Really? Try not paying.

Did you take your brain with all its sensitive info too?

I'm sorry, citizen; you have been fired. We simply cannot allow you to leave the premises until we have proof that you've emptied your brain.
Yes, i know, insert "become management" joke here...

What it tells you, of course, is that the military wants you to keep China Is The Bad Guy And A Growing Threat in the back of your mind, in case this current Terrerist thing backfires or grows old or, who knows, is won some how... the meaningless string of words is typed up by the Pentagon and printed on a piece of letterhead that says For Immediate Release. The "independent" media takes it and parrots it across the infosphere without thought, investigation, criticism, or question... you know, those things we were told made up "journalism." Once it appears with the magic incantation AP as preface, it is now Fact and Truth. The Public Has Been Duly Informed. Go about your business, citizen.

Does this mean China isn't a threat, actual or potential? Not at all. Just cause the gummint decides to tell you something doesn't always mean it's a lie, y'know! And there must be parts of the military that have grade-A migraines watching American businesses get on its collective knees before Chinese gov't demands, again and again - if the time comes when it's necessary to seperate them, how large a crowbar will be necessary?

... and if you get looked at strangely in a gun shop, it's probably time to go ...

lolwut?

In other news, management will stop overriding IT's security concerns for the sake of convenience and/or budget, and users will stop clicking random facebook links when bored at work. Are you kidding? Which internet do you spend your time on? 'Cause in the one i frequent, most security problems are caused precisely BECAUSE of a delectable combo of unpatched vulnerabilities, and user gullibilities.

[quote]Covering CO2 under the Clean Air Act would completely hamstring American businesses,[/quote] Oh god here we go again. You know, only out of complete ignorance of what other countries are doing could you make this statement with a straight face.

Please consider never providing contrived works of fiction as "proof" for important issues.

I can't stand this "scared straight" crap. It undermines the real issue by relegating it to the same level as any other movie special effects. It's like the "crack kills" campagins of the late 80s and early 90s. The only problem with extreme, over the top, graphic fakes is you're showing them to kids who watch graphic horror for fun and have, themselves, done exactly what you're telling them will cause Certain Doom, many time - with no ill effects. For drugs, telling people they'll overdose and die on the first hit only works if the target of your BS has never tried it, or doesn't know anyone who's tried it, or doesn't go out themselves the next day and try it - and not die. Now your credibility is zero, and you'll never get their attention again.

Leave marketing to consumer goods. Provide real examples for real issues.

...which is basically the endgame of WoW.

Robot season!
Droid season!
Robot season!
Droid season!

NO TOURBOTS.

No, Steve... not pie... Pi!

We need to have geeks in LA and NY buy up every issue in every newsstand and then put them up on ebay so the rest of us have a chance to buy one. I really want to take one of these apart.

Where did the 61% come from? If 54.2% of all consoles broke, then you have a 54.2% chance of any given console breaking. So the first console you buy would have 54.2% chance of dying, leaving 54.2% of all people having to replace their first X-Box. This means that the remaining 45.8% (100% - 54.2%) of people did not have their first console break.

My math gives me 45.8% (or 46%), not 61%. I didn't see 61% in the article, so I'm curious as to where you got that number.