What's interesting is how often the union's improved terms for labor increases labor's productivity. Which means a larger total profit, so even a smaller share of it to the owners can be a larger total amount than before the union, when worse working conditions produced less profit for everyone.
So, when a railroad union demands that a railroad hire firemen and brakemen that site around all day, they are increasing productivity?
Or when a union demands a camera operator for robotic cameras in a television studio, they are increasing productivity?
Or how about the fact that the Japanese automakers here in the States can change a production line to make small cars from SUVs in a matter of hours; whereas, Detroit takes months? Yeah, management has to take a hit on that one too, I agree, but much of that delay is union rules.
Don't get me started on the pilot's union. $250,000 for a 777 captain? Yeah, I realize the career path of a commercial pilot and how they live in poverty while working up to that for years, but so do artists - it's their choice. I'd do it for $50,000 and be ecstatic! But, if airlines could reorganize and pay less (getting rid of the pilot seniority for one), we wouldn't be giving them tax payer handouts every few years. (There's going to be another next year - I guarantee it.)
I agree that in the past, unions did a great job for the health, safety, pay, and over all living standards of workers. I've read the business history and I read what those 19th and early 20th century industrial bastards did. But that before the labor laws and OSHA.
Defenders of Internet civil liberties have for years been disgusted with the fact that crimes involving the Internet â" from simple identity theft... have always gotten disproportionately more attention than the same or similar crimes committed without the aid of a computer.
I am a big civil libertarian and I have to disagree with them on this one. Then again, I don't see how civil liberties are directly affected when things are publicized other than the over-reaction by policy makers and the hysterical members of the public who enable them.
When internet identity theft scams are publicized, it puts its cause into the public's mind; such as phishing schemes. I don't know of anyone who trusts emails from their bank or eBay anymore asking to "verify personal information" or anything like that. Phishing schemes have become much less successful because of the publicity.
By the end of the day, you'll see hundreds of posts to this thread. Many rants about Bush. Comments about the evangelical Christians and their agenda. Comments about bailouts. Etc...
This will draw many many eyeballs to advertisements and clicks. The end of the quarter is coming up and they need try to make the numbers. Even then, I'm sure there's going to be layoffs at Slashdot next year, too. Then, we'll really see the dupes!
...the ingredients of a great and productive mind: cognitive abilities, educational opportunities, interest, and plain old hard work.
When you really love to do something, work and play become the same thing. Many of the great scientists didn't have to force themselves to do the work.
You look much less stupid when your doc has a.doc extension as opposed to.sxw or whatever is used now for OpenOffice.
I've had to deal with folks who considered me incompetent because of my docs not opening up correctly or whatever. I have dealt with using older versions of Word and folks seeing something weird. I have dealt with folks who wanted ASCII and when I sent them a.txt (ASCII) file, they told me that they can't open it (a recruiter).
We will have this problem until there is an XML open standard - period. If they see a ".doc" extension, then they give you the benefit of the doubt. Sorry, but the sender is always the moron when it comes to emailed documents.
* The majority of performers could gain as little as 50 cents per year from sales related to the proposed extension, set against as much as â4m going to each major record label
I own stock in music labels you insenstive clod. Musicians get all the hotties, even when they're poor! We fat cats are, well fat and ugly, we need the money to get laid! Geeze!
* The Directive threatens to actually decrease the amount performers receive in airplay royalties in their lifetime, as payments are transferred from artists at the beginning of their careers to the estates of dead performers
Keith Richards has to make a living while he's still animate.
* The proposal to set up a fund for session musicians (who otherwise would not benefit from the term extension at all, because of the contracts they originally signed with record labels) is low on detail. Thereâ(TM)s a real risk that the small amount record labels are compelled to set aside for this fund will be swallowed by admin costs before it gets to musicians.
Secretaries have to support the illegitimate children that were fathered by the musicians they slept with when they were young and pretty. Think of the children this law would save! Just, think of the children!
That sounds like a direct challenge! If it weren't, Sense and Sensibility, Desperate Housewives, and other chick flicks would be on the list, but no! It's Futurama and Firefly! Two of the geeks Holiest series!
Next, as a double dare to the Geek community, they'll make Star Trek and Star Wars unrippable! This is war!
See title. Basically like the GPS, you can access the internet from anywhere using special technology. Security is obviously going to be the biggest issue however.
This is not a technological problem. This is a problem with differing agencies fighting over turf. Agencies, I might add, that are all part of the Executive branch of Government. So, there is also a horrible lack of or incompetent leadership that is allowing this non-sense to happen. Apparently, the leader of this branch of government is out to lunch or just going to let his successor deal with it.
I'm not sure which is worse: the stupid people who are completely ignorant, or the smart people who think they know it all and act, unknowingly, half-cocked at best.
The smart people, because they don't know it all and act anyway, aware their limitations, moving deliberately towards a larger design.
There's a lot of posts accusing of Cisco of intentionally violating the GPL; even an alleged ex-employee saying that Cisco "didn't care".
It could be a misunderstanding of the GPL or bad advice from an expert. Why, if I asked a question about the GPL, I would get dozens of posts each having their own and differing "expert" opinion of what is meant.
This is the way government should be: good initiatives will be automatically 'dugg' up, and bad ones will be 'buried', according to the will of the people.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well...Oh, I see what you did there. Here's what will happen because of the modderation:
Presidency would be resigned and Ron Paul appointed - Constitution would be amended to allow for this.
Federal Reserve disbanded.
Area 51 will offer tours.
The Kennedy files would be opened.
Bush would be in jail.
Cheney flogged, flailed, and then anally raped - OK maybe the order can be changed.
The entire country would stop importing oil and using fossil fuels.
ANWAR and every shoreline will have drilling. Oil exported because the US doesn't use it anymore.
The republic be damned. This is true democracy in action: decision-by-mob!
Instead of governing by the polls, he can govern by direct feedback? So, if someone posts something an extremely uninformed request and it gets moderated up, we can expect uninformed policies implemented?
Then again, by-passing the lobbyists and special interest groups, and the "yes" men and women may be a brilliant move to connect with the people.
I have mixed feelings but I have faith that Obama won't make the mistakes Clinton made regarding governing by polls or comment moderation as in this case.
But stop and think how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are stupider than that.
I'm not sure which is worse: the stupid people who are completely ignorant, or the smart people who think they know it all and act, unknowingly, half-cocked at best.
Hm.. so now she is fox-news-watching-Sean-Hannity-listening-bible-thumping-literal-bible-interpretation-religious-conservative-environmentally-friendly, right?
Exactly! She's creating a new stereotype to be picked on by the atheist-social-liberal-NPR-listening-science-trained-educated-folks who think that the evidence for Global Warming is not conclusive and the Religious Nuts should keep God out of "protecting his works".
So will the religious right now be against pollution? I guess not, the religious right are also against science.
You forgot about the ones who are against destroying "God's Earth". My Mother-in-law is a die hard fox-news-watching-Sean-Hannity-listening-bible-thumping-literal-bible-interpretation-religious-conservative who gives readily to environmental causes and thinks we need to do something about Global Warming.
Religious conservatives like her are growing in numbers.
Perhaps you should read back through Ben Goldacre's blog and see what else he's written about the MMR scare - this is something he most definitely does know about. Oh yeah, and if you read his biography you'll see he is also a medical doctor.
John
I know that and I wasn't talking about him. I was talking about the writers in the newspapers and other places that scare parents - you know, the ones without MDs. Of course the article's author knows what he's talking about. Geeze!
When it comes to something that may seriously harm your child, whether it be vaccines or the illnesses the vaccines prevent against, it is your responsibility as a parent to not go off half-cocked and to make extremely sure that you have all the facts before you make a decision regarding the welfare of your child. If you're not up to that responsibility, then you shouldn't have custody of your kids. Plain and simple.
*Father*
Or why not ask your physician who, I would think, knows a bit more than a writer who does the bare minimum of research, if any, to meet his deadline.
Slashdot Mirror
What's interesting is how often the union's improved terms for labor increases labor's productivity. Which means a larger total profit, so even a smaller share of it to the owners can be a larger total amount than before the union, when worse working conditions produced less profit for everyone.
So, when a railroad union demands that a railroad hire firemen and brakemen that site around all day, they are increasing productivity?
Or when a union demands a camera operator for robotic cameras in a television studio, they are increasing productivity?
Or how about the fact that the Japanese automakers here in the States can change a production line to make small cars from SUVs in a matter of hours; whereas, Detroit takes months? Yeah, management has to take a hit on that one too, I agree, but much of that delay is union rules.
Don't get me started on the pilot's union. $250,000 for a 777 captain? Yeah, I realize the career path of a commercial pilot and how they live in poverty while working up to that for years, but so do artists - it's their choice. I'd do it for $50,000 and be ecstatic! But, if airlines could reorganize and pay less (getting rid of the pilot seniority for one), we wouldn't be giving them tax payer handouts every few years. (There's going to be another next year - I guarantee it.)
I agree that in the past, unions did a great job for the health, safety, pay, and over all living standards of workers. I've read the business history and I read what those 19th and early 20th century industrial bastards did. But that before the labor laws and OSHA.
I think unions need to be reformed dramatically.
Defenders of Internet civil liberties have for years been disgusted with the fact that crimes involving the Internet â" from simple identity theft ... have always gotten disproportionately more attention than the same or similar crimes committed without the aid of a computer.
I am a big civil libertarian and I have to disagree with them on this one. Then again, I don't see how civil liberties are directly affected when things are publicized other than the over-reaction by policy makers and the hysterical members of the public who enable them.
When internet identity theft scams are publicized, it puts its cause into the public's mind; such as phishing schemes. I don't know of anyone who trusts emails from their bank or eBay anymore asking to "verify personal information" or anything like that. Phishing schemes have become much less successful because of the publicity.
The real reason:
By the end of the day, you'll see hundreds of posts to this thread. Many rants about Bush. Comments about the evangelical Christians and their agenda. Comments about bailouts. Etc...
This will draw many many eyeballs to advertisements and clicks. The end of the quarter is coming up and they need try to make the numbers. Even then, I'm sure there's going to be layoffs at Slashdot next year, too. Then, we'll really see the dupes!
A bit sparse on details, but interesting non the less. A bit of physics, a bit photography and a bit of ingenuity.
...the ingredients of a great and productive mind: cognitive abilities, educational opportunities, interest, and plain old hard work.
When you really love to do something, work and play become the same thing. Many of the great scientists didn't have to force themselves to do the work.
I've had to deal with folks who considered me incompetent because of my docs not opening up correctly or whatever. I have dealt with using older versions of Word and folks seeing something weird. I have dealt with folks who wanted ASCII and when I sent them a .txt (ASCII) file, they told me that they can't open it (a recruiter).
We will have this problem until there is an XML open standard - period. If they see a ".doc" extension, then they give you the benefit of the doubt. Sorry, but the sender is always the moron when it comes to emailed documents.
* The majority of performers could gain as little as 50 cents per year from sales related to the proposed extension, set against as much as â4m going to each major record label
I own stock in music labels you insenstive clod. Musicians get all the hotties, even when they're poor! We fat cats are, well fat and ugly, we need the money to get laid! Geeze!
* The Directive threatens to actually decrease the amount performers receive in airplay royalties in their lifetime, as payments are transferred from artists at the beginning of their careers to the estates of dead performers
Keith Richards has to make a living while he's still animate.
* The proposal to set up a fund for session musicians (who otherwise would not benefit from the term extension at all, because of the contracts they originally signed with record labels) is low on detail. Thereâ(TM)s a real risk that the small amount record labels are compelled to set aside for this fund will be swallowed by admin costs before it gets to musicians.
Secretaries have to support the illegitimate children that were fathered by the musicians they slept with when they were young and pretty. Think of the children this law would save! Just, think of the children!
See, there is a moral reason for this law!
links with actual information. NOT links to sell me shit!
Next, as a double dare to the Geek community, they'll make Star Trek and Star Wars unrippable! This is war!
See title. Basically like the GPS, you can access the internet from anywhere using special technology. Security is obviously going to be the biggest issue however.
This is not a technological problem. This is a problem with differing agencies fighting over turf. Agencies, I might add, that are all part of the Executive branch of Government. So, there is also a horrible lack of or incompetent leadership that is allowing this non-sense to happen. Apparently, the leader of this branch of government is out to lunch or just going to let his successor deal with it.
face the reality that we have to cut Medicare and SS benefits to a needs-based program rather than an entitlement.
That's how they started. SS was never intended to be an entitlement program when it was created in the 1930s.
I'm not sure which is worse: the stupid people who are completely ignorant, or the smart people who think they know it all and act, unknowingly, half-cocked at best.
The smart people, because they don't know it all and act anyway, aware their limitations, moving deliberately towards a larger design.
No, they don't.
Well, given that average person thinks they're above average, why can't we have both?
Stupid people who think that they know it all and act "half-cocked" at best?
Why, you've explained American politics!
It could be a misunderstanding of the GPL or bad advice from an expert. Why, if I asked a question about the GPL, I would get dozens of posts each having their own and differing "expert" opinion of what is meant.
This is the way government should be: good initiatives will be automatically 'dugg' up, and bad ones will be 'buried', according to the will of the people.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well...Oh, I see what you did there. Here's what will happen because of the modderation:
Presidency would be resigned and Ron Paul appointed - Constitution would be amended to allow for this.
Federal Reserve disbanded.
Area 51 will offer tours.
The Kennedy files would be opened.
Bush would be in jail.
Cheney flogged, flailed, and then anally raped - OK maybe the order can be changed.
The entire country would stop importing oil and using fossil fuels.
ANWAR and every shoreline will have drilling. Oil exported because the US doesn't use it anymore.
And ....I'm out!
The republic be damned. This is true democracy in action: decision-by-mob!
Instead of governing by the polls, he can govern by direct feedback? So, if someone posts something an extremely uninformed request and it gets moderated up, we can expect uninformed policies implemented?
Then again, by-passing the lobbyists and special interest groups, and the "yes" men and women may be a brilliant move to connect with the people.
I have mixed feelings but I have faith that Obama won't make the mistakes Clinton made regarding governing by polls or comment moderation as in this case.
But stop and think how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are stupider than that.
I'm not sure which is worse: the stupid people who are completely ignorant, or the smart people who think they know it all and act, unknowingly, half-cocked at best.
If that's the case, wouldn't it have been cheaper to hire a janitor, instead of a lawyer?
You can't pay a janitor with contingency fees.
Also, what about bubblegum? It may improve the invention.
As a Canadian, allow me to say these people need to fuck the hell off.
Babelfish doesn't have an option to translate to American from Canadian. Does it mean the same thing here?
Let the lawsuits fly!
Hm.. so now she is fox-news-watching-Sean-Hannity-listening-bible-thumping-literal-bible-interpretation-religious-conservative-environmentally-friendly, right?
Exactly! She's creating a new stereotype to be picked on by the atheist-social-liberal-NPR-listening-science-trained-educated-folks who think that the evidence for Global Warming is not conclusive and the Religious Nuts should keep God out of "protecting his works".
So will the religious right now be against pollution? I guess not, the religious right are also against science.
You forgot about the ones who are against destroying "God's Earth". My Mother-in-law is a die hard fox-news-watching-Sean-Hannity-listening-bible-thumping-literal-bible-interpretation-religious-conservative who gives readily to environmental causes and thinks we need to do something about Global Warming.
Religious conservatives like her are growing in numbers.
Perhaps you should read back through Ben Goldacre's blog and see what else he's written about the MMR scare - this is something he most definitely does know about. Oh yeah, and if you read his biography you'll see he is also a medical doctor.
John
I know that and I wasn't talking about him. I was talking about the writers in the newspapers and other places that scare parents - you know, the ones without MDs. Of course the article's author knows what he's talking about. Geeze!
When it comes to something that may seriously harm your child, whether it be vaccines or the illnesses the vaccines prevent against, it is your responsibility as a parent to not go off half-cocked and to make extremely sure that you have all the facts before you make a decision regarding the welfare of your child. If you're not up to that responsibility, then you shouldn't have custody of your kids. Plain and simple.
*Father*
Or why not ask your physician who, I would think, knows a bit more than a writer who does the bare minimum of research, if any, to meet his deadline.