Since we can not trust voters (after all, with a dozen measures, a person could vote yes on them all, making no choice at all where priority matters (as it does everywhere but ego boo) lets let all "public" action be driven either by cash, or people SIGNING UP for the ONE THING they want

defamation - the concept that when it happens to you, there is a law to let you seek damages or at least a stop to it - like privacy and "intellectual property", these concepts are history. And I don't think that they will be missed. Law is mostly there to let the State maintain a monopoly of violence, hopefully enabling the rest of us to avoid violence. The nature of internet harms being what it is, violence might remain, but not against the perpetrator. So the law need not care either.

It just helps to remember the science of it - rights exist for the convenience of society and those in charge of it and for no other reason...

I've been saying it since 1956 at least. Because we have approached the carrying capacity of our planet, both in terms of our ability to annihilate ourselves and in terms of resources, we had better be prepared to move out there. I don't claim to be in Hawking's league, but I really doubt one has to be a genius to see that this needs to be done.

Anyway, Governments have no more right to zap people than I do; both might decide to, and go do it, but neither has such a right.

Therefore, if the untrustworthy folks in Washington, DC, Tehran, and Pyonyang (the three leading terrorists although China and Russia are in the game too) have such arms, we should too.

"The anarchist dictum when it comes to grand juries" sounds like the Wise Guy's Creed to me.

As a Celebrity is merely someone who is well-known, for being well-known, I am really not interested in any celebrity's views about anything, except in a few cases their view of whatever they themselves did to help make their name well-known. And it would never occur to me to spend a nickel more, or a nickel less, on anything, due to political associations. There are indeed people I tend to buy from, or will not buy from, because I have my opinions, but these would be opinions about THEM, not about whatever off-topic issue they favor or oppose.

I like Card in general and the Ender books; aside from the origin story and the first couple of times DC tried to convince me the Man of Steel might bite the dust in THAT issue, Superman is just not on my radar, illustrated or otherwise. I did kinda like the old TV show though, but hated the movies.

And it makes even more sense than I thought it would. The only likely flaw I see if confirmation bias...it just seems SO obvious that most folks distrust utter strangers, and that entirely unanimous agreement tends not to foster creativity...

Just because half the human race is infuriated, and the other half feeling now justified in enslaving or worse the first half, does not make the research mistaken, wrong, or unfortunate. If I wanted to exterminate a few billion people, or all of them, I would not even think to look for an excuse or a reason - what might such be, after all? Policy (speaking as one who has been there) has nothing at all to do with facts. It has to do with advantage, in terms of mostly relative values, then coalition maintenance, then vested interests be they material or immaterial.

Facts come along when ordinary people discover that none of the policies work, unless they are bent to accommodate the facts.

There are lots of 500-year or longer historical trends - not enough for genetics but nearly enough for cultural stuff - that show that diverse populations that SURVIVE as diverse populations have to develop ways and means of turning same to advantage, which usually improves economic prospects as well. There APPEAR to be some differences in the means and medians for various characteristics, linked to gender or maybe predominant continent of origin. Perhaps this sort of diversity too is helpful.

Then there is the billiard ball theory, that everybody had to start somewhere, and kept going until the water got too darn deep. That would be to places like the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean coasts of the big Europe-Africa-Asia-Australia landmass, which might of course also be benefiting from (a) ocean harbors and (b) rivers draining hinterlands. Who knows but its fascinating.

DON'T LET THE PC POLICE waste any more of any one's time! Merge them with USA Homeland Security, and then abolish them totally!

Just think if everyone followed their league: absolutely refused to comply with laws and regulations particularly that part of that elites win, others lose pile of $^% that hides monopolistic bribe sharing behind a thin veil of concern for safety, equality, the environment, etc. As the so-called EU is one of the worst offenders, we might see their area returned to its 1945 condition, all their pathetic governments collapsed. And if all Europe could be totally freed from government, we could try it next in the USA.

Quantity has a quality all its own. But as no one REALLY wants to use these things, being able to spend one's competitors into the poor house is almost as good as winning an exchange of weapons, and far more environmentally sound...

The last thing on Earth that I desire is mobile empowerment. I find I have more than enough power as it is; often quite sufficient to cause me all sorts of hassles later. But yes progress is kinda cool. In college (1966) we had one of the first 'home' video setups, the camera was about the max size of a suitcase for checked airline baggage and weighed God only knows what it was on wheels; the recorder was about the size and weight of a washing machine; the media might fit in a bread box but I doubt it; and the whole thing cost us about $20,000.00 USD. There's a cell phone on my desk here (in case CommunistCast ISP goes down, uncommon but far from surprising); it was free and does video better; its half the size of a cigarette pack...the studio rig we bought was paid for by the USG, we got a grant to hire hookers and a suite to make a porn movie, for a class capstone project; made a profit selling 'the only copy' of the results to our customers, whose funds we (being gentlemen) let the working folks keep..

Sure it's a big deal. In theory, anything I could do a box could do as well, except be a person, and it may be that one day not to far off it could at least put on a reasonable person impersonation as well. If it were to happen on a cosmic scale, getting everything done without anyone working would probably result in everyone being unbelievably rich. Sounds good I suppose. But if it only gets part way and then slows way down, we'll simply become Eloi and Morlocks, except that the Morlocks won't be doing or having anything the Eloi care about, and the Eloi may decide to let the Morlocks all starve. Either way, our opinions as individuals or all of us together, and what any government decides, won't matter. Just the results will matter.

If someone had the desire and the resources, at least as to roads I've walked since they had both of those, sure they could make a list. So it's already possible. Or if I generally have them beside me when I walk, they'd either know or be able to mostly guess correctly, so I'm used to at least someone being able to do that. What does it matter if you all can? I chose what affects me, what happens in the universe or is done by others matters not very much at all...

Get rid of those oxymorons and the problem goes away. I would expect idiots to think, that if they were as rich as God and had both law, public opinion, and the constitution on there side, would natural attack someone who proved there property power influence and popularity to be entirely fictional. They would not be idiots if they just adjusted their expectations to reality, as those of us who have not the world's lawyers and armies at our calk are accustomed to doing.

Anything input into a computer is in the public domain, by definition, it will be abundantly evident one of these days. If it has to be put in a computer, then it is no longer owned nor private, simple as that. Might as well get used to it. And why is that a problem? If it's supposed to stay owned or private, don't let a computer find out about it, or at least don't tell one yourself. Give up the convenience and profit, maybe keep the ownership and property. I mean I don't buy a printed book, rip out the pages, scan them, digitally convert the content, and put it up as a torrent. Too much trouble for too little gain. Though I suppose that may change.

I'm a barbarian you see, I work when I please as I please. I'm a Lutheran, Hier stehe Ich. Ich kann nicht anders. And ya'll are headed for my world, the world without laws and property and money, the world with gossip and barter and community.

could be situational yes. But I think it's more that (a) the so-called (not by me!) social web at least are avatars of real people, very interesting whether by choice or evolution; (b) those are INTERACTIONS books are not. My self, I think people were built to ACT, and that our prime acts involve either our relations with others or the things we do together if not both. Me, I remember BOOKS. Not the sentences, but the world-situational images they evoke. But surely not the sentences lol. Facts are for sweeping out the door once the pattern is apprehended imho. Often the social web evokes images, at least of feeling/situations being represented to me by others. In other words, stuff whether I actually react (with action) or not, hits the buttons etc.