This idea has been used in several scifi and fantasy stories/books for how to transport people. In a few they expand a bit on the possible moral conundrums this can cause. This is just an applied science version of the same thing. Would you blast a post about a scifi story that this kind of discussion? Scifi is near and dear to most slashdot readers.

Since most of their operations are in China (even if de facto), they are essentially a Chinese company. They have to agree.

No, they just wanted more money. Once the lobbyists line the pockets of those two, they will tell everyone they have come into possession of 'new facts' and change their stance to allow more off shoring and Indian and Chinese workers in.

Could something like this could completely hose all the ISP's if open sourced and if it works well? Here's the concept: People like the dd wrt folks could customize router firmware to act as repeaters and whoever wants can set up relay stations with home type routers, weatherproofed and sitting on a pole outside if need be, creating a de facto municipal wireless broadband network without needing ISP's. I guess some question are: how to hook it up to the regular Internet's backbone, address space, etc. Could a Gorilla Internet be created with something like this?

One organization. How many businesses are doing the same thing, but because there is no oversight we don't see it. My guess is, as many as can get away with it. All the ad sense and analytics make what the NSA is doing look like a plastic kiddy pool compared to Lake Superior. Sure they're doing stuff we don't like. Businesses are doing it too. The one thing I will say on Google's side is we can see some of it.

developers cum cats who don't like being herded in the same direction; so you get 50 versions of something all half assed trying to do the same thing. That, instead of one or two versions doing it in a most excellent way if the same developers worked together and learned give and take instead of 'take my ball and go fork it'.

Inhibitors wouldn't even blink as they took the borg apart.

Maher points out that suppression of free speech is absolutely anti-liberal.

What he said is that people who want to shut down Limbaugh's site or block free speech are part of the problem because, "You're not even a proper liberal, because you don't get free speech." He didn't say that liberals who play the race card are anti-free speech (necessarily, my word), but that they are BULLIES for playing the race card. I included the word 'necessarily' as I believe it was implied; not everyone who uses it is anti free speech, or to quote Mahr again (properly), "everyone can always come up with a reason why the thing that bugs YOU should get a waiver, but free speech only works if there are no waivers; no waivers, including for religion." Or for calling down a-holes who always play the race card.

And no one said the first response of a liberal was to play the race card. Just that when people do, they are bullies. "Playing the race card" means using race where it doesn't belong. And it is used way too much. And it IS bullying. If you don't like it, that's your problem, and a sign that maybe you ARE part of the problem.

And who was talking about Lawn chair administration?

Presumably if they manage to make something to go to Mars it will have to be a closed loop system since they won't have a way (or an easy way) to top up many types of consumables. I can see getting the idea of landing with these fins to work, but I would think if they wanted to keep it for a long voyage, they'll have to figure out how to make it closed loop at some time.

I was thinking maybe that they found it drinking cocktails in a bar on Titan. But your comment made me think of this South Park episode. Si.

The rhetoric and crazy gets dialed up to 11 straight out of the gate.

Same reason I stay away from churches and religion in general. Each have their own agenda, whether the people who belong realize it or not.

Self inflected wounds cannot be blamed on the weapon. The American people did it to themselves by electing these assholes. If the people who don't like this wanted to avoid it, they would have either voted or voted for someone else. You can't say both parties would do it, because an active electorate would have ensured someone who met the needs was on the ballot. If you are Democrat, make sure a Democrat who don't do this gets nominated. Likewise, Republican. Or find an independent.

We know Google really isn't into the whole "don't be evil" thing anymore as they have become a giant corporation like all others. And while I like the idea of something like this being freely available, the first thing that came to my mind was that now they will have access to people's actual conversations, not just search queries. I've thought for a long time that 'big brother' will not come from governments, but from corporations. Maybe it comes from watching the original 1975 Roller Ball movie and it's basis around the 'corporate state'.

The reality is the cartels will legitimize and become legal corporations. Then the current cartel bosses will become legitimate respectable businessmen, just like the owners of many major liquor companies did after American prohibition in the 1930s. As an example, review of the Bronfman family of Montreal and their company, Seagrams, at one point the largest distilling company in the world. As an aside, it is also a good example, and a sad one, of the descendants completely fucking things up. Regardless, legalizing marijuana will create another case of history repeating itself.