Thoughtful questions. My only comment is that seeing as how people, and thus governments, are not free from error, prejudice, or manipulation of facts for personal reasons; individual rights must be upheld and constitutional law practiced. Of, by and for the people is my preference over any human system of "big brother". Only God gets my trust to that degree.

I had some interesting thoughts and questions after watching Fight Club, and I too think that most movies, not just sci-fi genre, have lost touch with providing food for thought, instead of just action for the sake of entertainment.

I see your points, as they are well made, however: the idea was not to punish those for thinking of doing the crime (a la Orwell's Mindcrime in "1984"), rather, that they actually *did* commit the crime in a future date, as witnessed by the clairvoyant trio that comprised the core of pre-crime. It is an amzing topic for discussion, the idea of cause before effect... boggles the mind.

You questioned that if there was one man that if killed would end all murders is indeed an old one, but I believe the sacrifice should be made, if the outcome is true. It is indeed a haughty order but people die every day for no reason at all. If we are to sympathize for this man that through his death has a greater purpose then we would have to sympathize just as much for those who die for no reason. A task most don't really think about. The same holds true for 4 men or 5 men. If the sacrifice is earnest then I believe it must be made. And to answer your unproposed question..If killing my child meant all murder would end on Earth then yes, the sacrifice would have to be made. Think I'm cruel, then have a talk with God, cuz I am in good company considering he sacrificed his son for all of us according to John 3:16.

Everybody will die. Many of us spend far too much of our lives wrapped up in what will become an eventuality. Protecting our lives to the extent that we fail to live up to our potential. Perhaps death is a fantastic experience. Too bad for those who waste their time in the living experience worrying about what will certainly happen anyway.

I'm currently writing a short assignment on preventive detention law in Singapore. The rationale given is that this law seeks to prevent harm to society by an individual the court deems to be beyond redemption, that if not incarcerated, would continue to wreck havoc in society. To me this takes a certain amount of pre-judgment, and debases the value of the autonomous being within us all. The court justifies its decision on the basis of past criminal behaviour, but surely such reasoning amounts to a false contingency fallacy (if.... then....). A former criminal is not necessarily going to commit another crime, no matter what his history might be. There is no logical certainty in the statement. This assignment got me thinking about the possibility of the Minority Report being a reality sooner than we think. After all, the court today seeks psychological and pre-sentences reports before passing sentence on convicted felons. These reports determine the suitability of the individual to undergo preventive detention. We are already trying to predict the future, and we are already limiting our own autonomy. These are scary times.

Cool stuff. Keep up the good work. How Linux thin-clients benefit schools: http://news.linux.com/news/05/10/10/0213220.shtml?tid=96 , think in herds , A false friend and a shadow attend