There's already a drug with many harmful effects that is widely abused, that was legally (as in, the Constitution was modified) banned, and is made by yeast.

Don't sweat it. Seriously, don't. Nowadays they can tell all kinds of stuff from your sweat.

I have a really cleaver proof that this is not possible, which regrettably does not fit within this 8 seconds to typ

No, the consensus on /. is that paywalls for free content available elsewhere but linked to because some jerk wants to make money by inconveniencing us are bad. And ads that are intrusive, fraudulent, and/or malware-ridden (ie, the vast majority of them) are also bad. And content specifically written so as to maximize ad revenue (eg a short story spread over multiple pages, or click-baiting) is also trash.

Basically, when someone is trying to screw us they won't be very popular.

How about you compare to the amount of birds and other life killed by coal power, instead?
1) Habitat destruction from mining coal
2) Pollution from mining coal
3) Pollution from burning coal (carcinogenic particulates, acids, mercury, etc)
4) Death toll from global warming
etc

Just maybe windmills save the lives of birds, on average.

To add to that, let me be the first to predict that the year Microsoft finally rids itself of all those filthy pirates, will coincide with the Year of Linux on the Desktop.

Are you kidding? The TARDIS has more firepower than just about any science fiction ship, but the Doctor prefers to use diplomacy or his sonic screwdriver instead. For example, there is no question who would win in a TARDIS vs Death Star battle.

OK, now imagine what the world would look like if teachers and software developers got all their money from ads. I don't have anything against people getting compensated for their work, but keep in mind that the entire point of ads is to manipulate people into doing things they otherwise wouldn't -- advertisement is inherently hostile to users.

True but there's also much more content on the internet than anyone has the time to read, and the main constraint is in filtering out the gems from the crap.

Good for them. Remember that thing about how someone who's only in it for the money does a worse job than someone who does it because they want to? This means it doubly filters spam.

What a waste of space

Snapping turtles with razor sharp titanium beaks, what will they think of next? Laser implants for sharks?

PS: please don't be at loggerheads with me about the specific type of turtle involved.

Genetic engineering.

The real waste of tax-payer's money is the War on Things or Concepts (eg drugs, or terror).

>killed three people ... in the worst terrorist attack on American soil since Sept. 11, 2001

I'm so very scared.

Tell that to the tuna (who are a sushi favorite, and partially warm-blooded).