More environmentalism bullshit

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Just learned that Sprint and Samsung is launching the "Reclaim", "a phone made out of 80% recycleable materials". I was surprised though that it wasn't the first "eco-friendly" phone. Motorola was actually first with "Renew" for T-mobile.

Well, *sounds* impressive, but how much of the Reclaim is really WORTH recycling? In general, the best way to "recycle" a cellphone is to donate it to a cause like battered women's shelter, so they can call 911 where-ever they are. Recycling electronics is often just not worth the time or money. They are simply too small to get much useful material out of them. The outer plastic shell is certainly recycleable.

Why are some religious people so... literal?

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Religion, Darwin, and Evolution

Why must some people take the Bible so... LITERALLY? It's obvious that the world was NOT created in six days, and the world was not created in 4004 BC (ref: King James Bible).

In fact, St. Augustine, VERY famous Christian about 400 AD, wrote a book called "True meanings of Book of Genesis", where he specifically stated that the Bible should not be taken as the literally truth, and Bible is NOT SCIENCE< but myth and allegory. Bible are a collection of lessons and messages from God, and some concepts can only be explained metaphorically, such as creation of space and time.

So why does some people insist that the Bible is the literally truth? That started in the Reformation. Basically, the reformation claims that the Bible, NOT the Pope, is the true leader of Christianity. Rather than having the Pope telling you what the Bible means, each reader of the Bible should be able to decide what the Bible meant to him- or herself.

Is representative democracy obsolete?

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Controversial Idea: Is Representative Democracy obsolete?

Thnk about it... the Greeks invented democracy, where any one who cares enough to argue policy can go down to the forum and join in the debate. But then, Greece back then are small city-states, each a government onto themselves.

Then comes the republic, when the distance prevents people from voicing their opinion directly, so representatives are chosen to speak for the people, so you don't have 10000 people stampeding into the capital just to get their voices heard.

Now, with the advent of telephone, TV, and advanced communications, it is possible to practice full democracy again... You no longer have to go physically to the government to be heard. There's e-mail, fax, phone, and so on. And if you care enough, you can always go physically.

So is representative democracy, i.e. republic, obsolete?