Sisyphus

I guess if the entire world is integrated into Homeland Security, whenever anyone succeeds at anything, "Homeland Security" can take the credit.

Do you have something in mind?

Well there has to be SOME iron and copper in the soil, because humans need those to survive. So we can't really exist in a place where getting those metals in a useable form is impossible. However, without EASILY mineable ores, I'd say we probably would never have discovered them, and would be stuck with only wood, stone, ceramics, glass, etc. There could still be civilization, I think, but if you want an advanced one, you might have to get creative with how their technology developed. But it sounds like you don't want that, so whatever.

There is a difference, though. Even adults can be molested, and pedophilia is not necessarily molestation, although they're both wrong. A post-pubescent 13-year-old girl who initiates sexual contact with an adult can hardly be said to be molested, and yet the adult is still considered a pedophile for the reasons phi for all mentioned. Of course, this is a recent idea, and one only really prevalent in developed nations. For most of human history, no distinction would be made, sexually-wise (word?), between that 13-year-old and a grown woman.

I think North Korea is one of those things where you just have to wait for it to collapse on its own. Trying to bully them is extremely counterproductive, something neocons can't seem to grasp. N. Korea has never claimed, either internally or externally, that their nuclear program is anything but a deterrant. Whether this is true or we've just handed them a convenient (and valid, frankly) excuse is irrelevant. Instead, make sure they know what will happen if they try anything aggressive (and they do), take any opportunity for some democratic/capitalist propaganda (although they're so insular that is very difficult) and otherwise leave them alone. South Korea is the only nation that can really deal with them, since both nations seem to want eventual peaceful reunification, and there is a lot of mutual sympathy there.

Sir, you have insulted my honor as an employee of the Homeland Security Department's Undersecretary of Censorship. Pistols at dawn?

I guess the question would be, why not? Even if liquid water is necessary for life (which I doubt), you can still have liquid water without an atmosphere if you have some source of heat within the planet itself, like radiation or tidal friction.

No I didn't! Touche....

Or maybe not! Birth order has a lot of big statistical correlations in psychology, and as far as I know there's no difference between biological siblings or adopted siblings.

Occasionally I get nosebleeds for no apparent reason, and I'll get a few over a few days, and then they'll stop. There's never the slightest pain, and I usually only notice it when the blood starts to drip. I would guess it's just environmental stuff that makes certain blood vessels susceiptible to even minor irritation (like rubbing your nose), and once its bled once the freshly healed vessel is even more fragile for a few days.

The mantis is holding a hummingbird it grabbed out of the air.

I wouldn't think a space shuttle by itself could possibly carry enough fuel to get into orbit from any altitude a 747 could reach carrying all that weight.

Mind if I ask what sort of a school you're teaching in?

Reminds me of those presumptuous praying mantises: I'm sorry, but invertebrates have no business eating mammals and birds.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh monster!

What do you think empire means?

I mean, he is an illegal alien.

Which is extremely odd, if you consider the vote.

No. We have no importance beyond what we give ourselves, to whom we are the most important things in the universe. There are no illusions of any "inherent" importance, and certainly none that anyone or anything besides ourselves cares at all or has any purpose for us.

Just typical of your average small-minded, self-centered human is all. Not true! Consciousness is important to us, who are conscious. How could you possibly say anything less (or more)?

He's probably referring to inept colonial rule by the Ottomans, arbitrary national borders by the British, and the formation of the state of Israel.

Or we could try out a less unified state, like in the Articles. Three largely autonomous states in northern, central, and southern Iraq, who share a military, oil revenues and Baghdad. Most of the violence in Iraq is not anti-American (although there's obviously a lot of that too) but Sunni vs. Shiite. Neither wants to be ruled by or rule with the the other, so why force them to? Trying to force the U.S. to adopt the Constitution we have now in 1777 would have done nothing but break up the Union and allow the British to regain control.

No, we really are more vulnerable than other animals, and for a lot longer, too. (It's not a lifespan, thing, either. For one thing, humans don't live that long "in the wild." And second, look at giant tortoises and stuff. A relatively long lifespan is a requirement but not a cause.) This is true not in spite of our intelligence but rather because of it. Basically, we have extremely complicated brains that take a very long time to develop and become fully-functioning. That's probably why humans seem to be unique in their extremely high intelligence. There is a huge cost to our nifty brains, which, evolutionarily speaking, are simply not worth it for most animals. Something like a tiger or a fish can only make use of so much intelligence before the complexity of the brain becomes more burdensome than useful. We humans, however, have opposable thumbs, good vocal chords, omnivorous diets, and all sorts of useful goodies that mean we can take advantage of more smarts, and afford to pay the price of longer childhood periods.