This is not meant to be an offensive post, I am genuinely curious as to why Africa is so far behind the rest of the world.

The Roman Empire had running water, amenities, reliable shelter and clothing for its entire populace 2,000 years ago. 2,000 FRIGGIN YEARS AGO. They created art, sculptures, vast architecture using 2,000 YEAR OLD technology yet if you go to a random area in Africa, it is plagued by poverty, destitution and just overall squalor.

Why is Africa 2000+ years behind the rest of the world and what can be done to correct this??

http://deadline.com/2014/12/sony-scraps-the-interview-1201328639/

This sets one of the worse precedents if you ask me. Need a movie or any other media removed? Just call in a death threat. Who says we don't give in to terrorism?

I was just watching a TED talk the other day about pro-longing human life and this simple question was brought up in my head.

If every single human alive now suddenly had the ability to live forever, how would this change politics on a global scale? How about in the U.S. specifically? What would be the most "responsible" thing to do? Voluntarily die after you reach a certain age as to not cause a burden on society? How would those in power handle this?

Trying to gather some ideas for this year's gift exchange at work. The limit's $20 so anything at that value's fair game. The company has a fairly laid back atmosphere so gag gifts are open season for me. I'd like to get somebody something they could use on the daily preferably. Maybe like a survival kit or a knife.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Program

Just imagine what else is going on that we don't know about. The CIA basically seem to be the American SS/Gestapo.

The scenario: 400 Xenomorphs are dropped off on a remote island. There are 10 Predators that prepare to do battle and are drop shipped on site. 30 T-800's are also mobilized to exterminate both threats. Who would win?

If you have a better idea of how to balance this scenario, go for it. I was kinda unsure how many to put for each category while still being fair.

Ohio is actually an open carry state so this case will be interesting. Did the cop know Ohio was open carry or was he just massively incompetent? In an open carry state I'd imagine they first try and give the suspect a chance to surrender or put down their weapon. This 12 year old kid didn't stand a chance. He was just shot in the head right then and there.

Warning: video is pretty brutal to watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z8qNUWekWE

I cook a lot at home to save money. Eating out gets expensive here in San Francisco so I try to bring something to lunch. My go-to meal are pulled pork sandwiches. I buy a big giant pork loin from Safeway or Whole Foods. I season it with garlic pepper and paprika with Trader Joe's bbq sauce and let it marinate overnight. Then I put it in a slow cooker the next day for six hours with some bay leaves. After coming back from work I will have pulled pork sandwiches ready made.

What's your go-to meal?

Replicator (Star Trek) - In Star Trek a replicator is a machine capable of creating (and recycling) objects. Replicators were originally seen used to synthesize meals on demand, but in later series they took on many other uses.

-from Wikipedia

Let's just say this technology is freely accessible to everyone. The poor, the rich, the destitute, you and me. I was thinking what would happen once humanity reaches a point where the acquisition of unlimited resources would not be a problem. No more wars fighting over who gets the most petrol or who controls which natural mineral mines. Our current economic model--capitalism will cease to exist because a scarcity based economy wouldn't exist anymore.

How do you think this would affect humanity as a whole if this technology were to come into fruition?

We all know Detroit is the butt of all city jokes in the U.S. The place is in utter disrepair, the city is huge compared to the taxes it receives--so naturally bad things started to happen. Business and economic growth don't exactly thrive in a place declared by the FBI as the murder capital of the U.S. So in your opinion, what can fix Detroit? Other than Robocop of course.

So it's 11:30 pm on a Friday night and I'm driving to a local Chinese diner here, famous for their roast duck and BBQ pork. The weather's normal, albeit a little sprinkly so I have to use my wipers occasionally. As I'm approaching an overpass, a black lexus to my left starts changing lanes RIGHT into me. I swerve to get outta the way and hit a thin railing, that other fucker speeds off like nothing happened. My girlfriend is shaken but quickly tells me to get his plates. I record the bastard and am still in shock as to how anyone can be that retarded, careless and incompetent at driving. There's no way he wasn't drunk I thought. Now I have a giant dent on my front passenger fender and insurance to worry about. Thank you, you gigantic dick of a driver. I hope you get arrested for DUI.

Just wanted to get that off my shoulders. Jesus people drive stupidly sometimes.

Has anyone else ever been in a near death experience like I just have?

I'm about to graduate with my undergrad soon. I'm currently looking into moving to a different country but I'm having a hard time setting a plan. I'd like to move out of the U.S. and into another country. I'm a comp-sci major and will most likely pursue some sort of IT position in another country. My SO is also graduating and we are on the same page about our future prospects. She will graduate with a Nutrition Science degree.

I'm just looking for a bit of advice on what to do next on our journey through life. Some questions I can think of at the top of my head are: Which EU countries have the most lax immigration laws? How hard would it be to settle into a place like Germany if I can secure a job offer before hand? Thanks for the help guys. I'd like to hear some of your stories also.

While I was in college, making friends was pretty easy. It came naturally because I lived in the dorms and my roommates and I always hung out. There were also a lot of social events like school clubs, etc. Now that I've graduated and moved across the country for my job, I find that making friends is extremely difficult. My co-workers are at least 10 years my senior. I don't really have any peers to connect with on a more personal level.

How did you guys make friends outside of college/school?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH1XJ6Pw6Jg

I'm pretty excited. $6,800 is extremely cheap considering what you get. I'm just a little concerned about 3 wheels. Is anyone experienced or familiar with car design who can give an opinion on what this would do to the handling of the car? More prone to fish-tail? Hydroplane dangers?

http://news.bme.com/2005/04/01/love-at-first-bite-the-publishers-ring/

Yes, they bit each other's ring fingers off instead of getting engagement rings like normal people. Ever loved someone so much you wanted to bite their fingers off?

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/10/tech/innovation/mars-one-plan/

A Dutch company is planning on sending 4 people permanently to Mars in 2018. They chose 4 people out of 200,000 applicants. Would you apply for this? Your name would go down in the history books.

Intrusive thoughts as defined by Wikipedia are "unwelcome involuntary thoughts, images, or unpleasant ideas that may become obsessions, are upsetting or distressing, and can be difficult to manage or eliminate."

I regularly get intrusive thoughts. Sometimes I will be driving on the highway and my brain will tell me "I wonder what would happen if I jerked the steering wheel while going 75 mph (1.60 kph for the non-Americans). Or I will be cooking one day holding a sharp knife and all of a sudden my brain tells me "What would happen if I stabbed my leg? Would there be a lot of blood? Go on, do it."

No I am not a diagnosed schizophrenic. I'm told by my psych teachers that this is common and normal occurrence in people.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/16/craigslist-ps4-killing-daniel-zeitz_n_5829460.html?utm_hp_ref=crime

What kid of world are we living when this person valued a PS4 over another human being's life? I'm angrier at the parents who raised her. Morals, ethics, right and wrong? Did they fail to instill anything remotely upstanding into her? Such a sad world..

I find myself constantly daydreaming during classes about traveling and backpacking. I dream about doing it through Asia particularly. Food is cheap, views are great at the right places and the people seem friendly for the most part. I'd like to stay at a couple of hostels and meet other international travelers, have some fun partying the night away over some cheap beer and just live for the moment. I've been following a lot of Asia travel vloggers and it's really making me excited to actually do this when the time comes.

What about you guys? What fills the void in your mind as you stutter along the daily monotony of work or school?

http://www.kwtx.com/ourtown/home/headlines/Killeen--Prosecutor-Will-Seek-Death-Penalty-In-Police-Officers-Death-274000421.html

They never found drugs or anything incriminating at the man's house. This was a "no-knock" raid where police don't identify themselves or provide any warning that they are about to knock down your house with guns drawn and tear gas thrown. Hundreds of these are conducted yearly. Don't they figure by now that breaking down someone's door at 5 am in the morning without identifying yourself as POLICE is a bad idea? Now that someone got shot, the poor guy who was just trying to defend himself and his property will be facing the death penalty.

U.S.A, land of the "free".