...Advocating increased inefficiency as the solution to bad government is like saying that you can't run very well in clown shoes so we can lower the crime rate by making everyone wear clown shoes so they can't get away from the cops...

I'm sensing a parody of COPS or CSI in this. Someone with a camera and a bit of talent could be the next YouTube star if they get right on it. :D

...Earthlink is connected to the Scentology cult...

Man, that really stinks.

Bragging rights? China beats IBM, we can no longer say that we're the most technologically advanced country and that's what I want. If that happens, maybe we'll get a boost in science education like post-Sputnik.

IBM is not an American company. They've said so repeatedly, every time they been asked about all the thousands of jobs they've off-shored.

What they ARE, though, is a large multi-national trying to stir up fear and pseudo-patriotism in the hopes of snagging huge, profitable government contracts for projects to build things we really don't need right now.

The EPB service is fiber-to-the-home, while Comcast is still coax. I signed up with EPB when it was 15 Mbps; the combo package of internet service and cable TV was marginally cheaper. They also recently raised my connection speed to 30 Mbps at no extra charge.

Comcast was royally PO'd that EPB wanted to get into the local cable TV and ISP buisness and took them to court (I believe) three times trying to get it stopped. I practically counted the days until their service was available, and I was the first in my neighborhood to switch. I haven't had any regrets.

Wine trees were imported to Australia.

Awesome, I've never seen a wine tree. Where can I find one of these for MY backyard? ;)

No offense, but what you're describing is confidence, not faith. You feel confident that a cure will be found based on the history of the medical profession. If you wish to call this faith then feel free, but that's not really a correct usage.

Magnetism doesn't depend on faith for its existence. It has been tested, measured and quantified many times. Its properties are independent of the lab doing the tests. Faith is a projection of an individual's belief structure and has no existence outside the individual's mind. The faith of one person may be similar to the faith of another, but they will never be exactly the same.

Faith can have value in that it may give an individual a bit of comfort, but far too many wave around the concept of faith as if it were a physical force.

"True faith is based on evidence, not opposed to evidence...

Incorrect. Hebrews 11.1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Therefore faith is complete hogwash.

"Right turn on red after stop" is perfectly legal in TN unless otherwise posted. Problem is that "after stop" bit. A lot of drivers have gotten in the habit of slowing down, looking for oncoming traffic, then continuing on without coming to a complete stop. A traffic officer would normally decide whether to cite the driver based on overall factors (did the driver slow down enough {very subjective}; was the driver being reckless). It's a gray line that gets crossed often and one that traffic cameras are not equipped to handle.

I can see it now....Russian supply vessel goes off course and gets stuck in an eccentric orbit. Some future post apocalyptic race of humans or visiting aliens finds the pod and assumes it's a type of time capsule filled with holy relics. Theologians / scientists study it day and night for generations trying to figure out what it all means, and how it applies to the looming disaster that threatens their race...

"Mankind will never be free until the last King is strangled with the entrails of the last Priest"(and the last advertising shill is buried alive alongside them)...

Look, we've got just about all the Kings finished off, but we have a long way to go on all the priests. Are you saying we need to preserve the last King until we're down to the last priest as well? That is going to complicate the logistics horribly.

Don't worry, there's no shortage of priests, and kings have been replaced by politicians and CEOs.

"...I think the world is overpopulated. I also think that's the prime reason pollution is a problem - we're sitting in our own filth. If the world only had 1 billion (like the year 1800) that problem would disappear."

I agree completely. Anyone who has kept an aquarium will know that there's a limit to how many critters you can keep in one tank without them choking on their own poisons, even with proper filtration and frequent partial water changes. The point is the earth is just a large aquarium/terrarium and there's nobody on the outside to change our water for us.

I don't think of it as being left behind, but rather of getting tired of the freeway and deciding to take the scenic route for awhile. If I can't find another on ramp down the road, then so be it. ;)

I don't have an iPad, an iPhone, nor even an iPod, and I feel none the less for it.

I used to be all about the tech, but as I age I'm finding not only that I can't keep up, but that I don't want to keep up.

Discussions like this remind me of a documentary I saw once about the building of the Erie Canal. It was reported that people along the route hated it when it first opened because it made their lives "too hectic." Barges along the canal averaged at a blistering 3 mph. :)

I doubt the Chinese will be borrowing money to build these rails...by all accounts, they are awash with far too much cash they've siphoned from the West (via Wal-mart and others). They're desperately looking for ways to use some of that money to quiet the demands that they re-balance their currency against the world markets.

Large container ships are only viable as long as there is cheap fuel to run them. There have been a lot of reports that we have reached, or even passed, peak oil, which means fuel will only get more expensive as we go on. By building rail lines now China is opening up its options for the future. Today's trains are essentially electric vehicles powered by on-board diesel generators; if worse comes to worst those diesel generators can be replaced with wood fired steam versions.

I've read comments here that say high speed rail is too expensive for freight. Keep in mind that just because the rail lines are designed for high speed doesn't mean the trains have to run that fast