riddler

Education implies choice, which many of the women simply do not have. As far as male birth control, I remember reading in either thailand or viet-nam the goverment sponsers a National Vascectomy Day, and give out free vasectomies. Well, if we are talking about birth control, then from an environmental perspective, we should be doing everything we can for third-world countries. I've been to Indonesia and seen entire communities line up to throw their garbage into the sea. Keep in mind this is the fourth most populated country in the world, and imagine hundreds of millions of people all throwing their garbage into the sea. It made me wonder why I bother recycling at all I am against US involvement in foreign war and politics, but we are all sharing the environment, so I think we should do something to help ourselves by helping them. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

The Russians have a way of building things that are both indestructible and can cause great bodily harm at the same time When we were kids, we tried to fold each other up in couch-beds, too. The things just wouldn't shut. I guess if you get your head wedged between some of the steel bars, it could do some damage. But I never saw a spring that was strong enough to fold a person into it without help - we had to get at least two other kids to push the thing shut. Of course, we didn't have Russian models Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Will this new law affect RIAA and MPAA lawsuits against end users? Here's my concern. This new law prevents citizens from suing telecoms for breach of privacy if the telecoms give private user data to the government. The premise is the government feels that someone is a terrorist threat, and has the right to monitor not only their phone lines, but also emails (and therefore IP packet data). Now, technically, the RIAA and MPAA should not be able to use this same privilege, because they are not the government, and they are not looking for terrorists. But they would really like to be able to get data on who they think are illegally downloading music and movies. One of the reasons the telecoms have been blocking them is fear of lawsuits from citizens over breach of privacy. They no longer have to worry about such lawsuits if they are giving the data to the government. So the question is, will the RIAA and MPAA be able to use government authority to get information on Internet users? I don't think it's a far-fetched idea, because it's the FBI that usually locates and raids warehouses that are illegally copying CDs and DVDs for resale. The raids are "in conjunction" with the RIAA and MPAA. If that relationship already exists, then can't they use the same FBI (who now has unlimited access to Internet user information) to monitor who is downloading music and movies on the Internet? And can't the FBI order telecoms to give them that information without the threat of a privacy suit? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Hey John - I'm guessing most people are voting against this in the poll because we don't live in Texas If it was a Colorado flag, I'd probably be OK with it in my neighborhood. FYI - I have a big "for sale" sign on my house right now. It's pointed directly at the new condos right across the street that are still for sale. On my sign, I have the words "No HOA!" Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

And I agree - both men and women. When I say "sterilize", I'm not implying something permanent - that was just a play on the words "feed the world". Both women and men should be allowed to choose birth control, even when they can't afford it. You'll never see a US government program that sponsors foreign birth control because of the church, however. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Video of it I think that's how all these power-tripping politicos talk to each other and about each other and laugh

Sterilize the world? I wonder who would sing that song? Personally, I think it's a good plan. I can imagine what the Roman Catholic mega-corporation thinks about it, though ... Population is by far the greatest environmental problem humans have. Only one country's government has the courage to make laws about it (China), and they are internationally condemned for it. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

At first glance, it looks like a flattened owl. But it's probably impossible to know. Dirty bird Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I got both publications at the same time, with the nearly identical photo on the front cover. Coincidence? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I propose a cheaper solution of replacing all airplane carpeting with thick, shag carpet. If a terrorist pops up, everyone run down the isle, dragging your feet, then zap them on the nose with the static buildup. After the first five people, it stops being funny, and starts to sting, but heck, there are like 300 people on jets these day - I'm sure after enough shocks, they'll go into cardiac arrest. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Your opinion does not correlate with the statistics. Of all the deaths in auto accidents, those without seatbelts are ejected only 29% of the time, while those that wear seatbelts are ejected less than 1% of the time. Of all the people that are ejected, 75% died. Source, NHSTA. Also: Fatalities and accidents involving those not wearing seat belts cost the U.S. approximately $20 billion per year. Of that cost, 74% of the tab is paid for by the public. Same source. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

What is going to happen to this country? I don't know. What is going to happen to this thread? If it goes on long enough, I'm guessing Speaker's Corner. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

They're elected to represent the people of this country. In reality, they represent the interest of rich corporations, groups and individuals. Unfortunately, representative government is not democracy. The problem is that it is both accepted and expected that they take dollars from the wealthy and do their bidding. Whether you choose to accept their actions as "right" depends on how much you believe the PR. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Based on your description, lawmakers are already drafting a bill to outlaw this stuff. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

They set a "hard" date on Wikipedia now - July 10. After that, please feel free to play with the wood: Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

How about "minding our own business" ? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

XKCD fans know what I'm talking about Stop adding useless Wood in pop culture self-references to Wikipedia! You're going to make the blogosphere implode!! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Nearly every state DOES have a helmet law. Only four do not, and I live in one. Every time I see bikers without helmets, I think "just that much closer to death". (For the record, I always, always wore a helmet). Helmet laws Seat belt laws There isn't much difference between the two. Edit for spelling. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Bush didn't pardon Libby - he commuted the sentence while upholding the conviction and fine. I don't think that's in the constitution. It's a cowboy president making up his own laws as he sees fit. The "checks and balances" are neither being checked, nor are they balanced. That's no different than anyplace else in the justice system. Someone with bias brings a case (maybe a district attorney), and that's why we have a jury system. If you believe the jury was non-partisan, then you must believe their decision was non-biased, and according to our laws, the judgment AND sentence (both performed by a jury) should be upheld. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

An indictment is different than a conviction and sentencing. Pardoning a person that was indicted 20 years prior, and has no personal connection to you is different from commuting the sentence of your friend and employee that was convicted and sentenced to jail while you are still in office, and to whom you are associated directly. Not that I would defend Clinton from this - probably all Presidential pardons constitute an abuse of power. Let's not forget Bush Sr's pardon of many figures involved in the Iran-Contra scandal, while he was the Vice President. Are you stating that the jury that convicted Libby was guilty of party politics? Were the jury all democrats or something?? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Does Bush even care what the courts order? The current administration has already made the statement that they are above the law. The courts convicted Scooter Libby on four counts. Bush commuted his sentence. Ergo, they are above the law. So why should that same administration care about what a civilian court orders a military prison to do? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Yup - that's why I say you gotta play smart. The problem with mortgages (BTW, the word mortgage means "death-pledge", you pay it or die) is that they are so complicated, most lawyers can't even understand them. Ask the average person who works hard for a living if they know the terms of their own mortgage, other than the interest rate, and most will probably say no. I wouldn't buy a house on an ARM, but it is a great refinancing tool if you get a substantial drop in interest rates and you are planning on selling in a few years anyway. I would verify that rates change once per year, and there is a yearly cap on the increase. And if you still get stuck in the house, you have the option of refinancing again in a few years (not the best financial strategy, but it's an out). Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Seems like all we hear today is how bad the economy is, and how evil sub-prime lenders are the start of it all. But I'm here to tell you that ARMs aren't all bad, if you play it smart. Nine years ago, I bought a house at a 7.5% fixed mortgage. Five years ago, interest rates were super low, so I refinanced to a 4% arm for three years. My thinking was I would sell the house by the end of three years anyway. Well, that was before I had two kids, I'm still in the house, and the ARM was set to increase last year. Keep in mind that for three years my payments were cut by 1/3, and that alone adds up to about $20K in money I didn't give the mortgage company. Sure, they front-end load the interest, but the 75% increase in the equity over the last nine years more than makes up for the difference. Last year, they were allowed to raise my interest rate, but under the rules, they go only go up a maximum of 2% per year, to 6%. Still less than the 7.5% I had originally, so I'm happy. I keep the mortgage for another year. No need to refinance, because the best rate I could get last year was 6.25%. Now this year, it's scheduled to go up again, to a maximum of 8%, which isn't all that much higher than the 7.5% I started with, and I save about $25K in total payments to the bank over four years. But I just got the letter from the bank saying they are LOWERING my rate to 5.875%. Holy cow! Earlier this year, they sent me an offer letter saying they would lock-in a fixed 6% for 30 years. I figured I would sell and not bother. But now, even if I don't sell, my mortgage payment is going down for a year. My story is different than most, because a lot of people bought over-priced houses they couldn't afford on a sub-prime. But ARMs still have their place, and if you time it right, you can save big bucks. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

And the underlying cause of that disparity? I think it was another war! I'm starting to see a pattern here ... Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Not nearly as much as cattle - and it comes from the front-end, not the back. Enteric Fermentation is the third-leading contributor to methane-production from human-related activities, and accounts for 28% of the total. So whatever you were planning to hook up to people's butts, you are better off putting it on a cow's face. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD