Programming is not construction. Programming is design. It's always going to be fuzzier than actual production.

Manufacturing, in software, is trivial. This apparently leads people to think that software development is something like manufacturing, because they want a visible step there.

Actually, one of the best things the manager can do is shield the team from other managers, and support them when talking to others.

We've been geoengineering. So far, we've raised carbon dioxide from about 280ppm to about 400ppm, and it's having serious effects. We're already riding the tiger, and the question is not whether or when but how.

Can you imagine the US doing something major while completely ignoring the UN? I can.

It's possible to explain it in a variety of ways, including simple and complex. It's entirely possible to explain atmospheric warming by listing one variable. Modeling is another matter, and all the halfway decent models have tons of variables.

If you see a blue screen on one of these...DUCK!

So, if in Sweden you're wanted for questioning, you can get all charges dropped by hiding for long enough? That doesn't sound right.

WTF does the NSA have to do with any of this?

Is it your opinion that somebody should be immune from questioning until convicted? The Swedish courts have decided that there's enough of a case to go forward.

Nor do you give any shred of reason why it would be harder to get Assange from Sweden than the UK, if the US in fact has any plans concerning him, which seems to be baseless (if not entirely implausible) speculation.

Do you really think a foreign embassy would keep the CIA out? They might try, but if the US wanted to do any extraordinary rendition they wouldn't let a little thing like that stop them. It's only Ecuador, after all, not a country the US has to respect. As far as extradition to the US goes, the US could have filed that while Assange was in the UK and before he headed for the embassy.

The impression I got was that both women were planning to have sex with him, but on their terms. This doesn't mean they can't be raped.

Rape and sexual assault victims vary widely in what they will do after the crime. Some victims in fact deny to themselves that the assault ever occurred, and try to go on precisely as before. I don't think this is a healthy reaction, but it happens.

As far as Assange goes, in what way is he being treated oddly? There were credible allegations of sex crimes, and he was undergoing due process through the Swedish justice system. They have asked for his extradition from Britain, and that has been granted. What's unusual about this, aside from Assange being somewhat notorious and having some extra resources to evade the legal process?

And why do you think there's a real threat of being imprisoned in a US gulag? Why do you think any such threat would be worse in Sweden than in that notorious US lapdog, the UK? If Assange was concerned about being extradited or special-renditioned, what would be the sense in going to the UK?

First, I think you're wrong. A rapist will often not face explicit objections, having made it clear what will happen if he hears them. If I threaten a woman's baby, and tell her to shut up and cooperate, I'm not likely to hear explicit objections. I can't imagine that not counting as rape in any civilized country.

Second, asleep is incapacitated. A sleeping woman can't object and can't protect herself until she wakes up. By the time the woman woke up, the sex act was underway, so even by your dubious standards she was raped.

Come on. There's nothing immoral in saying that Assange committed sex crimes, given evidence (which seems pretty strong, from where I sit). It would be immoral to deprive him of rights based on that, before conviction.

How often does the government use the rubber hose? IANAL, but it seems to me there's a tendency in the US courts to not require people to hand over cipher keys as a general rule. If the NSA can't read your email. that's at least a bit of privacy you've gained.

In my judgment, most of the third parties I've seen would be worse than the Democrats and Republicans. It is more feasible to try to change one of the parties. It's not easy, but it can have results. Look at the Tea Party and its effect on Republicans.