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I had a strange dream where I tried to contact the developers of an old game called Vietcong, and its successor, Vietcong 2, from the now defunct pyterodon games, and ask them if they had the assets used for the games somewhere, maps, models, etc. I thought it had the weird dream logic to it, but at the same time I wasn't sure it was a completely unsound thing to ask... Have a peculiar taste in my mouth about the idea. So what do you think?

Calling it "nonsense", I think, is hardly a display of hatred towards religion. But anyway, that's just his personal opinion, he only states it in order to set the record straight that he doesn't have any personal prejudice against SETI or their objectives. His criticisms are purely from a pragmatic and technical point of view, and are pretty valid IMO.

I don't know if this was already posted here but I rediscovered this great piece on my old favorite files: Why The SETI Project Is Doomed To Fail

pl57hN4EaLU Initial D's soundtrack is just so good..

A year ago I would have agreed. A year ago I was very uninformed. The US navy, intelligence services, armed forces, and the sheer distance and natural barriers in the way would turn it into a disaster before it began. You're putting a lot of faith in a group of individuals that you know very little about, and no faith whatsoever in a group that could walk an invading army to our shores over the dead they walk into the ocean. It's not faith. They simply don't have the technical capacity, nor the developed doctrine of large scale oversea invasion. Power projection is not a strong point of the PLA, nor one of its' intended aims.

I just love Sun Tzu, the whole The Art of War is so quotable, even though my memory for quotes is quite awful, I keep reminding myself of one passage quite often: "It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle." This one just left me with such a strong impression the first time I've read it. "Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Proletarians of all countries - Unite!" - Karl Marx And this one is just a great quote I can recall now "A great fire burns within me, but no one stops to warm themselves at it, and passers-by only see a wisp of smoke" - Van Gogh

After reading the beginning I got the impression that it is an interesting article. I don't necessarily agree with the comparison with the USSR (financing a political, media and military elite doesn't make something 'soviet') but the opening statement is... interesting?! ("L’ ESENZIONE FISCALE E’ SPESA PUBBLICA A TUTTI GLI EFFETTI."). I'd read it if I had a translated version, since it seems italian and portuguese are not mutually intelligible... ]:

In the case of the post-ww2 USSR, the "concessions" where almost immediately revoked. The driving force for constitutional reforms was there even in the 30's, and it was the very reason for Stalin's purge. What happened later was the increase in the gulag population, together with an increasing enforcement of the laws still in force. His presence, actions and death were the true catalysts for change in the USSR, not the war.

My mate's obnoxious Christmas playlist. (The Four Seasons - Santa Claus Is Coming to Town)

After the second industrial revolution one could have food any season... Slaughterhouses and fisheries worked the whole year to provide and process food to sell to the population. But during war, that production was limited. During wars the government IMPOSES (even in the most democratic countries) where and how the industry should produce and how much a citizen can consume. Those are restrictions unseen in peacetime. And even 100 years ago, war was usually accompanied with food, crop and wealth seizure (and, generally, no real technological improvement). There's an argument to be made that some autocratic regimes did face an increase in "freedom" during the war years (I'm looking at you, USSR), but those are the exception, not the rule when we talk about war. Your post seemed to refer to "war" in a general sense, not just "war in the last 30 years in the United States of America". I don't disagree with your point here, although if we use Bill Hicks definition of war ( two countries fighting each other) the U.S doesn't face a war in a long time... Not at all. Funding can affect the outcome of an institution (specially the ones dedicated to R&D). Simply put, you want funding to your research? Just think of one great military application for it! Or join a company that deals with defense contracts in a frequent basis. When you give funding priority to arms developers, the intellectuals of your country will tend to work in the military field, because it's just easier to get the funds... Also, instead of training soldiers and giving then education, you could just as easily provide the education, without the training [costs]. If the government suddenly loses the ability to "violate your freedoms" then the war is lost. During war it's utterly important that dissidents get detected and arrested, that the economy is well controlled and directed towards the State's needs and that there's a continuous material and intellectual supply towards the Armed Forces. In order to guarantee those, personnel preferences and will must be set aside, and the government must (forcefully) carry its projects.

Since there are some other newcomers guess I can do my part as well! Hi, I'm Mendes, but you can call me Red. I'm from Brazil and I've been following Freeman's Mind since 2009. I lurk the site occasionally and just got around making an account not long ago. Besides animation and games in general, I mostly enjoy unpopular stuff: philosophy, economics, politics, aviation, simulators, although my knowledge of most of it is not deep enough (though I strive to change this). Usually I take a cue from around and don't really write much, but I also love discussing, so I've a hard time with that... Also I can listen to anything from classical to rap, but I ain't no music buff. Have seen some interesting posts around already, you guys are a great community! Hope to read the forums more often from now on. See you around! PS:. I'm 22. Forgot that small detail.

What? War is one of the few circumstances were whole populations that were, at least moderatly, free suddenly face a number of restrictions in their professional and personal lives. Examples? You can't consume over than X fuel in a week, it must be saved for the troops. Rubber, metal, plastic? Oh no, those must be saved for building weapons, consumer industry is restricted! Want to have a nice meal on your anniversary? Too bad: rations! Oh, so you wanna study to become an technician? I'm so sorry, you've been drafted! Oh, that money we could be using to actually improve the health and education of the people? Lel, nope, it's going for defense contracts! etc etc... Many things can be said about war, but they sure as hell don't bring "more freedom"!

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