Domain: wsws.org
Stories and comments across the archive that link to wsws.org.
Comments · 378
-
It's about Fairness and BalanceSome of the stories that Project Censored has covered over the years have been covered up pretty well, but the more important issue is how much they get coverage in the news media - if 95% of the population doesn't see them on TV or in newspaper headlines and 90% of the people who actually read the articles don't see them much, that's good enough - 100% censorship isn't necessary very often. And even if stories do escape, usually the administration can escape blame for it, which is good enough - Enron got blasted, for instance, but the Bush Admin's teflon was still pretty much intact back then, so most of the people who connected them were either already Bush opponents, or were former Enron employees who don't have any money to spend on politics now.
Project Censored's quality varies a lot over the years - they've been doing this for a long time. Some years, they're pointing out really critical stories that haven't gotten enough coverage. Other years, most of their "censored" stories weren't actually censored, they just weren't reported with a sufficiently leftist politically correct spin as opposed to a neutral spin or a right-wing spin - "Those Mean Nasty Republicans Did _X_ and they were BAD!" vs. "The Republicans screwed up and got caught doing _X_" vs. "The Republicans were noticed doing _X_" vs. "Our Boys did _X_ and Really Kicked Ass!"
But that's OK! It's important to have analysis of the news as well as having news, and it's important to have analysis that tries to be balanced and occasionally slips leftward as opposed to just having Rush Limbaugh and his ilk whining about the Liberal Media when the media is so blatantly not liberal. That's one reason to take advantage of the Internet and of the few actual leftie media outlets like Pacifica Radio and get some variety, not just a single ostensibly-balanced source. It's easy to read around biases that you know about in stories your read - it's much harder to read around the biases that result in stories not getting reported, or around biases you don't realize are there. One of my friends even reads World Socialist Web Site, a raving Trotskyite mouthpiece, because they've got different and occasionally insightful commentary on their opponents, even if they're blind as a bat about the faults of the people they do approve of.
-
Re:in australia I hear they have mandatory voting
[in Australia] everyone turns out, and it is a much better system. We actually get a reasonable representation of the opinion of the people.
Um...how exactly does that make it better? ;)
Sometimes I'm tempted to agree ;), but that's just the arrogant eletist bastard in me coming out.
In reality the system is better than non-mandatory voting, but the represetnation is still through politicians, who arn't neccesarily brilliant and doing what the people want... e.g. asylum seekers (link just one example) or the war in Iraq. (*Note*: I don't claim these sources are any good, just quick google news searches). -
Re:Simply wrong
Once they named an airport after Reagan, I gave up on any sense of propriety in governmental naming. An airport, for pity's sake!
-
Re:They pretend to pay us...
and we have longer paid holidays than you.
Here is an article outlining the rights we have. EU Working Time Directive -
Re:I'm all for democracy, of course...
Yeah, I can't remember a day that has gone by where I didn't say to myself, man, I wish I lived in that democratic paradise of South Africa.
It must be hard for the South African border guards, keeping a vigilant watch on the western shores for the American boat people, drifting lazily across the ocean. Pity even more the American refugee, who's only seeking better life for them and their families.
Sorry for the tone, but you had it coming. -
Re:Why does Opera get so much play on Slashdot?
KrisplyKringle wrote: Well, they make up stories, but thats an exception (well, they and Fox).
And then newwave wrote: Is this just a swipe at a news channel simply because they actually include a conservative point of view, or do you have something to back this up?
And then I wrote: Fox doesn't make up stories, they just spread rumours that most other news sources would ignore. Oh wait a minute, Fox news does make up stories, but only when they support a conservative point of view. The rest of the time they are busy just manipulating the public. But of course, in the US, that is perfectly legal!.
-
Re:Huh?
Wow! That was about as authoritative as using the WWP as a source for union issues, WSWS as a source for Economics, or Pacifica Radio as a source for ANYTHING to do with free choice.
Nice try though.
BTW, your in your sig, you use the same time tested method, well documented by George Orwell and others, that the Communist press has been using for ages to cease arguement. Then again, that is what you used when you invoked the dreaded "sprawl" word.
As Orwell wrote, in the closing passages of chapter XI, in Homage to Catalonia: "It is as though in the middle of a chess tournament one competitor should suddenly begin screaming that the other is guilty of arson or bigamy. The point that is really at issue remains untouched. Libel settles nothing." -
Re:Personal Rapid TransitNeither system is self-supporting. The London Underground gets several million pounds a year in subsidies. New York city pays around half a billion dollars a year to support the rail system. The state pays some too, but I don't know how much. Those are reoccuring operating costs, not the up-front capital costs. The systems were incredibly costly in up front capital and are very expensive to expand.
In both cities, most people still prefer to drive cars. Here's an overview of the London public transit system's ridership over the last 40 years. Right now, public transit has 17% of the market and have lost steadily since the 60's.
New York does better. However, as of '97, at least 50% of commutes were made in cars, 42% on the subway, and 8% on bus, ferry, etc. [pdf] So, even with the horrible state of traffic and parking, 50% of people still prefer to drive point-to-point in New York.
London and New York share some relatively unique properties that make them suited to heavy rail. Most large cities can't expect as good a result if they invest in heavy rail.
More to the point, neither city can expect to get much bang for the buck if they expand their public transit service. Public transit ridership is pretty inflexible with respect to supply for the current modes of public transit. People prefer not to ride these systems, given the choice.
So, we can quibble over whether they "fail" or not. But, we can certainly both agree that neither system is particularly attractive compared to a solution that offers
- Point-to-point travel - no routes to memorize.
- On-demand travel - no schedules to memorize.
- No traffic problems.
- No parking problems.
- 40 mph average speed.
We can build such a system to support the same volume for a much lower cost than an underground heavy rail system.
-
Re:creationists
I don't see Hindus or anyone else lobbying to teach their religion in a public school science class.
Haven't been to India recently, have you? Hindu Fascism is a growing phenomena in India. Astrology is taught as a serious subject in some Indian universities. -
Hmm, so Terrorism = socialism ?environmentalism is really a path to world socialism and world government, in the same vein as the UN. every time an "environmental crisis" appears, there is a always a call for money. money from the government. also, each new claim comes with the associated calls for limits to our freedoms.
Terrorism is really a path to world socalism and a world government - in the same vein as the UN. Every time an "terrorist threat" appears, there is always a call for money. Money from the government. Also, each new claim comes with associated calls for limits to our freedoms.
It's easy for (some of you) Americans to shout "socialism!" everytime there is something you don't like, isn't there?
i hunt and fish, and love the outdoors as much as anyone. but, i think capitalism and freedom are far more important. do you really want the corrupt third world dictators telling the US how to run its economy?
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty damned sure I DON'T want the US telling the world what to do. I mean, how can the US sit and pontificate when their Congress" is corrupt? Or how about profiteering from a war which the US started preemtively and unilaterally on "humanitarian" grounds? Or actively supports terrorists" and backs dictatorial regimes when they are in the apparent best interest of the US? Or the best interests of certain member's of government?
Do I really want the corrupt nuclear supperpower to be telling the world how to run their affairs? No. And you should be worried too. The US is becoming the Land of the Progressively Less Free.
(I apologize for this being off-topic. When someone spouts off like this person did, I feel a need to respond. As for the current war in Iraq and the soldiers on the ground there: I support you and hope you come back safely. I do not support the government who sent you, or the reasons they give for doing so.)
-
Re:Erosion of double jeopardy
You're confusing post war Sweden with the general history of Scandinavia. As for recent Norway, read
this -
US double standards
For all the people here complaining about Iraqi TV violating the Geneva Convention and criticizing Al Jazeerah for airing that footage, please remember your government has similar skeletons in its closet (if not worse). As the linked article states, the spread of that documentary has pretty much been blocked in the US by your media. The Bush administration even tried to get the German government not to air it in Germany. This administration just takes the term hypocrisy to a new level. Is it any wonder why Bush felt the need to not participate in any International Crimes Court? If they don't have anything to be afraid of then why object to this?
-
US involvement not improbable
The US bombed the al-Jazeera station in Kabul...
DDOSin' their site isn't much worse than that... :) -
maybe, but
Sometimes you've just gotta smack some people.
Maybe, but you don't have to smack his mother, his cousin's whole family, his entire neighborood, a significant fraction of the architecture in his city, their power and water, and dump hundreds worth of tons of radioactive armaments into his environment. That's what the fuss is about. -
Re:Military Accuracy not effected
-
Re:She'll be right
So what conditions would you prefer (and why) ? Try to keep it within the realms of financial practicality.
I'd expect conditions where children aren't abused and women aren't raped and lives aren't put at risk by fire-starting vandals.
I'd like to see interested third parties (eg, salvos) onsite to help avoid future reoccurences of detainee abuse. I'd like the media to be invited into the grounds rather than this media blanket we currently have.
You ask me to present my financially practical solution? Why do I need a solution before I can state the flaws I perceive in the current system? Are the only people allowed to speak out against the inhumane treatment - in your world - the same people who can prepare a balance sheet? Under which account do I put "raped child" when I'm creating this financially practical solution?
There's no "esentially" here. I flat outright said this. It's not something you deduced. I've said it twice already and now - in this post - I've said it a third time.
In other words, a completely unworkable solution.
It's only unworkable if you don't want it to work. Australia managed to support immigration on far grander scales just a few decades ago. Now it's "completely unworkable"? I don't think so.
Tell me, are you so free with your own home ?
I'm not inviting them into my home. I'm inviting them into my country. Surely you can spot the difference.
Don't misunderstand me. I support detainment but I'm opposed to the current detainment conditions. I support processing but I'm disappointed that it takes so long to process. I think Ruddock honestly does try to do the right thing and the media has treated him unfairly, but I'm not going to sit back and say "everything's OK, business as usual, no need to change".
I also think illegal immigrants should not be deported. There's no reason why Australia should be closing its doors to people in need. It doesn't matter that they're not refugees; the refugees are obviously first priority but the non-refugees were desperate enough to risk their lives to get here. As far as I'm concerned, that makes them far more deserving of Australia's assistance than many citizens.
-
Re:She'll be right
So what conditions would you prefer (and why) ? Try to keep it within the realms of financial practicality.
I'd expect conditions where children aren't abused and women aren't raped and lives aren't put at risk by fire-starting vandals.
I'd like to see interested third parties (eg, salvos) onsite to help avoid future reoccurences of detainee abuse. I'd like the media to be invited into the grounds rather than this media blanket we currently have.
You ask me to present my financially practical solution? Why do I need a solution before I can state the flaws I perceive in the current system? Are the only people allowed to speak out against the inhumane treatment - in your world - the same people who can prepare a balance sheet? Under which account do I put "raped child" when I'm creating this financially practical solution?
There's no "esentially" here. I flat outright said this. It's not something you deduced. I've said it twice already and now - in this post - I've said it a third time.
In other words, a completely unworkable solution.
It's only unworkable if you don't want it to work. Australia managed to support immigration on far grander scales just a few decades ago. Now it's "completely unworkable"? I don't think so.
Tell me, are you so free with your own home ?
I'm not inviting them into my home. I'm inviting them into my country. Surely you can spot the difference.
Don't misunderstand me. I support detainment but I'm opposed to the current detainment conditions. I support processing but I'm disappointed that it takes so long to process. I think Ruddock honestly does try to do the right thing and the media has treated him unfairly, but I'm not going to sit back and say "everything's OK, business as usual, no need to change".
I also think illegal immigrants should not be deported. There's no reason why Australia should be closing its doors to people in need. It doesn't matter that they're not refugees; the refugees are obviously first priority but the non-refugees were desperate enough to risk their lives to get here. As far as I'm concerned, that makes them far more deserving of Australia's assistance than many citizens.
-
Re:so make a bong from
Naval engagements, sunk ships, and submarines combined with tunneling under the DMZ and the kidnapping of Japanese nationals for "spy training" hardly counts as minor border skirmishes. Yes, the war is still on, but on a very, very low simmer.
As for following agreements, kicking out the IAEA and firing up reactors to make plutonium, and backing out of nonpoliferation treaties hardly counts as a "capability of following agreements they have signed". The leader of NK is a total nutcase, that makes him much more dangerous than Saddam ever was. -
Re:Just what...
You've heard the old line "first Hitler went after the Jews, and I was not a Jew, so I did not protest"...
If you protest the war on Iraq, prepare to arrestedIf you're a citizen of an Arabic or Islamic country, report to the INS
The list goes on an on... Wake UP!
-
Re:The question asked to citizensCheck this:
I imagine that few readers appreciate their position in society - as subjects of the crown, not citizens of this country. (Yes, it is true that the inclusion of the European Convention on Human Rights into British law recently changed this, but Dave Blunkett's Anti-Terrorist legislation has overturned these changes and we are, once again, subjects of her Maj).
And this:
Britain does not possess a written constitution. Britons are not citizens, endowed with inalienable rights defined in law, but subjects who are granted certain privileges by the Crown as the head of state. As such, basic freedoms exist only negatively: one may do that which is not expressly legally prohibited. Once a state of emergency is declared, the government can bypass many legal restraints.
-
Re:Don't watch FNC
Wow! What a flaiming load of bullshit! This crap gets modded up these days under a story about the Shuttle desaster?
Where the hell do you get that "In this case we have essentially a single individual, George W Bush who is the advocate of this war." ?
40 other nations have endorsed it, 11 in Europe (including Ireland expressing hurt feelings for not being asked to sign the "letter of eight").
The vast majority of the American public supports it in every poll.
Where do you get this bombing of schools and hospitals bulllshit from? Unless you condone the Iraqis running military operations from them like they did with their air-raid shelters last time. No military, no target.
This crap comes straight from the Workers World Party and their "Socialist news" site, as well as their radio network You Workers World Party Communists are the most vile people on earth and you refuse to admit what you really are. You wish to enslave the world with systems just like the old Soviet Union, North Korea, Iraq and Cuba (the only places who's governments you support, see the weblink).
You support tyrants like Chamorra in Venezuela and use propoganda, like you have posted all day, to disguise your dream to bring some sort of Utopian misery to the world.
I urge all to go read the websites that I have linked to and see exactly what I mean. -
To use the dumbness of an earlier troll...
It's been almost completely concluded that 9/11 happened because of US Intelligence failures.
Yeah, an intelligence failure like this? Or this? Or this? Or this? As opposed to the US Gov planning to invade Afghanistan before 9-11, to get a nice fat oil pipeline in there, and thus pissing off Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia being the country that almost all the highjackers came from, and the country funding Al Q'aida (sp?), and... err... the country supplying a very large portion of the USA's oil needs.
This TIA thing is research into how to improve it and prevent another 9/11.
War is good for business; there's arms manufacturers to please. George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four has a good explanation, written by "Emannuel Goldstein"(sp?). It is also a nice handy tool to crush dissent. A simplistic example would be the way Ford in the UK filtered out, with the help of the government, "subversives" from job applicants, for fear of union activity. Now we all know how much the US Corporate Government loves worker's unions!
It has nothing to do with spying on anyone. And everything to do with spying on everyone, collectively. Googling for dissenters, if you will.
Try this: The disinfo quiz. And this: The ACLU Quiz.
The only intelligence failure in this world is that of the people happy to just sit on their lazy ignorant arses and be spoonfed the "news" by their governments and Big Corps, instead of taking a few minutes to find out what's really going on.
Sorry if I've hurt anyones delicate idealistic feelings, but it has to be said.
Ali -
Re:Do I have this right?So how did that US Army Antrax Cia uses Anthrax,the US Army is making Anthrax
,the Anthrax in the recent US attacks matches US Army Anthrax and then typical denial.
And let's not forget about the 10,000 Military Police beign called up to protect us from the CIA using US Army Anthrax to control the protests which will ulitmately occur when US Soldiers start coming home in body bags.
But do not worry, at least there wont be any open WiFi networks for the terrorists to infiltrate and look at pr0n through.
-
Re:Good intentions, but...So someone doesn't want to think about US human rights abuses. That's okay, I can live with that. But evidently they don't want anyone else to think about it either and modded my last comment down as flamebait.
So here are some more links to document the sordid history of the US abroad.
The Long and Hidden History of the US in Somalia
Us Approves Invasion of East Timor
A brief history of CIA involvement in the drug trade
The Philippine War and Anti-Imperialism
Hawaii's annexation a story of betrayal
Keep modding me down and I will keep posting new links. My karma is capped right now so we could be here all night. How is it flamebait to talk about human rights abuses in the US in a story about a software license that forbids such abuses?
-
Re:Good intentions, but...If you want to harp on the US human rights record, go ahead. Just know that your US-centric world view turns a blind eye to the true atrocities.
Amnesty says US leads in human rights violations following September 11
Released secret documents prove US involvement in Chile
A very brief timeline of US intervention in Latin America and the Carribean
The Age of Imperialism: an online history of the US
I could keep looking up stuff like this for hours, but I'm getting bored and depressed. Try on google, look for US massacre, intervention, human rights abuse, etc. We Americans need to educate ourselves on what our government has been doing in our name while we weren't looking.
-
Re:Pathetic
-
Re:European-style representationThis does not speak well of your knowledge of history. When the American War of Independence finished in 1783, Europe was a collection of monarchies with only some starting to devolve power to "elected" assemblies. The French Revolution of 1789 replaced their monarchy with a dictatorship with democracies only slowly evolving thereafter.
As for the current state of affairs in Europe, parties are either given seats in direct relation to their voter numbers (proportional representation - used in most European democracies) or using the winner-takes-all system (single-member district plurality system, used in the US and Britain).
Both have downsides, neither is ideal. However having just two major parties does lead to a convergence of policies as both try to appeal to a broad "centre ground" spectrum of voters - as seen in both the US (where both candidates were accused of being in the pockets of business/media corporations) and the UK (the current Labour government being seen as following many of the previous Conservative policies). This results in a denial of choice to the voter, with low turnouts being a typical sympton. Another possibility is that of extremists gaining votes simply by virtue of being of only ones to offer something new.
As for dullards, the US has had an undistinguished record recently with Clinton being the only one who seemed to know what he was talking about policy-wise (as long as he kept his trouser zipper shut). Bush Snr and Reagan had their policies pretty much set by unelected advisors, and as for Bush Jnr...well saying he seems an improvement over Dan Quayle is the only compliment I can pay him. Europe's problem has been more with corruption rather than talent(German ex-Chancellor Kohl, French President Chirac and Italian President Berlusconi being examples).
-
I'm a student at UNC
I tried submitting a story similar to this to
/., but I kid you not -- we in the local LUG were threatened with ARREST for protesting when Hillary Rosen personally came to speak to praise us for our policies.
No one was for it after we were told that by one of the CS teachers, and the protest was dissolved.
It was just like when Bush went to Ohio State , except it was for a rich corporate billionaire, not just post 9/11 presidential security! -
Re:One of my favourite quotes...
"he did, in fact, suspend the right of habeas corpus"
Later declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, I might add. See Ex parte Milligan. For the lazy, Ex parte Milligan was a declaration by the Supreme Court following the Civil War which stated a number of things, not the least of which were: the military cannot act as a judiciary in any place where the courts are able to function, no one (not even the President) may suspend Habeus Corpus so long as there is a functional government, and last but not least - the military cannot try a citizen who is not connected with the military.
This is, of course, something that was overlooked when Jose Padilla, who is an American citizen, and supposedly has some rights, was transferred to a military brig with little more than casual remarks from the government (Bush called him a "bad guy" - yes, he really did use those words). -
Re:Someone's got it...It's somewhere
No, it's not. WorldCom booked expenses as capital spending.
If you're a novice in accounting and don't understand what that means, the best analogy is probably here: "It is like someone selling a used car and including in its value all the gasoline he pumped into the vehicle since he bought it."
-
ibm and nazis
i don't want to start too much of a commotion, but i'm suprised to see germany doing business with ibm again. i'm sure we've all heard about their working with the nazis.
i'm not anti-ibm, i've always respected their research and innovation, but this kind of news really upsets me.
-
Even a stopped clock is right 2x/day
-
Re:Before you start thinking the US should try thiYou know, you shouldn't use the F-word so much -- your liberal/socialistic bent is showing.
;)
I used it once, for emphasis. People need to realise that with freedom comes responsibility. Having a "free press" doesn't impose any requirement on said press to actually report the truth. Most people seem to think it does.
I am liberal on some issues, conservative on others. I am in no way socialistic.
About the 'illegal stripping of 100,000 voters of the rights...', the supreme court halted the vote...
The stripping of the rights happened months before the election. The supreme court doesn't enter into this issue.
because it did not recount the entire state and thus treated voters in different counties differently.
So rather than have the entire state recounted, they just stopped the recount?
Ironically, that's the one scenario where Gore might have won. [washingtonpost.com]*
So if the court had actually been concerned with voters being treated equally the election result would have been different.
So how come VoterMarch [votermarch.org] hasn't been updated in over a year?
I have no idea. What is the relevance though? The first ammendment (for example) hasn't been updated in longer than that. So it's now wrong?
That was just a link I found through a google search. I have found various sources for this information at many different time. I haven't been particularly good at preserving bookmarks through OS/hardware changes, but lots of information is available. Feel free to look and find a source that has been updated more recently if you would care to.
The site is owned by Maybe this is why... [posner.com]. (NOTE- it's from a different Posner than the one who runs VoterMarch.)
This is a little difficult to parse. The article you linked to is irrelevant. A reporter claims that at the time of the scandal he was writing slanted pieces in favor of Gore based on a personal preference for Gore. He apologises since he thinks GW Bush stepped up since the attacks**
I am talking about something that came out later detailing how *Jeb* Bush rigged the election months previously.
Oh, yeah, and by the way, see what *this* Brit has to say about about Palast's book. [newstatesman.co.uk]
Does the emphasis on "this" mean that you are Mick Hume, or are you just indicating that you are referring to the referenced article? Irrelvant, it would just be interesting if you were.
He has almost nothing to say about the book. The review is almost entirely a personal attack on Palast's personality rather than on his book or his findings. He even mentions that a different journalist at New Statesman reviewed the book as "fucking brilliant", but uses this merely as an excuse to take a snotty jab at a fellow journalist:
Among the many compliments on the dust jacket, the NS columnist Mark Thomas describes the book as "fucking brilliant". If that doesn't convince you not to buy it, I don't know what will.
I am not familiar with Mark Thomas, but my girlfriend who is from London speaks quite highly of him. Regardless, if this is his compelling reason not to buy the book, I can't put too mach faith in him.
Your sources are biased and have an adgenda.
As do all sources.
Nice try.
I was actually convinced that there might be some legitimacy to your statements given the various links. Hopefully other readers will bother to follow them and convince themselves that they are all irrelevant and largely content free.
So I have to return your "nice try".
*Well, we have the same source for something. The Washington Post actually printed the story about the criminal action of Jeb. Months later on page 8. I suppose "buried" is a better description that printed. Understandable since at the time anything even slightly critical of Bush was treason according to Bush. Note, understandable does not mean acceptable or preserving of journalistic integrity.
** Bush did step up quite a bit didn't he? It's almost as if
he knew they were coming
Now I know you will jump all over this source (world socialist web site), but again, this was the result of a google search. If you were actually to read the article you would notice that it has references to various other sources including major European newspaper articles printed before the attacks about how their governments told us the attacks were going to happen, what the targets would be and the fact that commercial airliners would be used.
-
Re:HP's demise is important
Long gone are they days of company loyalty to it's employees. Gone are the days where building something was worth it. Where pride in those accomplishments too precident over profits.
Even the Japanese companies who virtually guarenteed their employees a job for life have laid people off.
Wake up and smell the coffee people. We live in a disposable world now. If it breaks, replace it. Don't fix it. If you don't want it any more, throw it away.
The only people that matter are the investors, and they only care about the bottom line. Not how you got there... Not what the journey was like, just where you ended up.
Companies used to accuse employees of being job jumpers, and only being concerned about there salaries... Well, now it's the only way to survive.
HP/Compaq is only the latest visible instance of this trend.
Someone mentioned DEC in these threads. Did you ever hear HOW DEC laid off it's employees? They called them on Sunday night and told them not to report to work on Monday morning. Appearently, Sunday dinners became a silent even where people JUMPED when the phone rang.
It's not personal. It's just business. -
Re:New Anti-Terrorism Laws put to good use?
If the airlines are held liable, then so too are the airports involved, their security, Boeing, the FAA, NORAD, USAF, Microsoft (FS 2000), Germany,
Actually Germany wouldn't be liable since they warned
us about it well in advance along with France, Israel, Egypt, and several other countries. Good thing too, otherwise we wouldn't have had time to pull our air defenses prior to the attack and it might not have succeeded.
-
Re:You cant define "ethical" until you define "pro
An American programmer goes nuts trying to work within a group of Indian programmers who in his mind "write half-assed code, cut corners, and cover up mistakes."
*True*, I've seen this first hand when I visited India, especially true in Muslim countries (OK, to be PC countries where majority of people just happen to be Muslim). Here in England it took the Titanic. The whole establishment said it was indestructible then BOOM, there went the reputation of the civil engineers and builders. The whole of England looked up at them as if they were Gods, the constructors of bridges and ships. They had fallen off that pedestal. Laws were brought in about building codes. Here we still haven't recovered from that, people still wear seat belts, and builders still are forced to follow building codes.
Meanwhile, an Indian programmer goes nuts trying to work within a group of American programmers, who in his mind are slow, lazy and underproductive team members.In India after the Bhopal disaster, were new enforced laws brought into existence that would prevent a repeat? No. That BP/Amoco gas pipe that everyone in Nigeria was told NOT TO GO NEAR. What happened? Boom and lots of people died. Quoting,
There have been similar incidents in other parts of Africa. More than 30 Kenyans died in July as they collected petrol from an overturned tanker lorry. In Cameroon, about 120 died as they gathered fuel at the scene of a railway accident.
Did I miss something, or have the scenes from Mad Max with the fuel shortages become reality? To give a more measurable indication of this, third world driving is world famous, neither the right nor the left side is reserved for cars driving in a particular direction. Instead vehicles are just grateful that a road exists at all and drive in a haphazard way. If you watch Lonely Planet on the Discovery Travel & Leisure channel you will see that head-on collisions occur far more than any other in all countries except developed ones. Here are some statistics (scroll down to automobiles). From this same source, I quote,
Ferries in places like Bangladesh, Haiti, The Philippines and Hong Kong have had major disasters from capsizing due to overloading and collision. In roughly an eight-year period, there were more than 360 ferry boat accidents killing 11,350 people.
There is a basic lack of awareness and a fundamental difference in culture. Many Americans look upon the Chinese eating dogs and horses as disgusting and thus nobody on this planet can approach this subject with a truly open mind, except God. Is it so difficult to believe that Indian programmers can have different primal objectives than American coders? After all American cars are (or at least were) constructed for luxury, Japanese cars have a fundamental shift in construction methodologies and objectives towards reliability and modular construction.Like in the US, if you picked up a dog and ripped his heart out in the mall everyone would be like "Oh my God!" but if you do it in a market in China/India it's, well, it's like pointing out that the sky is blue. This lack of respect for animal life and human life (road crash statistics) is indicative of the peoples' thinking. Anyone says, "but eberybody is different" is wrong to some degree. There's always some level of conformity. Even a staunch anarchist in the US can drive, he doesn't "disobey" red lights all the time and "ignore" stop signs all the time. A true anarchist would sit at the roadside and throw roadkill at passing vehicles, would piss in the middle of the freeway stopping all the cars, would attack a drive-thru bank with a sledgehammer, would walk in the street with a long knife in his hand, would throw a lit cigarrete on the floor at the gas station so he doesn't have to pay for his gas, etc.
I could fill this post with my personal experiences whilst visiting India e.g. electrician "If it catchs fire, then I give you half your money back and I fix it". Suffice it to say that look at my website to see the conditions your Indian software is written under. Notice the walls inside the houses - no wallpaper, shredded paint. But that's normal and natural, npbody notices it, it doesn't occur to them, just as making dangerous shortcuts whilst designing & coding don't occur to them. Same as that lost puppy look that you get when you tell a newbie that his PC has been fried because he opened an email with an attachment. He then says "What's an attachment" the thought never occurs, same as nobody *demands* to look at a company's balance sheet in the middle of a job interview. Read this to find out what these countries are actually like. No marketing trash. News like this happens all the time. I mean skyscrapers collapse by themselves all the time - they don't need Osama binLaden.
-
Re:Why?
Post a reputable link to a story about this and maybe people will beleive what you're saying.
Sorry for the delay in responding. Hopefully you check your user page for replies.
Anyhow, a quick search found this article
This isn't where I originally found the information, but it is a good summary of a lot of the relevant information.
Don't let the fact that the site is the "world socialist web site" allow you to disregard it out of hand. It was my first visit to the site which I found through a google search. They have references to all of their statements in the story.
If you do read this, please post at least an acknowledgement so I know I didn't waste my time posting this so late.
Thanks.
-
Re:Weather Man, tell me when to launch ICBMBoy, you're ignorant. Japan has the highest-quality military in Asia. And it's not tiny, either, despite the "SDF" label.
I'm not going to even get into it, but the Constitution you refer to was written by Americans, not the Japanese themselves. The repeal of Article 9 has been debated for many years, and Japan may well repudiate it in the next few years, and become a "normal" nation with seagoing navy and overseas bases.
-
Can Freedom Strangle Herself?
As several have mentioned, there are some precedent laws dealing with libel over the internet. Pretty disgruntling. I wonder why this escaped the mainstream radar? Surely the ACLU or Oprah would have something to say about it.
DISCLAIMER: I made no intentionally misleading or disparaging comments in this internet post about Oprah Winfrey, the ACLU, or the Texas Cattlemen's Association.
And neither did Slashdot. -
Re:Don't confuse punishment and revenge.
> So let me get this straight - you think I have been brainwashed by watching TV but you know the truth.
> May I ask where you learned this truth? Was it from TV? Was it from a newspaper? Do you honestly think
> the press in your country is fair and impartial but the press in mine isn't? It sounds like you have been brainwashed.
> May I ask where you learned this truth?
Sure! I read around. I went to a library, I read some history books. I spoke to people living in countries
like Israel over the net. I had the fortune to speak to a holidaying Isralie in person on New Year's.
He didn't have a good thing to say about the US. He was happy the towers fell like a cheap tent.
For the record he didn't like Palestinians, or the war between the two Races.
And yes, he'd served time in the military.
> It sounds like you have been brainwashed.
Yet I'm the one who's got something to say apart from "Kill terrorists, the US rocks, if you disagree you're obviously
wrong!"
> Where exactly are you talking about? Saudi Arabia?
> Do you think we erected any bases without permission?
I'll concede here. I couldn' find out much about US military bases in the 20 mins I spent looking.
My personal opinion, however, is that your military presence in many countries is unwelcome and resented by the common
populace.
>No, I don't we are innocent. But I do think that we try to be good.
> What separates me from you is that I actually vote for people who I think
> will make the right decisions in my name regarding our relations with other countries.
LOL. I'm 20 and I've voted in about 6 elections all up, 1 of them a federal election another 1 a by-election.
I feel I voted for the most responsible candidate, that's what elections are (technically) about.
Contrary to popular belief, the US isn't the only country on the planet to have democratic elections.
Hell, isn't it true that 25% of your citizens vote in elections ? Over here, (Australia) it's compulsary.
What seperates you and I is blind Nationalism.
> I know it doesn't always work but what else can I do?
> The point is I try to do the right thing.
Agreed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you, yourself do a thing, apart from vote every now and then.
You could give blood, you could give money, or join the Red Cross or some other charity organisation.
Odds are you've got a job and a life though, which rules these out. In that case you could educate yourself
and your friends on *why this all happened in the first place*.
> The terrorists on 911 did the opposite - the tried to kill innocent people.
> Doesn't that make any sense to you?
Does it make sense to me ? Yes it does. Those people were not innocent of electing governments.
Governments who,by their actions brought this upon themselves and their citizens. Why was the US attacked
and not (not so great) Britan, Iraq, Canada or some other country. Consider that.
They may be extremists and Terrorists, but the world works on cause and effect.
That they use brutal, 'underhand' tactics is part of terror warfare, they don't have large organised armies to
mount an assault with.
> What would you suggest we do in response???
Hold an international summit on US foreign policy ? Oh that's right, you're above peer review.
Rooting out and destroying the Taliban was logical. Now there are wars in the Israel area which you support.
Making an effort to solve these problems beyond 'killing all threats to US citizens' might help too.
Stop screwing over so many countries, weather this be through trade sanctions, supplying arms or whatever else.
>I definitely think you are the one who is brainwashed.
Keep telling yourself that mate :o) In the meantime, get an education.
General Links
Why is America Hated in the Middle East?
ATTACK ON AMERICA: AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE (Professor Ali Khan,Washburn University School of Law)
The Cost of Israel to U.S. Taxpayers
-- Human Rights Links --
U.S Foreign Policy and Human Rights
Organization of American States human rights panel opposes Bush policy on POWs
Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights and the Drug war.
Afghan prisoners arrive in Cuba
Amnesty International USA -
Re:Why do you all hate this?
> All I read here are negative comments! What's so
> bad about this? In the arcades in the UK, we
> have a stupid game where you hold a metal bars
> with your hand, you put the money in, and hold
> onto them for as long as possible. What they do
> is vibrate extremely quickly and ends up getting
> your hands hot, and then it feels like your
> whole arm has gone numb. Whoever holds longest
> wins. Same thing.
Now we know why the British government held out as long as it did before paying worker's compensation for vibration white finger. -
Re:Foregone conclusions
well I don't know IBM seems like a pretty descent company . . .
.aside from helping the Nazis implement the holocaust,
yea corporations have as much ethics as. . .. well they don't have much ethics at all. -
Re:ok, let me get this straight..."American" is governed by the same grammatical rules as English - you may be a little creative with your spelling from time to time, but its still English.
If you believe everything your government tells you about war, then I suggest you go here.
-
Re:It's the same as mail in votes...
With a mail in ballot, there's still a paper trail, and a real signature. It's an easier audit trail. So that the newspapers can figure out months later who really won.
G/PG/P signatures are too complicated for the average person. The technical aspects that would be required for internet-balloting are way too complicated for the average Joe.
Now, "smart card" balloting, that would be something.... -
Re:A matter of trust
The Chinese have thought of that as well, and are working towards a solution.
-
Re:Patriot Act in the rest of the world...
Tony and his cronies write some really attrocious laws that have already limited your freedoms, including RIPA and the Terrorism Act
Home Office extends online snooping laws
The Terrorism Act 2000
Then there is Echelon of course
This is how we know Echelon exists
We may have The Magna Carta and the Human Rights Act in theory, however in practice you hang by only a very thin thread, like the student who was arrested for having an interest in the David Shaylor case
British student arrested under Official Secrets Act
Now if only I could clone Guy Fawkes... -
Re:On the subject of gaming....
Well, my truthful analysis of your nation was on-topic in the post you linked. It is a new level of lock-step McCarthyism to label anything that may question the decisions of your 'leaders' as "un-America", i have to commend you citizen, You Are Doing Good Work.
Seeing as how the truth makes me a " Un-American* Troll", I will repost them here for your pleasure:Read Here to learn how Bush has appointed ex-Iran-Contra Terrorists and convicted Congressional perjurer to key posts. Seeing all these cold-war CIA criminals in cabinet makes you wonder about GWB's father's involvement.
Click Here to learn how America has its own state sponsored Terrorist Training Camp, Colourfully called the School of Americas. Learn how its graduates form death squads in Central and South America.
Click here to learn about the United States Department of Defence's plan to kill domestic and foreign civilians in order to create a plausible excuse to start a war with Cuba during the 'ColdWar'. Funny, based on the actions/reaction of America and its citizens based on the WTC incident, you'd think that something like that might actaully work... or come to reality.... makes you wonder doesn't it.
*Thank you - Im glad you noticed. Your opinion is im "un-american", because you american, most others (them being Citizens of the World) would simply see me as truthful or possibly insightful... but hey, could be worse, I could be a xenophobic, ignorant jingoist.
-
Not as bad as in Britain...yet
The US power elite are using these latest terrorist attacks as an excuse to implement attacks on democratic rights they couldn't pull off before. Scary stuff. At least it's not as bad as in Britain: the following description is of measures in the 'Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Bill' that the Brit government is trying to pass this year:
'Under a "voluntary code of practice" drawn up by the home secretary, communication service providers must retain information on their customers for possible use by police and other law enforcement agencies. Directly contradicting the supposedly voluntary character of this arrangement, clause 102 states that the home secretary will be able to force communications services to comply.
Data retained will include an individual's geographical location determined through their mobile phone; sender and recipient details on emails; a complete log of a person's Internet sessions, including their IP address; and the address of all Web sites they have visited. Communication service providers are currently only able to retain such information for billing purposes, after which it must be destroyed.'
(my emphasis).
Damn scary stuff!
I got this information off the World Socialist Website, which I highly reccomend as a great place to get good news and info. (See Britain: government unveils draconian "anti-terror" bill) -
Not as bad as in Britain...yet
The US power elite are using these latest terrorist attacks as an excuse to implement attacks on democratic rights they couldn't pull off before. Scary stuff. At least it's not as bad as in Britain: the following description is of measures in the 'Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Bill' that the Brit government is trying to pass this year:
'Under a "voluntary code of practice" drawn up by the home secretary, communication service providers must retain information on their customers for possible use by police and other law enforcement agencies. Directly contradicting the supposedly voluntary character of this arrangement, clause 102 states that the home secretary will be able to force communications services to comply.
Data retained will include an individual's geographical location determined through their mobile phone; sender and recipient details on emails; a complete log of a person's Internet sessions, including their IP address; and the address of all Web sites they have visited. Communication service providers are currently only able to retain such information for billing purposes, after which it must be destroyed.'
(my emphasis).
Damn scary stuff!
I got this information off the World Socialist Website, which I highly reccomend as a great place to get good news and info. (See Britain: government unveils draconian "anti-terror" bill) -
I disagree with Cox because......
First and foremost I respect and admire the work Mr. Cox does. And just as I am allowed to respect and admire his work I freely choose to disagree with his overt political opinions regarding the changelogs and the withholding of them from US citizens based on a law he is interpreting to include those changelogs.
Secondly I admit I am not an expert on the DMCA but from what I have read and studied so far his camparison of publishing changelogs -vs- circumvention devices/reverse engineering of document protection is the equivalent to comparing apples -vs- oranges.
In the Skylarov case for example,Mr. Skylarov wrote code to circumvent Adobes ebook encryption scheme.. correct? Then Adobe complained to authorities prompting an investigation and subsequently withdrew its complaint. After investigating it was determined by the FBI that he (Skylarov) violated US law by writing and distributing a "crack", code to circumvent Adobes encryption scheme so that people would not have to purchase content in Adobe ebook format. With his "crack" one could gain the content without paying for it. Whether or not you agree with proprietary formats or not, "stealing" it by way of circumvention is still petty theft in my opinion.
Back to how Cox fits in... Why would Mr. Cox fear his publishing of changelogs would be in violation? I have yet to see on Slashdot or his diary pages or from the main pages at that website a detailed explanation of exactly WHY he feels he needed to do this.
And if I am right it would take a whole lot more than simply publishing the changelogs to violate the DMCA. Correct me if I am wrong, but please show me proof (from sources that are legitamate). Would "NOT" publishing the changelogs feed into the premise that the DMCA is legitamite? Wouldn't the owner of the code have to actually submit a complaint to the authorities to be charged with a violation of the DMCA, similar to what Adobe did to Mr. Skylarov? BTW, since the linux kernel is open source and licensed under the GPL doesn't that in effect offer protection against a DMCA violation for publishing changelogs? I mean does Mr. Cox think Linus or someone else is going to complain to the FBI that he has somehow violated the DMCA by publishing changes he made to the Linux kernel? Why does he NOT worry about the changes to the kernel itself then? The kernel is obviously published all over the world includeing the US and it has his changes in it already doesn't it? That kinda seems oxymoronic in my opinion.
Lastly, the irony is that I have read some comments in this artice and on a previous Slashdot article that suggest the US laws are squashing freedom and the US government is oppressing its people, while Mr. Cox nor anyone else has mentioned anything about the UK's own RIP (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act of 2000) from the Crown itself, which is a quite scary peice of legislation and comparable to the DMCA only it has a broader, less defined scope about it. Some links on the RIP are here: World Socialist Website , SiliconValley.com , ZDNet , The Register.
In summary, withholding changelogs sounds like just a little more "America bashing". While I typically choose not to be anti-anyone else my feelings of patriotism are quite high due to recent events in America. My personal view of a non-US citizen withholding information from US citizens/developers is counter productive in repealing the DMCA. Should he feel so strongly about the DMCA then I would invite him to become a US citizen and VOTE to repeal this ignorant law instead of bitching about it from some other place in the world that has its own share of ignorant laws and regulations. Yes, do something...anything but legitimizing the DMCA by withholding changelogs!
Zoom