Uh you wanna know why Brazil's economy was in dire straits through the 70s and 80s? Because they practiced exactly that policy. It's called import substitution, and it crushes innovation and efficiency like Comcast does small municipal ISPs.
Most of the time I let things go, but your post is particularly infuriating, because of the sheer amount of nonsense it contains. Prior to the 19th century, it was not God or a muse who did the work, however, there was certainly much more work created in the name of someone. If artists had been unwilling to take credit for their work, then we would have never known who wrote Bach's works, as an example. While Bach certainly signed some of his manuscripts with Soli Deo gloria (Glory to God Alone), he also had no hesitation with signing his own name.
Artists create for themselves, the consumer is simply a beneficiary of that. Art exists regardless of the consumer.
The fans of Star Wars (and I consider myself one - I have the originals on VHS) do not own the work. The idea that artists (although I sometimes hesitate to call Lucas an artist) owe anything to their fans is ridiculous, and is a product of the sense of entitlement that we see in the "developed" world. What is arrogant is not Lucas' refusal to simply release the originals as a good transfer, but the idea that people who didn't have anything to do with the creative process somehow deserve the right to place demands on the creator.
The reason the Conservatives won a (not so strong really) majority is primarily due to Liberals not fielding strong candidates and having shitty leadership from Ignatieff. I can't recall exact percentages, but the number of Liberal ridings that turned Conservative is astounding. it should also be noted that this is Harper's first majority government, and if (when) he breaks the trust of the people who swung their vote to the conservative side, it will be back to a minority-coalition quagmire, unless either the Liberals or the NDP radically change things. Still this is reprehensible bullshit and I will make as many people aware of it as possible.
The more I read about geothermal, the less I like it. Economically optimal locations are few in number and tend to be located far from population centres. As I continued to read, thoughts of of how the process of drilling could contribute to earthquakes, landslides and other forms of natural "disasters" ran through my head. Lo and behold: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=geothermal-drilling-earthquakes Now I Know the editors over at scientific american are a bunch of marxist hippies (most likely bearded), but still, it does make one pause for a minute.
Yes but would you rather your government subsidise renewable energy projects or racist immigration laws? Obviously that is a gross simplification of the situation, but it's pokes at the gist of the problem.
If Lady Gag-me-with-a-stick-a gets to use a pseudonym, what about the rest of us? Or are there different rules for the peasantry? I know...I shouldn't ask rhetorical questions...
Oh please. Globalization has been around for a couple of centuries, the only thing that has changed is the scope of operations. By encompassing more of the globe, more people have better lives than they ever had before. (btw how's that computer you're using working out for you?) You should apologize to the people in Dresden who went through that - to compare inner cities in the US to that is ridiculous hyperbole. I'm very grateful that if things ever became as bad here in North America as they are in Somalia that you aren't my neighbour - if they want to feed themselves and have proper medical care then perhaps they should stop shooting at each other in a bloody civil war and try and work together to build their society. They could start by asking for help (re)building ports, as they have a large coastline to work with, which would provide jobs and money to fund other activities.
I know that it's cliche, but someone has to bring up nietzsche at this point. He kept pointing out that people in "the modern era" were really just carts on a rail, regardless of their social-economic status. Whoever you are, there are things that "are expected of you", which, if you chose to avoid, either make you "weird", or even downright rejected.
Obviously that's not unique to the modern era, nor even to "Western" societies. Any brief reading of history or anthropology of a different culture will tell a person that much. Even societies without a real social hierarchy such as the !Kung people of the Kalahari desert (the guy from The Gods Must Be Crazy was !Kung) have expectations which are placed on people. The ideas talked about in the GP post relate of course to relative poverty, which while not fatal, can be quite cruel to the psyche. However, since I don't have any definitive answer to what our society lacks (I'd say a little more real compassion, a touch more tolerance, and a little less booze and greed would be good starting points) who am I to argue Nietzsche...
KORAIL bonds are rated A1 by Moody's Investor services. One woudl hope they would perform due diligence (although after the mortgage fiasco, who the hell knows) Additionally, KORAIL is audited by independent auditors.
Yeah for business sure - I taught enough businessmen English in Seoul, but try getting an English speaking taxi driver in Shanghai, or Tokyo. In Seoul you can if you're willing to pay a premium (still cheaper than taxis in Vancouver though lol). The Philippines is a little different story due to being a colony of the US. India of course because they were a colony of England. I never said people would resent you if you didn't speak their language - I said you would enjoy living in the country much more. However, most people will appreciate efforts made to learn the local language, and as cliched as it sounds, it will broaden one's horizons.
If you've ever gone to China, Japan or South Korea - you'd understand that learning the language is essential if you want to enjoy living there. Since language plays a role in shaping culture, your suggestion of studying the culture would of necessity include studying the language.
I do agree though that people who don't learn to speak Chinese will not become slaves.
Some of their other infrastructure is coming in the form of high speed rail
Oh, that classic Government Big Dick project? High speed rail doesn't pay off. There's like one high speed rail line in the world that makes more than it cost, in the densest part of Japan. That's an example of terrible government mismanagement and GDP inflation, not forward thinking.
Slashdot Mirror
Uh you wanna know why Brazil's economy was in dire straits through the 70s and 80s? Because they practiced exactly that policy. It's called import substitution, and it crushes innovation and efficiency like Comcast does small municipal ISPs.
dammit, now I want a bacon cheesburger.
Most of the time I let things go, but your post is particularly infuriating, because of the sheer amount of nonsense it contains.
Prior to the 19th century, it was not God or a muse who did the work, however, there was certainly much more work created in the name of someone. If artists had been unwilling to take credit for their work, then we would have never known who wrote Bach's works, as an example. While Bach certainly signed some of his manuscripts with Soli Deo gloria (Glory to God Alone), he also had no hesitation with signing his own name.
Artists create for themselves, the consumer is simply a beneficiary of that. Art exists regardless of the consumer.
The fans of Star Wars (and I consider myself one - I have the originals on VHS) do not own the work. The idea that artists (although I sometimes hesitate to call Lucas an artist) owe anything to their fans is ridiculous, and is a product of the sense of entitlement that we see in the "developed" world. What is arrogant is not Lucas' refusal to simply release the originals as a good transfer, but the idea that people who didn't have anything to do with the creative process somehow deserve the right to place demands on the creator.
The reason the Conservatives won a (not so strong really) majority is primarily due to Liberals not fielding strong candidates and having shitty leadership from Ignatieff. I can't recall exact percentages, but the number of Liberal ridings that turned Conservative is astounding.
it should also be noted that this is Harper's first majority government, and if (when) he breaks the trust of the people who swung their vote to the conservative side, it will be back to a minority-coalition quagmire, unless either the Liberals or the NDP radically change things.
Still this is reprehensible bullshit and I will make as many people aware of it as possible.
So basically it sounds like the phone cartel is using every bit of their power derived from the oligopoly to exclude Google. Go free market!
and a lot of drinking!
unless demand falls outside of that 50 songs...
The more I read about geothermal, the less I like it. Economically optimal locations are few in number and tend to be located far from population centres. As I continued to read, thoughts of of how the process of drilling could contribute to earthquakes, landslides and other forms of natural "disasters" ran through my head. Lo and behold:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=geothermal-drilling-earthquakes
Now I Know the editors over at scientific american are a bunch of marxist hippies (most likely bearded), but still, it does make one pause for a minute.
Isn't the problem with geothermal that there are very few spots where it is feasible to create said "hole in the ground"?
I shall use that darker ink next time. It was supposed to be a comment about old people trying to be cool by using things from pop culture.
Pop culture? That's just not on.
Yes but would you rather your government subsidise renewable energy projects or racist immigration laws? Obviously that is a gross simplification of the situation, but it's pokes at the gist of the problem.
Is Google+ for doing business? Facebook and Myspace had options specifically for artists. G+ doesn't...yet.
If Lady Gag-me-with-a-stick-a gets to use a pseudonym, what about the rest of us? Or are there different rules for the peasantry?
I know...I shouldn't ask rhetorical questions...
Oh please. Globalization has been around for a couple of centuries, the only thing that has changed is the scope of operations. By encompassing more of the globe, more people have better lives than they ever had before. (btw how's that computer you're using working out for you?)
You should apologize to the people in Dresden who went through that - to compare inner cities in the US to that is ridiculous hyperbole.
I'm very grateful that if things ever became as bad here in North America as they are in Somalia that you aren't my neighbour - if they want to feed themselves and have proper medical care then perhaps they should stop shooting at each other in a bloody civil war and try and work together to build their society. They could start by asking for help (re)building ports, as they have a large coastline to work with, which would provide jobs and money to fund other activities.
Ah this canard. It is true that we have slightly lengthier waiting lists for elective surgeries, however this does not result in hordes of Canadians traveling to the US for medical procedures. Nor does it indicate that the majority of Canadians are unhappy with medical services.
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:roy0ew8NlLoJ:www.amsa.org/AMSA/Libraries/Committee_Docs/WaitingTimes_primer.sflb.ashx+canada+wait+times+surgery+vs+US&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESh3hRB_jZERWlxlUy6HXPhxfYOhhHZxiu1XLAizzVUQXsBVW-s1rLWx-vlsn7HoeHZi5H48PJNQYSyqNb7v3w-HJ9KPtsFP4eHRwA4VFx281LqqLr1pBujIp0mujkJ7j4U9yzNi&sig=AHIEtbRjy36S9t0DAq2GseOev5bs5uznSw
hmmm my html must be rusty but it was supposed to link to this:
http://www.thewingnuterer.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/obey.png
OBEY
I know that it's cliche, but someone has to bring up nietzsche at this point. He kept pointing out that people in "the modern era" were really just carts on a rail, regardless of their social-economic status. Whoever you are, there are things that "are expected of you", which, if you chose to avoid, either make you "weird", or even downright rejected.
Obviously that's not unique to the modern era, nor even to "Western" societies. Any brief reading of history or anthropology of a different culture will tell a person that much. Even societies without a real social hierarchy such as the !Kung people of the Kalahari desert (the guy from The Gods Must Be Crazy was !Kung) have expectations which are placed on people.
The ideas talked about in the GP post relate of course to relative poverty, which while not fatal, can be quite cruel to the psyche. However, since I don't have any definitive answer to what our society lacks (I'd say a little more real compassion, a touch more tolerance, and a little less booze and greed would be good starting points) who am I to argue Nietzsche...
No, like Star Wars.
Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
KORAIL bonds are rated A1 by Moody's Investor services. One woudl hope they would perform due diligence (although after the mortgage fiasco, who the hell knows) Additionally, KORAIL is audited by independent auditors.
Yeah for business sure - I taught enough businessmen English in Seoul, but try getting an English speaking taxi driver in Shanghai, or Tokyo. In Seoul you can if you're willing to pay a premium (still cheaper than taxis in Vancouver though lol). The Philippines is a little different story due to being a colony of the US. India of course because they were a colony of England.
I never said people would resent you if you didn't speak their language - I said you would enjoy living in the country much more. However, most people will appreciate efforts made to learn the local language, and as cliched as it sounds, it will broaden one's horizons.
If you've ever gone to China, Japan or South Korea - you'd understand that learning the language is essential if you want to enjoy living there. Since language plays a role in shaping culture, your suggestion of studying the culture would of necessity include studying the language.
I do agree though that people who don't learn to speak Chinese will not become slaves.
Some of their other infrastructure is coming in the form of high speed rail
Oh, that classic Government Big Dick project? High speed rail doesn't pay off. There's like one high speed rail line in the world that makes more than it cost, in the densest part of Japan. That's an example of terrible government mismanagement and GDP inflation, not forward thinking.
That's not true. Korea's high speed rail has been profitable since 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea_Train_Express#Ridership_evolution
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2011/jun/22/jon-stewarts-politifact-segment-annotated-edition/
Jon Stewart merely listed them - politifact actually did the fact checking.