Mod the above posted up plz! Feynman was a true wizard at science and communicating to the scientifically inclined/curious layperson. If one reads the Feynman Lectures on Physics first, a lot of more difficult works by Einstein, Heisenberg, etc. become much less of a challenge.

>Use occam's razor and go with the simplest explanation: People pirate because they want free shit and it's easier in some cases than going to the store. > >If you've ever seen the breakdown of law & order (Iraq right after invasion, New Orleans after Hurrican Katrina, LA after the riots, false Craiglist ads), you should know a >lot of people are freeloading scavengers as soon as they don't think their actions have any consequences. > >Do you think the internet, especially, which promotes the feeling of such an environment is immune from that? I don't think the explanation is complex at all.

If I had mod privs ATM, the above post would score +6. :-) The fact that the writer is at least as typing impaired as I am doesn't hurt. :-) I wanna see a Hurrican't!

If you think we don't already have far too many surveillance cameras in the U.S., just look for red-light cams around many intersections with traffic lights, the security cams that clutter the ceiling inside and the roof outside any Wal-Mart store. Then think about the many government cams in many U.S. cities. Finally, think about the cams you aren't supposed to see (they tend to be smaller and are in fact well hidden/disguised, or larger with really powerful telescopic lenses, IR capabilities, etc.

Starting around 1994, when the Web was just getting started, the number of Web cams that were mounted outside or behind a high window in many University buildings skyrocketed.

Let's not forget that most modern cellphones have cams built in. Think of what the people who live in buildings in big cities actually do with the telescopes they often have in their apartments. *SNICKER* Now think of how much easier it is for them to make permanent records of what they're watching through windows in another building a few blocks away?

So yeah, the number of surveillance cams used by various levels of Brit government is very high on a per capita basis, but I don't think the People's State of America will lag behind for very long if Dear Messiah's crowd has their way and converts the U.S.A. into the Obamination.

Anyone interested in this topic should pay special attention to the field of study known as "Law and Economics" and also Google the term "liability tax".

Mod this up, please.

GooberToo makes some very good points. The last plane I flew was owned by an automotive repair instructor at a community college (read: not rich). Gentrification is a term used to label the process whereby rich folks raise the price of living in old domiciles on what is now increasingly valuable real estate. When taxes force the less wealthy to leave, the wealthy take the space over.

There is a similar reason for the pressure to shut down small airports (Meigs Field in Chicago, anyone?), and to force aircraft owners to buy expensive new ELTs that work on a different frequency. It is the equivalent of gentrification. The airspace, air control time/effort, and radio frequencies in question are highly desirable and the big kids are doing their best to shove the little kids out of the park.

As any of my many far left-liberal friends can tell you, I'm a Libertarian (large and small "l" apply), and have absolutely nothing against those who become wealthy. I just don't like bullies.

I'm one of those people who long considered Volvo owners to be timid and likely to be obsessed with their car's safety because they were such lousy drivers. In reality, if one wants a REALLY SAFE CAR one should buy a Mercedes.

But, times change and my opinion of Volvo has gone up, now that they make some reasonably high performance production cars that are probably a lot of fun to drive. (The last Volvo I drove was 740 Turbo Wagon which I found to be rather boring compared to the Jeep-Eagle Talon TSi AWD I was driving at the time.) The 2007 Volvo S60 R was a car I considered when I was shopping for a new car in 2007.

Still, cars that try to do any driving for me at speed seem like a bad idea. In fact, I don't even like air-bags, because I figure if one blows up in my face during an accident at freeway speeds, it would cause me to lose any change of controlling the vehicle. You don't see airbags in race cars, just very nice seat belt systems.

About the only advance in active safety equipment I like is ABS (unless one considers AWD a safety feature -- I like that too.)

Still, I suppose the safety nazi and soccer mommy crowds would love to force everyone to have cars that won't exceed posted speed limits, won't allow high-G turns, brake and/or steer at the slightest hint of an impending collision and at all stop lights.