You're in Canada, the copyright board has ruled that it's legal for you to download music over P2P services. What are you doing buying CDs anymore? Just be careful not to upload, they still haven't yet ruled on that.
Has someone made a nice and convenient area map of the saturation you mentioned? I'd love to spend some time downtown with my laptop, but I don't have a clue where the hot spots are.
We do - it's our work. Unless you specifically sign it away, it's still a product of your time and effort, regardless of what specifications you worked from.
At least, that's what I've been going on for years. If it's any different, please correct me, and tell me who I have to write a letter to in order to change that.
-Dan
BTW-I'm Canadian, I don't know how it works for Americans.
Svend Robinson is still in power due to one simple fact: a large portion of his constituency is the population of Simon Fraser University.
All he has to do is work the socialist angle and belittle his opponents if he wants to be reellected. Last time I saw him at an "all candidates question period" I nearly walked out in shame, this man cries out in the name of poor sportsmanship and belligerant arrogance.
One thing's for certain though, he does work hard for what he believes in, which is more than you can say for most politicions.
And as for Stockwell Day and his Canadian Alliance (originally announced acronym: CRAP - Conservative Reform Alliance Party) their often underhanded and childish actions is what really deterred the voters, not the so-called crucifiction by the press. Believe it or not, many Canadians are unwilling to vote for a party led by a man who believes the earth is mearely 4000 years old, and is backed by some of the hardest right wing groups in Canadian history.
And finally, as for the Liberals, they are not right wing. The liberals have campaigned on a platform of maintaining basic status quo for much of their political history. Any change they make is often minor, and any change to social balance is almost guaranteed to be painfully slow in implimentation: witness same sex marriage, native treaty talks, national health care system, and a plan to fight rampant poverty. But what they do implement is often carefully balanced to fit the desires of the vast majority of the population, and thus adheres to a middle ground in order to avoid stepping on any toes. No, the liberals are so popular, and so powerful mainly because of their ability not to scare the aging Canadian population with change. If they seem conservative at any given time, or socialist for that matter, it's because the voters that count are leaning in that direction at that time.
That said, I voted Green - something different, something strange. (I knew from the beginning that the Liberals would win - the Alliance was doing such a good job of kicking it's own ass, and the NDP is too abrasive (and small) for most people to bother with it, and as for the PCs, they didn't have a hope).
And remember the motto of the powerful parties in Ottawa (Even the hypocritical Alliance): Forget the west and embrace the east, those who control Ontario and Quebec control the nation.
That said, I'm at least thankful I don't live in the United States - their two party system will never discipate until voters stop their knee-jerk "vote for who I always vote for" methods and actually think about their future. Vote Nader - not for the platform, but for the diversity.
Having a complete fossil record is not required to show that evolution does infact occur - sit down and read "The Origin of Species" sometime, I think you'll be pleasently surprised.
Hmm... The thousands of asthmatics and elderly in Canada that die every year from poor air quality will be thankful to know that there really isn't a problem.
Don't believe me that the air is bad?
Try spending a few years in a remote environment far from major poluters, then spend some time in a large city. That choking, scratching feeling in your throat should convince you otherwise. Believe me, I've gone through this before.
Disclaimer: I am Canadian, I am not a lawyer.
The general feeling I get from friends, family, and coworkers is that once you own a CD you may create copies for your personal use, and lend copies to friends, family, and coworkers for their own personal use, without monetary reward.
Is this the correct legal stance for us Canadians? I realise that Canadian copyright law is much more lax in some respects to United States law, I'm just not sure by how much.
As for drilling students with state prescribed morality: this is the same reason church and schools are seperate, we cannot dictate to children rules which may, or may not conflict with the outlook that parents have emplaced on their children. I for one would not wish to have any offspring of mine to be drilled with corporate emposed morality, regardless of the legality of opposing ideals. How long before I have to watch my back around family, for fear of being turned in for some trivial misdemeanor on my part, perhaps breaking some shrink-wrap license?
The real problem with Canadian health care is that about a decade ago the various governments were looking to tighten their spending, and saw that our Healthcare system, relatively healthy at the time, was cutting deep into our expendatures. As a result, massive cut backs occured, and continued to occur for an unhealthy length of time. Now that the dust has settled we are faced with an underfunded and understaffed system, all thanks to the short sighted actions of politicians desperately trying to garner votes. If the funding had been left alone in the first place we wouldn't be in the state we are today.
There is no sweeping rule for all Universities, but as for SFU, I can assure you that all student works are under sole ownership of the student, and may be placed under any license that they so choose or create.
So we should all have our own piece of the pie? Our own plot of land, the exclusive rights owned by the person living on it?
Well, this seems fine, as long as we forget about precious minerals, soil quality, etc.
So, the land mass available on the earth is 2x10^8 km^2 in size, and there are currently 6.1x10^9 people on this planet. That means I get a plot of land 32768m^2! Wait a minute, that's only 181m by 181m, and I'm supposed to live off of this land? I guess it's feasable, again, provided the soil is arable, there's sufficient rainfall to provide water (obviously there wouldn't be much in the way of running water, as my neighbor's would be scrounging as much of it as they could during dry spells), and the temperature is rather mild (combustable materials wouldn't be around long, and forestry is out of the question, since I already cut down the trees for shelter and heat).
Of course, this is unrealistic, as temperatures aren't mild everywhere, and some places just aren't habitable.
So I guess I'll have to share resources with my neighbor. We'll work together and thus increase or chances of survival, expecially since there is bound to be several crazies who couldn't make it on their own, and are looking for a free meal.
I guess what you could call our resource sharing a coalition, and our land our country.
Wait a minute, we're right back where we started aren't we?
You make it sound like the Japanese made a preemptive strike on urban suburbia - not the defensive tactic they actual employ.
Whenever I hear this justification, of how the American troops were inocently sitting by when they were attacked, and how the nuke was the only justifiable counter attack.
Let's look at it from the Japanese perspective instead: The Americans, a nation whose culture and political status conflicts with your current one, has just moved most of, if not all of it's Pacific naval fleet within striking distance of your homeland. Now, you could sit by and wait for the attack, or strike early and strike hard. What would you do?
There were no innocents here.
Now, I can understand why the Americans dropped the nuke, their pacific forces had been landed a shattering blow by the attack, and the rest of their military was already stretched a little thin. So, in order to stop a possibly devistating blow against America itself, the nuke was dropped.
I understand the reasons, but I can't justify them.
There is no way to describe this event beyond a single word: Genocide. Like it or not, hundreds of thousands of civilians were slaughtered,(millions maybe, I don't know the number off the top of my head) and many more dying long after the actual event.
There was a great miniseries about this, aptly titled "Hiroshima", I recommend it whole-heartedly.
I've never quite understood this - how can you store antimatter, why don't the particle/antiparticle pairs annihilate each other? I'm grasping at nothingness here, but I've always visualized antimatter being stored as a non-gas in a vacuum, out of contact with the container.
Furthermore, how is it possible to utilize antimatter for propulsion? From the method mentioned in the article, I'd imagine the system to keep the anitmatter isolated while the combustion occurs would be insanely complex - or beautifully simple. Of course, 100 milligrams of fuel would offset that particular downside!
If I replace the stereo system in my car with a more powerful, more expensive system, the insurance company will increase my bill. How is this any different?
Windows NT/2000 may not be more powerful, but it is more expensive, and as a result it's more expensive for the insurance company to replace than an Open Source operating system.
So, why would you expect your premiums not to go up based on the expense of your system? Remember, the insurance company must have a sound finance model, and not recognize the actual expense of an insured item just doesn't fit in with sound thinking.
-Medgur
BTW-Excellent troll, not only did you bring in the typical anti-slashdot propoganda, but you even managed to bring in the "American Way" and veterans, all while fooling the moderators.
"we should not stimulate those who cannot handle a heightened sense of awareness and can't resist their desires"
"it is the women of America who really pay for the porn and violence that our menfolk consume"
I hate to cut apart your entire post, but I just wanted to highlight those points, as they seem to speak clearly for themselves. I've gotten the impression that you're advocating that much of the male populace cannot handle such intense emotions without longterm side effects? And, as a result we should do our best to shield them from any intense media in order to protect the interests of the other 51% of society? The problem here is, this is an extremely gender-biased approach to solving some of the most harmful aspects of society towards women (spousal abuse, rape, etc). Perhaps those that do offend are directly influenced into their actions by sexual and violent media, but then again, such violence has been declining in North America (please correct me if I'm wrong) long before such media really existed in such a wide spread manner. Perhaps, instead of blaming porn and violent video games, we should look at unemployment, poverty, racial/gender inequity (gender inequity is not just a problem for women, it is a problem for men as well), and general social frustration.
It's not fair to say "it's our culture," when, the fact remains rampant sex, and/or the suppression of, is found in all cultures throughout the world. A desire for sex, in any medium, is part of our humanity, and may be the one constant in all cultures across the globe and throughout time. Trying to suppress this desire, or attempting to censor any expressions of it eventually creates frustration and anger amongst the affected population. Personally, I don't understand why an effort to suppress and control this aspect of humanity is even made, history shows that it's a hopeless cause (eg, prostitution is humanity's oldest industry, and countless societies have attempted to stop it entirely, yet all have failed).
Now, I'm not advocating rampant sexual media, or even legalization of prostitution. I'd just like to see conservative (harmful) attitudes laid to rest, and maybe then we'll stop seeing such an emphasis on "softcore porn" in gaming (rebellion), and a greater emphasis on character interaction, plot, and story line.
After reading through this sparse article and pondering over the provided quotes, I can only say that it seems very likely the school's administration was totally, and utterly wrong in their preceeding and post actions.
To begin with, it seems to me, due to the hesitation of the administration to reveal its nature, the "hack" incurred could not have been a very severe one. I don't see how it could have been necessary to suspend Shinjan for such a bredth of time, seeing as how the expected suspension for physical assault tends to be a week or two. Furthermore, Shinjan was 13 years old, and it looks as though he put himself under a lot of stress and self scrutiny in order to succeed. This is not abnormal, and it is something administrators should be able to recognize easily from student records and an indepth character assessment. Couple the overzealous punishment, heavy personal stress, and a modern society where suicide isn't quite as shunned and feared as it was 50 (or even 25) years ago, and you've got a recipe for disaster, not to mention the veiled threat of (to Shinjan at least) of imprisonment. What aspiring student can shrug off such a conviction as a criminal record?
Obviously, we can't expect the administrators to so easily spot these problems within their students when schools can house 1500 or more. But perhaps those responsible will finally begin to understand that retribution isn't an effective form of punishment, and as a result overzealous sentencing will be replaced with a greater emphasis on education about the rights of others and a person's responsibilities not to infringe apon them.
I think I'll stop now before this turns into a rant.
-Medgur
Slashdot Mirror
You're in Canada, the copyright board has ruled that it's legal for you to download music over P2P services. What are you doing buying CDs anymore? Just be careful not to upload, they still haven't yet ruled on that.
Canada has a very similar levy, and here, at least according to the Copyright Board, we can download as much as we want.
Has someone made a nice and convenient area map of the saturation you mentioned? I'd love to spend some time downtown with my laptop, but I don't have a clue where the hot spots are.
Shaving, obviously.
That's rather sad. I hadn't seriously used it for about a year so I never noticed.
Too bad, it was a great forum.
I've been using this one for years: http://www.experts-exchange.com
It's mostly help forums, but I haven't really felt a strong desire to get in touch with people on the grounds of a single software paradigm.
As of this writing I'm looking at a list of people near me... Including "goatse," who has a rather disturbing picture. Definitely a Slahdotter.
This is a little more than off topic, but, if you clone yourself, and have sex with your clone, would you be masterbating?
-Medgur
We do - it's our work. Unless you specifically sign it away, it's still a product of your time and effort, regardless of what specifications you worked from.
At least, that's what I've been going on for years. If it's any different, please correct me, and tell me who I have to write a letter to in order to change that.
-Dan
BTW-I'm Canadian, I don't know how it works for Americans.
Svend Robinson is still in power due to one simple fact: a large portion of his constituency is the population of Simon Fraser University.
All he has to do is work the socialist angle and belittle his opponents if he wants to be reellected. Last time I saw him at an "all candidates question period" I nearly walked out in shame, this man cries out in the name of poor sportsmanship and belligerant arrogance.
One thing's for certain though, he does work hard for what he believes in, which is more than you can say for most politicions.
And as for Stockwell Day and his Canadian Alliance (originally announced acronym: CRAP - Conservative Reform Alliance Party) their often underhanded and childish actions is what really deterred the voters, not the so-called crucifiction by the press. Believe it or not, many Canadians are unwilling to vote for a party led by a man who believes the earth is mearely 4000 years old, and is backed by some of the hardest right wing groups in Canadian history.
And finally, as for the Liberals, they are not right wing. The liberals have campaigned on a platform of maintaining basic status quo for much of their political history. Any change they make is often minor, and any change to social balance is almost guaranteed to be painfully slow in implimentation: witness same sex marriage, native treaty talks, national health care system, and a plan to fight rampant poverty. But what they do implement is often carefully balanced to fit the desires of the vast majority of the population, and thus adheres to a middle ground in order to avoid stepping on any toes. No, the liberals are so popular, and so powerful mainly because of their ability not to scare the aging Canadian population with change. If they seem conservative at any given time, or socialist for that matter, it's because the voters that count are leaning in that direction at that time.
That said, I voted Green - something different, something strange. (I knew from the beginning that the Liberals would win - the Alliance was doing such a good job of kicking it's own ass, and the NDP is too abrasive (and small) for most people to bother with it, and as for the PCs, they didn't have a hope).
And remember the motto of the powerful parties in Ottawa (Even the hypocritical Alliance): Forget the west and embrace the east, those who control Ontario and Quebec control the nation.
That said, I'm at least thankful I don't live in the United States - their two party system will never discipate until voters stop their knee-jerk "vote for who I always vote for" methods and actually think about their future. Vote Nader - not for the platform, but for the diversity.
-Medgur
That probably explains why I have yet to get passed level 7. "Ooh, I wonder what would happen if I did this? Oh."
-Medgur
Having a complete fossil record is not required to show that evolution does infact occur - sit down and read "The Origin of Species" sometime, I think you'll be pleasently surprised.
-Medgur
Hmm... The thousands of asthmatics and elderly in Canada that die every year from poor air quality will be thankful to know that there really isn't a problem.
Don't believe me that the air is bad?
Try spending a few years in a remote environment far from major poluters, then spend some time in a large city. That choking, scratching feeling in your throat should convince you otherwise. Believe me, I've gone through this before.
-Medgur
Disclaimer: I am Canadian, I am not a lawyer.
The general feeling I get from friends, family, and coworkers is that once you own a CD you may create copies for your personal use, and lend copies to friends, family, and coworkers for their own personal use, without monetary reward.
Is this the correct legal stance for us Canadians? I realise that Canadian copyright law is much more lax in some respects to United States law, I'm just not sure by how much.
As for drilling students with state prescribed morality: this is the same reason church and schools are seperate, we cannot dictate to children rules which may, or may not conflict with the outlook that parents have emplaced on their children. I for one would not wish to have any offspring of mine to be drilled with corporate emposed morality, regardless of the legality of opposing ideals. How long before I have to watch my back around family, for fear of being turned in for some trivial misdemeanor on my part, perhaps breaking some shrink-wrap license?
-Medgur
Or how about Chicago, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, etc?
-Medgur
The real problem with Canadian health care is that about a decade ago the various governments were looking to tighten their spending, and saw that our Healthcare system, relatively healthy at the time, was cutting deep into our expendatures. As a result, massive cut backs occured, and continued to occur for an unhealthy length of time. Now that the dust has settled we are faced with an underfunded and understaffed system, all thanks to the short sighted actions of politicians desperately trying to garner votes. If the funding had been left alone in the first place we wouldn't be in the state we are today.
As voters, we only have ourselves to blame.
-Medgur
There is no sweeping rule for all Universities, but as for SFU, I can assure you that all student works are under sole ownership of the student, and may be placed under any license that they so choose or create.
-Medgur
So we should all have our own piece of the pie? Our own plot of land, the exclusive rights owned by the person living on it?
Q :i nstruct.uwo.ca/earth-sci/300b-001/handydat.htm+use ful+facts+about+the+earth&hl=en
Well, this seems fine, as long as we forget about precious minerals, soil quality, etc.
So, the land mass available on the earth is 2x10^8 km^2 in size, and there are currently 6.1x10^9 people on this planet. That means I get a plot of land 32768m^2! Wait a minute, that's only 181m by 181m, and I'm supposed to live off of this land? I guess it's feasable, again, provided the soil is arable, there's sufficient rainfall to provide water (obviously there wouldn't be much in the way of running water, as my neighbor's would be scrounging as much of it as they could during dry spells), and the temperature is rather mild (combustable materials wouldn't be around long, and forestry is out of the question, since I already cut down the trees for shelter and heat).
Of course, this is unrealistic, as temperatures aren't mild everywhere, and some places just aren't habitable.
So I guess I'll have to share resources with my neighbor. We'll work together and thus increase or chances of survival, expecially since there is bound to be several crazies who couldn't make it on their own, and are looking for a free meal.
I guess what you could call our resource sharing a coalition, and our land our country.
Wait a minute, we're right back where we started aren't we?
-Medgur
PS-Data gathered from:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:lBX5AMlQxP
http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/popclockw
You make it sound like the Japanese made a preemptive strike on urban suburbia - not the defensive tactic they actual employ.
Whenever I hear this justification, of how the American troops were inocently sitting by when they were attacked, and how the nuke was the only justifiable counter attack.
Let's look at it from the Japanese perspective instead: The Americans, a nation whose culture and political status conflicts with your current one, has just moved most of, if not all of it's Pacific naval fleet within striking distance of your homeland. Now, you could sit by and wait for the attack, or strike early and strike hard. What would you do?
There were no innocents here.
Now, I can understand why the Americans dropped the nuke, their pacific forces had been landed a shattering blow by the attack, and the rest of their military was already stretched a little thin. So, in order to stop a possibly devistating blow against America itself, the nuke was dropped.
I understand the reasons, but I can't justify them.
There is no way to describe this event beyond a single word: Genocide. Like it or not, hundreds of thousands of civilians were slaughtered,(millions maybe, I don't know the number off the top of my head) and many more dying long after the actual event.
There was a great miniseries about this, aptly titled "Hiroshima", I recommend it whole-heartedly.
-Medgur
I've never quite understood this - how can you store antimatter, why don't the particle/antiparticle pairs annihilate each other? I'm grasping at nothingness here, but I've always visualized antimatter being stored as a non-gas in a vacuum, out of contact with the container.
Furthermore, how is it possible to utilize antimatter for propulsion? From the method mentioned in the article, I'd imagine the system to keep the anitmatter isolated while the combustion occurs would be insanely complex - or beautifully simple. Of course, 100 milligrams of fuel would offset that particular downside!
So many questions...
Thanks,
-Medgur
If I replace the stereo system in my car with a more powerful, more expensive system, the insurance company will increase my bill. How is this any different?
Windows NT/2000 may not be more powerful, but it is more expensive, and as a result it's more expensive for the insurance company to replace than an Open Source operating system.
So, why would you expect your premiums not to go up based on the expense of your system? Remember, the insurance company must have a sound finance model, and not recognize the actual expense of an insured item just doesn't fit in with sound thinking.
-Medgur
BTW-Excellent troll, not only did you bring in the typical anti-slashdot propoganda, but you even managed to bring in the "American Way" and veterans, all while fooling the moderators.
I happen to like being attached to a monarchy - it's something called "heritage."
-Medgur
"we should not stimulate those who cannot handle a heightened sense of awareness and can't resist their desires"
"it is the women of America who really pay for the porn and violence that our menfolk consume"
I hate to cut apart your entire post, but I just wanted to highlight those points, as they seem to speak clearly for themselves. I've gotten the impression that you're advocating that much of the male populace cannot handle such intense emotions without longterm side effects? And, as a result we should do our best to shield them from any intense media in order to protect the interests of the other 51% of society? The problem here is, this is an extremely gender-biased approach to solving some of the most harmful aspects of society towards women (spousal abuse, rape, etc). Perhaps those that do offend are directly influenced into their actions by sexual and violent media, but then again, such violence has been declining in North America (please correct me if I'm wrong) long before such media really existed in such a wide spread manner. Perhaps, instead of blaming porn and violent video games, we should look at unemployment, poverty, racial/gender inequity (gender inequity is not just a problem for women, it is a problem for men as well), and general social frustration.
-Medgur
It's not fair to say "it's our culture," when, the fact remains rampant sex, and/or the suppression of, is found in all cultures throughout the world. A desire for sex, in any medium, is part of our humanity, and may be the one constant in all cultures across the globe and throughout time. Trying to suppress this desire, or attempting to censor any expressions of it eventually creates frustration and anger amongst the affected population. Personally, I don't understand why an effort to suppress and control this aspect of humanity is even made, history shows that it's a hopeless cause (eg, prostitution is humanity's oldest industry, and countless societies have attempted to stop it entirely, yet all have failed).
Now, I'm not advocating rampant sexual media, or even legalization of prostitution. I'd just like to see conservative (harmful) attitudes laid to rest, and maybe then we'll stop seeing such an emphasis on "softcore porn" in gaming (rebellion), and a greater emphasis on character interaction, plot, and story line.
Wishful thinking, I know.
-Medgur
After reading through this sparse article and pondering over the provided quotes, I can only say that it seems very likely the school's administration was totally, and utterly wrong in their preceeding and post actions.
To begin with, it seems to me, due to the hesitation of the administration to reveal its nature, the "hack" incurred could not have been a very severe one. I don't see how it could have been necessary to suspend Shinjan for such a bredth of time, seeing as how the expected suspension for physical assault tends to be a week or two. Furthermore, Shinjan was 13 years old, and it looks as though he put himself under a lot of stress and self scrutiny in order to succeed. This is not abnormal, and it is something administrators should be able to recognize easily from student records and an indepth character assessment. Couple the overzealous punishment, heavy personal stress, and a modern society where suicide isn't quite as shunned and feared as it was 50 (or even 25) years ago, and you've got a recipe for disaster, not to mention the veiled threat of (to Shinjan at least) of imprisonment. What aspiring student can shrug off such a conviction as a criminal record?
Obviously, we can't expect the administrators to so easily spot these problems within their students when schools can house 1500 or more. But perhaps those responsible will finally begin to understand that retribution isn't an effective form of punishment, and as a result overzealous sentencing will be replaced with a greater emphasis on education about the rights of others and a person's responsibilities not to infringe apon them.
I think I'll stop now before this turns into a rant.
-Medgur