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Ender in Exile Screenshot-sm 507

stoolpigeon writes "Orson Scott Card's work Ender's Game began as a novelette, which he says he wrote as a means of leading up to the full story he had developed, Speaker for the Dead. Ender's Game was published as a full novel in 1985, and won the Hugo and Nebula awards (as did Speaker for the Dead in '86 and '87). I think it is safe to say that Ender's Game is ensconced in its position as a science fiction classic. Now, 23 years later, Card has finished the first direct sequel to Ender's Game in his new novel Ender in Exile." Keep reading for the rest of JR's review.
Star Wars Prequels

LucasArts, Bioware Announce Star Wars MMO 346

LucasArts and Bioware held a press conference today to confirm what has been suspected for a long time: they're working on a Star Wars MMO. It will be called Star Wars: The Old Republic, and it will be a continuation of the Knights of the Old Republic franchise. Further coverage is available at Gamespot, and IGN has some of the concept art. An official website for the game was launched as well. "According to the game's official announcement, Star Wars: The Old Republic is set thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader, with the galaxy divided by war between the Empire and the Sith. That's about 300 years after the events of KotOR, a time frame that, according to Zeschuk, 'is completely unexplored in the lore.' Players can take the role of either a Jedi, a Sith or other classic Star Wars characters -- and, as perhaps can be expected from BioWare, Muzyka says story will be a major component, underlying and driving all of the player's actions."
Space

Messenger Sends First Full Fly-By Image of Mercury 55

An anonymous reader writes with this snippet from Gizmodo: "NASA's Messenger (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging spacecraft) has flown by just 125 miles over the surface of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest in the Solar System. This is the first time in history that the whole planet is going to be photographed in its entirety by an Earthling probe, with amazing resolution and ultra-crisp detail." The picture at the top of the linked story is fantastic, too.

Comment Re:Anonymity (Score 1) 432

Well, all legislation deals with morality; I think your (completely valid, IMHO, incidentally) concern has more to do with its granularity. Proving harm is tough, which is why I think it's an excellent test, as you say: if you're having a tough time making your case, maybe you should consider dropping it.

Now, on your examples, I think you may be taking it a bit too far. Specifically, if your possession (and, presumably, your use) of some illegal product promotes or encourages its trafficking, I think you could effectively argue that it too should be illegal. Now, that doesn't mean that you expend the same resources in enforcing these laws: I don't think anyone would argue that busting everyone with a dimebag or picture or two is an efficient use of resources. However, if I'm spending a lot of money consuming an illegal product (be it child porn, illegal drugs, etc.), I think it's reasonable to say that I'm contributing to the problem.

But again, it's the level of granularity that's key: it was eventually decided that prohibition was excessive. What about marijuana? Polygamy? I don't know the answers to these questions, but I do feel that intelligent debates concerning provable harm would be an excellent starting point.

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