-plain and simple. 99% of all actions done by the government and people of the US since 911 have been based on a reflex due to fear.
It has been many generations that the US has fought a war on its mainland. The idea that anyone could hurt the nation so much was horrific - that's why the media keep saying that "We'll never be the same."
While the fear has a basis, the trick is to balance the reactions to the fear so that the cure is not worse than the malady. We also have to be watchful that not every single pork barrel projects or favorite political initiatives get shoved through on the tide of such fears.
Fortunately, there are still some principled and rational journalists and organizations who are brave enough to speak out for such balances. So BE SURE TO SUPPORT THEM. Send in that donation to ACLU and others fighting for your rights!
"Aikido is jujitsu for people who don't like fighting."
As someone who've studied Aikido, hapkido, and some other martial arts, I would say that you're partially correct. While inheriting techniques from kendo as well as jujitsu, aikido's primary values lie in the martial ART and spiritual aspects.
On a personal level, after an aikido workout, I feel refreshed and confident in meeting challenges with finesse rather then bruising confrontations. I'll never forget what my Hapkido teacher told us, "This is NOT a self defense course. If you want to practice self defense, buy a pair a good running shoes and practice screaming HELP while running at top speed down the street."
With the commencement of the twentieth century where machine guns can kills thousands and bombs can kill millions, all schools of martial arts have had to introspect on their internal value and where their future may lie. Wu-shu followed the paths of acrobatics and performance. Aikido emphasized the spiritual and psychological aspects.
If one wishes only to learn to maim and kill another, indeed it may be best to study assaination techniques or Thai boxing. But SHOULD that be the reason for you to study MARTIAL ARTS?
"Well, this isn't so idiotic. There are chinese styles that are very, very jumping-heavy. From what I understand, there are some northern styles where a fighting person spends more time in the air then on the ground. (This is supposed to be derived from fighting on ice, where the air is actually a more stable place than the ground is.)"
The southern styles emphasizes a firm foundation. Hence, the ubiquitous practice of the horse stance. In contrast, the northern styles emphasize using hand/arms for defense and the legs for offense: "Hands are two door panes, only the legs can hit your opponent."
However, this does not always mean a high flying attack. As another poster hinted, once you're off the ground, there are limited options as to what you can do. So unless you're very sure of a win, it's not a good idea. In particular, the current popularity of a tumbling run before one commence an attack is laughable. It's a waste of energy that leaves you open to attack.
If you want to see how well a big person can fight, try to catch some of the Martial Law episodes or any of Sammo Hung's movies. You'll be very surprised.
If you're referring to the country allotment system for the professional staffs, I feel that it's a relatively fair, though not perfect system. Note that the support staff do NOT fall under this rules. The result is that the largest national group working at the UN in NYC remains US citizens when you look at all the employees.
In addition, if you don't know what UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, and UNHCR are, you are missing most of the important work done by the UN. Learn about them to gain an informed opinion.
If you know anything about Hong Kong, you'd know it has the most laisser faire economy in the world. Far less regulated that the US economy. The most successful capitalist in the past 3 decades is Li-Ka Shing who controls Hutchison Whampoa. Do you think he really belives in the communist dogma?
With the exit of the British colonialist, obviously he would cultivate relation with the new government. It does not mean that the PRC government is managing the company though. I listen to news from HK weekly. The PRC has truely kept to the one country two system pledge in the main. They have never meddled in the operation of the economy.
Following your link: "There are fears too that without the US presence, the small country could be dragged deeper into the narco-economy of neighbouring Colombia.
After almost a century of American imperialism in Panama, both sides are now looking to a new but uncertain future."
BBC RADIO NEWS
Perhaps you are really bemoaning the age where the USA can carve out a new country if the local government don't cooperate in pumping out oil or building a canal.
As for Global Crossing and Enron - it's not the company size that matter, but the possible repercussions. GC went down with the whole telecomm sector and was widely anticipated. Enron was a surprise which casted a shadow over the ENTIRE private economy. Investors are now questions the accounting practices of ALL companies. There is simply no comparison between the 2 cases.
Is it amazing how a little knowledge and common sense dispels most conspiracy theories?
"The United Nations on it's face seems like a decent and good thing. Underneath it's a messy, contrived political body that lacks real power."
It lacks real power BECAUSE the member nations refuse to grant it real power and money. How many years have the US been in arrear of its membership dues? Furthermore, the Security Council members vetos anything against their interests and views.
While it is true that the general assembly has limited effectiveness, the other UN bodies have done tremendous things: WHO, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNDP...
Remember Small Pox? It is the ONLY infectious disease that was deliberately wiped out in the human population. This is an HISTORIC event that would have been impossible without an international cooperation framework like the UN.
I don't believe that an Utopian society is possible or even desirable. But surely it is obvious that we need more mutual understanding of other cultures and believe systems in this post-911 world that we live in. The UN system has made excellent strides in this direction already and should be supported to become more effective.
Carter was the first Naval Academy graduate to become a US President. Think that might have something to do with it?
The communist Chinese do not have the Panama Canal nor are they bidding for Global Crossing. You are confusing a private company based in Hong Kong and publically traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange with the PRC government. It got a contract to operate the ports at the Panama Canal because THEY HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCES RUNNNING Hong Kong's ports. The same company in a partnership made an offer for Global Crossing. It hasn't been accepted yet as Global Crossing wants more money. That's IT.
The major difference between Enron and Global Crossing is that the highly leveraged position of Global Crossing is well known. Once the telecommunication market slowed, people EXPECTED it to lose money, a ton of it. Whereas Enron illustrates the Gordon Gecko mentality that has pervaded many US company such that they use accounting and financing slight of hand to boast up short term profit. (See Krugman's Op-Ed on 6/4 in the NYT) Thus, an apparently sound company collapsed virtually overnight. THIS is why Enron is accorded such attention. No conspiracy theory is required.
You should feel bad that the US government refuses to be responsible for hazardous waste being shipped to locations where it is probably that they will contaminate the environment.
You should feel bad that the US corporations refuse to include the full cost of the consumption of a consumer item in its sales price as European corporations are starting to do. This distorts the economic equilibrium and passes the costs onto the common.
Before you say that contamination of another country's environment is not you concern. Think again. In the global market, pollution have a funny way of being cycled around the world. Mercury contamination in another continent, for instance, can easily end up in the fish you eat in your big city restaurant.
Nature is amoral because no human choice is involved. Without free will, morality is indeed meaningless. Similarly, animal are often said to be amoral.
However, political arrangements are totally about people's choices and how to resolve conflicts between people's choices. Since a dictator can impose his/her choice above any of his/her subjects, the moral character of his/her choices is clear.
The AotC is OK as a spectaccle. The Fight scenes, esp. in the arena, are better than Ep I. However, the Anakin and Padme love scenes are aweful, however pretty Portman is. In addition, AtoC is wedged between Ep I and IV plotwise, leaving little room for surprises. This would not be a problem if the film could sustain a classic sense of tragedy, foreboding, and doom. But there is nothing in Ep I and II to make the viewer really care about the characters and the plots.
Historically, there were too few jews in the far east for there to be any significant reaction to him that might be called anti-semitism. In fact, the major enclaves of jews in China were almost completely assimilated. Within SE Asia these past centuries, the oversea Chineses were perceived in stereotypes more analogous to the Jews of Europe. Forced away from political power by their small numbers, many have achieved financial success. They have also kept their native customs for many years until the recent rise in nationalist sentiments.
On the Japanese side, I also do not see any strong historic anti-semitism. There was a Japanese consul who in fact saved many jews by issuing to them visas to Japan so that they could escape Europe, very similar to Schindler. In addition, Tezuka's manga masterpice "Adolph" had as its main characters 2 boys who grew up in the port city of Japan. They were both named Adolph and became friends. One was Jewish and the other was the son of a Nazi officer. But they were not treated much differently by the Japaneses when they were boys.
Democracy was never grounded upon efficiency or the desires of the elites. ( If you're reading slashdot, I submit that your're an elite in the US, in terms of education at the very least ).
It is well known that a dictatorship is the historically most efficient form of governance. The problem comes when the dictator is not so kind or needs to pass the reign onto another.
You attitudes, unfortunately, reflects the popular caricature of the amoral scientest. He couldn't care less about the rights and conditions of those around him so long as he has a morsel of security and a chance to serve SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS.
By all means, move to Singapore, Malaysia, or even Australia. But if you think you can run away from humann nature....
The price/volume problem you describe is certainly well known in microeconomic. But you even admit that it's very difficult to figure out the best pricing point esp. if you have competitions that dynamically adjust their prices. For instance, you wouldn't want to trigger a price war, so you'd be careful how you adjust your prices.
The truth is, neither you nor the record company, knows if their net profit will go up if they drop their prices. There is no way to be certain that the increased volume will make up for the decreased margin. Thus, this microeconomic 'fact' is useless in the current discussion.
The same argument applies to the you tax example. Supply sider claim that lowering taxes will stimulate economic activites so that the volume makes up for the lower tax rates. However, there is no theoretical certainty to this and scant empirical evidence. Worse yet, this argument depends on an entire macroeconomic loop which is contingent on a panoply of factors with uncertainties magnitudes larger than the microeconomic case. This Laffer Curve theory is indeed 'laff-able'.
The truth of the matter is that 90% of pop culure is repetitive mediocrity, whether it's in Japan, France, or the USA. Look at the pop music scene and television landscape in the USA with its trademark 'individuality'. How often does a truly original work get distributed?
I suggest that the commercial process does NOT fit well for creative talents. Nor does popular culture generally accepts them. Look the furor the 'Sensation' exhibit triggerd in NYC. And that was in the supposedly sophisticated urban area in a mainstream art institution.
As for Japan, if you want to look for popular creative voices, you'd do much better reading manga than anime which costs so much more to produce. It's the same in the US. You may have to work a little harder to find them. But then, you don't expect to find Frank or Sandman in your local 7-11, do you?
There are too many to go into in details.
Let's just focus on the main one.
There are no major theoretical differences between Property Tax and Income Tax in terms of their impact on personal privacy.
1. What you do on you land, in fact, DOES affect how you're taxed. (It's called zoning.)
2. Income tax as it's implemented in the US is so complex and invasive only because the govenment is trying to implement social policies.
3. Property tax or wealth tax could be even more complex and invasive than Income tax is today. (Look at Estate Taxes.)
4. A simple income tax is entirely possibel theoretically.
But I think your real beef is with the progressive tax rate:
It is the income tax that allows the government to bribe the majority with money coerced from the minority. It is the income tax which spawns most of the tyranny that the US government practices (admittedly, still less than most places in the world). It is the income tax which sterilizes citizenship by removing the ability of citizens to control their government's behavior by changing their own behavior. It is the income tax which poisons public debate by allowing people to obtain benefits without costs, and thus makes the incentive for an individual to go along with a government program - lest their own government teat be attacked by the beneficiaries of another program - unless they are in the unheard minority who have to fund whatever the latest government program might be. It is the income tax which is LEAST useful and sensible to a free people.
A couple of points:
1. Those with higher income usually amass more property. Thus, they are using more government services, i.e. the police, army, and fire department, who are defending their property rights.
2. It's facinating that you don't mention VAT which is heavily used in Europe. While similar to Sales tax, it taxes each components of a final product at each assembly step. It has minimal impact on consumer privacy.
3. US conservatives dislike the VAT because they feel it hids the amount of taxes being collected. They PREFER the income tax because it keeps reminding the voters how much the government is 'taking' from the people.
4. You can breath easy. Since the US Supreme Court has ruled that money is speech, those with money should be able to continue buying politicians as needed regardless of how the unwashed masses votes!
NYT Letter to Editor info
on
SSSCA Editorials
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· Score: 2, Informative
Letters to the Editor
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Those who can subtract would deduce from this post that the ID cards have been required for several decades under the British colonial rule - which indeed was NOT democratic, though I'd hesitate to call them communist. #-}
The main reason for this requirements was that Hong Kong has been a major transit point for the past centuries. Many travelers and refugees pass through there and some want to stay (illegally). The ID was the simplist way to deal with controlling immigration. Remember that every war and unrest in the regions provoked a flood of refugess - some Vietnames refugees were still stuck in HK transit camps until a couple of years ago!
Re:Warning - to the wrong book!
on
Digital Biology
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· Score: 2, Informative
Even ardent Creationists cannot deny the 'fact' of hereditary mutation, selection, and hence, evolution. Christians have manipulated the genetic stocks of plants and animals for centuries. This is EXACTLY the same thing that Genetic or Evolutionary Programming is doing.
Creationsists only take issue with the scientific theory that Darwinian evolution can explain ALL of the biological phenomena. They cannot deny that evolution exists and works. They have only made arguments that it works too slowly to explain everything. Thus, this warning is extermely misguided.
The author, unfortunately, seems woefully ignorant of the advances made in the field of Natural Language processing. There are already a number of products available which analyzes Wire Service reports semantically to filter out relevant news items. Thus, the fact that e-mail or IM don't have links doesn't mean that they cannot be processed by computers.
While it is true that someone trying to fool the NLP programs can easily do so ( by using coded phrases, etc. ). But human analyzers are not likely fare much better in those cases either.
This is why privacy legislations similar to what's instituted in Eurpoe are still necessary in the US of A.
Looking at the new Adult Swim line up, I've been wondering why Yu Yu Hokusi and Pilot Candidate were put into this block. I've seen the entire YuYu Hokusa series (highly recommended) and it's definitely NOT more violent than DBZ. Pilot Candidate also looks pretty tame so far. The Interview suggested that these shows were really slated for Toonami originally which makes much more sense. Thus, while I won't allow my kids to watch Cowboy Bebop, these 2 shows are no problem at all. Perhaps they'll move them out of Adult Swim some day.
Nor would it be complete to note that the character and idea for 'Quincy' is based on the real life case of an Asian American forenesic expert who've won many awards for solving very complex cases. However, the network could not believe that America is ready for a TV lead character who's Asian American! Thus, that character got to be a side-kick only. Kinda reminds me of Bruce Lee as Kato on the Green Hornet!
This is the reason the content industries are focusing on Watermark and mandaate DRM software/hardware. With certain watermarking scheme, the watermark still remains after you videotape off a monitor. Thus, though you may be able to make an analog copy, your buddy still may not be able to play it if the watermark ties it to a specific device or some biometric ID.
Even if one agrees with your premise that money controls everything in a capitalist society, what makes you think withholding your purchase will have any effects?
Remember that there are business interests with much more money than you who can influence people's views and spending habits. They will have a much larger voice than you do.
Consider how withholding you money might stop a Pentagon who decides to plant false news items in the US (see NYT article 2/19) ? Are you going to stop paying taxes?
In other words, even in capitalism, there are extant social, legal, and politcal frameworks which conditions the choices that a nation makes. If you want your voice to be heard, you'd better get involved with a community, get involved with political actions.
Since Sept.11, I've been waiting for the rise of paranoid isolationism in the USA. Thankfully, yours is a lone voice in the public discourse.
Let us look at hard historical facts when we're talking about Imperialism.
For the past 300 years, China has been content to rule in the eastern corner of Asia. You might quibble about border disputes and annexation of tiny borders states. But by and large they have NOT been expansionsist.
This is in clear contrast to the romp of the European colonialists throughout the globe this same period. Now let's look around today. What country has military bases in almost all continents in the world? What country has the overwhelming ability to destroy all civilization on the planet? It is not China.
Let's be realistic here. We live in the age of Pax Americana. With the collapse of the USSR and Japan's economy in a slump, the next potential economic competitor for the USA is China! ( China is no where near a competitor in the military realm. ) So it is little wonder that some American feel China to be the next threat.
I find it indeed ironic that the champion of the free trade and free market system would be concerned about a new competitor who's just joining the game he set up in the first place.
What are the requirements of your project?
What are the requirements of likely projects for your group in the next 6 years?
Define those requiremnets FIRST before starting to do any logical design and make design choices.
Also, will you be doing the entire project in house? If not, what libraries or packages might be availabe to help your project succed? What restrictions do they place on your choice of languages?
What about your staff? What types of languages do they know? How easily do they learn new languages? Say you decide that the best language based on your features list is SOAR. That would be quite pointless if half your staff go crazy trying to learn it and cannot maintain it.
The art of design is a balancing act between many elements. It behooves you to get the broadest views possible at the outset and avoid commiting design choices until as late as practicable.
Slashdot Mirror
-plain and simple. 99% of all actions done by the government and people of the US since 911 have been based on a reflex due to fear.
It has been many generations that the US has fought a war on its mainland. The idea that anyone could hurt the nation so much was horrific - that's why the media keep saying that "We'll never be the same."
While the fear has a basis, the trick is to balance the reactions to the fear so that the cure is not worse than the malady. We also have to be watchful that not every single pork barrel projects or favorite political initiatives get shoved through on the tide of such fears.
Fortunately, there are still some principled and rational journalists and organizations who are brave enough to speak out for such balances. So BE SURE TO SUPPORT THEM. Send in that donation to ACLU and others fighting for your rights!
"Aikido is jujitsu for people who don't like fighting."
As someone who've studied Aikido, hapkido, and some other martial arts, I would say that you're partially correct. While inheriting techniques from kendo as well as jujitsu, aikido's primary values lie in the martial ART and spiritual aspects.
On a personal level, after an aikido workout, I feel refreshed and confident in meeting challenges with finesse rather then bruising confrontations. I'll never forget what my Hapkido teacher told us, "This is NOT a self defense course. If you want to practice self defense, buy a pair a good running shoes and practice screaming HELP while running at top speed down the street."
With the commencement of the twentieth century where machine guns can kills thousands and bombs can kill millions, all schools of martial arts have had to introspect on their internal value and where their future may lie. Wu-shu followed the paths of acrobatics and performance. Aikido emphasized the spiritual and psychological aspects.
If one wishes only to learn to maim and kill another, indeed it may be best to study assaination techniques or Thai boxing. But SHOULD that be the reason for you to study MARTIAL ARTS?
"Well, this isn't so idiotic. There are chinese styles that are very, very jumping-heavy. From what I understand, there are some northern styles where a fighting person spends more time in the air then on the ground. (This is supposed to be derived from fighting on ice, where the air is actually a more stable place than the ground is.)"
The southern styles emphasizes a firm foundation. Hence, the ubiquitous practice of the horse stance. In contrast, the northern styles emphasize using hand/arms for defense and the legs for offense: "Hands are two door panes, only the legs can hit your opponent."
However, this does not always mean a high flying attack. As another poster hinted, once you're off the ground, there are limited options as to what you can do. So unless you're very sure of a win, it's not a good idea. In particular, the current popularity of a tumbling run before one commence an attack is laughable. It's a waste of energy that leaves you open to attack.
If you want to see how well a big person can fight, try to catch some of the Martial Law episodes or any of Sammo Hung's movies. You'll be very surprised.
If you're referring to the country allotment system for the professional staffs, I feel that it's a relatively fair, though not perfect system. Note that the support staff do NOT fall under this rules. The result is that the largest national group working at the UN in NYC remains US citizens when you look at all the employees.
In addition, if you don't know what UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, and UNHCR are, you are missing most of the important work done by the UN. Learn about them to gain an informed opinion.
If you know anything about Hong Kong, you'd know it has the most laisser faire economy in the world. Far less regulated that the US economy. The most successful capitalist in the past 3 decades is Li-Ka Shing who controls Hutchison Whampoa. Do you think he really belives in the communist dogma?
With the exit of the British colonialist, obviously he would cultivate relation with the new government. It does not mean that the PRC government is managing the company though.
I listen to news from HK weekly. The PRC has truely kept to the one country two system pledge in the main. They have never meddled in the operation of the economy.
Following your link:
"There are fears too that without the US presence, the small country could be dragged deeper into the narco-economy of neighbouring Colombia.
After almost a century of American imperialism in Panama, both sides are now looking to a new but uncertain future."
BBC RADIO NEWS
Perhaps you are really bemoaning the age where the USA can carve out a new country if the local government don't cooperate in pumping out oil or building a canal.
As for Global Crossing and Enron - it's not the company size that matter, but the possible repercussions. GC went down with the whole telecomm sector and was widely anticipated. Enron was a surprise which casted a shadow over the ENTIRE private economy. Investors are now questions the accounting practices of ALL companies. There is simply no comparison between the 2 cases.
Is it amazing how a little knowledge and common sense dispels most conspiracy theories?
"The United Nations on it's face seems like a decent and good thing. Underneath it's a messy, contrived political body that lacks real power."
It lacks real power BECAUSE the member nations refuse to grant it real power and money. How many years have the US been in arrear of its membership dues? Furthermore, the Security Council members vetos anything against their interests and views.
While it is true that the general assembly has limited effectiveness, the other UN bodies have done tremendous things: WHO, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNDP...
Remember Small Pox? It is the ONLY infectious disease that was deliberately wiped out in the human population. This is an HISTORIC event that would have been impossible without an international cooperation framework like the UN.
I don't believe that an Utopian society is possible or even desirable. But surely it is obvious that we need more mutual understanding of other cultures and believe systems in this post-911 world that we live in. The UN system has made excellent strides in this direction already and should be supported to become more effective.
This uninformed flambait got mod'd to 5 !?
Carter was the first Naval Academy graduate to become a US President. Think that might have something to do with it?
The communist Chinese do not have the Panama Canal nor are they bidding for Global Crossing. You are confusing a private company based in Hong Kong and publically traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange with the PRC government. It got a contract to operate the ports at the Panama Canal because THEY HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCES RUNNNING Hong Kong's ports. The same company in a partnership made an offer for Global Crossing. It hasn't been accepted yet as Global Crossing wants more money. That's IT.
The major difference between Enron and Global Crossing is that the highly leveraged position of Global Crossing is well known. Once the telecommunication market slowed, people EXPECTED it to lose money, a ton of it. Whereas Enron illustrates the Gordon Gecko mentality that has pervaded many US company such that they use accounting and financing slight of hand to boast up short term profit. (See Krugman's Op-Ed on 6/4 in the NYT) Thus, an apparently sound company collapsed virtually overnight. THIS is why Enron is accorded such attention. No conspiracy theory is required.
You should feel bad that the US government refuses to be responsible for hazardous waste being shipped to locations where it is probably that they will contaminate the environment.
You should feel bad that the US corporations refuse to include the full cost of the consumption of a consumer item in its sales price as European corporations are starting to do. This distorts the economic equilibrium and passes the costs onto the common.
Before you say that contamination of another country's environment is not you concern. Think again. In the global market, pollution have a funny way of being cycled around the world. Mercury contamination in another continent, for instance, can easily end up in the fish you eat in your big city restaurant.
Democray IS. Communism IS. BS IS this.
Nature is amoral because no human choice is involved. Without free will, morality is indeed meaningless. Similarly, animal are often said to be amoral.
However, political arrangements are totally about people's choices and how to resolve conflicts between people's choices. Since a dictator can impose his/her choice above any of his/her subjects, the moral character of his/her choices is clear.
that what I was thinking as I left the theater.
The AotC is OK as a spectaccle. The Fight scenes, esp. in the arena, are better than Ep I. However, the Anakin and Padme love scenes are aweful, however pretty Portman is. In addition, AtoC is wedged between Ep I and IV plotwise, leaving little room for surprises. This would not be a problem if the film could sustain a classic sense of tragedy, foreboding, and doom. But there is nothing in Ep I and II to make the viewer really care about the characters and the plots.
The magic is gone. Go see Spiderman.
Historically, there were too few jews in the far east for there to be any significant reaction to him that might be called anti-semitism. In fact, the major enclaves of jews in China were almost completely assimilated. Within SE Asia these past centuries, the oversea Chineses were perceived in stereotypes more analogous to the Jews of Europe. Forced away from political power by their small numbers, many have achieved financial success. They have also kept their native customs for many years until the recent rise in nationalist sentiments.
On the Japanese side, I also do not see any strong historic anti-semitism. There was a Japanese consul who in fact saved many jews by issuing to them visas to Japan so that they could escape Europe, very similar to Schindler. In addition, Tezuka's manga masterpice "Adolph" had as its main characters 2 boys who grew up in the port city of Japan. They were both named Adolph and became friends. One was Jewish and the other was the son of a Nazi officer. But they were not treated much differently by the Japaneses when they were boys.
Democracy was never grounded upon efficiency or the desires of the elites. ( If you're reading slashdot, I submit that your're an elite in the US, in terms of education at the very least ).
It is well known that a dictatorship is the historically most efficient form of governance. The problem comes when the dictator is not so kind or needs to pass the reign onto another.
You attitudes, unfortunately, reflects the popular caricature of the amoral scientest. He couldn't care less about the rights and conditions of those around him so long as he has a morsel of security and a chance to serve SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS.
By all means, move to Singapore, Malaysia, or even Australia. But if you think you can run away from humann nature....
The price/volume problem you describe is certainly well known in microeconomic. But you even admit that it's very difficult to figure out the best pricing point esp. if you have competitions that dynamically adjust their prices. For instance, you wouldn't want to trigger a price war, so you'd be careful how you adjust your prices.
The truth is, neither you nor the record company, knows if their net profit will go up if they drop their prices. There is no way to be certain that the increased volume will make up for the decreased margin. Thus, this microeconomic 'fact' is useless in the current discussion.
The same argument applies to the you tax example. Supply sider claim that lowering taxes will stimulate economic activites so that the volume makes up for the lower tax rates. However, there is no theoretical certainty to this and scant empirical evidence. Worse yet, this argument depends on an entire macroeconomic loop which is contingent on a panoply of factors with uncertainties magnitudes larger than the microeconomic case. This Laffer Curve theory is indeed 'laff-able'.
The truth of the matter is that 90% of pop culure is repetitive mediocrity, whether it's in Japan, France, or the USA. Look at the pop music scene and television landscape in the USA with its trademark 'individuality'. How often does a truly original work get distributed?
I suggest that the commercial process does NOT fit well for creative talents. Nor does popular culture generally accepts them. Look the furor the 'Sensation' exhibit triggerd in NYC. And that was in the supposedly sophisticated urban area in a mainstream art institution.
As for Japan, if you want to look for popular creative voices, you'd do much better reading manga than anime which costs so much more to produce. It's the same in the US. You may have to work a little harder to find them. But then, you don't expect to find Frank or Sandman in your local 7-11, do you?
There are too many to go into in details. Let's just focus on the main one.
There are no major theoretical differences between Property Tax and Income Tax in terms of their impact on personal privacy.
1. What you do on you land, in fact, DOES affect how you're taxed. (It's called zoning.)
2. Income tax as it's implemented in the US is so complex and invasive only because the govenment is trying to implement social policies.
3. Property tax or wealth tax could be even more complex and invasive than Income tax is today. (Look at Estate Taxes.)
4. A simple income tax is entirely possibel theoretically.
But I think your real beef is with the progressive tax rate:
It is the income tax that allows the government to bribe the majority with money coerced from the minority. It is the income tax which spawns most of the tyranny that the US government practices (admittedly, still less than most places in the world). It is the income tax which sterilizes citizenship by removing the ability of citizens to control their government's behavior by changing their own behavior. It is the income tax which poisons public debate by allowing people to obtain benefits without costs, and thus makes the incentive for an individual to go along with a government program - lest their own government teat be attacked by the beneficiaries of another program - unless they are in the unheard minority who have to fund whatever the latest government program might be. It is the income tax which is LEAST useful and sensible to a free people.
A couple of points:
1. Those with higher income usually amass more property. Thus, they are using more government services, i.e. the police, army, and fire department, who are defending their property rights.
2. It's facinating that you don't mention VAT which is heavily used in Europe. While similar to Sales tax, it taxes each components of a final product at each assembly step. It has minimal impact on consumer privacy.
3. US conservatives dislike the VAT because they feel it hids the amount of taxes being collected. They PREFER the income tax because it keeps reminding the voters how much the government is 'taking' from the people.
4. You can breath easy. Since the US Supreme Court has ruled that money is speech, those with money should be able to continue buying politicians as needed regardless of how the unwashed masses votes!
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Those who can subtract would deduce from this post that the ID cards have been required for several decades under the British colonial rule - which indeed was NOT democratic, though I'd hesitate to call them communist. #-}
The main reason for this requirements was that Hong Kong has been a major transit point for the past centuries. Many travelers and refugees pass through there and some want to stay (illegally). The ID was the simplist way to deal with controlling immigration. Remember that every war and unrest in the regions provoked a flood of refugess - some Vietnames refugees were still stuck in HK transit camps until a couple of years ago!
Even ardent Creationists cannot deny the 'fact' of hereditary mutation, selection, and hence, evolution. Christians have manipulated the genetic stocks of plants and animals for centuries. This is EXACTLY the same thing that Genetic or Evolutionary Programming is doing.
Creationsists only take issue with the scientific theory that Darwinian evolution can explain ALL of the biological phenomena. They cannot deny that evolution exists and works. They have only made arguments that it works too slowly to explain everything. Thus, this warning is extermely misguided.
The author, unfortunately, seems woefully ignorant of the advances made in the field of Natural Language processing. There are already a number of products available which analyzes Wire Service reports semantically to filter out relevant news items. Thus, the fact that e-mail or IM don't have links doesn't mean that they cannot be processed by computers.
While it is true that someone trying to fool the NLP programs can easily do so ( by using coded phrases, etc. ). But human analyzers are not likely fare much better in those cases either.
This is why privacy legislations similar to what's instituted in Eurpoe are still necessary in the US of A.
Looking at the new Adult Swim line up, I've been wondering why Yu Yu Hokusi and Pilot Candidate were put into this block. I've seen the entire YuYu Hokusa series (highly recommended) and it's definitely NOT more violent than DBZ. Pilot Candidate also looks pretty tame so far. The Interview suggested that these shows were really slated for Toonami originally which makes much more sense. Thus, while I won't allow my kids to watch Cowboy Bebop, these 2 shows are no problem at all. Perhaps they'll move them out of Adult Swim some day.
Nor would it be complete to note that the character and idea for 'Quincy' is based on the real life case of an Asian American forenesic expert who've won many awards for solving very complex cases. However, the network could not believe that America is ready for a TV lead character who's Asian American! Thus, that character got to be a side-kick only. Kinda reminds me of Bruce Lee as Kato on the Green Hornet!
This is the reason the content industries are focusing on Watermark and mandaate DRM software/hardware. With certain watermarking scheme, the watermark still remains after you videotape off a monitor. Thus, though you may be able to make an analog copy, your buddy still may not be able to play it if the watermark ties it to a specific device or some biometric ID.
Even if one agrees with your premise that money controls everything in a capitalist society, what makes you think withholding your purchase will have any effects?
Remember that there are business interests with much more money than you who can influence people's views and spending habits. They will have a much larger voice than you do.
Consider how withholding you money might stop a Pentagon who decides to plant false news items in the US (see NYT article 2/19) ? Are you going to stop paying taxes?
In other words, even in capitalism, there are extant social, legal, and politcal frameworks which conditions the choices that a nation makes. If you want your voice to be heard, you'd better get involved with a community, get involved with political actions.
Since Sept.11, I've been waiting for the rise of paranoid isolationism in the USA. Thankfully, yours is a lone voice in the public discourse.
Let us look at hard historical facts when we're talking about Imperialism.
For the past 300 years, China has been content to rule in the eastern corner of Asia. You might quibble about border disputes and annexation of tiny borders states. But by and large they have NOT been expansionsist.
This is in clear contrast to the romp of the European colonialists throughout the globe this same period. Now let's look around today. What country has military bases in almost all continents in the world? What country has the overwhelming ability to destroy all civilization on the planet? It is not China.
Let's be realistic here. We live in the age of Pax Americana. With the collapse of the USSR and Japan's economy in a slump, the next potential economic competitor for the USA is China! ( China is no where near a competitor in the military realm. ) So it is little wonder that some American feel China to be the next threat.
I find it indeed ironic that the champion of the free trade and free market system would be concerned about a new competitor who's just joining the game he set up in the first place.
What are the requirements of your project?
What are the requirements of likely projects for your group in the next 6 years?
Define those requiremnets FIRST before starting to do any logical design and make design choices.
Also, will you be doing the entire project in house? If not, what libraries or packages might be availabe to help your project succed? What restrictions do they place on your choice of languages?
What about your staff? What types of languages do they know? How easily do they learn new languages? Say you decide that the best language based on your features list is SOAR. That would be quite pointless if half your staff go crazy trying to learn it and cannot maintain it.
The art of design is a balancing act between many elements. It behooves you to get the broadest views possible at the outset and avoid commiting design choices until as late as practicable.