Comment Re:Sand to Power (Score 1) 450
They are NOT talking about solar cells. Everyone agrees that would be stupid.
Comment Re:And the US...? (Score 1) 450
Actually, Luxembourg is the biggest by far for per capita gdp. America is 9th.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita
Comment Re:Can You Spot the Difference? (Score 1) 407
Gates is not comparing himself to Einstein. TFA is comparing him to Einstein.
Comment Re:Another point of view (Score 1) 677
There *are* passages indicating that no pictures be made of Mohammed. There are also some saying that no pictures be made of *any* man or animal. Which is why mosques, when they have paintings, have only abstract paintings. There is even one which says something like "painters of pictures belong in hell" (not exact quote).
However, these passages are in the hadith, not the Quran. The Hadith are suplementary traditions, and as such are followed to varying degrees by different sects.
In any case, all this is irrelevant. It does not matter whether these beliefs are written anywhere. The fact is, a lot of Muslims hold these beliefs. It doesn't matter if they are written down, because it's not like they suddenly make sense if they are written down. Also, not all religions have a completely literal tradition. In Hinduism, for example, although there are a lot of `holy' books, most Hindus have never read them (even those who describe themselves as religious). The religion has, in practice, an almost entirely *oral* tradition. I hope you would agree that the beliefs of a religion with an oral tradition should not be treated any differently than that of one with a written tradition (and the same should apply for anything in between, such as the hadith).
What is written and what is not, is not important. We need only decide what freedoms one should be willing to sacrifice in order to comply with someone else's belief.
My opinion is, *none*. A religious person should not expect me to comply with beliefs I do not hold.
However, these passages are in the hadith, not the Quran. The Hadith are suplementary traditions, and as such are followed to varying degrees by different sects.
In any case, all this is irrelevant. It does not matter whether these beliefs are written anywhere. The fact is, a lot of Muslims hold these beliefs. It doesn't matter if they are written down, because it's not like they suddenly make sense if they are written down. Also, not all religions have a completely literal tradition. In Hinduism, for example, although there are a lot of `holy' books, most Hindus have never read them (even those who describe themselves as religious). The religion has, in practice, an almost entirely *oral* tradition. I hope you would agree that the beliefs of a religion with an oral tradition should not be treated any differently than that of one with a written tradition (and the same should apply for anything in between, such as the hadith).
What is written and what is not, is not important. We need only decide what freedoms one should be willing to sacrifice in order to comply with someone else's belief.
My opinion is, *none*. A religious person should not expect me to comply with beliefs I do not hold.
Comment Re:If I were a Pirate... (Score 1) 291
This usage of the word "pirate" dates to 1603 at least (citation on wikipedia). If you start contesting 400 year old definitions you might have to throw out half the dictionary.
Comment Re:Right... (Score 1) 368
its a hell of a lot cheaper than a bunch of rockets (if built of course ;)
RTFA.. their target cost is $400/lb.. thats several orders of magnitude cheaper than rockets
RTFA.. their target cost is $400/lb.. thats several orders of magnitude cheaper than rockets
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