Thanks for posting real benchmarks. I can't afford/don't need a Mac Pro but if PCIe SSD become available on other systems, it's nice to know how fast it really operates.

He did renounce it. And he renounced it before the IPO. So his liability is for what he owed before he renounced it, which is ... not the $1.1B.

Military personnel are less inclined to support your cause if you have a history of taking potshots at them. Want the support of the military? Don't shoot in their direction.

No, the key is being able to smuggle in the right equipment (like rocket launchers, machine guns and the like) when you need to. Handguns don't do squat. The libyan rebels won because (a) air support and (b) their cause was relatively popular and (c) they had access to smuggled/appropriated weapons.

If you are fighting the government using weapons then it seems blindingly obvious that the governments rules over who can own what weapon is not really a consideration. The whole idea is nonsense.

Seems quite simple. Let's say a militia decides to attack the government. Some people come down on their side, some on the side of the government. Acts of terror, shooting at the military and other violent acts will tend to sway people away from favouring the militia. Their success depends on getting enough public support. Shooting someones kid (who happens to be in the marines) is a surefire way to have them turn against you. Military personnel, public servants, even members of the government are just as american as you are - and they have more friends and allies. Sort your problems out peaceably or you will not sort them at all.

You make the assumption that your will is stronger than that of the government and the people who support it. If militias are the magical bullet you claim, why hasn't the militia prevented the current tyranny. And how is tyrannical rule by militia better than oligarchy?

If I have to defend myself, I'd rather defend myself from a guy who is coming at me with fists then a guy pointing a gun at me. Saying "I'd prefer to have a gun in a fight" is actually saying "I'd prefer a gunfight to a fistfight". Fists hurt, but I'd rather lose a fistfight than win a gunfight, if this means that someone's son is dead. Who needs that on their conscience?

Speaking as an Australian, I never feel afraid of being gunned down in the street, or being accidently shot in a robbery, or having to shoot someone in self defence. These sorts of things are so rare here we don't even think about them.

The difference is like this - in the US, if you are woken be the sounds of someone in your house, you have to assume they are armed. After all, if homeowners arm themselves, then robbers have to arm themselves as well.This leaves you with the choice of cowering and hoping not to get shot, or getting out your gun and preparing yourself to live with the consequences of killing someone.

In Australia we tend to turn on the light, and the robbers run away. They generally aren't packing - who needs the grief of being caught with a gun? They don't feel compelled to kill you - you aren't a threat to them. They make free to leave, and that's it.

Bit more civilised, no?

I think there's a more important question... how many mountain lions, gazelles, and other animals took off with the Harmless Radio Collars(tm) that Marlon Perkins had Jim Fowler attach to them while filming Mutual of Omaha's "Wild Kingdom"?

You can if the power you are given is entirely superficial. Like Obamacare.

You mean 1997.

"My name is Linux Torvalds... and I pronounce him 'Linus'...".

Just because no carrier will provide a cellular signal to a smartphone doesn't mean it's useless on the black market. Is it really that hard for a thief to fence an iPhone as if it were an iPod touch?

To erase the memory of libertarians.

It is possible to be both evil and incompetent. Most dictators actually are.

But it is. The proof is that a majority of Democrats seem to have applied Affirmative Action to the last two Presidential elections, and promoted a man with no leadership skills whatsoever to the white house.