Search found 2241 matches

by Spoonist
2019-02-07 12:56pm
Forum: Science, Logic, And Morality
Topic: On the morality of slavery and the effects of technology on civil rights.
Replies: 81
Views: 65787

Re: On the morality of slavery and the effects of technology on civil rights.

Not quite - there were similar structures before feudalism - chief/king and his men, back to the earlies tribal societies but there were no layers in between. You either were a king, or a noble underneath, or a commoner. That works for smaller entities like the pre-norman Britain. Feudalism is a sy...
by Spoonist
2019-02-07 10:25am
Forum: Science, Logic, And Morality
Topic: On the morality of slavery and the effects of technology on civil rights.
Replies: 81
Views: 65787

Re: On the morality of slavery and the effects of technology on civil rights.

orrect me if I am wrong (likely), but weren't the feudal classes (nobles and clergy) pretty much an entirely seperate society from the peasantry? Yes, but that is not a function of feudalism. Instead the powerful and rich has in all cultures spanning the globe pretty much been a separate society an...
by Spoonist
2018-11-26 08:15am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Ukraine ships 'hit by Russian fire' near Crimean Peninsula
Replies: 23
Views: 8177

Re: Ukraine ships 'hit by Russian fire' near Crimean Peninsula

As to 'who holds the power', if we employed this logic in relation to the Russo-Georgian War, then we would have to conclude that the Russians must've started it. Except that was Georgia. Would you care to explain this veiwpoint? Please note that I'm mostly curious, not that I'm looking for a smack...
by Spoonist
2018-11-15 09:36am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Merkel supports Macron's proposal for a unified European Army to protect Europe from Russia, China, and the US.
Replies: 31
Views: 13436

Re: Merkel supports Macron's proposal for a unified European Army to protect Europe from Russia, China, and the US.

This concept is as old as the change from the Coal & Steel union to the Messina conference. So it is old news but in a new political climate. The concept has had limited political traction before since NATO has been seen as a more practical approach. The last time it was a hot topic was during t...
by Spoonist
2018-08-17 08:38am
Forum: Science, Logic, And Morality
Topic: Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change
Replies: 22
Views: 33554

Re: Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change

Small note here. According to the study behind the article that Rhadamantus links to, then one can find this: https://d2ufo47lrtsv5s.cloudfront.net/content/sci/356/6345/1362/F2.large.jpg?width=800&height=600&carousel=1 So in the lowball predictions of this study which relies on keeping the a...
by Spoonist
2018-08-02 12:57pm
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Trevor Noah defends 'Africa won the World Cup' joke
Replies: 34
Views: 13578

Re: Trevor Noah defends 'Africa won the World Cup' joke

1st Here is the vid since it is always good to have the facts right on what his argument was instead of speculation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COD9hcTpGWQ if you search on it you can find the first joke, and the follow up response as well. 2nd Trevor knows euro culture well. He lived in the UK ...
by Spoonist
2014-06-18 09:14am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Tesla Motors opens up it's patents for all automakers to use
Replies: 32
Views: 3992

Re: Tesla Motors opens up it's patents for all automakers to

@friendly, I covered most of this in my wall of text upstream. Would have been nice if you hadn't repeated what was already covered. 1. I was referring to his request about coal plants emitting uranium. I didn't realise he accepted that, but was querying the amount spewed into the air. If so you we...
by Spoonist
2014-06-18 05:56am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Tesla Motors opens up it's patents for all automakers to use
Replies: 32
Views: 3992

Re: Tesla Motors opens up it's patents for all automakers to

@friendly, I covered most of this in my wall of text upstream. Would have been nice if you hadn't repeated what was already covered. 1. I was referring to his request about coal plants emitting uranium. I didn't realise he accepted that, but was querying the amount spewed into the air. If so you wer...
by Spoonist
2014-06-18 02:48am
Forum: Fantasy
Topic: Game of Thrones Season 4 discussion (book spoilers included)
Replies: 309
Views: 34967

Re: Game of Thrones Season 4 discussion (book spoilers inclu

Not the same since I explained what I hinted at in the sentance below which you cut in the quote. There is quite a difference appart from semantics between a grenade type object and a fireball spell out of thin air. Why have them at all, I wonder, when the original scene in the books just had the C...
by Spoonist
2014-06-17 12:36pm
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Tesla Motors opens up it's patents for all automakers to use
Replies: 32
Views: 3992

Re: Tesla Motors opens up it's patents for all automakers to

Actually he is not talking crap with this. This is well known. ...As for the source try scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste/ That source actually disproves his claim. Its not the uranium and its not hundreds of kgs per year....
by Spoonist
2014-06-17 12:19pm
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Tesla Motors opens up it's patents for all automakers to use
Replies: 32
Views: 3992

Re: Tesla Motors opens up it's patents for all automakers to

*Sigh* Irbis again showing his "great" knowledge of the energy market and industry... Still doesn't understand that renewables isn't limited to solar and wind. How many times do we need to rehash this? the fact that renewables can't power our civilization now, If this statement had been on...
by Spoonist
2014-06-17 03:46am
Forum: Fantasy
Topic: Game of Thrones Season 4 discussion (book spoilers included)
Replies: 309
Views: 34967

Re: Game of Thrones Season 4 discussion (book spoilers inclu

Uhm, she is not throwing fireballs, she is throwing balls of fire. This comment reminds me of the time I referred to the villain of "Bulletproof Monk" as a "magical Nazi," whereupon my friend became upset and started arguing with me that he was, actually, a Nazi that gained magi...
by Spoonist
2014-06-16 05:42pm
Forum: Fantasy
Topic: Game of Thrones Season 4 discussion (book spoilers included)
Replies: 309
Views: 34967

Re: Game of Thrones Season 4 discussion (book spoilers inclu

Uhm, she is not throwing fireballs, she is throwing balls of fire.
As in she is actually throwing a physical object with a trajectory and all which then goes boom. More like grenades, although it looks like she ignites them by magic.
by Spoonist
2014-06-14 05:57pm
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Mosul falls to Islamist
Replies: 119
Views: 17741

Re: Mosul falls to Islamist

Two questions: 1) Is it ISIS or ISIL? 2) When they say "worse than Al Qaeda" or "more extreme" or "more radical" what do they mean by that? 1-both, depends on if you want it to be S for Syria or the more general L for Levant, the group itself isn't exactly clear and ha...
by Spoonist
2014-06-10 04:00am
Forum: Science, Logic, And Morality
Topic: computer passes Turing test
Replies: 17
Views: 3655

Re: computer passes Turing test

There are so many BS signals in this one that it definately falls into the scam/joke category of articles. It's clearly badly machine-assist translated for instance. has become the first computer ever to pass the Turing Test nope it isn't, hence why the protocol has been changed a couple of times, E...
by Spoonist
2014-06-05 05:01am
Forum: Fantasy
Topic: Excalibur's scabbard
Replies: 22
Views: 4003

Re: Excalibur's scabbard

You should really check out Camelot 3000. Its a gamechanging comic from the 80s. But its got too many of the elements you describe for comfort.
by Spoonist
2014-06-04 04:04am
Forum: Science, Logic, And Morality
Topic: Ethics about laws preventing profiting from a crime
Replies: 22
Views: 4310

Re: Ethics about laws preventing profiting from a crime

Sounds more like what you are looking for is an http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisitorial_system as opposed to the more common http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adversarial_system . I suppose the confusion with Civil law is because the most obvious user of this system is France which is *also* a civil ...
by Spoonist
2014-06-02 02:40pm
Forum: Fantasy
Topic: Armour of Game of Thrones (TV show)
Replies: 148
Views: 77064

Re: Armour of Game of Thrones (TV show)

Is this a real thing? Yes. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dect/hd_dect.htm Enamel Enameling refers to several techniques that use vitreous paste fused to a metallic background. Recesses on a metal object, either cells formed by soldering wire to the base (cloisonné) or simple cuts or grooves (cha...
by Spoonist
2014-06-02 12:38pm
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: In which gun-owners behave like spoiled children
Replies: 59
Views: 11154

Re: In which gun-owners behave like spoiled children

Well, or it helps someone find the next target to steal guns from. Guns are valuable on the black market after all. That is not really congruent with how criminals act. Most cases where people have been robbed of their guns is when they target the gun-carrier specificly as in a personal robbery, no...
by Spoonist
2014-06-02 11:57am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: In which gun-owners behave like spoiled children
Replies: 59
Views: 11154

Re: In which gun-owners behave like spoiled children

So, just for curiousity's sake-you march into that restaurant with your rifle over your shoulder. You place your order, you are served, you start to eat. A street gang/drug dealers/the communists/the Klingons burst into the restaurant demanding whatever it is you least want to give them. They have ...
by Spoonist
2014-06-02 08:14am
Forum: Off-Topic
Topic: Conversations From the Professional Front Lines
Replies: 1477
Views: 324568

Re: Conversations From the Professional Front Lines

WTF? Why would any guy be ashamed of a public proclamation that he is willing to put money on the odds that he will get laid? Very common. In school/uni, since I wasn't embarassed about such things, I was asked by others to buy condoms for them, mostly for the boys but also for some girls. For a wh...
by Spoonist
2014-06-02 06:39am
Forum: Science, Logic, And Morality
Topic: Ethics about laws preventing profiting from a crime
Replies: 22
Views: 4310

Re: Ethics about laws preventing profiting from a crime

Somewhat related to the topic - have there ever been, or how feasible do you think it would be, to implement a justice system where it isn't prosecution vs defense, but simply a matter of all parties trying to come to the truth of the matter, (or as close as possible), in order to determine if some...
by Spoonist
2014-05-31 04:07am
Forum: Artwork, Music and Photos
Topic: Housebuilding in Finland
Replies: 425
Views: 249212

Re: Housebuilding in Finland

Hey its starting to look like its close to finnish-ed. When are you moving in.
by Spoonist
2014-05-30 08:11am
Forum: News and Politics
Topic: Rampage shooting in Santa Barbara by misogynist 22-yo.
Replies: 327
Views: 44205

Re: Rampage shooting in Santa Barbara by misogynist 22-yo.

There is precedent in the first half of the 20th Century of US states sterilizing those seen as defective. At this moment in time it seems far-fetched but in this case authority has actually slipped on that slope in the past. ...and well into the 1970s... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics http:...