Go with humans, who are known fallable and subjective, or machines, who are known fallable and too objective. In the name of jusice (being blind and all) I think most of us would agree we would prefer an emotionally-inert policing force. The problem is then this: how do we trust them? Are they just being unilaterally fair or inept?
Cops now might pick up someone for Driving while Black but a machine wouldn't differentiate between the lunatic going 125 and the man rushing to get his dying wife to the hospital.
In the end we all assume we have a good idea how people are going to act. Thus we will always distrust machines to watch over us. These story remind me of Skynet from the Terminator. "Afterwards all stealth bombers flew with perfect operational records."
How did that story turn out? Man, out of fear, turns against the Machine. The Machine retaliates. Funny thing is that I think most people would agree with the story. In our heart of hearts all of us are Luddites. Heck, just read the poster's last comment: "This is a great "wakeup call" for those of you who are not aware."
I'm personally more partial to calling it Symmetric Multi-Threading as compared to Hyperthreading which is the brandname Intel created for the concept. Sort of like Xerox versus Photocopy. Of course there are some mix-ups for those who seem to think of the multi-threading as OS based and not hardware. Eh, personal preference.
I dunno. There is a big division between mainstream and underground games. Sure, there are the Sims, Maddens and the Tony Hawks that are generally enjoyed by a lot of people.
But then how often do you hear the same people who play Madden 2003 talk up Everquest or Counterstrike? I still think there is a big division and the good halmark of a geek game is the online community. Check out the hordes that follow NWN religiously... or Quake. Surely not mainstream and very very geeky. How many Maddenheads out there also edit configuration files or modify other games significantly?
Of course there is no problem with that but it is important to realize that video games do not fall under one large umbrella.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same."
I love stories like this so it can end the apocolyptic talk (in the topic of "blah blah") right now. Today is no worse than yesterday. Well, execpt that we have the opportunity to learn from the past...
I think this is great! Finally, an IT firm is considering the "differently-abled" when it comes to software UI! Although I do take some offense at the use of cripple...
Wait. We're talking about the same thing right?
Re:100,000 pieces? Is that a lot?
on
Lego Addictions
·
· Score: 2
Well according to the link above, the Lego Star Destroyer (which is over a meter long) is built with just over 3000 pieces. So he has roughly enough to build 33 of those Star Destroyers (or enough to put the Emperor to shame).
Although I'm still not impressed. Maybe if he had enough to build 33 Death Stars with 33 Calmari cruisers with 33 lil' Admiral Akbars all yelling in unison "It's a Trap!"
* Play Half-Life multiplayer on your PC. * Then play it on the PS2. * Play BF1942 on your PC. * Then play it on- oh wait. * Instantly realize that the article is BS. * Finally read the article to realize that the submitter completely misinterpreted what the article says wasting your time and energy.
*The difference between CD and DVD prices: This argument would be fine if you were comparing CD piracy with a rash of people sneaking into movie theaters without paying. By the time most movies are DVDs they've already recouped their costs. Thus the DVD is all profit. Shit, the movie theaters would sell them to you for 3 bucks and just jam them full of adverts for their next features coming out. Example: the point of the Fellowship of the Ring DVD is to get you to go and see The Two Towers in the theater ten times.
* Think there is a Problem with Music? There always has been. Welcome to the real world. This article is by Steve Albini. If you don't know who he is you shouldn't even be a part of this conversation.
* Do you know who is even on a major? What, you think that the label your favorite artist created is an indie? *heh* Yeah... right. If you think this I bet you also believe in Santa Claus and reach-arounds.
Final Verdict All this comes down to people going to a swingers party, bending over and being surprised when they take it in the ass. What? Don't like the Major Labels??? Then DON'T BUY THEIR MUSIC. DON'T SUPPORT THEIR ARTISTS. DON'T BUY MAGAZINES THAT THEY ADVERTISE IN. DON'T WATCH MTV/VH-1/BET/etc. DON'T MAKE THEM MONEY.
Jesus. You would think people would realize this. But no. They keep on going out and throwing money at the Majors. So how is it that they are supposed to change? If you really cared you would only buy indie stuff anyway. Go out, buy Our Band Could Be Your Life, crank on your Fugazi and don't pay attention anymore.
Sounds all very... Metal Gear Solid. Hmmm. I've never been a big fan of Starcraft (but most RTS's don't put wind in my sail).
And now Blizzard is going to go from their gold standard (the RTS) into unfriendly waters (the Tactical Sim)? Of course they can never go long with this dialogue:
Ghost: "The truck have started to move!" Templar: "I feel asleep!"
It's called my brain. Seriously though, I follow the philosophy of "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link." Distribution of resources (with no central access) limits the damage of a single weak link.
Of course, though, if I was interested in a central system, why not something implemented with a directory service (e-Directory or AD)? A nice little certification architecture for a multi-tiered privilege structure? I'd put my faith in NDS before a lot of the other products mentioned.
a newbie can pay a little extra and be as good as an average player right off the bat.
Um that seems to imply that there is an actual "skill" of leveling up a MMORPG... well other than resting a stapler on the left button on your mouse.
Compare that to something like Quake where, no matter how much you spend, the only real factors are skill and talent.
I'd rather play BF1942 where I can observe my ability improving instead of just saying "wow, I just spent the last 20 hours making shields". Oh and I also don't get screwed out of 20 bucks a month.
Um. Well there are two schools of thought when it comes to a form of art:
1. Those who enjoy it for its own sake. 2. Those who enjoy it for intellectual reasons.
Take anything: music, film, fine art. Whatever and you will find these two camps (the second being smaller than the first).
Now your post title is "It's just a movie" so I assume you are in the first camp. Basically the rule of thumb is if you liked the movie or not. Binary. Runs. or Hangs. And that's fine.
The second group are those who take an active interest in looking deeper into a form of art. The political reasons. The creator's own personal relations to it. Larger social meaning and how it fits into the larger genre. Here analyisis brings deeper understanding of the film and thus more pleasure than just sitting back and watching it.
A good parallel is David Sirlin's editiorials on Street Fighter II. His gist? Either you enjoy video games just to play them, or you enjoy them by winning (and winning takes analysis of the deeper mechanics of the game).
In all things either it is just a meaningless pastime or a deep and profound experience. Passive enjoyment or active involvement. Understand that there are people who enjoy the same things you do but for different reasons.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Premier \Pre"mi*er\, n.
The first minister of state; the prime minister.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 [wn]:
premier
adj 1: first in rank or degree; "an architect of premier rank";
"the prime minister" [syn: {premier(a)}, {prime(a)}] 2: preceding all others in time; "the premiere showing" [syn: {premiere}]
n 1: the person who holds the position of head of state in
England [syn: {Prime Minister}, {PM}]
2: the person who is head of state (in several countries) [syn:
{chancellor}, {prime minister}]
3: the position of the cabinet minister who is in charge of
government affairs [syn: {Prime Minister}, {PM}]
v 1: be performed for the first time; of a play, ballet, or
composition [syn: {premiere}]
2: perform a work for the first time [syn: {premiere}]
What have we learned from this: there are different flavors of English (UK, US, Engrish). So some people take the lift from the first floor to the lorry. Some take the elevator from the second floor to the van. While others take the happy number one good star ok.
where viewers are encouraged to examine...despite the fact that the majority of viewers have no idea what the code means.
Once again art critics are commenting on something that they have no business commenting on. Thus the definition of art broadens just a bit more and loses more meaning. Right now it seems that humanities study equates to being able to make up more BS with a straight face than anyone else.
It's like those conversations you have on some CS topic where Joe Average says something and you have to reply "Um... that isn't how it works at all."
Of course in the arts it doesn't matter what is being said but what sort of crack-headed theory you can come up with about it and how loud your posse of "experts" can beat their chests. Of course in science we have terms for that too: Lysenkoism or Pathological science
I run XP (and I have no shame for it). But a problem that bothered me to no end was the lack of server mirroring for SP1.
The patching was just 50MB over cable modem but it STILL took 2 hours!
Ok, Microsoft wanted to distribute SP1 all remotely. Fine. But why not let other people mirror the service? I mean, c'mon! The uni I work for had a development partnership with MS and you're saying they couldn't set up a server?
Instead you had all 10 million XP boxes out there trying to fight their way into MS's substantial but inadequate pipe.
I was almost tempted to say screw it and get it on plastic.
And this is just patching what about when they are trying to do massive restrictions requests? Is my bus going to have to wait.5 sec everytime it tries to read from the HD just so it can send a request to shitty.idea.microsoft.com?
Yeah but we gotta spice it up! We need to get that hip urban demographic. How 'bout Method Man? Or what about Jackie Chan?
Maybe Hemos could be some sort of secret agent... Actually, let's drop this entire CmdrTaco idea and go with this Hemos Asian Action hero angle. Somebody get me a line to Hong Kong!
Fuckin; A! Too many fucking poseurs on on Slashdot for its own good! Next thing you know they'll try to sit at our lunch table and find out where all the parties we-
Wait. We're talking about the same thing... right?
help them suppress, hunt-down, jail, and maybe even execute pro-democracy advocates
Are these crimes in China?
Yes.
Are they morally and ethically wrong?...
You seem to think that ethics is a cut and dry matter. Simple binary. Democracy: 1. Communist-Dictatorship: 0.
But it is not. Even something that seems so "obvious"... such as democracy or the death penalty. Ethics is (surprise) subjective.
So why do we have governments? To think about these things and to create a world we like.
The problem? Not all people think the same. And neither do their governments.
Corporations, OTOH, are not here to act as an ethical mouthpiece. They are here to employ citizens, make money, and follow the government's rules.
But which governments? For a multinational: the one on which its current building is sitting. The Cisco offices in Beijing are not a diplomatic embassy.
If the Krupp offices in the US started going out and executing Jews in America during 1939 they couldn't just say "Hey, we do this in Germany all the time!"
By your viewpoint, this would be perfectly logical.
The U.S. government should prosecute the bastards at Cisco and Yahoo! responsible for providing these tools to the Chinese government.
Jesus. I'm glad you would like to live in a world where you have to do what the government considers right in addition to not doing what it thinks is wrong.
So where is this government? The one that is purely good and righteous? And unfallable?
And how paranoid do you have to be? If you had supplied sandwiches to the vending companies that filled Enron's stomachs, should you too be arrested? Or should a housewife be arrested for enabling her husband's drinking? How far does the blame go? Those that you see as at fault?
In law the blame falls squarely on those who perpetrate the act. It is only rare laws that blame accessories and enablers. To institute a web of blame and guilt is foolish... unless you are trying to build some sort of fascist thought state.
[snip]...when is he going after the catholics in the USA? Actually the United States has gone after numerous IRA funding organizations and gun smugglers for many years. But since it seems to be a pretty constant operation you aren't going to get big splashy headlines on it every week (the same with Mafia or Columbian cartel stings).
So what do you want? To lock up everyone with a 'Mc' or 'O' prefixed to their name?
Important days but they seem to be of a different ilk than 9-11:
January 28, (1986) The Challenger Accident: Mechanical failure, 16 dead in a risk-taking venture resulting from poor engineering. Sure. A tragedy, but strapping onto a rocket is a little different then jumping into your car.
February 13, (2001) San Salvador, El Salvador 6.1 Earthquake : Tragic but a natural disaster. No one of free will decided that their lives were expendable.
March 24, (1989) Exxon Valdez : Natural disaster. No human dead. Damage to environment but in a global scale is insignificant. At most demonstrates disdain of corporations for environmental concerns. March 28, (1979) 3 Mile Island : Evidence shows that most disease attributed to 3 Mile Island is now shown to be unrelated. Superheated yet not-radioactive vapor shot into the air does not a disaster make. I'd put Chernobyl on here though.
April 18, (1906) The San Francisco Earthquake : Tragic but Natural disaster. April 19, (1995) The Oklahoma City Bombing : Probably should be remembered but also very "in-house". Americans versus Americans. Has very little implication on a global scale. April 14, (1912) The Titanic : Tragic, but engineering and operator error and unintentional. Better remembered for disdain for steerage passangers held by the liner.
May 6th (1937) The Hindenburg Disaster : 35 dead due engineering error (Hydrogen v. Helium). The Hindenburg had cared hundreds of passangers thousands of miles before this happened. More died in Flight 232.
June 6th, (1944) D-Day : Military action. Important in the bigger scheme of things but not a disaster.
July 25, (1956) The Andrea Doria sinking. : Operator error. The Stockholm runs into the Andrea Doria. Worst passenger ship disaster in history yet over 1600 survived.
August 6, (1945) Hiroshima Bombed : Military action. Can be seen as the beginning of the Atomic Age but really can't be seen as a disaster (everyone else was working on nuclear arms). More died in the firebombings of Tokyo. August 16 - 28 (1992) Hurricane Andrew : Natural Disaster
October 8, 9, and 10, (1871) The Great Chicago Fire : Bovine/Natural Disaster October 17, (1989) Loma Prieta earthquake: Natural Disaster October 23-29, (1929) Stock Market Crash : Economic Disaster not the result of an overt attempt to destroy the world economy. If you want to blame it for deaths, you should also blame it for WW2 (ending economic aid to Germany leading to an upswing in nationalist sentiment).
November 17-18, (1978) Jonestown: Cultists kill selves (after killing US government officials). Many were "forced" but it isn't as barbaric as the Manson Family-Tate murders. November 22, (1963) Kennedy Assaination : One man dead (well two, if you count LHO). Throw McKinley and Lincoln in here.
December (1984) Union Carbide Bhopal Disaster : Now this is tragic. 2500 dead, 200,000 injured. But then it was also unintentional (Do you think this helps Dow in anyway? They cut costs and took people's lives). December 7, (1941) Pearl Harbour : Military action. Unprovoked but military action nontheless (it is more "infamous" than tragic). December 21, (1988) Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie bombing: 259 dead.
I guess 9-11 is more tragic since it is a global issue and very 21st century. Civilians killing other civilians without recourse through the infrastructure humanity has been building up for the last... 3000 years? Such an attack would have been impossible outside of the last hundred years. The individual (or a small cadre) now ignores the system and decides the fate of thousands of others. Say what you want of GWB, at least there is a system there to keep him honest (and, if US Citizens cared, pull him back). Now instead of governments controlling our lives, we are now in the hands of people exactly like us (average, middle-class non-government, non-military) who see expression for their ideals in our deaths. And in our deadly age, there is very little to stop them.
I think Slashdot does this to make me feel bad about recent computer purchases. That 200 I threw at the 120 GB HD sounds soooo good now. *sigh* Oh well.
actually, shouldn't that be s/A.I. theoretician/biologist\/cryptogropher\/computer scientist\/mathematician? I know he was originally a biologist by trade and then was better known for his Bletchley Park which was related to his CS theory but in a more Von Neumann sort of way.
Ok I'm trying not to troll or be flamebait here but there is something unsettling about this (and it seems that a lot of other modded down posters feel the same way) although I don't know why. I guess it was that the entire thing was carried on in his hobby and not a job or anything "normal" (but what's normal nowadays). There was that other post about the reenactor being buried in full plate by his reenactment buddies. It all goes along the same lines I guess.
In one way both of these people were "playing someone else" and, to memorialize them this way almost seems to say that they are "playing dead" and everyone else is "playing funeral" (kind of like the childrens' game). From this perspective it seems like a trivialization of the event. Sure, the people taking part were close friends, but to outsiders it all seems like an act.
Of course, if I die, it would be neat to have a 12 Arctic Weapon Head Shot Salute... maybe not.
It's good to know that we have some well-funded idealists on our side
I'm glad too but for a much different reason. This is a perfect exemple that shows the issue of economic rights is not a "Good" and "Bad" issue with "po'folks" on one side and "rich folks" on the other.
Such moral absolutism is counterproductive in the worst way... especially for us in the IT world where the living is pretty good. So often I've heard people imply that "making money" and "doing what's right" are polar opposites. Like the Anarchists who would destroy every SUV they saw in the name of skater-justice. Constructive solutions are the way to go. And thinking reasonably about your world is the first step to finding them.
Slashdot Mirror
Go with humans, who are known fallable and subjective, or machines, who are known fallable and too objective. In the name of jusice (being blind and all) I think most of us would agree we would prefer an emotionally-inert policing force. The problem is then this: how do we trust them? Are they just being unilaterally fair or inept?
Cops now might pick up someone for Driving while Black but a machine wouldn't differentiate between the lunatic going 125 and the man rushing to get his dying wife to the hospital.
In the end we all assume we have a good idea how people are going to act. Thus we will always distrust machines to watch over us. These story remind me of Skynet from the Terminator. "Afterwards all stealth bombers flew with perfect operational records."
How did that story turn out? Man, out of fear, turns against the Machine. The Machine retaliates. Funny thing is that I think most people would agree with the story. In our heart of hearts all of us are Luddites. Heck, just read the poster's last comment: "This is a great "wakeup call" for those of you who are not aware."
I'm personally more partial to calling it Symmetric Multi-Threading as compared to Hyperthreading which is the brandname Intel created for the concept. Sort of like Xerox versus Photocopy. Of course there are some mix-ups for those who seem to think of the multi-threading as OS based and not hardware. Eh, personal preference.
I dunno. There is a big division between mainstream and underground games. Sure, there are the Sims, Maddens and the Tony Hawks that are generally enjoyed by a lot of people.
But then how often do you hear the same people who play Madden 2003 talk up Everquest or Counterstrike? I still think there is a big division and the good halmark of a geek game is the online community. Check out the hordes that follow NWN religiously... or Quake. Surely not mainstream and very very geeky. How many Maddenheads out there also edit configuration files or modify other games significantly?
Of course there is no problem with that but it is important to realize that video games do not fall under one large umbrella.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same."
I love stories like this so it can end the apocolyptic talk (in the topic of "blah blah") right now. Today is no worse than yesterday. Well, execpt that we have the opportunity to learn from the past...
KDE in Redhat 8.0 is going to be crippleware.
I think this is great! Finally, an IT firm is considering the "differently-abled" when it comes to software UI! Although I do take some offense at the use of cripple...
Wait. We're talking about the same thing right?
Well according to the link above, the Lego Star Destroyer (which is over a meter long) is built with just over 3000 pieces. So he has roughly enough to build 33 of those Star Destroyers (or enough to put the Emperor to shame).
Although I'm still not impressed. Maybe if he had enough to build 33 Death Stars with 33 Calmari cruisers with 33 lil' Admiral Akbars all yelling in unison "It's a Trap!"
* Play Half-Life multiplayer on your PC.
* Then play it on the PS2.
* Play BF1942 on your PC.
* Then play it on- oh wait.
* Instantly realize that the article is BS.
* Finally read the article to realize that the submitter completely misinterpreted what the article says wasting your time and energy.
This topic is getting so damn boring.
*The difference between CD and DVD prices: This argument would be fine if you were comparing CD piracy with a rash of people sneaking into movie theaters without paying. By the time most movies are DVDs they've already recouped their costs. Thus the DVD is all profit. Shit, the movie theaters would sell them to you for 3 bucks and just jam them full of adverts for their next features coming out. Example: the point of the Fellowship of the Ring DVD is to get you to go and see The Two Towers in the theater ten times.
* Think there is a Problem with Music? There always has been. Welcome to the real world. This article is by Steve Albini. If you don't know who he is you shouldn't even be a part of this conversation.
* Do you know who is even on a major? What, you think that the label your favorite artist created is an indie? *heh* Yeah... right. If you think this I bet you also believe in Santa Claus and reach-arounds.
* Here is how to start an indie label.
Final Verdict All this comes down to people going to a swingers party, bending over and being surprised when they take it in the ass. What? Don't like the Major Labels??? Then DON'T BUY THEIR MUSIC. DON'T SUPPORT THEIR ARTISTS. DON'T BUY MAGAZINES THAT THEY ADVERTISE IN. DON'T WATCH MTV/VH-1/BET/etc. DON'T MAKE THEM MONEY.
Jesus. You would think people would realize this. But no. They keep on going out and throwing money at the Majors. So how is it that they are supposed to change? If you really cared you would only buy indie stuff anyway. Go out, buy Our Band Could Be Your Life , crank on your Fugazi and don't pay attention anymore.
Sounds all very... Metal Gear Solid. Hmmm. I've never been a big fan of Starcraft (but most RTS's don't put wind in my sail).
And now Blizzard is going to go from their gold standard (the RTS) into unfriendly waters (the Tactical Sim)? Of course they can never go long with this dialogue:
Ghost: "The truck have started to move!"
Templar: "I feel asleep!"
It's called my brain. Seriously though, I follow the philosophy of "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link." Distribution of resources (with no central access) limits the damage of a single weak link.
Of course, though, if I was interested in a central system, why not something implemented with a directory service (e-Directory or AD)? A nice little certification architecture for a multi-tiered privilege structure? I'd put my faith in NDS before a lot of the other products mentioned.
a newbie can pay a little extra and be as good as an average player right off the bat.
Um that seems to imply that there is an actual "skill" of leveling up a MMORPG... well other than resting a stapler on the left button on your mouse.
Compare that to something like Quake where, no matter how much you spend, the only real factors are skill and talent.
I'd rather play BF1942 where I can observe my ability improving instead of just saying "wow, I just spent the last 20 hours making shields". Oh and I also don't get screwed out of 20 bucks a month.
Jesus, just enjoy it. Quit over analyzing it.
Um. Well there are two schools of thought when it comes to a form of art:
1. Those who enjoy it for its own sake.
2. Those who enjoy it for intellectual reasons.
Take anything: music, film, fine art. Whatever and you will find these two camps (the second being smaller than the first).
Now your post title is "It's just a movie" so I assume you are in the first camp. Basically the rule of thumb is if you liked the movie or not. Binary. Runs. or Hangs. And that's fine.
The second group are those who take an active interest in looking deeper into a form of art. The political reasons. The creator's own personal relations to it. Larger social meaning and how it fits into the larger genre. Here analyisis brings deeper understanding of the film and thus more pleasure than just sitting back and watching it.
A good parallel is David Sirlin's editiorials on Street Fighter II. His gist? Either you enjoy video games just to play them, or you enjoy them by winning (and winning takes analysis of the deeper mechanics of the game).
In all things either it is just a meaningless pastime or a deep and profound experience. Passive enjoyment or active involvement. Understand that there are people who enjoy the same things you do but for different reasons.
From 'dict premier' (highlighting mine)
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Premier \Pre"mi*er\, n.
The first minister of state; the prime minister.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 [wn]:
premier
adj 1: first in rank or degree; "an architect of premier rank";
"the prime minister" [syn: {premier(a)}, {prime(a)}]
2: preceding all others in time; "the premiere showing" [syn: {premiere}]
n 1: the person who holds the position of head of state in
England [syn: {Prime Minister}, {PM}]
2: the person who is head of state (in several countries) [syn:
{chancellor}, {prime minister}]
3: the position of the cabinet minister who is in charge of
government affairs [syn: {Prime Minister}, {PM}]
v 1: be performed for the first time; of a play, ballet, or
composition [syn: {premiere}]
2: perform a work for the first time [syn: {premiere}]
What have we learned from this: there are different flavors of English (UK, US, Engrish). So some people take the lift from the first floor to the lorry. Some take the elevator from the second floor to the van. While others take the happy number one good star ok.
where viewers are encouraged to examine...despite the fact that the majority of viewers have no idea what the code means.
Once again art critics are commenting on something that they have no business commenting on. Thus the definition of art broadens just a bit more and loses more meaning. Right now it seems that humanities study equates to being able to make up more BS with a straight face than anyone else.
It's like those conversations you have on some CS topic where Joe Average says something and you have to reply "Um... that isn't how it works at all."
Of course in the arts it doesn't matter what is being said but what sort of crack-headed theory you can come up with about it and how loud your posse of "experts" can beat their chests. Of course in science we have terms for that too: Lysenkoism or Pathological science
I run XP (and I have no shame for it). But a problem that bothered me to no end was the lack of server mirroring for SP1.
.5 sec everytime it tries to read from the HD just so it can send a request to shitty.idea.microsoft.com?
The patching was just 50MB over cable modem but it STILL took 2 hours!
Ok, Microsoft wanted to distribute SP1 all remotely. Fine. But why not let other people mirror the service? I mean, c'mon! The uni I work for had a development partnership with MS and you're saying they couldn't set up a server?
Instead you had all 10 million XP boxes out there trying to fight their way into MS's substantial but inadequate pipe.
I was almost tempted to say screw it and get it on plastic.
And this is just patching what about when they are trying to do massive restrictions requests? Is my bus going to have to wait
Hemos is the "good buddy"...
Yeah but we gotta spice it up! We need to get that hip urban demographic. How 'bout Method Man? Or what about Jackie Chan?
Maybe Hemos could be some sort of secret agent... Actually, let's drop this entire CmdrTaco idea and go with this Hemos Asian Action hero angle. Somebody get me a line to Hong Kong!
Fuckin; A! Too many fucking poseurs on on Slashdot for its own good! Next thing you know they'll try to sit at our lunch table and find out where all the parties we-
Wait. We're talking about the same thing... right?
help them suppress, hunt-down, jail, and maybe even execute pro-democracy advocates
...
Are these crimes in China?
Yes.
Are they morally and ethically wrong?
You seem to think that ethics is a cut and dry matter. Simple binary. Democracy: 1. Communist-Dictatorship: 0.
But it is not. Even something that seems so "obvious"... such as democracy or the death penalty. Ethics is (surprise) subjective.
So why do we have governments? To think about these things and to create a world we like.
The problem? Not all people think the same. And neither do their governments.
Corporations, OTOH, are not here to act as an ethical mouthpiece. They are here to employ citizens, make money, and follow the government's rules.
But which governments? For a multinational: the one on which its current building is sitting. The Cisco offices in Beijing are not a diplomatic embassy.
If the Krupp offices in the US started going out and executing Jews in America during 1939 they couldn't just say "Hey, we do this in Germany all the time!"
By your viewpoint, this would be perfectly logical.
Jesus. I'm glad you would like to live in a world where you have to do what the government considers right in addition to not doing what it thinks is wrong.
So where is this government? The one that is purely good and righteous? And unfallable?
And how paranoid do you have to be? If you had supplied sandwiches to the vending companies that filled Enron's stomachs, should you too be arrested? Or should a housewife be arrested for enabling her husband's drinking? How far does the blame go? Those that you see as at fault?
In law the blame falls squarely on those who perpetrate the act. It is only rare laws that blame accessories and enablers. To institute a web of blame and guilt is foolish... unless you are trying to build some sort of fascist thought state.
[snip]...when is he going after the catholics in the USA?
Actually the United States has gone after numerous IRA funding organizations and gun smugglers for many years. But since it seems to be a pretty constant operation you aren't going to get big splashy headlines on it every week (the same with Mafia or Columbian cartel stings).
So what do you want? To lock up everyone with a 'Mc' or 'O' prefixed to their name?
Important days but they seem to be of a different ilk than 9-11:
January 28, (1986) The Challenger Accident: Mechanical failure, 16 dead in a risk-taking venture resulting from poor engineering. Sure. A tragedy, but strapping onto a rocket is a little different then jumping into your car.
February 13, (2001) San Salvador, El Salvador 6.1 Earthquake : Tragic but a natural disaster. No one of free will decided that their lives were expendable.
March 24, (1989) Exxon Valdez : Natural disaster. No human dead. Damage to environment but in a global scale is insignificant. At most demonstrates disdain of corporations for environmental concerns.
March 28, (1979) 3 Mile Island : Evidence shows that most disease attributed to 3 Mile Island is now shown to be unrelated. Superheated yet not-radioactive vapor shot into the air does not a disaster make. I'd put Chernobyl on here though.
April 18, (1906) The San Francisco Earthquake : Tragic but Natural disaster.
April 19, (1995) The Oklahoma City Bombing : Probably should be remembered but also very "in-house". Americans versus Americans. Has very little implication on a global scale.
April 14, (1912) The Titanic : Tragic, but engineering and operator error and unintentional. Better remembered for disdain for steerage passangers held by the liner.
May 6th (1937) The Hindenburg Disaster : 35 dead due engineering error (Hydrogen v. Helium). The Hindenburg had cared hundreds of passangers thousands of miles before this happened. More died in Flight 232.
June 6th, (1944) D-Day : Military action. Important in the bigger scheme of things but not a disaster.
July 25, (1956) The Andrea Doria sinking. : Operator error. The Stockholm runs into the Andrea Doria. Worst passenger ship disaster in history yet over 1600 survived.
August 6, (1945) Hiroshima Bombed : Military action. Can be seen as the beginning of the Atomic Age but really can't be seen as a disaster (everyone else was working on nuclear arms). More died in the firebombings of Tokyo.
August 16 - 28 (1992) Hurricane Andrew : Natural Disaster
October 8, 9, and 10, (1871) The Great Chicago Fire : Bovine/Natural Disaster
October 17, (1989) Loma Prieta earthquake: Natural Disaster
October 23-29, (1929) Stock Market Crash : Economic Disaster not the result of an overt attempt to destroy the world economy. If you want to blame it for deaths, you should also blame it for WW2 (ending economic aid to Germany leading to an upswing in nationalist sentiment).
November 17-18, (1978) Jonestown: Cultists kill selves (after killing US government officials). Many were "forced" but it isn't as barbaric as the Manson Family-Tate murders.
November 22, (1963) Kennedy Assaination : One man dead (well two, if you count LHO). Throw McKinley and Lincoln in here.
December (1984) Union Carbide Bhopal Disaster : Now this is tragic. 2500 dead, 200,000 injured. But then it was also unintentional (Do you think this helps Dow in anyway? They cut costs and took people's lives).
December 7, (1941) Pearl Harbour : Military action. Unprovoked but military action nontheless (it is more "infamous" than tragic).
December 21, (1988) Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie bombing: 259 dead.
I guess 9-11 is more tragic since it is a global issue and very 21st century. Civilians killing other civilians without recourse through the infrastructure humanity has been building up for the last... 3000 years? Such an attack would have been impossible outside of the last hundred years. The individual (or a small cadre) now ignores the system and decides the fate of thousands of others. Say what you want of GWB, at least there is a system there to keep him honest (and, if US Citizens cared, pull him back). Now instead of governments controlling our lives, we are now in the hands of people exactly like us (average, middle-class non-government, non-military) who see expression for their ideals in our deaths. And in our deadly age, there is very little to stop them.
I think Slashdot does this to make me feel bad about recent computer purchases. That 200 I threw at the 120 GB HD sounds soooo good now. *sigh* Oh well.
s/A.I. theoretician/computer scientist/
actually, shouldn't that be s/A.I. theoretician/biologist\/cryptogropher\/computer scientist\/mathematician? I know he was originally a biologist by trade and then was better known for his Bletchley Park which was related to his CS theory but in a more Von Neumann sort of way.
Ok I'm trying not to troll or be flamebait here but there is something unsettling about this (and it seems that a lot of other modded down posters feel the same way) although I don't know why. I guess it was that the entire thing was carried on in his hobby and not a job or anything "normal" (but what's normal nowadays). There was that other post about the reenactor being buried in full plate by his reenactment buddies. It all goes along the same lines I guess.
In one way both of these people were "playing someone else" and, to memorialize them this way almost seems to say that they are "playing dead" and everyone else is "playing funeral" (kind of like the childrens' game). From this perspective it seems like a trivialization of the event. Sure, the people taking part were close friends, but to outsiders it all seems like an act.
Of course, if I die, it would be neat to have a 12 Arctic Weapon Head Shot Salute... maybe not.
I'm glad too but for a much different reason. This is a perfect exemple that shows the issue of economic rights is not a "Good" and "Bad" issue with "po'folks" on one side and "rich folks" on the other.
Such moral absolutism is counterproductive in the worst way... especially for us in the IT world where the living is pretty good. So often I've heard people imply that "making money" and "doing what's right" are polar opposites. Like the Anarchists who would destroy every SUV they saw in the name of skater-justice. Constructive solutions are the way to go. And thinking reasonably about your world is the first step to finding them.