Phi for All

Welcome to all the newcomers. We hope you enjoy our little community and look forward to the increase in knowledge you bring.

This is a tough one for me, since I also believe that it is wrong to judge an entire group on the actions of some of it's members. Terrorism and the fear it engenders have largely made us numb to reactions like Bettina's. Too many are saying that, since a disproportionate percentage of terrorists are Islamic, that means Islam is to blame for terrorism. That wouldn't be allowed here if you said that, since a disproportionate percentage of US prison inmates are black, that means blacks are to blame for crime. It worries me that this prejudice doesn't bother enough people. I hate the idea that we are making more enemies every day by condemning Islam instead of terrorism. Part of what separates us from terrorist animals are the ideals we adhere to. If we forget our ideals or cast them aside to fight fire with fire, what makes us different? Regardless, I will be conferring with the Admins on policy regarding Islam and the Racist/Prejudice warning and it's implementation, but I know we don't need to flame or use ad homs to make our points. Respect your fellow SFNers, please.

This is obvious to me. It's not a moral distinction as much as a legal one. If you claim that a just-conceived cell is human and has all the rights of one, legislation will then evolve to the point where every miscarriage must be investigated to make certain the mother did nothing criminal. Who will judge whether something a woman did or did not do caused the miscarriage? This may be a slippery slope argument but some people view this as murder so a radical legal response is almost inevitable.

The verbals should act as thunderheads on the horizon. When the storm comes it will result in official warnings, which carry points towards a temporary ban. "Both sides" are now entrenched in the "I've given my proof" foxhole. I think Bettina's links from post #53 provide enough evidence to warrant her claims that Hezbollah has been endangering their civilian population by placing offensive military equipment in suburban locales. As Pangloss points out, whether this is deliberate is in question. I think this particular issue and it's ackowledgement is causing the impasse. Anyone care to comment?

W's seemed to have an overall strategy of making all those who weren't of like mind into "anti-life" advocates, instead of "pro-choice" or even "pro-diversity". The GOP wants a lock on things like family values and patriotism. I think W wanted to lump as many as possible into his new category called "evildoers". I've seen a marked propensity in this administration for riling certain groups up with carefully constructed phrases and then pointing at them as being against the "culture of life" when they object. Anyone remember his use of war-on-terror phrases like "Crusade" and "Operation Infinite Justice"? Surely that shouldn't bother Muslims at all, especially coming from a Commander-in-Chief who urges the enemy to attack his troops with phrases like, "Bring 'em on!" I'll calm down.... Aside from the death penalty vs abortion arguments, I do wonder if the current objections to this new stem cell research are based on giving people knowledge of the defects mentioned in the OP article. What would a pro-life couple do if they knew for certain that the embryo they'd created had Down's Syndrome? Can Down's be cured at that point or is the decision simply put it back in the womb or destroy it? I'm pro-choice and I wouldn't choose abortion except in extreme circumstances and if my wife had given birth to a Down's baby I would love it and do my best. But if I knew when the embryo was eight cells big that it would have Down's Syndrome I don't think I would be able to say, "Just put it back."

Keep it civil please. Facts beat flames.

There must be objections to NOT replacing the defective embryo. If you had this test done would you want a defective embryo replaced?

"Mechanical Engineers are never civil." I saw this on a poster once- "Mechanical Engineers: without us physics is just theory."

Who you calling *old*?

(with a silhouette picture of a locomotive) "Engineers: It's all about the training!" "Engineers: We're so cool we're superconductive!" "That is NOT a slide rule in my pocket. I'm an Engineer!"

No need to be scared, son. Not really. Maybe a little bit. Probably a lot. OK, I'd most likely wet myself but then I'm not *you*. Thank the Lord. Run, herpguy, RUN!! Just grab your geckos and run to Canada!! He can't get you if you're in Canada!!!

Yeah, you know. Unmarked van, nondescript clothing, kinetic energy penetrator fountain pen, that sort of thing. No cause for alarm.

Great stuff. You should post some in The Official Jokes thread, at least until we get an official cartoon thread.

Snaps for herpguy for being so incredibly observant. By the way, our... technician wants to know, should he take I-94 or I-75 to get to your house the quickest?

Though Fernandes certainly deserves no mercy, it would be unfair not to deliver the coup de grâce, especially when, in your own words, "the second half of the video gets kerrrrr-azy". Phenomenal job of succinctly yet stylishly dismantling Fernandes' video non veritas. Can you be bothered? Does the hunter wound the prey and then allow it to limp back into the underbrush?

We need to get this thread back on topic (if it still has some energy left) but I would like to say this about precision in writing: If you are trying to communicate using a "low-bandwidth" medium like Web forums, you need to be as clear as possible. Punctuation is never too much to ask, even if it takes you a bit more time to convey your meaning. My opinion, of course.

Maybe a one-act or a shory story. The list is huge and growing by the minute. The competition was stiff but we stood firm. My curiosity is "aroused". What is D.O.M.A.P.A.?

By "extremely efficient" do you mean "frictionless"? It's usually a failure to account for the inevitable effects of friction that keeps many perpetual devices from actually being perpetual. Can I assume you are using permanent magnets? Electromagnets are not a free energy source. Even the cost of permanent magnets must be factored in to the energy output equation.

We could tell you, but then we'd have to... well, you know.

The rooster.

Definitely no *sharp* distinction, but the original question asks us to point to a line of ancestry and mark the spot where proto-chicken ends and the closest thing to the chickens we now know begins. That beginning, though nebulous, would have to be an egg since an individual doesn't evolve within it's lifetime.

I've always thought the "thing" that layed the first chicken egg was not *quite* a chicken itself, therefore the egg came first. Maybe not always, but before this article came out in May, at least.

Is Science_Geek a sock puppet account you started on another computer or just a friend? Terrible coincidence him joining and posting in the same thread at the same time as you and sounding like a shill. Forgive the skepticism, but it's part of the scientific method. What exactly can you tell us on a public forum that will convince us you're not looking for gullible investors? As woelen mentioned, forming a mechanical problem which will garner some ideas while not giving away your design ideas would be helpful.

LOL! YT deserves all the credit. He's a stand up guy and not too swollen with himself to share the spotlight, though it must have been hard on him to accept my help. YT, I salute you!