>>>Should a government have the right to censor based upon the expected reactions from the public?
Never. The ultimate authority if the People, which is above all governments. When government seeks to censor photos or news articles, it flips that arrangement and becomes the Master while the people are demoted to children to be "cared for" and "protected." That's a reversion to pre-Enlightenment Middle Ages thinking.
A flight attendant confronted Freeman [about her fighting children], who then responded by hurling a few profanities and throwing what remained of a can of tomato juice on the floor. The incident aboard the Frontier flight ultimately led to Freeman's arrest and conviction [three months jailtime] for a federal felony defined as an act of terrorism under the Patriot Act, the controversial federal law enacted after the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
That's reminiscent of what happened to Professor Gates. He gets angry about being mistreated, and suddenly he finds himself in jail.
Apparently we no longer have free speech in the United Soviets of America. An airline should have power to remove unruly passengers, but never to arrest them.
Pretty much. Just curious - What part of "digital television uses the same channels as analog television" did you not comprehend? I thought I was clear when I wrote that sentence.
>>>you want to replace all the phone lines with one of the most expensive metals around (copper) just so that you say "fiber is a waste".
Um... no? You don't need to replace phone lines to get DSL you stupid fuck. Where the hell have you been living? In a cave? DSL comes-in over the phone lines, but at much faster rates (upto 100,000 kbit/s versus 56k)
>>>The benefits of fiber are huge -
Yes they are but they disadvantages are also huge, like having to dig-up the front yards of ~10 million homes. It costs a lot of money to hire all that labor and is time-consuming as well. In contrast the phone lines are already there - no need to dig anything. Just install the DSLAM box and you're done.
>>>you should take into account differences in GDP as well
No. You do it and post the results for us. I'm satisfied with my own list (continent-sized federations) since it shows that the US is not falling behind like many falsely-claim. Plus I'd rather go watch the latest Doctor Who episodes.
Internet is essential - high speed is not. You don't need anything faster than a phone line and 56k modem to access government websites or pay your bills. I know because I've done it many, many times (from hotel rooms).
High speed internet is more like a DVD player or VCR - a nice bonus option to add to your house but not a necessity.
Our urban areas are also a lot poorer than say, Tokyo. The companies upgrade to DSL where they think customers will be able to afford the bill - namely extra-urban and suburban areas. Hooking-up inner city areas that barely have paved streets and home are crumbling doesn't make sense to the Verizon/ATT accountants. In contrast most of Tokyo's residents are well-off and can pay the bill, so it gets the DSL upgrade.
Now maybe the US government should require phone companies to provide DSL to everyone, including inner city. I would be okay with that.
And yeah there are cultural differences within the EU, but I suspect they will all but disappear by 2050. And by 2100 people will identify themselves as Europeans without even mentioning where they came from. Like Americans do.
If you don't believe me, consider that in my own state the common language was German. Everyone spoke it. It set us apart from the other US states but that difference gradually disappeared. The same process will happen within the EU
It's ridiculous the way these actors are using the TV show as a jumping board. In the Old Doctor Who the shortest run was three years, and only because the BBC rather stupidly fired him (doctor #6). He would have loved to stay longer. In contrast the New Doctor Who has actors that come in for 1 year, 2 years (plus some specials), and 2 years for the current young doctor.
What we need is an actor who will stay for a long time, such as 5 years for Doctor #3 and 7 years for Doctor #4. Otherwise the Good Doctor will run out of generations (13 - aka the Valyard Doctor).
>>>Car drivers pollute more per person than train people. More than fair to tax them for it.
Not true. The average pollution put out by U.S. trains (which are powered mostly by coal-electricity) is equivalent to a 25 MPG car carrying one passenger. So if you either carpool, or get a high MPG car like a hybrid, then you are cleaner than the train.
You'd also probably be surprised to know that an electric car, like the EV1, is no cleaner than a Prius. (source: ACEEE.org)
Not correct. The moving of data from a central machine to a lower-level computer is called downloading. The fact you can't save the file for later viewing does not change the fact you were downloading data.
And funny how I have no problem watching the latest TV shows on hulu.com at only 0.7 Mbit/s
>>>>>Ditto the US Constitution. Read it sometime. Carefully. It gives the nation-states of the US the power to completely abolish the US, and go off on their separate routes. You are trying to make a difference where none exists. >> >>That would be false.
No it isn't. Read the Constitution. The States can call a constitutional convention, and abolish the US government and replace it with something else (or nothing at all). They've already done it at least twice, first getting rid of the United Kingdom (by force), and then getting rid of the Confederation (via the political process).
>>>There's direct democracy and indirect (a.k.a. representative) democracy.)
We don't have either of those. Even if the majority of representatives voted to kill all the christians, nothing would happen because we are not a Democracy. We are a republic where the Law (constitution) reigns above a simple majority vote. The Law overrules the wishes of Congress.
>>>Not sure where you'd have to live in Washington to get 11 megabits -
It's an AVERAGE of tested speeds across millions of users. I know you understand what that word means. Some people get less while others (like Redmond Washington residents) get more. It averages out to 11 Mbit/s overall but does not mean that you, personally, will get 11.
>>>11 megabits
That's approximately how large Final Fantasy 4 was when released for the Super Nintendo/Famicom.
>>>Blockbuster put all of the local video stores out of business
(packs suitcase). Sounds like an opportunity to serve the rural community by opening DVD rental places. Oh and you can download movies over the net. I only have 0.7 Mbps and stream movies and TV shows all the time.
The current TV uses channels 2-51. The FCC plans to "decapitate" it and only leave channels 2 to 25. That's about half the spectrum which means instead of averaging 12 different stations per city, there will only be 6. Goodbye independents or movie channels or RetroTV channels and so on. You can also say goodbye to spanish channels like Univision, since there'd only be enough to hold the top 6 networks.
As for Radio the FCC proposed cutting FM in half too, but then they must have changed their minds because it did not appear in the final proposal.
>>>Are you saying the US is not predominantly urban/suburban?
Not according to the US FCC. They picked VSB for the digital television standard, instead of Europe's COFDM, specifically because they said the US is more rural than Europe, and VSB is better suited to that environment.
Japan mostly use 50 or 100 Mbit/s DSL. And yes it's because they are tightly packed with short phonelines. That's an advantage that would not have if they were huge in size like China or the US
>>>you're leaving Asia out of the comparison there.
No I didn't. I included both China and Russia. I disqualified Japan because in scale its no bigger than Cuba. It's silly to compare a country that is only ~5 hours wide versus a federation like the US that takes 40-50 hours to drive across (and also has to deal with annoyances like mountains, deserts, and no easy access to ocean-going trunklines).
And yeah there are cultural differences, but I suspect they will all but disappear by 2050. And by 2100 people will identify themselves as Europeans without even mentioning where they came from.
If you don't believe me, consider that in my own state the common language was German. Everyone spoke it. It set us apart from the other US states but that difference gradually disappeared. The same process will happen within the EU
>>>The term "member state" when used in the context of the EU refers to so-called "nation states" as opposed to US states.
Ditto the US Constitution. Read it sometime. Carefully. It gives the nation-states of the US the power to completely abolish the US, and go off on their separate routes. You are trying to make a difference where none exists.
The US and EU are more alike than different. Consider that 75% of laws are now passed, not by state parliaments, but by the central EU. We have a near-identical arrangement in the US.
I suggest you stop being an idiot and read what the EU website says. It uses the word "states" and the EU is a far higher authority in the matter than either of us. I will defer to their expertise and their language.
This will probably surprise you (it did me), but Japan's broadband network is almost nothing but DSL. It's because their phone lines are extremely short that they can offer 100 Mbit/s DSL plans. So I say we should just mimic what Japan did.
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>>>Should a government have the right to censor based upon the expected reactions from the public?
Never. The ultimate authority if the People, which is above all governments. When government seeks to censor photos or news articles, it flips that arrangement and becomes the Master while the people are demoted to children to be "cared for" and "protected." That's a reversion to pre-Enlightenment Middle Ages thinking.
A flight attendant confronted Freeman [about her fighting children], who then responded by hurling a few profanities and throwing what remained of a can of tomato juice on the floor. The incident aboard the Frontier flight ultimately led to Freeman's arrest and conviction [three months jailtime] for a federal felony defined as an act of terrorism under the Patriot Act, the controversial federal law enacted after the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
That's reminiscent of what happened to Professor Gates. He gets angry about being mistreated, and suddenly he finds himself in jail.
Apparently we no longer have free speech in the United Soviets of America. An airline should have power to remove unruly passengers, but never to arrest them.
Pretty much. Just curious - What part of "digital television uses the same channels as analog television" did you not comprehend? I thought I was clear when I wrote that sentence.
>>>you want to replace all the phone lines with one of the most expensive metals around (copper) just so that you say "fiber is a waste".
Um... no? You don't need to replace phone lines to get DSL you stupid fuck. Where the hell have you been living? In a cave? DSL comes-in over the phone lines, but at much faster rates (upto 100,000 kbit/s versus 56k)
>>>The benefits of fiber are huge -
Yes they are but they disadvantages are also huge, like having to dig-up the front yards of ~10 million homes. It costs a lot of money to hire all that labor and is time-consuming as well. In contrast the phone lines are already there - no need to dig anything. Just install the DSLAM box and you're done.
>>>you should take into account differences in GDP as well
No. You do it and post the results for us. I'm satisfied with my own list (continent-sized federations) since it shows that the US is not falling behind like many falsely-claim. Plus I'd rather go watch the latest Doctor Who episodes.
Internet is essential - high speed is not. You don't need anything faster than a phone line and 56k modem to access government websites or pay your bills. I know because I've done it many, many times (from hotel rooms).
High speed internet is more like a DVD player or VCR - a nice bonus option to add to your house but not a necessity.
Our urban areas are also a lot poorer than say, Tokyo. The companies upgrade to DSL where they think customers will be able to afford the bill - namely extra-urban and suburban areas. Hooking-up inner city areas that barely have paved streets and home are crumbling doesn't make sense to the Verizon/ATT accountants. In contrast most of Tokyo's residents are well-off and can pay the bill, so it gets the DSL upgrade.
Now maybe the US government should require phone companies to provide DSL to everyone, including inner city. I would be okay with that.
P.S.
And yeah there are cultural differences within the EU, but I suspect they will all but disappear by 2050. And by 2100 people will identify themselves as Europeans without even mentioning where they came from. Like Americans do.
If you don't believe me, consider that in my own state the common language was German. Everyone spoke it. It set us apart from the other US states but that difference gradually disappeared. The same process will happen within the EU
Thank God.
It's ridiculous the way these actors are using the TV show as a jumping board. In the Old Doctor Who the shortest run was three years, and only because the BBC rather stupidly fired him (doctor #6). He would have loved to stay longer. In contrast the New Doctor Who has actors that come in for 1 year, 2 years (plus some specials), and 2 years for the current young doctor.
What we need is an actor who will stay for a long time, such as 5 years for Doctor #3 and 7 years for Doctor #4. Otherwise the Good Doctor will run out of generations (13 - aka the Valyard Doctor).
COFDM is also patented and its backers also lobbied the FCC. Nice try though.
>>>Car drivers pollute more per person than train people. More than fair to tax them for it.
Not true. The average pollution put out by U.S. trains (which are powered mostly by coal-electricity) is equivalent to a 25 MPG car carrying one passenger. So if you either carpool, or get a high MPG car like a hybrid, then you are cleaner than the train.
You'd also probably be surprised to know that an electric car, like the EV1, is no cleaner than a Prius. (source: ACEEE.org)
>>>Downloading != streaming
Not correct. The moving of data from a central machine to a lower-level computer is called downloading. The fact you can't save the file for later viewing does not change the fact you were downloading data.
And funny how I have no problem watching the latest TV shows on hulu.com at only 0.7 Mbit/s
I've visited Canada, Mexico, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Nice try but you failed.
>>>>>Ditto the US Constitution. Read it sometime. Carefully. It gives the nation-states of the US the power to completely abolish the US, and go off on their separate routes. You are trying to make a difference where none exists.
>>
>>That would be false.
No it isn't. Read the Constitution. The States can call a constitutional convention, and abolish the US government and replace it with something else (or nothing at all). They've already done it at least twice, first getting rid of the United Kingdom (by force), and then getting rid of the Confederation (via the political process).
>>>There's direct democracy and indirect (a.k.a. representative) democracy.)
We don't have either of those. Even if the majority of representatives voted to kill all the christians, nothing would happen because we are not a Democracy. We are a republic where the Law (constitution) reigns above a simple majority vote. The Law overrules the wishes of Congress.
If you want a symmetric connection with faster uploads, simply pay for it. That option is available.
>>>Not sure where you'd have to live in Washington to get 11 megabits -
It's an AVERAGE of tested speeds across millions of users. I know you understand what that word means. Some people get less while others (like Redmond Washington residents) get more. It averages out to 11 Mbit/s overall but does not mean that you, personally, will get 11.
>>>11 megabits
That's approximately how large Final Fantasy 4 was when released for the Super Nintendo/Famicom.
>>>Blockbuster put all of the local video stores out of business
(packs suitcase). Sounds like an opportunity to serve the rural community by opening DVD rental places. Oh and you can download movies over the net. I only have 0.7 Mbps and stream movies and TV shows all the time.
The current TV uses channels 2-51. The FCC plans to "decapitate" it and only leave channels 2 to 25. That's about half the spectrum which means instead of averaging 12 different stations per city, there will only be 6. Goodbye independents or movie channels or RetroTV channels and so on. You can also say goodbye to spanish channels like Univision, since there'd only be enough to hold the top 6 networks.
As for Radio the FCC proposed cutting FM in half too, but then they must have changed their minds because it did not appear in the final proposal.
>>>Are you saying the US is not predominantly urban/suburban?
Not according to the US FCC. They picked VSB for the digital television standard, instead of Europe's COFDM, specifically because they said the US is more rural than Europe, and VSB is better suited to that environment.
>>>For every mile of fiber you lay in Japan
Japan mostly use 50 or 100 Mbit/s DSL. And yes it's because they are tightly packed with short phonelines. That's an advantage that would not have if they were huge in size like China or the US
>>>you're leaving Asia out of the comparison there.
No I didn't. I included both China and Russia. I disqualified Japan because in scale its no bigger than Cuba. It's silly to compare a country that is only ~5 hours wide versus a federation like the US that takes 40-50 hours to drive across (and also has to deal with annoyances like mountains, deserts, and no easy access to ocean-going trunklines).
P.S.
And yeah there are cultural differences, but I suspect they will all but disappear by 2050. And by 2100 people will identify themselves as Europeans without even mentioning where they came from.
If you don't believe me, consider that in my own state the common language was German. Everyone spoke it. It set us apart from the other US states but that difference gradually disappeared. The same process will happen within the EU
>>>The term "member state" when used in the context of the EU refers to so-called "nation states" as opposed to US states.
Ditto the US Constitution. Read it sometime. Carefully. It gives the nation-states of the US the power to completely abolish the US, and go off on their separate routes. You are trying to make a difference where none exists.
The US and EU are more alike than different. Consider that 75% of laws are now passed, not by state parliaments, but by the central EU. We have a near-identical arrangement in the US.
>>>You're comparing US states to EU [states]
I suggest you stop being an idiot and read what the EU website says. It uses the word "states" and the EU is a far higher authority in the matter than either of us. I will defer to their expertise and their language.
This will probably surprise you (it did me), but Japan's broadband network is almost nothing but DSL. It's because their phone lines are extremely short that they can offer 100 Mbit/s DSL plans. So I say we should just mimic what Japan did.