Communism isn't what's driving Chinese economic growth. China is growing in spite of Communism and due in large part to the "needs" of consumers like the USA. Communism will be tolerated in China only as long as they are prosperous economically, then they'll follow the path all societies take (e.g. Feudalism --> Capitalism --> Socialism --> Communism --> Feudalism --> etc. forever).
I don't know how problems with Communism have anything to do with the problems inherent with Capitalism. They each have different issues they must contend with . I was trying to point to the root of one of the problems with Capitalism (e.g. we'll do anything for a buck, even become dependent on Chinese manufacturing so long as we get inexpensive goods). I think Capitalism is the best of what we've got but it needs a lot of care and feeding to work.
I always thought what we should do with the situation in Ethiopia in the 80's wasn't to create a dependence on us feeding them but to either teach them to feed themselves without any help or to relocate them. The third option, do nothing, is enticing but it's hard to turn your back on other people...unless they don't respond to either of the two options I already mentioned.
I don't know much about the economics of drilling in the USA vs not drilling but they say we have more offshore oil than Saudi Arabia has onshore. Drilling that would at least stabilize our oil plus we'd spend those billions or trillions of dollars in the USA instead of overseas in countries that generally dislike us. Oil may not change noticeably in price but we'd keep a lot of the money spent on oil within our borders (this is a big part of the perks of the Canada/USA pipeline).
I never suggested someone in Texas should have New Jersey law applied to him. What I commented on was what I thought was interesting: that someone who yells "allah is great" and shoots military members on a base doesn't get called a terrorist (it's "workplace violence") but a college kid who videotapes his roommate having sex with another man is labelled "bias intimidation". I simply wanted to point out the irony or hypocrisy of that...after posting, I was surrounded by villagers with torches and pitchforks for voicing an opinion. Regarding the media, when GW was President every death in the GWOT and every gas hike, and every bit of his past was drug up and put on display every night. President Obama is immune from any sort of vetting or investigation. I don't want a witch hunt to ensue, I think he's doing ok, but the hypocrisy is something that's noticed. I don't even get started with the courts because that could get ugly, but if you follow court decisions you'll soon realize courts now more than ever are creating law rather than interpreting law. Freedom OF religion does not imply freedom FROM religion. I'm done arguing here, I wish people would point out the good and bad of all politicians and the news would report the news with as litle bias as possible.
Just keep it simple, minimize the number of PowerPoint slides, and brief things that may be relevant to the audience. Analogies always help so the "car analogies" comment is a good tip. I used to teach satellite communications principles and theory (e.g. orbital mechanics, decibels, satellite antenna design, RF propogation - all boring stuff) and noticed once PowerPoint was turned off and I interacted with everyone they recovered from their comas and things went well. You don't need to be a comic, juggler, clown, etc. Just keep it simple and stop at 30 minutes.
I really don't want to argue...we may both be right regarding the political viewpoint of courts and the media. I am fairly conservative so I think they are generally too liberal; you OTOH may be more liberal than me (not a bad thing...just different) and see the courts as being too conservative. I just want courts to judge based on the various laws (e.g. local, state, federal, the Constitution, tort, etc.) and for the media to limit opinions. Report fairly, good or bad...unfortunately, ratings are affected which pushes the reporters to be more "extreme" and try to create news out of BS.
Next time I post on/. I'll have to be more explicit and ensure I say exactly what I mean so that angry posters such as yourself who spew venom online to make themselves feel better don't have so much ammo. Liberal courts AND a liberally-biased media are both to blame. You seriously need to take a chill pill (it's on the shelf next to the cyanide) and be nicer online. Or are you always this angry?
I didn't say the punishment is easier for Maj Hassan, I said the spin the news media put on each is interesting and it is also biased. I love the general attitude of intellectual supremacy a lot of folks have on/. Maybe you should read my post before ranting and changing the subject (e.g. from media bias to perception of fairness in punishment).
So this was tried as "bias" and Mr. Ravi will get up to ten years in jail but the Major Hassan incident was classifed as "workplace violence" and not "terrorism" even though he yelled "allah al akbar dirka dirka" before he shot a bunch of Army soldiers. WTF? I think the courts are a tad too liberal nowadays...
We always focus on the symptoms and forget about the cause. It's like all the bans they're considering for cars (e.g. banning cellphones unless hands-free, banning text while driving, banning gps devices, etc.) when what they really need to do is ban driving in a manner that is dangerous. Heck, if we'd just enforce the existing laws we wouldn't need anymore laws on the books. Why ban anorexics? Where in the Constitution does the federal government have this right? Enforce existing laws, don't make new ones.
Same here...been a fan of Ubuntu from v5.04 but once they went Unity I stuck with 10.10. A shame really since Ubuntu was a goog everyday ordinary user version of Linux but there are plenty of great distros out there. XFCE is my Gnome3 alternative...
Rather that use those old school sprinklers farmers could employ drip irrigation or irrigation schedulers and improve efficiency a lot. Of course this is much more expensive so probably won't be implemented until they're forced. Until water becomes hard to reach in the aquifers or becomes expensive (kind of saying the same thing) there will be no incentive to improve irrigation efficiency. Actually, I think bulk users of water get a discount if they use an amount over certain threshold so the incentives are in place to promote water use rather than preserving water.
I know this won't be popular opinion, but I believe war should be horrific enough for people to want to avoid it at all costs. Fighting wars where every civilian death or collateral damage report is posted in the news makes people object to the "senseless violence" but I believe that prolongs the war itself. Fighting wars in a civilized manner only prolongs them...anyone remember Star Trek's "A Taste of Armageddon"? Same idea but they took it a little further... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Taste_of_Armageddon)
I agree there are many idiotic rules and laws in the US but you seem to imply gay marriage and abortion are in line with Christianity. If you've read the Bible it should be clear gay marriage is not tolerated and is considered a sin. Abortion is not really addressed in the Bible but there is mention of murder or a person vs murder of an unborn child...the murder of an unborn child is punishable by fine. I think though that more Christians were on the pro-life side then on the pro-choice side.
I believe religion, taken in a non-fanatical/maniacal manner, gives a great foundation for peoples' lives.
Why is it that Muslims and their "religion of peace" seems to only be affiliated with hate, violence, and crime? I know it's a small minority but why don't Islamic leaders speak out against the violence? Christianity has its problems (not so much violence as other (horrific) crimes) but it is always denounced by the church and never ends with a pile of headless torsos in its wake.
Reread OP and somehow missed his use of the dreaded N- word. I have to rescind my previous comment about this comment not being racist. Deepest apologies...
I'd classify the commend as "offensive," not "racist." Racism implies one race is superior, the poster simply pointed out an attribute which one could generalize about a race. Are the movies "White Men Can't Jump" or "The Great White Hype" racist? I don't think so...
I agree 100%. No more trophies for those who don't excel, no hand outs for those who don't try, and more personal responsibility and accountability. 21 Dec 1012 can't come fast enough for some.
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Communism isn't what's driving Chinese economic growth. China is growing in spite of Communism and due in large part to the "needs" of consumers like the USA. Communism will be tolerated in China only as long as they are prosperous economically, then they'll follow the path all societies take (e.g. Feudalism --> Capitalism --> Socialism --> Communism --> Feudalism --> etc. forever).
I don't know how problems with Communism have anything to do with the problems inherent with Capitalism. They each have different issues they must contend with . I was trying to point to the root of one of the problems with Capitalism (e.g. we'll do anything for a buck, even become dependent on Chinese manufacturing so long as we get inexpensive goods). I think Capitalism is the best of what we've got but it needs a lot of care and feeding to work.
"The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them." - Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
I always thought what we should do with the situation in Ethiopia in the 80's wasn't to create a dependence on us feeding them but to either teach them to feed themselves without any help or to relocate them. The third option, do nothing, is enticing but it's hard to turn your back on other people...unless they don't respond to either of the two options I already mentioned.
Christianity and belief in life outside of Earth are not mutually exclusive.
I don't know much about the economics of drilling in the USA vs not drilling but they say we have more offshore oil than Saudi Arabia has onshore. Drilling that would at least stabilize our oil plus we'd spend those billions or trillions of dollars in the USA instead of overseas in countries that generally dislike us. Oil may not change noticeably in price but we'd keep a lot of the money spent on oil within our borders (this is a big part of the perks of the Canada/USA pipeline).
I never suggested someone in Texas should have New Jersey law applied to him. What I commented on was what I thought was interesting: that someone who yells "allah is great" and shoots military members on a base doesn't get called a terrorist (it's "workplace violence") but a college kid who videotapes his roommate having sex with another man is labelled "bias intimidation". I simply wanted to point out the irony or hypocrisy of that...after posting, I was surrounded by villagers with torches and pitchforks for voicing an opinion. Regarding the media, when GW was President every death in the GWOT and every gas hike, and every bit of his past was drug up and put on display every night. President Obama is immune from any sort of vetting or investigation. I don't want a witch hunt to ensue, I think he's doing ok, but the hypocrisy is something that's noticed. I don't even get started with the courts because that could get ugly, but if you follow court decisions you'll soon realize courts now more than ever are creating law rather than interpreting law. Freedom OF religion does not imply freedom FROM religion. I'm done arguing here, I wish people would point out the good and bad of all politicians and the news would report the news with as litle bias as possible.
Just keep it simple, minimize the number of PowerPoint slides, and brief things that may be relevant to the audience. Analogies always help so the "car analogies" comment is a good tip. I used to teach satellite communications principles and theory (e.g. orbital mechanics, decibels, satellite antenna design, RF propogation - all boring stuff) and noticed once PowerPoint was turned off and I interacted with everyone they recovered from their comas and things went well. You don't need to be a comic, juggler, clown, etc. Just keep it simple and stop at 30 minutes.
I really don't want to argue...we may both be right regarding the political viewpoint of courts and the media. I am fairly conservative so I think they are generally too liberal; you OTOH may be more liberal than me (not a bad thing...just different) and see the courts as being too conservative. I just want courts to judge based on the various laws (e.g. local, state, federal, the Constitution, tort, etc.) and for the media to limit opinions. Report fairly, good or bad...unfortunately, ratings are affected which pushes the reporters to be more "extreme" and try to create news out of BS.
Next time I post on /. I'll have to be more explicit and ensure I say exactly what I mean so that angry posters such as yourself who spew venom online to make themselves feel better don't have so much ammo. Liberal courts AND a liberally-biased media are both to blame. You seriously need to take a chill pill (it's on the shelf next to the cyanide) and be nicer online. Or are you always this angry?
I didn't say the punishment is easier for Maj Hassan, I said the spin the news media put on each is interesting and it is also biased. I love the general attitude of intellectual supremacy a lot of folks have on /. Maybe you should read my post before ranting and changing the subject (e.g. from media bias to perception of fairness in punishment).
So this was tried as "bias" and Mr. Ravi will get up to ten years in jail but the Major Hassan incident was classifed as "workplace violence" and not "terrorism" even though he yelled "allah al akbar dirka dirka" before he shot a bunch of Army soldiers. WTF? I think the courts are a tad too liberal nowadays...
We always focus on the symptoms and forget about the cause. It's like all the bans they're considering for cars (e.g. banning cellphones unless hands-free, banning text while driving, banning gps devices, etc.) when what they really need to do is ban driving in a manner that is dangerous. Heck, if we'd just enforce the existing laws we wouldn't need anymore laws on the books. Why ban anorexics? Where in the Constitution does the federal government have this right? Enforce existing laws, don't make new ones.
Same here...been a fan of Ubuntu from v5.04 but once they went Unity I stuck with 10.10. A shame really since Ubuntu was a goog everyday ordinary user version of Linux but there are plenty of great distros out there. XFCE is my Gnome3 alternative...
I have a speech-jamming fist that is effective from 1.5 meters. Cost nothing in R&D or O&M and it is very effective.
Rather that use those old school sprinklers farmers could employ drip irrigation or irrigation schedulers and improve efficiency a lot. Of course this is much more expensive so probably won't be implemented until they're forced. Until water becomes hard to reach in the aquifers or becomes expensive (kind of saying the same thing) there will be no incentive to improve irrigation efficiency. Actually, I think bulk users of water get a discount if they use an amount over certain threshold so the incentives are in place to promote water use rather than preserving water.
I doubt this will be feasible but let 'em try. Ironic the "vacuum of space" needs vacuuming...
I know this won't be popular opinion, but I believe war should be horrific enough for people to want to avoid it at all costs. Fighting wars where every civilian death or collateral damage report is posted in the news makes people object to the "senseless violence" but I believe that prolongs the war itself. Fighting wars in a civilized manner only prolongs them...anyone remember Star Trek's "A Taste of Armageddon"? Same idea but they took it a little further... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Taste_of_Armageddon)
Shouldn't this be called a "maser" since it's not emitting light? Bet the secret squirrels made this to peer through walls from miles away
I bet what they see are really just ink blots left from the aliens...indirect proof but proof nontheless.
Iran wouldn't have Internets if it wasn't for liberals (e.g. Al Gore).
I agree there are many idiotic rules and laws in the US but you seem to imply gay marriage and abortion are in line with Christianity. If you've read the Bible it should be clear gay marriage is not tolerated and is considered a sin. Abortion is not really addressed in the Bible but there is mention of murder or a person vs murder of an unborn child...the murder of an unborn child is punishable by fine. I think though that more Christians were on the pro-life side then on the pro-choice side. I believe religion, taken in a non-fanatical/maniacal manner, gives a great foundation for peoples' lives. Why is it that Muslims and their "religion of peace" seems to only be affiliated with hate, violence, and crime? I know it's a small minority but why don't Islamic leaders speak out against the violence? Christianity has its problems (not so much violence as other (horrific) crimes) but it is always denounced by the church and never ends with a pile of headless torsos in its wake.
Reread OP and somehow missed his use of the dreaded N- word. I have to rescind my previous comment about this comment not being racist. Deepest apologies...
I'd classify the commend as "offensive," not "racist." Racism implies one race is superior, the poster simply pointed out an attribute which one could generalize about a race. Are the movies "White Men Can't Jump" or "The Great White Hype" racist? I don't think so...
I agree 100%. No more trophies for those who don't excel, no hand outs for those who don't try, and more personal responsibility and accountability. 21 Dec 1012 can't come fast enough for some.