tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post2062879908387514058..comments2024-03-19T05:35:07.296-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Surveillance and AccountabilityDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-35015338511642226542011-08-17T22:17:32.916-07:002011-08-17T22:17:32.916-07:00onwardonwardDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-7417747110157955352011-08-17T15:16:16.977-07:002011-08-17T15:16:16.977-07:00"...Can you imagine how much better off we wo...<i>"...Can you imagine how much better off we would collectively be if it was just another round of the Franco-Prussian spat?..."</i><br /><br />Interesting thought. Lenin never makes it to the Finland Station; Herr Schnickelgruber remains a failed painter. We'll never know, but it would be difficult to think of the outcome being worse than reality.rewinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14008105385364113371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-46821407929013342372011-08-17T10:25:43.612-07:002011-08-17T10:25:43.612-07:00Tacitus2:
YOU try living in Wisconsin...
There i...Tacitus2:<br /><i><br />YOU try living in Wisconsin...<br /><br />There is more to life than politics.<br /></i><br /><br />Fair enough. It's YOUR political lamp that is dark.<br /><br />I know what you mean, too. As much as I'm engaged by the current political climate, I have a hard time with people who proudly proclaim themselves to be "news junkies!", tuning into cable tv and the internet at all hours expecting new information every second.<br /><br />Other things are good too. :)LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-68937996068306711492011-08-17T09:21:34.260-07:002011-08-17T09:21:34.260-07:00Very true. You never know when something tragic wi...Very true. You never know when something tragic will strike, resulting in the death of a loved one... or witnessing someone's death. It's better to live life than to dwell on things that ultimately aren't important and have no immediate bearing on life.<br /><br />Politics can wait for a week or two.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-87673993445819253812011-08-17T07:16:38.610-07:002011-08-17T07:16:38.610-07:00LarryHart
YOU try living in Wisconsin, where the ...LarryHart<br /><br />YOU try living in Wisconsin, where the elections keep coming every couple of months (recall for the D senators yesterday...promised recall of the Gov. starts in Jan.)<br /><br />There is more to life than politics.<br /><br />T<br /><a href="http://detritusofempire.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Detritus of Empire</a>Tacitus2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-44253105782732050882011-08-17T06:50:00.031-07:002011-08-17T06:50:00.031-07:00Tacitus2:
...An idea has been bothering me of lat...Tacitus2:<br /><i><br />...An idea has been bothering me of late. For another time when politics is in season.<br /></i><br /><br />You keep asserting that the "political lamp is dark" as if it is not polite to discuss politics in this thread. Yet Dr Brin labeled the blog post "MOSTLY about science" (emphasis mine) and included a political mini-rant toward the end. So I don't share your perception that politics is somehow off limits here.LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-81340942916317501752011-08-17T06:30:30.107-07:002011-08-17T06:30:30.107-07:00Gracious me, I perceived no offense intended and c...Gracious me, I perceived no offense intended and certainly took none.<br /><br />My personal time travel-history altering daydream involves limiting the size of World War One. Can you imagine how much better off we would collectively be if it was just another round of the Franco-Prussian spat?<br /><br />And with time to reflect you have reached a phrase I can live with <br /><br /> "..in numbers that make me guess that half of the men in that culture indulge in such daydreams."<br /><br />An idea has been bothering me of late. For another time when politics is in season.<br /><br />TacitusTacitus2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-14442594835261643172011-08-17T03:57:37.094-07:002011-08-17T03:57:37.094-07:00Here's something interesting, science and poli...Here's something interesting, science and politics combine:<br />http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/silicon-valley-billionaire-funding-creation-artificial-libertarian-islands-140840896.html<br />This is being discussed at the "Gin and Tacos" blog, where it's being described as sort of a lunatic asylum for libertarians. I see it as more of a potential cradle for the development of the technology we need to grow without further soiling the planet. Perhaps time to revisit Niven & Barnes' "Saturn's Race"Tim H.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-89842484415084502352011-08-16T23:41:37.786-07:002011-08-16T23:41:37.786-07:00HP:MoR is terribly unrealistic when it comes to Ha...HP:MoR is terribly unrealistic when it comes to Harry. However within the context of a magical world, the other characters are MUCH more realistic than those in the original.<br /><br />I'll continue to read it just to be exposed to new ideas.Jacobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03773076186367856200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-51031858955058836032011-08-16T22:17:44.132-07:002011-08-16T22:17:44.132-07:00If I didn't already have an overfull plate, I&...If I didn't already have an overfull plate, I'd pull out the old fanficcing habits and take the elements of "Methods" that do work... and rework them into the mythos of the Harry Potter books to stay true to the character of Harry and the world he inhabited.<br /><br />There was no need to turn Harry Potter into a Magnificent Bastard who runs plots around and over every adult around him. Hell, I almost felt like I was reading "Shinji and Warhammer 40K" (a rather involved retelling of the <i>Neon Genesis Evangaleon</i> animes altering one fundamental aspect of the main character: he had a happy childhood. Oh, and was into the game <i>Warhammer 40K</i> which ends up spilling over into the world. <br /><br />Both S&WH40K and HP:MoR have that tendency of "bigger and yet even bigger" for their protagonists, and a lot of audacity. Personally, I believe in remaining truer to the core characters when I did write fanfiction (it was very rare when I stepped away from that philosophy) which is a key part of why I had issues with HP:MoR (oddly enough, S&WH40K wasn't as big an issue, probably because it was a different medium than how I first encountered NGE, thus allowing myself to divorce myself from the previous continuity).<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-40418670919488192002011-08-16T20:49:29.211-07:002011-08-16T20:49:29.211-07:00good pts except Yudkowsky was exactly like that ki...good pts except Yudkowsky was exactly like that kind of good-but-arrogant prodigy, I hear!David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-84195917612622897012011-08-16T20:32:11.559-07:002011-08-16T20:32:11.559-07:00Some links for you all.
First, to Dr. Brin: The F...Some links for you all.<br /><br />First, to Dr. Brin: The French and German heads of state are proposing... a Eurozone Federal Government.<br /><br />http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/16/merkel-sarkozy-eurozone-government_n_928436.html<br /><br />http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/16/<br />merkel-sarkozy-eurozone-government_n_928436.html<br /><br />----------<br /><br />Next... here's the URL of a really cool picture of a shooting star... seen from the International Space Station. I think it's the first picture of a shooting star taken from space, but I might be wrong. It's the first one I've seen, I'll tell you that! ^^;;<br /><br />http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/15/shooting-star-ron-garan_n_927119.html<br /><br />http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/15/<br />shooting-star-ron-garan_n_927119.html<br /><br />------------<br /><br />Finally, here's an article on a cancer discovery... concerning how cancers migrate through the body. Hopefully with this knowledge doctors can try to prevent cancer from metastasizing. <br /><br />http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/16/cancer-spread-jak-protein_n_928634.html<br /><br />http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/16/<br />cancer-spread-jak-protein_n_928634.html<br /><br />Rob H.<br /><br />P.S. - While I can understand some of the attraction toward the "Methods of Rationality" I have to say I find it unrealistic for a first year student to do all the stuff they have him doing in that story. It would have been far better to stretch out the story and been truer to the book plot... while keeping Harry as a rationalist who considers things (even magic) logically.<br /><br />Harry Potter wasn't evident in that story. Instead, someone using his name was there, and that person wasn't a child. It would have been a far more effective story to see things through the mindset of a child who was trained in the methods of rationality... but who was still a child. This was missing from the story, which is its great failing.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-62926645377666612752011-08-16T18:43:10.348-07:002011-08-16T18:43:10.348-07:00Tacitus, on re-reading my remark that you just res...Tacitus, on re-reading my remark that you just responded to, I realize that a normal scan of it does not work as I had intended. <br /><br /> I never meant YOU have a fantasy!<br /><br />I meant like "on the one hand, you (generic "you") have this fantasy going around, that I have heard all my life from these good old boys... including some educated fellows, in numbers that make me guess that half of the men in that culture indulge in such daydreams."<br /><br />Do you now see how I meant it? I did not mean it as a personal snark at you in any way and I apologize for that. A danger from first drafting responses.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-15252897296580698092011-08-16T18:22:41.391-07:002011-08-16T18:22:41.391-07:00I shall take you David on your good word that &quo...I shall take you David on your good word that "any number" is about 50%.<br /><br />As to daydreams, we all have a few. They are in fact your stock in trade as a writer. I do not laud or condemn whimsy quite so quickly.<br /><br />Moderate of me, no?<br /><br />TacitusTacitus2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-81748347432626564042011-08-16T16:52:36.359-07:002011-08-16T16:52:36.359-07:00Bush, you'll recall came to office pledging an...<i>Bush, you'll recall came to office pledging and end to nation building and foreign interventions.<br /><br />Look how that turend out.<br /><br />Reagan wasgoign to cut the deficit and pay off the national debt.<br /><br />Look how that turned out.</i><br /><br />Both those guys were governers before they were president. They had no track record of opposing war (and no opportunity to gain such a record).<br /><br />Ron Paul has a record. Look at his votes! He actually opposed the war our Secretary of State voted for!sociotardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11697154298087412934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-29756849167997586182011-08-16T16:47:02.968-07:002011-08-16T16:47:02.968-07:00Funny. Evidently, the Fox folks do not like Ron P...Funny. Evidently, the Fox folks do not like Ron Paul at all.<br /><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-15-2011/indecision-2012---corn-polled-edition---ron-paul---the-top-tier?xrs=share_fb" rel="nofollow">http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-15-2011/indecision-2012---corn-polled-edition---ron-paul---the-top-tier?xrs=share_fb</a><br /><br />(please watch the video. It's a Daily Show clip and it's funny)sociotardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11697154298087412934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-9180692362873230242011-08-16T16:30:53.671-07:002011-08-16T16:30:53.671-07:00Tacitus, remove the explicit mentionof time travel...Tacitus, remove the explicit mentionof time travel. Limit it to daydreaming about "what-if" helping the Cause to prevail...<br /><br />...and sorry, you have a fantasy that I have heard from any number of southern guys. I don't even blame em much. regional pride and underdog sympathy...<br /><br />but I will not be preached to by such. And yes it is rampant.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-69417112189927069042011-08-16T16:14:18.034-07:002011-08-16T16:14:18.034-07:00Dr Brin:
LarryHart you are right. In some ways, l...Dr Brin:<br /><i><br />LarryHart you are right. In some ways, liberals need the guts to stand up and say liberal things. Krugman is doing that, standing up for Keynes. It happens I have a knack for what I am doing, though. ANd I think that getting several million ostriches to stand up against the monsters who've hijacked their movement is the best way to END this phase of Civil War, rather than win a few battles in it.<br /></i><br /><br />I think you misread what I wrote. I DO with liberals would stand up for liberal things, but I was saying that IF President Obama would rather tar the Republicans in conservatives' own terms (as you do), then he should do a better job of THAT. He shouldn't just try to convince conservatives that he'll do the SAME THINGS that the Republicans say they'll do.<br /><br /><i><br />"The bedrock assumption is that Conservative authority figures (especially Christian, capitalist Republican ones) LOVE AMERICA."<br /><br />Hm... yes. even though in Red America, half the males have nursed fantasies of traveling in time and riding with Nathan Bedford Forest and saving "the Cause." SUch folks have nothing to teach me about patriotism.<br /></i><br /><br />There's a HUGE disconnect between red America's image of itself as patriotic and its image of the federal govt. as its enemy. Sure they say they love the country, not the government, but it's bizarre to see the pretzels they twist themselves into in order to reconcile (say) Rick Perry's or Sarah Palin's secessionism with "loving America". They consider it treason to criticize President Bush during wartime, but they considered it their patriotic duty to criticize President Clinton during wartime.<br /><br />Frankly, I wish they'd just admit they "love America" the same way that you and I love a good steak dinner. Which may be a correct usage of the word "love", but it is NOT patriotism.LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-379707819443950262011-08-16T16:02:42.409-07:002011-08-16T16:02:42.409-07:00Political lamp dark.
But I did have to notice:
&...Political lamp dark.<br /><br />But I did have to notice:<br /><br />"Hm... yes. even though in Red America, half the males have nursed fantasies of traveling in time and riding with Nathan Bedford Forest and saving "the Cause." SUch folks have nothing to teach me about patriotism."<br /><br />David, a throw away unsubstantiated statement. I can only conclude that a bit of Harry Turtledove envy is showing!<br /><br />TacitusTacitus2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-43262820648712442092011-08-16T14:56:20.589-07:002011-08-16T14:56:20.589-07:00"What? Have you listened to him? One of his b..."What? Have you listened to him? One of his bigger arguments is that military adventurism is bad."<br /><br />Yes, he's also violently xenophobic and an ardent believer in conspiracy theories.<br /><br />His economic policies would almost inevitably lead to a collapse in the US dollar and to outright repudiation of the national debt.<br /><br />When the US dollar is no longer a convertible currency and the US is effecitvely back on the barter economy by way of a currency board, who do you think he's going to blame? His own policies or the international banking cabal that he thinks has been secretly conspiring against America for the last 150 years?<br /><br />Bush, you'll recall came to office pledging and end to nation building and foreign interventions.<br /><br />Look how that turend out.<br /><br />Reagan wasgoign to cut the deficit and pay off the national debt.<br /><br />Look how that turned out.Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01739671401151990700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-51972031976013010172011-08-16T14:54:08.749-07:002011-08-16T14:54:08.749-07:00The Union of Concerned Scientists invites you to v...The Union of Concerned Scientists invites you to vote for your favorite <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/science_idol/2011-science-idol-contestants.html?autologin=true" rel="nofollow">cartoon about political interference in science</a>. I'd like to see some better (funnier) cartoons but at least they're trying.rewinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14008105385364113371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-40257244972545305832011-08-16T13:31:34.290-07:002011-08-16T13:31:34.290-07:00Dang Paul, that video of a cop being filmed by a p...Dang Paul, that video of a cop being filmed by a person at a traffic stop is an example of professionalism every other police officer should be required to watch. The kind of cop we want on the streets. One who is both smart and skilled and aware of the era that he lives in. In fact, the fellow filming the encounter was a bit of a prissy jerk. All told, though. A fabulous "how to do it right" video.<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMMPV4D6cs0"<br /><br />Robert, the thing that's terrifying and fascinating, that no one else has pondered is... say the EU gets past this current crisis... and then one day the Bahamas applies for membership? What's to stop them from changing the "E" from "European" to "Earth"?<br /><br />Ian, did I say I want Ron Paul to be president? I assume he would be torched at the polls. And even in office he'd be stopped from Randian insanity by Congress etc. What I would relish is the electoral campaign and the debates. They'd be fascinating, both lively and courteous. Fun and thought provoking. And with his flank secure, Obama could then "reluctantly go along" with an end to all our wars. Especially on Drugs.<br /><br />Rewinn & Corey see:<br />http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2007/01/both-right-and-left-have-gone-quite.html<br /><br />http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2007/01/both-right-<br />and-left-have-gone-quite.html<br /><br />LarryHart you are right. In some ways, liberals need the guts to stand up and say liberal things. Krugman is doing that, standing up for Keynes. It happens I have a knack for what I am doing, though. ANd I think that getting several million ostriches to stand up against the monsters who've hijacked their movement is the best way to END this phase of Civil War, rather than win a few battles in it.<br /><br />"The bedrock assumption is that Conservative authority figures (especially Christian, capitalist Republican ones) LOVE AMERICA."<br /><br />Hm... yes. even though in Red America, half the males have nursed fantasies of traveling in time and riding with Nathan Bedford Forest and saving "the Cause." SUch folks have nothing to teach me about patriotism.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-81752824270864073052011-08-16T13:11:26.306-07:002011-08-16T13:11:26.306-07:00Sociotard is right here (at least insofar as I und...Sociotard is right here (at least insofar as I understand Paul).<br /><br />I disagree with him strongly on some things, and frankly, I think implementing his vision of America in total would be nothing short of cataclysmic, but let's give credit where credit is due.<br /><br /><br />Paul has also said a number of things on a number of issues that also have some thinking behind them, and are very reasonable. It's just Brin's 35% part that scares me :)<br /><br /><br />On the subject of media ignoring him, Jon Stewart did a funny little piece that seems to sum it up pretty well (hopefully the link works):<br /><br />http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-15-2011/indecision-2012---corn-polled-edition---ron-paul---the-top-tier?xrs=playershare_fbCoreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06487646409063141004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-77435891569797347302011-08-16T11:00:11.843-07:002011-08-16T11:00:11.843-07:00If allowed to get his agenda through Congress he&#...<i>If allowed to get his agenda through Congress he'd also be responsible for stripping hundreds of thousands if not millions of African Americans of the vote, severely restricting abortion rights and severely restricting the rights of gays.</i><br /><br />You have a point regarding abortion. He does oppose it. That said, everything else in this paragraph is way off. I've seen him say the opposite of some of these things in interviews, so I'm going to have to ask you to validate this before I believe any of it.<br /><br /><i>His economic policies would lead to default and a massive run on the dollar. </i>Possibly. I at least believe he would pay off debt whenever possible, and he would actually oppose federal government power.<br /><br /><i>When the price of oil hit $500 a barrel he'd probably decide this was a commie/Jew conspiracy against American freedom and launch a series of foreign military interventions that's make bush the Lesser look sane.</i><br /><br />What? Have you listened to him? One of his bigger arguments is that military adventurism is bad. He voted against the Iraq war, one of the only Republicans to do so.sociotardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11697154298087412934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-32901635086200263092011-08-16T10:51:10.710-07:002011-08-16T10:51:10.710-07:00Dr Brin:
I agree that Ron Paul is about 35% stark...Dr Brin:<br /><i><br />I agree that Ron Paul is about 35% stark crazy.<br /><br />That still leaves him the sanest of the bunch, the only one with a detailed (if skewed) view of history and - above all - the only one free of control by Rupert Murdoch.<br /></i><br /><br />I think you just answered your own question as to why the media ignore Ron Paul.<br /><br /><i><br />Were he the nominee, we'd see immediate moves toward ending all our wars... including the loopy suicidal War on Drugs.<br />...<br />Paul would shatter the current GOP coalition and get libertarian ideas openly debated. <br /></i><br /><br />Was your question about ignoring Ron Paul meant rhetorically? Otherwise, I'm afraid YOU'RE not connecting dots here. You keep listing REASONS why the media would totally ignore Ron Paul as a serious candidate.<br /><br /><i><br />But his kind of insanity is not concocted in Riyadh with the direct aim of our destruction.<br /><br />It is home grown.<br /></i><br /><br />And if your personal theory is correct, then THIS would be the biggest reason of all.LarryHartnoreply@blogger.com