Search results

I know those that have money to be made want to define piracy as exactly the same as theft as much as possible, but they are different. The difference being: when you steal something, you've deprived the owner of its use, whether that's actually using it, selling it to make money, etc. You steal...

I'm going to vote for Ron. Whether he's on the ballet or not; I think that sending a message is important, or at least it's the only way anything will ever change (imagine if enough people just decided at one election they'd 'send a message' by voting a third option?) short of catastrophic...

Sheffield's a pretty cool place. I haven't spent a lot of time there, but I've always heard good things and enjoyed my visit. As for the list...I've only been to the top four (something I expect to correct soon, considering I live here!), but out of those Manchester is definitely the winner -...

That part of Newt's speech would have been good, actually...if it had anything to do with what OWS was actually protesting. I posted this in another thread, but like most things I post that contain 'ugly' facts (which is not to say everything I post is necessarily true! One must always check...

I'm still getting used to this phenomenon, having come from the States which is far more close-minded and conservative on the whole than Europe. But I am noticing here that government after government is turning right-wing: just take a look at this map comparing Europe in 2000 and now. Now, I'm...

This is one of the big reasons why I left. Now I can join in on the fun-making!

Firefly would have been enough. But then there's Buffy, Dr Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog...the reason why I hold Joss up to such a high level is his dialogue. Watch Firefly/Serenity or Dr Horrible and almost every line of dialogue is perfect. Fantastic characters, too. I'll see this film because it...

Obamacare, Revisited Yeah, that's right. I like thread recycling. Here's an interesting article that was sent my way today, titled 'The Bomb Buried In Obamacare Explodes Today-Hallelujah!'

Heh heh. Is it? (I don't actually know anything about the site) An interesting flip through, in any case. This sort of thing reminds me that I have not so much my home state but home city to thank for the well-above-par environment; that's probably also why more than 50% of the state's...

I'm a bit worried that this might just get buried in the diatribe, but: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/nov/25/shocking-truth-about-crackdown-occupy Just a piece. Give the article a read.

This opens up a lot of possibilities. The speed of light limitation would have prevented mankind from getting anywhere useful. Not to say that we'll ever develop the technology (if that is even a possibility), but...the possibilities are expanding.

http://gizmodo.com/5832557/genius-13+year+old-has-a-solar-power-breakthrough

Not gonna lie; I can't say the country I'm in now is any better (though I think it is, if only marginally), but this thread here highlights the sort of discourse that brought me to leave the USA: politics is treated like football. You pick your sides, hunker down, and fight with everything you...

Research points to this statement being entirely false. Read Robert Pape's Dying to Win. Here's a quote from its Wikipedia page: Somewhere in his conclusion, if I remember correctly, Pape states that the 9/11 attacks were something like twenty times more likely to happen because of American...

Similar to the article posted elsewhere by Warren Buffet. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/opinion/sunday/jobs-will-follow-a-strengthening-of-the-middle-class.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2

I love John Stewart. He takes the easy route, admittedly, in that he tears down more arguments than he offers of his own (I say 'easy', because it's incredible how much hypocrisy can be documented from politicians/newsfolk/commentators from their own broadcasts). It's sad that his formula works...

While I'd love to buckle down for this kind of exchange, it probably warrants a new thread - don't want to hijack this one (cars vs cyclists, though, that's a juicy debate!).

Heh. I was born in CA, USA, but I'm fortunate enough to have two passports, one of which gives me access to the EU. That is to say, I don't have to belong to any country, and until I find a country which adequately meets my needs at a reasonable exchange, I won't. The US didn't and I'll probably...

Heh. I ask myself this question sometimes; I suppose for me it's also the debates, with a rather random range of opinions and demographics (albeit male-dominated). Haven't had anything terribly juicy to sink into as of late, though.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/world/americas/03brazil.htm?_r=1 Definitely a WTF moment. Not what I'd call road rage so much as road psychosis; you can find the video somewhere, though it's rather fucked up. I wish I could say it's something to chuckle at. :(

Exactly. Numbers and addresses have been available to the public domain for a long time. Hell, they don't even need to be listed; the moment I plugged in my landline here in the UK (and I opted out of being in the phone book, mind) I was getting cold calls right away. And with the amount of...

Yet there is a more subtle, more pervasive number: http://www.47.net/47society/

...or, you know, you guys could just carry on with the petty personal attacks. Just keep in mind, fellas, when you engage like this, your high horses are made of plastic and come in bright blue, red, yellow and green at Toys 'R' Us.

Re: Woman hanged nephew's 'devil dog' from tree then burnt it after it chewed her Bib You know, I just started reading God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. I found chapter 2, 'Religion *****', to be informative, and this news story would fit neatly into the chapter. The defense of...

So...for better or worse, I've read just about all thirty pages of this thread. And for the most part, the large majority of you participating regularly in it (and I know you're probably mentally excluding yourself already, but don't) are doing what most voters in the US seem to do - picking...

Fortunately the Daily Mail is infamous for leaving out often important context, like, you know, the actual chances and time line of possibility for events like this. It was a similar story when a tsunami was meant to hit the west coast of the States and Canada. A worst case scenario could have...

Considering most 18-20 year-olds have to do some sort of service there, you're bound to get some fine looking individuals. Just as well as some not-so-fine individuals.

Where are you going in this beautifully warm and sunny country?

'Worth' is only what someone is willing to pay. And if people are willing to pay $200 to stand... :dunno:

I never realized there was a gallery/bookmark limit, to be honest. But then again I'm the guy who has avatars and signatures disabled (and thus have no idea what people are talking about when said signatures start conversation). That's to say that I personally wouldn't be interested in any of...

Will this be put on the iPlayer? I'd be interested in watching it.

Heh. Thanks for noticing the post!

...this is already going to echo my debate with Chef, I can tell, but what the hell: What do you mean by you don't 'believe' in gay marriage? This...is actually a good question, once I've given it some thought. My gut reaction was, 'Why yes you do!' but the truth is a bit more complicated. To...

Oy, this is terrible news. Not for California, mind, but for Oregon - the only thing keeping Oregon a nice place to live (and keeping Portland an amazing city) is the bad weather keeping the Californians at bay. Soon as the weather starts to really suck in California, they'll flood north and...

Whew, what a thread. And to think, I've read all 22 pages of it. There's quite a bit of back and forth, but here are some things I just wanted to throw my two cents in...one is a favorite of 2nd Amendment supporters (which isn't, by the way, to say that I'm not): I like Ron Paul and this...

I'm currently at my record low since I started having sex, and it's depressing. :cry:

This is an easy trap to fall into; while it's true that the chances of the variables lining up just so for life to form are incredibly low, you've got to look at the other part of the equation: there's an insane number of stars, an incredibly insane number of planets throughout our own galaxy...

I'd really like to think things like this actually effect policy - though to be sure, it's better than doing nothing. I'd be curious to see how groups like this (I remember signing a few petitions on something similar back in the States) show up in the press from an outside analysis. I suppose...

It's quite possible somebody had done, but I felt the effective thread use warranted note. :) I'm probably a bit OCD about digital organization, I dunno...anyway, you're quite welcome!

It does seem a subtle censoring step toward the 1984-esque state. I'm not at all saying that that's the next step, mind, or that there's some conspiracy of control behind it - but that settings like 1984 would have evolved, 'organically', with stuff like this. Book burnings or bans are obvious...

I picked the UK, but I don't think I'd keep it as my first choice. It's too similar in too many ways to the US. Instead, I'd probably opt for Denmark, Latvia or Japan. Can't rightly narrow it more than that at the moment.

Heh. My last name doesn't even show up in the first link, and is 'very rare' in the second.

I hadn't quite meant it like that, but it's accurate. This is all true, which is what I mean by hindsight and the families that made their decisions when the idea of expensive gas was decades away. That responsibility was on the local and national governments for city and transportation...

"Better the place you live, or move to a better place to live." :thumbsup: Of course, one must first have the means to move...but I reckon a lot more people do than they think. Not everyone, of course, by a longshot (certainly not to another country). But with a few sacrifices...I'm moving...

Ultimately, this is what I have to concede and what I alluded to in my first post; my points are hindsight for most. It's the people with mobility now that should be taking these things into account, while respective governments should be taking steps to help those without. As you say, during...

I sort of addressed Plasma's point below in my post, conceding that I do have sympathy for generations' unsustainable worldview (that people can and should be wherever they want in relation to where they work and that they can always drive or fly the distance), but that said, the post has a...

Ah, gas prices. Oil consumption! The American way. I've quoted loads for this post, so I do apologize if my overall post lacks some coherence... Sadly, America is a nation of people who prefer excessive waste and overabundance in pretty much all facets of life. I can't really blame individuals...

This sort of thing isn't something that can really be spelled out in black and white, as there is so much to be said for a university education beyond a degree - as much as can be said that not everyone needs to be going. I mean, if you had the ability to make a decent living without going, and...

This is the way I see it. I take every excuse I can to get paid extra, have a day off, and ***** - be it Christmas, Easter, Independence Day (though I obviously get little benefit of that holiday outside of the States), whatever. Life's too short not to celebrate...well, life.

I'm lucky, here - my ******'s British. That's the thing: I can see some of my taxes at work, here. And some things are great - like the NHS (say what you will, but the fact that I don't have to worry about health insurance is fantastic). Others, like incredible nanny-state spending (such as...