I don't want to give the impression that I'm defending our educational system. It is horribly broken. But the solution is not what you propose.
People do not have "bugs" or "features." People learn differently. Some people have deficiencies like ADD or dyslexia. Other people learn differently and have no deficiency. I shudder to think of teachers treating students as though they had "bugs." That's just sick.
Japanese educational superiority is a myth. Have you taught in the Japanese school system? I have. They are not kicking anyone's anything. The small number of elite students who take the standardized tests perform better than the large majority of American students who take those tests. This is especially true in high school, where all the kids who can't perform in a rote-based system have washed out.
Japanese schools don't teach critical thinking, writing, or practically any higher-order learning skills. Even their history classes are long recitations of facts. This is one huge reason that they retain a proto-feudal society that isn't performing very well in the information age.
Is our educational system perfect? Far from it. Teachers can be caught up in fads. There is a lot of jargon and silliness associated with education these days and no doubt some kids suffer because of it. Some teachers get carried away with higher order learning that students don't actually learn the basic facts. That is why so many of our students are so ignorant. Let me say again - our education system is terribly broken, but you don't have the solution.
The movement that you and I can both agree with to a certain extent is "Core Knowledge." If you want to actually learn about this instead of just spouting off, google that and "E.D. Hirsch." Note that there is a distinctive difference between "Core Knowledge" and the practically useless "Rote Recitation."
While I actually agree with many of the Core Knowledge ideas, I don't think they're 100% right about all modern theories. They seem to want to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
I'm a little angry, so forgive me if I get haughty. I didn't respond well to "rote learning" as a kid. Second, as only one person pointed out, and as has been largely forgotten by the educational system as it stands today -- after presenting the subject matter, it must be drilled..
"Rote-drills" only work for the small percentage of kids who are wired for that kind of learning. And many of those kids won't focus their attention enough to learn even then. As a result, bright, precocious, successful kids become more successful. Some truly brilliant kids who are developmentally delayed, who have ADD, who have different intelligences are relegated to "career tracks" where they will not blossom. So when the pathways develop that allow for higher math learning, for example, the kid's already in some vocational program learning to be an MCSE. What a waste! The old method of "you will sit still and learn this like it or not, end of discussion" may not have been "enjoyable" but it WORKED.
It really didn't work that well. It worked for lots of kids who were in school, who were suited to it. Remember, lots of kids dropped out during the "glory days" of instructivist rote-drills. Lots of kids finished school at 8th grade, then went to work in factories or farms. These are the kids who were wasted on "rote drills." Sure, some of them were just unintelligent. But many of them weren't suited to the 19th century education you advocate. That worked well in the 19th and early 20th centuries. We had lots of laborer jobs. Now we have an information economy. We just don't have that many of those types of jobs anymore. We shouldn't just throw away kids who don't respond well to rote learning. It's a very narrow view of learning and very elitist.
Want to fix the problems generated and exacerbated by computers in the classroom? Easy. Restrict computers and in-school computer use to one place: the classes that are specifically *about* computers.
I guess that would be the easiest way to do it. It's probably the easiest and quickest way to be eclipsed by Europe and Asia. How about doing more research and figuring out how to make computer assisted learning work?
Now, if you're truly interested in what real educators have learned about the educational process, you can do some googling on the following topics:
And here begins my rant about Slashdot, and parent poster, please forgive me if I offend. Lord knows I've said and written some incredibly stupid stuff - orders of magnitude worse than what I took offense at in your post.
Why do we tend to write things like "Of COURSE, any IDIOT would know that XXXXX would solve YYYYY problem?" Do we think that the experts in the field are all sitting around with their thumbs up their fannies? We have a huge field of research in this area. It's fine to share your opinion. That's what Slashdot is about. But come on, don't be so arrogant about it - like the solutions are SO OBVIOUS, ANY IDIOT could figure them out. We are working on the solutions while so many others are just whining and griping.
Inform yourself, do some digging, some reading. Problems are almost always more complex than they first appear. Solutions are almost always more difficult to achieve than it seems they should be.
Let's face it, the average American is god fearing, believes that his government can do no wrong, is misinformed about their individual rights, has had little exposure to liberal setiments, is not politically active, and is primed to have a knee jerk-reaction to whatever liberal opinions that they might hear.
Your implication that the average American is conservative because he/she is uncultured, stupid, or politically naive is intolerant, insulting, and yes, naive.
Liberals like you shoot themselves in the foot because they reduce conservatives to a parody in their own minds. They fight "straw man" conservatives because they have need to reassure themselves that they while they may be in the minority, they are at least the "elite" "cultured" "intelligent" minority.
President Bush is the perfect example of how this works. Liberals consistently underestimate him, call him stupid, make fun of his malapropisms, and then are shocked, SHOCKED, when he beats the living crap out of them at the polls.
Many liberals, (yourself included, by your argument) would rather fight an imaginary conservative - an uncultured, reactionary boob, than the real conservative base in this country. After all, you can ALWAYS beat a figment of your imagination.
Ad hominem attacks are just so much easier than actually discussing issues. Issues are so cumbersome... They require thought, research, and consideration. Much easier to write "Conservatives dumb. Liberals smart."
I for one hope liberals continue to attack the straw man rather than taking up issues. It makes life for conservatives so much easier.
Ugh, I HATE Ashleigh Banfield. (She's on MSNBC, btw) Such a drama queen. Why do reporters think doing stand-ups IN FRONT OF places (AB ON LOCATION!)improves their reporting? The fact that she's THERE seems to be all she's got going for her. Banfield is the worst.
I have no argument with any of your points. Just pointing out some different restrictions on freedom in Europe since so many bash the US in ignorance
Gun ownership is restricted much more in Europe than in the US. I present that as a fact rather than as a value judgment. I have no intention of arguing the 2nd Amendment here ad nauseum because I have no interest in the subject or the argument.:-D
BTW, I love France. It's my favorite place to visit, and I would love to live there for a few years. I speak French reasonably well.
And for your amusement: Things I love about France: 1. French people 2. Food & Wine 3. The high level of debate and analytical thought 4. Giverny 5. Museums 6. Paris 7. The south
It's not changing the subject. When the government says it has a cut of your income, that's a restriction on your freedom. When 50% or more of the fruits of your labors go to support the government, that's restricting your freedom in the most fundamental way. I ASSUME that's what you mean by "changing the subject." If so, then how do you address the restrictions of gun ownership, political speech, and the absence of double jeopardy protections in many European countries?
Also, I think you're forgetting that the article that started this discussion was written to compare freedom of the press in almost all of the nations of the world. And I was responding to people who said Americans only think we're free. I didn't submit the article or post to it originally. I simply responded to closed-minded, ignorant posters who think that being anti-American = being sophisticated.
Here's a big/. problem. It's impossible to have a nuanced, intelligent conversation with a non-American about America because non-Americans assume that Americans are all dumb, unsophisticated, provincial boobs who couldn't find their butts in the dark with both hands. While there are boobs in every country and we may or may not have more of our share, we also have well-read, intelligent, sophisticated people who are also patriots.
Just because I defend American doesn't mean I'm blind to its faults. And my saying that America is freer than other countries is not an ignorant knee-jerk statement. I gave facts. No one has addressed those facts or been willing to talk about the freedoms I mentioned above.
You are out of your league, talking about American life. I live here, remember? Metal detectors in schools are unfortunate, but have nothing to do with government intrusion in our lives and contrary to what you see in the media, are rather rare. I have a fence around my back yard only because that's American custom. It's for keeping the DOG in the yard, not for keeping bad guys out.
You don't have a spying organization? Really? I don't know where you live, but I don't believe you. Go ahead and let me know so I can find out the name of your "spying organization."
There was one small grain of truth in what you wrote. We do have a holdover from the cold war. We cherish freedom and we talk about it a lot. And we don't take it for granted. That's why we still have it.
I forgot: Germany? Political speech is restricted in Germany, not to mention academic freedom and freedom of association. (ask any scientologist, racist, neo-nazi, or anyone accused of being one)
France AND Germany persecute Scientologists and evangelical Christians who have somehow gotten grouped with cults, even though they are not cultish at all. Mainstream denominations doing missionary work in the US face draconian registration requirements, especially in France.
How hard is it to buy a gun to defend your family or go hunting in the countries you mention? Pretty darn hard, I'll wager.
What if you're a business owner in any of these "nanny states" that you mention? Starting a business is extraordinarily difficult because of the confiscatory tax laws, high vehicle registration fees, and ridiculous business registration costs (which are really just taxes) This is true for individuals as well. High taxes are a HUGE hit on personal freedom.
Finally, I could be wrong, but I don't believe Germany has a limitation on double jeopardy in its basic law. I can't read German, and I couldn't find it in French.
Now, if you're talking about the ability to take DRUGS, OK, maybe you have that. But the tax rates outweigh that dubious freedom.
I am not dElusional. There is not such thing as complete freedom. "Making terroristic threats" is a crime in every nation that I've visited. At least that's what the signs at the airport say.
The issue at hand is the degree of freedom, or "comparative freedom," not the glorification of anarchy. We are the freest society on earth. Until you can point to a freer one, you're the one with dElusions.
And you don't have to live in EVERY country to know about freedom. We're free. Other countries are not as free as we are. I've never been anywhere freer than the USA. That's my experience, and I have quite a bit.
To which REAL freedoms was he referring? The freedom to be arrested in the middle of the night? To be murdered in cold blood for daring to read samizdat or just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Maybe you're referring to the freedom to pollute and destroy the environment without regulation, to produce chemical and biological warheads (not just in tests, in missiles) and then allow those materials to proliferate to third-world despots? What about the freedom of the NKVD/KGB to murder anyone at anytime for any reason? In that case, I guess he was right.
America has lots of problems -yes, but the "Blame American first" crowd really makes me sick. America is among the freest countries in the world. Sure, there's a LOT to criticize about it, but don't be ridiculous.
The only cable outlet that could be construed as conservative is Fox News. CNN and MSNBC are liberal up-to-their elbows. Have you seen Donahue?
an educated populace might not be interested in sensationalized reporting Look at the cable-news channels' demographics. Their viewers are educated, much more so than the general populace. Advertising sales reps tout this as a plus when they sell local ads on these networks.
prolifieration of punditry disguised as journalism. News and analysis are always separate and clearly delineated. Punditry is analysis. It is not presented as fact.
Self sensorship, and support of governement or corporate sensorship, to maintain a favorable political atmosphere. This doesn't mean anything. What's been censored? Can you give examples? There is a difference between restraint (withholding details about military deployments) and censorship. Corporations and governments have ZERO censorship power in arena of political speech or the press.
Monitary support of politicians as a means of encouraging support for the corporate political agenda. Where, who? These are PUBLIC records posted on the web. Post EXAMPLES.
This post is another example of "If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Well, if you are a fundamentalist lefty even the left-leaning press looks like a conservative cabal. It just ain't so.
Moderators, do us all a favor and mod down this evidenceless, linkless, misspelled, spurious conjecture.
Anything you can make, We can make cheaper- We can make anything cheaper than you!
-- Now seriously. This is really sickening:
No reliable legal system enforces contracts. Theft of intellectual property is routine. Business disputes are often settled by hired thugs; on occasion, those thugs are the local police. But though it can feel like Dodge City, Dongguan works more like 19th-century Manchester, as perhaps the world's most extensive and systematic exploitation of transient labor by mobile capital. And the people who oversee this system -- and profit handsomely from it -- are the officials of the world's largest Communist Party.
We have normalized trade relations with them, coddled them, and deceived ourselves under the banner of "engagement." We should not accept super-cheap components as a result of slave-labor or child-labor. Communism is bad enough, but now we have the worst of both worlds - totalitarian communism and ruthless robber-baron-style capitalism.
Let me be clear - I have nothing against Chinese people, just their government's practices.
What do/.ers suggest to contribute to the solution? Stop buying consumer goods made in China? Write to congress? To be honest, it seems rather hopeless.
The article doesn't say that Ballmer is going to punish Mallinson. It says they may punish the marketing person who came up with this idea. That means, most likely, whoever tasked Mallinson's firm with this job. So many have written "It was MS's idea, and it's MS's fault, not Mallinson's" Of course, but MS isn't the borg, despite popular belief. They don't come up wiht ideas collectively and foist them on unsuspecting freelancers.
Most likely, an individual in their Windows marketing group came up with that idea and outsourced it, simple as that. If anyone gets in trouble, it will be that person, or the head of that group. However, I doubt that anyone in that group will really be punished.
The other possibility is that Mallinson's firm came up with the idea. In that case, the firm is probably no longer affiliated with MS. NOW, what's really unlikely is that Mallinson came up with the idea, pitched it to her firm, got approval, pitched it to Microsoft, got approval, then wrote it herself.
Most likely a team was involved. They made a mistake. They got caught. It's over. I doubt anyone will get fired. If they do, that sucks because I think the collective hubris at MS is more to blame than any one person.
basic curiosity about the hardware is key. Especially on a site like Slashdot.
Basic curiosity about the hardware is key to what? I'll agree that I'm atypical for a Slashdot reader. I don't enjoy tinkering. Furthermore, it takes more than a "basic curiosity about hardware" to give a flip about IRQ conflicts, Firewire bus speeds, SCSI versus IDE, blah blah blah ad nauseum. It takes a true, focused interest in the technology for its own sake. I'll concede - I don't have that.
But I am very interested in how technology affects society and how society affects technology. And I do like new hardware, geegaws and gadgets. But for me, computers aren't an end unto themselves. They are a means to an end.
Furthermore, the great thing about Macs now, with OS X, is you can tinker all you like. But I don't have to if I don't want to. I can just do my work.
I just upgraded to FC Pro so I could do some stuff with a project I can't do with iMovie. The elegance of the product is really astounding. It's well thought-out - it scales down to my incredible level of ignorance well, and it produces a beautiful product. When I wanted to make the movie, here's what I needed: Mac, FCPro, video cam w/ Firewire.
Now I suppose Adobe Premiere on a beefy Windows machine could do the same, but I'm getting nervous just thinking about it. I use Windows every day and consider myself a very proficient user. (blech)
So what do I need to do the same project? I suppose: Premiere, Beefy Windows-based Machine (XP? 98? 2000?) - I'm guessing 2000, but that's just a guess - So I have to downgrade. And the right video card - Oh my gosh! Which one shall I get? Hmm.. And I forgot: I need a FIREWIRE card b/c they aren't standard on most PCs. Oh crap. Firewire drivers, Oh yeah - video card drivers. What, there's a conflict (IRQ?) between my add-on FW card and my add-on HD. CRAP! See what I mean?
Before you write "Dude, you're stupid" I'll concede the point. I'm stupid. You got me.
But I am smart enough to figure out how to run FC Pro in some fashion or another, produce multimedia, etc. etc.. and I'm pretty sure I'm smart enough to puzzle out all the Windows crap, BUT I DON'T WANT TO. I'm smart enough to get my work done, and that's all I care about. I don't like "computers" and I don't want to spend half my life figuring out why they don't work.
Yes. I'm running a 17" iMac (That is: a single G4 at 800mHz) with 768MB RAM and it's plenty snappy. I DO wish for a faster processor when rendering video, but system performance and app performance is generally great.
10.2 is also generally acceptable even on my old Wallstreet, upgraded to 500mHz running just 192 MB of RAM! I like XP OK, but can you run it on a laptop you bought in 1998?
Yes, I am very cheap, but I don't need a ton of processing power for most stuff I do.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't want to give the impression that I'm defending our educational system. It is horribly broken. But the solution is not what you propose.
People do not have "bugs" or "features." People learn differently. Some people have deficiencies like ADD or dyslexia. Other people learn differently and have no deficiency. I shudder to think of teachers treating students as though they had "bugs." That's just sick.
Japanese educational superiority is a myth. Have you taught in the Japanese school system? I have. They are not kicking anyone's anything. The small number of elite students who take the standardized tests perform better than the large majority of American students who take those tests. This is especially true in high school, where all the kids who can't perform in a rote-based system have washed out.
Japanese schools don't teach critical thinking, writing, or practically any higher-order learning skills. Even their history classes are long recitations of facts. This is one huge reason that they retain a proto-feudal society that isn't performing very well in the information age.
Is our educational system perfect? Far from it. Teachers can be caught up in fads. There is a lot of jargon and silliness associated with education these days and no doubt some kids suffer because of it. Some teachers get carried away with higher order learning that students don't actually learn the basic facts. That is why so many of our students are so ignorant. Let me say again - our education system is terribly broken, but you don't have the solution.
The movement that you and I can both agree with to a certain extent is "Core Knowledge." If you want to actually learn about this instead of just spouting off, google that and "E.D. Hirsch." Note that there is a distinctive difference between "Core Knowledge" and the practically useless "Rote Recitation."
While I actually agree with many of the Core Knowledge ideas, I don't think they're 100% right about all modern theories. They seem to want to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
I'm a little angry, so forgive me if I get haughty. I didn't respond well to "rote learning" as a kid.
Second, as only one person pointed out, and as has been largely forgotten by the educational system as it stands today -- after presenting the subject matter, it must be drilled..
"Rote-drills" only work for the small percentage of kids who are wired for that kind of learning. And many of those kids won't focus their attention enough to learn even then.
As a result, bright, precocious, successful kids become more successful. Some truly brilliant kids who are developmentally delayed, who have ADD, who have different intelligences are relegated to "career tracks" where they will not blossom. So when the pathways develop that allow for higher math learning, for example, the kid's already in some vocational program learning to be an MCSE. What a waste!
The old method of "you will sit still and learn this like it or not, end of discussion" may not have been "enjoyable" but it WORKED.
It really didn't work that well. It worked for lots of kids who were in school, who were suited to it. Remember, lots of kids dropped out during the "glory days" of instructivist rote-drills. Lots of kids finished school at 8th grade, then went to work in factories or farms. These are the kids who were wasted on "rote drills." Sure, some of them were just unintelligent. But many of them weren't suited to the 19th century education you advocate. That worked well in the 19th and early 20th centuries. We had lots of laborer jobs. Now we have an information economy. We just don't have that many of those types of jobs anymore.
We shouldn't just throw away kids who don't respond well to rote learning. It's a very narrow view of learning and very elitist.
Want to fix the problems generated and exacerbated by computers in the classroom? Easy. Restrict computers and in-school computer use to one place: the classes that are specifically *about* computers.
I guess that would be the easiest way to do it. It's probably the easiest and quickest way to be eclipsed by Europe and Asia. How about doing more research and figuring out how to make computer assisted learning work?
Now, if you're truly interested in what real educators have learned about the educational process, you can do some googling on the following topics:
Constructivism
Multiple Intelligences
Ed Tech theory
And here begins my rant about Slashdot, and parent poster, please forgive me if I offend. Lord knows I've said and written some incredibly stupid stuff - orders of magnitude worse than what I took offense at in your post.
Why do we tend to write things like "Of COURSE, any IDIOT would know that XXXXX would solve YYYYY problem?" Do we think that the experts in the field are all sitting around with their thumbs up their fannies? We have a huge field of research in this area. It's fine to share your opinion. That's what Slashdot is about. But come on, don't be so arrogant about it - like the solutions are SO OBVIOUS, ANY IDIOT could figure them out. We are working on the solutions while so many others are just whining and griping.
Inform yourself, do some digging, some reading. Problems are almost always more complex than they first appear. Solutions are almost always more difficult to achieve than it seems they should be.
End rant.
Let's face it, the average American is god fearing, believes that his government can do no wrong, is misinformed about their individual rights, has had little exposure to liberal setiments, is not politically active, and is primed to have a knee jerk-reaction to whatever liberal opinions that they might hear.
Your implication that the average American is conservative because he/she is uncultured, stupid, or politically naive is intolerant, insulting, and yes, naive.
Liberals like you shoot themselves in the foot because they reduce conservatives to a parody in their own minds. They fight "straw man" conservatives because they have need to reassure themselves that they while they may be in the minority, they are at least the "elite" "cultured" "intelligent" minority.
President Bush is the perfect example of how this works. Liberals consistently underestimate him, call him stupid, make fun of his malapropisms, and then are shocked, SHOCKED, when he beats the living crap out of them at the polls.
Many liberals, (yourself included, by your argument) would rather fight an imaginary conservative - an uncultured, reactionary boob, than the real conservative base in this country. After all, you can ALWAYS beat a figment of your imagination.
Ad hominem attacks are just so much easier than actually discussing issues. Issues are so cumbersome... They require thought, research, and consideration. Much easier to write "Conservatives dumb. Liberals smart."
I for one hope liberals continue to attack the straw man rather than taking up issues. It makes life for conservatives so much easier.
Ugh, I HATE Ashleigh Banfield. (She's on MSNBC, btw) Such a drama queen. Why do reporters think doing stand-ups IN FRONT OF places (AB ON LOCATION!)improves their reporting? The fact that she's THERE seems to be all she's got going for her. Banfield is the worst.
most of these people are definately stupid. You have a MCSE right?
'nuf said
Anybody else getting that stupid iPAQ pocket PC ad over the top of CONTENT on the page? I'm using Moz 1.1 in OSX 10.2
I have no argument with any of your points. Just pointing out some different restrictions on freedom in Europe since so many bash the US in ignorance
:-D
Gun ownership is restricted much more in Europe than in the US. I present that as a fact rather than as a value judgment. I have no intention of arguing the 2nd Amendment here ad nauseum because I have no interest in the subject or the argument.
BTW, I love France. It's my favorite place to visit, and I would love to live there for a few years. I speak French reasonably well.
And for your amusement:
Things I love about France:
1. French people
2. Food & Wine
3. The high level of debate and analytical thought
4. Giverny
5. Museums
6. Paris
7. The south
It's not changing the subject. When the government says it has a cut of your income, that's a restriction on your freedom. When 50% or more of the fruits of your labors go to support the government, that's restricting your freedom in the most fundamental way. I ASSUME that's what you mean by "changing the subject." If so, then how do you address the restrictions of gun ownership, political speech, and the absence of double jeopardy protections in many European countries?
/. problem. It's impossible to have a nuanced, intelligent conversation with a non-American about America because non-Americans assume that Americans are all dumb, unsophisticated, provincial boobs who couldn't find their butts in the dark with both hands. While there are boobs in every country and we may or may not have more of our share, we also have well-read, intelligent, sophisticated people who are also patriots.
Also, I think you're forgetting that the article that started this discussion was written to compare freedom of the press in almost all of the nations of the world. And I was responding to people who said Americans only think we're free. I didn't submit the article or post to it originally. I simply responded to closed-minded, ignorant posters who think that being anti-American = being sophisticated.
Here's a big
Just because I defend American doesn't mean I'm blind to its faults. And my saying that America is freer than other countries is not an ignorant knee-jerk statement. I gave facts. No one has addressed those facts or been willing to talk about the freedoms I mentioned above.
You are out of your league, talking about American life. I live here, remember? Metal detectors in schools are unfortunate, but have nothing to do with government intrusion in our lives and contrary to what you see in the media, are rather rare. I have a fence around my back yard only because that's American custom. It's for keeping the DOG in the yard, not for keeping bad guys out.
You don't have a spying organization? Really? I don't know where you live, but I don't believe you. Go ahead and let me know so I can find out the name of your "spying organization."
There was one small grain of truth in what you wrote. We do have a holdover from the cold war. We cherish freedom and we talk about it a lot. And we don't take it for granted. That's why we still have it.
I forgot:
Germany? Political speech is restricted in Germany, not to mention academic freedom and freedom of association. (ask any scientologist, racist, neo-nazi, or anyone accused of being one)
France AND Germany persecute Scientologists and evangelical Christians who have somehow gotten grouped with cults, even though they are not cultish at all. Mainstream denominations doing missionary work in the US face draconian registration requirements, especially in France.
How hard is it to buy a gun to defend your family or go hunting in the countries you mention? Pretty darn hard, I'll wager.
What if you're a business owner in any of these "nanny states" that you mention? Starting a business is extraordinarily difficult because of the confiscatory tax laws, high vehicle registration fees, and ridiculous business registration costs (which are really just taxes) This is true for individuals as well. High taxes are a HUGE hit on personal freedom.
Finally, I could be wrong, but I don't believe Germany has a limitation on double jeopardy in its basic law. I can't read German, and I couldn't find it in French.
Now, if you're talking about the ability to take DRUGS, OK, maybe you have that. But the tax rates outweigh that dubious freedom.
What's your median tax rate? 70%?
I am not dElusional. There is not such thing as complete freedom. "Making terroristic threats" is a crime in every nation that I've visited. At least that's what the signs at the airport say.
The issue at hand is the degree of freedom, or "comparative freedom," not the glorification of anarchy. We are the freest society on earth. Until you can point to a freer one, you're the one with dElusions.
BTW - there is no TIPS hotline.
We're much freer. Period.
And you don't have to live in EVERY country to know about freedom. We're free. Other countries are not as free as we are. I've never been anywhere freer than the USA. That's my experience, and I have quite a bit.
Let me get this straight:Your RUSSIAN professor was lecturing AMERICANS about freedom? That's rich.
You need to do some reading
To which REAL freedoms was he referring? The freedom to be arrested in the middle of the night? To be murdered in cold blood for daring to read samizdat or just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Maybe you're referring to the freedom to pollute and destroy the environment without regulation, to produce chemical and biological warheads (not just in tests, in missiles) and then allow those materials to proliferate to third-world despots? What about the freedom of the NKVD/KGB to murder anyone at anytime for any reason? In that case, I guess he was right.
America has lots of problems -yes, but the "Blame American first" crowd really makes me sick. America is among the freest countries in the world. Sure, there's a LOT to criticize about it, but don't be ridiculous.
The only cable outlet that could be construed as conservative is Fox News. CNN and MSNBC are liberal up-to-their elbows. Have you seen Donahue?
an educated populace might not be interested in sensationalized reporting
Look at the cable-news channels' demographics. Their viewers are educated, much more so than the general populace. Advertising sales reps tout this as a plus when they sell local ads on these networks.
prolifieration of punditry disguised as journalism.
News and analysis are always separate and clearly delineated. Punditry is analysis. It is not presented as fact.
Self sensorship, and support of governement or corporate sensorship, to maintain a favorable political atmosphere.
This doesn't mean anything. What's been censored? Can you give examples? There is a difference between restraint (withholding details about military deployments) and censorship. Corporations and governments have ZERO censorship power in arena of political speech or the press.
Monitary support of politicians as a means of encouraging support for the corporate political agenda.
Where, who? These are PUBLIC records posted on the web. Post EXAMPLES.
This post is another example of "If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Well, if you are a fundamentalist lefty even the left-leaning press looks like a conservative cabal. It just ain't so.
Moderators, do us all a favor and mod down this evidenceless, linkless, misspelled, spurious conjecture.
Anything you can make, We can make cheaper-
/.ers suggest to contribute to the solution? Stop buying consumer goods made in China? Write to congress? To be honest, it seems rather hopeless.
We can make anything cheaper than you!
--
Now seriously. This is really sickening:
No reliable legal system enforces contracts. Theft of intellectual property is routine. Business disputes are often settled by hired thugs; on occasion, those thugs are the local police. But though it can feel like Dodge City, Dongguan works more like 19th-century Manchester, as perhaps the world's most extensive and systematic exploitation of transient labor by mobile capital. And the people who oversee this system -- and profit handsomely from it -- are the officials of the world's largest Communist Party.
While I am not an blind supporter of Amnesty International, I think they are spot-on with regard to China."
We have normalized trade relations with them, coddled them, and deceived ourselves under the banner of "engagement." We should not accept super-cheap components as a result of slave-labor or child-labor. Communism is bad enough, but now we have the worst of both worlds - totalitarian communism and ruthless robber-baron-style capitalism.
Let me be clear - I have nothing against Chinese people, just their government's practices.
What do
The article doesn't say that Ballmer is going to punish Mallinson. It says they may punish the marketing person who came up with this idea. That means, most likely, whoever tasked Mallinson's firm with this job. So many have written "It was MS's idea, and it's MS's fault, not Mallinson's" Of course, but MS isn't the borg, despite popular belief. They don't come up wiht ideas collectively and foist them on unsuspecting freelancers.
/.? Care to share?
Most likely, an individual in their Windows marketing group came up with that idea and outsourced it, simple as that. If anyone gets in trouble, it will be that person, or the head of that group. However, I doubt that anyone in that group will really be punished.
The other possibility is that Mallinson's firm came up with the idea. In that case, the firm is probably no longer affiliated with MS. NOW, what's really unlikely is that Mallinson came up with the idea, pitched it to her firm, got approval, pitched it to Microsoft, got approval, then wrote it herself.
Most likely a team was involved. They made a mistake. They got caught. It's over. I doubt anyone will get fired. If they do, that sucks because I think the collective hubris at MS is more to blame than any one person.
Valerie - are you reading
Once again:
I'll concede the point. I'm stupid. You got me.
basic curiosity about the hardware is key. Especially on a site like Slashdot.
Basic curiosity about the hardware is key to what? I'll agree that I'm atypical for a Slashdot reader. I don't enjoy tinkering. Furthermore, it takes more than a "basic curiosity about hardware" to give a flip about IRQ conflicts, Firewire bus speeds, SCSI versus IDE, blah blah blah ad nauseum. It takes a true, focused interest in the technology for its own sake. I'll concede - I don't have that.
But I am very interested in how technology affects society and how society affects technology. And I do like new hardware, geegaws and gadgets. But for me, computers aren't an end unto themselves. They are a means to an end.
Furthermore, the great thing about Macs now, with OS X, is you can tinker all you like. But I don't have to if I don't want to. I can just do my work.
I just upgraded to FC Pro so I could do some stuff with a project I can't do with iMovie. The elegance of the product is really astounding. It's well thought-out - it scales down to my incredible level of ignorance well, and it produces a beautiful product. When I wanted to make the movie, here's what I needed: Mac, FCPro, video cam w/ Firewire.
Now I suppose Adobe Premiere on a beefy Windows machine could do the same, but I'm getting nervous just thinking about it. I use Windows every day and consider myself a very proficient user. (blech)
So what do I need to do the same project? I suppose:
Premiere, Beefy Windows-based Machine (XP? 98? 2000?) - I'm guessing 2000, but that's just a guess - So I have to downgrade. And the right video card - Oh my gosh! Which one shall I get? Hmm.. And I forgot: I need a FIREWIRE card b/c they aren't standard on most PCs. Oh crap. Firewire drivers, Oh yeah - video card drivers. What, there's a conflict (IRQ?) between my add-on FW card and my add-on HD. CRAP! See what I mean?
Before you write "Dude, you're stupid" I'll concede the point. I'm stupid. You got me.
But I am smart enough to figure out how to run FC Pro in some fashion or another, produce multimedia, etc. etc.. and I'm pretty sure I'm smart enough to puzzle out all the Windows crap, BUT I DON'T WANT TO. I'm smart enough to get my work done, and that's all I care about. I don't like "computers" and I don't want to spend half my life figuring out why they don't work.
WirelessDriver, (not the best name in the world) the open source driver mentioned in the article, can do it.
There's peanut butter in my CHOCOLATE!
There's chocolate in my PEANUT BUTTER!
I know, let's SUBMIT IT to SLASHDOT.
I have to agree. I am a Mac fanatic and I'm underwhelmed.
It's not every day that I learn a new word on Slashdot. Had to open up Sherlock and look that baby up.
Now that I think about it (rubs chin, looks wistfully into the distance) this is the first time I've learned a new word on Slashdot.
Yes. I'm running a 17" iMac (That is: a single G4 at 800mHz) with 768MB RAM and it's plenty snappy. I DO wish for a faster processor when rendering video, but system performance and app performance is generally great.
10.2 is also generally acceptable even on my old Wallstreet, upgraded to 500mHz running just 192 MB of RAM! I like XP OK, but can you run it on a laptop you bought in 1998?
Yes, I am very cheap, but I don't need a ton of processing power for most stuff I do.
They DO carry hard-to-find books. People love them and they get lots of customer loyalty.
Atlantic Monthly covered this very well a while back:
PBS created the first reality show "An American Family" in 1973.
They aren't following anyone. You should also see "Frontier House," another PBS reality show. Nothing like the network stuff.