What's with the "dead tree" crap? How about the "easy to flip thru" or "fun to use" version? After all, you don't refer to the popcorn you are eating while reading Slashdot as the "dead seed" snack.

In that sense, every year is the year of the DOS command line desktop.

Well, head off to some socialist paradise and see how that works for you. Try opposing the government in China. In Russia. In India. In African countries. Of course, you can oppose the government in places like Israel, but mentioning that is certainly not politically "correct". Sorry to inject reality here... lets go back to programming as usual.

Yes, of course, that would be soooo much better... having well armed local militias. A whole bunch of them. Along with a weak central government. That works so well in Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, ...

You mean sort of like how a chemist in a meth lab is just an employee?

And this comment is exactly the sort of dump, uninformed slashthink opinion that pisses me off. Wait till you are in the Soviet Union, o, sorry, Russia, and ACTUALLY in the gulag, and then complain. Guess what happens when you assert your "rights" in 99% of the countries on earth outside of the USA.

Ah, Open Source infighting: "We're not the People's Judean Front! We're the Popular Front for Judea. The People's Front is over there".

Uh... right... "excuse me, are you are crazed well armed nutjob? No? ok, great".
See, that conversation is pretty useless.

I guess it's too bad that you think your desires trump those of others.

Here's a clue: your right to swing your arms ends at my nose.

Huh? My broadband works fine... maybe you need to move? or are you shocked that in a country 3,000 miles wide the broadband varies?

Yes, because we all know that all security precautions are always done 100% correctly, so they are infallible. And of course it's impossible that the pilot or copilot is actually the hijacker.

Remember 9/11? You damn well better believe the fighters would shoot the plane down if it strayed.

Ah yes, the old "the USA is responsible for despots everywhere" argument. I'm curious... please cite the country that has this spotless record on human rights, and has altruistically advanced such rights everywhere, regardless of their own interest? Obviously any country in Europe, Russia, China, Japan, etc are out. So I'm waiting with bated breath for this shining example to the world.

In fact, please cite ANY country throughout history that has had the kind of international power the USA has had and has been as civil and restrained as the USA has been. You're going to struggle with that one.

Look at North Korea. They've proven that the main value of having a nuclear weapon isn't launching an actual attack. It's having the card to get admitted to the big boys club. Iran wants the same thing. With the added advantage that Iran's threat is more realistic, given the sabre rattling towards Israel. After all, destroying Israel would probably only take 3 or 4 nuclear bombs, so it's a much more realistic scenario.

Hmm... you mean enriching uranium far beyond the needs of producing power? That "overblown propaganda"?

Let's enter reality here. If all Iran wanted was nuclear power, the deal would take about an hour to conclude. Limited enrichment and international inspection... sanctions lifted as they demonstrate they are willing to follow thru. Huge benefit to the Iranian people. Pretty hard not to notice that they at least want to have the option to produce a bomb, even if they aren't going there straightaway.