Yes, but then the weapons systems could also be automated. Why would you need any more than one person on board to just say “attack”... or the whole ship could be automated and would require no crew (a drone that could be remote controlled or controlled by artificial intelligence). That’s the direction that weapon…

I thought that it was the other way around. The Resistance ships were faster, but were not going their top speed to save energy. They were going just fast enough to stay far away enough for the FO energy weapons to be ineffective. While it was a plot device, it made enough sense (but not complete sense).

So he punches and then what, gets expelled (especially after the web info gets leaked)?

Unfortunately, the principal may have an agenda too, as he could get into trouble if bullying is “rampant”.

So what is the “irony”? Is it that the kids racist associations make him “different” and so it is OK for all of us readers to side with the people who are bullying him (and thus we all become the bullies)? Or is it that his racist associations make him a bully to others and so it is OK for us to side with the people…

I was part of the ethnic majority, but was bullied because I was quiet and wouldn’t fight back. Kids will always find a reason to single somebody out and attack on one level or another — and 35 years later I still carry the emotional scars. I certainly understand the motivation for bullying, though. It makes you feel…

Some sociologist seem to think that this tribalism in innate and part of human nature — and that it might even be part of the process of children learning language and categorization. So, discrimination may be part of the mechanism of a developing intelligence. Kind of a bumber.

Maybe that’s why he abdicated in order to pursue his philosophy.

Marcus Aurelius was an ex-emperor who was a proponent of stoicism because if fit his status well. — Does being a slave bother you? Well, just ignore it and continue being a slave. — He could use the philosophy to justify his position atop society.

Yes, that’s why people in the US pay for European defense. We are more productive and we give away that productivity thru our tax dollars, while they spend their tax dollars on healthcare, etc. We should stop supporting them and spend that money at home (for anything — tax breaks for the rich, healthcare for the poor…

I like to save up my vacation time for when there is a layoff. Then if I get laid off I can take it as cash. That’s why companies force you to take time off by the end of the year and don’t allow you to carry over vacation time. It is a liability on their books. My company lets me carry over 1/2 of my time to the next…

So if Hitler never grew that type of mustache, what would people call it? Hitler: murderer of millions, but also a fashion trendsetter? Amazing.

While they were there to “bait” students on the campus, there isn’t really any difference between what they were doing and what counter-protesters were doing when protesting the Nazis. If anything, these young women were being less provocative than the counter-protesters. Of course, doing this isn’t particularly…

My wife is a dark-skinned, Hispanic, female, not-Protestant immigrant — and she voted for Trump. Does this make her a Nazi?

While radiation sickness is bad, the long-term impact of radiation tends to be overblown. Sure there is an increased risk of cancer, but only marginally, especially when you consider how much more efficient certain chemical exposures can be at causing cancer.

Wow. If I were not going to spend the day with my family, I would be out in front of the store protesting. Hey, maybe instead of watching football, that’s what we WILL do.

While I am sorry that violence was involved and pray that nobody got hurt, I am still trying really hard to not laugh out loud at work as I read this story over and over.

Actually, 3 of the planets were discovered 2 years ago. Also, life is questionable as all the planets are probably tidal locked with their star resulting in conditions that are less ideal than what you might typically expect for planets in the habitable zone (but certainly not impossible).

I think that the author has seen Dumbo too many times. Perhaps multiple mammoths would be created at the same time so they could socialize together, separate from their “mothers”. They could be kept together in an “Ice Age Park”. 

Anybody remember when Toshiba sold propeller machining technology to the Soviets (yes, that far back) which allowed them to make the Russians quiet sub technology? I do.