Dogs, and indeed most domesticated species, are poor examples to use for evolution. They have been selectively breed by humans to enhance or eliminate various traits. Dogs didn't evolve, they were created. Same thing for cats: they have been selectively breeding humans for 6000 or so years....

That will be their name after Homeland Security tosses them in prison. It's not rocket science. Fuck with corporations, they pay politicians, laws get passed, profit. Fuck with the US Senate, the FBI, they _find_ you. And you know very well the US doesn't care about jurisdiction.

"Technophile" Like an "audiophile" is someone who is always trying to improve their sound system.

I'd have to question that definition of a failed state. The United States government has never had a monopoly over the use of force within it's borders. The general populace has always been better armed than the state, and it is a founding principle that this is the correct way to do things, that the people should retain the ability to overthrow the government should it turn tyrannical. While I would find merit in a statement that the US is failing, indeed seems in danger of imminent collapse, it has nothing to do with force, or a monopoly on violence.

I have to agree on this one. It seems the one thing the Mac haters refuse to acknowledge is that, at it's core, OS X is a *nix. I have the Terminal app on my dock, and spend as much time on the command line as I do clicking things. BootCamp takes care of games, and VM's for any Linux/Whatever application I need that I can't either find a port of or compile myself.

Once I got "under the hood" (on my teacher issue Mac) and realized what I was working with, I ditched my Windows machine in favor of one that "just works" when I need it to, and does serious work when that is required.

Yours doesn't? How quaint...

Which brings up an interesting question: does patent imply copyright? Does having a patent on a compound confer copyright on source code used to simulate that compound? And if it doesn't, how long until the lawyers claim it does, and you all start calling me a bastard for bringing it up?

Dunno, but I'm sure they'll try. Large US corporations are not known for playing by the rules.

as Big Pharm sues him for using their drugs in a manner not properly prescribed. This will effectively lock him down while they rebrand the drugs, package them, and patent the cure for their profit.

Actually, that's kind of brilliant. I'm sure some bright lawyer for the defendant will do just that, and I wouldn't be surprised if he pulls it off.

Now, how do we start a class action against the RIAA for price gouging by charging us 99 cents a song? They set the value, let's make them stick to it!

There is a more or less standard format that has developed for Lab/Engineering notebooks. The "no blank space" part is done specifically so you can't add information to a previous date. That way the notebook shows how an idea was developed over time, documenting the entire development process rather than just the end result. Pages are generally signed off on by two people, the person taking the notes and a second "witness," which is supposed to cut down on forgeries.

And yes, they can be entered into evidence as legal documents. How valid they are becomes a matter for the lawyers/jury/whatever.

What? C'mon, there are millions of American public school students! With lunch money! That they are wasting on food! Sue them too!

Since we seem to be living in an age of bullies, shouldn't they just get it over with and follow things to their logical conclusion?

It doesn't matter where their offices are, it matters where they are incorporated. Google is incorporated in the US, and hence is expected to follow US law, even if those laws are idiotic, or a half century out of date.

Possession of fully automatic weapons is illegal everywhere in the United States, unless the owner has a federally issued Class 3 firearm license. They don't just hand those out to everyone who wants them. In addition, certain jurisdictions limit the the types of firearms you can own. Often these restrictions are completely illogical ("assault weapon" bans, for example, which ban some weapons based on what they look like, not on how they function,) but they do not violate the 2nd Amendment.

I have two PS3's. My recently purchased slim (bought the same week that PSN went down) will not let me watch Netflix, no matter what I try. My ancient fat (original, 1st gen) will eventually let me watch, after sever failed attempts to log in to PSN. Both have the same firmware version, and the slim's settings were copied from the fat. So, just because one person can get to Netflix with PSN down does not mean everyone can. It all depends on some combination of hardware, software, and settings.