If Dodd does as well for the MPAA as he did for banking, they will be bankrupt in 3 years. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.

And exactly what is sad about that?

Banning things has never worked and never will.

Make that "an open boil on the Anus of society" and I'm in.

.... should follow Hungary's lead. Imagine a bunch of websites designed by a high school computer class which has just learned how to use Flash.

You forgot to mention that there are more than 100,000 Windows programs that won't run on Linux. And for what it's worth, Microsoft has had over 30 years to "get it right", and their products are still not fit for anything except playing games. It takes a lot of courage to call people names under "Anonymous Coward".

Maybe Ballmer should ask Mark Shuttleworth.

...does it run on Linux?

That is the method I've been using, but it always results in damaging the networking settings. I do get a fixed IP, but after the first reboot, GRUB no longer auto-starts the system and I have to press "Enter" to get it to boot. After boot, I have to manually start Apache, Pure-ftpd, and CUPS. That's what I meant by not working properly.

...right now. I like it fine, though some changes (moving windows controls to the left side, took a bit of getting used to. The purple scheme sucks but is easy enough to change. There is still a problem with running a fixed IP, or at least there is some trick to making it work properly that I haven't learned yet. It does seem to boot a bit faster, but fast boot times are of little importance to someone who typically runs his computer 24/7. So far, I see no significant improvements, but more importantly, no noticeable degradations, yet.

...for Transonic. I also installed an HHO system and a 100 mpg carburetor that I built from some 1932 plans along with a tornado action swirl generator in the intake. My mileage and horsepower have improved so much that the car will run 87 mph in 1st gear at idle and gets over 257 mpg. It runs on Burger King bio-diesel.

...Ubuntu would fix what they broke in 8.1 and 9.xx. Skype hasn't worked since 8.04 and the new Grub is NOT an improvement. Lots of other minor stuff, but this is not the place to discuss it. I wish they would stop the every 6 months release and use that time make the next release work properly. The default color scheme is so far down on the list of needed improvements that it's only "value" is that it pisses me off that Canonical wasted resources on it. I've been using Linux for more than 10 years and Ubuntu since 6.04, but am seriously considering switching.

And you'd be right. Windows XP is Fisher-Price, not Playskool. Playskool makes Weebles, which wobble but don't fall down. Fisher-Price makes Little People; they make better finger-puppets, but if you push them they fall over. In a way, they're a lot like Windows.

white lightening = moonshine = immature whiskey, right?

On this side of the pond, a "white lightening" is vodka and milk. Never bothered with it myself, but I remember one utter lunatic who was a devotee of them. Can remember his face, but not his name.

I kind of doubt it's possible to get to 190proof in a home still, and I know you can't buy that wretch.

190 proof in America ~=95% v/v ?
Yeah, you could get to that with a well-made home still. Would take several passes or a very good fractionation head (which would be hard to disguise as anything else to a suitably-trained policeman), but you should be able to do it. My old still ... hmmm, would probably take 4 passes, and I could build or dismantle the still to innocuous parts in about 5 minutes.

The inner city kids have nothing to do because:
- There is a lack of adequate nature spaces and sports fields in the inner cities. Probably because land is at a premium and city councils would rather waste money in monthly glossy magazines promoting themselfs than in creating a well-balanced environment to live in.
- There are not enough community activities for young people in large part due to overboard Healt & Safety nuttyness blocking each an every inititiative that might involve any kind of risk (real or perceived).

Also:
- There are lots of self contained areas of high unemployment and poverty (aka Housing Estates).
- A media driven culture that values wealth and individualistic selfishness above all means that people around here are raised to not give a damn about other people, including their families.

So you end up with groups of hormone filled, immature youths with no money, no job and nothing to do, immersed in a culture that does not include the notion of respect for anybody else (not elders, not your parents, not teachers, nobody).

It's thus not suprising that England has the problems it has with youth violence ...

Ha! Pretty big. 800 acres, some extra room here.

Where you are the government made the people give up all the effective self defense arms. Same in Canada.

I think that was short sighted.

I also think you'll see more chinese going to africa and south america than elsewhere, easier to get what they want there, with more enthusiastic governments willing to let them in..but who knows either. The big chinese fatcats do not want to lose their cushy jobs, so they will do what it takes to keep their own people pacified and to maintain internal law and order, and there's really no way around their water problem outside of them exporting a lot of people to where the water is. Bonus points if there are other natural resources in the same area.