France and most other European countries will give you far more unemployment benefits than American workers gets. In many EU countries, one could drawa years of unemployment if laid off. Try that here.
....with their 4-6 weeks of vacations and holidays each year. We work about 25% more per year than do most Europeans.
I really do not understand why we Americans have let ourselves be brainwashed into SweatShopAmerica.
See my sig for links on how the social democracies of Europe fought and are still fighting for a better , less stressful workplace, for universal healthcare, and for a social welfare state/safety net that lets them less afraid of losing their jobs.
Because people no longer talk to each other about politics much, the only political thoughts that cross their minds are the ones they hear in the car listening to talk radio and the ones they hear on teevee. And guess who control those political thoughts? The Man, the corporations, The Massa. And so not surprisingly the political ideas we get from those sources support the wonderful new "multitasking workplace". Gee, I wonder why? Hey, didn't I hear President Bush talk about this "Economy of Today" during his convention nomination acceptance speech?
There is a BIG problem with the way your little world is so different from that of your ancestors (and that applies to me, for that matter).
Now, that we Americans have been atomized, our community has been hollowed out, and now where do the ideas that get into our heads come from? From the Teevee, my friend (of course, I speak here of MOST Americans, not us Net Geeks, who spend so much time online; and of course a lot of people talk on the phone to friends). But in any event, so many Americans gets their ideas from the teevee. But what is the problem there? Well, the ideas that come out of your tv are filtered, filtered to be acceptable to the bosses that run it and the wealthy CEOs who run the corporations that own tv stations and networks and the wealthy investors who own most corporations that advertise on them.
And those ideas coming out of the tv to nest in our brains are not necessarily good for the well being of the average American. THese ideas have transformed America over the last few decades, and have moved America in a decidedly conservative direction. THis ideas come from the top, down to you, through your tv. But your ancestors, even your grandparents, had a community filled with people much like themselves, who had financial interests in common with them. You and I have little in common with the rich executives and investors who control what ideas get on tv.
Fuck Mark Cuban and the dotcom crap he rode in on. Wasn't there a slashdot topic on how he claimed that larger file sizes were the cure for video "piracy"?
It is the PR firms and the media that are used to a frenzy of nationalism, which then creates a bogus consent for spending our tax dollars on schemes to expand market share for corporations, and to replace progressive taxes with regressive taxes.
... then the UK should shift over to private healthcare like America?
You sure seem to have an opinion on this subject. It seems you think the American system is much better than the NHS in England. I wonder how your fellow Brits feel about that? Here we go, an article about how Brits feel about their NHS compared to the AMerican system, which as we know is the very best in the world!
71% Of UK Taxpayers Would Pay More For Improved NHS 17 March 2002
71% Would Pay More Tax For Better NHS Ananova Sunday March 17, 2002 4:02 AM Nearly three-quarters of the public would be prepared to pay more taxes to get better health care, a survey has revealed. People would prefer to see a new "ring-fenced" additional income tax for the NHS instead of US-style private health insurance, the poll showed. The results come amid speculation that Chancellor Gordon Brown's Budget next month will include fundamental changes to the way the service is funded. The ICM poll to be published in the News of the World showed 55% believe the NHS is in bad condition and only 30% think it is in good condition. Almost a third of people think it has got worse under Labour, over half believe it has stayed the same while only 14% say it has got better. In all, 84% agree that more money needs to be spent on health and 93% think reform must be linked to investment.
Opinion differs on how the money should be raised, with 53% saying taxation and national insurance is a good way and only 13% saying it is bad. Just 18% of the 1,000 people questioned believe the American healthcare system of private health insurance is good, and 53% say it is poor.
But there is broad agreement that the NHS services should continue to be readily available to all. A total of 94% believe it must be free when needed. In addition, 71% say it is bad to charge for access to a GP or hospital bed and only 9% say it is a good idea.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
Well, another propagandist shown the door! I wonder if he was a paid lobbyist of the healthcare/pharma industry (they pay PR firms millions each year to influence public opinion. Why not here on/.?)
I wrote: And there is a reason for that: we Americans have been subjected to decades of well-funded media propaganda, which has caused the vast majority of AMericans to suffer from this peculiar disease
You wrote: This argument is generally only used when one has a fringe belief, and refuses to accept that they are in the minority.
I know full well that I am in the minority with respect to believing that wealthy entities fund media propaganda efforts. This fact does not deter me from stating my beliefs.
When I read of such theories in the early 90s, I dismissed them as paranoia. But they are not. I know that now. The Iraq war taught me that, beyond a doubt.
And there are well respected academicians who have written voluminously on the subject of media propaganda in America funded by corporations and rich people. Most people would disagree with these academicians. I happen to agree with them. Maybe you disagree with them and with me.
Either you are wrong or I am wrong. Why not conduct an overview of the evidence? Do me a favor: type into google some words such as "chomsky" and "propaganda" and "media."
I am in the minority with respect to other Americans and Brits in many other areas: I am in the minority with respect to education, to the number of books I have read, and the standardized test scores I have made, and my religious beliefs or lack of them. The fact that I am in the minority does not make me wrong.
And you are right--we have a hard time admitting we are 2nd rate in anything. And there is a reason for that: we Americans have been subjected to decades of well-funded media propaganda, which has caused the vast majority of AMericans to suffer from this peculiar disease, which I cannot put a name to, but one symptom of it is the eternal calls to patriotism, and endless rhetoric about "the United States of America." We have manipulated for decades to think that America is so great, and thus we have given our consent to all sorts of foreign wars and foreign policy skullduggery.
This kind of manipulation still goes on here: most Americans are convinced America has the world's greatest medical case. Umm...no, it does not. Not for the average person.
And we do not have the world's greatest broadband. Here in Houston, the country's 5th largest city, you can get 1M down, 250K up for the grand sum of $32/month.
The reason why we have substandard broadband and substandard medical care is that our governmental structure was set up 200 years ago to reflect and maintain a SLAVE SOCIETY. They ran on slaves and indentured servants, and they built a Constitution to exploit the underclass. And they are still exploiting us.
On the other hand, this would also give the aspiring Rush Limbaughs of the world the ability to get their message out there.
Fine. Problem is that when it comes to widespread mass media, there IS no TRUE liberal counterpart to Limbaugh. Air America? Please! That is just the Democratic party talking there, and the Democratic party aint leftist, at least not when it comes to economics.
You wrote:
But I don't think that the general public has any problem getting messages from either the left or the right at this point in time. Otherwise, why would so many be so polarized on many issues?
The public is getting messages from the Right (GOP) and the right-center (Democrats), but there IS NO Left in America. If there is a left, tell me where on the major tv channels we have people talking consistently about universal healthcare, about welfare for all poor people (not just welfare moms), about raising the top tax bracket rates back up above 60% (they are at 35% now for earned, and 15% for unearned); where are all the liberals talking in the mainstream media about taxing wealth; about cutting the military budget in half??? These are ALL things that are in place in all the other industrialized, Western countries. Why not here?
Poll after poll shows that 70% or more of Americans want universal, tax-funded healthcare. But where does the media talk about it?
There is no economic left in America; the media and the politicians are perfectly to define leftism as all about gay rights, and abortion and gun control, and all the other "acceptable" liberal issues.
But when most of the country is on broadband, I can promise you, *I* and others will be out there with our homebrew movies and documentaries on p2p--THEN there will be a leftist voice in America.
Yes, I agree; the public financed projects are what made America great. THat and the high, progressive tax rates we had up until about 25 years ago. Lately we have just been coasting.
THe reason why we are headed downhill is because of the propaganda bought by the rich and the corporations for the last 30 years, propaganda which denigrated public service, government projects, and which glamourized corporations and the corporate sector.
Free broadband access means 70% of AMericans could watch video from any source at all. People could download video off of p2p networks, meaning that the high barrier to entry for getting a TV show or movie out to an audience would be changed to a lower barrier to entry. You would still have to have cameras (but they are getting reall cheap now) and actors and production sets. But the distribution system (tv stations, cable tv systems, movie theaters etc) has always been the obstacle to be overcome.
But when anyone with a camera, free editing software, and some time and actors can make a movie, then upload it onto p2p, where it could be watched on free or very cheap p2p, that is going to mean that more leftist, liberal, progressive ideas are going to be propagated into American minds.
Right now, the mainstream media/Hollywood is liberal in the social sense (i.e., gay and minority rights, abortion, etc), but they are quite conservative in the economics/i? sense: meaning that leftist ideas about raising the tax rates on the rich to former levels (e.g., 60% or more), and ideas about welfare for any poor person, and universal health care, these ideas are shunted aside.
But free broadband would disrupt the media/entertainment distribution machine, thus allowing penetration for more liberal, leftist ideas.
Most of these flashy online libertarian websites and magazines are funded by the think tanks and foundations, which are in turn funded by zillionaires like Scaife and by global corporations. Libertarianism is just a marketing ploy by the rightwing neoliberal foundations.
Check out the funding for the Reason Foundation, which puts out Reason magazine.
When most of these net-libertarians get 15 years older and finally realize they aint gonna rich, they will turn left, most of them. Good thing about net-libs is that they are fairly intelligent. And they do have access to the leftist writings on the Net, and with time and self-interested motivation, it will sink in. It sunk in for me. Finally...
For the few Net-Libs that DO get rich, they will of course not change their minds; they will just find good justifications for their hypocrisy. Humans are very at that....
This concerted effort has been going on for decades actually. As Adam Smith himself said, the bosses and the investors have the time and the means and the smaller numbers, thus making it easier for them to organize.
Only now, with the internet, have many people other than academics been able to obtain and sift through enough information to determine that, yes, there is indeed a vast rightwing conspiracy, and it is the forefront of an information/propaganda war declared on the worker by the bosses/investors/corporations. It starts with think tanks and foundations, and end s with people like Rush Limbaugh.
you wrote: " No, her basic premise is sound economics.
Economics is nothing more than a science of how to fuck over the working citizen and benefit the investor. Anytime I hear someone talk about "economics", I know they are either callow and ignorant or an evil greedhead. Guess which one I think you are....
you also wrote:
What outsourcing really does is grow the economies of those other countries.
WHo cares? America is my business. I own it jointly with all my fellow citizens. They are my partners. I aint looking to fuck them over so I can unduly benefit myself and some foreigners. I call that treason....
The money going into those economies results in higher economic spending power among the outsourcees. They in turn buy more goods, which employs more people in their local economy. This causes economic growth... at the same time it provides the ability for people in these countries to start their own business, utilizing cheaper local professionals, to produce products and outcompete the American companies. That sounds scary... but the net gain is cheaper goods and services for US as well.
OK...that scenario MIGHT come true, at some point in the future, maybe 50 years or 100 years. But I and my fellow citizen-partners are gonna get mighty skinny waiting for your free-trade, lasseiz faire, cornucopia-religion, rapture-prophesy crap to come to fruition. I say fuck that, and put up steep trade barriers. You know, things CHANGE from time to time in this ol' world. What works OK at some time N, does necessarily work well at some time N+K. Reality is like that.
You wrote: It's the concept of competitive advantage. The workers in India have a competitive advantage as they can do the IT jobs cheaper, and ostensibly at or near the same quality level. By allowing them to take that advantage they win (their economy grows), but they also begin producing products that out-compete the more expensive American products. This is the exact same cycle we saw with Japanese cars (which has come full circle with those companies opening up manufacturing plants in the United States).
Here is an analogy for you: I and a bunch of people own an office building together. Each of us owners uses one of the offices to ply our trade. I am a lawyer; Joe down the hall is a dentist, Mike is an accountant, etc.
Then we hire an office manager. This office manager finds out that the office building on the down the street is not doing so well. The lawyers, accountants, dentists working there do not have much business. They charge much less than we owners in our office building do, but the problem is that their location is not as "prime"as ours. So that office manager conspires with the owners of the other building: whenever someone comes in looking to hire a lawyer, get dental or accounting work, etc., he just sends them down the street. He gets a kickback.
When we catch onto what he is doing he just says basically what you have just said: "it will grow their economy, it will keep prices down, yadda yadda yadda...."
Now, what do you think of that office manager?
With regard to manufacturing and japan and the USA, you might wanna read this....
THe only safe thing to do is LEECH. You cannot share copyrighted files. And if you download using bittorrent even one time, you can be caught. There are several posters here on this thread that had that very thing happen to them.
So, it seems that the only safe way is to just use kazaa, and either turn off sharing for all files, or do not share individual copyrighted files.
If you use kazaa and do not share, how could you get sued?
It would entail being a leech, but I would not share copyrighted files. People in other countries could share, countries where the govt puts the people ahead of the corporation, at least to a greater degree than here in Amerikkka.
and get an isp like sbc dsl, which does not give up your IP to the RIAA/MPAA/BSA. (I know that the mpaa is planning on starting to sue people, but is the BSA suing people?).
We can fight back against the MPAA lawsuits: they are vulnerable to grassroots protests. Much of their revenue is derived from large cineplexes which are reaching by driving along busy roads. Often they sit on a freeway access road. Several well placed protest signs near many of those cineplexes could knock down their dollar take every day.
But my point is, did the person who get the letter dl from the riaa itself? Or did the riaa get the ip from the server logs.
Or was the riaa downloading a song itself from multiple sources? I wonder if what happened was the poster who got the letter downloaded the Star Trek episode, and because BT forces you to become an uploader of the file you are downloading, the riaa downloaded the same star trek episode and got his ip directly from the operating system.
So, I would say that BT is NOT as safe as kazaa.
All you have to do to avoid legal entanglements is use kazaa, but don't share, or only share files that are noncopywrited. So, American file traders must leech off of Europeans, Canadians, South Americans, Asians, Australians.
Why is this the case? It always comes back to this: contrary to the Preamble to the American Constitution, America is NOT "for the people, by the people". OTHER countries, such as those on listed above, are MORE "for the people, by the people" than is America.
But what puzzles me is, WHY, WHY, do Americans fail to face this fact?
Is it that we have been bamboozled, propagandized by the teevee? After all, the teevee is the preeminent American babysitter. Is this the price we pay for our lifestyle? Thought-slavery by propaganda?
Slashdot Mirror
France and most other European countries will give you far more unemployment benefits than American workers gets. In many EU countries, one could drawa years of unemployment if laid off. Try that here.
Plus, welfare is far more generous there.
....with their 4-6 weeks of vacations and holidays each year. We work about 25% more per year than do most Europeans.
I really do not understand why we Americans have let ourselves be brainwashed into SweatShopAmerica.
See my sig for links on how the social democracies of Europe fought and are still fighting for a better , less stressful workplace, for universal healthcare, and for a social welfare state/safety net that lets them less afraid of losing their jobs.
Aint the New Economy wonderful!?
Because people no longer talk to each other about politics much, the only political thoughts that cross their minds are the ones they hear in the car listening to talk radio and the ones they hear on teevee. And guess who control those political thoughts? The Man, the corporations, The Massa. And so not surprisingly the political ideas we get from those sources support the wonderful new "multitasking workplace". Gee, I wonder why?
Hey, didn't I hear President Bush talk about this "Economy of Today" during his convention nomination acceptance speech?
Like France and some other European countries, who mandate a 35 hour work week, maximum. No more velvet sweat shops....
Hated it, BTW.
My website url above gives some of my thoughts about the nuke boats.
The rightwingers keep modding down my politically oriented posts....
And, BTW, EVERYTHING I said was true. It always is.....
I can tell you that US Navy subs have had few catastophic disasters, and perhaps none at all for a long time.
So I think that is a good proof of concept for portable nuke power plants.
With the right type of manufacturing technology, one can make the fissionable material very hard to get at.
I fully support much more use of nuclear power everywhere in the world.
What does Canada have to offer?
--More tech freedom (people are still sharing files on Kazaa without fear, last I heard).
--you can smoke weed.
--universal healthcare!!!!
--taxes are about the same for the average person.
What's not to like about Canada?
My mother was Canadian, so I am IN!
There is a BIG problem with the way your little world is so different from that of your ancestors (and that applies to me, for that matter).
Now, that we Americans have been atomized, our community has been hollowed out, and now where do the ideas that get into our heads come from? From the Teevee, my friend (of course, I speak here of MOST Americans, not us Net Geeks, who spend so much time online; and of course a lot of people talk on the phone to friends). But in any event, so many Americans gets their ideas from the teevee. But what is the problem there? Well, the ideas that come out of your tv are filtered, filtered to be acceptable to the bosses that run it and the wealthy CEOs who run the corporations that own tv stations and networks and the wealthy investors who own most corporations that advertise on them.
And those ideas coming out of the tv to nest in our brains are not necessarily good for the well being of the average American. THese ideas have transformed America over the last few decades, and have moved America in a decidedly conservative direction. THis ideas come from the top, down to you, through your tv. But your ancestors, even your grandparents, had a community filled with people much like themselves, who had financial interests in common with them. You and I have little in common with the rich executives and investors who control what ideas get on tv.
Fuck Mark Cuban and the dotcom crap he rode in on. Wasn't there a slashdot topic on how he claimed that larger file sizes were the cure for video "piracy"?
It is the PR firms and the media that are used to a frenzy of nationalism, which then creates a bogus consent for spending our tax dollars on schemes to expand market share for corporations, and to replace progressive taxes with regressive taxes.
Call it what you want: I call it propaganda.
... then the UK should shift over to private healthcare like America?
m e= 7646
/.?)
You sure seem to have an opinion on this subject. It seems you think the American system is much better than the NHS in England. I wonder how your fellow Brits feel about that? Here we go, an article about how Brits feel about their NHS compared to the AMerican system, which as we know is the very best in the world!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>&g t;
http://www.iofc.net/gowealthy/story.asp?storyna
71% Of UK Taxpayers Would Pay More For Improved NHS
17 March 2002
71% Would Pay More Tax For Better NHS Ananova Sunday March 17, 2002 4:02 AM Nearly three-quarters of the public would be prepared to pay more taxes to get better health care, a survey has revealed. People would prefer to see a new "ring-fenced" additional income tax for the NHS instead of US-style private health insurance, the poll showed. The results come amid speculation that Chancellor Gordon Brown's Budget next month will include fundamental changes to the way the service is funded. The ICM poll to be published in the News of the World showed 55% believe the NHS is in bad condition and only 30% think it is in good condition. Almost a third of people think it has got worse under Labour, over half believe it has stayed the same while only 14% say it has got better. In all, 84% agree that more money needs to be spent on health and 93% think reform must be linked to investment.
Opinion differs on how the money should be raised, with 53% saying taxation and national insurance is a good way and only 13% saying it is bad.
Just 18% of the 1,000 people questioned believe the American healthcare system of private health insurance is good, and 53% say it is poor.
But there is broad agreement that the NHS services should continue to be readily available to all. A total of 94% believe it must be free when needed. In addition, 71% say it is bad to charge for access to a GP or hospital bed and only 9% say it is a good idea.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
Well, another propagandist shown the door! I wonder if he was a paid lobbyist of the healthcare/pharma industry (they pay PR firms millions each year to influence public opinion. Why not here on
I wrote:
And there is a reason for that: we Americans have been subjected to decades of well-funded media propaganda, which has caused the vast majority of AMericans to suffer from this peculiar disease
You wrote:
This argument is generally only used when one has a fringe belief, and refuses to accept that they are in the minority.
I know full well that I am in the minority with respect to believing that wealthy entities fund media propaganda efforts. This fact does not deter me from stating my beliefs.
When I read of such theories in the early 90s, I dismissed them as paranoia. But they are not. I know that now. The Iraq war taught me that, beyond a doubt.
And there are well respected academicians who have written voluminously on the subject of media propaganda in America funded by corporations and rich people. Most people would disagree with these academicians. I happen to agree with them. Maybe you disagree with them and with me.
Either you are wrong or I am wrong. Why not conduct an overview of the evidence? Do me a favor: type into google some words such as "chomsky" and "propaganda" and "media."
I am in the minority with respect to other Americans and Brits in many other areas: I am in the minority with respect to education, to the number of books I have read, and the standardized test scores I have made, and my religious beliefs or lack of them. The fact that I am in the minority does not make me wrong.
And you are right--we have a hard time admitting we are 2nd rate in anything. And there is a reason for that: we Americans have been subjected to decades of well-funded media propaganda, which has caused the vast majority of AMericans to suffer from this peculiar disease, which I cannot put a name to, but one symptom of it is the eternal calls to patriotism, and endless rhetoric about "the United States of America." We have manipulated for decades to think that America is so great, and thus we have given our consent to all sorts of foreign wars and foreign policy skullduggery.
This kind of manipulation still goes on here: most Americans are convinced America has the world's greatest medical case. Umm...no, it does not. Not for the average person.
And we do not have the world's greatest broadband. Here in Houston, the country's 5th largest city, you can get 1M down, 250K up for the grand sum of $32/month.
The reason why we have substandard broadband and substandard medical care is that our governmental structure was set up 200 years ago to reflect and maintain a SLAVE SOCIETY. They ran on slaves and indentured servants, and they built a Constitution to exploit the underclass. And they are still exploiting us.
You wrote:
On the other hand, this would also give the aspiring Rush Limbaughs of the world the ability to get their message out there.
Fine. Problem is that when it comes to widespread mass media, there IS no TRUE liberal counterpart to Limbaugh. Air America? Please! That is just the Democratic party talking there, and the Democratic party aint leftist, at least not when it comes to economics.
You wrote:
But I don't think that the general public has any problem getting messages from either the left or the right at this point in time. Otherwise, why would so many be so polarized on many issues?
The public is getting messages from the Right (GOP) and the right-center (Democrats), but there IS NO Left in America. If there is a left, tell me where on the major tv channels we have people talking consistently about universal healthcare, about welfare for all poor people (not just welfare moms), about raising the top tax bracket rates back up above 60% (they are at 35% now for earned, and 15% for unearned); where are all the liberals talking in the mainstream media about taxing wealth; about cutting the military budget in half??? These are ALL things that are in place in all the other industrialized, Western countries. Why not here?
Poll after poll shows that 70% or more of Americans want universal, tax-funded healthcare. But where does the media talk about it?
There is no economic left in America; the media and the politicians are perfectly to define leftism as all about gay rights, and abortion and gun control, and all the other "acceptable" liberal issues.
But when most of the country is on broadband, I can promise you, *I* and others will be out there with our homebrew movies and documentaries on p2p--THEN there will be a leftist voice in America.
Yes, I agree; the public financed projects are what made America great. THat and the high, progressive tax rates we had up until about 25 years ago. Lately we have just been coasting.
THe reason why we are headed downhill is because of the propaganda bought by the rich and the corporations for the last 30 years, propaganda which denigrated public service, government projects, and which glamourized corporations and the corporate sector.
Free broadband access means 70% of AMericans could watch video from any source at all. People could download video off of p2p networks, meaning that the high barrier to entry for getting a TV show or movie out to an audience would be changed to a lower barrier to entry. You would still have to have cameras (but they are getting reall cheap now) and actors and production sets. But the distribution system (tv stations, cable tv systems, movie theaters etc) has always been the obstacle to be overcome.
/i? sense: meaning that leftist ideas about raising the tax rates on the rich to former levels (e.g., 60% or more), and ideas about welfare for any poor person, and universal health care, these ideas are shunted aside.
But when anyone with a camera, free editing software, and some time and actors can make a movie, then upload it onto p2p, where it could be watched on free or very cheap p2p, that is going to mean that more leftist, liberal, progressive ideas are going to be propagated into American minds.
Right now, the mainstream media/Hollywood is liberal in the social sense (i.e., gay and minority rights, abortion, etc), but they are quite conservative in the economics
But free broadband would disrupt the media/entertainment distribution machine, thus allowing penetration for more liberal, leftist ideas.
I am all for it!
Most of these flashy online libertarian websites and magazines are funded by the think tanks and foundations, which are in turn funded by zillionaires like Scaife and by global corporations. Libertarianism is just a marketing ploy by the rightwing neoliberal foundations.
Check out the funding for the Reason Foundation, which puts out Reason magazine.
When most of these net-libertarians get 15 years older and finally realize they aint gonna rich, they will turn left, most of them. Good thing about net-libs is that they are fairly intelligent. And they do have access to the leftist writings on the Net, and with time and self-interested motivation, it will sink in. It sunk in for me. Finally...
For the few Net-Libs that DO get rich, they will of course not change their minds; they will just find good justifications for their hypocrisy. Humans are very at that....
This concerted effort has been going on for decades actually. As Adam Smith himself said, the bosses and the investors have the time and the means and the smaller numbers, thus making it easier for them to organize.
Only now, with the internet, have many people other than academics been able to obtain and sift through enough information to determine that, yes, there is indeed a vast rightwing conspiracy, and it is the forefront of an information/propaganda war declared on the worker by the bosses/investors/corporations. It starts with think tanks and foundations, and end s with people like Rush Limbaugh.
Why can't you see that people who bash Bush-bashers hate America?
So why do you hate America so much?!
All of us Americans need to go on a strike on a certain day. THis would reign in the elite and let them know who is boss.
Read this for more info on this technique.
you wrote:
" No, her basic premise is sound economics.
Economics is nothing more than a science of how to fuck over the working citizen and benefit the investor. Anytime I hear someone talk about "economics", I know they are either callow and ignorant or an evil greedhead. Guess which one I think you are....
you also wrote:
What outsourcing really does is grow the economies of those other countries.
WHo cares? America is my business. I own it jointly with all my fellow citizens. They are my partners. I aint looking to fuck them over so I can unduly benefit myself and some foreigners. I call that treason....
The money going into those economies results in higher economic spending power among the outsourcees. They in turn buy more goods, which employs more people in their local economy. This causes economic growth... at the same time it provides the ability for people in these countries to start their own business, utilizing cheaper local professionals, to produce products and outcompete the American companies. That sounds scary... but the net gain is cheaper goods and services for US as well.
OK...that scenario MIGHT come true, at some point in the future, maybe 50 years or 100 years. But I and my fellow citizen-partners are gonna get mighty skinny waiting for your free-trade, lasseiz faire, cornucopia-religion, rapture-prophesy crap to come to fruition. I say fuck that, and put up steep trade barriers. You know, things CHANGE from time to time in this ol' world. What works OK at some time N, does necessarily work well at some time N+K. Reality is like that.
You wrote:
It's the concept of competitive advantage. The workers in India have a competitive advantage as they can do the IT jobs cheaper, and ostensibly at or near the same quality level. By allowing them to take that advantage they win (their economy grows), but they also begin producing products that out-compete the more expensive American products. This is the exact same cycle we saw with Japanese cars (which has come full circle with those companies opening up manufacturing plants in the United States).
Here is an analogy for you: I and a bunch of people own an office building together. Each of us owners uses one of the offices to ply our trade. I am a lawyer; Joe down the hall is a dentist, Mike is an accountant, etc.
Then we hire an office manager. This office manager finds out that the office building on the down the street is not doing so well. The lawyers, accountants, dentists working there do not have much business. They charge much less than we owners in our office building do, but the problem is that their location is not as "prime"as ours. So that office manager conspires with the owners of the other building: whenever someone comes in looking to hire a lawyer, get dental or accounting work, etc., he just sends them down the street. He gets a kickback.
When we catch onto what he is doing he just says basically what you have just said: "it will grow their economy, it will keep prices down, yadda yadda yadda...."
Now, what do you think of that office manager?
With regard to manufacturing and japan and the USA, you might wanna read this....
Yes, that is exactly right.
THe only safe thing to do is LEECH. You cannot share copyrighted files. And if you download using bittorrent even one time, you can be caught. There are several posters here on this thread that had that very thing happen to them.
So, it seems that the only safe way is to just use kazaa, and either turn off sharing for all files, or do not share individual copyrighted files.
If you use kazaa and do not share, how could you get sued?
It would entail being a leech, but I would not share copyrighted files. People in other countries could share, countries where the govt puts the people ahead of the corporation, at least to a greater degree than here in Amerikkka.
and get an isp like sbc dsl, which does not give up your IP to the RIAA/MPAA/BSA. (I know that the mpaa is planning on starting to sue people, but is the BSA suing people?).
We can fight back against the MPAA lawsuits: they are vulnerable to grassroots protests. Much of their revenue is derived from large cineplexes which are reaching by driving along busy roads. Often they sit on a freeway access road. Several well placed protest signs near many of those cineplexes could knock down their dollar take every day.
See for example the freeway blogger.
I understand packets.
But my point is, did the person who get the letter dl from the riaa itself? Or did the riaa get the ip from the server logs.
Or was the riaa downloading a song itself from multiple sources? I wonder if what happened was the poster who got the letter downloaded the Star Trek episode, and because BT forces you to become an uploader of the file you are downloading, the riaa downloaded the same star trek episode and got his ip directly from the operating system.
So, I would say that BT is NOT as safe as kazaa.
All you have to do to avoid legal entanglements is use kazaa, but don't share, or only share files that are noncopywrited. So, American file traders must leech off of Europeans, Canadians, South Americans, Asians, Australians.
Why is this the case? It always comes back to this: contrary to the Preamble to the American Constitution, America is NOT "for the people, by the people". OTHER countries, such as those on listed above, are MORE "for the people, by the people" than is America.
But what puzzles me is, WHY, WHY, do Americans fail to face this fact?
Is it that we have been bamboozled, propagandized by the teevee? After all, the teevee is the preeminent American babysitter. Is this the price we pay for our lifestyle? Thought-slavery by propaganda?