I second Olin's concerns. Let us keep this PIClist for what it is intended and reserve our political ideologies for a different forum. I hope that James reverses his attitude as far as political issues and PIClist are concerned. John -----Original Message----- From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] On Behalf Of Olin Lathrop Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 8:21 AM To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. Subject: Re: [OT] London subway and bus bombings 9 am London time Russell McMahon wrote: >> However I think that this is Totally inappropriate for the PICList > > As you are entitled to. About 20 people actively don't seem to. Yes, that's human nature. When someone makes a statement you feel strongly about, you have the urge to respond, whether the forum is appropriate or not. > Multiply that by the (unknown & variable ) silent/lurker ratio. And how do you know those silent lurkers weren't all grinding their teeth waiting for yet another policital onslought to the PIClist to finally pass (like I was doing)? > It'll be all through the news shortly no doubt - the point of > posting > this is to direct the attention of people who may feel they can be > useful in some capacity or other at this early stage. This pissed me off the first time I read it, but I kept my mouth shut not wanting to add to the inevitable noise. I was also hoping (expecting) James would put a stop to this long before now. Now that you're proudly repeating it and this is still going on 5 days leter, I just have to respond. As you pointed out yourself, this was widely and quickly covered by the normal news channels. I heard about it within an hour of the event, and I'm 5 time zones away. Very likely the word spread even faster near the event where people were in a position to be useful "at an early stage". There was absolutely no reason to broadcast this on the PIClist. The logic for that is so absurd that I see this as just another excuse to once again have a political discussion on the PIClist. And the result should have been no surprise to you either. It's exactly what I assumed would happen when I read your original post. Yes, I have opinions about terrorism, democracy, and forms of government too, but I'm not going to impose them on people who came here to talk about PICs and related technology. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist