Re: PC-Vgames and Eye Problems: Help!
On 13 Mar 2003 at 18:35, Deborah Harrell wrote: IMAX screen showing a roller-coaster. I also have been told that there is a subtle 'vibrating' motion to the pixels on a monitor, which would add to eye-confusion, as would not-quite-having-epilepsy. Actually, refresh rate is the critical factor. Many games like to default to 60Hz, but with some drivers you can set them to a reasonable default level. Sometimes you need to go through the resoloution the game uses and set the refresh rate (remember the games colour depth as well!). Oh, and never use a refresh rate above 100Hz. Above that there is apparently a definate swimming effect (an artifact of the way the eye processes data). There is a LOT to be said if your monitor supports it to using a 5BNC (they look like five thin ethernet connectors) lead to connect monitor and PC rather than a standard cable as well (you get a noticeably clearer and sharper image with better colour definition). Cheap monitors are just that. *pauses for breath and sighs* (I never understood why people can hook $1000+ of PC to a $250 (well, okay - however much the really basic 19 monitors are) monitor then complain of eyestrain but it happens on a regular basis. I use a great 17.) Andy Dawn Falcon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: [Humor] RE: Who is the sheriff?
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Doug Pensinger Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 1:32 AM To: Killer Bs Discussion Subject: Re: [Humor] RE: Who is the sheriff? Jon Gabriel wrote: I checked my archive. That was John Horn who said that, not me. You're referring to your reply to him on 3/5? Oops, sorry about that. *Grin* We do NOT all look alike! ;-) Too many Johns If you do want my opinion on this subject Millions of Buddhist Indians view the swastika as a symbol of life. http://www.indiaprofile.com/religion-culture/swastika.htm So I don't think its use is necessarily _inherently_ antisemitic. But the symbol does represent Naziism to members of western cultures so I do object to its use when the intention is clearly to intimidate Jews, i.e. on a hate site, etc. Agree 100% :) Jon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Iran's Nuclear Threat
Doug Pensinger askedL So Alberto has received research grants from the government? Never in my (this) life Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Speaking of Bottled Water...
Anyone else use those pitchers with built in filters? The ones I have have a chamber in the top and they drip through a filter into the chamber in the bottom. Doug I don't use one normally, but I've tasted water made using one and tasted no difference. I had a water softener installed weeks after buying my house. I didn't think it tasted bad, but knew it needed it. Of the four other places I normally drink water three have city water and one is well water. The well water is horrid, they drink and cook with spring water 99% of the time. Only one city system have I not liked. It didn't taste bad, just different. But normally I have no trouble drinking tap water. Kevin T. - VRWC No added value ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Speaking of Bottled Water...
(...) I once listened from a nutty UFO and psychic believer that water from high up in the mountains was more healthy than water from below, because it had less Deuterium and Deuterium would accelerate aging. Sounds nutty, but - as I said before - might be true. Mountain people _seem_ to have longer lifes than groundhogs Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: SCOUTED: Kid Fiction from Roddenberry
It seems that around the time the PC game Starfleet Academy was popular, a computer game by Interplay was under development which boasted the members of TOS on 5 episodes penned by Trek favorite D.C. Fontana. The episodes were in reality a 5 part novel. The voice sessions of these scripts represent the last time the entire original cast of TOS was gathered for a full-fledged Trek project. The previews and trailers for this game were released, but shortly after the last Trek game was released, Interplay pulled the plug on the project. Given the episodic nature of the game, a good animated movie (a la Final Fantasy) with an actually intelligent plot may yet emerge. I don't hold my breath, tho. JJ Future question: suppose someone develops a voice system that can take all that DeForest Kelley said in movies and the TV show, and can translate any dialogue typed in to sound like him. I'm not talking about clipped, obviously computer speech, but perfect sentences, cadence, and emotional response. They do it for all of the ToS characters. The alive actors and Kelley's heirs have already agreed for some contract price. Would you watch the animated show? Writing and plots are okay. Assume what ever you like, I'm just wondering if people will watch things they know are complete computer simulations pretending to be human. (Saying we already have animations, but these aren't based on real actorsfor the most part.) Kevin T. - VRWC off to work ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Iran's Nuclear Threat
On Thu, Mar 13, 2003 at 10:27:56PM -0800, Doug Pensinger wrote: Erik Reuter wrote: How many people die every day of AIDS in Africa because the Capitalist Corporations insist on keeping anti-AIDS drugs so expensive as to make country-wide campaings impossible? Irrelevant, just as How many people die every day of AIDS because you don't donate your life savings and entire salary to providing anti-AIDS drugs to AIDS sufferers? So Alberto has received research grants from the government? There's also taxes, and the benefit everyone gets from government spending. Doesn't make it any more relevant. -- Erik Reuter [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.erikreuter.net/ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: bad science (and the titanic) created the broadcast industry
On Thu, Mar 13, 2003 at 03:54:51PM -0600, Dan Minette wrote: In some cases, we are actually close to it. The station that broadcasts the Houston Rockets have change their signal pattern to not interfere with a station up in Kansas after 6PM. So, I have a very hard time hearing them over other stations. Radio receivers have traditionally operated on the principal of a tunable resonance. Such a resonance has finite width, so one cannot have a radio station at 601.1 kHz and another at 601.2 kHz and expect to receive one and not the other. That is why there is only so much room on the dial. But is the room on the dial used efficiently? Would the Houston/Kansas radio problem still exist if things were organized differently? Since the radio band is presently partitioned into fixed channels, you may have some channels that are being used, and others which are not being used. Also, most audio streams can be digitally compressed on the fly by 5 to 10 times. So, for example, if we were to switch to ultrawideband (UWB) and pseudorandom noise (PN) coding, and add some sort of protocol for the compression, and implement a channel code lookup system, then bandwidth could be more efficiently utilized. It is also worth noting that if you went even further and divided space into cells, with adjacent cells having different multiplexing to distinguish them, then the physical limit will only apply within each cell, so you could multiply your overall capacity to some extent by going to a cellular system. Using a packetized data system (like the Internet) you could route a signal over one spatial path, and another signal over a different spatial path. But you can only make the cells so small (it wouldn't make sense to have cells smaller than the physical size of the equipment transmitting and receiving signals), so there is still a limit. The limit (for each cell) is defined in Shannon's theorem: Channel Capacity (bits/sec) = Bandwidth * log_2 ( 1 + S/N ) Here's a decent discussion of RF communications and bandwidth utilization (note the chart that gives the fraction of Shannon's theoretical limit reached by various coding schemes): http://tinyurl.com/7gn1 -- Erik Reuter [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.erikreuter.net/ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Rant: Ephedra banned in NY county
At 03:56 PM 3/13/03 -0800, Deborah Harrell wrote: --- Kevin Tarr [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: you [I think it was Gary] wrote: Not that I am a habitual Ephedra user, but I have taken it in the past (in dietary supplements) so I am aware of the risks and effects. New York County Bans Sale of Ephedra http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Living/ap20030305_2037.html The federal Food and Drug Administration has reports of 100 deaths among Ephedra users, and Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler recently died while using the amphetamine-like stimulant, commonly used for weight loss and body building... [snip] FYI: Ephedra a factor Coroner finds 'significant amounts' of diet supplement Posted: Thursday March 13, 2003 2:32 PM Updated: Thursday March 13, 2003 8:23 PM FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- The diet supplement ephedra was partly to blame for the heatstroke death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler last month, a medical examiner said Thursday. Toxicology tests confirmed that significant amounts of an over-the-counter supplement containing the herb contributed to the heatstroke, Broward County medical examiner Dr. Joshua Perper said. The coroner's findings triggered more debate about the risks of ephedra, banned by many sports but not major league baseball. The 23-year-old pitching prospect was taking the supplement to lose weight during spring training when he collapsed Feb. 16. He died the next day after his temperature rose to 108. Perper said the toxicology analysis revealed ephedrine in Bechler's blood along with smaller amounts of two other stimulants, pseudoephedrine and caffeine. That's consistent with taking three or more tablets of the weight-loss supplement Xenadrine, Perper said at a news conference. The analysis showed no alcohol or other drugs in Bechler's system, other than those used to treat him at a hospital. Commissioner Bud Selig has banned players with minor league contracts from taking ephedra, and union head Donald Fehr urged players not to take supplements containing the herb. Still, major leaguers are allowed to take ephredra. We remain prepared to discuss the issues raised by Mr. Bechler's tragic death with the Players Association, major league baseball said in a statement. Cytodyne Technologies, which makes Xenadrine, said Perper rushed to judgment. The fact that the medical examiner found traces of ephedra in Mr. Bechler's system does not mean that Mr. Bechler died from ephedra. He died from heatstroke, said Shane Freedman, legal officer for the manufacturer. The Ephedra Education Council, an industry group, also disputed Perper's conclusions. Health policy concerning ephedra should be based on scientific evidence, the council said in a statement. The current science supports the safety and significant weight-loss benefits of ephedra when it is used according to industry standards. Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, said the findings were the latest reminder that ephedra is dangerous and should be removed from store shelves. Perper said he couldn't say whether Bechler would have died if he hadn't been taking ephedra. Among the other factors contributing to the heatstroke: Bechler was overweight and out of shape. He was not yet accustomed to the warm, humid weather in South Florida. He was on a diet, primarily liquid or semi-liquid. He didn't feel well or eat the night before he collapsed. He had high blood pressure and abnormal liver functions. It is my professional opinion that the toxicity of ephedra played a significant role in the death of Mr. Bechler, although it's impossible to define mathematically the contribution of each one of the risk factors, Perper said. Ephedra constricts blood vessels in the skin and raises body temperature, perhaps by up to 2 degrees in Bechler's case, Perper said. While the coroner's findings had been expected, he made one surprising disclosure: Bechler's autopsy listed his weight at 320 pounds. The Orioles said the 6-foot-2 pitcher weighed 249 a few days before his death. Perper said Bechler was given a lot of fluids in the hours before he died, which partly explains the disparity. It's also possible one of the measurements was wrong, Perper said. The Orioles stood by their figure of 249, 10 pounds above Bechler's listed weight. Ephedra, which has been linked to heatstroke and heart trouble before, is already banned by the NCAA, NFL and International Olympic Committee. The Bush administration began building the case toward a possible ban last month by proposing strong new warning labels that the substance can cause heart attacks and strokes or even kill. Such labels, blocked until now by the dietary supplement industry, could be on every bottle by year's end. There's going to have to be some warning -- right off the bat, right now -- until they decide on and get the facts about what's in there, Orioles catcher Brook Fordyce said.
Re: Replacing the UN Re: Who is the sheriff?
At 23:39 12-03-03 -0500, John Giorgis wrote: BTW - Jeroen - a constitutional monarchy is a form of republican government How's that? Under a population-based system, China's population should be measured as being approximately 5,000. This is the number of people who are actually represented by the Chinese government, and this body should reflect that. However, to be consistent with that policy, the population of *every* country should then be measured as the number of people who voted that country's government into power. Or should another criterion be used to allocate power? If so what? Personally. the only acceptable solution I see for the medium-term is a somewhat reformed UN, that nevertheless is mostly consultative in nature, and that does not prevent the US from doing what needs to be done. IOW, you want an international organisation in which countries may give their opinion, but in which the US unilaterally makes all the decisions. That's not democracy, that's dictatorship. Jeroen Make love, not war van Baardwijk _ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Radio Free France
March 10, 2003 9:00 a.m. A Theory What if theres method to the Franco-German madness? Michael Ledeen National Review http://www.nationalreview.com/ledeen/ledeen031003.asp Assume, for a moment, that the French and the Germans aren't thwarting us out of pique, but by design, long-term design. Then look at the world again, and see if there's evidence of such a design. Like everyone else, the French and the Germans saw that the defeat of the Soviet Empire projected the United States into the rare, almost unique position of a global hyperpower, a country so strong in every measurable element that no other nation could possibly resist its will. The new Europe had been designed to carve out a limited autonomy for the old continent, a balance-point between the Americans and the Soviets. But once the Soviets were gone, and the Red Army melted down, the European Union was reduced to a combination theme park and free-trade zone. Some foolish American professors and doltish politicians might say and even believe that henceforth power would be defined in economic terms, and that military power would no longer count. But cynical Europeans know better. They dreaded the establishment of an American empire, and they sought for a way to bring it down. If you were the French president or the German chancellor, you might well have done the same. How could it be done? No military operation could possibly defeat the United States, and no direct economic challenge could hope to succeed. That left politics and culture. And here there was a chance to turn America's vaunted openness at home and toleration abroad against the United States. So the French and the Germans struck a deal with radical Islam and with radical Arabs: You go after the United States, and we'll do everything we can to protect you, and we will do everything we can to weaken the Americans. The Franco-German strategy was based on using Arab and Islamic extremism and terrorism as the weapon of choice, and the United Nations as the straitjacket for blocking a decisive response from the United States. This required considerable skill, and total cynicism, both of which were in abundant supply in Paris and Berlin. Chancellor Shroeder gained reelection by warning of American warmongering, even though, as usual, America had been attacked first. And both Shroeder and Chirac went to great lengths to support Islamic institutions in their countries, even when as in the French case it was in open violation of the national constitution. French law stipulates a total separation of church and state, yet the French Government openly funds Islamic study centers, mosques, and welfare organizations. A couple of months ago, Chirac approved the creation of an Islamic political body, a mini-parliament, that would provide Muslims living in France with official stature and enhanced political clout. And both countries have permitted the Saudis to build thousands of radical Wahhabi mosques and schools, where the hatred of the infidels is instilled in generation after generation of young Sunnis. It is perhaps no accident that Chirac went to Algeria last week and promised a cheering crowd that he would not rest until America's grand design had been defeated. Both countries have been totally deaf to suggestions that the West take stern measures against the tyrannical terrorist sponsors in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Saudi Arabia. Instead, they do everything in their power to undermine American-sponsored trade embargoes or more limited sanctions, and it is an open secret that they have been supplying Saddam with military technology through the corrupt ports of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's little playground in Dubai, often through Iranian middlemen. It sounds fanciful, to be sure. But the smartest people I know have been thoroughly astonished at recent French and German behavior. This theory may help understand what's going on. I now believe that I was wrong to forecast that the French would join the war against Iraq at the last minute, having gained every possible economic advantage in the meantime. I think Chirac will oppose us before, during, and after the war, because he has cast his lot with radical Islam and with the Arab extremists. He isn't doing it just for the money although I have no doubt that France is being richly rewarded for defending Saddam against the civilized countries of the world but for higher stakes. He's fighting to end the feared American domination before it takes stable shape. If this is correct, we will have to pursue the war against terror far beyond the boundaries of the Middle East, into the heart of Western Europe. And there, as in the Middle East, our greatest weapons are political: the demonstrated desire for freedom of the peoples of the countries that oppose us. Radio Free France, anyone? Michael Ledeen, an NRO contributing editor, is most recently the author of The War Against the Terror Masters. Ledeen, Resident
Deadlier Than War
Deadlier Than War By Walter Russell Mead Wednesday, March 12, 2003; Page A21 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13019-2003Mar11.html Those who still oppose war in Iraq think containment is an alternative -- a middle way between all-out war and letting Saddam Hussein out of his box. They are wrong. Sanctions are inevitably the cornerstone of containment, and in Iraq, sanctions kill. In this case, containment is not an alternative to war. Containment is war: a slow, grinding war in which the only certainty is that hundreds of thousands of civilians will die. The Gulf War killed somewhere between 21,000 and 35,000 Iraqis, of whom between 1,000 and 5,000 were civilians. Based on Iraqi government figures, UNICEF estimates that containment kills roughly 5,000 Iraqi babies (children under 5 years of age) every month, or 60,000 per year. Other estimates are lower, but by any reasonable estimate containment kills about as many people every year as the Gulf War -- and almost all the victims of containment are civilian, and two-thirds are children under 5. Each year of containment is a new Gulf War. Saddam Hussein is 65; containing him for another 10 years condemns at least another 360,000 Iraqis to death. Of these, 240,000 will be children under 5. Those are the low-end estimates. Believe UNICEF and 10 more years kills 600,000 Iraqi babies and altogether almost 1 million Iraqis. Ever since U.N.-mandated sanctions took effect, Iraqi propaganda has blamed the United States for deliberately murdering Iraqi babies to further U.S. foreign policy goals. Wrong. The sanctions exist only because Saddam Hussein has refused for 12 years to honor the terms of a cease-fire he himself signed. In any case, the United Nations and the United States allow Iraq to sell enough oil each month to meet the basic needs of Iraqi civilians. Hussein diverts these resources. Hussein murders the babies. But containment enables the slaughter. Containment kills. The slaughter of innocents is the worst cost of containment, but it is not the only cost of containment. Containment allows Saddam Hussein to control the political climate of the Middle East. If it serves his interest to provoke a crisis, he can shoot at U.S. planes. He can mobilize his troops near Kuwait. He can support terrorists and destabilize his neighbors. The United States must respond to these provocations. Worse, containment forces the United States to keep large conventional forces in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the region. That costs much more than money. The existence of al Qaeda, and the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are part of the price the United States has paid to contain Saddam Hussein. The link is clear and direct. Since 1991 the United States has had forces in Saudi Arabia. Those forces are there for one purpose only: to defend the kingdom (and its neighbors) from Iraqi attack. If Saddam Hussein had either fallen from power in 1991 or fulfilled the terms of his cease-fire agreement and disarmed, U.S. forces would have left Saudi Arabia. But Iraqi defiance forced the United States to stay, and one consequence was dire and direct. Osama bin Laden founded al Qaeda because U.S. forces stayed in Saudi Arabia. This is the link between Saddam Hussein's defiance of international law and the events of Sept. 11; it is clear and compelling. No Iraqi violations, no Sept. 11. So that is our cost. And what have we bought? We've bought the right of a dictator to suppress his own people, disturb the peace of the region and make the world darker and more dangerous for the American people. We've bought the continuing presence of U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia, causing a profound religious offense to a billion Muslims around the world, and accelerating the alarming drift of Saudi religious and political leaders toward ever more extreme forms of anti-Americanism. What we can't buy is protection from Hussein's development of weapons of mass destruction. Too many companies and too many states will sell him anything he wants, and Russia and France will continue to sabotage any inspections and sanctions regime. Morally, politically, financially, containing Iraq is one of the costliest failures in the history of American foreign policy. Containment can be tweaked -- made a little less murderous, a little less dangerous, a little less futile -- but the basic equations don't change. Containing Hussein delivers civilians into the hands of a murderous psychopath, destabilizes the whole Middle East and foments anti-American terror -- with no end in sight. This is disaster, not policy. It is time for a change. Walter Russell Mead is senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and author most recently of Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World. © 2003 The Washington Post Company = --- John D. Giorgis -
Re: br!n: Re: a call to the irregulars!
From: Dan Minette [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wait.. does that mean that all Ph.D's are *not* two-dimensional? No, just the ones from PR. got you back Dan M. Well, P.R. has been a proud colony/commonwealth of the United States for more than a century, so :) JJ _ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
On Wed, 12 Mar 2003 23:45:36 -0600, Dan Minette [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Germany has proportional representation. If there are two big parties, each with 47.5% of the legislature, then a party with 5% can claim a pretty high price to make one of the two parties the top dog. Not really. It is all a matter of give and take. One major advantage of this system is that it forces parties to work together and find compromises. But if no compromise can be reached a minority government is also a possibility and then there is the multi-party majority. In the past it has been shown that making the 5 percent hurdle can be a pretty big hindrance for parties to overcome. If they don't get at least 5 percent of all votes they are not represented. This makes for a very cleaned up form of representation and prevents nutter parties from being represented. I had to write a paper once on all the pros and cons I could come up with for different types of representations. It turns out that for all types of representation systems it is possible to come up with scenarios where the representation unfair in respect to the voting result. Actually neither of our current systems is good when you compare it to the direct representation like f.i. that of the ancient Athenians. Then again in ancient Athens only free _male_ citizens had a vote :o) Sonja ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Thomas Covenant (was RE: Question about Spoilers)
From: Lalith Vipulananthan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] The second trilogy in more than one word:Even more depressing. awful Wah. Why did you find it awful? Did you also think that _The One Tree_ was almost entirely redundant? To be honest, I don't remember. I read them a long time ago; I guess when they first came out. All I remember was that everything had changed. And that I hated the books. Sorry! - jmh ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Thomas Covenant (was RE: Question about Spoilers)
From: Kevin Tarr [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] And I really like the Mirror of her Dreams two (three?) books. I did not like the first book of that series but thought the second one was OK. I hate books where the main character is pathetic. And the woman in that book was pretty pathetic in the first one. But she got better in the second... - jmh ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: [Humor] RE: Who is the sheriff?
From: Jon Gabriel [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] We do NOT all look alike! ;-) Too many Johns There is definitely a joke in there somewhere but *I'm* not gonna say it. - jmh That's why I use 'jmh' actually... ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Replacing the UN
Jeroen wrote: BTW - Jeroen - a constitutional monarchy is a form of republican government How's that? Based on the Latin meaning of Res-Publica :-) Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
At 23:45 12-03-03 -0600, Dan Minette wrote: Germany has proportional representation. If there are two big parties, each with 47.5% of the legislature, then a party with 5% can claim a pretty high price to make one of the two parties the top dog. In theory, yes, but that's not how it works in real life. In a multi-party system (as opposed to a two-party system), one party rarely (if ever) gets that big a share of the votes. To form a government, the party with the most votes will try to form a coalition with one or more of the other major parties, not just to create a majority, but to create as big a majority as possible -- which means broader support for the government. Let me use last January's national elections for the Dutch Congress here as an example. The results (in number of seats, total = 150): CDA : 44SP : 9 D66: 6 PvdA: 42 LPF : 8 CU : 3 VVD : 28 GL : 8 SGP: 2 The winner (CDA -- Christian-Democrats) is politically a lot closer to the VVD (Liberals) than it is to the PvdA (Labour). It also shares viewpoints with the CU and SGP (two small very right-winged Christian parties). Given all the shared viewpoints among these four, it would make sense for them to form a coalition; this would give them 77 seats. However, the CDA didn't do that, but is now working on forming a coalition with Labour -- which will give the coalition 86 seats. Jeroen Political Observations van Baardwijk _ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
- Original Message - From: J. van Baardwijk [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 9:22 AM Subject: Re: Who is the sheriff? At 23:45 12-03-03 -0600, Dan Minette wrote: Germany has proportional representation. If there are two big parties, each with 47.5% of the legislature, then a party with 5% can claim a pretty high price to make one of the two parties the top dog. In theory, yes, but that's not how it works in real life. In a multi-party system (as opposed to a two-party system), one party rarely (if ever) gets that big a share of the votes. To form a government, the party with the most votes will try to form a coalition with one or more of the other major parties, not just to create a majority, but to create as big a majority as possible -- which means broader support for the government. Well, it doesn't work that way all the time, but I was referring to Germany: Lets look at the last election results: SPD 41.6% CDU/CSU 41.1% Green 9.1% FDP 7.8% PDS 0.3% The support of the Green party, with 9.1% of the vote is a required member of any government. This makes them the kingmaker for any new government. Dan M. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Heinlein and current international politics L3
Robert Heinlein expressed the problem in a science fiction story in 1941, `Solution Unsatisfactory'. I will get to that in a moment. First, the `Jacksonian' tradition in the US. On 13 Mar 2003, Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I think part of the problem is that there is one party in the whole dispute who is as black as you can get. Outside of the lunatics (ANSWER) everyone agrees that that party is as black as it is possible to be. _By contrast_ everyone else tends to look white. This makes sense if you follow the US `Wilsonian' political theme. There are other political themes in the US, such as the `Jacksonian' tradition, which looks to others as ruthless and dangerous to them. I think that some outside of the US fear that the US will follow a `Jacksonian' policy at some point or another. For example, the US has supported dictatorships in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, in Spain and Greece, and elsewhere, including Iraq, under President Reagan. You have to be ruthless and uncaring of non-US people to follow such a policy, not a `Wilsonian' but a `Jacksonian'. Several years ago, Walter Russell Mead wrote an essay on `The Jacksonian Tradition' http://www.nationalinterest.org/issues/58/Mead.html His first two sentences were: In the last five months of World War II, American bombing raids claimed the lives of more than 900,000 Japanese civilians--not counting the casualties from the atomic strikes against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This is more than twice the total number of combat deaths that the United States has suffered in all its foreign wars combined. His thesis was: An observer who thinks of American foreign policy only in terms of the commercial realism of the Hamiltonians, the crusading moralism of Wilsonian transcendentalists, and the supple pacifism of the principled but slippery Jeffersonians would be at a loss to account for American ruthlessness at war. Those who prefer to believe that the present global hegemony of the United States emerged through a process of immaculate conception avert their eyes from many distressing moments in the American ascension. The United States over its history has consistently summoned the will and the means to compel its enemies to yield to its demands. Perhaps the Bush administration is predominantly Wilsonian, or perhaps not. In any event, there will be other administrations and maybe one or other of them will be as `Jacksonian' as the Reagan or Nixon administrations. That being the case, a non-US government could argue that the current Iraqi government is indeed very bad: it has used chemical warfare against its own people as well as against foreigners, it has developed and weaponized plagues, and it has spent fortunes to develop nuclear weapons. Moreover, although pressed to disarm, unlike South Africa, it has not cooperated with the disarmament inspectors. However, the non-US government could go on to say, the most that Iraq can do with chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons is gain political leverage over its neighbors, and through its control of oil, temporary political leverage over France, Germany, and other West European countries that depend more heavily on Middle Eastern oil than the US -- but since oil is fungible, that leverage could not last very long since the West European countries would simply purchase more oil from Venezula, Russia, and Nigeria. Of course, an overall world shortage of oil would mean a recession in places like Western Europe, Japan, and the US, but a spokesperson for a Western European government could say that his or her nation could deal with a recession because they are more likely to favor government spending than a traditional US Republican administration. In particular, to maintain their own independence over the long term, the West European countries would simply have to increase their conservation efforts, and increase their (in large part government) spending on alternative sources of energy: wind, wave, solar, and nuclear (mostly hydrogen fusion). The reason for such a policy would be the expectation that some administrations in the US would follow `Jacksonian' rather than or in addition to `Wilsonian' policies -- that, as a practical matter, some US leaders would be no more altruistic than their European counterparts. And, since the US has more power than Iraq, economically, militarily, and culturally, from the point of view of a non-US government, the US presents a more pressing danger, even if, at the moment, it is much nicer than Iraq. Hence, it makes sense to oppose the US, even in a morally justified endeaver, such as overthrowing the government of Iraq. The US could counter-argue that technological advances over the past century have not only enabled countries such as the US to increase their lethal power, but have enabled the weak to increase their lethal power -- and that
RE: Deadlier Than War
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of J.D. Giorgis ... Based on Iraqi government figures, UNICEF estimates that containment kills roughly 5,000 Iraqi babies (children under 5 years of age) every month, or 60,000 per year. Other estimates are lower, but by any reasonable estimate containment kills about as many people every year as the Gulf War -- and almost all the victims of containment are civilian, and two-thirds are children under 5. This article made me reconsider how many people we kill by our action and inaction. A few examples: * Proper perinatal care could save an estimated 4 million babies. * Thousands of babies could be saved with genetic testing to identify treatable disorders. * 1.5 million babies could be saved through successful promotion of breast feeding. * 100,000 people in the United States could be saved if health insurers covered smoking cessation products. * Hundreds of thousands of babies could be saved by ensuring that HIV positive mothers are given the drug Nevirapine. * Flu vaccine could save an average of 20,000 people a year in the United States alone. * A new strain of meningitis in Africa will kill tens of thousands of people unless vaccines and treatments are funded. * The vast majority of the 57,000 people who die from colon cancer in the United States would survive with early diagnosis. * Affordable access to dialysis could save 30,000 people a year in the United States alone. * Millions of malaria deaths world-wide could be prevented with widespread use of dichlorodiphenyltrichlorethane. * 40,000 AIDS deaths in the United States could be prevented with mandatory testing. * $27 billion a year would save the lives of about 8 million who die of diseases that can be prevented with vaccines and medicines. * Safe vehicles would save 40,000 people a year in the United States alone. * Stopping tobacco use worldwide would save 5 million people a year. * 60,000 babies a year could be saved by dropping the santions against Iraq. * 10,000 to 20,000 people would have been saved if the United States hadn't bombed a pharmaceutical plant by mistake. In short, there are many ways, some of them very inexpensive, that could prevent unnecessary deaths. Take any of them out of context, such as the next to the last one above, and you can make us sound like negligent murderers for allowing the situation to persist. I don't object to the proposed war, but my support is very, very reluctant. And I'm glad that we have troops who are willing to combat the bad things going on in Iraq, even if I were there, I'd have a hard time being a combatant. Having said that, I despise the kind of rhetoric in this article. We are not killing babies by failing to make war on Iraq. There is a huge ethical difference between killing and letting die; otherwise, euthanasia would be legal everywhere. Nick ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Computer Repair Question
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of J.D. Giorgis ... This morning, I turned on my computer to check my e-mail. I was simply sitting, typing away, when my computer mysteriously powered down. Upon inspection, I noticed (ack!) that a side panel to the computer case had come a bit loose. Additionally, my friend noted that the back of the computer was unusually warm (which is odd, since I bought an extra fan for the case - as I knew I would leave it on a lot in a non-air-conditioned apartment.) At this point I went to work, but when I came home, the computer still will simply not turn on. I plugged in my old computer using the same cord to the same surge protector and same plug - and clearly, my old computer is working just fine from that plug. After spending much of last weekend under my desk solving a thermal problem with my main machine, I'm more of an expert on heat problems than I'd like to be. If your dead machine is an Athlon or P4, the shutdown might have been because it got too hot. What motherboard does it have? The fact that it won't power up at all means that the CPU may be cooked. That's more likely if it's an Athlon. But the heat in the back might not have anything to do with it. A loose side panel shouldn't cause overheating to an extent that it would cook the processor. In that case, I'd suspect the power supply. Too bad you're not near here; I have several extra power supplied (after upgrading to quieter and more powerful ones). Incidentally, adding an extra fan can actually make things worse, depending on whether it contributes to proper airflow or not. And extra fans in the front of the case apparently have little impact at all. An extra exhaust fan in the back, near the power supply and CPU, appears to be the best way to enhance case cooling. (My machine's main problem is air circulation in the case, I finally realized, even after installing a couple of extra fans and upgrading the power supply and re-installing the CPU cooler. None of that made a great deal of difference, but when I opened up the case and set a big ol' Vornado fan next to it, blowing across the machine, the temperature came down more than 10 degrees. Now the CPU is right where it should be ideally, at 60 degrees C.) Nick ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Iran's Nuclear Threat
Doug Pensinger wrote: May the fighting be over quickly, and may humanity assert itself wherever it is most needed. Amen. Thank you, Doug. Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Speaking of Bottled Water...
Doug Pensinger wrote: Anyone else use those pitchers with built in filters? The ones I have have a chamber in the top and they drip through a filter into the chamber in the bottom. I have one, but it's a bit much to lug around at a con. I saw a sports bottle with a filter, and almost got it, but didn't; when I decided it would be a really good idea, I couldn't find one anymore. :P Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Speaking of Bottled Water...
Doug Pensinger wrote: Anyone else use those pitchers with built in filters? The ones I have have a chamber in the top and they drip through a filter into the chamber in the bottom. I used one for a while (Brita), but the filters regularly dropped bits of charcoal (little black flakes) into the otherwise-purified water, which drove me nuts. Now, we have a large filter on the main water line to our house (a plumber installed this as a freebie when he did some other work for us), and our refrigerator has a built-in filter for the ice and water dispenser. As an aside - the main-line filter is a scay sight, because it sits in a clear tube, starting out paper-white, and within days begins turning a dark rusty brown. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Iran's Nuclear Threat
At 09:48 13-03-03 -0300, Alberto Monteiro wrote: I don't think it could be anywhere near that bad, and even if Bush doesn't plan to build a great country out of Iraq, it is highly unlikely he would allow such a civil war, it would make him look like a complete failure and that is one thing that he will not tolerate, no matter his sincerity. But if the oil prices were reduced by a factor of 2 or 3, would his electors care about how many iraqis were being killed? Probably not. As Stalin said: The death of one man is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic. How many people die every day of AIDS in Africa because the Capitalist Corporations insist on keeping anti-AIDS drugs so expensive as to make country-wide campaings impossible? According to http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/, last year an estimate 2.4 million people in Africa died of HIV/AIDS. To answer your question, that's roughly 6,575 people each day -- or 4.6 people every minute... :-( In other words, in the time it took me to write this message and did some research, some 100 people in Africa died of HIV/AIDS... :-( Other stats (for sub-Saharan Africa, by far the worst effected region in the world): - People living with HIV/AIDS: 29.4 million (including 3 million children under 15) - New infections in 2002: 3.5 million http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite.jsp?page=cr09-00-00 Jeroen Make love, not war van Baardwijk _ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Iran's Nuclear Threat
- Original Message - From: J. van Baardwijk [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 10:37 AM Subject: Re: Iran's Nuclear Threat At 09:48 13-03-03 -0300, Alberto Monteiro wrote: I don't think it could be anywhere near that bad, and even if Bush doesn't plan to build a great country out of Iraq, it is highly unlikely he would allow such a civil war, it would make him look like a complete failure and that is one thing that he will not tolerate, no matter his sincerity. But if the oil prices were reduced by a factor of 2 or 3, would his electors care about how many iraqis were being killed? Probably not. As Stalin said: The death of one man is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic. Actually, the greatest probablility is that the numbers of Iraquies dying this year will be lower if the US goes in soon. The odds are even higher that the number dying in '03-'04 will be less. So, if you are opposed to US intervention, it must be becasue the costs are so high, that they exceed this benefit. That's not an unreasonable position, and I actually lean towards it...but no one should argue that they are opposed to war becasue of their love for the people of Iraq. How many people die every day of AIDS in Africa because the Capitalist Corporations insist on keeping anti-AIDS drugs so expensive as to make country-wide campaings impossible? According to http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/, last year an estimate 2.4 million people in Africa died of HIV/AIDS. To answer your question, that's roughly 6,575 people each day -- or 4.6 people every minute... :-( Out of curiosity, Jeroen, what have you done to help with the AIDS problem? Dan M. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
State Dept. report on Democracy in Iraq
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/03/ 14/MN22108.DTL Democracy in Iraq doubtful, State Dept. report says Social, economic obstacles work against transformation Greg Miller, Los Angeles Times Friday, March 14, 2003 -- -- Washington -- A classified State Department report expresses deep skepticism that installing a new regime in Iraq will foster the spread of democracy in the Middle East, a claim President Bush has made in trying to build support for a war, according to intelligence officials familiar with the document. The report exposes significant divisions within the Bush administration over the so-called democratic domino theory, one of the arguments that underpins the case for invading Iraq. The report, which has been distributed to a small group of top government officials but not publicly disclosed, says that daunting economic and social problems are likely to undermine basic stability in the region for years, let alone prospects for democratic reform. Even if some version of democracy took root -- an event the report casts as unlikely -- anti-American sentiment is so pervasive that elections in the short term could lead to the rise of Islamic-controlled governments hostile to the United States. Liberal democracy would be difficult to achieve, says one passage of the report, according to an intelligence official who agreed to read portions of it to the Los Angeles Times. Electoral democracy, were it to emerge, could well be subject to exploitation by anti-American elements. The thrust of the document, the source said, is that this idea that you're going to transform the Middle East and fundamentally alter its trajectory is not credible. Even the document's title appears to dismiss the administration argument. The report is labeled Iraq, the Middle East and Change: No Dominoes. The report was produced by the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, the in-house analytical arm. It is dated Feb. 26, officials said, the same day Bush endorsed the domino theory in a speech to the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington. A new regime in Iraq would serve as a dramatic and inspiring example of freedom for other nations in the region, Bush said. Other top administration officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, have made similar remarks in recent months. But the argument has been pushed hardest by a group of officials and advisers who have been the leading proponents of going to war with Iraq. Prominent among them are Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary, and Richard Perle, chairman of the Defense Policy Board, an influential Pentagon advisory panel. Wolfowitz has said that Iraq could be the first Arab democracy and that even modest democratic progress in Iraq would cast a very large shadow, starting with Syria and Iran but across the whole Arab world. Similarly, Perle has said that a reformed Iraq has the potential to transform the thinking of people around the world about the potential for democracy, even in Arab countries where people have been disparaging of their potential. White House officials hold out the promise of a friendly and functional government in Baghdad to contrast with administration portrayals of President Saddam Hussein's regime as brutal and bent on building his stock of biological and chemical weapons. The domino theory also is used by the administration as a counterargument to critics in Congress and elsewhere who have expressed concern that invading Iraq will inflame the Muslim world and fuel terrorist activity against the United States. But the theory is disputed by many experts and is viewed with skepticism by analysts at the CIA and the State Department, intelligence officials said. Critics say even establishing a democratic government in Iraq will be extremely difficult. Iraq is made up of ethnic groups deeply hostile to one another. Ever since its inception in 1932, the country has known little but bloody coups and brutal dictators. Even so, it is seen by some as holding more democratic potential -- because of its wealth and educated population -- than many of its neighbors. By some estimates, 65 million adults in the Mideast can't read or write, and 14 million are unemployed, with an exploding, poorly educated youth population. Given such trends, We'll be lucky to have strong central governments (in the Middle East), let alone democracy, said one intelligence official. The official stressed that no one in intelligence or diplomatic circles opposes the idea of trying to install a democratic government in Iraq. It couldn't hurt, the official said. But to sell (the war) on the basis that this is going to cause 1,000 flowers to bloom is naive. The obstacles to reform outlined in the report are daunting. Middle East societies are riven by political, economic and
RE: Computer Repair Question
On 14 Mar 2003 at 8:14, Nick Arnett wrote: This morning, I turned on my computer to check my e-mail. I was simply sitting, typing away, when my computer mysteriously powered down. Upon inspection, I noticed (ack!) that a side panel to the computer case had come a bit loose. Additionally, my friend noted that the back of the computer was unusually warm (which is odd, since I bought an extra fan for the case - as I knew I would leave it on a lot in a non-air-conditioned apartment.) At this point I went to work, but when I came home, the computer still will simply not turn on. I plugged in my old computer using the same cord to the same surge protector and same plug - and clearly, my old computer is working just fine from that plug. After spending much of last weekend under my desk solving a thermal problem with my main machine, I'm more of an expert on heat problems than I'd like to be. If your dead machine is an Athlon or P4, the shutdown might have been because it got too hot. What motherboard does it have? The fact that it won't power up at all means that the CPU may be cooked. That's more likely if it's an Athlon. Depends on the chipset. If the Athlon has a KT-333*, KT-400 or Nforce 2 motherboard, that's not true. (* a couple of really cheap KT-333's missed the protection, but no major brand names). In any case, with any processor it's worth setting the heat protection is the BIOS on. As a note, if you have a SBLive! card, it can be worth adding cooling to that (I put an small old CPU fan designed I think for a K6 on it with double sided thermal tape..not wonderful, but adequate for THAT job). Andy Dawn Falcon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
idiocy
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2u=/030313/168/3i6de.htmle=1ncid=9 96 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: pentagon will shoot to kill 'unauthorized' or freelancereporters, reporting in Iraq
--- The Fool [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/29750.html Airstrike! The Pentagon simplifies media relations By John Lettice Posted: 13/03/2003 at 17:10 GMT Should war in the Gulf commence, the Pentagon proposes to take radical new steps in media relations - 'unauthorised' journalists will be shot at. Speaking on The Sunday Show on Ireland's RTE1 last Sunday veteran war reporter Kate Adie said she had been warned by a senior Pentagon official that uplinks, i.e. TV broadcasts or satellite phones, that are detected by US aircraft are likely to be fired on. It is possible, just possible, that this is the dumbest article in journalistic history. If you're on a battlefield and radiating an energy signature, there's a good chance that you'll look like a combatant. The United States uses antiradiation missiles. If you're sitting out in the desert radiating away, and you haven't informed the military where you are and who you are so that they can protect you, you are, almost certainly, going to get shot at. No kidding. Does this shock anyone? If you're on a battlefield, and you look like an enemy (someone radiating but who is not deconflicted by American systems is going to look like an enemy) you are going to get shot at. This is why they call it a battlefield. The Pentagon is saying, Hey boys and girls, this is for-real. People get killed in a war. So take precautions. And this is spun as the Pentagon will shoot journalists? I guess that tells you what you need to know about the Register... Gautam __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - establish your business online http://webhosting.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Computer Repair Question
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Andrew Crystall ... Depends on the chipset. If the Athlon has a KT-333*, KT-400 or Nforce 2 motherboard, that's not true. (* a couple of really cheap KT-333's missed the protection, but no major brand names). True... and if the first shutdown was because of the overheat protection, it should have been willing to start later. I should have thought of this, since the machine I was fussing with all weekend has the KT-333 set. In any case, with any processor it's worth setting the heat protection is the BIOS on. As a note, if you have a SBLive! card, it can be worth adding cooling to that (I put an small old CPU fan designed I think for a K6 on it with double sided thermal tape..not wonderful, but adequate for THAT job). In my travels around the web learning about cooling, I also saw suggestions for fins on memory, adding thermal grease to the heatsink on the chip set itself, etc., etc. I did a little work a while ago with the demo god at Intel, the guy who creates all the demos for the top execs. Now *he* knows cooling. His lab has a tank of liquid nitrogen... Nick ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: pentagon will shoot to kill 'unauthorized' or freelancereporters, reporting in Iraq
On 14 Mar 2003 at 10:14, Gautam Mukunda wrote: battlefield. The Pentagon is saying, Hey boys and girls, this is for-real. People get killed in a war. So take precautions. And this is spun as the Pentagon will shoot journalists? I guess that tells you what you need to know about the Register... No, it says what you need to know about THAT WRITER. It shows you don't understand how The Register works either or where it typically comes from. Andy Dawn Falcon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Computer Repair Question
On 14 Mar 2003 at 10:15, Nick Arnett wrote: In my travels around the web learning about cooling, I also saw suggestions for fins on memory, adding thermal grease to the heatsink on the chip set itself, etc., etc. I did a little work a while ago with the demo god at Intel, the guy who creates all the demos for the top execs. Now *he* knows cooling. His lab has a tank of liquid nitrogen... heh :) Well, to be honest for most people the thermal pad which comes on most heatsinks is sufficiently good not to be worth the average user using thermal grease. (the fact you need to use protective wear on your hands, the fact that too much is actually worse than using the pad in the first place, etc.) The cooler you buy is important, of course. I got a Taisol, which are not the most powerful but AMD highly recomends them (if you look at the AMD guide to installing an Athlon, they use a Taisol there) and they are a LOT quieter than many coolers which have the same or slightly greater cooling abilities. Andy Dawn Falcon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: br!n: Re: a call to the irregulars!
Jose J. Ortiz-Carlo wrote: Well, P.R. has been a proud colony/commonwealth of the United States for more than a century, so :) This reminds me of a question that came up in a discussion I was just having with a co-worker. Just what exactly is Puerto Rico's status with the US? Is PR an (semi-)independent nation under US protection, or is it more like a region the US controls that isn't a state (say like Washington DC)? If PR is US controlled (ie: not an independent nation), do Puerto Ricans have US citizenship, get to vote in US elections and pay US taxes? What about the Virgin Islands - is that the same deal for the US portion? How does it work for the UK portion? -bryon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Cross culture question
I remember a statement here by Gautam that India's nuclear arsonal is superior to Pakistans, and that Pakistan's nuclear tests were a bit of a dud. I got it response, the following post: On Thu, 13 Mar 2003, Dan Minette wrote: Sigh. Look... again. OK, this friend graduated with a degree in international affairs from one of the top two or three US university and had as his thesis advisor was one of the top folks in that field. He also has _a lot_ of contacts with folks who look at such things professionally. He's also very interested in India. Take it for what its worth. Ah - i thought you worked on facts, not qualifications? If i graduated from the best Chinese Language and Culture school in the world, does this prove that i know what the Premier is thinking right now? Or the readiness of their combat forces? Here are some sources. Take it for what it's worth. http://www.fas.org/news/pakistan/2000/000606-indopak-nbc.htm http://www.subcontinent.com/sapra/nuclear/nuclear2612a.html http://www.dawn.com/2000/06/08/top3.htm And this is is interesting: ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Names for fries
NOTE: this is just for sharing, I'm sure that someone will be offended by at least some of them, and if you are, please don't blast *me* personally, thanks. Taken from another mailing list (so this is at least the third list it's on): quoted from other list Some new names for french fries proposed on a friend's mailing list: Faith-basted Potatoes Tom's Olde Ridged Potatoes Talibandit's Fried Delight 'Merkan Puppies Ashcrofties Patriot's Weggies Saddam's Dick Taters Burnin'-hots Tower-tots Never Ferget Potato Coalition Ammunition Partial Birth Potatos Homeland Security Fries Uncle George's Greasy Hot Tubers Tyranny Tots Little Yellow Rectangles Hater-Taters Dick-Cheney-is-a-Xenophobic-Paranoiac-Who-Is-Buying-Us-All-Non-Refundable-Tickets-To-Hell-Cakes /quoted from other list I like the Patriot's Weggies the best, probably because if they're Weggies, they're more like the steak fries I prefer than, say, what you'd get at McDonald's, Wendy's or Sonic (which are the 3 places I got fries at most recently, and damn, but the ones at Sonic are *salty*, I'm going to get Tater Tots there from now on if I'm getting a potato product, which isn't as likely since they have nice onion rings and I like those as a change about as often as I'd be getting a side at Sonic anyway). Anyway, if anyone wants to add to the list and have me pass it back, I'd be happy to do so. :) Julia scraping the barrel for humor on the subject, since there's only so much *crying* one can do ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Cross culture question
--- Dan Minette [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://www.dawn.com/2000/06/08/top3.htm And this is is interesting: OK - one more note. Both of those assessments were based on information available to the American (and, to a lesser extent, Indian) governments as of very shortly after the tests. If assessments or relative capabilities have changed since that time, I wouldn't know about it. Gautam __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - establish your business online http://webhosting.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: idiocy
The Fool wrote: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2u=/030313/168/3i6de.htmle=1ncid=9 96 http://makeashorterlink.com/?M1A022FC3 And you might have been so kind as to warn that it's disturbing, with blood and stuff. Next time you post a link to a picture with that much blood, do you think you could warn us? I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks. Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Cross culture question
Gautam said: I would rate my estimate of the qualitative superiority of the Indian nuclear arsenal at near certainty, and the fizzles at I'm somewhat confident, but it's certainly possible that this was mistaken information. Hasn't India also progressed to Ulam-Teller hydrogen bombs whereas Pakistan's are fission designs? And if this is the case, are Pakistan's bombs gun-style uranium bombs or plutonium implosion bombs? And are India's (possible) hydrogen bombs fully weaponised? Actually, I've just looked at http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/india/nuke/index.html and that suggests that one of the Indian tests might've been a Ulam-Teller device whose second phase failed to ignite and http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/pakistan/nuke/index.html gives low estimated yields for the Pakistani devices. Neither page has been updated for a few years though. Rich GCU So Many Questions ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Radio Free France
Check this guy for rabies, he's starting to froth at the mouth. Let's see: Chancellor Shroeder gained reelection by warning of American warmongering, even though, as usual, America had been attacked first. Major US Wars Who attacked first? Revolutionary War Colonists (but that's kind of expected in a revolution) War of 1812 US Mexican War US Civil War Doesn't count, US vs. US Spanish-American WarUS World War I Not US World War IINot US Korean War Not US Vietnam War Not US, but we did come in to help maintain the French colony (mildly ironic) Gulf WarNot US Afghanistan US This doesn't list many of the other adventures the US has embarked upon (the annexation of Florida, the Barbary War, the invasion and occupation of Haiti (first one in 1915), Grenada). The trend is towards the US not instigating full out wars, but that could be because we are so powerful that most of the military actions we pursue now don't even count as wars. We are very willing to project military power to protect our interests. This isn't to say that this policy isn't justified (e.g. Afghanistan), but we can't be said to shy away from the use of force. It doesn't help that the administration has brought unparalleled levels of transparency to their veiled references to war. If war is indeed their final option, then they have failed in conveying that to the world. And both Shroeder and Chirac went to great lengths to support Islamic institutions in their countries, even when as in the French case it was in open violation of the national constitution. French law stipulates a total separation of church and state, yet the French Government openly funds Islamic study centers, mosques, and welfare organizations. The French don't have a separation of Church and State the way we do. The salaries of all clergy in France are paid by the government. So this is just an equal treatment of religions. Having said that, France has a level of segregation and racism that is unparalleled in the US. Non-Europeans are strongly discriminated against and concentrated in ghettos. The French far-right has strong support. Muslims/Arabs have a far higher levels of unemployment and are poorly served and educated. I think racism is a common problem in states that have an ethnicity and nationality tied together. Which brings us to: And both countries have permitted the Saudis to build thousands of radical Wahhabi mosques and schools, where the hatred of the infidels is instilled in generation after generation of young Sunnis. So French Muslims are ripe for radicalization. Unfortunately, the French, supposing they wanted to eliminate this are constrained by those pesky things called civil rights. If someone wants to fund the building of a mosque, the state really has little it can do. Clearly there is more the French could do, but I think that it is at least as likely that their motives are neglect based in racism. It is perhaps no accident that Chirac went to Algeria last week and promised a cheering crowd that he would not rest until America's grand design had been defeated. Reasons for Chirac to go to Algeria: 1. Try to put the war behind them. France did some terrible things. Imagine if we had been in Vietnam for 132 years. 2. Get better access to Algeria's oil and gas. 3. Help support a stable government so all of those foreigners in France can be sent home. Call this the Libera Plan. 4. Support the government's war against Islamic rebels. I can only find an excerpt, but Chirac doesn't vow he would not rest until America's grand design had been defeated anywhere in it. http://www.info-france-usa.org/news/statmnts/2003/chirac_algeria030303.a sp And the cheering crowd? They were yelling visa! visa! Most of them see France as a means to escape the poverty. Enough of this wacko, I need to get back to work... Mark -Original Message- From: J.D. Giorgis [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 6:26 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Med Subject: Radio Free France March 10, 2003 9:00 a.m. A Theory What if theres method to the Franco-German madness? Michael Ledeen National Review http://www.nationalreview.com/ledeen/ledeen031003.asp Assume, for a moment, that the French and the Germans aren't thwarting us out of pique, but by design, long-term design. Then look at the world again, and see if there's evidence of such a design. Like everyone else, the French and the Germans saw that the defeat of the Soviet Empire projected the United States into the rare, almost unique position of a global hyperpower, a country so strong in every measurable element that no other nation could possibly resist its will. The new Europe had been designed to carve out a limited
Re: Re: Replacing the UN Re: Who is the sheriff?
However, to be consistent with that policy, the population of *every* country should then be measured as the number of people who voted that country's government into power. No it should be measured by those who had the *opportunity* to vote. IOW, you want an international organisation in which countries may give their opinion, but in which the US unilaterally makes all the decisions. I think that such an arrangement would be both an improvement over the status quo, and beneficial to the United States. After all, the US hasn't exactly shown itself to be a knee-jerk unilaterlist, even after being attacked a year and half ago. 15 months after the axis of evil speech and five months after Congress voted to authorize force against Iraq, we're still consulting with the international community, even though we didn't have to. So, basically the world could accept such an arrangement as described above, or else continue with the status quo and I think that you will see that the abandonement of the United States by the international community in this time of need, will probably leave the US much more unilateralist in the future as it is today. So, despite your insulting accusation that the US wants a dictatorship, perhaps you should consider that something may be much better than nothing. JDG ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Names for fries
In a message dated 3/14/2003 11:46:09 AM US Mountain Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I'm going to get Tater Tots there from now on if I'm getting a potato product, which isn't as likely since they have nice onion rings and I like those as a change about as often as I'd be getting a side at Sonic anyway). Anyway, if anyone wants to add to the list and have me pass it back, I'd be happy to do so. :) Julia scraping the barrel for humor on the subject, since there's only so much *crying* one can do Well, Tater Tots do look like little miniature barrels of oil. But wouldn't Preadolescents be a more politically correct term than the one that makes reference to the walking ability of one still far from reaching maturity. And isn't the word Tater an ethnic slur to many? Potato Preadolescents. Buy some today. William Taylor --- Do you want Freud with that? ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Computer Repair Question
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Andrew Crystall ... Well, to be honest for most people the thermal pad which comes on most heatsinks is sufficiently good not to be worth the average user using thermal grease. (the fact you need to use protective wear on your hands Uh... you do? And what if you don't and you get that stuff on your hands...? I mean, let's say a guy actually did. Last weekend. The cooler you buy is important, of course. I got a Taisol, which are not the most powerful but AMD highly recomends them (if you look at the AMD guide to installing an Athlon, they use a Taisol there) and they are a LOT quieter than many coolers which have the same or slightly greater cooling abilities. I'm going to take another look at coolers later. The new one I bought is fairly ordinary, probably not too much of an upgrade over the AMD branded one that came with the CPU. It's copper, though. Any thoughts on the adapter that lets you use an 80 mm fan on the CPU cooler? Nick ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Computer Repair Question
On Fri, Mar 14, 2003 at 11:06:17AM -0800, Nick Arnett wrote: Uh... you do? And what if you don't and you get that stuff on your hands...? I mean, let's say a guy actually did. Last weekend. It is usually silicone based. Silicone on your skin won't hurt you. I don't know what else they might add, however. Were there warning labels on the package? -- Erik Reuter [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.erikreuter.net/ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Computer Repair Question
On 14 Mar 2003 at 11:06, Nick Arnett wrote: Well, to be honest for most people the thermal pad which comes on most heatsinks is sufficiently good not to be worth the average user using thermal grease. (the fact you need to use protective wear on your hands Uh... you do? And what if you don't and you get that stuff on your hands...? I mean, let's say a guy actually did. Last weekend. *chuckles* Oh, it's not toxic to get on your hands or anything, but it DOES stick to your fingers (nastily so..) and fingers are a BAD way to spread it (not nearly even enough - you want to be using an old credit card edge to get a thin layer. The cooler you buy is important, of course. I got a Taisol, which are not the most powerful but AMD highly recomends them (if you look at the AMD guide to installing an Athlon, they use a Taisol there) and they are a LOT quieter than many coolers which have the same or slightly greater cooling abilities. I'm going to take another look at coolers later. The new one I bought is fairly ordinary, probably not too much of an upgrade over the AMD branded one that came with the CPU. It's copper, though. Any thoughts on the adapter that lets you use an 80 mm fan on the CPU cooler? Which adapter would that be? The Taisol I bought cost me the equivalent of $25, so don't assume expensive is good. Allways check the AMD page and see if you cooler is AMD-aproved for that chip... Andy Dawn Falcon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
- Original Message - From: Erik Reuter [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2003 9:17 PM Subject: Re: Who is the sheriff? It seems to me that in order to be able to use massive amounts of anthrax and nerve agent against the US, Hussein would have to be able to fly planes over the US or else to target us with ICBMs or maybe warships or something else comparable. He can't do that right now. How about cargo containers? I think I was the one who originally brought up cargo containers with regard to attacks before 9-11. They are a very significant risk for a nuclear attack. But, since a biological or chemical agent needs to be properly dispersed to rack havoc, then a cargo container that contains anthrax will not be an effective means of killing a lot of people. Chemical agents would also suffer from the same dispersement problem. Hmmm, maybe I didn't express myself clearly before. I'm not against others trying, in general, to limit the power of America in the future to dictate world events, and I can certainly see how America dictating world events with no checks and balances would be a bad thing, not the least of which because Americans would have a vote and be protected by the Constitution, but foreigners would not. But I fail to see how opposing America on Iraq is likely to limit America's future world power, and it is probably more likely to increase American hegemony. As I said in my previous post, people who are concerned about American hegemony (and I am, although not to the extremes of the viewpoint you mention) should work to create balance in a positive manner, for example, by trying to establish a League of Democratic Nations to provide a vote and something similar to the protections and freedoms guaranteed in the US Constitution to all people in the world. Sorry, I didn't mean to shut you up! I like to hear what you have to say, although I would rather you were using your considerable persuasive writing powers to influence events positively, for example by discussing how to rebuild Iraq after a war or how to check future American excessive power expansion while simultaneously increasing freedom and democracy throughout the world. I think the US has handled this issue about as badly as possible on the diplomatic front - by our bluntness placing at needlessly increased risk the very leaders, like Tony Blair, by whose support we hope to gain international legitimacy. I completely agree. Why do you think Bush is so inept at this sort of thing? He certainly seems to have charmed millions of Americans, why can't he do the same with Europeans? So at this point I'm thinking that if war comes to pass, as it almost certainly will, I'm going to bite my tongue and hope and pray, in my strange and godless way, that everything works out for the best. Any ideas on what we could do, personally, to increase the chances of success in nation building after the war? (I'm thinking along the lines of charities, lobbying groups, spending time on the weekends, writing letters, etc. -- I'm not sure I'm committed enough to quit my job and go to Iraq to help) I appreciate your sincerity in this, but I'm curious as to why you think that while an extremely modest effort (about $40 spent per person in Afghanistan is as much as can be done) a massive effort will work in Iraq. It doesn't seem reasonable that a $200/per person (just under 6 billion/year) effort in Afghanistan will involve so much money the system couldn't handle it. My personal belief is that Afghanistan offers a much easier test case for a lot of things we could try in Iraq. I'll grant you that we will take more control initially in Iraq, but having experience working in a Moslem country should prove invaluable. So, that's my suggestion. Dan M. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Names for fries
In a message dated 3/14/03 12:09:16 PM US Mountain Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: 'Sides, my dictionary has 2 definitions for tot as a noun. The first is a small child. The second is a small amount. One tater tot is a small amount of potato. :) (And very easy to chew, at that!) Julia Have you any comments on the projectile properties of Tater Tots versus Steak Fries and the thinner more traditional fast food variety? William Taylor -- And I AM talking about hand thrown. NOT after having been consumed by a young one. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Names for fries
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Well, Tater Tots do look like little miniature barrels of oil. Forgot the obligatory grease reference in my original reply. :) Sorry! Actually, the Tater Tots at Sonic aren't *too* greasy, at least for the quantity of potato in each one. And buying them frozen at the supermarket and *baking* them leads to *extremely* little in the way of grease. (Deep frying them at home, on the other hand, could get rather oily) But they're still nowhere near as good as steak fries Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Cross culture question
--- Richard Baker [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Gautam said: I would rate my estimate of the qualitative superiority of the Indian nuclear arsenal at near certainty, and the fizzles at I'm somewhat confident, but it's certainly possible that this was mistaken information. Hasn't India also progressed to Ulam-Teller hydrogen bombs whereas Pakistan's are fission designs? And if this is the case, are Pakistan's bombs gun-style uranium bombs or plutonium implosion bombs? And are India's (possible) hydrogen bombs fully weaponised? Actually, I've just looked at http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/india/nuke/index.html and that suggests that one of the Indian tests might've been a Ulam-Teller device whose second phase failed to ignite and I don't know. That's the short answer. I had heard the same thing about the Indian tests - that the second phase failed to ignite - a few days after the tests, but not much since then. Worldwide nuclear capabilities have really iron-clad security surrounding even our assessments of them. What little I know is years out of date. At the time, what I heard was (I believe) what the US government thought. It wouldn't be the first time they were wrong. Gautam __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - establish your business online http://webhosting.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: pentagon will shoot to kill 'unauthorized' or freelancereporters, reporting in Iraq
--- Andrew Crystall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: No, it says what you need to know about THAT WRITER. It shows you don't understand how The Register works either or where it typically comes from. Andy Dawn Falcon Most newspapers (even The Register) have editors, Andy... Gautam __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - establish your business online http://webhosting.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Names for fries
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 3/14/03 12:09:16 PM US Mountain Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: 'Sides, my dictionary has 2 definitions for tot as a noun. The first is a small child. The second is a small amount. One tater tot is a small amount of potato. :) (And very easy to chew, at that!) Julia Have you any comments on the projectile properties of Tater Tots versus Steak Fries and the thinner more traditional fast food variety? No. Those sorts of experiments haven't been conducted much. Now, as to the way tater tots *fall* on the floor as opposed to half-eaten dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, I might be able to comment on *that* (Grilled cheese sandwiches from Sonic don't fall on the floor. Grilled cheese sandwiches made by Mommy do. Sigh) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
On Fri, Mar 14, 2003 at 01:24:04PM -0600, Dan Minette wrote: I think I was the one who originally brought up cargo containers with regard to attacks before 9-11. They are a very significant risk for a nuclear attack. But, since a biological or chemical agent needs to be properly dispersed to rack havoc, then a cargo container that contains anthrax will not be an effective means of killing a lot of people. Chemical agents would also suffer from the same dispersement problem. I was thinking along the lines of terrorists in the country who managed to pick up the materials from an incoming cargo container. But I don't know enough details about whether that would be possible. Do you? -- Erik Reuter [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.erikreuter.net/ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: pentagon will shoot to kill 'unauthorized' orfreelancereporters,reporting in Iraq
Andrew Crystall wrote: On 14 Mar 2003 at 11:20, The Fool wrote: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/29750.html Airstrike! The Pentagon simplifies media relations By John Lettice Posted: 13/03/2003 at 17:10 GMT There's a point to this which I understand. I don't allways agree with the right-wing views of John Ringo, but he IS ex-service and understands the practical problems of being a soldier. The following article was origionally from the NY Post: http://www.johnringo.com/popadjfire.htm Last month on CNN I saw some reporter on a US warship talk Live from in the Persian Gulf - we're in an undisclosed location The cameraman then proceded to zoom in on the distinct shoreline behind the reporter. Just clueless. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Commentary on French-bashing
-Original Message- From: Julia Thompson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2003 04:32 PM To: Killer Bs Discussion Subject: Re: Commentary on French-bashing Miller, Jeffrey wrote: One thing that I especially love about the whole freedom foods stuff, is that neither French Fries or French Toast are particularly French... 1) For French fries: They're not particularly French. I think McDonald's just calls them fries without any additional adjective. Just call them fries, unless they're the superior steak fries, and call those *that*, and BTW, let me know where I can get steak fries. :) IIRC from culinary school, they're Belgian in origin 2) For French toast: Someone on another mailing list told me that prior to one of the World Wars, it had been called German toast. I have done no research to verify; does anyone here know? And I think my response was, Why don't we just call it 'European toast'? The earliest recipe I can find is pain perdu or lost bread - but that doesn't mean its French by any real stretch; its kind of the peanut-butter jelly of its day, appearing in most every recipe book from the 1300's on. http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-BREADS/French-Toast-msg.text From my library (Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books, T. Austin (ed.) 42): Payn pur-dew. Take fayre olkys of Eyroun, trye hem fro the whyte, draw hem thorw a straynoure, take Salt and caste ther-to; than take fayre brede, kytte it as trounde rounde; than take fayre Boter that is claryfiyd, or ellys fayre Freysshe grece, putte it on a potte, make it hote; than take wete wyl thin trounde in the olkys, putte hem in the panne, an so frye hem vppe; but ware of cleuyng to the panne; whan it is fryid, ley hem on a dysshe, ley Sugre y-nowe ther-on, thanne serue it forht. -j- ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Computer Repair Question
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Andrew Crystall ... *chuckles* Oh, it's not toxic to get on your hands or anything, but it DOES stick to your fingers (nastily so..) and fingers are a BAD way to spread it (not nearly even enough - you want to be using an old credit card edge to get a thin layer. I was using something much like that, which came with the stuff. It's not actually thermal grease, it's some Dow Corning thermal compound. AMD says thermal grease is only okay for the short term -- testing, etc., because heating and cooling slowly forces it out of the interface. But it definitely is messy. I had a roll of paper towels handy, plus q-tips and denatured alcohol. I'm going to take another look at coolers later. The new one I bought is fairly ordinary, probably not too much of an upgrade over the AMD branded one that came with the CPU. It's copper, though. Any thoughts on the adapter that lets you use an 80 mm fan on the CPU cooler? Which adapter would that be? No brand name, it's just a little cage that screws into the standard fan mounting, then lets you attach any standard 80 mm fan. The Taisol I bought cost me the equivalent of $25, so don't assume expensive is good. Allways check the AMD page and see if you cooler is AMD-aproved for that chip... I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of choices on the AMD page... Nick ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
On Fri, Mar 14, 2003 at 01:24:04PM -0600, Dan Minette wrote: I appreciate your sincerity in this, but I'm curious as to why you think that while an extremely modest effort (about $40 spent per person in Afghanistan is as much as can be done) a massive effort will work in Iraq. I guess you left out has not yet succeeded or something similar. The answer is that I am also interested in how to help in Afghanistan, as I have stated here before. Any ideas? One idea I had was donating to UNICEF and asking that my donation be used for removing land mines in Afghanistan. Also, Afghanistan Children's Fund, http://kidsfund.redcross.org/. I'm still looking for something more nation-building oriented. It doesn't seem reasonable that a $200/per person (just under 6 billion/year) effort in Afghanistan will involve so much money the system couldn't handle it. Agreed. My personal belief is that Afghanistan offers a much easier test case for a lot of things we could try in Iraq. I'll grant you that we will take more control initially in Iraq, but having experience working in a Moslem country should prove invaluable. So, that's my suggestion. Sounds like a good suggestion. I'd appreciate hearing any specific ideas you have! -- Erik Reuter [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.erikreuter.net/ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
On Thu, 13 Mar 2003, Erik Reuter wrote: First of all, I'm not convinced that Hussein has the ability to use massive amounts of anything against the US. I don't doubt that he has stockpiles of the stuff, but that's not the same as being able to deploy them in any significant way against the US. It seems to me that in order to be able to use massive amounts of anthrax and nerve agent against the US, Hussein would have to be able to fly planes over the US or else to target us with ICBMs or maybe warships or something else comparable. He can't do that right now. How about cargo containers? A possibility - our port harbor security isn't great, plus our homland security measures for them are underfunded. But still, I'm under the impression that under sanctions Hussein can't load a container of VX on to an Iraqi ship manned by Iraqi sailors and launched from an Iraqi port and expect to get it to the US. This means he has to find intermediaries he can trust and who don't mind taking the risk of being implicated in the act. That's a pretty big hurdle in itself. Or he could just sell it to al Qaeda or some other terrorist group, but that assumes Hussein is willing to take some big chances on *their* behalf which, though not impossible, seems unlikely unless he can get a tangible long-term benefit from the deal -- pissing off the US, by itself, may not be enough for him to take such a risk. Supposing for the sake of argument that he does manage to get a container of nerve agent to a US port, and there are sympathetic agents in place to take receipt of said container, there are still a number of logistical hurdles to making use of the stuff. Moving the container will be expensive and, the more it's done, risky. Handling the bio/chem agent will require some expertise. A form of effective mass dispersal will need to be found, otherwise you're left pulling an Aum Shinrikyo-type move, and basically you will have gone to enormous effort to do something that could be done as effectively with some traditional explosives or guys with guns. Even with a form of mass dispersal, your effectiveness will be reduced unless you can find a way to contain the target population and prevent it from fleeing the area of effect. Maybe poisoning a water supply is the way to go, but then you forfeit dramatic news footage and the glory of fiery martyrdom (and would a container's worth of agent be sufficient to cause WMD-class fatalities before it's detected? I really don't know.). Nevertheless, it's a possibility worth thinking about and guarding against. But it's not something that Hussein can expect to accomplish by simply issuing an order. And if you're a terrorist working on limited budgets of money and time, importing Iraqi biological or chemical WMD to the US may not be cost-effective. Therefore, it's still an exaggeration to say simply that Hussein (alone or in concert with others) has the ability, at a wish, to use a WMD against the US. He's highly dependent on the help of others to do so...which means he is relatively weak right now, especially compared to the US's ability to retaliate. Weak enough so that we could have spent another year on diplomacy to try to build support instead of announcing ahead of time that war is what will happen no matter what anybody else says and then reluctantly going through the motions of negotiating with the UNSC. I agree that would have been far preferable, but the problem is, we don't have it to do over again. While I think Bush COULD have done it that way if he started a year ago (and weren't so inept at persuading Europeans to his viewpoint), I think that it is virtually impossible for him to persuade Europeans now, even if he were transformed into a brilliant and charming diplomat tomorrow. There has been too much conflict over this issue for any chance of changing most Europeans minds. So, the important question is what to do NOW. Personally, I'm supporting the war in Iraq, even more strongly supporting nation building after the war, and I'm also going to pay a lot of attention to foreign policy and diplomatic ability of presidential candidates when I vote in 2004. I think that's as good a stance as any I've been able to come up with. Secondly, please note that you quoted me out of context above. The quoted statement was originally part of a hypothetical designed to explain why some people might think Hussein in his current state is less dangerous than a United States, power unchecked by any rival, armed with the precedent that preemptive warfare is a legitimate principle whenever our interests are at stake. I believe Erik described this perspective as a selfish ivory tower paranoid fantasy. :-) You forgot irresponsible :-) Yes, thank you! Although, I think irresponsible better describes those who sit on their couches watching Seinfeld reruns and not giving the matter a thought. People who are vocally
RE: Commentary on French-bashing
Someone said: Someone on another mailing list told me that prior to one of the World Wars, it had been called German toast. I have done no research to verify; does anyone here know? And I think my response was, Why don't we just call it 'European toast'? Euro-toast! Marvin Long Austin, Texas Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Poindexter Ashcroft, LLP (Formerly the USA) http://www.breakyourchains.org/john_poindexter.htm ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Deadlier Than War
Nick Arnett wrote: Having said that, I despise the kind of rhetoric in this article. We are not killing babies by failing to make war on Iraq. There is a huge ethical difference between killing and letting die; But besieging an enemy city - and this is what happens with the sanctions against Iraq - is *not* letting die, it's killing. It's one of the oldest military tactics. Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Iran's Nuclear Threat
Dan Minette asked: Out of curiosity, Jeroen, what have you done to help with the AIDS problem? I can answer that. My sexual perversion does not increase the number of people infected with AIDS in the world. Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
Erik Reuter wrote: On Fri, Mar 14, 2003 at 01:24:04PM -0600, Dan Minette wrote: I think I was the one who originally brought up cargo containers with regard to attacks before 9-11. They are a very significant risk for a nuclear attack. But, since a biological or chemical agent needs to be properly dispersed to rack havoc, then a cargo container that contains anthrax will not be an effective means of killing a lot of people. Chemical agents would also suffer from the same dispersement problem. I was thinking along the lines of terrorists in the country who managed to pick up the materials from an incoming cargo container. But I don't know enough details about whether that would be possible. Do you? That's what I've feared: the chem/bio/nuke materials are smuggled into the US (easy enough to do) and disseminated to assorted terror cells. What then: I've heard mention of the possibility of smuggling in drones/UAV's to do airborne delivery of chemical/biological agents. There was also the whole cropduster concern a while back - stealing one of those might not be so difficult. And of course, the US mail system seems to be quite effective as an anthrax delivery vehicle: Imagine not a dozen letters but thousands, mailed from all over the US, simultaneously. But really, a primary point of terrorism is terror. Chem/bio attacks in our subway systems would not kill many thousands of people, but that doesn't make them not a threat. Multiple smaller attacks like that could kill hundreds, spread terror, and cause billions in economic damage. -bryon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Computer Repair Question
On 14 Mar 2003 at 11:37, Nick Arnett wrote: -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Andrew Crystall ... *chuckles* Oh, it's not toxic to get on your hands or anything, but it DOES stick to your fingers (nastily so..) and fingers are a BAD way to spread it (not nearly even enough - you want to be using an old credit card edge to get a thin layer. I was using something much like that, which came with the stuff. It's not actually thermal grease, it's some Dow Corning thermal compound. AMD says thermal grease is only okay for the short term -- testing, etc., because heating and cooling slowly forces it out of the interface. But it definitely is messy. I had a roll of paper towels handy, plus q-tips and denatured alcohol. The silicon cemente I used is slightly stickier. But yeah, I personally replace it every 6-8 months or so. Thermal pads ARE better for massed PC's, even if they are slightly less efficient. I used a plastic (n-dex, I react to even non-powered latex) gloves, which you just throw away afterwards. I'm going to take another look at coolers later. The new one I bought is fairly ordinary, probably not too much of an upgrade over the AMD branded one that came with the CPU. It's copper, though. Any thoughts on the adapter that lets you use an 80 mm fan on the CPU cooler? Which adapter would that be? No brand name, it's just a little cage that screws into the standard fan mounting, then lets you attach any standard 80 mm fan. The Taisol I bought cost me the equivalent of $25, so don't assume expensive is good. Allways check the AMD page and see if you cooler is AMD-aproved for that chip... I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of choices on the AMD page... Heh..yeah, they DO aprove a lot. And I'd be wary of the adaptor...there are perfectly good fans and I'd prefer to mount another fan in the case rather than using an adaptor. Andy Dawn Falcon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Deadlier Than War
On 14 Mar 2003 at 16:55, Alberto Monteiro wrote: Nick Arnett wrote: Having said that, I despise the kind of rhetoric in this article. We are not killing babies by failing to make war on Iraq. There is a huge ethical difference between killing and letting die; But besieging an enemy city - and this is what happens with the sanctions against Iraq - is *not* letting die, it's killing. It's one of the oldest military tactics. Oil for Food. Misdirected funds. The cash is there for him to feed his people. He *refuses* to. I will not feel any guilt for the people HE chooses to kill. Andy Dawn Falcon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
On 14 Mar 2003 at 13:41, Marvin Long, Jr. wrote: On Thu, 13 Mar 2003, Erik Reuter wrote: First of all, I'm not convinced that Hussein has the ability to use massive amounts of anything against the US. I don't doubt that he has stockpiles of the stuff, but that's not the same as being able to deploy them in any significant way against the US. It seems to me that in order to be able to use massive amounts of anthrax and nerve agent against the US, Hussein would have to be able to fly planes over the US or else to target us with ICBMs or maybe warships or something else comparable. He can't do that right now. How about cargo containers? martyrdom (and would a container's worth of agent be sufficient to cause WMD-class fatalities before it's detected? I really don't know.). Not really. I'd not worried about *mass* fatalities from a biological or chemical attack (at least - I'd be worried about a US or Russian gene-tailored bioweapon, but not what Saddam can make) but a suitcase nuke IS a worry to me. Andy Dawn Falcon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Irregulars Question: Booting from USB HD
At 15:12 13-03-03 +, William Goodall wrote: So far, I haven't seen any computers that had USB as a boot option. (I recently rolled out five brand new Pentium-4 IBM NetVista PC's, and even those didn't have that option.) Macs have been able to use a USB drive (HD or CD) as startup disk for years. Yes, Macs. But I was talking about *real* computers. :-) Jeroen Tech Support van Baardwijk _ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
- Original Message - From: Erik Reuter [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 1:24 PM Subject: Re: Who is the sheriff? I was thinking along the lines of terrorists in the country who managed to pick up the materials from an incoming cargo container. But I don't know enough details about whether that would be possible. Do you? OK, if it is simply a question of getting biological or chemical weapons into the hands of terrorists, then I'd agree that techniques similar to the ones that get illegal drugs into the country may very well work...with the caveat that drug smugglers may very well draw the line at WMD smuggling and turn the guys in. They'd have to emulate instead of use those channels, I think. I know when we got a table through a cargo company many years ago, we had to go down near the docks and go through customs to get it. I cannot imagine being able to slip a whole container pass customs just without them noticing. But, I will not argue that biological weapons cannot be smuggled into the country. If one white powder can be smuggled in, another can. Containers are important for atomic bombs because they can go off and be effective while still waiting to clear customs. Dispersing is always a problem. Look at the low fatality rate for saron gas in Japan in that attack. IIRC, the mail system now irradiates letters. I think that a biological or chemical weapon would be a WMF (Weapon of Mass Fear) not a WMD. Dan M. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Commentary on French-bashing
At 11:58 13-03-03 -0800, Gautam Mukunda wrote: France has been protected by the United States for almost a century now. The moment it no longer needs that immediate protection - the overriding and _publicly stated_ goal of French policy becomes to weaken the United States. Not *weaken* it, but *contain* it, to prevent the US from becoming some megapower that goes around telling everyone on the planet what to do, how to do it, and when to it -- and sending its troops into any country that refuses to obey America's orders. Meanwhile, Villepin claims that his goal is to protect American soldiers. That's absurd. If France can prevent the war from happening, than it *has* effectively protected American soldiers. After all, when there is no war, the risk to a soldier's life is significantly less than when that soldier goes into combat. Jeroen Make love, not war van Baardwijk _ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: br!n: Re: a call to the irregulars!
At 18:24 13-03-03 -0600, Dan Minette wrote: Roughly, it was 200 pages. I normally read in the 100-125 ppm range, but this was faster. . Reading at over 125 pages per minute? Wow! I've heard of speed-reading, but this redefines the whole concept! GRIN Although 100 pages per *hour* is still pretty impressive... :-) Jeroen So many books, so little time van Baardwijk _ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Iran's Nuclear Threat
J. van Baardwijk wrote: At 09:48 13-03-03 -0300, Alberto Monteiro wrote: I don't think it could be anywhere near that bad, and even if Bush doesn't plan to build a great country out of Iraq, it is highly unlikely he would allow such a civil war, it would make him look like a complete failure and that is one thing that he will not tolerate, no matter his sincerity. But if the oil prices were reduced by a factor of 2 or 3, would his electors care about how many iraqis were being killed? Probably not. As Stalin said: The death of one man is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic. If by electors, you mean people who voted for him, some of them wouldn't care about anything but the price of gas going down. Some would care very much about the plight of the Iraqi people. If you mean the US citizenry as a whole, some of them wouldn't care about the Iraqi people. Some of them would care very much. And if the rate of Iraqis being killed were significantly more than under Saddam since 1991, enough of the people who cared a lot would mobilize to get Bush Co. out of office at the earliest legal opportunity. So if Bush has a clue about his constituency, he's going to do his damnedest to keep the Iraqi death rate down after an initial military victory. Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Commentary on French-bashing
- Original Message - From: J. van Baardwijk [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 2:21 PM Subject: Re: Commentary on French-bashing At 11:58 13-03-03 -0800, Gautam Mukunda wrote: France has been protected by the United States for almost a century now. The moment it no longer needs that immediate protection - the overriding and _publicly stated_ goal of French policy becomes to weaken the United States. Not *weaken* it, but *contain* it, to prevent the US from becoming some megapower that goes around telling everyone on the planet what to do, how to do it, and when to it -- and sending its troops into any country that refuses to obey America's orders. Horrid horrid orders like don't take over the Middle East, too. What could we be thinking. Meanwhile, Villepin claims that his goal is to protect American soldiers. That's absurd. If France can prevent the war from happening, than it *has* effectively protected American soldiers. After all, when there is no war, the risk to a soldier's life is significantly less than when that soldier goes into combat. At the price of American civilian lives. If the French had strongly supported sanctions for the last 11 years, then they would have grounds to stand on. Instead, they tried to free Hussein to do what he wants. They even tried to aid him in becoming a nuclear power. In short, an active powerful Hussein is considered a plus for French foreign policy goals. They actively support a brutal dictator. The reason is not that they need to protect themselves against a country that would take them over militarily, but that they need to protect their prestige against the horrors of American preeminence. Dan M. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: New hayfever vaccine tested
The Fool wrote: http://www.health24.co.za/news.asp?action=artSubContentTypeId=78ContentI D=21411 New hayfever vaccine tested March 13, 2003 Six injections of a new allergy vaccine over six weeks seem to fight hayfever for more than one allergy season, according to a US Johns Hopkins study. No more medication needed Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions researchers reported last year that this experimental vaccine for severe ragweed allergy dramatically reduced allergic symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose and nasal congestion. It also almost eliminated the need for decongestants and antihistamines. This is good. Something similar for other types of allergens would be *great*. It's not the national problem that ragweed is, but if something similar could be done for the allergen that causes cedar fever around the Texas Hill Country, an awful lot of people would be a *lot* happier. Julia doesn't get cedar fever horribly badly, but experiences a mild (just enough to be really annoying) allergic reaction when many of her friends are laid up in bed (or wishing they could crawl into bed, at least) with cedar fever ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: br!n: Re: a call to the irregulars!
- Original Message - From: J. van Baardwijk [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 2:25 PM Subject: Re: br!n: Re: a call to the irregulars! At 18:24 13-03-03 -0600, Dan Minette wrote: Roughly, it was 200 pages. I normally read in the 100-125 ppm range, but this was faster. . Reading at over 125 pages per minute? Wow! I've heard of speed-reading, but this redefines the whole concept! GRIN Yea, I should have typed hour. I only read between 1000 and 1500 wpm. Dan M. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
Erik Reuter wrote: On Fri, Mar 14, 2003 at 01:24:04PM -0600, Dan Minette wrote: I think I was the one who originally brought up cargo containers with regard to attacks before 9-11. They are a very significant risk for a nuclear attack. But, since a biological or chemical agent needs to be properly dispersed to rack havoc, then a cargo container that contains anthrax will not be an effective means of killing a lot of people. Chemical agents would also suffer from the same dispersement problem. I was thinking along the lines of terrorists in the country who managed to pick up the materials from an incoming cargo container. But I don't know enough details about whether that would be possible. Do you? How much Tom Clancy have you read? IIRC, there was one instance of a nuclear bomb (or its components) being smuggled in. I think maybe on a container ship. (Someone has to have read that one more recently than I, help me out here!) Also, in a subsequent novel, a biological weapon was smuggled in in shaving cream containers, and deployed by various individuals at conventions trade shows. That one was pretty nasty. Nothing was detected until the exposed individuals had traveled home or to another stop along their trip. Can you imagine what would have happened to the US computer industry, at least short-term, if someone had successfully deployed such a biological weapon at COMDEX during the fat years of the late 1990s? Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:47:57 -, Andrew Crystall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 14 Mar 2003 at 16:02, S.V. van Baardwijk-Holten wrote: On Wed, 12 Mar 2003 23:45:36 -0600, Dan Minette [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I had to write a paper once on all the pros and cons I could come up with for different types of representations. It turns out that for all types of representation systems it is possible to come up with scenarios where the representation unfair in respect to the voting result. Actually neither of our current systems is good when you compare it to the direct representation like f.i. that of the ancient Athenians. Then again in ancient Athens only free _male_ citizens had a vote :o) If you have it arround I'd love to read it. I just knew someone was going to ask me this. The reason I didn't offer is because it was some 15+ years ago, when I was still in high school. I did what all kids do best at that age. Be totally bored with anything remotely school and focus on being a teenager. I had to write the damn thing to pass my grade. You might say it was some extra curricular stuff. In hindsight I have to say it was probably meant well. The teach must have thought it might get me interested and able to pass the grade. Wrong, wrong and right. Although I got the information chisseled into my brain that way, the exercise also scarred me for life. I aced all the tests on the subject but I was never again even remotely interested in politics. grin For understandable reasons (besides it being in Dutch and for me pre-puter) I didn't keep it around. I do however recall some of the conclusions of it. I am currently pretty frustrated by the UK's First Past the Post system - at no time because of demographics (I've still voted, but...) has my vote counted (I've always supported the minority candidate, it seems. Because I don't like ANY of the three major parties, I vote on personalities of the individuals involved). Lemme see. I recall that this first pass the post system, has the advantage of not having any real minorities. Also there usually aren't major shifts in political colour unless something major upsetting happens within the country. I believe the worst part of the English system was that even if a large minority in the country is voting for one particular party, the spread over the country still makes it hard for that party to get through to the centre of power. But this also keeps the major decision making somewhat easier with large continuity, because there are no really small parties that have to be taken into consideration. In the Netherlands the smaller parties are represented proportionally, without the (German) threashhold of 5% (and you were correct about the reason for that threashold). In the Netherlands you can get really small parties, with itty bitty interests that can make any decision making process grind to a halt. Then again representation is rather fair and the possibility for reaching majorities is multiple. This makes dependences on minorities smaller then in the Geman system. It also keeps the decision making process dynamic, with lots of tradeoffs, compromise and negotiations. This makes for some rather good short time politics. Unfortunatly there is a big potential for shifts during elections which makes long term planning somewhat hair raising and more often then not re-re-re-re-..etc...-reversible. The German system is a mix of passing the post and the Dutch system. It has the advantage of being fairer then the English system while at the same time getting stability without fragmentation. It does however give small parties on occasion a lot of leverage. (Not in Dan's much quoted example however. The goals of some of the parties makes them natural enemies. The greens and the CDU/CSU would never go well together. SPD and greens form a somewhat more natural albeit forced alliance. They both have to work hard to keep the coalition going, which makes for good enough politics to keep them in power.) Sonja GCU I still hate politics. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Names for fries
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Well, Tater Tots do look like little miniature barrels of oil. I mentioned this back to the list I got the fry names from. Someone suggested they be called petro-taters. :) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Larry McMurtry on the movie about the war
An interesting casting list. http://www.austin360.com/auto_docs/epaper/editions/friday/editorial_5.html (This will only be good through next Thursday.) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
The evil that Telcos do
If you're a customer of SBC's dsl service, you might be interested in this. If not, you might be interested anyway just for the oh jeez factor. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/14/BU35890.DTL ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 13:24:04 -0600, Dan Minette [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: - Original Message - From: Erik Reuter [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2003 9:17 PM Subject: Re: Who is the sheriff? I appreciate your sincerity in this, but I'm curious as to why you think that while an extremely modest effort (about $40 spent per person in Afghanistan is as much as can be done) a massive effort will work in Iraq. It doesn't seem reasonable that a $200/per person (just under 6 billion/year) effort in Afghanistan will involve so much money the system couldn't handle it. I'm not sure but from all the coverage we got from within the country I didn't get the impression that the iraqi people are undeveloped. They have a great deal of oppresion from above to deal with but most of them are literate and educated rather well by our standards. Even women have the possibility to achieve a high grade of education. So I think that the state Afghanistan is in,in no way can be compared to the state Iraq is in (will be in after Hussein). My personal belief is that Afghanistan offers a much easier test case for a lot of things we could try in Iraq. I'll grant you that we will take more control initially in Iraq, but having experience working in a Moslem country should prove invaluable. So, that's my suggestion. I rather disagree. I think that when there'll be money again and a stable government is in place (with preferable most of the current infrastructure/borders left intact by any invading ... oops sorry liberating ;o) forces), Iraq will be able to take care of itself without much interference from the US. I do however think that keeping the pressure on high, while conducting further peacefull inspections is probably the best bet for improvement in the region. Then again I don't see how the US will be prevented from going for the price... oops I mean ... peace. :o) The thing that is scary is that the Kurds are used as pawns in this powerplay. If the US isn't carefull it'll be looking at the wrong end of the barrel it supplied to (former) allies. again. Sonja ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
On Fri, 14 Mar 2003, Julia Thompson wrote: Erik: I was thinking along the lines of terrorists in the country who managed to pick up the materials from an incoming cargo container. But I don't know enough details about whether that would be possible. Do you? How much Tom Clancy have you read? Others have beaten me to it, but my immediate thought was to string off a list of possibilities including faked manifests, dummy corporations, suborned and bribed inspectors, employees, states, etc. :-) Smaller quantities of bad stuff would presumably need less elaborate preparations. It does seem to me, though, that once you talk about using a something like a nerve agent in small enough quantities, one might as well just get creative at the local sporting goods store. Multiple Washington-sniper type attacks all across the country using different makes and models of cars and weapons would be just as effective as multiple sarin gas attacks and probably a hell of a lot cheaper, with better odds of repeatability. Marvin Long Austin, Texas Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Poindexter Ashcroft, LLP (Formerly the USA) http://www.breakyourchains.org/john_poindexter.htm ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: The evil that Telcos do
Marvin Long, Jr. wrote: If you're a customer of SBC's dsl service, you might be interested in this. If not, you might be interested anyway just for the oh jeez factor. Oh, jeez. We *were* SBC DSL customers. We weren't using any SBC e-mail, though. We *only* had the DSL line, no other internet stuff with them. (Well, until a certain company that shall, in this e-mail, remain nameless decided to terminate their DSL service *without* informing any of their customers, and the only reason we weren't totally screwed for a week or two was that we had a friend retained by said nameless company in the buyout who gave us a heads-up; and then we had to get a new DSL connection, and that went through SBC's network and not the network of the formerly decent internet company bought by a company on which I wouldn't bet a nickel as to the competency of the customer service; and then we moved less than 4 months after that, and missed out on the whole Yahoo! thing, although I've heard tons of radio ads for it.) I'd still rather have that SBC DSL than have to put up with the periodic incompetency of the cable company we're getting our broadband through, and I'd *very* much prefer to have SBC for phone service than what we have now, again for reasons of competency. (If you have a problem with an SBC line, you call them up, and the person you talk to can just push a few buttons and run a signal out to your phone number, and track where it stops; that tells them just where the problem is, and they can dispatch a repair team to the location, if they haven't already, and the person is on the line with you the whole time. With what we have now, at *best* you get put on hold for a minute while the person dials your number, and if there is a problem, it has to be escalated to someone else who maybe has the tools that they SBC answerers have, but you don't get to talk to them, and you don't know what's going on until maybe someone calls your cellphone back later about it.) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
At 02:42 PM 3/14/2003 -0600, you wrote: Erik Reuter wrote: On Fri, Mar 14, 2003 at 01:24:04PM -0600, Dan Minette wrote: I think I was the one who originally brought up cargo containers with regard to attacks before 9-11. They are a very significant risk for a nuclear attack. But, since a biological or chemical agent needs to be properly dispersed to rack havoc, then a cargo container that contains anthrax will not be an effective means of killing a lot of people. Chemical agents would also suffer from the same dispersement problem. I was thinking along the lines of terrorists in the country who managed to pick up the materials from an incoming cargo container. But I don't know enough details about whether that would be possible. Do you? How much Tom Clancy have you read? IIRC, there was one instance of a nuclear bomb (or its components) being smuggled in. I think maybe on a container ship. (Someone has to have read that one more recently than I, help me out here!) Also, in a subsequent novel, a biological weapon was smuggled in in shaving cream containers, and deployed by various individuals at conventions trade shows. That one was pretty nasty. Nothing was detected until the exposed individuals had traveled home or to another stop along their trip. Can you imagine what would have happened to the US computer industry, at least short-term, if someone had successfully deployed such a biological weapon at COMDEX during the fat years of the late 1990s? Julia The porn and snack food industries would be bankrupt? joking I don't remember how Clancy's nuke got into the country. I think it was the same way as the movie, disguised as a freezer or some other common heavy box and shipped in. Then delivered in a plain box truck outside a domed stadium hosting the super bowl in Denver. The bio attack was shaving cream. I think only six or eight foreign agents had canisters. Also the evil doctor's were trying for a very spreadable form of Ebola, they thought they had it but their tests were not strictly controlled, so the ebola was still being passed by contact, not by someone sneezing. Kevin T. - VRWC ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
S.V. van Baardwijk-Holten wrote: On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 13:24:04 -0600, Dan Minette [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: - Original Message - From: Erik Reuter [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2003 9:17 PM Subject: Re: Who is the sheriff? I appreciate your sincerity in this, but I'm curious as to why you think that while an extremely modest effort (about $40 spent per person in Afghanistan is as much as can be done) a massive effort will work in Iraq. It doesn't seem reasonable that a $200/per person (just under 6 billion/year) effort in Afghanistan will involve so much money the system couldn't handle it. I'm not sure but from all the coverage we got from within the country I didn't get the impression that the iraqi people are undeveloped. They have a great deal of oppresion from above to deal with but most of them are literate and educated rather well by our standards. Even women have the possibility to achieve a high grade of education. So I think that the state Afghanistan is in,in no way can be compared to the state Iraq is in (will be in after Hussein). Some infrastructure needs rebuilding in Iraq. This will take some money. But I think that there wasn't really the infrastructure to *re*build in Afghanistan, that there it's a from scratch kind of deal for the most part. As far as the people go, I think you're right. Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Computer Repair Question
At 08:14 AM 3/14/2003 -0800, you wrote: -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of J.D. Giorgis ... This morning, I turned on my computer to check my e-mail. I was simply sitting, typing away, when my computer mysteriously powered down. Upon inspection, I noticed (ack!) that a side panel to the computer case had come a bit loose. Additionally, my friend noted that the back of the computer was unusually warm (which is odd, since I bought an extra fan for the case - as I knew I would leave it on a lot in a non-air-conditioned apartment.) At this point I went to work, but when I came home, the computer still will simply not turn on. I plugged in my old computer using the same cord to the same surge protector and same plug - and clearly, my old computer is working just fine from that plug. After spending much of last weekend under my desk solving a thermal problem with my main machine, I'm more of an expert on heat problems than I'd like to be. If your dead machine is an Athlon or P4, the shutdown might have been because it got too hot. What motherboard does it have? The fact that it won't power up at all means that the CPU may be cooked. That's more likely if it's an Athlon. But the heat in the back might not have anything to do with it. A loose side panel shouldn't cause overheating to an extent that it would cook the processor. In that case, I'd suspect the power supply. Too bad you're not near here; I have several extra power supplied (after upgrading to quieter and more powerful ones). Incidentally, adding an extra fan can actually make things worse, depending on whether it contributes to proper airflow or not. And extra fans in the front of the case apparently have little impact at all. An extra exhaust fan in the back, near the power supply and CPU, appears to be the best way to enhance case cooling. (My machine's main problem is air circulation in the case, I finally realized, even after installing a couple of extra fans and upgrading the power supply and re-installing the CPU cooler. None of that made a great deal of difference, but when I opened up the case and set a big ol' Vornado fan next to it, blowing across the machine, the temperature came down more than 10 degrees. Now the CPU is right where it should be ideally, at 60 degrees C.) Nick My nephew's problem also. He had his computer in a desk, no clearance between top, sides, and back. Now that it's in the open, just have to keep him from downloading viruses. Kevin T. - VRWC Kids these days. Why when I was growing up. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
On Fri, 14 Mar 2003, Kevin Tarr wrote: At 02:42 PM 3/14/2003 -0600, Julia wrote: Can you imagine what would have happened to the US computer industry, at least short-term, if someone had successfully deployed such a biological weapon at COMDEX during the fat years of the late 1990s? The porn and snack food industries would be bankrupt? joking LOL! Time to wipe down the keyboard again Marvin Long Austin, Texas Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Poindexter Ashcroft, LLP (Formerly the USA) http://www.breakyourchains.org/john_poindexter.htm ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Commentary on French-bashing
On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 11:33:49 -0800, Miller, Jeffrey [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 1) For French fries: They're not particularly French. I think McDonald's just calls them fries without any additional adjective. Just call them fries, unless they're the superior steak fries, and call those *that*, and BTW, let me know where I can get steak fries. :) IIRC from culinary school, they're Belgian in origin The Belgians would be grossly insulted if they heard this. The Belgian fry is very different from the French fry. It is almost triple in diameter and made from pieces that are visibly irregular because they are supposed to be cut by hand from real potato. Also they aren't as dry because of the larger size. 2) For French toast: Someone on another mailing list told me that prior to one of the World Wars, it had been called German toast. I have done no research to verify; does anyone here know? And I think my response was, Why don't we just call it 'European toast'? It is a meal know under many different names. Each country (even each region has it's own name for this meal). The earliest recipe I can find is pain perdu or lost bread - but that doesn't mean its French by any real stretch; its kind of the peanut-butter jelly of its day, appearing in most every recipe book from the 1300's on. Wentel teefjes (rotating bitches ?! :o), you just have to be Dutch to make that one up), Verwend schnitje, Verwoentes Schnittchen (A Dutch dialect and a German version of Pampered slices) just to mention a few very different ones. Sonja ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Computer Repair Question
At 20:01 13-03-03 -0800, John Giorgis wrote: Can anybody provide some advice on this: I bought a brand new computer last June. As is my habit, I basically leave my computer turned on all the time, except when I am on travel for multiple days. snipped rest of problem description It's quite obvious, really. By leaving your computer on all the time, even when it isn't necessary to *have* it on, you are wasting energy. Now, also take into account that you are extremely religious, and the reason for your computer problem becomes clear: the demise of your computer is a punishment from your God for being wasteful with the Earth's resources. GRIN Jeroen Tech Support van Baardwijk _ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Commentary on French-bashing
S.V. van Baardwijk-Holten wrote: On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 11:33:49 -0800, Miller, Jeffrey [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 1) For French fries: They're not particularly French. I think McDonald's just calls them fries without any additional adjective. Just call them fries, unless they're the superior steak fries, and call those *that*, and BTW, let me know where I can get steak fries. :) IIRC from culinary school, they're Belgian in origin The Belgians would be grossly insulted if they heard this. The Belgian fry is very different from the French fry. It is almost triple in diameter and made from pieces that are visibly irregular because they are supposed to be cut by hand from real potato. Also they aren't as dry because of the larger size. That's more like the steak fries I keep babbling about. Maybe I ought to have Dan take me to a steakhouse soon, so I can get some, and maybe that will shut me up about them for awhile. :) Julia Texas Land Cattle Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Radio Free France
At 06:25 14-03-03 -0800, John Giorgis wrote: So the French and the Germans struck a deal with radical Islam and with radical Arabs: You go after the United States, and we'll do everything we can to protect you, and we will do everything we can to weaken the Americans. Does the author have the documents to back this accusation, or is this just more of right-wing propaganda lies? Given the tone of the rest of the article, it's probably the latter... This required considerable skill, and total cynicism, both of which were in abundant supply in Paris and Berlin. Chancellor Shroeder gained reelection by warning of American warmongering, even though, as usual, America had been attacked first. And of all the military operations the US has been involved in, how many were started by an attack on the US? Exactly -- most of them weren't. And both countries have permitted the Saudis to build thousands of radical Wahhabi mosques and schools On this side of the Atlantic, it's called freedom of religion. and it is an open secret that they have been supplying Saddam with military technology through the corrupt ports of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's little playground in Dubai, often through Iranian middlemen. The author conveniently forgets that the *US* has been doing the same thing... Jeroen Make love, not war van Baardwijk _ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Freedom Vanilla Ice Cream (was RE: Commentary on French-bashing)
-Original Message- From: S.V. van Baardwijk-Holten [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 01:32 PM To: Killer Bs Discussion Subject: Re: Commentary on French-bashing On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 11:33:49 -0800, Miller, Jeffrey [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 1) For French fries: They're not particularly French. I think McDonald's just calls them fries without any additional adjective. Just call them fries, unless they're the superior steak fries, and call those *that*, and BTW, let me know where I can get steak fries. :) IIRC from culinary school, they're Belgian in origin The Belgians would be grossly insulted if they heard this. The Belgian fry is very different from the French fry. It is almost triple in diameter and made from pieces that are visibly irregular because they are supposed to be cut by hand from real potato. Also they aren't as dry because of the larger size. How about this - historically speaking, french fries aren't French in origin. :D 2) For French toast: Someone on another mailing list told me that prior to one of the World Wars, it had been called German toast. I have done no research to verify; does anyone here know? And I think my response was, Why don't we just call it 'European toast'? It is a meal know under many different names. Each country (even each region has it's own name for this meal). *nod* The earliest I've found is late 1300's, but there's something quite similar in my copy of Apicus - I wonder if Julius ever had Gaul Toast? The earliest recipe I can find is pain perdu or lost bread - but that doesn't mean its French by any real stretch; its kind of the peanut-butter jelly of its day, appearing in most every recipe book from the 1300's on. Wentel teefjes (rotating bitches ?! :o), you just have to be Dutch to make that one up), Verwend schnitje, Verwoentes Schnittchen (A Dutch dialect and a German version of Pampered slices) just to mention a few very different ones. M... any region variations in preperation or serving? -jeffrey still doesn't understand why ham waffles aren't universal miller- ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Who is the sheriff?
At 09:41 14-03-03 -0600, Dan Minette wrote: In a multi-party system (as opposed to a two-party system), one party rarely (if ever) gets that big a share of the votes. To form a government, the party with the most votes will try to form a coalition with one or more of the other major parties, not just to create a majority, but to create as big a majority possible -- which means broader support for the government. Well, it doesn't work that way all the time, but I was referring to Germany: Lets look at the last election results: SPD 41.6% CDU/CSU 41.1% Green 9.1% FDP 7.8% PDS 0.3% The support of the Green party, with 9.1% of the vote is a required member of any government. This makes them the kingmaker for any new government. Not necessarily. The SPD and CDU/CSU could also form a coalition; that would give them an 82.7% majority. But even if the SPD and the Greens would form a coalition, that wouldn't make the Greens all-powerful. To form a coalition, both sides need to compromise. And should some major dispute arise between the SPD and the Greens, then the Greens still wouldn't be able to force anything, simply because within the coalition the SPD holds roughly 80% of the votes. Jeroen Political Observations van Baardwijk _ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Freedom Vanilla Ice Cream (was RE: Commentary on French-bashing)
On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 14:03:03 -0800, Miller, Jeffrey [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: How about this - historically speaking, french fries aren't French in origin. :D OK. I'll try again. I just figured something out. It's something of a language thingy. Frietes (Belgian/Dutch for fries) the fried patato stick dish, generally translates into English as French fries. However 'French' fries are translated literally to us 'Franse frietjes' which in our (and the Belgian) country are considered to be the very thin, long and crisp form of the same sort of fried patato stick meal. I can only guess that since the French quisine is known for it's daintyness the confusion probably has it's origin somewhere there. Wentel teefjes (rotating bitches ?! :o), you just have to be Dutch to make that one up), Verwend schnitje, Verwoentes Schnittchen (A Dutch dialect and a German version of Pampered slices) just to mention a few very different ones. M... any region variations in preperation or serving? The Germans use a fresh, hard kind of whitish like bread (any one wanne translate 'zuurdesem brood'?). The Dutch use one or two day old formerly soft white bread, the french use leftover baguette. They all use milk and egg to make the bread soft and nice again. Panfried and with suger they are the best kind of breakfast one can have. (My son disagrees, but I think that eventually he'll grow out of his to date much beloved liquid porridge breakfast) Sonja GCU What are Ham waffles? ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Freedom Vanilla Ice Cream (was RE: Commentary on French-bashing)
S.V. van Baardwijk-Holten wrote: GCU What are Ham waffles? Waffles that are awful actors? :D Waffles are nice. Old bread dipped in eggs milk, then fried in a pan, is *really* nice. And topping it with blueberry stuff is *extremely* nice. :) (Waffles with blueberry topping are also nice. For my syrup vehicle, I prefer pancakes. Especially Dan's Swedish pancakes, the recipe technique passed from his grandmother to his aunt to him.) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Re: Replacing the UN Re: Who is the sheriff?
At 10:44 14-03-03 -0500, John Giorgis wrote: IOW, you want an international organisation in which countries may give their opinion, but in which the US unilaterally makes all the decisions. I think that such an arrangement would be both an improvement over the status quo, and beneficial to the United States. It would certainly be beneficial to the US, but definitely not to the rest of the world. You see, John, just like the US, many countries have had to struggle to gain their independence. And just like the US, we're kind of attached to that independence. So, obviously, we're not looking forward to giving up our independence and have the US dictate to us what we can and cannot do. After all, the US hasn't exactly shown itself to be a knee-jerk unilaterlist, even after being attacked a year and half ago. 15 months after the axis of evil speech and five months after Congress voted to authorize force against Iraq, we're still consulting with the international community, even though we didn't have to. ...and even though the US has repeatedly stated that it will do whatever it wants anyway, whether the rest of the world agrees with it or not. Sounds pretty unilateralist to me. So, basically the world could accept such an arrangement as described above, or else continue with the status quo Given the alternative, I think I'll prefer the status quo... Although I really prefer to go for the third option: an improved UN where each country has one vote, where no country has veto power so that no country can force its will upon others, and where all decisions are made by all members, not a small subset of members (like the UNSC). So, despite your insulting accusation that the US wants a dictatorship, perhaps you should consider that something may be much better than nothing. When do you have a dictatorship? When you have *one* party forcing its will upon everyone else. That's why the PRC qualifies as a dictatorship, that's why Iraq qualifies as a dictatorship. In your preferred situation, we will have *one* party (the US) forcing its will upon everyone else -- therefore, that situation qualifies as a dictatorship. Jeroen Make love, not war van Baardwijk _ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Freedom Vanilla Ice Cream (was RE: Commentary on French-bashing)
-Original Message- From: S.V. van Baardwijk-Holten [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 02:18 PM To: Killer Bs Discussion Subject: Re: Freedom Vanilla Ice Cream (was RE: Commentary on French-bashing) On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 14:03:03 -0800, Miller, Jeffrey [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: How about this - historically speaking, french fries aren't French in origin. :D OK. I'll try again. I just figured something out. It's something of a language thingy. Frietes (Belgian/Dutch for fries) the fried patato stick dish, generally translates into English as French fries. Ah-ha! Here, what I /think/ you're describing is often refered to as Home Fries or Pommes Frites (fried potato/apple) in the more upscale places. However 'French' fries are translated literally to us 'Franse frietjes' which in our (and the Belgian) country are considered to be the very thin, long and crisp form of the same sort of fried patato stick meal. I can only guess that since the French quisine is known for it's daintyness the confusion probably has it's origin somewhere there. Trivia - the potato chip was actually invented in France by a cook who had an American (or was it british..) customer who kept sending back his fried potato dish, demanding thinner and thinner slices of potato.. Wentel teefjes (rotating bitches ?! :o), you just have to be Dutch to make that one up), Verwend schnitje, Verwoentes Schnittchen (A Dutch dialect and a German version of Pampered slices) just to mention a few very different ones. M... any region variations in preperation or serving? The Germans use a fresh, hard kind of whitish like bread (any one wanne translate 'zuurdesem brood'?). The Dutch use one or two day old formerly soft white bread, the french use leftover baguette. They all use milk and egg to make the bread soft and nice again. Panfried and with suger they are the best kind of breakfast one can have. Sounds exactly like what I'm used to. I also through in a teaspoon of vanilla, sweet baking spices, and a touch of rosewater. GCU What are Ham waffles? http://gourmet.org/images/waffle.jpg ..for what is often refered to as a Belgian Waffle. A Ham Waffle will have bits of ham (and cheese) mixed into the batter before hand (I've also seen them put on top, but thats just Wrong..) -j- ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Commentary on French-bashing
At 14:32 14-03-03 -0600, Dan Minette wrote: [The French] actively support a brutal dictator. I think it's quite odd that the US suddenly seems it fit to criticise an other country for supporting Saddam Hussein, when that very same US has done the exact same thing... And it's not like American companies haven't done business with Iraq since the second Gulf War. Halliburton, anyone? Jeroen Make love, not war van Baardwijk _ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Freedom Vanilla Ice Cream (was RE: Commentary on French-bashing)
Miller, Jeffrey wrote: Trivia - the potato chip was actually invented in France by a cook who had an American (or was it british..) customer who kept sending back his fried potato dish, demanding thinner and thinner slices of potato.. I heard the same thing, but set elsewhere, so I googled a bit and found this fairly detailed text on potato chips: http://www.geography.ccsu.edu/harmonj/atlas/potchips.htm which suggests Saratoga Springs, NY is the point of origin. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
terrorism is evil, why it must be eradicated (OT)
There is only one way to deal with terrorists: locate their base, and destroy them -- Captain Dylan Hunt, Andromeda Episode Star-Crossed [I missed Tyr's sarcastic cheer] Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Freedom Vanilla Ice Cream (was RE: Commentary on French-bashing)
At 14:44 14-03-03 -0800, Jeffrey Miller wrote: Trivia - the potato chip was actually invented in France by a cook who had an American (or was it british..) customer who kept sending back his fried potato dish, demanding thinner and thinner slices of potato.. Ah! So *that* is why the French and the Americans don't seem to get along! GRIN Should have known better than to anger a French chef... :-) Jeroen Le Chef van Baardwijk _ Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
