All of the software should be free software so that backdoors are less of a problem.

How does free software insure that a service you access doesn't have backdoors? Is it really that difficult in your mind to branch off the codebase so that the code that is freely available is different from the code that is actually used, or are you one of those a*holes that thinks throwing out "free software" is the solution to everything?

So what happens when the first plane has a power blip, or an engine failure? How can you land with no view?

Considering modern planes are fly-by-wire, can you even land without power? (wondering, don't know myself)

Unions

In Republican controlled Texas?

Also if you are a C++ program, the original K&R C book is a good read of how to keep things simple.

I agree on the K&R C book. Also would add The C++ Standard Library by Josuttis. Although I don't know how dated it is, since the version I have dealt with C++98 (or whatever was before C++0x. I'm not much of a C++ programmer these days). I also like Beautiful Code by Oram & Wilson (small essays from programmers about beautiful code they've seen/written in different languages). K&R C book has that too. If you're interested in history, I loved Go To by Steve Lohr and The Design and Evolution of C++ by Stroustrup.

Clean Code by Robert C. Martin, Working Effectively with legacy code by Michael C. Feathers, Refactoring by Fowler, Design Patterns by the gang of four. If you are a C++ programmer, anything by Sutter or Meyers.

So glad I no longer live and work in the US

What the US should be doing is disarming its law ENFORCEMENT agency and let it become again a police force.

But according to Fox News, how can you be a democracy if the police is unarmed?

First. Killing people and burning shit down is illegal. Do not need different laws to prevent it.

Nice thing about jury nullifiication is that you can change that. Sure, the law might say that blowing up a church with black girls in it might be illegal, but "thankfully" no jury will convict you for it. That is, if they can get anyone to prosecute you, that is.

That's OK, because American "Christians" have been pushing the idea that Christianity is not a religion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PH09hgb7DQ) for some strange reason

Yes, and for an example of this, mention "Streisand effect" to someone that doesn't read Slashdot, and they will probably have no idea what you are talking about.

What about someone reading the Economist?

Does Playboy still have any good articles? I know they used to (some of the interviews were really interesting), but last time I picked up one (couple of years now), it had turned into a FHM/Maxim wannabe. Still the playmates pictures, of course, but the articles had become fluff pieces.

I'm sure there are enough that I feel fairly confident in my advice to just not install Java unless you really, really need it. Which, unless you're a developer or a Minecraft addict, you really don't.

Depends on where you're from. All the banks in Norway (and I think the Nordic countries, don't know about the rest of Europe) have a common login functionality that is java applet based. Meaning if you want to do online banking (or financial transactions, since I think brokerage firms also use it for login) in Norway, you need java installed.

So, what happens when you need to travel out of the country during your contract time? Do they give you the unlock code, or are you forced to be roaming costs?

But, but, according to conservative pundits, he's too "effeminate" to be right

*sarcasm* this is what happens when you have a Socialist president. It would never have happened under a True Conservative President. Remember this in November, people. If Jesus or Paul didn't want bat-shit crazy people to hate the socialists, why did they never speak up against it? *sarcasm*