"They're the guys in power!" As in the U.S., the U.K. Canada, Australia, China, and most other countries. The Mob, Mafia, Syndicate, CIA, are in charge. Basically your everyday gangster.

And remember that "ignorance of the law is no excuse..." So you need a good memory! Just like those judges.

So a of Californian BREWERY is funding the NO campaign. Does the same apply to them? Is this not mis-use of funds? I hear no shouting about their activity...

"Mature adults understand that life is a series of compromises rather than a list of ultimatums." And hence we have a "consensus" on torture. Its not black or white but a few shades of grey. Get real. There is right & there is wrong. And all the soft arsed talk and throwing of abusive terminology will not alter the fact one iota.

Are you suggesting that we have a "free market"? For whom? Tell that to the 30% who live in abject poverty on this planet. A planet, by the way, ownd by something like 5% of its population. So where are the other 95% supposed to get their goodies from? Regulation does only one thing - it keeps the landowners (thats the 5%) in power. Regulation condemns the rest to the scraps in varying degrees. Regulation is what causes more comment on /. than just about any other subject. And it never comes out well. Mr. Johnson ("the law is an ass") never knew how right he was.

O.J? yes! The five cops?! Yes!

..."if the complete running of the country was left to public opinion then it could screw things up a lot," Do you really believe it could be more screwed up than it is, whichever "political" party is ruling the roost? The copyright laws are a violation of human rights. And that hurts. But look at the stupidity of our tax system. For daring to work you pay tax. The sytem is inefficient, invites evasion, causes poverty, is open to rorting and scams and frauds by the thousand. Yet it is defended (to the death) by the majority of people. Because the propaganda says its good. And with copytheft the same applies. IF you need a government with all its military (police) might to enforce your claim then your claim violates human rights. No IFS no BUTS. It takes educated people, like yourself, to write to the people who represent us in those parliamentary institutions and explain and explain and vote for someone else when they don't listen.

"...they would be traveling in generation ships," Are we not travelling in a generation spaceship?"

Whatever makes you believe that browsers will be required in a world where governments censor & control all you see and transmit and receive?

Senator.conroy@aph.gov.au

"Why should that restriction exist at all? To weed out trolls." The problem is that we trolls outnumber you nincompoops with PhDs etc. And we are the ones who have to pay. And some of us rightfully object. So how about cutting the crap and giving some answers in simple English? Certainly to date you appear to have many people offside. First: some see your "climatology" as a cult. 2nd; You behave that way. 3. Your continual put down of any opposition is what politicians do. And they are not liked for it. 4. If the "deniers" (a word from the Holocaust I believe) ask questions - have you thought they may be genuine questions. On top of this there is the matter of Man Made. Yes there may be Global Warming. But Man Made? You try my patience. And I also have a vote. So now there are two matters. GW and whether its man made. I suggest you're in a battle that you will never win. Even with government money (mine) flowing into your pocket.

But will the Tories be any different? Remember Thatcher and the SAS!

Australia is tenth on the list of Democracies. Very noteworthy! But how do you define democracy? Australia has COMPULSORY voting. We stick people in JAIL for not voting. AND if you tell people not to vote (someone did) you will go to jail. And you have to REGISTER to be a political party. This is democracy? Pigs arse it is! Australia is trying to emulate the UK. Cameras (CCTV) everywhere and and going into the bank will get a request for your driving licence. Go to a Returned Servicemens Club & you also need photo identity as you do for a footy club. And this rush to a totalitarian state is led by the press, the Murdoch press particularly.

Britain is a police state. This may be hard to accept: but the evidence is all there. The event discussed here is just one of the pimples. "War on Terror" "War on Drugs" are just diversion from what is primarily a war, by government, upon the ordinary milch cow, the consumer.

I use Windows - Vista Ultimate w SP1. Last year I purchased a nice new fast AMD Phenom 2.3 Ghz computer. It took lots of my pennies. I also got Vista Ultimate. Windows has never warmed me up. DOS was not too bad and not so difficult to use. All the GUI stuff is a pain. I've tried Linux. And returned to Windows fast. Because it was better and the programmes one can use. Vista taught me that it is easy to turn a 2.3 Ghz machine into a pre PC 4.7 Mhz machine (XT?) And at the same time introduce the most confusing file system ever. More like a government departments. And like them they keep changing things! It still takes an inordinate amount of time to shut down & doesn't clear the video buffer at start up. I have dug up my XP disc. I am preparing for the changeover. So Windows 7 is in the air! Wonderful! I may look at it after Service Pack 3.