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Comment Re:That Word (Score 1) 184

I believe "submission" is a pretty accurate synonym here to "peace". They submit themselves to Allah, thus achieving "peace".
To me, personally, that's kind of the same sense of peace that slaves have though, via abdicating (or being denied) their free will. And in most of the islamic cultures, becoming an apostate has extremely serious consequences, so "slave" is not, IMO, a particularly inflammatory exaggeration. Way too many rules and restrictions.

Comment Re:Are they really that scared? (Score 1) 461

by cyberchondriac (#48532317) Attached to: Why Elon Musk's Batteries Frighten Electric Companies
Here's a funny scenario: in 100 years, when/if Tesla and solar are the big kid on the block, but an even better technology gets off the ground (let's say, fusion has it's major breakthrough), guess who'll be scared and protectionist then..?
You either die the hero or live long enough to become the villain. :-)

Comment Re:Are they really that scared? (Score 4, Informative) 461

by cyberchondriac (#48532229) Attached to: Why Elon Musk's Batteries Frighten Electric Companies
If that's really all true and you're not exaggerating or bending anything, that's flat out mega-corruption - how do you UNcondemn a house, if no changes whatsoever were made to the structure?
Have you considered getting a lawyer, or at least giving this story to a newspaper? I know it was only "$800", but if they get away with that today, then tomorrow, who knows.

Comment Wow (Score 1) 59

by cyberchondriac (#48530595) Attached to: The Ancestor of Humans Was an "Artist" 500,000 Years Ago
That's a wild leap of scientific assumption from very little evidence. He could've simply been trying to sharpen (or maybe dull) a blade. There's really no way to prove that this was "thoughtful", and I'd hardly think of it as art.
Then again, with some of the modern "art" out there, I guess maybe it qualifies as among the best.

Comment Re: Sad? Saddest? (Score 1) 528

by cyberchondriac (#48530545) Attached to: The Sony Pictures Hack Was Even Worse Than Everyone Thought
Then by that extension of "logic", "fuck" everyone who has ever bought a Sony product, or had any connection with them whatsoever. In fact, why not every human being alive? Look what we've done as a species!! In fact, how about you lead by example and kill yourself. Yeah, that's how your logic sounds.

Comment Re:Lawsuits and Patents (Score 1) 528

by cyberchondriac (#48530461) Attached to: The Sony Pictures Hack Was Even Worse Than Everyone Thought

I mean it seems likely they got everything. Even the model numbers of the kitchen sinks.

I would expect they also got some fairly damning privileged information--emails exchanged with lawyers on everything from sexual harassment to copyright infringement suits. It's a BIG firm.

Plus Patents. Sony files THOUSANDS of patents a year. If that patent information (or research that could be patented) is published to the wild before SONY patents it, you have a LOT of new prior art and a fortune in IP at risk... SONY would have to patent everything within a year in the US; I am not sure that you even have that grace period everywhere else.

(a) NOVELTY; PRIOR ART.—A person shall be entitled to a patent unless (1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention ...

(b) EXCEPTIONS.— (1) DISCLOSURES MADE 1 YEAR OR LESS BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE FILING DATE OF THE CLAIMED INVENTION;
A disclosure made 1 year or less before the effective filing date of a claimed invention ***shall not be prior art*** to the claimed invention under subsection (a)(1) if—

(A) the disclosure was made by the inventor or joint inventor or by another who obtained the subject matter disclosed directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor; or

(B) the subject matter disclosed had, before such disclosure, been publicly disclosed by the inventor or a joint inventor or another who obtained the subject matter disclosed directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor.

IANAL, but the key word here is "filing date", not the date the patent was approved, and I think maybe you misread the exceptions clause, specifically the part I outlined with asterisks..? If these patents have all already been filed, and are pending, then no wild release now will matter.

Comment Re:I wonder who bought him (Score 2) 216

Always. All they can do is pass laws, and laws are generally restrictive in nature. One usually assumes something is legal until a law says you can't... or must.
Whether or not the law accomplishes diddly squat, the politicians can then sit back and run their thumbs underneath their suspenders ("bracers" if you're British, bet you got a laugh out of that) and smugly say, "There, problem all fixed.. we did something about it". Which is also annoying because making legislation is often much easier then the practical execution of said legislation (whether or not it should be executed at all is a whole other matter).

Comment Re:60 Minutes Pushing Propaganda? (Score 1) 409

by cyberchondriac (#48515489) Attached to: Is Chernobyl Still Dangerous? Was 60 Minutes Pushing Propaganda?
Not entirely. The "faux news" hating crowd will obsequiously insist that there's only one TV media outlet that's ever been biased and mendacious, or, if they're feeling charitable, simply just wrong; it's the obligatory mantra that is in the far leftist's handbook...usually followed shortly thereafter by something about Rupert Murdoch, or the Koch brothers. It may as well be on a recorded loop. The fact that NBC maliciously edited Zimmerman's 911 call, or that CBS had Rathergate - actual, real examples of bias and/or lying- is filtered out as background noise.
Anymore, it seems all these networks (Fox included) have far more columnists and editorial segments than they do plain old fashioned news reporting. I guess that's what gets the ratings.

Comment Re:Girls, girls, girls... (Score 1) 333

Well, I was talking about jobs there, not so much academia. What you describe seems sound in theory, but in practice in the job market, AA sometimes leads to just filling a quota rather than hiring the very best candidate(s), which is generally not good for the company or the economy on a grander scale. Honestly, if a company is offering a good salary and position, that should be enough to entice anyone of any race. And these days, I've not seen any employer that is not already relatively diverse, at least in my region.
I don't care what race a person is, as long as they just hire the best qualified person for the job. That is the only important criteria. Where I work, we are plagued by nepotism, which is also a problem.

Comment Re:Gender discrimination is cool now? (Score 1) 333

Actually you'll find the most objection goes to the feminist "corrective" "remedies" like coining new words such as "womyn," "snowperson," "herstory," etc. intended to stamp out language bias you're referring to. A writer named Eric Arthur Blair wrote a book about correct language in action. Check it out, maybe we can police thoughts after we police language.

We're already halfway there.

Comment Re:Girls, girls, girls... (Score 2) 333

On the whole, I don't see how any of this is really any different from Affirmative Action, and the baggage that it too creates.
As my user byline says, "Political Correctness: the misguided practice of enforcing the tenet that two wrongs make a right." as it so often leads to a form of discrimination to fight discrimination.

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