Brin-l Summary 4-7-02 to 4-14-02 From the Editor No lengthy diatribe and no post of the week this week (again no nominations). Mentionable, however, is one no-post. Thanks for not goin' for the bait, John.
4/7 Trouble in Europe Continuing thread concerning the anti-Israeli demonstrations and anti-Semitic hate crimes in Europe. Brin-l Summary 3-31-02 Kudos from Kevin again. Thanks Kevin. Space Ships Continuing discussion about the viability of large manned space ships and a few alternative suggestions. Abortion What is and is not. This Week in the Middle East Disagreements on Israel Child soldiers Continuing threads on the Arab Israeli violence. Good Grief Discussion about telephone misadventures and identity mix ups. I learn something new every day... Expanding our macaronic vocabulary. Daylight Savings Time Doug doesn't like it (sniff, whimper) and wonders if all countries do it. Irregulars Question More Irregulars Questions Irregulars Question on Hard Drives:( JDG wants to add more hard drive space on his PC. Several binellers post good advice. David Brin Web Ring Jeroen announces: "Genny Brown has created a David Brin Net Ring. So far, only his/her own site and Steve Sloan's site have been added; I have already signed up www.Brin-L.com, so it should be added soon." This Week In The Middle Brin-L Rob posts the lyrics to the Fixx tune One Thing Leads to Another. unreliable Star Trek technology Continuing thread. John Garcia muses "It occurs to me that maintenance in Starfleet is really not a high priority." Valley Girl This discussion started about the movie has migrated to Zappa. Introduction: It was Jeroen's Suggestion, Blame him Genny doesn't want to be a lurker, so she introduces herself and provides a bio. A snippet: "I'm forty! (Ouch, wince, groan) My delightful other half informs me gleefully that my life is half over. I can't print my response to that because profanity doesn't belong among you nice people." Well, sometimes... In any case, welcome Genny! Dr. Brin Responds to Week in Review From our progenitor (sort of): "Thanks John... I KNEW there was a gap in my life. I miss Brin-L! Maybe that's the underlying reason why I wrote KILN PEOPLE... because I secretly wish I could make dittos to do all the cool stuff, like e-list participation, that I can't spare time for in just one body! Please pass this on to the Brin-L gang. Tell'em I welcome feedback on the evolving http://www.davidbrin.com/ site... which in a couple of weeks should be revised yet again to include "Brin's Picks & Wants"... books & such that I recommend and things I want/need. See also news on coming events, like appearances in Minneapolis & LA." He follows with responses to several of the summaries. Thanks to JDG for passing the summary on. 8^) 4/8 NASA & warp engines? From Gary Nunn: Some interesting NASA links about Breakthrough Propulsion Physics and speculative technology of the future. NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/bpp/ Warp Drive When? http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/PAO/warp.htm More Bernard Lewis Posted by Gautam: http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2002/04/07/Features/Features.46448.html Irregulars Question (Linux) Alberto has a question on Linux. Americans Are Ruder Than Ever Continuing thread discussing a recent poll. Chad posts the URL to a response on Satirewire: http://www.satirewire.com/news/april02/rude.shtml Disagreement on Israel Chad, responding to the question "What are you trying to accomplish by bashing at each other onlist? Are you succeeding?" Says (in part): "the act of postings done by a person is in effect a defensive measure against idea infection. I think I could add to this and state that the effect is strengthened proportionately if it is in response to someone else's posting." and concludes "So the question is... are they succeeding? I think one criteria that provides proof, is how annoying it is to us. Annoyance is another form of idea infection. They have to do it, but it is not for our sakes." Good post Chad. Positive Reinforcement From Dee: "For a moment there is quiet where there was animosity. I chose to tune out the animosity, but even then it could have been so much more of a discussion and relationship building in an area ripe for understanding.. but not for me this time." 'nother good post. Self Driving Vacuums Sean Kane posts this URL on the topic: http://www.hoover.com/xq/asp/qx/Company/friendlypr.htm 4/9 The End is Near A joke from Ronn. Brin-L Steel Cage Deathmatch The Disagreement on Israel thread has morphed into a proposal that John and Jeroen swap sides on the Middle East Debate. Internet radio "Basically on May 21st internet broadcasters will have to pay a fee to RIAA for each song played AND how many listeners for each song. And owe backfees for three years. Even 'real' radio stations that broadcast their feed over the internet will have to pay." See: http://www.saveinternetradio.org/default.asp http://www.saveinternetradio.org/newscoverage.asp Posted by Kevin. 4/10 Kiln People Genny's waiting for the local library to get its copy. The Simpson's bash Brazil See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,681172,00.html Quote: 'The Rio de Janeiro tourist board is preparing to sue Fox Television "for damage to its international image and loss of revenue." ' Alberto's response: "We have an expression here; in Portuguese we say that this is "para ingles ver" [or "so that the englishmen will see"]. Riotur does _nothing_ to bring tourists, so they do these idiot threats." and "I just hope all this fuss makes Fox.br show the episode as soon as possible. The current schedule would make it on October :-(" Wiesenthal Ctr Report The Simon Wiesenthal Center reports that La Bastide de la Fave, a hotel in Brue-Auriac, Provence, is refusing to accept reservations from Israeli guests. http://www.wiesenthal.com/social/press/pr_item.cfm?ItemID=5285. (Jon Gabriel) And: www.andrewsullivan.com quotes a Norwegian newspaper report that people visiting Norway's parliament building are allowed to express solidarity with Palestine by wearing various objects, but a man wearing a Star of David was told to remove it or leave the premises. (Marvin) We discuss weather these are instances of bigotry/racism or (perhaps) the government protecting society at large. Lawn Mowers on History Channel From Julia: "The preview I saw included a little lawnmower robot, so if anyone is really interested in the subject and has the History Channel on cable, and you get this message in time, enjoy." American Scream Rob writes "I just finished reading American Scream, the biography of Bill Hicks. Hicks is generally regarded as the greatest standup comedian of the last 25 years." SCOUTED: the indestructible sandwich William Goodall posts this URL about an army sandwich that can last three years. http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/04/11/wsand11.xml 4/11 Table? A matter of definition Brett wonders about the usage of the word table. Does it mean the end or the beginning of a discussion? Both, in fact. SCOUTED: Galactic Graveyard: 1,000 Relics of Dying stars Discovered Brett asks "I wonder what else they may find if they only look closely enough?" See: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/space_graveyard_020411.html I don't understand the "war on drugs" Jim Sharkey: "In today's paper, there is an article about the Afghan government destroying poppy crops. They have been given some money by the UN to partially compensate farmers for their loss. A farmer there can make an average of $400 per acre. The government initially offered them $250 per, and eventually upped it to $350 per, according to the article. The part that I don't understand is this: The U.S. a big mover behind any kind of "war on drugs." Now we spend a great deal of money on this war, and we have more money than any nation on Earth The logistics on this may be difficult to work, but wouldn't it make more sense to give these impoverished farmers *more* money not to plant poppies than they would normally get? I mean, give them $500 an acre to *not* plant poppies and make a different crop. If we pay our own people not to plant, why not others?" As usual, no one rises to defend U.S. policy on this matter. Hyjacking the Desktop Gary Nunn is annoyed when he is forced to read internet ads. Fool asks " What advertisement? I saw no advertisement." War crimes tribunal to open July 1 Jon Gabriel posts an article about the establishment by the U.N. of the International Criminal Court. SCOUTED: Strange Quark Stars Astronomers have discovered a pair of collapsed stars, remnants of catastrophic supernova explosions, that may be composed entirely of free quarks, the never-before-observed building blocks of the protons and neutrons that make up normal matter. Posted by Rob Seeburger, see: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/space/1359934 Black Churches In an offshoot of the Wiesenthal thread, Kevin Tarr posts an article about church burnings in the U.S. See: http://www.cjr.org/year/96/5/churches.asp 4/12 There appears to be a coup happening in Venezuela right now. Hugo Chavez is a loon, so I can't say I'm all broken up over it, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information about this. Does anyone know anything? Alberto? Posted by Gautam. Mars Odyssey's Picture of the Day Doug posts this URL: http://space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/mars_daily_020411.html 4/13 Computer Shopping JDG has decided he's going to spring for a new machine at all and requests advice. Evolution Question John has been discussing evolution with creationists that argued that "that evolution is bad science because it is not based on observed experiments. That is, no one has ever actually observed the creation of a new species over successive generations." Resolved: War is immoral. Continuing thread on the fate of the Palestinians. Is War Coming? Rob posts the URL to an article entitled "Countdown to Israel's 'Doom from Babylon'?" http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27203 A-a-a-r-r-g-h! I just saw a movie promo on TV for "Jason X", in which the masked killer form the "Friday the 13th" movies comes back yet again to terrorize a space station in the year 2455 AD. From Ronn SCOUTED: On the ICC Gautam posts the web address to this article by the National Journal's Stuart Taylor: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/nj/taylor2002-04-09.htm -- Doug email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
