And the teacher gets fired for using non-approved curricular materials.

So Democracy in Iraq, neighbors to Iran, had no influence at all on Iranians *also* wanting real elections?

No. I had Iranian friends and roommates in grad school starting in the early 2000's. According to them, this is the most blatant the vote rigging has ever been. The guys fresh out of Iran before the last election (not the current one) told me point blank that Ahmadinajan was going to win for domestic economy reasons.

The problem with U.S. support is NOT that the Iranian regime will crack down harder. The problem is that the US government is so unpopular there, that if we support them openly, many influential people will abandon the movement. It happened back in the early 90s with Bush Sr., and it could happen again.

Greg Bear's book "Anvil of Stars" has an alien species where non-sentient Cords come together to form aggregate, intelligent beings called Braids. Because sentience isn't available until multiple Cords have come together, and there does not appear to be a limit on the number of Cords that can aggregate, the Braids never developed a concept of "integers". One Braid (a collection of multiple Cords) can merge with another Braid to form a single Braid: 1 + 1 = 1. All math, therefore, is based on fractions, not whole numbers.

I loved The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein for this exactly logic.

Well, we ARE the only source of humans in the universe, and we have yet to figure out what we are good for. That might count as sufficiently scarce to make the trip worthwhile.

Half of all marriages end in divorce. On that model, half of all first contacts should result in intergalactic war.

And we all know Apple's competitors, such as Microsoft, would never inject more capital into a company involved in an intellectual property fight, even one guaranteed to lose.

Depends on what you are buying. Sometimes the design of a product feels more comfortable to you than anther. And preferences like this can vary from person to person. For example, I hate the button layout and display on Nikon DSLRs. I have a good friend who loves them. No review in the world can possibly sort this out-you have to hold the object in your hand to come to a decision.

No.

The word "belief" is a very useful word and "belief in evolution" is a true statement. Failing to use it just because disingenuous people will twist what you are saying is a losing strategy in the long run. Such people will always be able to find something you said to twist to their purpose. As soon as you stop using that phrase, they'll attack another one. Eventually everything you say is too technical or guarded, and you sound like a sound-bite robot or a weasely politician. Don't let them set the terms of the discourse. Publicly call them on their bullshit when it comes up. If appropriate at the time, present the surrounding context of the statement. That won't convince everyone, but you never can.

That depends on what era the poster served in. My grandfather, a WWII navy pilot, had to marry in secret because he wasn't allowed to.

Are you joking? The ridiculous nature of Utah Mormons has been known for decades. My parents, both born and raised Mormon from parents who were also born and raised Mormon, left Utah, precisely because they did not want their children raised around Utah Mormons. That was over 30 years ago, and nothing has changed on that front. While I have met some great people in Utah, nowhere have I met more hypocrites and Holier-Than-Thou @&#%$%@s.

Then things must have changed a whole lot in the past 2.5 years, since I gave up on Linux. I had that problem many times, and I wasn't going after obscure stuff only the Linux literate would want. I had that problem with several games, for example.

I started using Linux in 1998, I gave up in 2006, because I was sick and tired of dealing with the amount of work it took to install software and hardware. Not that I couldn't do it, I just didn't want to spend all that time doing it once I got a full time job. Especially since a Mac gives me all the Unix command-line stuff I love, without the driver problems or dependency hell.

And when the program you want to install isn't in the repository?

What you describe as necessary is already 90% here. I'm typing this on a 24" (could have bought a 27") iMac. There is a remote control on the bedstand, with navigation buttons simpler than my cable remote. Every night I lay back in bed, hit the "menu" button, select a show to watch (usually a TV show I've downloaded), and relax for 22 minutes before going to sleep. The only thing I'm lacking is quick access to new content with that same remote. You're association with work claim I find to be just hot air. I know the difference between work time and relaxation time, and the fact that the same machine is in use does not make any difference.

Of course, Bush's ban wasn't controversial at all. Nobody thought it was a bad idea from a purely scientific point of view. That's why Obama's motives must be tied to abortion politics, rather than legitimate scientific and medical concerns. And rich billionaires won't have any money left after his tax raise. They'll all be poor!</sarcasm>

Talk about ignoring reality. Pot, meet kettle.