That's not the point. The point is for you to watch the circus, while the government (and its crony contractors) pinch the pie.

No, better yet let's worry about gays and whether or not they should be "allowed" to marry or not.

That would have to be one hell of a thick wall. What makes you think that the debris won't just flow right on over it, or take the wall with it? I don't want to think what it would cost.

Er is that the point of view of academics whose closest contact with the ocean is when they take a bath? Yeah I'd like to see one of those ancient vessels in an average storm. I have sailed, and believe me you quickly realize how easy it is to visit the bottom of the ocean.

Just because they didn't, doesn't mean they couldn't. Actually, it probably does mean that. While there is evidence that ancient peoples were capable of incredibly long trips - the proof of which being the colonization of Pacific islands by people sharing Asian genetic markers, those trips were probably the exception rather than the rule. People tend to take advantage of any activity that is fairly simple and fairly profitable. If it was so easy to cross the oceans, there would be much more evidence of contact between civilizations in the old world and the new. I'm not an anthropologist, but AFAIK besides the Phoenicians and the Vikings, there were not many other powers that dominated the waves.

And what would you think of a "horseless carriage" that, er, relied on a horse somewhere in the design? Seems like they are over-complicating a very simple, very old concept with modern gadgetry. Just because the propeller was invented does not mean that absolutely the only way to move a ship is via the propeller. What's next, a nuclear powered rowboat?

More to the point - water and lithium? What could possibly go wrong.... let's hope none of the batteries ever rupture and get wet, otherwise I don't want to be around that boat.

I used to live in BC. Now I know why it's called "British" Columbia. It rains as much as Britain, if not more...

At $0.50-0.60 a watt for today's solar panels, we're almost at the point where people can power their own homes. Unless of course you live where it rains constantly, like the pacific NW, lol. Oh and cloudy days/night time? There are energy storage solutions available - flywheels for example.

Er, upload speeds are usually nowhere near download speeds, thanks to ISP's insisting on fashioning their bandwidth that way - greedy little fucks. So yeah, good luck uploading those 500GB of movies and songs. What year did you say your trip was again?

Eh, it depends on the customs officer you get, too. I have pretty serious health conditions - heart trouble. I've had surgery. I have a pacemaker/defibrillator. I can walk short distances, etc, but standing in line at an airport for 2 hours is out, so I always get a wheelchair which the airlines are happy to provide. One day coming in to the US this bastard of an ICE officer who was obviously in a foul mood, starts giving me shit for the wheelchair, even when I told him it belongs to the airline, not to me. He seemed to think I was trying to smuggle something into the country inside it or something. Anyway he sent us to the area where they review stuff, and my wife and I got searched. The American Airlines airport wheelchair was x-rayed. Obviously they didn't find anything, and sent me on my way. But when you get a despotic official hell bent on ruining people's day, it will happen no matter what your skin color. And yes, I'm white, blonde, blue eyes, and my wife is also white.

I know for a fact that heroin is used in UK hospitals. I'm not sure about the US though, I think they don't hand out too many "licenses" for it, rather preferring the other drugs like meperidine, fentanyl, morphine, etc. I'm a doctor - but not a US doctor.

It's personal property. It's not contraband. You are allowed to own back-up copies of your CD's and DVD's. Do you really think that they would make everyone empty out their iphones and mp3 players, or go through them track by track to see if they match a purchase at the itunes store or whatever? No. Well actually the way the US is acting nowadays - maybe...

Bad analogy. There is nothing illegal in the US about owning a rip of a DVD. In fact, the law specifically states you are allowed one (1) copy for backup purposes. Unless you're downloading stuff in front of the customs officer, what is he going to do? Of course if your computer loads utorrent when started, and you have files on your HD saying stuff like "thanks for downloading warez at xxx.net site", then that might be incriminating enough - IANAL. But just having the rip? Rename it to "SomeMovie(Backup).avi" or whatever and you're 100% covered.

Using your example, it's more akin to you crossing the border while under the influence of heroin. So long as you don't act in an intoxicated/disorderly manner, there is no law against being high. The laws cover possession, distribution and sale.

Well what do you know: Different countries have different laws. Water is wet, and grass is green also. BUT that does not alter the fact that America is a surveillance, police state, and has been for a while. Your freedom is as illusive as a soap bubble. And I can cite many stupid little things that America cites as "criminal acts". That's not the point.

Assurances of liberty? None. Actual, real, liberty? There are plenty of countries. One does not speak so much of freedom as in a place where it has ceased to exist.