Sorry, I have to disagree.
My oldest _working_ e-mail address is 16 years old. I (obviously) never changed it. Yes, a lot of spam arrives. No, I see no spam there. There have always been ways for geeks to handle spam (more or less) efficiently.
That is so not true. I couldn't even handle it effectively at the enterprise level with the best tools around at one point. Things didn't get better until services like Brightmail came along using dummy addresses and active NOC actively adding rules, etc. Without services like that (in the past) you were screwed. Today, there's enough intelligence built in to handle most of it automatically, but that was so not always the case. It was a huge problem for the (huge) business I was in.
So is wanting to punch someone in the face when they do something to make you angry. Doesn't mean I have to actually punch people in the face.
And I'm not stopping you from acting on your beliefs.
Lame comeback. Saying "Fucking is a little more intrinsic to being alive than punching people and a bit more of a natural daily impulse, asshole". would have been a lot better. "I'm not stopping you from acting on your beliefs"...? Really? Why bother replying.
100% correct
I'd say though I am anti-gay, but I don't give a shit what gays do in their personal life.
I don't agree with it and wouldn't want it around me
but otherwise they can get mud on their helmet all they want.
Actually, we douche, so as to not get mud on our helmets. The rate of shit fetish in the homo population is probably the same as or less than in hetero. Avoiding gays has made you such an authority on their culture, maybe you should just STFU about it, eh? If you're so neutral and have no real opinion or care about what "gays do in their personal life", maybe it's a good time to post about another topic, moron.
But the laws say nothing about love, simply gender. And that example is not at all the same.
A very apt example in the same vein would be: Imagine if the government was in charge of distributing food and gave all the people meals genetically designed to kill black people and then claimed it was fair because they treated everyone equally.
The difference between the two is that in mine everyone is treated equally, in yours they are not. Because equality does not always equal fairness, and that is what I was originally trying to point out.
Unfortunately, I am sure 99% of people will miss my insight and mod it troll.
Look on the bright side; you get nods for at least not being an anonymous troll!:)
No heterosexuals have the right to marry whoever they want of the opposing sex, love is not a requirement by law(See arranged marriages). Homosexuals have the same right as heterosexuals, only that's not what they want. I have no problem if gays want to get married; just I have a problem with same sex marriages as it devalues the concept as it was traditionally defined.
I do agree how ever that most people treat homosexuals unfairly though and I don't believe it was there choice to be gay.
My aunt had the right to marry 8 times and one of them was to the same one she'd already divorced. That's legal and doesn't "devalue the concept" at all, right? In other words, heterosexuals have the right to piss all over their vows, engage in publicly (getting married over and over) slutty and schizoid behavior, but homosexuals don't have the right to marry because you think fucking in the no no place is bad, even though heteros are all into that now. Yeah, no inconsistencies at all there, buddy.
That is why the Christians don't see any point in conservation for the future because they pray for their evil god to destroy the world, so it does not matter if they leave nothing for the next generation.
Wow. Massive generalization much?
Yes, I probably do generalize a bit much. That does not change the fact that the political arm of American Christianity is rabidly anti-conservation for the reason that I stated. They believe that their god will destroy the world before it matters.
And you were right to say it. Anybody who doesn't factor that in, is stupid. They're also trying to set Israel up to be destroyed so their evil god can come back. Maher actually has a hilarious bit on this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8glzLdJvYM
And the one thing in common with every major pandemic, catastrophe, and economic collapse has had in common? No one ever saw them coming.
That's not exactly true. There have always been experts who warned of those calamities, but it's never good business to listen. Would be more accurate to say that what they all had in common was nobody saw the signs (or wanted to) and nobody listened to people outside the cloying inner circle of industry sanctioned economists.
No true capitalist has reasonable, non-exploitive beliefs, huh?
I believe the means of production should be controled by people who have proven themselves good at producing stuff that people want, at a profit. That's pretty much the definition of capitalism. You sem to have redefined "capitalist" as "evil pig", as if you were a stereotype of a USSR-era communist.
You believe that the means of production should be controlled by the people who have proven themselves "good at producing stuff that people want, at a profit", so where exactly does the worker fit in there? You know...the one who actually produces stuff... Sounds to me like you've perverted the idea of worker control by adding the "at a profit" bit,,,insinuating that it takes some kind of esoteric business knowledge to produce anything somebody wants. Why not allow the people actually producing "stuff that people want" a share of the profits? Currently, they aren't getting any. If you're saying the fat cat who owns the company or a pool of elite investors, then you're just happy with the status quo. The status quo is what we have now and it's not working out for a lot of people. It's working out great for 1% of people and getting better for them each year.
You know if Totinos packaged Yuka, they'd stuff her full of chemicals and she'd still have a sell by date that's literally only months away. How did Yuka's nubile flesh stay so deliciously pink and tender for over ten thousand years, while still being certified organic, even by Oregon Tilth standards???!!!
There's the free market (Somalia) and the fair market (e.g. USA before Glass-Steagel was cut and anti-trust laws were still enforced), but you can't have both.
I don't want either. I want something else and to stop pretending this shit works/exists. Anarcho-syndicalism maybe?
I'm a capitalist, but not a 1 percenter, and I say that you can't cut your way to profitability.
How does that affect your prediction?
Free market fantasies. You're a capitalist, eh? Too bad it doesn't really exist....anywhere. I hope you don't think anything that's gone on in banking, the oil industry, agriculture, uh...do i need to go on, has anything to do with a capitalist 'free market'. Has a lot more to do with fleecing the tax payer and handing the cash over to companies, who then pretend to be engaging in some kind of free market. What a bunch of bull.
The fact that people can. The other thing that's great about it is you actually get to see what some people are really thinking. Sometimes the AC posts on here are amusing, even if they are completely obscene. It's like seeing what a person really does all alone on that business trip or alone in private thoughts. Banning trolling isn't just immoral, it's stupid and probably removes the one tiny peek hole into people's real thoughts. The guy who got on and said nigger faggot in the second post.... Well, as a faggot, I don't really like it, if I were also a black person, I'm sure it's not exactly nice. But isn't it helpful to know that the work educating people isn't over? What if everyone is totally fascist (like at the office) and has to pretend all day and we get into a false sense of security about where people are in their heads? The only real barometer is allowing people anonymous thoughts. Lets you know that there are still racists, and homophobes, (so don't get too comfy at the office...you might just get tired yet). Sorry I'm rambling/being offensive, but we don't have many 'freedoms' left as it is. From now on, I plan to appreciate that troll.
Electing 'leaders' like this? This bitch is worse than Sarah Palin. Yeah we all hate trolls. Is she just trying to get headlines or votes from the weak minded? Like a political Paris Hilton? I don't care if this type of law can't pass constitutional muster; the fact that she's even introducing it shows nothing but contempt for the constitution. What's up with Republicans and their phony patriotism when the only thing they work hard at is getting campaign contributions from private industry and eroding personal freedom. I'm serious...these fuckers are actually Orwellian at this point. All talk of personal freedom, then introducing this kind of trash legislation. The democrats are almost as bad. Why did the occupy movement fail? I was really hoping that would turn into some kind of hardcore revolution and kick both their asses out. This story really pisses me off. Enough is enough for Christ's sake.
It seems to me that ignorance is inversely proportional to the ability to make a conscious, self-determined choice. The more information I have about a given set of options, the less I'm able to make a choice based solely on my own preferences. Instead, I'm hampered by the knowledge that one particular option is better for me than others as determined by sources outside my control, and therefore (perhaps against my personal inclination) I'm going to lean towards the option that is better for me.
In this particular instance regarding calorie count, I'm aware due to education and awareness campaigns that more calories without moderation are a bad thing, both for me and for society. Morally, I know that I should reduce calorie intake to a moderate amount that is healthy for me. Moreover, the government and social scientists are aware that providing me with objective data that clearly states the best way to take care of myself is going to incentivize me to make the right choice. By capitalizing on these memes and trends, and posting calorie counts plus other nutritional data that is factual and accurate, the government and society is trying to push me to make the right choice both for society and myself. While the data may be factually, statistically, and scientifically accurate, the way and method in which it is introduced to me is biased. I already know that the Triple Baconator is bad for me, but by showing me calorie count, I'm going to make a further emotional connection that the Baconator is bad, read information that verifies that it is bad, and further convince myself that I should eat a salad instead. At that point, my will to choose is weakened, and I'm probably going to go with the salad.
The point I am trying to make is that by increasing the amount of data available for consumers to read, thus reducing ignorance as close to nil as possible, we are actually eroding the ability of people to make conscious, self-determined choices based on what they prefer. Instead, it influences people to choose the "correct" option (correct meaning that the data says that option A is more optimal than option B, and only idiots would prefer a less-optimal solution). And if we choose the "correct" option every time, how long before that becomes the only option?
That's a well written, but twisted post. Your argument sets the Baconator up as an hapless commodity that's not hyped and has no marketing behind it at all! When a kid's favorite rap singer (baseball player, cartoon character, whatever) is shown on commercials eating the Baconator while in his stretch limo, and enjoying his fabulously trim body, all of a sudden the lousy nutritional information seems like only a slight (and inadequate) re-balancing of the playing field. If consumers weren't already influenced by marketing pushing them to make irrational choices, you might be correct, but they most certainly are. Also, look at the photos of the Baconator. You don't anything approaching the actual Baconator until it's arrived in the box. Does it ever look like the Baconator pictured? Nope. It's usually a disgusting grease-ball and looks nothing like the marketing photos. So your argument is great, but for the fact that there's a huge marketing effort pushing consumers to make irrational decisions to buy the awful thing. The paltry nutrition data is a completely inadequate counter effort that doesn't even come close to countering the obscene marketing push for the Baconator. I'm not even sure the nutritional data could qualify as any kind of counter marketing. I might agree with you, if instead of some lousy nutrition data, the government wanted to run TV ads showing (rightly) the huge fat gut and disease the Baconator causes. Or maybe something like globs of fat clogging arteries...something akin to what's happening with smoking.
Bullshit. If there is actual market demand for this type of information on snacks, etc., then it's up to the consumers NOT TO BUY THEM until they find the snacks that do post this information, or until the companies figure out what the people are looking for.
As usual, this has nothing to do with the government and obviously government isn't authorised to do any of it, but that's how you sell out your freedoms every day, day in, day out, and once you sell out your freedoms on anything, the rest is peanuts.
What freedoms are being sold here exactly? Freedom to not know what's in the mystery popcorn you're eating?
Very clever... very sinister though as well.
Problem is where does it end? Does the little Italian shop down the block now also have to label calories? How bout the ice cream shop? how bout the pizza place? Ok, so they all adopt the new law and now everything has to be carefully measured... the cheeze, the scoop, etc. across the board everything now has to have some stupid label to tell you what you already know (or would if you actually cared). Oh, you put too much cheeze on that pizza accidentally? Well then you need to be fined for breaking the law and we may have to close your shop till the FDA completes the audit. That audit run by overpaid govt employees, oh the tax payers can pay it. Yea, that's going to work well. I cant wait. No more improvisational cooking... only from strictly approved cookbooks where every calorie can be counted. I mean seriously think it through and you will see that its absurd. Just as absurd as thinking solyndra is going to resolve the environmental problems. I mean what happened to all the precious science and facts with that one? Now they are not important? Talk about denial. Look... I am sure some nuts think the environment is not in danger from mankind, but the vast majority of the right actually just think the regulation offered by the left will do nothing but give special interests even more power than they already have and knock out competition. Look at the carbon tax for a terrible plan to increase the pollution while looking green (with greed). Great on paper, terrible on the environment. If the left (or the right) came up with a way to not pollute and offer solutions no one would be a denailist... they would be consumers. Good ideas get bought. I am not a supporter of nuclear power and have hope in wind power but I dont think people should be forced to accept either. Both need research, both need development neither should get any help from the govt and the one that offers the best price to performance should win. No subsidies, no games, just business.
BTW: I'm not right or left. I don't think the right is any more credible these days than the left but the idea of a small government with limited reach is certainly one I agree with. Unfortunately neither party wants that any more.
You might think you're not on the right or left, but you're so pro-corporate right it's not even funny. And you're wrong about just about everything and have no knowledge of history. Corporations can't regulate themselves. If you want citations, I can list about a hundred. Government subsidies pay for everything you love. If you want citations, I can get them easily. "No subsidies, no games, just business". WTF as if that's even reality. Crummy "business" couldn't survive without good old SOCIALIST handouts from the taxpayer. Pretty much every industry we all depend on wouldn't even be here without the taxpayer taking the risk, doing all the R&D and some private company reaping the profits (thanks to generous campaign contributions). Sorry to burst your ridiculous, indoctrinated bubble, but the things you think just aren't grounded in reality.
Any talk of black cats, brooms, our lord Satan, bedevilment, pagan rites of any kind (kabbalah witches like madonna) and *any* intellectual or legal chicanery are punishable by lowered employment prospects.
You need to learn discerning rhetorics from actual political action. Sure, our local conservatards love to spout undoubtedly racist crap about "the christian values and fundaments" of the EU, but still, the accession process runs quite separately from their frothing bullshit. No doubt there is racism here - show me any one society without. It is not institutionalized to the point of majorly influencing political decisions, though. Also, Chomsky? The guy manages to piss me off about half of the time, and I am a couple of lightyears left from centre....
Merkel isn't a local conservatard; she's the Chancellor of Germany. If you don't like Chomsky, then we're going to agree on basically nothing. Good day to you. I SAY GOOD DAY!!
Turkey gets in as soon as it fulfills the criteria everyone else has to fulfill. In particular, they will have to accept the sovereignty of Cyprus, which is already EU member. Can't really take someone into the club who won't agree upon the legitimacy of a doubtlessly legitimate other club member. Apart from that there is a certain lack of human rights in Turkey, which has to change before the accession talks proceed any further. The same criteria apply for every other aspiring member, so there is hardly any racism involved. I'd be careful to throw around accusations of racisms when using words like "islamofascism" myself...
Yeah. Islamofascists on every street corner here. Eh, wait, that's just the guy I buy my groceries from, and the guy I buy the occasional DÃner from. They even sell beer. And a cheap-ass barber, who is a pretty funny guy. Most of us don't shit ourselves if we see a Turkish, Levantine or Arabic looking face, you know.
Yeah, but you racists won't let Turkey in the EU, right?
If you read the actual case that caused this, it wasn't an inmate who was strip searched, it was someone who was mistakenly arrested for failure to pay a fine that he'd already paid and had PROOF that he paid. He was detained illegally for 6 days because no one believed his perfectly valid receipt, and during that time he was strip searched not once, but twice. To me, it smacks of totally ignoring "innocent until proven guilty" in favor of "we know you're innocent of the crime we arrested you for so we're going to try to find something else you're guilty of instead."
Read my post. I said it's bad and other "not inconseqential things". The point is, at least here you can do something about it. You can organize (even though we hardly ever do), you can call your congressman (again, hardly ever happens). What are you going to do in the EU? Stop islamofascists breeding? Stop Hungary from passing a fascist constitution? OOPS! Already passed! Stop the EU from forming to take over your country's soverignity? OOPS! Too late! The point was, yeah, it's bad here, but it's as bad or worse (farther along) there. You don't move from a bad thing to a worse thing. I didn't say I like anything that's going on in the US, but it's not as bad as what's going on in the EU (to anybody who's paying any attention whatsoever).
If you read the actual case that caused this, it wasn't an inmate who was strip searched, it was someone who was mistakenly arrested for failure to pay a fine that he'd already paid and had PROOF that he paid. He was detained illegally for 6 days because no one believed his perfectly valid receipt, and during that time he was strip searched not once, but twice. To me, it smacks of totally ignoring "innocent until proven guilty" in favor of "we know you're innocent of the crime we arrested you for so we're going to try to find something else you're guilty of instead."
Yup it's bad and the same things happen in the EU.
56% have "some college." 30% have a BS or equivalent. (Roughly 60% finish). If you're passionate about moving, you'll find a way to finish.
"Passionate about moving"? You'd have to be stupid to move to EU for any of the reasons being thrown around on here. First off, these Americans are going nuts over one supreme court ruling that allows a strip search of people who have always had limited civil rights anyway (inmates) and a few other not inconsequential rulings. I get it...things aren't great here in the US, but let's sum this up. If in America we had a supranational organization, like the EU, full of unelected officials, forcing the US, Canada, Mexico and South America to conform to its rules, colluding with business to force us to give up our social services (alright we basically have none in the US, but nobody in the EU will have any shortly)...austerity measures ring a bell? All these social services...... the thing Americans think they're going to run to the EU to get won't be there eventually, then had a bunch of the countries on the verge of fascism (Hungary's new fascist constitution ring a bell?). Then had tons of islamofascists breeding like rabbits and taking over France, Germany and Britain....Uh, I'd say you have a lot more to worry about in your precious EU than Americans have to worry about. If I planned to run from America, EU would NOT be the place I'd choose. That would be like running from a small kitchen grease fire straight into an uncontained forest fire. You can pretend Europe has no problems and its all American propaganda, and if you want to argue, I can post link after link from European newspapers. The people in Europe have no more control over what's going on than Americans do, so don't pretend things are so superior over there. If anything, it's A LOT worse and higher risk with a lot more complications. All these morons in America have to do is stop watching the corporate news, organize and change a few bad laws.
How easy was it to find work in Denmark without speaking Danish?
I'm seriously considering moving elsewhere in Europe. There's no legal obstacles for me, I'm British, so the only question is how easy it is to find a job.
(However, I do quite like the job & friends I have here at the moment.)
From what I've been reading lately, we're a lot more likely to encouter fascism in Europe than the US. Hungary is on the verge of enacting a completely fascist constitution. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/120329/eu-takes-on-extremism-can-it-win-echoes-hitler-pt-4 EU is having to battle fascist uprisings left and right. Some would argue the EU itself has fascist leanings, especially in light of its entirely unelected leadership. Do a lot of reading before you decide...that's pretty much what I'm doing. All those austerity measures being pressed is just business and government screwing the people there. The people are entirely against most of what's happening all over EU. So we move from here and have a real, more mature battle there. Might be better to just stay here and try to change things on the inside. Plus, what if all the thinking people do leave the US and it does become ultra right wing fascist? Then we've got the most powerful army in the world going (more) nuts all over. The current reality all over the world isn't real pretty. The only place to go is maybe someplace that doesn't matter and has few people.
The EU is having to battle fascist uprisings left and right?!?!?!?
Since when? You must be reading an American-centric paper, HQ'd in the US and written in English.
That article is laughable and sensationalist, at best. 7%, oh no!
And I forgot to even mention the islamofascism you're all having to deal with. Far more risks in the EU.
How easy was it to find work in Denmark without speaking Danish?
I'm seriously considering moving elsewhere in Europe. There's no legal obstacles for me, I'm British, so the only question is how easy it is to find a job.
(However, I do quite like the job & friends I have here at the moment.)
From what I've been reading lately, we're a lot more likely to encouter fascism in Europe than the US. Hungary is on the verge of enacting a completely fascist constitution. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/120329/eu-takes-on-extremism-can-it-win-echoes-hitler-pt-4 EU is having to battle fascist uprisings left and right. Some would argue the EU itself has fascist leanings, especially in light of its entirely unelected leadership. Do a lot of reading before you decide...that's pretty much what I'm doing. All those austerity measures being pressed is just business and government screwing the people there. The people are entirely against most of what's happening all over EU. So we move from here and have a real, more mature battle there. Might be better to just stay here and try to change things on the inside. Plus, what if all the thinking people do leave the US and it does become ultra right wing fascist? Then we've got the most powerful army in the world going (more) nuts all over. The current reality all over the world isn't real pretty. The only place to go is maybe someplace that doesn't matter and has few people.
Slashdot Mirror
Sorry, I have to disagree. My oldest _working_ e-mail address is 16 years old. I (obviously) never changed it. Yes, a lot of spam arrives. No, I see no spam there. There have always been ways for geeks to handle spam (more or less) efficiently.
That is so not true. I couldn't even handle it effectively at the enterprise level with the best tools around at one point. Things didn't get better until services like Brightmail came along using dummy addresses and active NOC actively adding rules, etc. Without services like that (in the past) you were screwed. Today, there's enough intelligence built in to handle most of it automatically, but that was so not always the case. It was a huge problem for the (huge) business I was in.
BTW being gay is natural.
So is wanting to punch someone in the face when they do something to make you angry. Doesn't mean I have to actually punch people in the face.
And I'm not stopping you from acting on your beliefs.
Lame comeback. Saying "Fucking is a little more intrinsic to being alive than punching people and a bit more of a natural daily impulse, asshole". would have been a lot better. "I'm not stopping you from acting on your beliefs"...? Really? Why bother replying.
100% correct I'd say though I am anti-gay, but I don't give a shit what gays do in their personal life. I don't agree with it and wouldn't want it around me but otherwise they can get mud on their helmet all they want.
Actually, we douche, so as to not get mud on our helmets. The rate of shit fetish in the homo population is probably the same as or less than in hetero. Avoiding gays has made you such an authority on their culture, maybe you should just STFU about it, eh? If you're so neutral and have no real opinion or care about what "gays do in their personal life", maybe it's a good time to post about another topic, moron.
But the laws say nothing about love, simply gender. And that example is not at all the same. A very apt example in the same vein would be: Imagine if the government was in charge of distributing food and gave all the people meals genetically designed to kill black people and then claimed it was fair because they treated everyone equally.
The difference between the two is that in mine everyone is treated equally, in yours they are not. Because equality does not always equal fairness, and that is what I was originally trying to point out.
Unfortunately, I am sure 99% of people will miss my insight and mod it troll.
Look on the bright side; you get nods for at least not being an anonymous troll! :)
No heterosexuals have the right to marry whoever they want of the opposing sex, love is not a requirement by law(See arranged marriages). Homosexuals have the same right as heterosexuals, only that's not what they want. I have no problem if gays want to get married; just I have a problem with same sex marriages as it devalues the concept as it was traditionally defined.
I do agree how ever that most people treat homosexuals unfairly though and I don't believe it was there choice to be gay.
My aunt had the right to marry 8 times and one of them was to the same one she'd already divorced. That's legal and doesn't "devalue the concept" at all, right? In other words, heterosexuals have the right to piss all over their vows, engage in publicly (getting married over and over) slutty and schizoid behavior, but homosexuals don't have the right to marry because you think fucking in the no no place is bad, even though heteros are all into that now. Yeah, no inconsistencies at all there, buddy.
That is why the Christians don't see any point in conservation for the future because they pray for their evil god to destroy the world, so it does not matter if they leave nothing for the next generation.
Wow. Massive generalization much?
Yes, I probably do generalize a bit much. That does not change the fact that the political arm of American Christianity is rabidly anti-conservation for the reason that I stated. They believe that their god will destroy the world before it matters.
And you were right to say it. Anybody who doesn't factor that in, is stupid. They're also trying to set Israel up to be destroyed so their evil god can come back. Maher actually has a hilarious bit on this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8glzLdJvYM
And the one thing in common with every major pandemic, catastrophe, and economic collapse has had in common? No one ever saw them coming.
That's not exactly true. There have always been experts who warned of those calamities, but it's never good business to listen. Would be more accurate to say that what they all had in common was nobody saw the signs (or wanted to) and nobody listened to people outside the cloying inner circle of industry sanctioned economists.
No true capitalist has reasonable, non-exploitive beliefs, huh?
I believe the means of production should be controled by people who have proven themselves good at producing stuff that people want, at a profit. That's pretty much the definition of capitalism. You sem to have redefined "capitalist" as "evil pig", as if you were a stereotype of a USSR-era communist.
You believe that the means of production should be controlled by the people who have proven themselves "good at producing stuff that people want, at a profit", so where exactly does the worker fit in there? You know...the one who actually produces stuff... Sounds to me like you've perverted the idea of worker control by adding the "at a profit" bit,,,insinuating that it takes some kind of esoteric business knowledge to produce anything somebody wants. Why not allow the people actually producing "stuff that people want" a share of the profits? Currently, they aren't getting any. If you're saying the fat cat who owns the company or a pool of elite investors, then you're just happy with the status quo. The status quo is what we have now and it's not working out for a lot of people. It's working out great for 1% of people and getting better for them each year.
You know if Totinos packaged Yuka, they'd stuff her full of chemicals and she'd still have a sell by date that's literally only months away. How did Yuka's nubile flesh stay so deliciously pink and tender for over ten thousand years, while still being certified organic, even by Oregon Tilth standards???!!!
There's the free market (Somalia) and the fair market (e.g. USA before Glass-Steagel was cut and anti-trust laws were still enforced), but you can't have both.
I don't want either. I want something else and to stop pretending this shit works/exists. Anarcho-syndicalism maybe?
I'm a capitalist, but not a 1 percenter, and I say that you can't cut your way to profitability.
How does that affect your prediction?
Free market fantasies. You're a capitalist, eh? Too bad it doesn't really exist....anywhere. I hope you don't think anything that's gone on in banking, the oil industry, agriculture, uh...do i need to go on, has anything to do with a capitalist 'free market'. Has a lot more to do with fleecing the tax payer and handing the cash over to companies, who then pretend to be engaging in some kind of free market. What a bunch of bull.
The fact that people can. The other thing that's great about it is you actually get to see what some people are really thinking. Sometimes the AC posts on here are amusing, even if they are completely obscene. It's like seeing what a person really does all alone on that business trip or alone in private thoughts. Banning trolling isn't just immoral, it's stupid and probably removes the one tiny peek hole into people's real thoughts. The guy who got on and said nigger faggot in the second post.... Well, as a faggot, I don't really like it, if I were also a black person, I'm sure it's not exactly nice. But isn't it helpful to know that the work educating people isn't over? What if everyone is totally fascist (like at the office) and has to pretend all day and we get into a false sense of security about where people are in their heads? The only real barometer is allowing people anonymous thoughts. Lets you know that there are still racists, and homophobes, (so don't get too comfy at the office...you might just get tired yet). Sorry I'm rambling/being offensive, but we don't have many 'freedoms' left as it is. From now on, I plan to appreciate that troll.
Electing 'leaders' like this? This bitch is worse than Sarah Palin. Yeah we all hate trolls. Is she just trying to get headlines or votes from the weak minded? Like a political Paris Hilton? I don't care if this type of law can't pass constitutional muster; the fact that she's even introducing it shows nothing but contempt for the constitution. What's up with Republicans and their phony patriotism when the only thing they work hard at is getting campaign contributions from private industry and eroding personal freedom. I'm serious...these fuckers are actually Orwellian at this point. All talk of personal freedom, then introducing this kind of trash legislation. The democrats are almost as bad. Why did the occupy movement fail? I was really hoping that would turn into some kind of hardcore revolution and kick both their asses out. This story really pisses me off. Enough is enough for Christ's sake.
It seems to me that ignorance is inversely proportional to the ability to make a conscious, self-determined choice. The more information I have about a given set of options, the less I'm able to make a choice based solely on my own preferences. Instead, I'm hampered by the knowledge that one particular option is better for me than others as determined by sources outside my control, and therefore (perhaps against my personal inclination) I'm going to lean towards the option that is better for me.
In this particular instance regarding calorie count, I'm aware due to education and awareness campaigns that more calories without moderation are a bad thing, both for me and for society. Morally, I know that I should reduce calorie intake to a moderate amount that is healthy for me. Moreover, the government and social scientists are aware that providing me with objective data that clearly states the best way to take care of myself is going to incentivize me to make the right choice. By capitalizing on these memes and trends, and posting calorie counts plus other nutritional data that is factual and accurate, the government and society is trying to push me to make the right choice both for society and myself. While the data may be factually, statistically, and scientifically accurate, the way and method in which it is introduced to me is biased. I already know that the Triple Baconator is bad for me, but by showing me calorie count, I'm going to make a further emotional connection that the Baconator is bad, read information that verifies that it is bad, and further convince myself that I should eat a salad instead. At that point, my will to choose is weakened, and I'm probably going to go with the salad.
The point I am trying to make is that by increasing the amount of data available for consumers to read, thus reducing ignorance as close to nil as possible, we are actually eroding the ability of people to make conscious, self-determined choices based on what they prefer. Instead, it influences people to choose the "correct" option (correct meaning that the data says that option A is more optimal than option B, and only idiots would prefer a less-optimal solution). And if we choose the "correct" option every time, how long before that becomes the only option?
That's a well written, but twisted post. Your argument sets the Baconator up as an hapless commodity that's not hyped and has no marketing behind it at all! When a kid's favorite rap singer (baseball player, cartoon character, whatever) is shown on commercials eating the Baconator while in his stretch limo, and enjoying his fabulously trim body, all of a sudden the lousy nutritional information seems like only a slight (and inadequate) re-balancing of the playing field. If consumers weren't already influenced by marketing pushing them to make irrational choices, you might be correct, but they most certainly are. Also, look at the photos of the Baconator. You don't anything approaching the actual Baconator until it's arrived in the box. Does it ever look like the Baconator pictured? Nope. It's usually a disgusting grease-ball and looks nothing like the marketing photos. So your argument is great, but for the fact that there's a huge marketing effort pushing consumers to make irrational decisions to buy the awful thing. The paltry nutrition data is a completely inadequate counter effort that doesn't even come close to countering the obscene marketing push for the Baconator. I'm not even sure the nutritional data could qualify as any kind of counter marketing. I might agree with you, if instead of some lousy nutrition data, the government wanted to run TV ads showing (rightly) the huge fat gut and disease the Baconator causes. Or maybe something like globs of fat clogging arteries...something akin to what's happening with smoking.
Bullshit. If there is actual market demand for this type of information on snacks, etc., then it's up to the consumers NOT TO BUY THEM until they find the snacks that do post this information, or until the companies figure out what the people are looking for.
As usual, this has nothing to do with the government and obviously government isn't authorised to do any of it, but that's how you sell out your freedoms every day, day in, day out, and once you sell out your freedoms on anything, the rest is peanuts.
What freedoms are being sold here exactly? Freedom to not know what's in the mystery popcorn you're eating?
Very clever... very sinister though as well. Problem is where does it end? Does the little Italian shop down the block now also have to label calories? How bout the ice cream shop? how bout the pizza place? Ok, so they all adopt the new law and now everything has to be carefully measured... the cheeze, the scoop, etc. across the board everything now has to have some stupid label to tell you what you already know (or would if you actually cared). Oh, you put too much cheeze on that pizza accidentally? Well then you need to be fined for breaking the law and we may have to close your shop till the FDA completes the audit. That audit run by overpaid govt employees, oh the tax payers can pay it. Yea, that's going to work well. I cant wait. No more improvisational cooking... only from strictly approved cookbooks where every calorie can be counted. I mean seriously think it through and you will see that its absurd. Just as absurd as thinking solyndra is going to resolve the environmental problems. I mean what happened to all the precious science and facts with that one? Now they are not important? Talk about denial. Look... I am sure some nuts think the environment is not in danger from mankind, but the vast majority of the right actually just think the regulation offered by the left will do nothing but give special interests even more power than they already have and knock out competition. Look at the carbon tax for a terrible plan to increase the pollution while looking green (with greed). Great on paper, terrible on the environment. If the left (or the right) came up with a way to not pollute and offer solutions no one would be a denailist... they would be consumers. Good ideas get bought. I am not a supporter of nuclear power and have hope in wind power but I dont think people should be forced to accept either. Both need research, both need development neither should get any help from the govt and the one that offers the best price to performance should win. No subsidies, no games, just business. BTW: I'm not right or left. I don't think the right is any more credible these days than the left but the idea of a small government with limited reach is certainly one I agree with. Unfortunately neither party wants that any more.
You might think you're not on the right or left, but you're so pro-corporate right it's not even funny. And you're wrong about just about everything and have no knowledge of history. Corporations can't regulate themselves. If you want citations, I can list about a hundred. Government subsidies pay for everything you love. If you want citations, I can get them easily. "No subsidies, no games, just business". WTF as if that's even reality. Crummy "business" couldn't survive without good old SOCIALIST handouts from the taxpayer. Pretty much every industry we all depend on wouldn't even be here without the taxpayer taking the risk, doing all the R&D and some private company reaping the profits (thanks to generous campaign contributions). Sorry to burst your ridiculous, indoctrinated bubble, but the things you think just aren't grounded in reality.
Any talk of black cats, brooms, our lord Satan, bedevilment, pagan rites of any kind (kabbalah witches like madonna) and *any* intellectual or legal chicanery are punishable by lowered employment prospects.
You need to learn discerning rhetorics from actual political action. Sure, our local conservatards love to spout undoubtedly racist crap about "the christian values and fundaments" of the EU, but still, the accession process runs quite separately from their frothing bullshit. No doubt there is racism here - show me any one society without. It is not institutionalized to the point of majorly influencing political decisions, though. Also, Chomsky? The guy manages to piss me off about half of the time, and I am a couple of lightyears left from centre....
Merkel isn't a local conservatard; she's the Chancellor of Germany. If you don't like Chomsky, then we're going to agree on basically nothing. Good day to you. I SAY GOOD DAY!!
Turkey gets in as soon as it fulfills the criteria everyone else has to fulfill. In particular, they will have to accept the sovereignty of Cyprus, which is already EU member. Can't really take someone into the club who won't agree upon the legitimacy of a doubtlessly legitimate other club member. Apart from that there is a certain lack of human rights in Turkey, which has to change before the accession talks proceed any further. The same criteria apply for every other aspiring member, so there is hardly any racism involved. I'd be careful to throw around accusations of racisms when using words like "islamofascism" myself...
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=190958
Yeah. Islamofascists on every street corner here. Eh, wait, that's just the guy I buy my groceries from, and the guy I buy the occasional DÃner from. They even sell beer. And a cheap-ass barber, who is a pretty funny guy. Most of us don't shit ourselves if we see a Turkish, Levantine or Arabic looking face, you know.
Yeah, but you racists won't let Turkey in the EU, right?
If you read the actual case that caused this, it wasn't an inmate who was strip searched, it was someone who was mistakenly arrested for failure to pay a fine that he'd already paid and had PROOF that he paid. He was detained illegally for 6 days because no one believed his perfectly valid receipt, and during that time he was strip searched not once, but twice. To me, it smacks of totally ignoring "innocent until proven guilty" in favor of "we know you're innocent of the crime we arrested you for so we're going to try to find something else you're guilty of instead."
Read my post. I said it's bad and other "not inconseqential things". The point is, at least here you can do something about it. You can organize (even though we hardly ever do), you can call your congressman (again, hardly ever happens). What are you going to do in the EU? Stop islamofascists breeding? Stop Hungary from passing a fascist constitution? OOPS! Already passed! Stop the EU from forming to take over your country's soverignity? OOPS! Too late! The point was, yeah, it's bad here, but it's as bad or worse (farther along) there. You don't move from a bad thing to a worse thing. I didn't say I like anything that's going on in the US, but it's not as bad as what's going on in the EU (to anybody who's paying any attention whatsoever).
If you read the actual case that caused this, it wasn't an inmate who was strip searched, it was someone who was mistakenly arrested for failure to pay a fine that he'd already paid and had PROOF that he paid. He was detained illegally for 6 days because no one believed his perfectly valid receipt, and during that time he was strip searched not once, but twice. To me, it smacks of totally ignoring "innocent until proven guilty" in favor of "we know you're innocent of the crime we arrested you for so we're going to try to find something else you're guilty of instead."
Yup it's bad and the same things happen in the EU.
The majority of Americans have "some college experience."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_attainment_in_the_United_States
56% have "some college." 30% have a BS or equivalent. (Roughly 60% finish). If you're passionate about moving, you'll find a way to finish.
"Passionate about moving"? You'd have to be stupid to move to EU for any of the reasons being thrown around on here. First off, these Americans are going nuts over one supreme court ruling that allows a strip search of people who have always had limited civil rights anyway (inmates) and a few other not inconsequential rulings. I get it...things aren't great here in the US, but let's sum this up. If in America we had a supranational organization, like the EU, full of unelected officials, forcing the US, Canada, Mexico and South America to conform to its rules, colluding with business to force us to give up our social services (alright we basically have none in the US, but nobody in the EU will have any shortly)...austerity measures ring a bell? All these social services ...... the thing Americans think they're going to run to the EU to get won't be there eventually, then had a bunch of the countries on the verge of fascism (Hungary's new fascist constitution ring a bell?). Then had tons of islamofascists breeding like rabbits and taking over France, Germany and Britain....Uh, I'd say you have a lot more to worry about in your precious EU than Americans have to worry about. If I planned to run from America, EU would NOT be the place I'd choose. That would be like running from a small kitchen grease fire straight into an uncontained forest fire. You can pretend Europe has no problems and its all American propaganda, and if you want to argue, I can post link after link from European newspapers. The people in Europe have no more control over what's going on than Americans do, so don't pretend things are so superior over there. If anything, it's A LOT worse and higher risk with a lot more complications. All these morons in America have to do is stop watching the corporate news, organize and change a few bad laws.
How easy was it to find work in Denmark without speaking Danish?
I'm seriously considering moving elsewhere in Europe. There's no legal obstacles for me, I'm British, so the only question is how easy it is to find a job.
(However, I do quite like the job & friends I have here at the moment.)
From what I've been reading lately, we're a lot more likely to encouter fascism in Europe than the US. Hungary is on the verge of enacting a completely fascist constitution. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/120329/eu-takes-on-extremism-can-it-win-echoes-hitler-pt-4 EU is having to battle fascist uprisings left and right. Some would argue the EU itself has fascist leanings, especially in light of its entirely unelected leadership. Do a lot of reading before you decide...that's pretty much what I'm doing. All those austerity measures being pressed is just business and government screwing the people there. The people are entirely against most of what's happening all over EU. So we move from here and have a real, more mature battle there. Might be better to just stay here and try to change things on the inside. Plus, what if all the thinking people do leave the US and it does become ultra right wing fascist? Then we've got the most powerful army in the world going (more) nuts all over. The current reality all over the world isn't real pretty. The only place to go is maybe someplace that doesn't matter and has few people.
The EU is having to battle fascist uprisings left and right?!?!?!?
Since when? You must be reading an American-centric paper, HQ'd in the US and written in English.
That article is laughable and sensationalist, at best. 7%, oh no!
And I forgot to even mention the islamofascism you're all having to deal with. Far more risks in the EU.
How easy was it to find work in Denmark without speaking Danish?
I'm seriously considering moving elsewhere in Europe. There's no legal obstacles for me, I'm British, so the only question is how easy it is to find a job.
(However, I do quite like the job & friends I have here at the moment.)
From what I've been reading lately, we're a lot more likely to encouter fascism in Europe than the US. Hungary is on the verge of enacting a completely fascist constitution. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/120329/eu-takes-on-extremism-can-it-win-echoes-hitler-pt-4 EU is having to battle fascist uprisings left and right. Some would argue the EU itself has fascist leanings, especially in light of its entirely unelected leadership. Do a lot of reading before you decide...that's pretty much what I'm doing. All those austerity measures being pressed is just business and government screwing the people there. The people are entirely against most of what's happening all over EU. So we move from here and have a real, more mature battle there. Might be better to just stay here and try to change things on the inside. Plus, what if all the thinking people do leave the US and it does become ultra right wing fascist? Then we've got the most powerful army in the world going (more) nuts all over. The current reality all over the world isn't real pretty. The only place to go is maybe someplace that doesn't matter and has few people.