Speaking as one who has been on the internet since when there were fewer than 10,000 hosts connected, I'd say your memory is flawed. "Flame wars" were as bad (or even worse) then.
There is a LOT more fear about what you can get away with now, because there are a LOT more laws about whether some speech is too free. And yet the flame wars have not been reduced one iota. Here again we've given up freedom for NO improvement in our situation.
We can argue all day whether the planes are SAFE. I'm sure they can be made safe enough eventually.
But the important point here is: THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO DEPLOY MILITARY EQUIPMENT AGAINST U.S. CITIZENS ON DOMESTIC SOIL.
The details of the technology are secondary to this violation of Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. And, again, we can argue about how much of the act is still available to citizens, but the real point is LET'S NOT GIVE UP ANY MORE!
it cumulatively helps you understand how the world works, making you a better person
If you define 'better person' as one who is happy, well adjusted and is nice to and trusting of others, then I doubt it. I'm pretty sure the more news you consume, the 'worse' you become.
If you define 'better person' as one who does critical analysis before casting a vote to improve society, then you may be right. However, I contend few people define 'better' in this way.
My subscriber ID is NOT associated with any person's information, so it is not equivalent to a "person's identity." It is anonymous by definition.
It is true they can distinguish my anonymous calls from someone else's anonymous calls (by ID). But they cannot get to my identity--so the calls are anonymous.
I'm pretty sure "anonymous" means "not having any person's identity associated with it."
I vaguely recall my information theory class and if "anonymous" means "not having any information at all associated with it" (as it would seem you claim), then I'm not sure any communication is possible.
Even if you scrawl a message on the bathroom wall, that wouldn't be totally anonymous (according to your definition) since there's lots of axillary information in the message beyond the content. But, c'mon.
I have a Tracfone (which works without issue). When I 'turned on' the service via the web, there was a link to register without giving any name, address, or ANY other info. [They did ask for a zip code so you can 7-digit dial in that area, but if you're willing to 10-digit dial, you could use any random zip.] Periodically, I go to Wal-Mart and buy a refill card with cash and type the digits into the phone.
So explain again how I'm not anonymous to the tower? Where is it finding my name exactly?
BTW, one nice side effect: my average monthly cost since Feb08 has been less than $8. Who else has such a cheap plan?
I am also saddened. But we have been moved to this mindset by legislatures that have declared it ILLEGAL to infringe on copyrights (remember when that was tort?). And now we're all surprised that every company thinks that [anything that might decrease profits] is a COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.
This sucks, but the people are in a CORRECT mindset given the shitty environment in which we must all live now.
Let's say you take a photograph of a class of graduating seniors. Being in possession of this photo is technically against the law in New York. That's because having images of more than 250 people's irises is illegal! And even if there's only 249 people in the picture, if you own any other photo of a person's face, then off to jail!
I can see it now: "Okay everyone, say cheese and CLOSE YOUR EYES!"
A requirement for the person to be contacted before personal information changes hands.
This is one of those statements that everyone would agree on in principle, then in practice becomes a nightmarish mess. Let's go through some of scenarios in which information "changes hands."
A doctor generates some personal information about you. He then dictates this info into a microphone. Does the information "change hands" when it is transcribed by automated software into electronic form? What if the machine on which it is done is owned not by the doctor, but by a vendor? And if a subcontractor getting it is indeed "changing hands," then what if half of the IT department are actually subcontractors and not employees? If one of them works on a queue on a server where your info might live, has it "changed hands?" And what if the subcontractor who runs the box has a subcontractor with the maintenance contract who might come across your info as he tries to fix something? How many times has the info "changed hands?"
I can easily see a situation where the doctor gets some info, then within 24 hours, 50 forms have to be filled out to get the info through the 50 entities who have some control over some part of the normal process to deliver care.
Wherever you draw the line, the policy will be too lax to prevent fraud and too cumbersome to actually work in the real world.
But it sounds good. And I guess that's all a politician has to worry about.
for people who don't have medical coverage.... do you think the hospital is going to take the loss?
If the patient has no medical coverage, how do you propose they "pass these expenses off to the insurance companies"? Which insurance company is going to be cutting a check for services rendered to someone who does not have a policy?
No, what happens is the hospital takes massive losses on an ER for this very reason. That's why private practice clinics open up all over--they skim off the profitable insured patients leaving the deadbeats for the ER. Thus more losses for the hospital.
Hospitals around here are closing ERs (and birthing centers--same reason). What do you do if you have a trauma? Hope you can hold on for the 2 hour ride to the nearest ER.
Personally, I have no problem with government health care because there will be rationing and less services available. This will actually increase people's overall quality of life since more people will die earlier. YES, I SAID IT.
such an event would either require... decades of change and transformation in how the military works
Good thing they're getting started now. So even though we might not get to, at least we can look forward to our children huddling in bombed out cellar holes scurrying in fear of the US military.
There are magazines with no ads. There newspapers without ads. There are movies without ads. There are television shows without ads.
So to say these only exist because of the ads cannot be true.
What you meant to say is "I'd put ads on them, while claiming that everybody else would too." Even though that's patently false since obviously some people don't. Sleep well, douche.
If the teenage girl had been graphically murdered they'd be nominated for Oscars rather than put in prison.
And if she had been portrayed as being chained in a dungeon and having various body parts sliced off in slow motion, it'd be pretty much every third dvd now playing at Blockbuster.
So the lesson: Sex porn is illegal but torture porn is perfectly OK. Nice job assholes.
The fact that all the sites that are not pay sites are that way because of advertising.
Maybe this utter bullshit lets you sleep while annoying everyone on the internet, but I'm here to tell you your claim is not true. This must be what marketing types tell themselves, but--big surprise--marketing types LIE.
My web site has been up since 1997. It is not a pay site. It has no ads. Well, no paying ads--I do link to some sites to help them and I have a fake ad as well.
Hope I didn't accidentally destroy the internet by NOT collecting money. Fuckers....
Slashdot Mirror
(the Arpanet was never this bad)
Speaking as one who has been on the internet since when there were fewer than 10,000 hosts connected, I'd say your memory is flawed. "Flame wars" were as bad (or even worse) then.
There is a LOT more fear about what you can get away with now, because there are a LOT more laws about whether some speech is too free. And yet the flame wars have not been reduced one iota. Here again we've given up freedom for NO improvement in our situation.
Giving a 'fake' SSN is not perjury. It is however 'identity theft' which is a federal crime.
We can argue all day whether the planes are SAFE. I'm sure they can be made safe enough eventually.
But the important point here is: THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO DEPLOY MILITARY EQUIPMENT AGAINST U.S. CITIZENS ON DOMESTIC SOIL.
The details of the technology are secondary to this violation of Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. And, again, we can argue about how much of the act is still available to citizens, but the real point is LET'S NOT GIVE UP ANY MORE!
I've argued this for years. Check out Why There Are No Flying Cars.
Summary: "Taking the human out of the loop means the lawyers will kill it."
it cumulatively helps you understand how the world works, making you a better person
If you define 'better person' as one who is happy, well adjusted and is nice to and trusting of others, then I doubt it. I'm pretty sure the more news you consume, the 'worse' you become.
If you define 'better person' as one who does critical analysis before casting a vote to improve society, then you may be right. However, I contend few people define 'better' in this way.
I mean, who would YOU rather hang out with?
My subscriber ID is NOT associated with any person's information, so it is not equivalent to a "person's identity." It is anonymous by definition.
It is true they can distinguish my anonymous calls from someone else's anonymous calls (by ID). But they cannot get to my identity--so the calls are anonymous.
[Jean Valjean] could not hold a job, travel, or live without permission from the police
And having this control over the populace worked out really well for the authorities in that society. Hey, I know! Let's do the same fucking thing!
I'm pretty sure "anonymous" means "not having any person's identity associated with it."
I vaguely recall my information theory class and if "anonymous" means "not having any information at all associated with it" (as it would seem you claim), then I'm not sure any communication is possible.
Even if you scrawl a message on the bathroom wall, that wouldn't be totally anonymous (according to your definition) since there's lots of axillary information in the message beyond the content. But, c'mon.
I have a Tracfone (which works without issue). When I 'turned on' the service via the web, there was a link to register without giving any name, address, or ANY other info. [They did ask for a zip code so you can 7-digit dial in that area, but if you're willing to 10-digit dial, you could use any random zip.] Periodically, I go to Wal-Mart and buy a refill card with cash and type the digits into the phone.
So explain again how I'm not anonymous to the tower? Where is it finding my name exactly?
BTW, one nice side effect: my average monthly cost since Feb08 has been less than $8. Who else has such a cheap plan?
I am also saddened. But we have been moved to this mindset by legislatures that have declared it ILLEGAL to infringe on copyrights (remember when that was tort?). And now we're all surprised that every company thinks that [anything that might decrease profits] is a COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.
This sucks, but the people are in a CORRECT mindset given the shitty environment in which we must all live now.
Let's say you take a photograph of a class of graduating seniors. Being in possession of this photo is technically against the law in New York. That's because having images of more than 250 people's irises is illegal! And even if there's only 249 people in the picture, if you own any other photo of a person's face, then off to jail!
I can see it now: "Okay everyone, say cheese and CLOSE YOUR EYES!"
A requirement for the person to be contacted before personal information changes hands.
This is one of those statements that everyone would agree on in principle, then in practice becomes a nightmarish mess. Let's go through some of scenarios in which information "changes hands."
A doctor generates some personal information about you. He then dictates this info into a microphone. Does the information "change hands" when it is transcribed by automated software into electronic form? What if the machine on which it is done is owned not by the doctor, but by a vendor? And if a subcontractor getting it is indeed "changing hands," then what if half of the IT department are actually subcontractors and not employees? If one of them works on a queue on a server where your info might live, has it "changed hands?" And what if the subcontractor who runs the box has a subcontractor with the maintenance contract who might come across your info as he tries to fix something? How many times has the info "changed hands?"
I can easily see a situation where the doctor gets some info, then within 24 hours, 50 forms have to be filled out to get the info through the 50 entities who have some control over some part of the normal process to deliver care.
Wherever you draw the line, the policy will be too lax to prevent fraud and too cumbersome to actually work in the real world.
But it sounds good. And I guess that's all a politician has to worry about.
"The four engineers
wear orange brassieres."
Private, non commercial copying and sharing of culture and information will soon be perfectly legal again.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha. Wow, thanks. I needed a good laugh today.
Anyway, good luck with that. I'll be down here with the other Earthlings.
Any attempt to filter content inappropriately would cause a public uproar
Um, the list is secret. How would they know?
If they abuse the system then it can be removed
Um, the list is secret. How would you know?
for people who don't have medical coverage.... do you think the hospital is going to take the loss?
If the patient has no medical coverage, how do you propose they "pass these expenses off to the insurance companies"? Which insurance company is going to be cutting a check for services rendered to someone who does not have a policy?
No, what happens is the hospital takes massive losses on an ER for this very reason. That's why private practice clinics open up all over--they skim off the profitable insured patients leaving the deadbeats for the ER. Thus more losses for the hospital.
Hospitals around here are closing ERs (and birthing centers--same reason). What do you do if you have a trauma? Hope you can hold on for the 2 hour ride to the nearest ER.
Personally, I have no problem with government health care because there will be rationing and less services available. This will actually increase people's overall quality of life since more people will die earlier. YES, I SAID IT.
If the video feed was open to the public ... the spy in the sky program would end pronto
Which is why they won't open it to the public. Turns out what's good for the goose, the gander is not so comfortable with.
such an event would either require ... decades of change and transformation in how the military works
Good thing they're getting started now. So even though we might not get to, at least we can look forward to our children huddling in bombed out cellar holes scurrying in fear of the US military.
My cheapie Mio (~$120) has a "walking" mode where it ignores one ways and allows cut-throughs. This would be useful for a bicyclist.
There are magazines with no ads. There newspapers without ads. There are movies without ads. There are television shows without ads.
So to say these only exist because of the ads cannot be true.
What you meant to say is "I'd put ads on them, while claiming that everybody else would too." Even though that's patently false since obviously some people don't. Sleep well, douche.
All this harm occurs if the photos get out. That seems like an argument for NOT prosecuting this case....
If the teenage girl had been graphically murdered they'd be nominated for Oscars rather than put in prison.
And if she had been portrayed as being chained in a dungeon and having various body parts sliced off in slow motion, it'd be pretty much every third dvd now playing at Blockbuster.
So the lesson: Sex porn is illegal but torture porn is perfectly OK. Nice job assholes.
The fact that all the sites that are not pay sites are that way because of advertising.
Maybe this utter bullshit lets you sleep while annoying everyone on the internet, but I'm here to tell you your claim is not true. This must be what marketing types tell themselves, but--big surprise--marketing types LIE.
My web site has been up since 1997. It is not a pay site. It has no ads. Well, no paying ads--I do link to some sites to help them and I have a fake ad as well.
Hope I didn't accidentally destroy the internet by NOT collecting money. Fuckers....
You can't have a dozen men saying "I really don't wanna go up that hill, I hear gunfire and might get hurt...."
Can. And should.
This one change would advance civilization more than anything else in history.
Can I quickly ask what the fuck an 11 year old is doing with an iPod? Or any device that REQUIRES him to start charging items to your credit card?
Are you people smoking crack?