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2024/11/26 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
11/26   

2013/8/7-9/14 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:54726 Activity:nil
8/7     Good article about NSA and the lost trust:
        http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/08/restoring_trust.html
2024/11/26 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
11/26   

2013/4/18-5/18 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/SIG] UID:54660 Activity:nil
4/18    "MSNBC Host Blames NRA for 'Slow' Boston Investigation: 'In the
        Business of Helping Bombers Get Away With Their Crimes'"
        http://www.csua.org/u/zwf
        \_ The NRA has a lot to answer for.
        \_ Oh, for fuck's sake.  We don't put taggants in gunpowder because it
           interferes with the proper functioning of a round of ammuntion.
           With commercial explosives, taggants aren't a problem because the
           individual charges used are relatively large.  When you put them in
           a cartridge in the relatively tiny charge of smokeless powder, they
           disrupt orderly combustion.  Also, no one has come up with a way of
           getting them evenly distributed into charges that small.  The rounds
           end up being severely inconsistent.  You know who else opposes
           putting taggants in commercial gunpowder?  The Department of
           Defense, because they don't want any chance of it getting into
           their ammo, either.  Go on, blame the DoD for the slow Boston
           investigation.  Oh wait.  It's already over and went pretty damn
           fast.
2012/11/18-12/18 [Recreation/Celebrity, Politics/Domestic/911, Computer/SW/Apps/Media] UID:54537 Activity:nil
11/16   Anonymous responds to be labeled a "terrorist" by Isreali media:
        http://t.co/0lIgC166
2012/5/9-6/4 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:54384 Activity:nil
5/9     If U.S. doesn't do assissination, then what do you call
        Operation Neptune Spear aka "Mission Kill Bin Laden"?
        \_ I think theoretically the difference is that the goal of one is
           "kill him/her", while the goal of the other is "capture him/her,
           and don't hestitate to shoot with the possibly of killing if he/she
           and don't hesitate to shoot with the possibly of killing if he/she
           resists capturing."
           \_ OBL did not resist. He didn't even have a weapon on his hand
              when he was shot in the head.
              \_ Like I said, it was "theoretically".  He might have been two
                 seconds too slow in raising his hands, which could be
                 conveniently considered resisting capturing.  -- PP
           \_ Right.  Similarly, those Predator drones are actually designed
              to capture people alive, and they only fire their missiles as a
              last resort.
              \_ Hmm, those missions I cannot explain.  Maybe the Pentagon/CIA
                 phrased those as "destroying enemy facility while tolerating
                 collateral damage on enemy lives"?  -- PP
        \_ US hires the best lawyers to take care of semantics
        \_ "Being a US citizen will not spare an American from getting assassinated
        \_ "Being a US citizen will not spare an American from getting
            assassinated
            by military or intelligence operatives overseas if the individual is
            working with terrorists and planning to attack fellow Americans."
            assassinated by military or intelligence operatives overseas
            if the individual is working with terrorists and planning to
            attack fellow Americans."
            -Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair
           It is obvious that our policy is that we assassinate anyone that we
           feel like.
           It is obvious that our policy is that we assassinate anyone that
           we feel like.
2012/4/30-6/1 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:54375 Activity:nil
4/30    Commencement speech (your time spent in the frat is worth it!!!):
        http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304811304577366332400453796.html
2012/3/27-6/1 [Politics/Domestic/911, Reference/Law/Court] UID:54349 Activity:nil
3/27    Trayvon Martin case:
        http://www.csua.org/u/vw7 (http://www.dailymail.co.uk
        Is this truth, or false rumor spread by critics?
        \_ Does it make any difference?
           \_ I guess since there probably won't be solid evidence on either
              side of the story (no witness, no surveillence tape, ...), this
              will sway the jury if it's true.
              \_ Lemme put it this way: if they try this in a Simi Valley
                 equivalent, all the jury hears is black dude acting
                 suspicious. Cf. Rodney King.
2012/3/1-26 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:54322 Activity:nil
3/1     First Osama Bin Laden, next Andrew Breitbart, I wonder who
        will be the third one.
        \_ I suppose you think Whitney just fell asleep in the tub?
           \_ Wow, you think Obama had Whitney axed too? What did she
              have on him?
              \_ Obama? No, no, no: Bobby Brown! You didn't read what
                 Bin Laden and Breibart wrote about him?!?
                 \_ Brown discovered that Whitney sang "Happy Birthday, Mr.
                    President" to Obama?
2011/11/10-30 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Crime] UID:54222 Activity:nil
11/10   Assange vs Zuckerberg
        http://www.eatliver.com/i.php?n=6668
2011/11/2-30 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Immigration] UID:54209 Activity:nil
11/2    "NYC arrest records: Many Occupy Wall Street protesters live in luxury"
        http://www.csua.org/u/uml (news.yahoo.com)
        'Many "Occupy Wall Street" protesters arrested in New York City
        "occupy" more luxurious homes than their "99 percent" rhetoric might
        suggest, a Daily Caller investigation has found.'
        \_ "Many"? How many? This is a classic weasel word.
           \_ Sigh.  RTA if you indeed care.
              \_ Yeah, I read it. The answer is not there. $1,850/mo is not
                 much of a place in NYC, probably a studio or one bedroom.
                 \_ So I guess by "We are the 99 percent" they really mean "We
                    are the 99 percent of NYC".
                    \_ I am pretty sure even $1850/mo is still in the lower
                       99% of rents, though it might be in the top 50%.
        \_ I'd protest if I weren't on the verge of poverty and working to
           sustain myself! What a bullshit article.
        \_ I'll bet some of them have phones, televisions and refrigerators
           in their homes. Fat cats!
           \_ Well, iPhones.
2011/5/5-7/30 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/RepublicanMedia] UID:54104 Activity:nil
5/4     So, Bin Laden, star of Fox News, dies at 51.  But really the
        question is, when are we declaring war on pakistan for
        1. harboring a known terrorist
        2. taking our money ($ billions) for "antiterror" operations?
        Clearly we got scammed here.
2011/5/1-7/30 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:54102 Activity:nil
5/1     Osama bin Ladin is dead.
        \_ So is the CSUA.
           \_ Nope, it's actually really active.
              \_ Are there finally girls in the csua?
              \_ Is there a projects page?
              \_ Funneling slaves -> stanford based corps != "active"
                 \_ Computer Science Ugrad Asciento
              \_ It is just soda that is deprecated.
                 \_ Hardly depricated, I can use it to read class newsgroups.
                    and from what I've been told by alumni this new quieter &
                    less 4chan version of soda is much better than how it was
                    in the past.
                    and from what I've been told by alumni this is a better &
                    less 4chan version of soda than how it was in the past.
        \_ so does that mean gas price is going down? Are our
                  RIDE BIKE! _/
           men coming back home? Is the middle east safer
           now? F*** YOU GEORGE W BUSH.
           \_ Get over it.
           \_ Yawn, typical liberal.
        \_ he shouldn't have used gmail
           \_ NSA figured out, without Pakistan's knowledge, that there was no
              phone or internet service in that compound.
        \_ Is Berkeley drafting an apology letter to the islamic world now?
        \_ I never expected we would actually be able to kill him.  I thought
                    \_ That's because you're a faithless godless liberal
           he would either be killed by some traitor on his side, or fade away
           and die of natural causes decades later.
        \_ Questions:
           - Doesn't DNA matching usually take days to complete?
             \_ Depends on which episode of Bones or CSI you watch.  Sometimes
                it can take hours, sometimes week, usually dependant on the
                narrative.
                \_ Got it. -- PP
           - Why didn't bin Laden escape through some secret underground tunnel
             during the whole 40 minutes of fighting?
             \_ You seem to know more than a good christian should about
                musselman fighting techniques!
                mussulman fighting techniques!
           - Why sending only 15 commandos for such a dangerous high-value
             target on such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?  Why not send
             several times more than what is estimated to be adequate?
             Haven't they learned the lesson from the Battle of Mogadishu about
             the cost of under-estimating the adversary?
             \_ There's every indication that this op was done without Pakistan
                knowing it was going down (smart move, considering ISI ties to
                Taliban); since the target was a single compound in a non-
                militarized neighborhood (unlike, say, warlord-dominated
                Mogadishu), it was probably determined that a smaller force
                could extract the target and that fewer operatives would mean
                less political flak. All in all, it was a risky, gutsy move;
                the SEAL team executed it almost perfectly.
             \_ Not just commandos, SEALs.
             \_ It was 71, not 15. And they weren't "commandos" they were
                US NAVY SEALS!
                \_ Aren't SEALs one type of commandos?  What's the difference?
                   \_ I was impying that SEALs are super-hero type commandos.
                      \_ "SEALS are like commandos, only more so."
           \_ also the burial at sea is kinda curious.
        \_ Emmanuel Goldstein is dead, long live Emmanuel Goldstein!
           \_ 1984 was about 1948.
           \_ That's so pre-9/11.
            \_ Orwell was dead on about a lot of things and everyone should read
                Hommage to Catalonia (and everything else he has written for that
                matter) but he is a hair off on some things in his fiction.
                (possibly for dramatic effect).  In particular, a singular person
                as the face of your enemy, doesn't work nearly as well as a .org.
                It is Al Qaeda that is the real Goldstein.  Equally, it is not
                necessary to eliminate all the words in the dictionary.  It is
                better just to redefine them all to mean either "good" or "bad".
                Are you a coward?  I don't know, are you with us or agin' us?
                If you are with us then no, otherwise yes. -phuqm
                Hommage to Catalonia (and everything else he has written for
                that matter) but he is a hair off on some things in his fiction.
                (possibly for dramatic effect).  In particular, a singular
                person as the face of your enemy, doesn't work nearly as well as
                a .org. It is Al Qaeda that is the real Goldstein.  Equally, it
                is not necessary to eliminate all the words in the dictionary.
                It is better just to redefine them all to mean either "good" or
                "bad". Are you a coward?  I don't know, are you with us or agin'
                us? If you are with us then no, otherwise yes. -phuqm (formatd)
                \_ Brazil is alot closer to the truth than 1984 ever was.
        \_ With that helicopter crash, the op almost ended as another Black
           Hawk Down.  Phew.
           \_ Or another Iranian hostage rescue mission.
           \_ Or Twilight Zone: The Movie
2011/2/24-4/20 [Politics/Domestic/911, Industry/Startup] UID:54050 Activity:nil
2/23    anyone following the HBGary/Palantir fiasco?
        \_ ArsTechnica: http://csua.org/u/sms
2010/12/20-2011/2/19 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:53980 Activity:nil
12/20   "Assange.s lawyer wants investigation of leaks (about Assange)"
        http://www.csua.org/u/s6i (news.yahoo.com)
        Speaking of eating one's own medicine ......
        \_ http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/03/27/wikileaks
           The War on Wikileaks and Why It Matters
2010/11/10-2011/1/13 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Election, Politics/Domestic/President] UID:53996 Activity:nil
11/10   "It's Official: The Stimulus Isn't a Waste of Money"
        http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2022781,00.html
2010/11/8-2011/1/13 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:53997 Activity:nil
11/8    "Million-dollar bill for 10-inch crack under San Mateo Bridge"
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_localsfo/20101108/ts_yblog_localsfo/471
        Holy cow!
2010/9/27-30 [Politics/Domestic/911, Reference/Military] UID:53967 Activity:low
9/26    http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_16181812
        Men armed with assault weapons barely cause a stir at Mineta
        San Jose International Airport
        How the hell does this happen without someone calling
        the cops?
        \_ Ha! I'm totally asking the guards at work about this tomorrow.
           -works at LLNL
2010/9/13-30 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:53958 Activity:nil
9/11    Never forget.
        \_ Osama Bin Laden, your name shall not be forgotten.
        \_ Forget what?
2010/7/12-8/11 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/SocialSecurity] UID:53882 Activity:low
7/12    "Debt commission leaders paint gloomy picture"
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_governors_debt_commission
        "... everything needs to be considered . including curtailing popular
        tax breaks, such as the home mortgage deduction, ..."
        Housing market is going to crash again?
        \_ Doubt it, not with NSFW marketing tactics like this:
     http://modelmayhm-6.vo.llnwd.net/d1/photos/080824/00/48b0dd6ea15cc.jpg
        \_ Probably not, but don't expect it to go up for a long
           time. Medicare benefits are going to have to be cut,
           it will be amusing to see which party decides to
           break the bad news to seniors.
           \_ Everything is going to have to be cut. Let's start with the
              DoD. I bet they can get by on half of what they spend now.
              My sister-in-law is in the Air Force Reserve and works in a
              civilian (federal) job at an Air Force Base and the waste is
              appalling. One example is that when she goes on training for the
              military she gets paid for that AS WELL AS drawing her
              regular full-time salary. So she volunteers for reserve duty
              all the time because it doubles her pay. That practice could
              easily be ended and would save taxpayers a lot of money.
              \_ From Business Insider:
                 "In the United States, the average federal worker now
                 earns 60% MORE than the average worker in the private
                 sector."
                 Also, did you hear about the city manager of Bell who
                 just resigned over his $800K annual salary? He's going to
                 be drawing $650K/year retirement from CalPERS.
                 \_ Sure, the average federal worker also has more education
                    than the average worker and works in a higher skill job.
                    What is the apples to apples comparison on salaries?
                    \_"One thing we do know about public sector employees in
                       general, if you try to guess what they should be paid
                       ... on average they are overpaid," said John Matsusaka,
                       a political economist and USC professor in law,
                       business and politics.
                    \_ If Federal workers have more education and better
                       skills then why are they working for the government?
                       It is because the government pays better and is
                       viewed as more secure. The talented people need to go to
                       work in private industry to add to the tax base and not
                       for the government where they are a drain. My anecodotal
                       dealings with federal and state employees have not been
                       good. Sure, my bank is bad but the teller is making
                       peanuts compared to a government clerk and truthfully
                       doing a better job than the clerks in the windows of
                       most government offices. My sister-in-law (mentioned
                       above) is a good worker with a graduate degree and
                       some of her coworkers don't like her because she
                       makes them look bad. Certain items that were supposed
                       to be done same-day were queued up for four days when
                       she first started She worked off the queue and got one
                       of those "You're working too hard and raising
                       expectations" speeches from her coworker. Does that
                       surprise anyone who has had to deal with the IRS,
                       State Department (passports), Social Security etc.?
                       BTW, she is working for the Feds because it was the
                       best salary she was offered anywhere *BY FAR*, allowed
                       her to be paid double for her military duty (and
                       not get in trouble for going off all of the time
                       which many employers do not like), and had the best
                       benefit package, too. She just got a big fat raise,
                       too, (> 10%) for getting the department all caught up
                       (i.e., doing the job they should have been doing
                       all along). I am happy for her, but as a taxpayer I am
                       appalled.
                       \_ People at the NSA, CIA, FBI and Joint Chiefs are
                          highly educated, skilled, and gov employees.
                          \_ And yet they still lag behind their peers in
                             private industry. I know this because my
                             girlfriend's dad was in the DIA for many years and
                             her mom worked for NIH. Both of them are educated,
                             but like a lot of people in government it was more
                             about a paper education than a real one. The
                             government views a BA from Florida State with a
                             Master's from James Madison's night school in
                             Public Policy about the same as a BS from
                             Stanford and a Master's from MIT in Economics.
                             Example: the current CIO of the FDA has
                             a  Master's Degree in Public Administration
                             from LSU and did undergrad at South Carolina.
                             This is pretty typical. Not that there aren't
                             people in government with degrees from
                             Harvard, but the typical upper level government
                             employee went to some directional state school
                             somewhere and then grad school at a place like
                             Santa Clara or Alcorn State or whatever. Joint
                             Chiefs consists of 6 people, so I don't think they
                             skew the mean upward. BTW, if you read the bios of
                             the Joint Chiefs you will find them surprisingly
                             undereducated in a conventional manner. (I am
                             sure they have extensive military training.) My
                             girlfriend's stepdad was career military with a
                             PhD in history from Yale. That was the exception
                             rather than the rule. He served as an advisor to
                             the Joint Chiefs and had connections to a lot of
                             the inner circle in DC. He said it is as much who
                             you know as what you know, which is why it is
                             called politics - and politics drives choices
                             for high level government jobs (many of which
                             are appointments) and also jobs for government
                             contractors to some extent (often worried more
                             about head count than actually fulfilling the
                             terms of the contract). I collaborate with a lot
                             of government employees and the military, too,
                             and let's just say I am not impressed by most of
                             them compared to our private industry and
                             academic partners.
                             \_ you know anecdotes may be interesting but
                                you cant really aggregate them into some
                                theory/general pattern. i'm sure i can
                                match you anecdote for anecdote ... i know
                                princeton english majors who worked at
                                investment banks and didnt know how to do
                                anything except dress well and schmooze.
                                maybe thy could calculate a simple NPV but
                                for anything complicated they would keep
                                calling my friend when he was home with the
                                flu [friend = berkeley EE/Business undergrad].
                                talking about "the govt" and "the private
                                sector" is ridiculous. walmart, google, the
                                federal reserve, the port of oakland, NIH,
                                dmv, el burrito restaurant, nsa ... covers
                                a lot of different ground. it might be worth
                                asking a question like "does the nsa get
                                second rate number theory/algebra people
                                compared to mit/princeton/berkeley" or
                                us army corps of engineers" vs "bechtel"
                                in civil engineering chops.
                                \_ Better to ask:
                                   Why are government agencies from the TSA to
                                   the DMV to the IRS to the SEC to UC so
                                   incompetent and difficult to do business
                                   with? Private business is not always
                                   competent and pleasant to deal with, but
                                   it's clear who gets more work done --
                                   and cheaper. Government is full of
                                   clerks earning $50K/year to shuffle
                                   paper who answer to nobody.
                                   \_ I never have any problem dealing with
                                      government agencies, perhaps you are
                                      just a difficult person.
                            \_ Government jobs are more likely to be in an
                               office and require computer skills that the
                               office and require computer skills than the
                               average job. Are you really this clueless?
                        \_ My wife just switched jobs from HUD to Citi and
                           almost doubled her salary. -one anecdote
                           \_ Did she work just as hard then as she does now?
                              \_ Yes, she is like that. She was a rock star
                                 at HUD and just average at Citi though. She
                                 left because it takes five years to get a
                                 promotion at HUD and the pay is less.
        \_ Cutting the home mortgage deduction might lead to an armed
           revolution. You have a better chance of me accepting an income tax
           increase than destroying the value of my home. Like Prop 13,
           the mortgage deduction is sacred.
           \_ Frankly, the mortage deducation is stupid, it's basically just
              an indirect bank subsidy. But, yeah, I admit it would
              be hard to eliminate now.  What about a slow ratcheting down
              over 40 years?  Just rachet down the amount you can deduct a
              little each year.  That way the current owners can pay off their
              mortgage before it affects them, and the new buyers just have to
              work it into their math before buying. -R homeowner
              \_ But opponents of the politicians suggesting it could scream
                 about ending the deduction without mentioning the fine points.
                 It's the impact on politics, not actual homeowners, that makes
                 things like the mortgage deduction and Social Security ("the
                 political third rail") difficult to withdraw.
           \_ People don't really take up their guns for things like home
              interest deductions. But they would go to the ballot box and
              throw all the bums out.
2010/3/12-30 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:53752 Activity:nil
3/11    The lateste female Jihad is a blond, green-eyed, white middle-aged
        married woman!
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100310/ts_csm/286499
        I guess racial/gender/whatever profiling doesn't work.
        \_ Sure it works. It may not be 100% foolproof, but I guarantee
           there are a lot fewer people like her wishing Death To America
           than there are swarthy Middle Eastern types.
2010/2/21-3/9 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:53715 Activity:nil
2/19    "Using ladder, vet rescued people from Texas office"
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100219/ap_on_re_us/us_plane_crash_texas
        A real hero.  Not only did he climb up to the windows, he actually went
        inside the burning building when his ladder wasn't steady enough to
        save people.
2010/2/13-3/9 [Politics/Domestic/911, Health/Men] UID:53709 Activity:nil
2/12    http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/12/human-interface-devi.html
        \_ ObDesc: It's a mouse that looks like human female genitalia.
2010/1/27-2/8 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:53667 Activity:nil
1/28    Democrats and Republicans Can Be Differentiated from Their Faces
        http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0008733
2010/1/11-19 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Crime] UID:53621 Activity:nil
1/11    A-Bian the former Taiwanese president is so corrupt. Man,
        those southerners can never be trusted.
        \_ Come on.  Even pro-KMT people would say "Ah-Bian => southerners" is
           a troll.
           \_ Ok. So what is AHHHH-Bian3 then?
              \_ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Shui_Bian
2010/1/4-19 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:53611 Activity:moderate
1/4     Why the fascination with blowing up airplanes? Airports have tight
        security. It doesn't seem worth it. It's far easier to derail a
        train or set off explosives in a crowded place like a theater or
        sporting event. As many or more people will be killed and it will
        still make the news. I don't get why all of our security, and
        apprently much of the terrorist's resources, is focused on airplanes.
        \_ how about ... a really really tall building??!?!?!?
           Or Disneyland? Or luxury cruise ships?
           \_ Like maybe a federal building or the World Trade Center.
        \_ Someone on NPR claimed that it was due to two things:
           1) Al Qaeda hates globalization and airplanes are a very visible
              symbol of globalization
           2) They like to be on the evening news. An airplane blowing up,
              especially over a crowded city, is a spectacular event.
           They have also attacked the London subway and blown up trains in
           India and Spain, so mass transit gets attacked, too.
           \_ Understood, but the screening process is very tight at airports.
              I can much more easily plant explosives elsewhere and there's not
              even any need to be suicidal about it. It will make just as
              big of a splash as blowing up a plane. This moron on his way
              to Detroit could have used those explosives in a much more
              effective manner, IMO. Why bother trying to smuggle them
              onto a plane?
              \_ again, news coverage.  Thats why its 'terrorism' and not just
                 'mass murder'
                 \_ 1. I don't think blowing up a plane will get more news
                       coverage than blowing up anything else that kills
                       250 people.
                       \_ it's easier to kill 250 people on a plane than
                          on a train.
                          \_ I dispute that.
                             \_ OK, could you provide one example of 250
                                people dying in a train explosion?
                                       \- there have been several +250 death
                                          train accidents in countries with
                                          heavy use of crowded trains [like
                                          india]. usually not killed in a
                                          flash as in an explosion, but
                                          after a crash of some kind. i'm
                                          sure a significant contributer to
                                          the eventual casualty count in
                                          a number of these cases was the
                                          accident was in a hard to access
                                          area and the quality of medicine
                                          was so-so ... i.e. no helicopter
                                          evac to truama center but people
                                          dying of shock after hours of
                                          lying on the ground. i dunno if
                                          a train accident since say ww2
                                          has killed as many in one shot as
                                          the 747 vs 747 in Tenerife. anyway,
                                          location of a disaster has a
                                          significant bearing on eventual
                                          casualties ... whether it is
                                          train, ferry, weather, earthquake
                                          etc. e.g. compare the numbers
                                          killed in diff countries in level
                                          crossing accidents:
            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_level_crossing_accidents
                                \_ 9 rail disasters since 1980 to kill 200+
                                   people. One of the worst was in Russia
                                   when a natural gas explosion killed
                                   575 in 1989. Look up "Ufa train disaster".
                                   It is far easier to derail a train than it
                                   is to smuggle explosives through airport
                                   security and onto a plane at this point.
                                   \_ 200 is not 250, for one thing.  And
                                      most of the ones with significant
                                      loss of life required multiple bombs
                                      on different cars or entirely
                                      different trains.  And surely the Ufa
                                      disaster, which was an accident,
                                      involved two trains, and had an
                                      explosion equivalent to 10 kilotons of
                                      TNT, is not a reasonable analogy for
                                      typical terrorist activity.
                                      I don't believe there's been a single
                                      terrorist event which has claimed
                                      250 lives on a train.  -tom
                                      \_ Not because trains are safer or
                                         harder to attack as much as no
                                         one has really tried. Hence my
                                         question: what's the fascination
                                         with planes? Seems like a difficult
                                         way to go in these times. BTW, I
                                         wouldn't make the argument that
                                         blowing up a train is necessarily the
                                         best alternative. Someone else
                                         brought that up.
                    2. Terrorism is pretty much mass murder 'for a cause'.
              \_ maybe one point of suicidal attack is to leave no loose ends.
                 otoh, wrapping one's testicle with explosive is truly weird
                 he would have difficulty to enjoy 72 raisins.
2009/12/29-2010/1/19 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Foreign, Politics/Domestic/SocialSecurity] UID:53608 Activity:nil
12/26   http://www.dailynews.com/ci_14086516
        I'm all for keeping compliance as it is the law, but why are
        some people against background check? Why would it be
        racist, esp. if you do the check to every single employee?
2009/12/5-26 [Politics/Domestic/911, Recreation/Humor] UID:53568 Activity:nil
12/4    you know the 1999 ending of ST:DS9 shows the protagonists working
        as terrorists, and all worried about a police state coming for the
        federation.  Funny timing, no?
        \_ At that point in time there was a bit of sympathy people were
           starting to extend to "freedom fighters"; vis a vis all the
           popular support many pro-palestine movements were going on -
           especially the ones on campus at that time.
           \_ you mean Serbs and Albanians.
              \_ Serbs? You are kidding right, except maybe in Russia.
                 In Russia Freedom Fighters support YOU!
2009/8/15-9/1 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:53271 Activity:nil
8/14    Return of the militias: http://www.splcenter.org/news/item.jsp?pid=415
        \_ Find a source that isn't Potok and get back to me.  I *did* notice
           Obama wasn't wearing a vest at his town hall in Montana.
           \_ he really should just chill in DC and do these town halls via
              second life or something similar.
           \_ Here you go:
              "Officials see rise in militia groups across U.S. - Yahoo! News"
              (Associated Press)
              http://www.csua.org/u/ou4 (news.yahoo.com)
              --- !OP
2009/7/30-8/6 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:53223 Activity:nil
7/30    "911 caller in Gates case hurt by racist label"
        http://www.csua.org/u/op6 (news.yahoo.com)
        So, do criminals have the right not to be reported by race, unless
        they are white?
2009/7/23-29 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:53186 Activity:nil
7/23    http://bit.ly/N09ye
        "Twitter has also become a social activism tool for socialists,
        human rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious
        communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others
        to communicate with each other and to send messages to broader
        audiences," the report said.
        Atheists? Really? Damn, that is one dangerous group there.
2009/5/23 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Foreign] UID:53040 Activity:nil
5/23    Wow, this is sad. (Federal Reserve non-oversight)
http://dailybail.com/home/there-are-no-words-to-describe-the-following-part-ii.html
2009/5/19-26 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:53013 Activity:nil
5/18    "Democrat Socialist" party resolution expected to pass. HA HA HA HAW
        http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22445.html
        \_ Well, they can't call them "Progressive" because the GOP is too.
           \_ The GOP is progressive if this was the Middle Ages
              \_ "Progress" is homosexuality and confiscatory
              business killing taxation.  Gotit.
2009/4/22-28 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:52888 Activity:nil
4/21    Hey Dr. jblack, turns out not only were the lying, they
        tortured people to make their case:
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090422/pl_mcclatchy/3217245
        \_ And in other news, stress positions and waterboarding prevented
           another terrorist attack.  So much for the meme that torture doesn't
           work.
           \_ No, accoring to Dick Cheney, there is double top secret info
              that indicates that torture stopped another terrorist attack.
              He is the same guy who said there was proof that SH had WMD.
              \_ No, according to NYTimes, via Obama's national intelligence
                 director:
                 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/us/politics/22blair.html
                 \_ "was valuable in some instances" is not the same as
                    your claim that it prevented another terrorist attack.
        \_ slavery also works.  should we reinstate it?  Just don't cry when
           some American being accused being spy in Iran, ok?
2009/4/9-13 [Politics/Domestic/911, Computer/SW/Security] UID:52824 Activity:moderate
4/9     Thousands cut off from phone service in South Bay counties:
        http://www.csua.org/u/ny7 (http://www.sfgate.com
        No way to call 911 with either landline or cell.  Time to steal your
        neighbor's 60" plasma TV or rape that hot busty chick down the block!
        Anyway, why do rogue nations bother with cyber attacks on the US?
        This is a much more efficient way to paralyze the US.  They can't even
        replace one god damn cable seven hours after it was cut.
        \_ Unless you secretly murder the hot busty chick down the block after
           you rape her, you'll probably come under police scrutiny when phone
           lines are eventually restored.
2009/4/6-13 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:52809 Activity:low
4/6     The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 gives the president the ability to
        "declare a cybersecurity emergency" and shut down or limit Internet
        traffic in any "critical" information network "in the interest of
        national security." The bill does not define a critical information
        network or a cybersecurity emergency. That definition would be left to
        the president.
        \_ If you are not with us, you are with the terrorists.
        \_ How would they implement this?  Massive DECEPTICON backhoe digs
           up 111 8th Ave in Manhattan?
2009/3/10-17 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:52697 Activity:nil
3/10    http://www.tsa.gov/blog/2009/03/smooth.html
        ho ho ho the TSA so funny
2009/2/17-22 [Politics/Domestic/California, Politics/Domestic/911] UID:52593 Activity:nil
2/17    The CA budget compromise only includes $3.1 Billion of actual cuts.
        The rest are reductions of planned spending.
        http://www.flashreport.org/blog.php?postID=2009021716041678
2009/2/4-10 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:52513 Activity:nil
2/4     http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/washington/10nsa.html?ref=technology
        "Panel to Study Military Eavesdropping"
        [C'mon, it's not hard, just copy/paste the title]
2009/1/28-2/6 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:52481 Activity:low
1/28    One of the criticisms of the Patriot Act was that it was rammed
        through without any time for legislators to properly review
        it.  Isn't that the same problem with this $800B bill?
        \_ Is this $800B bill hundreds upon hundreds of pages long? It's not
           coming off the heels of a crisis in national defense; rather, it's
           attempting to fix a spiraling economy. Plus it seems that the
           Republicans are legitimately debating points on it, so I don't know
           that it's really the case that you can make the parallel.
        \_ there is a real sense of urgency as if we don't act, the econmy
           will get a lot worse.  And no, there was no real urgency when
           we passed Patriot Act.
           \_ Right. Because after 9/11 all the terrorist unfurled their
              "Mission Accomplished" banners and decided to rest on their
              laurels. Their job was done...
              \_ When you can explain to me how the Patriot Act actually
                 prevented new terrorist attacks, I will give you a shiny
                 penny.
                 \_ Show me where I said the Patriot Act prevented new
                    terrorist attacks (or even where I defended the Patriot
                    Act for that matter). STFU and learn some reading
                    comprehension. Dumbass.
                    comprehension.
                    \_ Mighty thin skin you got there, mighty mouse.
              \_ I am sorry.  You have *NO IDEA* what is like when national
                 security is treaten.  Last time US national security was
                 REALLY threaten by a foreign power was year of 1812.
                 \_ So you were alive in 1812?
                 \_ are you connor mcleod of the clann mcleod?
2008/12/9-12 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:52211 Activity:nil
12/9    Can someone shed some light on the Blagojevich arrest?
        http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7773717.stm
        \_ Apparently, he was trying to turn his power to appoint
           Obama's replacement on the Senate into financial gain
           for himself.  Straightforward abuse of public power.
           If he were demanding concessions for his state, he
           might have got away with "selling" the senate seat.
           \_ What makes him such a colossally stupid douche
              is that he was already under investigation - for
              some 3 years apparently.  It was likely common
              knowledge that his office and phones were
              bugged.
           \_ Restoring honor and dignity to the White House.
              \_ What the fuck are you spewing about?  There's
                 no evidence that Obama did anything improper
                 at all - in fact, the exact opposite would
                 appear to be the case.
                 \_ Yeah, part of the reason dude started trying to
                    sell the senate seat is because Obama refused to
                    offer this dude "favors" in return for his top
                    pick.
                    \_ Well, didn't offer them quickly enough.
                       \_ Uh, what?
2008/12/5-10 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Election, Politics/Foreign/Asia/Others] UID:52182 Activity:nil
12/5    asians are bad bad bad
        http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/04/BA8D14II0B.DTL
        \_ Don't give your Myspace info to shady Vietnamese dudes
           \_ Gee is a Cantonese last name. Are you racist or something?
              \_ all look same
                 http://tinyurl.com/6bd32k
        \_ You know, if only she had a CCW permit and a gun...    -chico dude
2008/11/21-28 [Politics/Foreign/Asia/Korea, Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Crime] UID:52070 Activity:nil
11/21   "The year 2025: Oil, dollar out; Russia, Islam in"
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081121/ap_on_go_ot/intel_trends
        (National Intelligence Council report)
2008/11/15-26 [Politics/Domestic/California, Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:51994 Activity:nil
11/16   America: not racist anymore!
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081116/ap_on_re_us/obama_racial
        \_ is that why people are celebrating, b/c their white guilt is over?
2008/11/13 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Crime] UID:51965 Activity:nil
11/13   lolz.  liberals. [SFGate article on Boxer aide being convicted of
        distributing child porn.]
        http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/13/BA5J143VAU.DTL
        \_ GO LOL YOURSELF
2008/11/13 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Crime] UID:51962 Activity:nil
11/13   lolz.  liberals.
        http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/13/BA5J143VAU.DTL
        \_ GO LOL YOURSELF
2008/10/21-26 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:51613 Activity:nil
10/22   Yet another Bruce Schneier vs The TSA article:
        http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/airport-security
        This is pretty funny:
           On another occasion, at LaGuardia, in New York, the
           transportation-security officer in charge of my secondary
           screening emptied my carry-on bag of nearly everything it
           contained, including a yellow, three-foot-by-four-foot
           Hezbollah flag, purchased at a Hezbollah gift shop in south
           Lebanon. The flag features, as its charming main image, an
           upraised fist clutching an AK-47 automatic rifle. Atop the
           rifle is a line of Arabic writing that reads "Then surely
           the party of God are they who will be triumphant."  The
           officer took the flag and spread it out on the inspection
           table. She finished her inspection, gave me back my flag,
           and told me I could go. I said, "That's a Hezbollah flag."
           She said, "Uh-huh."
           \_ what, do you think it's important for TSA to arrest people
              who are carrying Hezbollah flags?
              \_ That seems to be the implication of the article. At least
                 question them?
                 \- i think the point was "the TSA employee had no
                    recognition of what hezbollah was." it would be like
                    picking a VP candidate who didnt know what the VPs
                    job was or couldnt name any sup ct cases other than RvW.
                    and it is funny. you would have thought somebody else
                    watching this would have reacted.
                    \_ Or, more likely, they already knew who Bruce Schneier
                       is and knew that he was not likely to be a real
                       security threat.
                       \_ This was a journo for The Atlantic, not Scheier.
                          \_ TSA is a joke and a huge waste of taxpayer money.
                             Fly out of Tel Aviv sometime if you want to see
                             what real airport security looks like.
2008/10/16-20 [Politics/Domestic/California, Politics/Domestic/911] UID:51544 Activity:nil
10/16   Here we go...last gasp attempt to use FBI/DOJ to suppress the vote
        http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/237716.php
        http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VOTER_FRAUD_FBI?SITE=ORROS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
2008/10/7-9 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Crime] UID:51417 Activity:low
10/7    To the idiots who think the Ayers story is interesting:
        What Ayers did was a generation ago.  He went to jail for a long ass
        time.  He payed his debt and understands that when he was a kid
        he was wrong.  Now he is a respected Chicago professor who worked
        with a legitimate group whose mission was to get money to try
        to improve Chicago schools.  Maybe you don't think Ayers should
        have been able to rehabilitate himself, but isn't that the point
        of justice.  People do wrong, we punish them and make them
        understand why it was wrong.  Then if those people come back to
        society and do the right thing we are supposed to accept them
        back as valuable members of our community.  That's what makes the
        justice system work.
        \_ He's never recanted.  AFAICT he's never spent a day in jail for the
           bombings.  He has no regrets, thinks he should have done more.
             "So, would Mr. Ayers do it all again, he is asked? 'I don't want
             to discount the possibility,' he said."
           http://tinyurl.com/4tb7wd [nytimes]
           Note that this nytimes article appeared on 9/11/2001.
           \_ He did turn himself in.  I was wrong, charges were dropped
              because of prosecutorial misconduct.  And you need to read
              his rebuttal to that article.
http://billayers.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/clarifying-the-facts-a-letter-to-the-new-york-times-9-15-2001
           \- look even if guilt by association isnt 1/r^2 but 1/r,
              CKEATING is so much closer to JMCCAIN, not to mention
              his crimes so much more contemporary to their involvement
              and the nature of the relationship directly involves what
              he was on the hook for, the strength of the guilt by assn
              charge is a whole lot stronger in this case ... not to
              mention its relevance to the current financial mess
              [regulation, moral hazard, regulatory arbitrage, lobbying-for-
              loopholes, money influence in politics etc]. "thanks hillary".
              \_ ob why do you love the terrerists?
                 \- CKEATING is a financial terrorist ... that's what he
                    was doing w.r.t. to the FSLIC. might be good to execute
                    a few finance people to "find new ways to motivate them"
                    against MORAL HAZARD. since it is highly likely you were
                    "young" during this episode, spend the <5min to read
                    http://tinyurl.com/yypk4l [wikipedia on CKEATING].
                    \_ ob sarcasm++
2008/9/26-10/1 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:51314 Activity:nil
9/25    I don't understand this whole thing. Haven't we learned anything
        from the Roaring 20s, highly unregulated FREE MARKET boom, good
        times, unsustainable market, politicians doing nothing... all led
        to the big crash of 1929? There are so many parallels between the
        unregulated market of 1920s and the unregulated market of home
        loans. Do we not learn from our own past?
        \_ I don't learn from my own past so I will repeat the mistake I've
           made before (here goes):  We don't learn from our mistakes, but
           they are not the mistakes you think.  The only economists pre-
           dicting the great depression were of the Austrian school and
           they believed that it was(/would be) brought on by the easy
           credit available due to the FED.  Which was Gubment action
           (The Austrian School was VERY pro "FREE MARKET").  It should be
           pointed out that this theory can fit fine with other theories
           including the French/Marxist ideas of income inequality/structural
           imbalances in methods of accumulation vs. methods of consumption
           (forgive me if my terminology is off; it has been 15 years since
           I studied this stuff and I may have the phrases wrong).
           Furthermore, having set up this fall, the FED then exacerbated it
           by tightening money supply right at the time when an increase in
           the money supply was needed to keep marginal banks from failing.
           (This was a bit of a power struggle between the New York Branch
           which wanted a looser money supply and the DC bank which won out).
           Congress then got into the act with Tarriffs and other idiotic
           protectionism, just to make sure the pooch was screwed proper.
           Nothing the Government was able to do really helped much untill
           the War came along.
           \_ Actually, the New Deal made a huge difference. The economy
              grew at 9-11% most years from 1932 to 1939.
              \_ Isn't New Deal a COMMUNIST thing?
2008/9/25-30 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:51296 Activity:nil
9/25    Osama Bin Laden: "We don't have to screw with you infidels anymore,
        your financial market is already in ruins. Alalalalalalaah"
2008/9/10-17 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:51128 Activity:nil
9/10    I don't really care about what the rest of the world thinks when they
        don't even believe what happened on 9/11.
        http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?articleId=32140442&channelId=2951
        \_ Yeah! We all know it was Iraq!
           \_ I am pretty sure a majority of Republicans still believe that.
              \_ Yes but you're an idiot.
                 \_ http://preview.tinyurl.com/yp552s
                    "A Harris poll taken two weeks before the 2004
                     presidential election found that a majority of
                     Bush's supporters believed that Iraq was behind the
                     9/11 attacks"
                     Who are the idiots?
2008/9/6-9 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:51081 Activity:nil
9/6     Obstruction of justice in Alaska
        http://www.newsweek.com/id/157439/output/print
        \_ This whole family belongs on the Jerry Springer show.
2008/9/1-3 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:51014 Activity:nil
9/1     Protesting the war...by attacking buses?
        http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/09/bus-attack-in-st-paul-anarchists-attack.html
        \_ And cub scouts!
2008/8/13-19 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:50862 Activity:nil
8/13    What do you know, Al Qaeda is freaking nuts
        http://tinyurl.com/65te2e [telegraph]
2008/8/6-10 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Foreign/Europe] UID:50802 Activity:nil
8/6     "Fakeproof" e-passport is cloned in minutes
        http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4467106.ece
        http://tinyurl.com/62awe6
2008/8/6-10 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Crime] UID:50797 Activity:nil
8/5     here's an article on how the FBI's case against the dead
        bioweapons scientist is a bunch of crap
        http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/05/anthrax/index.html
        I did think the weird 'he mailed the stuff from a mailbox
        near a sorority' stuff was weird sounding.
        \_ The government pulls this kind of crap all the time, but usually
           they just lie abaout some evidence they planted on some poor
           ass drug dealer, so no one cares.
        \_ We know this much: It was one of 12 scientists in that lab.
           Why not this one? He seems as wacky as any. On top of it, he
           killed himself. I refuse to believe that it was just because of
           the pressure he was under. He did it when the government was
           finally ready to move on him. Or maybe he was really murdered
           by the Mossad. Also, the article seems to give Ivins a lot of
           leeway, insinuating that because he had a legitimate use for a
           lyophilizer he clearly didn't have a nefarious use for it.
           Isn't that what a smart guy would do? Claim to need it for his
           work (which he did) to throw off suspicion?
           work (which he did) to throw off suspicion? Means, motive,
           opportunity. More info released today, btw.
           \_ I remember when suggestions were made back in 2001 that the
              the quality of the Anthrax powder was so good that only the
              US government or perhaps the Russian government could be
              the source, the people saying this were widely dismissed as
              conspiracy theorists. Well, surprise, surprise, surprise, it
              was a US government scientist all along.
              \_ Conspiracy theorists are like a broken clock. If you claim
                 everything is a conspiracy eventually you'll be right.
2008/7/30-8/5 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:50735 Activity:nil
7/30    To destroy Al Qaeda, we must end the war on terror: Rand Corporation
        http://www.boingboing.net/2008/07/29/to-destroy-al-qaeda.html
        not really news except to dittoheads but maybe this is progress
        \_ Wow, you're right!  That sure prevented 9/11!
           \_ Please to be pointing out how the current war on terror has
              actually done anything to prevent anyone flying passenger planes
              into buildings. Thicker cockpit doors don't count.
              \_ I already demonstrated how *no* war on terror didn't destroy
                 Al Qaeda.
                 \_ ...splodey brain.
                 \_ It is really a war for hearts and minds, which we have
                    finally started to figure out in Iraq. Bullets are not
                    really that useful in this war, except maybe as the
                    stick that goes with the carrot.
2008/7/30-8/5 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:50728 Activity:nil
7/29    Torture is Un-American (or another whacko with BDS)
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/5l28vn
2008/7/16-23 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Foreign/Europe] UID:50597 Activity:nil
7/16    http://wonkette.com/401074/your-first-exciting-batch-of-paultardpalooza-photos
        my favorite is the guy with the giant "READ ATLAS SHRUGGED" sign
        \_ When I first saw that sign I parsed "READ" as the word that sounded
           the same as "RED".  I thought sign dude was just bragging that
           he managed to finish the whole damn book.
        \_ This is some funny shit.
2008/7/2-6 [Politics/Domestic/911, Computer/SW/Security] UID:50453 Activity:kinda low
7/2     On the torture debate (or maybe just flame fest), the claim that
        torture doesn't work is true most of the time but untrue some of the
        time.  Most of the reasoning for pro-torture positions doesn't make
        sense to me, I feel like its not logical to give support to something
        that doesn't produce results while the same time being oppressive.
        The one thing I think I can see is that I make a decision that I
        would rather have a little less security to have more human rights/
        civil liberties.  When Patrick Henry said "Give me liberty of give me
        death" he didn't mean unless he might get hurt.  I can understand
        that if you won't tolerate any threat to your personal security (at
        least any threat outside of our government) it would be in your best
        interest to want them to torture anyone they thought might be involved
        in terrorism.  But to me that seems like a cowardly approach, a
        minimal risk to yourself is worth the gain in liberty for all.  Its
        easy to see that deaths from terrorism << torture/government repress-
        ion. -mrauser
        \- the ticking time bomb scenario has long been "the standard"
           classroom hypo after THE TROLLY PROBLEM for the tension between
           UTILITARIAN theories [cost-benefit analysis] and DEONTOLOGICAL
           theories [torture is wrong. the exact reason it is wrong depends
           on the flavor of deontology, but probably "the standard" again
           is the kantian one but maybe simpler to understand is the RDWORKIN
           "RIGHTS AS TRUMPS" view ... mostly this is beyond the scope of a
           motd discussion]. but the "i only care about me" sort of begs
           the question ... since a core question of moral philosophy is
           "what do we own other" and you're pretty much saying "nothing"
           "what do we owe others" and you're pretty much saying "nothing"
           in that "degenerate" case. EGOISM may be an apt description of a
           lot of people, but it's not really a philosophy [although i
           suppose maybe FWNIETZSCHE might have spun it into one, but i am
           not really an expert on FWN ... and that is also beyond the
           scope of the motd]. here is a problem with the "results
           oriented" view: do you think it would be categorically wrong
           to say torture a family member of the terrorist ... say KSM's
           wife and kids ... if that would be a highly effective way of
           producing results. if you want "the standard" critiques of
           utilitarianism, see BERNARD WILLIAMS [formerly UCB Dept Philosophy,
           now dead] and AMARTYA SEN ... at the core, utilitariamsism
           "does take persons/rights seriously. Williams also has a very
           influential critique of deontology, but that may be a little
           hard to follow.
           \_ I've heard of the ticking time bomb, and its pretty easy to feel
              saying you would torture the guy, because in this magical fantasy
              he is directly responsible for the bomb being there and you know
              that there must be a bomb so there is a perverse justice in
              torturing him to make him tell you.  But as a real world example,
              it holds no water, because how often do you KNOW that there is
              a threat and the person in front of you has specific knowledge
              of it.  You torture without this information, in the hopes of
              getting it.  Another scenario, say a terrorist kidnaps someone's
              family and then tells that person where they put a bomb in a
              building, but they tell that person if they tell the authorities
              they will kill thier family.  So do you torture a complete
              innocent who has a self interest in not telling you the info?
              Here is a scenario which is nearly as plausible as the ticking
              time bomb, but I don't think anyone could feel good about either
              option.  The problem to me is that torture is used in ambigious
              situations with a presumed guilt or presumed having of the info.
              I think that because torture can really never be used with
              certainty, it should never be used at all.  Plus, there is a
              strong argument that it leads to false confessions and false in-
              formation just as long as it leads to good ones. -mrauser
              \_ look up "a fortiori"
           \_ Your writing is only partially intelligible. What was your
              "i only care about me" and "what do we own other" sentence
              referring to?
2008/7/1-14 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Election] UID:50445 Activity:nil
7/1     This is funny.  Tim Mahoney, D. Rep from Florida, sends out mailpiece
        about honoring the troops, but includes Soviet vet on the cover.
        http://csua.org/u/luc (blog Link to pdf included)
2008/6/25-30 [Politics/Domestic/911, Health/Skin] UID:50375 Activity:nil
6/25    Justice Kennedy is a waste of skin.  His opinion today that child rape
        can never be punished by the death penalty is just more proof of that.
        The particular details of the case are heinous.
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/5v23a9
        \_ Nice troll you got there, come here often?
        \_ While I understand the desire to take the perp out back and shoot
           him (believe me, I'd load the gun), preferably after the son of a
           bitch is repeatedly raped by a rabid hyena, the death penalty is
           the ultimate punishment available to the state. In designing a
           system that recognizes that quality, we have to set standards
           appropriate to the severity of the punishment; life for life is
           one of the clearest criteria we can set for this. To make exceptions
           even in heinous, horrible, horrific cases like this is to invite
           instability. If we apply death penalty in this case, why not in
           the case of adult rape? Where do we then re-draw the line?
           Kennedy's opinions in this case reveal a streak of strict
           constitutionalism such as we would expect to see from so-called
           strict constitutionalists like Scalia.
                \_ Originalist
           \_ "Proportionality" has nothing to do with curel and unusual.
              You're making a legislative argument, not a judicial one.
              Besides, I thought you lefties hated "slippery slope" arguments. -op
              Besides, I thought you lefties hated "slippery slope" arguments.
              -op
           \_ At 9:18 a.m. on March 2, 1998, petitioner called 911 to report
              that his stepdaughter, referred to here as L. H., had been raped.
                He told the 911 operator that L. H. had been in the garage
              while he readied his son for school. Upon hearing loud screaming,
              petitioner said, he ran outside and found L. H. in the side yard.
              Two neighborhood boys, petitioner told the operator, had dragged
              L. H. from the garage to the yard, pushed her down, and raped
              her. Petitioner claimed he saw one of the boys riding away on a
              blue 10-speed bicycle.
                When police arrived at petitioner.s home between 9:20 and 9:30
              a.m., they found L. H. on her bed, wearing a T-shirt and wrapped
              in a bloody blanket. She was bleeding profusely from the vaginal
              area. Petitioner told police he had carried her from the yard to
              the bathtub and then to the bed. Consistent with this
              explanation, police found a thin line of blood drops in the
              garage on the way to the house and then up the stairs.  Once in
              the bedroom, petitioner had used a basin of water and a cloth to
              wipe blood from the victim. This later prevented medical
              personnel from collecting a reliable DNA sample.
                L. H. was transported to the Children.s Hospital. An expert in
              pediatric forensic medicine testified that L. H..s injuries were
              the most severe he had seen from a sexual assault in his four
              years of practice. A laceration to the left wall of the vagina
              had separated her cervix from the back of her vagina, causing her
              rectum to protrude into the vaginal structure. Her entire
              perineum was torn from the posterior fourchette to the anus. The
              injuries required emergency surgery.
              \_ See the part where I agree with you that the guy oughta be
                 shot, right after being raped by rabid hyenas. Still not a
                 basis for a legal system.
                 \_ See, the revenge raping isn't.  Execution is.
                    \_ How do you codify it? Where do you draw the line?
                       \_ That's what legisaltors do, not judges.  See, you
                          draw the line where legislators draw the line.
                          \_ Actually, the constitution did that, where it
                             talks about cruel and unusual punishment.
                             \_ Ah, so you're an idiot with circular reasoning.
                                Go stick your head in a pig.
                                \_ And you obviously have no opinion that you
                                   didn't get from Rush. Goodbye, dittohead.
                                   \_ Uh, I don't listen to Limbaugh.  You want
                                      to try again?
                                      \_ I should bother... why?
2008/6/23-27 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:50342 Activity:low
6/23    CIA asks NYTimes not to release identity of KSM interrogator, NYTimes
        does anyway.
        http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/washington/web22ksmnote.html
        \_ and?
        \_ Do you think it is the responsibility of The Press to co-operate
           with the Secret Police?
           \_ Within reasonable limits yes.  This was not reasonable and so
              the NYT didn't feel the need to cooperate.
              \_ Thanks, Valerie Plame.
              \_ To be more specific than the above: do you think it was ok to
                 "out" VP?  If not, then why was this ok?  What was the news
                 value in outing this person?
                 \_ According to the article, "Mr. Martinez had never worked
                    under cover and that others involved in the campaign
                    against Al Qaeda have been named in news stories and
                    books." Outing an under cover CIA agent is different from
                    printing the name of a publicly known CIA agent who
                    tortured Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
                    \_ Ah, you didn't read the article.  This agent never used
                       torture.  Thanks for playing.
                       \_ Ah, you got me there: he didn't torture KSM. That
                          said, he's still not under cover. It's not the same.
                          Thanks for playing. (And here's the original article
                          for those playing at home:
                          http://preview.tinyurl.com/6pc49k )
                          \_ You can't go up 20 lines?
                          Thanks for playing.
2008/6/21-23 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/Crime] UID:50324 Activity:nil
6/21    The real truth about Libby's perjury:
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/avn6j
        "At the end of the day, what appears is that Mr. Libby's story that he
        was at the tail end of a chain of phone calls, passing on from one
        reporter what he heard from another, was not true.
        It was false. He was at the beginning of the chain of phone calls, the
        first official to disclose this information outside the government to
        a reporter. And then he lied about it afterwards, under oath and
        repeatedly."
        \_ Oh for crying out loud, Armitage was the source of the leak, he's
           even admitted it.
           \_ it does seem like a lot of fuss over a grand plan to discredit
              someone gone horribly wrong.  maybe people should refrain from
              lying to federal prosecutors
2008/6/11-13 [Politics/Foreign/Europe, Politics/Domestic/911] UID:50228 Activity:nil
6/11    Forget something?
        http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7449255.stm
2008/6/7-8 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:50181 Activity:high
6/6     Pure comedy as freepers react to Obama's fist bump with his wife:
        http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/9657.html
        "History has shown repeatedly, when Whites set up new countries and
        then give the control to the blacks, or any non-White race, it will
        soon collapse into another third world catastrophe."
        "THE NEXT THING WILL BE A BACKWARD BASEBALL HAT WITH USA FACING TO THE
        REAR. WILL THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER SOON BE A RAP SONG."
        "You got to be kidding, The fist “bump”, .America “WAK\
E UP”, You are
        getting your first taste of what it is going to be like electing Barack
        HUSSEIN Obama for president. Next you are going to see southern fried
        chicken, black-eyed peas, corn bread, and watermelon as your daily
        meal. Let’s not forget what Obama’s middle name is, funny thing, he
        never wants to use his middle name on his campaign."
        \_ Compare any day with the HufPo nutters.  yawn.
           \_ Or DailyKos, or Democraticunderground, etc, etc.  Since there are
              no freepers on the motd, I wonder who the OP is trying to troll.
2008/6/6-10 [Politics/Domestic/911, Politics/Domestic/RepublicanMedia, Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:50168 Activity:nil
6/6     http://www.google.com/news?q="fist+bump" - danh
        \_ Gag. And 1000 reporters jizz in their pants.
           \_ Heil!
        \_ Behind the times: http://youtube.com/watch?v=JUUIBJme-bg
           (Bud commercial)
        \_ http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060007
           It wasn't a fist bump it was a "terrorist fist jab"!  Go Fox!
2008/5/30-31 [Politics/Domestic/911] UID:50096 Activity:nil
5/30    U.S. Cites Big Gains Against Al-Qaeda
        http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052904116_pf.html
        \_ ^U.S.^CIA
           \_ It's the headline.  Complain to their editors if you don't like
              it.
2024/11/26 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
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