metadigital

Inevitable as attention-seeking politicians try to reach out to ever-more diverse social groups ... Trekkers would be between about 18 (disregarding those below voting age for convenience) and 60, and would be predominantly male, educated to college or beyond, liberal and idealistic about the possible achievements of a (UN) government (the Federation!). As for the characterizations: they are (in the quoted text) pretty rough and meaningless.

Nope. Is it humanity becoming more like a hive or ant nest, the metaphor being that the whole organisationism is more than the sum of its parts, and strictly regulates how many of each type of component (or role) that the members occupy to keep it optimally operational?

So ... if we get Osama, then KFC will get rid of the transfats? At last, a cause that all mankind can get behind!

Just don't get the bags wet after midnight...

Really? You like the Pixies?

The loss of someone close brings deep feelings of loss and sandness. The loss of a parent brings one's own mortality into sharp focus. I imagine you are still in shock, which will keep you numb from the feelings of incredible loss. I had to give my father's eulogy, so I didn't start to grieve until after the funeral (as I had to focus on that task). Don't drink too much. Remember. Rejoice in her life. Be glad that your mother is no longer in any pain, if she was in any, and always keep her in your heart: that way she will live on with you. My sincere condolences.

Oh yes, right, sure, of course. Conan endings rock! I honestly liked it too at first but the second viewing proved suckage ruled. Except for the setting. I love super far futures. Oh and in both films, Keith David was almost criminally underused. Keith David <{POST_SNAPBACK}> When I re-watched Pitch Black after Chronicles I had to turn it off; even the excellent plot couldn't help me overcome the B-grade status of the film (not that that is a particularly bad thing) and the total non-sequiturs of the two side-by-side: there is no way that the universe of PB is in any way shape or form recognisably remotely similar to the Chroniclies one (one PB character, with an unmistakable Australian accent, mentions that he has collected tribal artifacts from New Guinea). Not that I can watch it very often, but CoR is pure Space Opera.

Ow, that hurts man, that really hurts. Chronicles may not be as good as Pitch Black, but it really doesn't deserve to be compared with an Uwe Boll film. That's just low... <_< <{POST_SNAPBACK}> For what the film was, I thought Chronicles was better than Pitch Black.

As an aside, I wonder if something like this would stunt human evolution. IIRC, arent viral interations critical in causing our DNA to adapt and evolve? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hard to say for sure; certainly there is evidence of viral DNA that has been assimilated into the human genome.

Now you know that only happens when the player is about to beat the final boss, make the high score or achieve a personal best.

Um. Not sure. Maybe. David Bruce Banner. "

I'm not a fan of WL game control, but there is no reason not to

I would just like to applaud this witty summation of the key points.

You are obviously being poisoned by the Russians.

What don't you understand? Just watched Moonlight Mile. Pretty solid performances from a sterling cast.

It won't work ... the chickens are onto you. "

I can accept that. But then, why don't they rebel against that? Doesn't imposing it on them (or liberating them from those that would prevent it) somehow cheapen that achievement for them? Will they truly be able to appreciate it as if they had paid for it with their own sweat and blood? I mean, it's like solving a rubik's cube. If somebody does it for you, it's just not the same. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I dunno if there is some sort of threshold of blood / sweat / tears / pain that magically conveys the "right" to freedom; certainly the Iraqi people have had twenty years of torture ... more than the Western democracies underwent for the atrocious battles of WW1 and WW2 combined. If nothing else, Sand's argument betrays that there is no heritable component to this "appreciation" ... by his and your logic we should ALL be out there killing or being killed to earn our freedom, every generation (at least).

Certainly a prima donna whichever way you go ... )

I don't hold with your latest tactical semantic redefinition of "freedom". Freedom is a universal ideal. I'm sure you'd understand if you weren't living in a free country.

If it lacks a fundamental component (whatever it is that's worthy of being implanted by means of force), doesn't that mean they are less advanced for not having developed and instituted it themselves? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Maybe they fundamental component is being withheld by a cadre of ne'er-do-well's with their own self-interests, rather than by a cultural omission.

No, I just object to you defining freedom as an optional extra to civilization.

Just because you post a reply does not mean you have answered the comment. You are fallaciously advocating that a tyrannical government can exist side-by-side with free societies, because the other culture is "different". THAT IS EXACTLY how Apartheid was rationalised by the racist government of SA. First you advocate isolationalism, then endorse tyrannical Stalinist states (Saddam's Iraq) as an equal government model for peoples. All you need to say now is The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (1949) between those semites and good, Amer'kan people from Iowa, with a The Population Registration Act (1950) to register those "different" people from the Middle East, too. Don't forget to keep them away from the USA with The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act (1953). See a pattern yet? No, of course not.

It makes me look foolish to argue with a fool, you mean. Because not all of mankind shares those values. That is your fallacy. Just as my ancestors fought and died for their beliefs so has theirs. If my country is attacked I will defend it if called upon. If my way of life is threatened I will face that threat without fear and with determination. However I will not force my country's culture, mores, and form of government on others. I do not have that right. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I did not say they aren't cultured enough. Nowhere did I make such judgment. That is your judgment of them, not mine. They have a different culture than ours. The have a different set of social norms on what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. Their culture is no more advance nor any more backwards than our own. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Congratulations, you just defined Apartheid. <{POST_SNAPBACK}>