Lair of the Wolf

' The war against Iraq has cost the US more than 3,000 dead soldiers and 18,000 wounded... The figures are close to those of 11 September with the slight difference that the war in Iraq is still going on... Despite this, President Bush, without any shame, says that the decision to wage war was the right one."
-- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4824550.stm

Are the lives of 3000 soliders that much less important than the lives of the victims of September 11, that nobody's held accountable for *their* death? and...
Why does the media hardly ever mention the 18,000 wounded? If you're not killed is it not worth noting in the news?

Parse error: parse error, unexpected T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM.

You can always count on PHP to give you an unusual parse error and make you think you're hallucinating.

'cause the first language I expect my errors in is always Hebrew. Really...

(For what it is, go here... http://us2.php.net/tokens)

Apple has criticised a French law that could break the locks tying songs from the iTunes store to iPod players.

"iPod sales will likely increase as users freely load their iPods with "interoperable" music which cannot be adequately protected. Free movies for iPods should not be far behind in what will rapidly become a state-sponsored culture of piracy."

So, just because the files are open means people are instantly going to pirate? I'm assuming this also means that the iPod currently doesn't accept anything that isn't protected by iTunes? Wrong. :-) The players, according to the Apple website, already support a variety of formats, not just ITunes protected AAC.

The files are still "legally" obtained, they're from the iTunes store. The problem is, you might not have to buy music for your iPod only from iTunes, or might be able to use another music player besides the iPod, and as a result breakdown Apple's business model and profit margins.

Personally, I enjoy how words like "interoperable" are used in their statement, in the same critical way that republicans say "liberal". That interoperability is *bad*, and is something to be rejected by any moral person.
Not that I should expect anything less from a statement designed to spread FUD over the law anyway, that legal sales will drop in favor of piracy just because they can no longer restrict what you might do with the music you _bought_, not licensed or leased, from them.
My other favorite turn of phrase is the stolen "state-sponsored culture of piracy" (Isn't it supposed to be culture of terror?) I guess that means DRM is the good guys in the "War on Piracy?"

Seriously, DRM isn't protecting anything, if you can play it, you can copy it. Unless the iPOD goes so far as to try to break compatibility with other consumer electronics, which, as far as I know, it doesn't. Its success is not based on the existance of DRM, its about answering consumer demands, and if one of those demands is interoperability between devices/services, perhaps instead of branding these people pirates, you should listen to your consumers, before somebody else does.

From the BBC News Article -
"Apple attacks plan to open iTunes" -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4833010.stm

No long post about the right answer here. I've encountered two different answers and neither qualify as particularly nice or friendly. I don't think it really can be done and be nice about it.

(1) Just ignore them like they aren't there.
(2) Come up with a lame-sounding rationale, (it's X's house, not yours (even though you've lived there just as long, I guess the only way this one's defeated is to move out and then remind them how much it hurts by telling them to butt out of your business.)

"Panasonic based themselves on this statement to develop an interactive TV wall. Yes, we are talking about a wall... with a touch sensitive screen that has the surface of two 110" TV's (you just need a big house or share the TV with your neighbour)."
Link: Panasonic's interactive TV wall, the demo

All of my hate cannot be found
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground I will see you screaming

Thumbing through the pages of my fantasies
Pushing all the mercy down, down, down
I wanna see you try to take a swing at me
Come on, gonna put you on the ground, ground, ground

Why are you trying to make fun of me?
You think it's funny? What the fuck you think it's doing to me?
You take your turn lashing out at me
I want you crying when you're dirty ass in front of me

All of my hate cannot be found
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground
I will see you screaming

Thumbing through the pages of my fantasies
I'm above you, smiling at you, drown, drown, drown
I wanna kill and rape you the way you raped me
And I'll pull the trigger And you're down, down, down

Why are you trying to make fun of me?
You think it's funny? What the fuck you think it's doing to me?
You take your turn lashing out at me
I want you crying when you're dirty ass in front of me

All of my hate cannot be found
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground I will see you screaming

All my friends are gone,
they died (gonna take you down)
They all screamed, and cried (gonna take you down)
Never gonna forget, never forget, how we hate the world [x4]
(Gonna take you down)

All of my hate cannot be found
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
and Beat me to the ground I will see you screaming

All of my hate cannot be found
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming
So you can try to tear me down
Beat me to the ground I will see you screaming
-- Evanescence (Anywhere but Home, 2004) [Originally by Korn]

Why do people not look at themselves before throwing hatred at others?
Its easy to see your own problems in other people, harder to admit you have those issues yourself.
And particularly, easy to attack people who will, of course, believe your venom blindly because you know, they think little of themselves.

Must make you feel better about yourself to do that, or does it?