sometimes tyrrany of the majority isn't always a bad thing
That's certainly the case. But now we've really got if the point... (And I don't care to argue about American gay marriage anymore, as I'm neither gay or American). Really, my only dissension from you is that right at the beginning you suggested the checks and balances built into the US system protects minorities (sheep) from the tyrannies of the majority (wolves).
And, as you know appear to concede, that simply isn't the case. On a state-by-state basis, the majority of heterosexuals get to define what a marriage is, in exactly the same way that the majority of wolves get to define lunch. [And of course, I'm not suggesting that being denied marriage is as bad as being eaten].
Now they've declared Chapter 7, if the liquidators can get even $10 for the codebase, they're going to sell it to pay off the creditors. Companies in Chapter 7 bankruptcy aren't in a position to give away their spare staples, let alone the codebase that constituted their only actual product,
The entire idea was that there would not be 'one' set of laws for the entire country.
Well, that's as maybe, but states' rights aren't actually relevant here. The "Two wolves and a sheep" problem doesn't disappear because powers are devolved to states. In those states in which wolves outnumber the sheep, the wolves still get to eat eat the sheep.
Yeah, how dare they impinge our freedom to take the fruits of other people's labours and treat them as our own... It's interesting that if the map had been GPL'd, and the redistributor was infringing that licence -- rather than a more standard copyright -- most of the people here would be taking exactly the opposite viewpoint on this infringement.
Keep in mind that polls show 2/3 of the US population against gay marriage, and gay marriage has been defeated in every state election where one has been held. A pure democracy won't save you on this count.
Oh, I know. But that's precisely the "two wolves and a sheep" scenario that the OP suggests the constitutional republic saves you from. I was merely pointing out that the US system was no better in this regard.
I say this mainly because the will of the voters has been turned over in courts/many/ times
There's nothing uniquely American about that, though.
And the Gay Marriage issue is pertinent, because the Defense of Marriage Act and the Marriage Protection explicitly allow states to decide whether to allow gay marriages. At present, there are 16 states in which the State Constitution explicitly says homosexuals may not marry. Only the Nebraska case was declared unconstitutional. The remainder are still on the statute books. There are 23 states with additional anti-Gay Marriage legislation, and the US Constitution is proving no hindrance to this tyranny of the majority.
Wow. You blur so many lines between HTML/The Web/The Internet/Hypertext there that it's almost impossible to know where to begin to correct you. Your inability to differentiate between those related-but-different terms means that the very few cogent phrasesyou managed to string together are wrong, and the rest aren't even wrong.
What's particularly cool is that US-based initiative insisted on Region Coding on DVDs. So we all complied, and then completely ignored the rules. In the UK, it's almost impossible to buy a DVD player that does isn't completely region free.
you'd rather have control of a very important and integral communication medium of the world in the hands of trigger happy
Look, if my country pisses off the US, they're far more likely simply to bomb the shit out of us, or have the CIA organise a coup. If the US chooses to interfere with your country, the effect the withdrawal of internet connectivity is the least of your worries.
The UN has no principals placing individual rights above consensus and political expediency
That's not actually true. You might argue that these rights are consistently ignored for the sake of political expediency (and I'd agree with you), but a cynic (i.e. me) might suggest that's equally true in the US.
Lots have people have people have been trying to make big news out of this, but it's really nothing.
i) Control of DNS is not the same as control of the internet. ii) If the US started to exercise internet control via DNS, alternative root servers would likely appear almost overnight. Remember that old saw about "routing round censorship"? This time it's actually true. iii) As a Brit, I applaud the current essentially hands-off control the US has. We get all the benefits, US tax payers cover the actual cost. iv) The UN couldn't find it's arse with both hands. Of course, neither can Congress, but at the moment the system is up and running and they'd have to actively intervene to screw it up. Migrating something as important as this to a new bureaucratic body doesn't bare thinking about.
If they're ending up terribly, horribly scratched, then you aren't taking care of it.
But Apple are marketing the nano as the ultimate in fits-in-your-pocket convenience. That's not much good if putting it in your pocket causes the screen to become unreadable, is it?
It's James Prendergast.. Who's he? Well, he works for Americans for Technology Leadership. And who are they? Well, last time they made the news, it was for a letter writing campaign, in support of Microsoft, in which thousands of largely identical letters were sent, including a number from dead people.
Slashdot Mirror
"got if the point..." should read "got off the point"
What's a preview button?
And, as you know appear to concede, that simply isn't the case. On a state-by-state basis, the majority of heterosexuals get to define what a marriage is, in exactly the same way that the majority of wolves get to define lunch. [And of course, I'm not suggesting that being denied marriage is as bad as being eaten].
Now they've declared Chapter 7, if the liquidators can get even $10 for the codebase, they're going to sell it to pay off the creditors. Companies in Chapter 7 bankruptcy aren't in a position to give away their spare staples, let alone the codebase that constituted their only actual product,
But we do know he had the literal Holy Grail, hidden as part of the Priory of Sion. Or at least, he would have had, if it hadn't been made up by a delusional Frenchman in the 1950s
Yeah, how dare they impinge our freedom to take the fruits of other people's labours and treat them as our own... It's interesting that if the map had been GPL'd, and the redistributor was infringing that licence -- rather than a more standard copyright -- most of the people here would be taking exactly the opposite viewpoint on this infringement.
Possibly.
Either way, it's Friday, it's 5 o'clock and I'm going to the pub right now.
And the Gay Marriage issue is pertinent, because the Defense of Marriage Act and the Marriage Protection explicitly allow states to decide whether to allow gay marriages. At present, there are 16 states in which the State Constitution explicitly says homosexuals may not marry. Only the Nebraska case was declared unconstitutional. The remainder are still on the statute books. There are 23 states with additional anti-Gay Marriage legislation, and the US Constitution is proving no hindrance to this tyranny of the majority.
Wow. You blur so many lines between HTML/The Web/The Internet/Hypertext there that it's almost impossible to know where to begin to correct you. Your inability to differentiate between those related-but-different terms means that the very few cogent phrasesyou managed to string together are wrong, and the rest aren't even wrong.
What's particularly cool is that US-based initiative insisted on Region Coding on DVDs. So we all complied, and then completely ignored the rules. In the UK, it's almost impossible to buy a DVD player that does isn't completely region free.
"Free Speech Zones", anyone?
Lots have people have people have been trying to make big news out of this, but it's really nothing.
i) Control of DNS is not the same as control of the internet.
ii) If the US started to exercise internet control via DNS, alternative root servers would likely appear almost overnight. Remember that old saw about "routing round censorship"? This time it's actually true.
iii) As a Brit, I applaud the current essentially hands-off control the US has. We get all the benefits, US tax payers cover the actual cost.
iv) The UN couldn't find it's arse with both hands. Of course, neither can Congress, but at the moment the system is up and running and they'd have to actively intervene to screw it up. Migrating something as important as this to a new bureaucratic body doesn't bare thinking about.
It's James Prendergast.. Who's he? Well, he works for Americans for Technology Leadership. And who are they? Well, last time they made the news, it was for a letter writing campaign, in support of Microsoft, in which thousands of largely identical letters were sent, including a number from dead people.
Can you say "Astroturfing"?