...why is the USA even bothering to defend North Korea? Right away, if North Korea and South Korea destroyed each other, it would be better for American car companies.
At some point, the USA needs to let go of trying to run the world. There's no gain in it for America, and the world doesn't want to be run anyway.
So North Korea gets the bomb. I don't care. Neither should you.
Well if left alone, the North and South Koreas would likely reunite (albeit with a lot of bloodshed). But we're in hypothetical territory here. Worst case scenario for us, (USA) is that North Korea massacres the South's government and becomes the new head of state.
So we'd have a hybrid nuclear + crazy + high-tech (former S. Korea half at least) rogue nation with a lot of western military tech. They could attack Japan or China or other nations we trade with.
There's a big difference between trying to "run the world" and "trying to leave nothing to chance (or reducing risk)". It's pretty clear the USA isn't a charity sugar-daddy for the world. We look after our own usually, it's human nature. Nations that exhibit civility and maturity we (USA) mostly enjoy trading with and share mutual goals. Loose cannons like N.Korea and the area of tribal borderlands within Afghanistan are quite content causing mayhem and destruction. Perhaps they see it differently, living like it's the stone-age must be cool to them.
Maybe you're just not thinking hard enough, although we can't all agree on the best solution, there are several that are better than letting mass murderers do whatever they damn well please.
"Everyone who loves their all-you-can-eat iPhone data: enjoy it while it lasts."
I'm pretty sure the consumers will figure out this tiered data plan scheme trying to nickel and dime them. I'm betting we'll have our unlimited data plans for as long as we have had in
With Steam infesting every game that comes out nowadays forcing you to tie a game to an account and forcing you to activate online for the sole purpose of killing the second hand market...
You can always try to get the non-Steam version too if Valve isn't the original publisher. I always check the title-specific forums on steampowered.com and look for people complaining about bad patches or poor 3rd party + Valve support. Some games don't work well Steam, easiest to just stay away from those.
With PC games, the prices fall too fast with many titles after 3-4 months. I think most of my RPGs/strategy games were 40% off when I got them after waiting a bit after release while still being *brand new* in box.
But you are right that this is a great idea for console games. Their prices stay inflated far, far longer compared to PC games.
It's like having your very own Replicator.
Except it's not portable or fueled by dilithium crystals.
Instead, it's slower, more messy, employs millions of people, and takes up 38,560 sq. km.
I can't wait until Apple sells me one in 50 years!
I have no sympathy for corporations that complain about the tax code when they pay lawyers to make extra-complicated spaghetti code-like tax fraud schemes.
Compliance is simply filling out the legal paperwork and paying the correct fees to the government.
AKA Corporate lawyers.
The corporation has two choices:
(A) Paying $10 million in US taxes.
(B) Sending $2 million overseas to lease foreign property or other "creative accounting schemes". These are setup to be deliberately hard to track. If you think the US tax code is difficult, these guys get paid to obfuscate it even more.
Either way their lawyers are getting a bucketload of cash for their time.
Corporations which abuse tax shelters take calculated risks and weigh the pros/cons of their actions. Simply not paying their lawyers and not filing any taxes is the third choice but definitely more risky than "option B" since it's so obvious.
It's good that we are finally getting some attention paid to corporate tax abuse. Hopefully Linus's Law kicks in and rules get reinforced and streamlined.
The problem was widespread even pre-2004.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tax/view/
(Please excuse the smaller video quality, PBS has improved but older material is reminiscent of when it was put online, and they rarely re-update.)
Terms like "Willfully ignorant religious moron" get thrown around so much these days.
Frankly, it has lost it's meaning so I propose an alternative.
"Blissfully blessed bubblegum blowers"
Those who actively avoid cognitive confusion and hard questions. Opting to trade mischievous curiosity for comfort, confidence, and bliss.
In all seriousness though, some religious people can be genuinely honest and friendly. Some may even know how to "drive a google".
The dangerous ones are the authority figures who try to micromanage domains that are out of their league.
Yeah school doesn't teach a lot of life skills like managing personal finances. A lot of that has to be learned on your own but at least there's internet help and tips nowadays.
I imagine in the past few decades, most people had to ask their parents. And if your parents were absent or terrible, then it really sucked for the kid.
You forgot scenario #3:
Have a campy 80's movie made about the story.
Then wheeling out the old geezer of a teacher onscreen (who has obviously been self-medicating with drugs trying to forget the whole ordeal.)
You sound like you're trolling.
There's a lot of people in positions of authority and they don't even agree on "moral standards". If anything, we're knee-deep in unskilled labor, we need more tax-payers with high income brackets to buy stuff they don't use.
Public education (below high school) is mostly babysitting so the parents can work. The kids may or may not get a good education but they stay indoors and are usually safe. High school sort of lets go of the brakes and tries to give everyone at least a crash helmet before they turn 18.
By then if you haven't grown up, you get to grow up pretty fast after a few consequences and encounters with crazy/manipulative people that school tried to shield you from.
There's a lot of people out there who try to instill some sense of worth in students. They may not wish to see you flipping burgers or bagging groceries. Those people are genuinely rare, most are just trying to get by and make a living. Then again, I also play online games with friends who have funny stories about their view on the dregs of society. Folks whose poor choices/bad parents early on can lead to really horrible lives. And the lucky folks like to laugh at their expense.
I realize this.
But at the time, they had a clear pricepoint of $40 with no mention of added fees on their website. I only learned of the +$10 per month from the phone rep.
Would you be surprised if a menu listed a meal at "X price" but because you didn't order a dessert, they charge you $5 more? There is no mention of a sale or special going on, this just being their regular prices.
Needless to say, I bit the bullet and got internet anyways at full price. But I never got an explanation as to why they charged it in this style. None of the phone reps could explain why, and hearing it straight from the "horse's mouth" is what you'd hope to expect.
A 3rd-party mod that helps you do better damage rotations or gives a raid warning when deep breaths occur or an opponent's PVP trinket is on cooldown is different from an iPhone app that checks wowarmory.com.
Game mods that directly influence playing the game versus meta-gaming mods that sort information outside the wow servers. And then you have stuff like Auctioneer that sort of straddles both sides.
Cox cable offered internet alone. But I had to pay $10 more than if I was a current cable TV subscriber. Something like $50 per month because I didn't bring a TV with me to my last apartment. Any other Cox user would pay $50 for cable TV and $40 more for internet.
They never gave me any explanation why I couldn't just be billed for $40 for standalone internet.
Blizzard has said that the licence has been moved from The9.com to NetEase.com.
I don't know how they handle character migration across servers but the game won't disappear completely.
Slashdot Mirror
...why is the USA even bothering to defend North Korea? Right away, if North Korea and South Korea destroyed each other, it would be better for American car companies.
At some point, the USA needs to let go of trying to run the world. There's no gain in it for America, and the world doesn't want to be run anyway.
So North Korea gets the bomb. I don't care. Neither should you.
Well if left alone, the North and South Koreas would likely reunite (albeit with a lot of bloodshed). But we're in hypothetical territory here. Worst case scenario for us, (USA) is that North Korea massacres the South's government and becomes the new head of state.
So we'd have a hybrid nuclear + crazy + high-tech (former S. Korea half at least) rogue nation with a lot of western military tech. They could attack Japan or China or other nations we trade with.
There's a big difference between trying to "run the world" and "trying to leave nothing to chance (or reducing risk)". It's pretty clear the USA isn't a charity sugar-daddy for the world. We look after our own usually, it's human nature. Nations that exhibit civility and maturity we (USA) mostly enjoy trading with and share mutual goals. Loose cannons like N.Korea and the area of tribal borderlands within Afghanistan are quite content causing mayhem and destruction. Perhaps they see it differently, living like it's the stone-age must be cool to them.
Maybe you're just not thinking hard enough, although we can't all agree on the best solution, there are several that are better than letting mass murderers do whatever they damn well please.
Would there be any danger of using this in a confined space?
Only if you had beans for dinner.
"Everyone who loves their all-you-can-eat iPhone data: enjoy it while it lasts."
I'm pretty sure the consumers will figure out this tiered data plan scheme trying to nickel and dime them. I'm betting we'll have our unlimited data plans for as long as we have had in
With Steam infesting every game that comes out nowadays forcing you to tie a game to an account and forcing you to activate online for the sole purpose of killing the second hand market...
Yeah because the $50 Half-Life PC game CDs I bought when it was new has such a high resale value...
http://store.steampowered.com/app/70/
You can always try to get the non-Steam version too if Valve isn't the original publisher. I always check the title-specific forums on steampowered.com and look for people complaining about bad patches or poor 3rd party + Valve support. Some games don't work well Steam, easiest to just stay away from those.
With PC games, the prices fall too fast with many titles after 3-4 months. I think most of my RPGs/strategy games were 40% off when I got them after waiting a bit after release while still being *brand new* in box.
But you are right that this is a great idea for console games. Their prices stay inflated far, far longer compared to PC games.
Hooray for "noob"!
It's a better 1 millionth milestone word than "greenwashing" which was reported elsewhere to possibly be taking the spot.
CNN's website doesn't have as many broken links.
Articles over a decade old still work!
Whoever designed theirs deserves a lot of credit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_River_Delta
http://icanhashappy.blogspot.com/2008/10/funny-chinese-knock-off-products.html
It's like having your very own Replicator.
Except it's not portable or fueled by dilithium crystals.
Instead, it's slower, more messy, employs millions of people, and takes up 38,560 sq. km.
I can't wait until Apple sells me one in 50 years!
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1221551&cid=27821071 90% of the folks out there can't tell the difference so they just assume whatever is expensive is capable enough.
You are missing the point.
I have no sympathy for corporations that complain about the tax code when they pay lawyers to make extra-complicated spaghetti code-like tax fraud schemes.
Check out this video from 2004 for more info: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tax/view/
Compliance is simply filling out the legal paperwork and paying the correct fees to the government.
AKA Corporate lawyers.
The corporation has two choices:
(A) Paying $10 million in US taxes.
(B) Sending $2 million overseas to lease foreign property or other "creative accounting schemes". These are setup to be deliberately hard to track. If you think the US tax code is difficult, these guys get paid to obfuscate it even more.
Either way their lawyers are getting a bucketload of cash for their time.
Corporations which abuse tax shelters take calculated risks and weigh the pros/cons of their actions. Simply not paying their lawyers and not filing any taxes is the third choice but definitely more risky than "option B" since it's so obvious.
It's good that we are finally getting some attention paid to corporate tax abuse. Hopefully Linus's Law kicks in and rules get reinforced and streamlined.
The problem was widespread even pre-2004.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tax/view/
(Please excuse the smaller video quality, PBS has improved but older material is reminiscent of when it was put online, and they rarely re-update.)
And here's a RAND article about the mess from 2008:
http://rand.org/publications/randreview/issues/summer2008/horizon02.html
On a slightly different note:
The check system is in need of an overhaul too. It may not be as bad as the "Catch Me if You Can" days, but it's a shame when people are afraid to write checks.
A homeless man claiming to be a "time-traveler" was arrested for failing to pay back taxes.
He claims to have repaid them fully in the year 2010.
The stolen police box he lived in was returned to the London Police.
Well it's just gaming the system.
They follow the letter of the law.
But they go against the spirit of the law.
Use a decent router with a firewall and plug your PC into that, then plug in router to your modem.
This lets you filter random stray inbound connections while you attempt to update Windows.
Terms like "Willfully ignorant religious moron" get thrown around so much these days.
Frankly, it has lost it's meaning so I propose an alternative.
"Blissfully blessed bubblegum blowers"
Those who actively avoid cognitive confusion and hard questions. Opting to trade mischievous curiosity for comfort, confidence, and bliss.
In all seriousness though, some religious people can be genuinely honest and friendly. Some may even know how to "drive a google".
The dangerous ones are the authority figures who try to micromanage domains that are out of their league.
Yeah school doesn't teach a lot of life skills like managing personal finances. A lot of that has to be learned on your own but at least there's internet help and tips nowadays. I imagine in the past few decades, most people had to ask their parents. And if your parents were absent or terrible, then it really sucked for the kid.
You forgot scenario #3:
Have a campy 80's movie made about the story.
Then wheeling out the old geezer of a teacher onscreen (who has obviously been self-medicating with drugs trying to forget the whole ordeal.)
In all seriousness, this observation was made here: http://www.afriquenewsmagazine.com/Issues/2008/august/Education.html
You sound like you're trolling. There's a lot of people in positions of authority and they don't even agree on "moral standards". If anything, we're knee-deep in unskilled labor, we need more tax-payers with high income brackets to buy stuff they don't use.
Public education (below high school) is mostly babysitting so the parents can work. The kids may or may not get a good education but they stay indoors and are usually safe. High school sort of lets go of the brakes and tries to give everyone at least a crash helmet before they turn 18.
By then if you haven't grown up, you get to grow up pretty fast after a few consequences and encounters with crazy/manipulative people that school tried to shield you from.
There's a lot of people out there who try to instill some sense of worth in students. They may not wish to see you flipping burgers or bagging groceries. Those people are genuinely rare, most are just trying to get by and make a living. Then again, I also play online games with friends who have funny stories about their view on the dregs of society. Folks whose poor choices/bad parents early on can lead to really horrible lives. And the lucky folks like to laugh at their expense.
I realize this.
But at the time, they had a clear pricepoint of $40 with no mention of added fees on their website. I only learned of the +$10 per month from the phone rep.
Would you be surprised if a menu listed a meal at "X price" but because you didn't order a dessert, they charge you $5 more? There is no mention of a sale or special going on, this just being their regular prices.
Needless to say, I bit the bullet and got internet anyways at full price. But I never got an explanation as to why they charged it in this style. None of the phone reps could explain why, and hearing it straight from the "horse's mouth" is what you'd hope to expect.
Karatechop's story was interesting.
My favorite e-drama was with Nihilum/SK-Gaming:
http://serbandsteel.dingblog.com/?loadblog=524&cm=
Some of my friends who still play admit to spending more time playing Peggle or Bejeweled inside of WoW than actually farming or PVP.
There's a line they cross though.
A 3rd-party mod that helps you do better damage rotations or gives a raid warning when deep breaths occur or an opponent's PVP trinket is on cooldown is different from an iPhone app that checks wowarmory.com.
Game mods that directly influence playing the game versus meta-gaming mods that sort information outside the wow servers. And then you have stuff like Auctioneer that sort of straddles both sides.
Cox cable offered internet alone. But I had to pay $10 more than if I was a current cable TV subscriber. Something like $50 per month because I didn't bring a TV with me to my last apartment. Any other Cox user would pay $50 for cable TV and $40 more for internet.
They never gave me any explanation why I couldn't just be billed for $40 for standalone internet.
...getting distracted with flame wars.
RIP Tseric
Blizzard has said that the licence has been moved from The9.com to NetEase.com. I don't know how they handle character migration across servers but the game won't disappear completely.