Get the teachers fired, maybe, but I dunno about rich - very few teachers and/or school districts have much in the way of cash, so there's nothing to sue for.;-)
Poor english of the parent post aside, one can hardly fault a policy simply because it is "discriminatory." There are examples of discrimination everywhere; for example, in the US, do we allow convicted felons to vote? No. Why we discriminate is the important aspect, not the fact that we do. We don't trust felons to make choices that are in the interest of society. Nor do we trust governments like that of Iran with nuclear technology, because we do not believe it would be in the best interest of society, be it "as a whole" or "ours".
While I understand that foreigners (and, sadly, even some Americans) do not trust our government in posession of nukes, I fail to see how giving them up to common control (hah - not in this lifetime, kiddo) would really engender trust. No amount of safeguards will make a nuclear explosion any less dangerous; no sharing of power will change the fact that someone, somewhere will want to use them for his or her own ends.
Have you ever looked at buying a home that's part of an association (typically condos and such, but sometimes normal single-family dwellings)?
When you buy such a place, you're actually told what you can do TO your own home. You can't put up a shed, paint the walls a tacky hot pink, that sort of thing.
Yes, this does have a point.:) So many slashdotters complain about software licensing like it's a new phenomenon, only existing in the software industry, but it's simply an adaptation of legitimate business practices from other industries. It's fine that you don't like it, but that doesn't make it illegal or even immoral. If person A agrees to sell you item B per the terms of contract C, and you agree, well, that's your own fault. You *do* have the option not to buy it.
Note that I am not discussing the specific application of EULAs that don't appear until after you've purchased the product. That's a whole different issue in and of itself (give me the money, ok, *now* read the contract!). But I fail to understand the furor behind software licensing in general.
You can preempt that by running the country for the benefit of the people in general rather than for the billionaires. Anyone who believes that, unfortunately, has their head up their ass. You simply can't please everyone. Even if you try to please the majority, you'll have a vocal - and dangerous - minority attempting to subvert the system.
I'm not defending any particular system of government, but simply saying that this "running the country for the benefit of the people in general" that you envision is impossible.
You're right, playing with a little cash is not indicative of terrorism (hell, here in Switzerland it's common to have the equivalent of several thousand USD on you in cash). That being said, the government probably doesn't take any action based on the report of a thousand dollar deposit either; but if they see a trend in your activities, they may start to keep an eye on you. Frankly, I've got nothing to hide from my neighbors (yes, yes, I know many of you don't like that logic) and so I've got nothing to hide from my government either. After all, the bank tellers, the police, the politicians, the judge and jury... they *are* my neighbors, whom I trust to be reasonable.
Re:IMO, a step towards improving our education
on
More A's, More Pay
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· Score: 1
While I agree with a good portion of your comment, I think it's important to note that comparing Finland to the US is comparing apples to oranges. There's a big difference in size there, and that difference adds exponentially to the difficulty of oversight and such. State-level publicly-funded education might be a better option than federal-level, I don't know, but it's unfair to compare the US to Finland.
Well, the other reply to this comment already corrected you. If you're going to slam me (I thought the Netherlands population was around 8 million, guess I was off by a factor of two), you should at least get your own facts right (they're nowhere near the most densly populated country in the world).
As much as I love the country, remember that you're talking about a nation that banned the sale of condoms to minors for a long time. They're simply more conservative over there; I don't believe that makes them wrong (or right, for that matter).
"US elections are controlled at the local level, so unfortunately such a nationwide fix would not be workable here."
Um, as an American currently living in Switzerland, I have to ask... do you know how big the Netherlands are (is? that's a tricky one)? Smaller than Chicago, if I remember correctly... so being applied at the national level there is essentially the same as the local level in the US.
Actually, the social learning and growth that come from attending sporting events, or even better, being on the team.... those are very good reasons to go to college.
I don't really buy your tuition argument either, since tuition (at a public school, at least) is rarely enough to actually cover the costs of educating a student. The money comes form elsewhere, such as (gasp) sporting events or taxes.
On a side note, my wife is in the military and we have to go through "random" security screenings for our cars. Somehow my Saturn gets nailed 10 to 1 over my wife's car every month. There are times when I just want to run the damn guards over.
Based on that last comment, it would seem like they're searching the right person then. no?:)
Business skills may not have been mentioned in your school, but they are still learned there. Learning to deal with your peers, being in high-stress situations (e.g. the book report that you put off till the last minute) and adapting to it, learning to see what opportunities exist and choosing the right ones (i.e. selecting your classes in high school or college)... it's all there somewhere.
That being said, in my public university, I earned a degree in Telecommunications and Networking that strongly focused the business understanding of IT. Some public schools do teach those skills.
For the record, creating a stable infrastructure and making money are not mutually exclusive goals. However, the reason a business has an infrastructure is to make money, and that's the part most IT types miss. You need to analyze everything you do in a cost-vs-rewards light - *that's* the business skills that CIOs want their tech people to have.
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Get the teachers fired, maybe, but I dunno about rich - very few teachers and/or school districts have much in the way of cash, so there's nothing to sue for. ;-)
I'm living in Switzerland and haven't met anyone else with an ICQ pin yet. Skype seems to be the way to go here...
China scares me.
:)
Russia is starting to scare me again.
Even piddly little countries like Iran and North Korea have the capacity to scare me.
But the EU? Remember, they've got the French - I think I'll sleep comfortably against that threat!
Poor english of the parent post aside, one can hardly fault a policy simply because it is "discriminatory." There are examples of discrimination everywhere; for example, in the US, do we allow convicted felons to vote? No. Why we discriminate is the important aspect, not the fact that we do. We don't trust felons to make choices that are in the interest of society. Nor do we trust governments like that of Iran with nuclear technology, because we do not believe it would be in the best interest of society, be it "as a whole" or "ours".
While I understand that foreigners (and, sadly, even some Americans) do not trust our government in posession of nukes, I fail to see how giving them up to common control (hah - not in this lifetime, kiddo) would really engender trust. No amount of safeguards will make a nuclear explosion any less dangerous; no sharing of power will change the fact that someone, somewhere will want to use them for his or her own ends.
Out of curiosity, do you own your own home?
:) So many slashdotters complain about software licensing like it's a new phenomenon, only existing in the software industry, but it's simply an adaptation of legitimate business practices from other industries. It's fine that you don't like it, but that doesn't make it illegal or even immoral. If person A agrees to sell you item B per the terms of contract C, and you agree, well, that's your own fault. You *do* have the option not to buy it.
Have you ever looked at buying a home that's part of an association (typically condos and such, but sometimes normal single-family dwellings)?
When you buy such a place, you're actually told what you can do TO your own home. You can't put up a shed, paint the walls a tacky hot pink, that sort of thing.
Yes, this does have a point.
Note that I am not discussing the specific application of EULAs that don't appear until after you've purchased the product. That's a whole different issue in and of itself (give me the money, ok, *now* read the contract!). But I fail to understand the furor behind software licensing in general.
I'm not defending any particular system of government, but simply saying that this "running the country for the benefit of the people in general" that you envision is impossible.
My dream machine has breasts
Being a slashdotter, you'll likely have to settle for the machine version anyway...
All this guy has done is provide another little fun "proof" that you can use to win bar bets. "Betcha I can divide by zero..."
You certainly frequent different bars than I....!
You're right, playing with a little cash is not indicative of terrorism (hell, here in Switzerland it's common to have the equivalent of several thousand USD on you in cash). That being said, the government probably doesn't take any action based on the report of a thousand dollar deposit either; but if they see a trend in your activities, they may start to keep an eye on you. Frankly, I've got nothing to hide from my neighbors (yes, yes, I know many of you don't like that logic) and so I've got nothing to hide from my government either. After all, the bank tellers, the police, the politicians, the judge and jury... they *are* my neighbors, whom I trust to be reasonable.
While I agree with a good portion of your comment, I think it's important to note that comparing Finland to the US is comparing apples to oranges. There's a big difference in size there, and that difference adds exponentially to the difficulty of oversight and such. State-level publicly-funded education might be a better option than federal-level, I don't know, but it's unfair to compare the US to Finland.
Intelligent, creative people are far less likely to pay attention to personal appearance
Balogna! I pay *very* careful attention to how I look each morning.... oh, my, is that me in the mirror? I'm sorry, what were we talking about?
Well, the other reply to this comment already corrected you. If you're going to slam me (I thought the Netherlands population was around 8 million, guess I was off by a factor of two), you should at least get your own facts right (they're nowhere near the most densly populated country in the world).
Dumbass.
As much as I love the country, remember that you're talking about a nation that banned the sale of condoms to minors for a long time. They're simply more conservative over there; I don't believe that makes them wrong (or right, for that matter).
"US elections are controlled at the local level, so unfortunately such a nationwide fix would not be workable here."
Um, as an American currently living in Switzerland, I have to ask... do you know how big the Netherlands are (is? that's a tricky one)? Smaller than Chicago, if I remember correctly... so being applied at the national level there is essentially the same as the local level in the US.
i figured someone would save me the trouble of posting this, but an hour or so later, no one has.... so here you go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_desktop
They list a bunch of alternatives on there. I hooked a friend up with Dextop, it works pretty slick.
Actually, the social learning and growth that come from attending sporting events, or even better, being on the team.... those are very good reasons to go to college.
I don't really buy your tuition argument either, since tuition (at a public school, at least) is rarely enough to actually cover the costs of educating a student. The money comes form elsewhere, such as (gasp) sporting events or taxes.
Wikipedia has an entry for "full disclosure" but none for "responsible disclosure."
:)
Well, after tens of thousands of Slashdot nerds read this, I'm sure that'll change in a few minutes.
Am I the only one who instinctively read this summary with a voice in my head that sounded like the Simpsons Comic Book Guy???
On a side note, my wife is in the military and we have to go through "random" security screenings for our cars. Somehow my Saturn gets nailed 10 to 1 over my wife's car every month. There are times when I just want to run the damn guards over.
:)
Based on that last comment, it would seem like they're searching the right person then. no?
Bullshit. Just let me carry my .45 onto the plane - that'll be far more effective than you going up and giving the terrorist a hug!
:)
Well... ok... rapid depressurisation... at least let me bring a machete.
Finally, the world of "Back to the Future" is coming to us! Now if I can just get that hoverboard I've always wanted....
Business skills may not have been mentioned in your school, but they are still learned there. Learning to deal with your peers, being in high-stress situations (e.g. the book report that you put off till the last minute) and adapting to it, learning to see what opportunities exist and choosing the right ones (i.e. selecting your classes in high school or college)... it's all there somewhere.
That being said, in my public university, I earned a degree in Telecommunications and Networking that strongly focused the business understanding of IT. Some public schools do teach those skills.
For the record, creating a stable infrastructure and making money are not mutually exclusive goals. However, the reason a business has an infrastructure is to make money, and that's the part most IT types miss. You need to analyze everything you do in a cost-vs-rewards light - *that's* the business skills that CIOs want their tech people to have.