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I was supposed to be a paratrooper combat engineer... but I quit. Too boring. Also, it's more of a light machine gun.

A .50 BMG handgun?

So how about military surplus? Could you get your hands on one of those sweet M60s now that they're going to be retired?

Heh. I remember reading somewhere about assault rifles being stripped of some parts in order to make them semi auto only so they complied with some regulations for civilian use and stuff. So, you could own (and operate) an M2 Browning no problem?

Isn't that kind of hardware like, you know... illegal?

You win. Heh, that's such a stereotype. Now, if you could please offer some evidence to back your claims about the "majority" of prostitutes, maybe you wouldn't sound so hollow. Face it pal, women like sex as much as you and me do, if not more. Sucks that it's them who get to choose in the end, huh? Granted, many of them are exploited and abused by organized crime, and some are forced into it in order to feed their children or whatever. But there are some that choose it willingly too. What, are they all messed up in the head? That kind of condescending crap always makes me smirk. And, even if they all have endured those supposed traumatic childhood experiences, what does it have to do with it? Are you (and I don't mean you specifically) implying that their judgement is impaired in some way? Maybe they are clinically unfit to lead the life they choose? Because, as a matter of fact, I'm inclined to believe the opposite. What with all that "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" stuff. Maybe those "scarred" girls just aren't as skittish and puritanical as the rest of society. Maybe living a harder life changes the way one sees many things. I'm not sure, because I haven't asked every last of them if they want out. I'm all for legal and regulated prostitution. 'Cause life just ain't no fun without booze and hookers.

Winnar of teh Internets.

Because I am.

He had nobody to replace the locals if he slaughtered them, anyway. He didn't establish jack. It was his very good friends who, in their greed, turned on each other hoping to keep Alex's legacy alive and whole... under their rule. Ptolemy just happened to get Egypt. And his vision, the work of his life, came down crashing as soon as he expired. Not much of an empire-builder, if you ask me. And yeah, Pidesco's right.

And in "putting things in words you think folks can relate to", you are putting things in a different scale, which incidentally turns the offense into a personal attack. Which is not. That's your fallacy right there. Speculation. I'm sure you can find more consistent stuff than that to base your arguments on. I don't know the details, but neither do you. Yes, those very extreme (and unheard of if I'm not mistaken) consequences of high-profile hacking would probably warrant longer sentences. That is not the case, so the point is moot. My personal opinion, since you asked for it, is that it's nuts that the man can (I know, theoretically) spend more than half a century in prison because he hacked n computers, and at the same time, the system would apply less severe penalties to a brawler convicted of manslaughter. That's pointless, as adequacy in penal terms is decided arbitrarily when elaborating the penal code, in accordance to the perceived seriousness of the offense. But otherwise, it's pretty random. You say 54 is fine and I can not find an argument to prove formally that you are wrong. The opposite is true as well, so we'll just have to agree to disagree.

You are taking things out of context, as no individuals have actually seen their belongings or personal data messed with in any way. There is no such sense of personal distress or violation for anyone. It was just organizational damage. As much as you might dislike crime in any shape or size, appealing to emotion still makes for a fallacious argument. Sure, the man needs to spend some time behind bars so he can think of something to do other than masturbation and hacking. But 54 years is still too much. Even theoretically. And no, I don't care if it's the US judicial system he's facing. My blood boils all the same when I see stuff like this happen where I live (and believe me, over here it's even worse) or elsewhere. Hm. That reminds me of something...

$40 for that? Lol. JK is one of the SW games that received best critics and one of the most popular FPS of its time, so it's understandable they put it in the package. EAW, on the other hand, seemed rather mediocre to me.

Semantics. Since an ethics system is a set of random concepts invented by somebody, it does not hold any relation to the real world. It's just the imaginary framework needed for an organized society to exist. There can be absolute truths in ethics systems, as polarization is a fundamental element. There can't be universal truths contained within or derived from them, however, because ethics are, much like logic, a human construct. The quest for a truly universal truth is the quest for perfection. An ethic that applies to all people can easily be fabricated. An ethic that everyone will happily accept and agree upon is, I think, a Utopia.

Therefore, intelligence is not only not irrelevant, but seemingly critical for the electoral process if an adequate political elite is to be had. What constitutes "adequate" in this case, is not relevant to the thread. I'm not sure, but it seems to me that you made a statement and then offered what you think is proof of the exact opposite...

There has to be a #1 in everything, I guess. "Democracy" is overrated anyway.

Once I came to the oh so painful realization that posting in the OE boards doesn't really qualify as an "occupation", I had to choose between giving uni another shot, or join the military. And after having found out that I don't really like studying (took me two years at uni to find out), I took the latter option, since I'd always quite liked the armed forces. So, I guess I could have found something else to do, but I probably wouldn't like it as much, and chances are I'd end up failing at it due to lacking motivation.

Well... in some cases that's true. But there are also people who intend to make career in the military, and then there are those who just like to "shoot things"... The reason why one joins the military is irrelevant, though. As Machiavelli put it, "Nature creates few men brave, industry and training makes many". I'm finding it an interesting experience to meet, live and work with people from so many different places and with such a variety of backgrounds. You don't get that anywhere else. Funny you would say that, as I'm going to be posted in a sapper unit, and they are the ones who deal with demolitions...

Hey, thanks all. Hilde, I'm not really sure about the weight. 40 kg perhaps? It probably depends on the weight of the combat pack. All I know is it's more cumbersome than heavy... Chances are our concepts of what is "best" are quite different. It's probably not the most comfortable job ever but it has its good things. And someone has to do it anyway.

Yeah, I bet y'all think all I ever do is troll, but a few months ago I went and enlisted myself in the airborne brigade. And now, after much restroom cleaning, completing the parachute instruction and the pledge of allegiance ceremony this weekend, I'm (almost) officially a paratrooper. I wish I had some pics to share with you folks but we aren't allowed to use cell phones during jumps (infractions are severely punished with extra restroom cleaning duty). Now all I have to do is put some time aside and get me that NWN2 thingy everyone seems to be talking about...

Lol. Even I couldn't have done a better satyre of your typical rabid eco-ignorant nutjob. Because that's what you were doing... right? Keep it up dude.

Interesting. Only, how can the sun revert global warming when such a thing may not even be real?

False bliss? How come? Happiness is just a neurochemical state. What does it matter how that state is reached?

You beat me to it. That's a fallacious argument, I'm afraid. Think before posting next time, please.

OMG N0Z! So, let me get this straight. We aren't able to predict weather (even locally) a month in advance with a reasonable accuracy index, and this guy is proposing a theory about what will happen to mankind in 100k years? And it gets hosted by the BBC? Lol. That could make for a fairly interesting sci-fi plot, but otherwise, it's 100% random crap. The man is just exploiting his (rather irrelevant considering the field he's commenting on) credentials to make his predictions appear sound. This as almost as unscientific as a seer peering into his crystal ball. It is just sad that people can be led to believe, or even seriously consider, pseudo scientific rubbish such as this. There are so many factors in play that I would probably have more chances of predicting what side a flipped coin will fall on than this guy being accurate about the fate of humankind. We are a rather insignificant* and quite fragile part of this pinch of cosmic dust we like to call Earth. It is difficult and unpleasant to envision how inconsequential we are in a cosmic scale, so we cling to some perceived notion of mastery we hold over reality (not to mention all the religious cosmogonies of which mankind is a central element). This is a gross misconception, that sooner or later will crumble under the true weight of human irrelevance. But dammit, it feels so good when you fancy yourself a god. Well, yes. I'll admit that that last paragraph was my very own personal view, and I have no scientific evidence to present as proof of that (predictions can't be proven by definition, but who cares anyway). I do not think I'm a doctor by some famous university either, but can I have it hosted on some BBC page all the same? Pretty please? *Yeah, mankind weighs way less than say, ants, for instance. BTW, I'm drunk. So, doubt arises; is this post a good example of alcohol-induced mental diarrhea or undeniable proof of the awareness-increasing effects of booze? I don't know, and I don't care... =)