I'm mostly a liberal myself, and I feel the same way as you on all counts. I'm a liberal libertarian. :)

On a related topic, the future of vehicular electricity storage may reside in carbon-fiber-plastic composites that store lithium ions. The major drawback is obviously that this energy storage medium is currently very flammable. Of course, if that is ever solved, then we will have super or ultra capacitors that are, quite elegantly, also the body panels to our cars! :)

So, if the people who presented global warming were using falsified data, that necessarily proves that global climate change does not exist? I'm here to tell you that this warm winter I've had here in Michigan and that frigid snowy Winter in Italy.. not to mention the melting ice in Antarctica... are telling a story that is very much in line with the "false prophets" of global warming. The only difference between AGW nuts and us that live in reality is... us realists realize that the world will warm and cool and kill us all without noticing or caring that we were ever here. It wasn't cars, or nuclear energy, or the higgs boson, or coal power plants that will doom the Earth. The Earth is doomed no matter what we do. We only hurt ourselves by hurting our environment. We realists know that while our time on Earth is spectacularly short, that the actual lifespan of a habitable planet is relatively short when you take a few steps back and see the real history of the universe. To quote my favorite comedian George Carlin: "The planet'll shake us off like a bad case of fleas."

It may not degrade or recycle easily, but polyethylene burns with a very clean flame. Chemically, PE is very similar to gasoline. So what, the material is not recycleable? No big deal.. it will probably work well in a fossil fuel power station where their energy can be cannibalized by newer PCs. Kind of like a Soylent Green for PCs. :D

Good post! Pardon me for a political shill: if we are unable to elect Ron Paul this year, I believe these sorts of international problems will be getting much worse. That "line" that you speak of... I think we crossed it many years ago.

I sure appreciate your comments, they provide a much-needed counterpoint to the original article. My post on this subject was similar to yours in one place ---> "Remember, Iphones aren't the only thing made in Foxconn city. Hundreds of other electronics manufacturers make things there. If Foxconn doesn't stay competitive in Shenzhen, somebody will open a factory in Vietnam where they don't even have to feed their staff and pretty soon all of those people in SZ that everyone was so worried about will be out of work and back to subsistence farming."--- I don't understand why Apple products are the only thing on trial here. The people who buy Foxconn products (and similar) are every bit as responsible for the worker's conditions as the people who set up the factory. The only difference is that as consumers we are not responsible for the success or failure of Foxconn as a business. Everyone making the business decisions for Foxconn must compare their costs with regional competition. At a certain point, we have to admit that WE (the US especially) are responsible for creating an economic model that makes factories like Foxconn INEVITABLE. For me, the jury is still out about whether it is better to try and "fix" one factory at a time or if it would be better to take a more Holistic/Systemic approach. We are balancing the "needs" of the poverty stricken Chinese with the "needs" of the lower class US. The most realistic solution is to solve the wealth disparity here in the USA. Our poverty stricken RELY on the labor of the poverty stricken Chinese to scrape by on Walmart clothing and furniture in their basement apartments. At what point will we acknowledge that the disparity of wealth here in the USA is encouraging a wealth disparity throughout the entire 3rd world?

I'm sorry my comment was moderated "offtopic", I was only trying to be humorous. I appreciate slashdot's perspective that it is better not to reply to flamebait posts and I will avoid replying to racist and foul language posts in the future. However, I firmly believe that it would be best if posts like the one I replied to were DELETED!) Freedom of speech doesn't need to protect inflammatory racist drivel. We should all be allowed to speak provided that our thoughts have a hint of quality behind them. There is a point at which language is not worth the paper (or electricity) it is printed on.

I won't ever really believe that we will see "unrestricted access to all of their operations" as the article states. However, if Apple really gets honest and shows us the deplorable conditions in that factory... and then shows us how it has fixed those conditions... I will give them another chance. What is strange is: I never see any mention about the manufacturing conditions for competing PC and/or phone components. Is it really honest to have so much news about Apple without a mention of the parts used by the other big PC and phone companies? It is probably my fault for neglecting to educate myself... but I think our tendency to focus on one thing at a time really hinders our ability to see the broad picture. If Apple can't make their product for a very low cost, then they simply can't compete. We need to solve the problem of Chinese labor camps regardless of whether they serve high-profile companies like Apple or whether they serve serially-renamed conglomerates that sell $10 jeans in a country where a cheap lunch is $5. Something isn't adding up here.

Indeed, I did not expect "pimp" or "bitch" from Microsoft developers. I guess they're getting the best and the brightest, these days. #sarcasm On the other hand, Windows 7 is pretty boring and it feels like I paid an awful lot for an OS that is no better than Windows 2000. If only it came with some entertainment... a "pimp" or "bitch" button would really help me feel connected to my computer.

Let's be honest! Most people are going to find that they have a phone security problem through the news, through becoming a victim, or not at all! We need an app written by this University of Colorado - Colorado Springs Student that checks the security of our phone and other apps on a regular basis. There's a real possibility for a successful business here. I hope that I will be buying a security APP in the near future!! Keep up the good work, anonymous UoC student!!

It's OK that my picture and profile is still "up" at several dating websites. I don't mind, because I am human and not ashamed of the fact that we must reproduce in order to exist. Thank goodness everything I put up was in good taste. My only regret is posting on several STD dating sites before finding out I didn't have any disease. :D :P

Is there a way to automatically forward your comments on /. to my Grandmother? It's some sort of Tourettes poetry or something. It really drives to the heart of the issue and makes me feel closer to my fellow man. I hope you have the courage to post with your name and address sometime! :P

I guess I am one of the only ones that noticed the way Best Buy did business more than 15 years ago? As a child I remember them charging an exorbitant fee for diagnosing and repairing a radio, only to have replaced the batteries. Best Buy has always been a racket. In the early 00's, Monster Cables were apparently made out of Pixie dust and Myrrh, from the way their employees talked them up. The poor employees. They are hassled and forced to mess with customers, but they get no commission for being pushy salesman. Best Buy has an opportunity now to prevent failure. If they don't change, you can bet that someone is making money on their failure.