joy

Joy's primary concern in the article is that people will fail to pay proper attention to what they are creating, and not fully weigh the consequences that may ensue its creation, basically 90% of science fiction without the excitement.  I did not mean to discredit Joy as I think he makes a good point, and it is useful to see it made in a straight forward way as how he does it.  He makes very clear that he is not anti-technology, but that he is aware of the power of current advancements and realizes that they must be kept in check.  His ethos is impeccable.  Joy makes good references to various pieces of literature which support his point, and I found the Unabomber anecdote interesting and most effective.  I think that the issues are as relevant as ever, especially because many people do not think much about these matters.  What was once the future is pretty much here (yes cliche) and while it may not be the Jetsons, in many ways technology has shaped the lives of everybody outside of Lancaster.  Robots have already taken the Jeopardy crown from humans, who knows what they may be capable of doing next.  While that seems a silly comparison it does prove that robots are getting closer to human level intelligence.  Though I maintain that robots could not totally take over humanity as they are developed by humans and owe all of their "intelligence" to us, genetic engineering leaves many possibilities.  Knowing that we can synthetically produce almost any life form with genetic alterations makes very few things truly impossible.  While many of the nightmares related to genetic engineering seem unrealistic, they are not as far fetched as we might like to believe.  There is little aside from ethics to stop people from creating races of superhumans or human devouring carnivores, especially if a time comes when genetic engineering becomes a wide spread commonplace in many nations.  People worried after the first nuclear bombs were dropped about the implications of the Soviet Union obtaining such technology, and later of countries such as North Korea or Iran.  If that is considered a problem, imagine if somebody such as Kim Jong-Il were capable of the White Plague mentioned in Joy's essay.  While it is easy to worry about a robot that one cannot stop, it is almost a guarantee that the robot's creator knows exactly how to stop it, and the fate of others rests in his/her decision to stop the machine.  With genetic engineering the creator can easily lose control of their creation, as it is a living thing, and no matter how much research has been done and precautionary measures taken to prevent disaster, the creation has a mind and life of its own and is capable of anything, which could be the downfall of a careless society.

kjhhlkgh

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/18/utah.state.firearm/index.html
In a time where state budgets are trying to cut back, why in the hell are officials working on things such as naming a state handgun?  If I lived in Utah, the first sign of increased taxes or removal of union bargaining rights would send me straight to the capital if this is what the state government is doing with their time.
http://us.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/20/nuclear.risks/index.html
I'm a big fan of nuclear power, as it is a low emission source of electricity.  Unfortunately, many people are terrified of nuclear meltdowns, mainly because every time we come anywhere near one the news acts like the whole world is going to be radioactive.  A properly built and maintained nuclear power plant is as safe as any other power plant, and hopefully this doesn't ruin nuclear for the whole world.

sunglasses

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42166988/ns/world_news-europe/
This is important to me because we watched the movie about Knut in my high school German class, and I am sad he died more importantly though it brings up talks about raising youth of various species, and whether it is a human's place to do so.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42165769/ns/today-today_fashion_and_beauty/
I just thought this one was kind of funny.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Libyan-Forces-Take-Aim-on-Benghazi-as-World-Leaders-Convene--118293224.html
 Legitimately important story, though it is a tough call.  While Gaddafi undoubtedly has to go, getting into civil war type situations in other countries is really not bright as we have seen in the past.

this sucks

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/18/wisconsin.budget.restraining.order/index.html?hpt=Sbin
I think this is a really important issue because without unions there is practically nothing stopping employers from abusing workers, especially in tough economic times where people absolutely cannot afford to lose their jobs.  Not only that, but to do it to teaching unions and other important public services is just wrong.  Hopefully this stays as is because talks like this have been spreading through the mid-west and could continue to spread through the country.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/14/smallbusiness/japan_earthquake_small_business_opportunity/index.htm
As important as it is to help improve earthquake safety in someplace like Japan, I was more interested in this for the science.  I'm in civil engineering so this is pretty  much gonna be my job, or something like that.

Etherfire

1.  Swift identifies many issues such as unemployment, poverty, overpopulation, and street riff-raff.  The exigence here is to suggest to the people of Ireland to be proud of their country and do what they can to help it through tough times, and help their neighbors through these times, rather than turning to crime and violence against one another and the state. 

2.  I would like to propose the removal of Barack Obama from the presidency, on the grounds that he is a foreign born socialist.  Clearly his health care policy is an attempt to seize full control of the U.S. government and destroy capitalism.  Seeing as he was not born in America and is not a U.S. citizen, his loyalties lie with other nations and he is clearly plotting the downfall of the United States from the inside.  Also, those of us familiar with the "Baracka Flacka Flame, Head of State" video are aware of his role in urban street gangs.  Upon removing this horrendous mistake from the Oval Office, I believe that to fill the void it would be in the nation's best interest to revive the body of Ronald Reagan, or just leave his corpse to rest at the president's desk.  Go America!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpq1oKOd9nEThough I typically like satire, I think that this was not an ideal way to use it, as I had a difficult time understanding part of it.  Perhaps my difficulties are due to the dialect of the 1700's, and if I were more comfortable in that style of speaking the point would be clearer.

2.