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Comment Re:Olde-timey carbon fuel (Score 1) 365

The classic multipurpose "biodeiesel" of old was charcoal, a renewable source of fuel for high-temperature furnaces suitable for making iron and high-quality steel. Its use today is pretty much limited to barbeques and re-enactment smithing but a post-apocalyptic world could easily return to it for such purposes.

Trees don't grow quickly and the production of charcoal was never enough to sustain the demands for process heat for a society even a tenth as large as it is today but assuming a massive post-apocalyptic die-back and natural reforestation it would probably work. It doesn't require any process plant or chemicals to produce after all.

Lower-temperature needs such as locomotive and boiler steam could be met with simple logging of reforested areas without the extra step of turning wood into charcoal.

hemp grows quickly

Comment Re:Huh? (Score 1) 161

He's been asked by the Bolivian ambassador to call their president to apologize. This is certainly not a bad thing, and certainly not uncalled for.

It could be a good opportunity to repair relations with an ally.

So once again, based on false evidence, the United States decided to risk war by forcing down another countries Presidents airplane, just so the USA could check to see if a fugitive was on it.

While it's possible Snowden paid a part in this, it was the USA choice to risk war by forcing the Bolivian plane. Snowden isn't the bad guy here, the USA still is.

Comment Re:Mass Murder (Score 1) 249

People who don't actually look at facts, but at feelings they have do to patriotism, ethnocentrism, or other sorts of values don't really care about accuracy in labeling. They also don't like unacknowledged but horrible national acts brought up because it stains their sense of nationalism and machismo.

It was a genocide. There may have been awful things happened to precipitate it, but it was a genocide and the record is fairly clear on this.

It would take courage for Turkey to accept this part of their past, apologize for it, and show that they are big enough to accept the bad and the good in their past. But they aren't, nationally, and these hackers are an example of that.

Until you can be brutally honest with yourself about the warts on your nation's past, you can't ever really be a great nation. You have to be able to look your mistakes and misdeeds in the eye and say 'yeah, I own that... not proud of it.... and there were reasons.... but I own that'.

When and if Turkey can ever do that, they'll show they (as a country and Turks as a national population) have grown and are not so fragile as to need to hide, deny, and otherwise act like an ostrich in the face of their darker moments in the past.

Most nations have them. The number that have the guts to face up to them and try to accept the dark parts and maybe even do something to commemorate or make restitution are not that large. Turkey is hardly alone in living in denial.

Aren't we talking about something that happened 100 years ago? Something that happen so long ago that most if not all the people involved in it are dead? Not exactly sure what the pope had in mind saying it, but sometime the past is bet left in the past.

Comment Re:Yeay! (Score 1) 39

Mars takes ~260 days to reach, with a payload that could theoretically bring humans...maybe 130 if we do some pretty crazy stuff. Europa takes three years minimum for a much smaller payload. Actually getting humans to Mars is already a big technical challenge, let alone living once we get there...it's going to take a heck of a lot more practical experience before we can get them to Europa.

Say what you want about the pointlessness of living off-world, but Mars is great practice. It's closer, it has more solar power available, and we can send bigger things with our current technology. Same with the Moon...great practice, but even less practical reasons to be there than Mars.

The moon is even closer and a better launch point for exploring anything in our solar system.

Comment Re:News for nerds how? (Score 4, Informative) 676

Much though I enjoy the multi-hundred-comment threads where we all scream at each other about politics, why is this here?

How is this 'news for nerds'? I mean, even the summary has given up on trying to even mention technology/nerdy stuff.

Just realized I have some good tech new for ya instead.

First 4 episodes of Game of Thrones current season (5) have been leaked. You can find them at your favorite torrent sites, or on usenet.

Comment Re:News for nerds how? (Score 1) 676

Much though I enjoy the multi-hundred-comment threads where we all scream at each other about politics, why is this here?

How is this 'news for nerds'? I mean, even the summary has given up on trying to even mention technology/nerdy stuff.

Slow News Sunday is my guess. Though the new rulers can of course be doing a check to see where people are in the political beliefs to file that info away to be used against us later.

Comment Re:Hell No Hillary (Score 1, Insightful) 676

Lol you forgot Sandy Berger the Clinton Stooge who was stuffing classified documents down his freaking pants

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...

Really their whole administration was like a bad episode of Bewitched.

And yet, the 8 years Clinton was in office, shit was good in America. Really fucking good. Then Bush came in and fucked shit up. And shit has been fucked up since Bush was in office. The only "Change" Obama brought to office is the loosening of the Marijuana laws.

It will be nice to see a Clinton in office, someone who does give a fuck about the people also, and maybe we can end the Twenty10's in decent economic shape for the first time since the 1990's.

Comment Re:Hell No Hillary (Score 1, Flamebait) 676

What corruption has she done? Going to point out that way the republicans hate the Clintons, if she did anything illegal, they would have her up on charges so quick.

The email stuff? With the NSA spying into everything, and you know she knew about it before we did, it suddenly looks smart to keep your email server private from the government.

  Benghazi was a tragedy that the Republicans used to try discredit Clinton, because she's a threat to their plans. Benghazi was horrible and the Republicans with no respect to the people that died, used to as part of their witch hunt on Hillary.

The truth is, the Republicans are scared to death of Clinton.

Comment Re:Hell No Hillary (Score 1) 676

I certainly hope you don't take an ambassadorships under her. P.S. Funny how her brothers got that Haiti mining contract.

Ya, it's funny how when people get in positions of power they give people they know contracts and other positions of power. Too bad this is something that every administration does, so by trying to call out Hillary on it only shows how limited your knowledge is. While it may not seem fair to us, then why haven't we gotten our Senators to write a law limiting that sort of useage of that power?

In other words, this is along standing problem, longer then the last 10 years, longer then 100 years. If you don't like how the system is, then try to change it, but to use it to blame 1 person, when it's all the people who do it is just stupid.

Comment Re:Hell No Hillary (Score 4, Insightful) 676

By all means, you may vote for whomever you choose but please don't lie about it.

Hillary Clinton is one of the most corrupt politicians who has ever been on the national scene. Her job during her husband's administration was to orchestrate the harassment and character assassination of the women who were sexually assaulted by her husband.

LK

You got an proof with that? Because what I hear is the same old bullshit I've hear republicans say since Clinton was in office. And I don't actually care much, because the sex shit with Clinton was no fucking big deal at all, it's like when you are arguing with someone and they start picking on your grammar. You have nothing else on the Clintons, 'cept this one minor sex shit and it's blown out of proportion. Fuck, the VP is way the fuck more creepy then Clinton ever was, at least Clinton has the decency to not hit on women during their husbands speech.

So unless you have some real proof of bad shit, fuck off. I'm tired of the weak excuses you people bring.

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