Berkeley CSUA MOTD:2005:May:18 Wednesday <Tuesday, Thursday>
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2005/5/18 [Politics/Domestic/President/Reagan] UID:37726 Activity:kinda low
5/17    Presidential directive expected within weeks announcing intention
        to weaponize space (offensive and defensive)
        http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/business/18space.html
        \_ Oh great, another arms race for blowing our national
           resources on.  Right in the middle of a fucking war.
        \_ w00t! I've been waiting for the Ronald Reagan Memorial
           Space Based Weapons Platform to go online for years.
           \_ I love Reagan! I don't know any of his politicies but he is
              so loving and charming on TV.
        \_ This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a
           large arms industry is new in the American experience. The
           total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual --
           is felt in every city, every State house, every office of
           the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need
           for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend
           its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood
           are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
           In the councils of government, we must guard against the
           acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or
           unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential
           for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will
           persist.
           --General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
2005/5/18 [Politics/Domestic/RepublicanMedia, Politics/Domestic/President/Clinton] UID:37727 Activity:high
5/17    The L.A. Times editorial board sure is weird on the filibuster issue
        http://csua.org/u/c3q
        \_ "Because the filibuster is at heart a conservative's weapon"
           !?!?
           \_ When you filibuster, you are by definition, blocking change
              and preserving the status quo. It comes from the older
              definition of Conservative, one who tends to resist change
              and prefers to keep tradition.
        \_ It's an interesting argument.  They're arguing that the demise of
           the filibuster promotes a liberal agenda in the long term.  That,
           throughout history, the filibuster has been used primarily by
           conservatives to block liberal legislation.  They do have a point.
           Republicans blocked more of Clinton's nominees via filibuster than
           Democrats have blocked of Bush's nominees.  The LA editorial board
           is actually pushing the argument that the filibuster should be
           disallowed on all Senatorial bills, and that the filibuster causes
           a 51% majority requirement on bills to become a 61% super-majority.
           \_ The cloture rules, as written, make it obvious that you need
              61% to pass bills in the Senate.  It is reasonable to assume
              that the people who wrote the rules wanted it that way for a
              reason.  -tom
           \_ I see your point, but I wonder if a 51% majority is really a
              healthy number for passing laws that affect our entire nation.
              \_ That's another debate altogether.  The founding fathers
                 thought that it was.  Otoh, some interpret the founding
                 fathers' wishes as wanting the Constitution to be a much
                 more fluid, living document of laws, and thus, perhaps
                 the present acrimony means that a comfortable majority of 51%
                 is no longer enough.  But this is all speculation.
           \_ None of Clinton's judges were blocked by filibuster.
              \_ Now now.  No fair actually using facts.  These people redefine
                 filibuster to support their argument.  They can have their
                 reality.
                 \_ And the R's don't redefine terms constantly?  The over-
                    riding story they've been pitching is that nominees deserve
                    an up or down vote.  As many of them participated in deny-
                    ing such votes in the past when the balance of power was
                    reversed, they are hypocrits, pure and simple.  I believe
                    that it's excellent to have the filibuster available for
                    appointments because it encourages compromise.  You want
                    your people through, you convince more than just your side.
                    And it's a very notable point that the vast majority of
                    the nominees have been confirmed already.
                    \_ By "these people" I didn't mean D's.  I meant people who
                       don't give a damn about truth or consistency, but only
                       care about the R or the D.  Are there people like that
                       with R's?  Yes.
                  \_ They used another procedure which allowed them to block
                     appointees. A procedure which has seen been changed so
                     that can no longer be used. Even many Republicans called
                     it a "filibuster" so you can understand the confusion.
                     And there were attempted filibusters of Clinton nominees,
                     just unsuccessful ones. Or is it only wrong if you
                     are successful?
                     http://mediamatters.org/items/200503160004
                     \_ Ah yes, that left-wing http://mm.org
                        \_ Ah yes, the shoot the messenger approach.  When you
                           can't deny the facts, tar the presenter.
                           \_ Hey I learned this from the best liberals.
                              \_ Most liberals I know are more than willing to
                                 change their mind when presented with
                                 verifiable facts, myself included.  The same
                                 cannot be said for most conservatives I know.
                                 As intelligence increases, this distinction
                                 breaks down.
                                 \_ Ha ha ha ha ha ha!  Ha!
                                    \_ Hint, your bumper sticker arguments are
                                       probably neither verifiable nor based
                                       on facts.
                                    \_ Most liberals I know are the same way.
                                       The very definition of the word liberal
                                       includes openness to change. Perhaps
                                       you hang out with the wrong liberals,
                                       or perhaps the only "liberals" you are
                                       familiar with are the ones you hear
                                       about on Fox News and Michael Savage.
                                 \_ "When people think, Democrats win" -Bubba
                              \_ e.g.?
                                 \_ WorldNetDaily, freepers, etc.
                                    \_ Ha ha ha, liberals, right.
                        \_ Is there anything in that article or my statement
                           that is incorrect as opposed to inconvenient
                           to your interpretation of the world?
                           \_ "In fact, Republicans filibustered several of
                              then-President Clinton's ambassadorial and
                              Justice Department appointments in the 1990s and
                              attempted to filibuster Clinton's judicial
                              nominees."  Patently false.
                              \_ Did you read the whole article?  Do you doubt
                                 the Washington Post's and New York Times'
                                 reporting on Senate dealings?
                                 \_ You mean the 85-12 vote to cut off an
                                    "attempted" filibuster?  Doesn't sound like
                                    a filibuster to me.  No, I don't trust this
                                    site to accurately quote the sources, and I
                                    don't trust the NY Times period.  The Post
                                    is iffy.
                                    \_ You're really not worth talking to.
                                 \_ Name a Clinton appointee who was
                                    filibustered.  Go for it.
                                    \_ Did you read the article?  Sam Brown.
                                       For judicial nominees, as the article
                                       says, there were a number of attempts
                                       at fillibustering his nominees.  There
                                       were also a number of others that never
                                       went to a committee hearing because they
                                       blocked them procedurally.
                                       \_ I'm unable to confirm Sam Brown
                                          anywhere else.  Can you?
                                          \_ How 'bout the congressional
                                             record?
                    http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r103:E08JN4-62
                                             \_ Nope.  The house is not the
                                                senate, and considering how
                                                people seem to redefine
                                                filibuster, this isn't
                                                acceptable.
                                                \_ You're a fucking imbecile.
                                                   \_ You've got to be kidding
                                                      me.  Wait...does the next
                                                      line go "I know you are
                                                      but what am I"?
                                                      \_ To believe that the
                                                         sources offered are
                                                         tricking you, you
                                                         would have to be
                                                         dangerously unbalanced
                                                         or mind-bogglingly
                                                         stupid. Either way,
                                                         you're not worth
                                                         talking to.
                                                         \_ I don't believe
                                                            they're "tricking"
                                                            me.  The quote I
                                                            found yesterday had
                                                            a R senator saying
                                                            that stopping
                                                            someone in
                                                            committee is a
                                                            filibuster.  Just
                                                            having the word
                                                            'filibuster' isn't
                                                            enough.
                                             Also Henry Foster for Surgeon
                                             General in 1995.  Let's see
                                             if your researching skills are
                                             better on him.
                                             \_ Okay, I can verify that.  Which
                                                explains the R's limiting the
                                                claim to judges.
                                                \_ After they applied the claim
                                                   in general...
                                                \_ So, as the person says
                                                   below, are these filibusters
                                                   only "wrong" when they
                                                   succeed?
                                \_ So your position is that it is moral to
                                   attempt a filibuster as long as you
                                   don't succeed? Only successful filibusters
                                   are immoral and unconstitutional?
                                   \_ It's seriously fun watching Frist try
                                      to make this maneuver.
                                   \_ I've no position on the "morality" of a
                                      filibuster.  I'm for getting rid of it
                                      entirely.
                                      \_ So you admit the Republicans are
                                         hypocrites, but you support them
                                         anyway.
                                         anyway. Did you have the same
                                         opinion about the filibuster when
                                         Clinton was in office?
                                      \_ So.. you want the senate to be the
                                         house with fewer people...
                                         \_ The filibuster and size aren't the
                                            only differences between the house
                                            and senate.  And if you distrust
                                            the house, should we eliminate it?
2005/5/18 [Politics/Domestic/California, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:37729 Activity:moderate
5/18    Yes yes yes! Enough with racial fighting, violence, and failing
        educational system in the second largest city in the US. DOWN with
        wealthy, out of touch white male politicians and in with a new
        minority mayor! It is about time. It's a huge victory for diversity,
        minorities, and average Americans       -white male politician hater
        http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4554873.stm
        \_ Why am I reading about a US mayor on the BBC?
           \_ uh, because your sense of perception is usually better when
              you're far away, whereas when you're closer things tend to be
              over-magnified or distorted? Or if you're asking why a foreign
              news cares about a sucky US city, is it because most of the
              world is well in tune with what goes on in the US, whereas the
              other way is untrue? This is, perhaps we are the most self
              indulgent species in the entire planet and we don't care about
              the world, or our perception by the world? Or maybe this is
              because unlike Europeans, we don't travel as much for
              whatever reason? Take your pick.
              \_ The Euros as a whole (massive overgeneralization) tend to
                 look at US politics as a pretty monolithic affair.  I
                 remember my gf watching Rumsfeld get the bitchsmack laid
                 on him at some Senate hearings and being extremely astounded
                 at how aggressively they were treating him.  You don't often
                 get that sort of depth of detail in most countries about
                 other countries' politics.  Who here heard of George
                 Galloway before he appeared in the Senate?  (You didn't miss
                 much) -John
              \_ What did BBC have to say about the District 2 special
                 election in Oakland? 'Cos I'm never heard of any of these
                 people, and I've been living here for six years and
                 worked for the City of Oakland for 3.5 years. --erikred
                 \_ Oakland is not the biggest 5 cities in the US, so it's
                    not really a city :)
                    not really a REAL city :)
                    \_ Damn you and your logic! :)
                    \_ I thought Oakland is the biggest US city by area,
                       although not by population.
                       \_ Not a chance, but you would be forgiven for thinking
                          so if you've ever driven down San Pablo and then
                          moved over to International all the way to San
                          Leandro. Speaking of which, are there any movie
                          theaters south/east of the Parkway?
                          \_ Follow-up: Oakland ranks 98th in area among
                             cities with pop > 100k.
                             http://www.demographia.com/db-us90city100karea.htm
                             \_ I love how the state of California is more
                                densely populated than the city of Anchorage.
        \_ This is not the first time LA has a non-white mayor, racist.
2005/5/18-19 [Computer/SW/Apps/Media, Computer/HW/Drives] UID:37730 Activity:nil
5/17    My second data backup question. I am looking for a backup media I can
        take off-site. I'll repeat that we've found the failure rate backing up
        to CD unacceptable. She wants to go with an Iomega product but I was
        wondering if people have had good/bad experience with these,
        reliability-wise and if they have better suggestions. I have about
        $400 for this.
        \_ hard drive in a USB or Firewire external enclosure?
           \_ Thanks. I'm actually looking for something I could casually take
              to work and expect to survive a few bumps. I think it's between
              Iomega REV And tape right now. Tape is cheaper. REV is faster.
              I have no data on comparable reliability.
              \_ "click of death" Iomega is still in business?  And you don't
                 assume their reliability sucks from the start?
              \_ 2.5" enclosure with hard drive doesn't need a power
                 adapter -- all you need is a USB cable.  It will survive
                 fine when carrying to work.  FYI, the Hitachi 5K100 was
                 released recently and has excellent shock characteristics.
                 Search http://newegg.com or http://zipzoomfly.com for the 5K100, and
                 newegg for the enclosure.
                 What do I do?  I keep a 3.5" enclosure (AMS Venus DS3 FireWire
                 + USB) with 250GB drive at work and run Acronis True Image
                 daily to make a full disk backup of my notebook over FireWire
                 (40GB = 40 minutes); the image is password-protected, and the
                 software is smart enough so that I can continue working in
                 Windoze while it's backing up.  (The image is a snapshot
                 of the drive at the beginning of the imaging process.)
                 I take my notebook home and every once in a while repeat
                 the same backup to a 2.5" enclosure with the 80GB 5K100 at
                 home.
                 If you use FireWire you usually need to bring the AC power
                 adapter for the 2.5" enclosure since (x86) notebooks usually
                 only have the small (unpowered) 4-pin FireWire port; and USB
                 2.0 Hi-Speed throughput is ~ 70% of FireWire for the 2.5"
                 enclosures I've seen.
                 If anyone knows a 2.5" USB+FireWire enclosure that can
                 operate over USB at 17 MB/s, please let me know.  (Yes, I
                 have an enclosure that operates that fast with FireWire.)
                 \_ Well, I have exactly one 2.5" enclosure and can't detect
                    the difference between FW and USB transfers.
2005/5/18 [Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:37731 Activity:moderate
5/18    Hand grenade thrown at Dubya during Georgia stop was live, but
        landed bad and didn't explode:
        http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/05/18/bush.georgia/index.html
        \_ This is pretty old news. It's been around for the past couple
           of days. Where have you been, poster, under a rock?
           \_ Old news == Grenade was fake or inert; there was no grenade
              New news == Grenade was live and may have exploded
              Where have you been poster, crying while masturbating in bed?
              \_ <YAWN> Whatever was tossed didn't explode. Who the fuck
                 cares anymore.
                 \_ Wouldn't have killed him anyhow, would've just killed
                    some random people in the crowd.
        \_ <vague threat against the president removed>
        \_ Damn the Georgians are stupid!
           \_ perfect example where the Americans interpret this statement as
              "Damn they're stupid for trying to kill our great leader" and
              everyone else interpret this statement as "Damn they're stupid
              for not successfully killing the world's biggest living tyrant."
              \_ Bias I sense here.                   -Yoda
2005/5/18-19 [Uncategorized] UID:37732 Activity:nil
5/18    Interesting new alternative to http://tinyurl.com:
        http://doiop.com
        \_ nice idea but their short url doesn't work (404). Dumb.
        \_ http://doiop.com/jesus
2005/5/18-19 [Consumer/Audio] UID:37733 Activity:nil
5/18    iPod leads to arrest in crime spree:
        http://www.nbc4.com/news/4497160/detail.html
2005/5/18 [Uncategorized] UID:37734 Activity:nil
5/18    Uzbekistan protesters had been killed while fleeing for border
        http://csua.org/u/c3u (Post)
2005/5/18-19 [Uncategorized] UID:37735 Activity:nil
5/18    Sunday Herald plans to post classic books in pdf:
        http://www.sundayherald.com/np/ebooksindex.shtml
2005/5/18-19 [Science/GlobalWarming, Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:37736 Activity:low
5/18    motd has gotten me interested in philosophy again. Mainly, I'm
        fascinated by arguments from people who have core beliefs (based
        on certain core principles, this is right and that is wrong) and
        people who have relative beliefs (you may be right from your
        perspective and I may be right from my perspective), and things
        of that nature. I'd like to know why people think certain ways,
        and how they debate, and how valid each perspective is. Is this
        philosophy? Or politics? And what's a good primer on this topic,
        preferably a URL? thx.
        \_ Read a book.
        \_ This is called ethics, or moral philosophy. Much of theology
           touches on this topic as well. Start here:
           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics
           \- Read Plato. Either that will generate an E_TOOSHORT or you
              will learn something.
        \_ Read about the uncertainty principle. Only if you can accept
           that the universe is non-deterministic can you even begin to
           discuss whether an action is right or wrong.
           \_ Reading Plato is never bad advice.  However you might want to
              start with something like The History of Western Philosophy
              (Bertrand Russell) and then zoom in.
              \_ Plato is good, but a brief intro to Greek history would go
                 far in providing context for Plato. And if Russell is too
                 much for you, Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder is a very
                 accessible Philosophy 101 book.
                 \- um i suppose if you want to find out what led up to
                    Socrates "problems" with the Athenian polity or to
                    fathom his portrayal by say F. Nietzsche in Twilight
                    of the Idols, some context would be helpful, but overall
                    I think you need less context than for say T. Hobbes
                    or I. Kant. Oh, and dont read the Symposium.
                    or I. Kant. Oh, and dont read the Symposium. Probably
                    best not to start with the Republic.
                 much for you, Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder is a very
                 accessible Philosophy 101 book.
2005/5/18 [Science/GlobalWarming] UID:37737 Activity:nil
5/18    You are one stubborn, narrow minded person, emarkp. I hope you have
        a higher IQ in your next life. I also hope you get to be born in a
        3rd world country so that you'd see more to the world than your
        cushy, cozy little place.
        \_ I suspect I've spent more time in 3rd world countries than you have
           cmlee. -emarkp
        \_ Question: is IQ tied to the soul or not?
        \_ Shut up cmlee. -emarkp
2005/5/18 [Uncategorized] UID:37738 Activity:moderate
5/18    How does one report harassment or stalking to UC administrators?
        -emarkp
        \_ what's the complaint?
        \_ Shouldn't stalking be reported to the police?
           \_ It's taking place on a UC machine.  I guess you're right.  It
              only counts as harassment at best. -emarkp
           \_ A motd exchange wouldn't be enough to show Stalking in CA
              (see Cal. Penal Code Section 646.9(a)).
              \_ Yeah, I already guessed that. -emarkp
                 \_ I doubt you could even fit it under harassment
                    unless you can show serious emotional distress
                    (see Cal Civ Proc Code Section 527.6(b)). You
                    seem to be tough enough to put up with this
                    inanity.
              \_ ok, so does this mean we can continue harrasing emarkp?
                 Please give us an order.
                 \_ Why would you want to harass anyone?
                    \_ Because our quest for diversity ends at a diversity of
                       opinion.
2005/5/18 [Politics/Domestic/Gay, Reference/History/WW2/Germany] UID:37739 Activity:high
5/18    Dear German Nazi historian buffs. I've always wondered about this.
        Did the Nazis ever tolerate gays and lesbians? Did they ship them to
        concentration camps, or they had a don't ask don't tell policy?
        \- er who do you think came up with the Pink Triangle. lesbos were
           sent to the eastern front.
        \_ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Gays_during_the_Holocaust
           "In 2002 the German government released an official apology to
           the gay community." I'm still waiting for the Japs to apologize
           to gay Chinese men.
           \_ What did the Japanese do to gay Chinese men in particular that's
              not done to Chinese men in general?  I've never heard about this.
              \_ They forced them to serve as comfort men to gay Japanese
                 soldiers in the Pacific.  -John
                 \_ Source, John. --erikred
                    \_ I don't think he's being serious, guy.
                       \_ Source, guy. --erikred
                          \_ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humor
                             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retard
        \_ Early on, the Nazi's welcomed gays, or at least tolerated them.
           The leader of the Brown Shirts, Eric Rohm,  was gay. During the SS
           purge of the SA (Brown Shirts) they killed him and one of the stated
           reasons was his moral degeneracy (code name for being gay). Soon
           after that they went into full on gay hating mode.
2005/5/18 [Science/Electric] UID:37740 Activity:moderate
5/18    Now Episoda 3 is out and over. It's time to remake the last 3 episodes.
        "A circle has no end."
        \_ You mean, make episodes 7-9.
           \_ Maybe the op actually meant episodes 4-6.  George Lucas seem
              to think old technology doesn't belong on the silver screen
              anymore.  Who should play the new Luke?
              \_ Then should he remake episodes 1-3 after he finishes remaking
                 4-6 years from now because current technology will be outdated
                 by then?
                 \_ Hence the "A circle has no end" quote from the op.
              \_ Tobey "Spidey" Maguire
              \_ Star Wars Kid!
              \_ http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2004-09-22&res=l
              \_ Protagonist_Model_5.max
2005/5/18 [Transportation/Car, Transportation/Car/RoadHogs] UID:37741 Activity:nil
5/18    Dumbass rednecks: http://csua.org/u/c3v (carconnection.com)
        \_ Well I was going to say Darwin, but I forgot that these people
           also out-reproduce more kids.
           \_ Darwin effect only works on things that affect reproduction.
        \_ Kinda unrelated, but what do you call those Berkeley yuppies
           that drive around in full size pickups?
           \_ Dumbass wannabe rednecks.
           \_ Also, what do you call britney and kevin's new tv show?
              \_ White Trash!
2005/5/18-19 [Finance/Investment] UID:37742 Activity:nil
5/18    I find this amusing, after all the housing bubble talk on the motd:
        http://biz.yahoo.com/edu/qc?n=5486
        \_ Well if 70% of the people think the market will go up, then they
           will make it true (by re-investing in it).
           \_ That's not "70% of people in the market".  That's 70% of people.
              As it continues to grow faster than wages or inflation, fewer
              people can enter the market, so the positive reinforcement of
              this belief is ... limited.
              \_ In addition, interest rates are already rising and will
                 continue to do so. A two point increase is big when
                 you've leveraged $600,000 over 30 years. Rates have
                 been as high as what, 12-15% in the past. There is nothing
                 that says rates will not rise to that in the future.
                 With record number of people utilizing AMR and doing a 100%
                 mortgage with options to pay interest only it's a wonder
                 if people will ever actually ever own the home they bought...
        \_ bubble investing!  It feels like late 1999's stock market!
           Where's Greenspan's new "Irrational Exuberance" quota?
        \_ according to today's wsj, a recent survey shows that 17% of
           new mortgages these days are interest-only, and 60+% are ARMs.
2005/5/18-19 [Science/Disaster] UID:37743 Activity:nil
5/18    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7898654
        Californians get hourly quake forecasts
        \_ Just always predict "no quake" and you'll almost always be
           right!
           \_ I checked out the chart and the colored regions are, gasp,
              the faults.
           \_ except California gets hundreds of quakes a day.
                \_ A week, yes.  A day, no.  There's a map on the web
                   showing all the earthquakes in the last week:
                   http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs
                   In the last week, 467 quakes; this is a bit high, due
                   to a swarm of small earthquakes just south of the border.
                   The average used to be about 250-300 a week; since the
                   big quake near Paso Robles, it's gone up to the 325-375
                   range.
2005/5/18-19 [Health/Disease/General, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:37744 Activity:nil
5/18    Mother Nature biggest polluter in Hawaii:
        http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=7753
        \_ "Mother Nature is terrorizing us with toxic fume. There is no room
           for neutrality in the war against terrorism. Iraq, Iran, North
           Korea, and now Mother Nature constitute an axis of evil.
           You are either with us, or against us. We can no longer
           solely rely on a reactive posture as we have in the past. We
           cannot let Mother Nature strike first. As a matter of common
           sense and self-defense, United States will act against such
           emerging threats before they are fully formed. The reasons for
           using nukular missiles on the volcano will be clear, the force
           measure, and the cause righteous."
        \_ <stupid unfunny joke reply deleted>
           \_ williamc, you are most definitely not the humour arbiter around
              here.
              \_ It's spelled humor, you english prick.
                 \_ "English".
2005/5/18 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:37745 Activity:nil
5/18    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4541387.stm
        Yay, things ARE improving in Iraq! Cheaper cost of living,
        cheaper (and legal) medicinal weed.     -troller high on dope
2005/5/18-19 [Computer/SW/OS/Windows] UID:37746 Activity:nil
5/18    For the person who was asking about a url/note organizer for
        windows. SdiDesk might work for you:
        http://www.nooranch.com/sdidesk/wiki/wiki.cgi/AboutSdiDesk
2005/5/18 [Politics/Domestic/Immigration] UID:37747 Activity:high
5/18    "Mexicans go to Ariz. for medical help - Yahoo! News"
        http://csua.org/u/c40
        See how much money, how many jobs, and how many medical wards
        non-immigrant foreigners are costing us.
        \_ I know this sounds goofy, but go watch "A Day Without a
           Mexican". It's fairly sappy at times, but there are a few
           interesting non-subtle points made.
        \_ They need to report the data for poor American citizens receiving
           free emergency care, too, along with an estimate of how much money
           and how many jobs it's costing.
           Then if people want to be dicks about it, we can restrict visas
           for foreigners seeking free emergency medical care, or repeal the
           law requiring emergency care for non-citizens altogether.
           It's our right to make being dicks into government policy, but
           I suggest we also have all the information before doing so.
        \_ This puts me in mind of software companies that claim that
           hackers cost them millions of dollars. What is this number based
           on? Are the prices accurate? Do they reflect labor and parts in
           any real way? Or are they based on covering medical malpracice
           insurance and medical school bills?
2005/5/18-19 [Politics/Domestic/SocialSecurity, Politics/Domestic/California] UID:37748 Activity:high
5/19    Some hopefully neutral background on the filibuster:
        According to Wikipedia, the filibuster has existed as an option to
        stall any issue in the Senate since 1806.  Since 1917 the requirement
        to terminate a filibuster has varied from two-thirds of the entire
        Senate (67 votes) to the three-fifths (60 votes) we have today.
        In 1974, we did change the rules such that budget bills could not be
        filibustered if they reduced the budget deficit (the exception to the
        rule is Social Security, though -- you can still filibuster bills which
        would change SS).
        We are now debating whether we can change the rules such that you
        cannot filibuster nominations to federal judgeships.
        Theoretically we can change the rules to eliminate the filibuster as an
        option for any particular class of issues if you can get 51 votes or 50
        votes + VP tiebreak.
        [re-posted in response to thread below]
        \_ What if they filibuster a bill to relax the rules to eliminate
           filibusters?
           \_ Can't filibuster that.  It's not a law, it's just part of the
              senate rules.
        \_ Question:  This is what I thought was the case, but reading the
           senate rules suggests 2/3 for a rules change.  Everyone's saying
           it's only 50% + 1 for a rules change but I can't figure out why
           that's the case.  Do you have a cite for that?
           \_ This is the "nuclear option".  Basically, breaking the rules for
              changing rules so they can... change the rules.
              \_ Never have I read/heard it described as 'breaking the rules'.
                 Do you have a ref for that?
                 \_ Well, according to Wikipedia, [Reid said] "the
                    parliamentarian of the United States Senate has said it
                    (the nuclear option) is illegal."
                   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_option_%28filibuster%29
                    Also, from a likely non-neutral source:
                    http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oId=18761
                    Reading this stuff, it makes me think that the nuclear
                    option is far less of a "you can certainly do it but people
                    just don't want to piss other people off that much" type of
                    issue than I thought.  If the nuclear option was arguably
                    illegal, then I could certainly see "successful" employment
                    of it causing all sorts of problems in the Senate.
                    \_ If it were so illegal, why would R's even have it as an
                       option?  Why have no pundits said anything about it?
                       \_ Even if it were legal (and we won't have a word on
                          that unless it happens, but some say it will be a
                          constitutional crisis), it flies in the face of 200
                          years of tradition in a body that thrives on
                          tradition.  At this point, I would be surprised if
                          Frist actually had the votes to get it done.  In any
                          event, it'll be interesting to hear the
                          constitutional scholars and SC weigh in.
                          \_ SCOTUS doesn't have a say.
                             Also, a senior Republican aide said, "[the
                             Senate parliamentarian] has nothing to do with
                             this. He's a staffer, and we don't have to ask his
                             opinion."
2005/5/18-19 [Computer/HW/CPU, Computer/SW/OS/Windows] UID:37749 Activity:kinda low
5/18    Hyper-threading considered harmful:
        http://www.daemonology.net/hyperthreading-considered-harmful
                \- You mean it isn't fun and profitable?
        \_ I don't know about security problems, but lots of testing has
           led us to believe that in most instances it does not help
           performance. The number of cases it improves performance is
           small compared to the number where it degrades performance -
           especially on a multiuser machine. I always turn it off.
           \_ In my experience it helps responsiveness, at least in Windows.
              Windows 2K/XP threading just seems to work better when there are
              more than one processor.
           \_ I agree with pp.  Hyperthreading helps GUI responsiveness (Alt-
              Tabs, etc.), but does not decrease total execution time of a
              given process.  This is also the general wisdom.
              \_ Not only does not decrease, but can increase time spent
                 in CPU.
              \_ Well it *can* decrease the total time of two processes,
                 if they have certain properties.
                 \_ For most apps these days responsivenss under load is
                    a lot more important that some minor gain in raw speed.
                    I'd gladly sacrafice 1% speed (and we are really talking
                    less than that) for a noticable gain in UI responsiveness
                    when my machine is pegging.
                    \_ We are not talking about less than 1% in speed and
                       some of us actually do heavy work on our computers.
                       Depending on what you are doing, the UI response
                       might actually be *slower* because the OS thinks it
                       has 2 CPUs when it only has 1 (worse scenario is
                       when it thinks it has 4 and only has 2 and, I
                       imagine, gets worse the more CPUs you have). I suggest
                       always turning off hyperthreading.
        \_ Is the hyperthreading thing the same as bundling two CPUs together?
           I have a dual P3 machine, and it helps when my compiler compiles
           multiple modules in two parallel processes.
           \_ No.
2005/5/18 [Uncategorized] UID:37750 Activity:nil
5/18    Politics deleted. I just can't take it anymore. Sorry.
        \_ So go read something else.
2005/5/18 [Uncategorized] UID:37751 Activity:kinda low
5/18 (   `           \|               e.mark  .  .        |
      \    .          \:               ping   .          F
       \     .         L:.             .-.    .      ' /
        `.     .        `:.           / ) \ _       '  |
          `.              `.   `   .-(-"'`)' )     '    L
            `.              `.__.-'  | ' `|.'     .      \
              `.   `                `!_' .|-. ..      :   \
                `-._    .              "'   )::''      .   L
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                    J  `-._        _  -'   ):'         .    L
                    F      `-.         .-' )..              |
                   J          `.    -'  .-')::              J
                   F            `-._ -' _.' :'               L
                  J                J"""     )'               J
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                 F     :             \     /                  |
                J                     `::''            .     .|
                F     :                 Y                      L
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                    Fuck you suck my dick and eat my cum
                    \_ Please don't censor this, Mr. Ascii Art Censor.  It
                       stands as a monument to the fact that grade schoolers
                       can and fact do graduate from UC Berkeley.
         \_ Management?  Does this qualify as making csua a 'hostile
            environment'?  This seems a tad more extreme and personal than
            the previous incident that spawned a vitriolic rant, and yet...
            silence?  Hmm.
2005/5/18 [Computer/SW/Unix, Academia/Berkeley/CSUA/Motd] UID:37752 Activity:low
5/18    Hey kchang!  You posted a request for people to stop adding and
        deleting stuff from the motd.  But your request didn't show up in your
        archive.  Why not?
        \_ Because the request got deleted in between archive intervals.
           You can read the techical FAQ, the archiver is unfortunately
           not comprehensive. Also, I don't normally do this but I thought
           it's best that I took out the sicko ascii art in the archiver.
           It is listed as "Entry has been invalidated." For more info,
           http://csua.com/?entry=faq1
           http://csua.com/?entry=faq2
2005/5/18 [Recreation/Pets] UID:37753 Activity:nil 80%like:37755
5/18    Birds Attacking People in Texas:
        http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/18/birds.attack.ap/index.html
2005/5/18 [Academia/Berkeley/CSUA/Troll] UID:37754 Activity:nil
                    \_ Please don't censor this, Mr. Ascii Art Censor.  It
                       stands as a monument to the fact that grade schoolers
                       can and fact do graduate from UC Berkeley.
                       \_ fuck off you stupid twats. email emarkp your
                          clever little posts. don't subject the rest of
                          us to this shit.
2005/5/18 [Recreation/Pets, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:37755 Activity:nil 80%like:37753
5/18    Bush Attacking People in Texas:
        http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/18/birds.attack.ap/index.html
2005/5/18-19 [Academia/Berkeley/CSUA/Motd] UID:37759 Activity:nil
5/18    Someone please explain to me what specific actions occured that made
        nweaver leave? I only have bit and pieces of info here:
        http://csua.com/?entry=31891
        \_ he hasn't left
           \_ In fact he's currently logged on.
        \_ This is from fucking 1996.  Ohmigod, get a life!
2005/5/18 [Uncategorized] UID:37760 Activity:nil
5/18    Aren't extremely conservative judges also doing "activism"?
2005/5/18 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:37761 Activity:nil
5/18    So when are we going to bring McD, coca-cola, Disney, IBM, and
        GM to Iraq? Those people are deprived of everything that's good
        about freedom. No wonder they're pissed. The sooner we bring
        these essential services to the Iraqis, the less they'll want
        to fight against us:
        http://blatanttruth.org/raisemac.jpg
        http://blatanttruth.org/charcoca.jpg
2024/11/22 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
11/22   
Berkeley CSUA MOTD:2005:May:18 Wednesday <Tuesday, Thursday>