It sucks that the United States cannot take the high ground... sigh. I'm in no way suggesting we should set the bar for good and decent government at the spot the Russians fall in at, but to be fair, America's system is still within reach of saving while Russian system is an entrenched kleptocracy.
And if the US isn't much better, at least there's the shred of humanity present in their actions that they still need to appear to do the good work.
Perhaps you can still save a nation if it keeps its' conscience.
one) Accident or crime? I'd be willing to give the affair the benefit of the doubt. The fallout for this benefits neither pro-Russian Ukrainian forces nor Mother Russia herself, and was easily predictable. The Ukrainians do not seem likely to have masterminded this without detection, but I'll keep the shiny hat nearby.
two)Ukrainian investigators on Western soil? No. But like we're doing, countries such as the former Soviet Union would still be bitching about it.
three) Is the death toll from spectacular plane crashes overrated? Certainly. Everyone who's flown has felt the uneasy helplessness of being on a plane... if something happens, there is nothing you can do to help. While a war in Gaza or Afganistan takes a substantial toll over an extended period, few modern citizens can relate to war death.
four) Did the USA and Great Britain thrum their fingers together like Mr Burns and say aloud, "Excellent"? Oh yeah.
There are many conditions worse than being poor. Off the top of my head, I would rather be poor than sick all the time or unhappy, and I would extend that claim to cover my children's health and well being.
There are things that you cannot fix with material wealth, and as all things including wealth are relative, there will, as you suggest, always exist a segment that is poor.
The people you extend an extra few dollars an hour will still be poor. I contend they shouldn't need to apply for the welfare if they work full time, as the program(s) that supports them is actually supporting workfare jobs to the benefit of low margin business models.
Just so. When the minimum wage is so low that one can't support a family on it without government aid, then government aid to the worker is effectively subsidizing the employer's business model; it's socialism for capitalists.
Corporate welfare.
To the five nines, pride will be no factor in that effort to apply for benefits.
Although it still sounds a bit low for subsistence living, it's still better than what we have now.
Depending on where you live (state taxes?), that's at best a cool $350-$365 after payroll taxes (259-270 Euros) per week for a family of two to four.
After necessities like food, rent, electricity, phone, transportation, clothing, and so on, it's going to take some wicked budgeting skills to have any disposable income at all. Get it together Washington.
Contrary to the premise that areas engaging in the most fracking are in danger of the greatest number of future earthquakes, West and South Texas are home to great numbers of frackers and low incidence of future geological events.
Although i am under no illusion that mining hydrocarbons for energy is without consequence and repercussion, it is worth noting that any production of energy comes with an environmental or social cost.
If we spent half the money on renewable energy development that we spend on waste, war, and surveillance, there would be no profit in releasing sequestered carbon.
US is not going into the Ukraine to fight Russia. That would be the equivalent of Russia invading US over a disturbance in Hawaii.
McCain is the guy who picked Dan Quayle's half sister as his running mate. His stock is a sell even with the right.
Even a skinny blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut. Yes, this makes Russia look like shit to the benefit of her enemies... no, everything that happens isn't a layer cake of conspiracies.
In order to justify a budget increase of 300%+, the head of Microsoft Research had to write a really long essay beginning with business buzzwords (like embark, unprecedented, and endeavor) and ending with some justifications for his recommendations.
It is so difficult to stay on top in any field, let alone atop a technology that changes virtually overnight, that even Microsoft's relatively short run as apex predator was commendable.
You can make a hundred correct predictions in a row as to where the market is heading, and then whiff on two, and an apple or a google gain a foothold.
It's not rocket science... it's way harder than that.
The procrastinator in us invariably assumes there is seemingly an infinite amount of time to take care of this... by the time they send the We really fucking mean it this time! notice, well hell, they've been crying "wolf" so long it doesn't mean anything.
And to be fair, didn't the nerdtastic Mecca website herself forget to renew a certificate recently?
Slashdot Mirror
Kind of arbitrarily deletes the middleman from the transaction, but hey, if you can sleep at night knowing that, no blood-no foul.
A Blackwater Security Consultant, junior grade.
And if the US isn't much better, at least there's the shred of humanity present in their actions that they still need to appear to do the good work.
Perhaps you can still save a nation if it keeps its' conscience.
one) Accident or crime? I'd be willing to give the affair the benefit of the doubt. The fallout for this benefits neither pro-Russian Ukrainian forces nor Mother Russia herself, and was easily predictable. The Ukrainians do not seem likely to have masterminded this without detection, but I'll keep the shiny hat nearby.
two)Ukrainian investigators on Western soil? No. But like we're doing, countries such as the former Soviet Union would still be bitching about it.
three) Is the death toll from spectacular plane crashes overrated? Certainly. Everyone who's flown has felt the uneasy helplessness of being on a plane... if something happens, there is nothing you can do to help. While a war in Gaza or Afganistan takes a substantial toll over an extended period, few modern citizens can relate to war death.
four) Did the USA and Great Britain thrum their fingers together like Mr Burns and say aloud, "Excellent"? Oh yeah.
There are things that you cannot fix with material wealth, and as all things including wealth are relative, there will, as you suggest, always exist a segment that is poor.
The people you extend an extra few dollars an hour will still be poor. I contend they shouldn't need to apply for the welfare if they work full time, as the program(s) that supports them is actually supporting workfare jobs to the benefit of low margin business models.
Just so. When the minimum wage is so low that one can't support a family on it without government aid, then government aid to the worker is effectively subsidizing the employer's business model; it's socialism for capitalists.
Corporate welfare.
To the five nines, pride will be no factor in that effort to apply for benefits.
I am not supporting a hand out as much as a hand up, but if a person shows up to work everyday and does the job well enough to keep it,
he or she shouldn't have to apply for assistance to enjoy the basics of survival.
Not just for fun... cash for pelts augments my minimum wage income.
Depending on where you live (state taxes?), that's at best a cool $350-$365 after payroll taxes (259-270 Euros) per week for a family of two to four.
After necessities like food, rent, electricity, phone, transportation, clothing, and so on, it's going to take some wicked budgeting skills to have any disposable income at all. Get it together Washington.
Although i am under no illusion that mining hydrocarbons for energy is without consequence and repercussion, it is worth noting that any production of energy comes with an environmental or social cost.
If we spent half the money on renewable energy development that we spend on waste, war, and surveillance, there would be no profit in releasing sequestered carbon.
Sickening, not funny.
If those two descriptions are a closed set, your reply is statistically likely to be correct.
Still, no Nobel nomination is likely forthcoming.
Though a Karma killer, my post provides at least a shred of evidence that six ladies post on /.
It was an airplane engaged in a game of chicken.
Conspiracy cover story or a hard luck affair for all those aboard?
It's more fun to throw wood on the fire of conspiracy, but it's more practical to consider stupidity ahead of sublime political intrigue.
Well thought out and well written.
McCain is the guy who picked Dan Quayle's half sister as his running mate. His stock is a sell even with the right.
Even a skinny blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut. Yes, this makes Russia look like shit to the benefit of her enemies... no, everything that happens isn't a layer cake of conspiracies.
Ukraine airspace is good as any.
I'm not sure whether I'd rather have my 401k heavily vested in Malaysian Airlines or Microsoft.
In order to justify a budget increase of 300%+, the head of Microsoft Research had to write a really long essay beginning with business buzzwords (like embark, unprecedented, and endeavor) and ending with some justifications for his recommendations.
You can make a hundred correct predictions in a row as to where the market is heading, and then whiff on two, and an apple or a google gain a foothold.
It's not rocket science... it's way harder than that.
but if you keep that up,
I feel strongly there's a tender offer for a Slashdot editorial position in your future.
Did IBM put more into it than the other AIM members? Probably. But they didn't do it out of the goodness of their hearts.
There exists a noble, altruistic corporation that roams the lands doing the good work.
Mythbusted
You are in competition for breeding with others of your species.
The creature in second place may not wish to remain there.
Nothing. You already told her twice.
Burning karma like fine cigars.... in a series of small fires.
did so in a completely gentlemanly manner...
with profound politeness and thoughtful adjectives.
The procrastinator in us invariably assumes there is seemingly an infinite amount of time to take care of this... by the time they send the We really fucking mean it this time! notice, well hell, they've been crying "wolf" so long it doesn't mean anything.
And to be fair, didn't the nerdtastic Mecca website herself forget to renew a certificate recently?
You can no more eliminate citizens living on the fringes than you can remove corruption from politics.
Trading in the illegal and the illicit is the second oldest profession.