Wow. I'd already figured America's foreign policy was creating terrorists. I just never suspected that it was such a profoundly literal truth.

@1: I've heard a lot about these lately. Sure, its meme fits well into our concerns about dehumanization, destruction of individual identity, etc., but how likely is this to happen, really?

@15: Yeah, if he kicks back with a Heineken, Americans everywhere will weep.

More seriously, this is garbage. I don't know how they designed this process of no-fly listing, but it's pretty clear that they did so under the influence of stupid.

It's moments like this, weirdly enough, that make me feel safer. Sure, lone maniacs want to kill me and fascist bureaucrats want to to go through my garbage, but neither of them are a darn bit of good at it. Their success is exceptional rather than normal.

Bingo?

#9: More than you'd think. It was only recently (last decade or so, I think) that the Jewish Theological Seminary of America added a question to its application asking prospective students to describe their views of the divine.

While it's not the view I cleave to, Jewishly, it's very easy to live as a Jew without believing in God. As opposed to Christianity, with its clear view of an afterlife central to its theology, Judaism can be practiced as a continuance of an ancient ethnic tradition.

Apologies for the mild venom in this post; I've had strongly negative experiences with devout Christians and more humanistic Jews.

@11: Probably an exotic weapon; don't waste the feat.

/dndnerd

"Please follow the blood red carpet into the Foyer" is what bothers people? It's not profane, obscene, explicit or even especially gruesome. What is wrong with this? I'm not even being sarcastic here, it's just so genuinely strange.

"Curse those Well Draculas! I just got the new Britney album, and rescue workers won't be here for hours!"

Having just finished Brian Wood's comic DMZ, I opened Boing Boing to be shocked at what I hope isn't life imitating art.

Well done, Lakota. Good luck.

I have a conspiracy-buff friend this would drive up the wall! If only I could spare more cash.

Great. As a guy who walks around with a notepad to record ideas outside of the office, this sort of thing messes with my work habits. All these security measures have done for me is make me more scared of the cops than Al Qaeda.

Biffpow:
I'm not a musician (IANAM?), but it strikes me that the difference is one of prodution requirements. Programs for making and displaying text files on the web are plentiful and easy to use - I'm using one right now! Anybody who can hit keys can make written work available on the internet.
Conversely, musicians have a set of skills that are not universal (playing an instrument, singing worth a damn, composition and theory, etc.) and a set of expenses associated with performance and distribution, most notably instruments, which at their cheapest are pretty pricey, and recording software, the best of which is nauseatingly expensive.
Apologies for any mistaken assumptions or run-on sentences. Hopefully experts will contribute some more substantive insight.

From what I can tell off the site, the contributors are novelists, but the emphasis is on writing generally. Good thoughts and insights on the process, independent of length. Thanks for pointing this out!

On reflection, I can see where they might be coming from. Rewarding good driving makes sense. But the approach is so wrong-headed - pulling people over? Giving them an item of dubious utility? Shilling for a corporate sponsor? Clearly they started with a good idea and bashed it in the head until they came up with this.

What? Goodwill? Being pulled over? Are they HIGH?!

Well, I guess that decides it. Something has to be done. I only wish I had a better idea for action than bothering elected officials, which seems to be moving too slowly to help many of these people. My views expressed in print and online would probably bar me from intelligence work in the current administrative environment, so I'm left in a bit of a bind as to my next step.

In all seriousness, I need to save my country. Please advise.

Second #2's proposal. It may not have articles of faith, but the cult behaviors seems almost textbook. If only the Catholic Church could turn out animation of similar quality, they might pull better numbers.

More than mild concern here, as a young American with an eye toward emigration if matters continue to deteriorate. How long until the policies America wields against its visitors come back to pummel Americans any time they try to leave their nation of origin?

I'm a long-time fan of the FF, and this was a particularly fun treat for me. Thanks!

Isn't using magic destructively bad for the practitioner? I hope Ms Cruz is prepared for the consequences of her actions.

Thank you, Woolie. Is that how these practices have found their way into our own interrogation process? Through these special forces operatives?

Clearly the Analogy Police need to be called on Senator Bond, but it's he second half of his statement that intrigues me: "The waterboarding could be used almost to define some of the techniques that our trainees are put through, but that's beside the point."
Could someone who knows what he's talking about please enlighten me? I'm a little concerned that we are apparently also torturing non-prisoners in some capacity.

Spiders from Mars! Where's Ziggy Stardust when you need him?!

Noen-19: I like the phrase 'uncanny valley' to describe the gap between living/lifelike/conscious and not. Is it yours? If so, may I use it (philosophy student, this comes up in conversation more than you'd think)? If not, who may I cite for it?

RCM96:
I feel that there are a number of wrong statements in your post. At the same time, I worry that any response I make will lack sufficiently articulate arguments to convince you to agree with me. I will leave that to more eloquent speakers.

TNH@64: Glad you like it! I've read ML for years, it feels good to be recognized for a good turn of phrase.

#40: Really? How embarassing - I fell for a troll. New to forums myself - anyone who makes a HOWTO for troll-spotting would have my gratitude.

Osinoche-
If your service was 'a long time ago', then I suppose I represent one of your 'children', coming of age in a legacy of shame. I registered for Selective Service six months after September 11th, when I turned 18. Since then, I've grown more and more disgusted by the treatment of my country, a nation I cannot look on with pride when people like you justify these crimes in my name.
I find your position revolting - that ineffective methods with no end but sadism and cruelty are justified by a 'war' whose basis is dubious at best. Do not dare try to fob off the disgusting actions you support on me and my contemporaries. Your future calls it wrong. Your future holds you in contempt.

-JW

A definition, please: what is 'psi-fi'?

#3: Tabletopping isn't my normal style of gaming, but I'd imagine that kind of height advantage would make for excellent sniping possibilities, and the streets make herding enemy forces into barricades a breeze. Looking at these buildings, some of which I walk past to on my way to work every day, I'm reminded of xkcd's point about choreographing battles with strangers in one's head.

#17, 18, 19:
It feels like there's a lot of game potential here. Fans of Calvin and Hobbes may remember his deliberately outrageous answers to survey questions and tests. This sentiment could easily be extended to profiles for websites, credit card applications, etc. If our searches are also monitored, why not deliberately search esoterica to create a false trail of nonexistant hobbies and interests?
And to take it a step further, this sort of behavior would absolutely botch market research, opinion polls and other data collection methods. In the struggle to redefine privacy, is Kerr also doing away with honesty or accuracy?

#13, your phrasing is admirably elegant, but I fear that the terms are unknown to me. While I could proably look them up with ease, I beg you to elaborate for me so that I can understand your meaning as clearly as possible.

Why leave c-ists in? It seems like such a profoundly stupid move that it must be the result of some impressive wrongthinkery.