Oh yes the Chinese government's honnesty...
Are you refering to the 150,000 people the Chinese government employs to censor the web and post propaganda on social networks ?
Or maybe you're refering to the cover-up following the accident on the new high speed train that cost the lives of several hundred people ? A train that was burried along with all the cadavers a mere 36 hours after the accident to make sure no investigation would be possible ?
You're talking about a country where you've never lived and of which you apparently know nothing.
And yes I'm saying he is bribing policemen, because to live in China and do half of what you're allowed to do in the USA freely, you will have to bribe policemen, on a weekly basis.
So unless he lives inside his home 24/7 and doesn't use the internet (which seems like an ODD combo) then he's never been to china (or alternatively he has never been outside china)
And I am in no way making the promotion of the US government or the american way of life, I am not american and I am very critical of both, but saying China is a land a freedom is basically like saying Israel is a land of peace. It is insulting to the millions of people who are suffering daily there, and it is insulting to the memory of the millions who died in the name of freedom & peace.

You're an ignorant selfish asshole to suggest China is a land of freedom. Just because you happen to be OK making 10 times the average salary there and bribing policemen easily doesn't mean it's the land of freedom.
It's one of the most repressive government on earth, it's in the top 10 of the most corrupt countries, and it is not far from the worst in terms of personnal freedom, tolerance and racism. And the freedom of speech is so great too...
You can get 20 years in jail for 10g of pot in China. So either you never stepped foot in China, or you live in a freaking parallel universe dude.

Norway.
They have a small minority of maybe 5% of right wing nutjobs (but as you are american it is really nothing you can't handle) but other than that it's probably the most democratic place on earth right now.
Just to justify this : reaction of the US government after 9/11 => Patriot act and 2 wars
Reaction of the mayor of Oslo after the shootings this year by far-right terrorrist : "We need even more democracy".
Salaries are great, inequalities are pretty low, social tension is almost inexistant, and the welfare state is rock solid and financed for almost ever by Oil money and the $400 billions Strategic investment Fund the Norvegian governement created with it.
Oh and EVERYBODY speaks english. Literally.

Don't compare people spending money on a speaker, a analog device, and people spending money on a HDMI Cable, digital.
Yes any HDMI cable is the same regardless of the price, but hell no not all speakers are equal. And if you don't believe me I suggest you compare the sound that comes out of your laptop and the sound that comes out of an HiFi.

Yes but I hope you do others things, that was my point. For instance you have (pointless in regard to your direct survival) conversations on slashdot.org

Quite true.

I couldn't agree more, but I think the first mistake of leadership was not to attack Hitler in 1938.

...
Coming from a citizen of a country that is younger than the times discussed and who's 8th grade history lessons consisted of the tale of the pilgrims and thanksgiving, it really hurts...
You're lecturing me on the history of my fucking country/continent you ignorant pedantic arrogant idiot!
PS: 8th grade is for Antiquity in France, that would be what you called the Jesus story back where you hillbillies come from.

I didn't say good parenting wasn't the best option, of course it is ! What I said was you're mislead in your reasonning because you assume that we have to "maintain" good parenting, whereas it isn't at all the norm.
Good parenting isn't the solution it is the GOAL.
You sound like French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 : "my Program is to have 3.5% annual GDP growth!", Well that's great and all but it isn't a program, it is a fucking goal.

I do agree on the citation needed, but on the second point you're utterly ignorant.
Before printing, the almost all of the writing was done by monks, and the Bible was of course their very best seller.
Why do you think all the great figures of the 1000-1600 (Descartes, Pascal, Erasmus ...) were monks or priests ? because they controled all the knowledge and all the writings, and they were among the only who could teach how to read/write.
So yes the church lost most of its control over the writing of the bible with printing, one could argue that it was one of the major aid in the develloppement of the Reform. Printing also put and end to the constant rewriting of the scriptures (which the Catholic church controled) because with so many identical bibles now everywhere making changes became more visible

Slashdot is about free speech.
Free Speech is about letting people talk, not acknowledging any retard opinion backed by counterfactual, flawed, aging arguments who feel like a repost of a repost just because you posted it.
You can voice your opinion as much as you like here, just don't expect people to agree with you just because you're saying something, and don't expect either that people will let you say something and not respond if they think you're wrong.
Or to make this shorter : You're entitled to your own opinion, and the right to voice it, not your own facts and the priviledge to be praised whether you're right or wrong.

R-A-D-I-O-H-E-A-D.

To paraphrase a well known meme : Still a better freedom fighter than the RIAA/MPAA.
When you've got to bad choices you pick the least worse.

So what if it is mainly copyrighted material ?
Most people use their car to go much faster than the speed limit, should we ban cars altogether ?
Some people use MSN and mobile phones to plan bank robberies or murder, should we ban those to ?
And more to the point : it's not because it is legal that it is good and vice and versa. Not so long ago in a country not that far away it was illegal to harbor Jews in your house.

Megaupload or BTjunky made money offering a service that the industry was incapable of offering for a decade : convenient, instant access to medias.
I for one think their money was well earned.

Actually they were doing fine up until they lost 100,000 soldiers dead, and 4 times this captured/injured.
The casualties the French army suffered in the 40 days of the blitzkrieg were superior to all the casualties the US forces suffered in Europe for example.
The french army surrendered because they had been crushed by a strategy (quite vile) that they had not anticipated : Germany going through Belgium and the Netherlands which was supposed to be "illegal". Fun fact though : It was the 2nd FUCKING time Germany pulled this trick... cf. WWI.
Anyway, the French (and British, because to be fair Chamberlain is greatly to blame for this chickenning out) lost the war in 1938, the day they decided to let Germany invade Austria, instead of crushing while they still could. 2 years of intensive military production later, the balance of forces was inverse.