what communal elements, pray tell us?
           \_ it was doing pretty well, IMHO until the white men brought over
              'things' that changed people's mentality and ultimately
              destabilized the country.
                \_ If you call millions dying every once in a while
                   "pretty well".
                        \_ relative to Europe in the Dark Ages, YES.
                           \_ Well that's not a good time to compare. Europe
                              was doing really well until the damn Jews
                              fucked it up with their religion.
                              Anyway your example of the Chinese family unit
                              isn't very good. Most other cultures had to rely
                              on that before modern times, and most still do
                              in a basic way. What other examples do you have
                              of Chinese non-government solutions?
                           \_ Not just the Dark Ages.  The Chinese Empire
                              fared reasonably well from around Roman times
                              till the 1700s.
              \_ what things? opium?
                \_ ideologies. physical goods. drugs. envy.
                        \_ There was no envy in China?
          \_ not sure I speak for most Chinese people but I'm pretty proud
             of the history from its beginning to about 200 years ago. Sure
             there were wars and disease and famine and <stick in whatever
             negative thing you can think of> but the empire flourished
             because of its hard working people who believe in family
             values, stability, education, hard work, self-reliance,
             family-reliance, and traditions.  In fact these are traits that
             many Chinese people still have, and will still honor for
             centuries to come.
                Now tell us what you think about the Chinese culture and
             if you see parallels in your ideology.
             \_ I am going to split your question into two.
                (1) I have a profound respect for Chinese culture, I think
                it contributed immensely to humanity as a whole.
                (2) I think a glib way to describe what I view as a chief ill
                in society is an 'unmeritocratic hierarchy.'  Humans need
                hierarchies to scale their activities, but all sorts of
                problems come up if these hierarchies don't let the cream
                rise to the top.  This can happen in business, government, and
                family.  This is what I think the problem is.  I don't know
                how to structure a society that avoids 'unmeritocracy' from
                creeping into naturally arising hierarchies a society must
                have.  I am not sure if this is a coherent answer to what you
                were asking. -- ilyas
                \_ In China, it's called the dynastic cycle.
             \_ don't forget the concubines
                \_ that's definitely good. definitely.          -liberal
                \_ that's evil, pure evil.                      -conservative

1/27    Okay, this cracked me up:
        http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/wdc/56471618.html
        \_ oh my god this is so cute!!!!!!!!!!! cute cute cute :)
           Thanks for posting this site.
        \_ Cute to you. Abuse of a trusting pet to me.
           \_ I used to hate cats.  Now that I've seen how cool cats can be,
              though, I've become convinced that most cats are bad because
              cats imprint stongly on their owners' behavior, and many cat
              owners have severe and obvious personality defects that rub
              off on their pets (see above).
              \_ So for cats that have been raised by one individual since
                 kittenhood, if the cat's an asshole, then the owner is a
                 bastard?
                 \_ I think "asshole" is a term I would very rarely apply to
                    a cat.  What I find irritating about most cats is that
                    they're so prissy and terrified of everything, and I've
                    definitely seen correlations between that behavior in cats
                    and their owners.  I guess that behavior is not exactly
                    harmful in a cat, anymore than sitting on a rock all day
                    is harmful in a pet lizard, it just makes them lousy pets.
           \_ Lighten up.
              \_ I generally agree. But when one owner has two cats with very
                 different traits, what do you figure is going on if they are
                 both inheriting traits from their owner? Do you figure each
                 cat has become a familiar to a particular part of their
                 owner's personality, or does this indicate that anthropomorph-
                 izing the traits of small domesticated animals is inadvisable.
              \_ I agree somewhat but I'm not sure what makes some cats become
                 really outgoing and friendly. I think it might be exposure to
                 (nice) strangers when young. Our two family cats were both
                 very friendly to the family but freaked around strangers.
                 We had some asshole neighbors who might have been mean to
                 them. I think there's some genetics too of course. At my
                 apartment place there was a really cool friendly cat who
                 just treated everyone as a friend and played/followed them
                 into their apartment etc.
           \_ Lighten up.
        \_ Cute is not funny.
           \_ Lighten up.