The simple fact is : the vast majority of the populace just isn't that interesting.
Thereby, TFA can easily and honestly say that they're probably not spying on you, because for any given value of "you," it's likely to fall into the uninteresting segment.
So... what's preventing me from (for instance) buying a subsidized AT&T phone with a standard 2-year contract... then the next day, paying the early termination fee. Contract completed via termination... no more restrictions on unlocking
Isn't that basically what would happen anyway? If you sign a 2-year contract, your have to see it through, right? You can't just switch it to another network, and tell ATT that you're not paying your bill anymore... can you? So you'd pay the early term fee to kill your original contract, or keep making monthly payments for base-level service that you're not using.
Your missing the true end-game : Building things in space. Everything they have planned thus far is just foreplay.
Adjust your equation with the final step of moving those resources into LEO or beyond. How much extra energy do you expend to lift your moon base off and break free of the gravity well known as Earth? According to wikipedia, it costs roughly $10,000 to lift one pound of material into space. Bring that into the equation, and space mining suddenly seems a lot more worthwhile
If World of freaking Warcraft can issue OTP devices to their players, big banks should be more than capable of providing the same. Even if it's just a smart-phone app (far less secure than a physical device, but more secure than nothing)
Pro-tip : Backseat. Or at least the passengers seat. Keep a few blankets in your trunk so that you don't have to start the car to keep warm.
As for the last bit, anecdotally false. Recently had my car vandalized. Punk kids throwing rocks, busting windows. I heard it, ran outside and chased them off. Called the cops and a squad car was there within 10 minutes. I gave him a description of the car they drove away in, along with a partial license plate. Kid was scooped up the next day.
Except for a little thing called the 4th amendment. Not sure if you've heard of it. See also : net neutrality.
Your ISP cannot legally check out what your downloading, or to where you've downloaded it. They can see your outward facing IP Address, because that's technically theirs. Their DHCP Servers are just loaning it to you. Beyond that, all they can gripe about is volume (if you're up/downloading terabytes upon terabytes every month, then your ISP can seek action to restrain that)
Of course, this doesn't actually stop the ISPs from going well beyond their legal limits. They're bigger than you, they have more lawyers than you... but at least it slows them down, and ensures that whenever they do break the law, we hear about it.
"well there's your problem..." Treating walmart like an actual grocery store, even if it has a small grocery section.... actually, treating walmart like a store at all is problematic.
I have a Vons, Albertsons and Ralphs all within 10 min of my house in varying directions. Haven't visited the Ralhps in a while, but the other two certainly conform to the "healthy food around the edges" mentality, for the most part. Fresh veggies, cheese, meats, milk, eggs, bread. Walk down any of the middle isles and you'll get processed microwave dinner things, frozen veggie bags, soda, candy, chips, etc.
The only deviant, as far as I recall... baking goods (flour, sugar, baking soda, etc) is a few isles in from the edge... but it's right next to the beer area, so I'm usually in that general vicinity anyway.
Your main problem here is dealing in absolute numbers. The USA is the 3rd biggest population in the world. Of course we have more crime than, for instance, the UK... we've got over 5x as many people.
Do you really think old-school strong arm tactics would work in today's globally connected world, with a cell phone camera in every pocket and 24/7 shock and awe news? Not a chance
These days, a union is a vestigial lump that drags down the workers. Don't get me wrong, they were great 100 years ago, and I thank them for dialing in the 40 hour work week. Good job on that one. Now go away, you're not needed anymore. What good have the unions done in preventing jobs from being shipped overseas? What have the unions done to slow the encroaching robots, per TFA Have the unions done anything to keep American jobs out of illegal hands? Unions haven't even been able to keep pay rates increasing to match inflation. That should be an easy sell.What good are unions doing today, other than keeping the spectre of the old boogey man from breaking your legs if you misbehave?
You think the rich and powerful are destroying the unions, but you're missing the fact that the rich and powerful *ARE* the unions. Union bosses are getting paid well into the 6-figures for NOT doing anything.
Here are a few links, cuz I didn't feel like littering my paragraphs with [source website] every 3rd word.
Eight of the union bosses on the taxpayer payroll at the Department of Transportation make more than $170,000 labor unions have in recent years become “increasingly dependent” on public sector unionization because private sector unions’ membership levels have plummeted
Of the more than 7,700 words written by Feaver in the past couple years, he mentions kids, students or children a collective 16 times. The word training appears twice, but only once in reference to teachers honing their skills. Feaver mentioned retirement 44 times in the compiled writings.... Talk of pay earns another 40 mentions... Health insurance also earned high mentions from the union president, grabbing 21 references.
The union leader has earned well over $200,000 every year since he was promoted to Secretary Treasurer in 2003.
The president is also onboard with Trumka’s message. Obama’s union connections are well documented: White House visitor rolls show the godfather of organized labor [Trumka] making some 70 visits to Obama’s White House. ...a major contributor to Democrats during election years, spending almost $1 million on the 2010 midterm elections, 93 percent of those donations going to Democratic candidates. In 2008, over a million dollars, a full 91 percent of the $1.3 million the union donated to congressional campaigns, went to filling Capitol Hill with Democrats.
Unions tend to be more prevalent in fields where automation will flourish. Physical labor, assembly line work, machinists, etc
Surely we'll have robot code monkeys at some point down the line -- or maybe we'll go away and be replaced with a very small shell script -- but that day is further off, and thus less news-worthy.
I've had to fight my way through two different red light camera tickets. One wasn't even my car (different make and model, different lic plate, though only 1 digit off), and the other shows me clearly coming to a full stop before turning right on red (which is legal in California)
Both incidents involved three trips to the courthouse. First to acknowledge the receipt of the ticket and set an arraignment date. Second trip for the arraignment, "How do you plead," and setting a trial date. Third trip was the first time a judge actually looked at the content (or rather, had a bailiff look at it and give a head-shake of disapproval) and summarily dismissed all charges. Each of those trips involved several hours of waiting before three seconds of face-time with a judge or clerk, and then more waiting for paperwork about my next appointment or dismissal.
At this point, I'm pretty sure the camera just snaps at random. If it catches someone, good. If it takes a picture of an innocent person, c'est la vie. Maybe they'll just comply and send the city free money. Or maybe they'll miss the letter in the mail, or forget their court date and the city can bilk them for a few hundred bucks.
To refute your *specific* example, potholes are paid for out of gasoline taxes, not income taxes or corporate taxes. Thus, if you don't drive, you don't pay the tax, and if you drive a lot, you pay more tax -- all just as it should be. So, yes, I do actively prefer the former because your argument of the latter is neither analogous nor applicable.
You can refute specific examples, but you can't refute the concept. Google creates frivolities. Street view is nice, Fiber Optic internet is nice. I like these things. I like schools, roads, hospitals, etc much more.
No, of course not. Let's completely dispense with any consideration of all the pointless, wasteful, negative-return-on-investment projects that suck up billions and billions of tax dollars every year with no useful output. If my argument was in favor of higher taxes rather than private business reinvestment, I'd want to try to get rid of that argument too because it's quite damaging to the "higher taxes" idea.
Because Google and all other money laundering corporations are beacons of non-wasteful, non-pointless spending. Right. Don't get me wrong, the Google Conference Bike is cool and all, but if the choice was between a dozen of those, or some extra funding for my schools, well..
Cancer is most readily killed by cutting off the blood supply. Out of control spending is most readily stopped by cutting off the money supply and enforcing fiscal responsibility from our elected officials. So long as people -- like you -- continue to freely supply them with tax dollars in the name of "fairness" or "ethical responsibility," they'll keep running up the national credit card to the limit...and then some.
So you propose to kill a brain tumor by completely cutting off blood flow to the brain? Yes, the government is a wasteland of corruption and cronyism, but fixing it will take a much more deft touch that "FUCK THEM, LET GOOGLE HAVE THE MONEY"
Unfortunately for most people -- people like me -- we have little recourse but to pay what's required of us. I don't have enough personal accountants to setup off-shore accounts and trust funds, nor do I have sufficient lawyers on staff to fend off the IRS when they come a'knockin. Really, it's ironic. The IRS squeezes every red cent out of people like me, but guys on their 3rd yacht can flaunt how they're screwing over the system loud as they want with zero repercussions.
Ah...and now we get to the crux of your argument, the so-called "fair share" argument. The implication, of course, is that Google isn't paying its "fair share" and should thus pony up more. So, pray tell, what is "fair" in your world view? Come now! You've asserted Google isn't paying its fair share, thus you must have a figure or percentage in mind of what "fair" is, otherwise you're just frothing. Fess up and enlighten us with your definition of "fair."
Here's a thought : sit down Eric Schmitt in front of TurboTax Online and have him fill out all the forms accurately and completely. No army of lawyers and accountants. Just an honest run through the "system" like every other citizen who owns a business. I wonder how that would compare to the actual amount of taxes he pays.
I'd much rather Google have the $5 billion than the U.S. government. Google is much more likely to spend it doing useful, productive, innovative things than the government -- *any* government -- ever would. The ancillary effects of Google *not* having paid that $5 billion in taxes are far more beneficial to you, me, and everyone else if it stays in the private sector, not in some politician's pork barrel fund for inefficient, unwanted, or outmoded government programs oriented more towards buying votes and propping up cronies than ever "serving the public."
Google makes street view, tax money goes to repairing the potholes in your street. And you'd prefer the former? Really?
Don't distract the point with government waste. Yes, there's a lot of Pork Barrel shenanigans that make DC a money pit, but those issues need to be addressed separately.
The tax situation is a simple letter of the law vs spirit of the law. The letter of the law allows for google's behavior, even if the spirit of the law requires people to pay their fair share.
Given the current state of diablo, it's not terribly surprising which they opted for. If you do ever get that core functionality, expect it to be bundled in the first payed Expansion Pack. Hell, it might be the entire XPac. PvP now on sale for $50... you can pay with your Real-Money AH proceeds, from which we already pilfered 15%. Also expect the XPac to include items 1% better than everything currently in existence, just to start the farming all over again.
Problem is that the rich make the laws. So they adjust the rules to benefit themselves unfairly.
Hey there poor person, why don't you have your investments setup in IRAs and 401(k)s? You should get into the consulting business and write a few books. Capital gains taxes are rather agreeable. What's that you say, you can't afford food? Well, if you'd taken my advise...
You're right... every lecture should be delivered in the most droll monotone available. We need to get a hundred Ben Stein clones up in our colleges and universities. That way only people who REALLY want to be there will an education. Also, no chairs. Or pencils. Laptops and other electronics are right out. If you want to take notes, stab it into your flesh. No one is forcing you to go to college, right? If you can't stand for 8 hours while bleeding, drop out immediately and make room for someone who actually wants an education.
[end sarcasm]
Your claims of this being asinine, are in fact, asinine. Anything that can be done to make subject matter more approachable should be done. Anything that can be done to help students retain the knowledge should be done. And not just people who want an education. Everyone. It's elitist attitudes like yours that lead to the widening gap in education levels, that directly lead to the stupifying effect we feel every day.
Maybe you're a big fan of Jersey shore and honey boo boo. Maybe you like that everyone is willing to roll over and get groped by the TSA every time they travel. Maybe you're loving big pharma's stranglehold on the market, and the litany of "side effects" we hear associated with every new miracle cure they invent to cure a condition that didn't exist 5 years prior.
Personally, if I have to make lectures a little bit more WoW, that's a small price to pay for imparting some real knowledge and critical thinking skills onto the general populace.
You apparently didn't watch the video. One of the biggest points, and easiest to pull off with minimal cash money... simply count scores UP instead of DOWN.
That's part of what makes video games fun/addictive. You see a goal, and every step you make works towards that goal.
Slashdot Mirror
The simple fact is : the vast majority of the populace just isn't that interesting.
Thereby, TFA can easily and honestly say that they're probably not spying on you, because for any given value of "you," it's likely to fall into the uninteresting segment.
So ... what's preventing me from (for instance) buying a subsidized AT&T phone with a standard 2-year contract ... then the next day, paying the early termination fee. Contract completed via termination... no more restrictions on unlocking
Isn't that basically what would happen anyway? If you sign a 2-year contract, your have to see it through, right? You can't just switch it to another network, and tell ATT that you're not paying your bill anymore ... can you? So you'd pay the early term fee to kill your original contract, or keep making monthly payments for base-level service that you're not using.
Space Mounties, yo!
Your missing the true end-game : Building things in space. Everything they have planned thus far is just foreplay.
Adjust your equation with the final step of moving those resources into LEO or beyond. How much extra energy do you expend to lift your moon base off and break free of the gravity well known as Earth? According to wikipedia, it costs roughly $10,000 to lift one pound of material into space. Bring that into the equation, and space mining suddenly seems a lot more worthwhile
If World of freaking Warcraft can issue OTP devices to their players, big banks should be more than capable of providing the same. Even if it's just a smart-phone app (far less secure than a physical device, but more secure than nothing)
Pro-tip : Backseat. Or at least the passengers seat. Keep a few blankets in your trunk so that you don't have to start the car to keep warm.
As for the last bit, anecdotally false. Recently had my car vandalized. Punk kids throwing rocks, busting windows. I heard it, ran outside and chased them off. Called the cops and a squad car was there within 10 minutes. I gave him a description of the car they drove away in, along with a partial license plate. Kid was scooped up the next day.
Yes and no...
The next time someone walks on water, we'll be able to record in on our cell phones and upload it for the world to see.
But most people will still think it's some Cris Angel style publicity hoax.
Except for a little thing called the 4th amendment. Not sure if you've heard of it. See also : net neutrality.
Your ISP cannot legally check out what your downloading, or to where you've downloaded it. They can see your outward facing IP Address, because that's technically theirs. Their DHCP Servers are just loaning it to you. Beyond that, all they can gripe about is volume (if you're up/downloading terabytes upon terabytes every month, then your ISP can seek action to restrain that)
Of course, this doesn't actually stop the ISPs from going well beyond their legal limits. They're bigger than you, they have more lawyers than you... but at least it slows them down, and ensures that whenever they do break the law, we hear about it.
Define Irony...
The opposite of wrinkly
I haven't had nearly enough coffee for this discussion.
"well there's your problem ..." Treating walmart like an actual grocery store, even if it has a small grocery section .... actually, treating walmart like a store at all is problematic.
I have a Vons, Albertsons and Ralphs all within 10 min of my house in varying directions. Haven't visited the Ralhps in a while, but the other two certainly conform to the "healthy food around the edges" mentality, for the most part. Fresh veggies, cheese, meats, milk, eggs, bread. Walk down any of the middle isles and you'll get processed microwave dinner things, frozen veggie bags, soda, candy, chips, etc.
The only deviant, as far as I recall ... baking goods (flour, sugar, baking soda, etc) is a few isles in from the edge... but it's right next to the beer area, so I'm usually in that general vicinity anyway.
Your main problem here is dealing in absolute numbers. The USA is the 3rd biggest population in the world. Of course we have more crime than, for instance, the UK ... we've got over 5x as many people.
Per capita numbers would be helpful
Do you really think old-school strong arm tactics would work in today's globally connected world, with a cell phone camera in every pocket and 24/7 shock and awe news? Not a chance
These days, a union is a vestigial lump that drags down the workers. Don't get me wrong, they were great 100 years ago, and I thank them for dialing in the 40 hour work week. Good job on that one. Now go away, you're not needed anymore.
What good have the unions done in preventing jobs from being shipped overseas?
What have the unions done to slow the encroaching robots, per TFA
Have the unions done anything to keep American jobs out of illegal hands?
Unions haven't even been able to keep pay rates increasing to match inflation. That should be an easy sell.What good are unions doing today, other than keeping the spectre of the old boogey man from breaking your legs if you misbehave?
You think the rich and powerful are destroying the unions, but you're missing the fact that the rich and powerful *ARE* the unions. Union bosses are getting paid well into the 6-figures for NOT doing anything.
Here are a few links, cuz I didn't feel like littering my paragraphs with [source website] every 3rd word.
Transportation Union
Eight of the union bosses on the taxpayer payroll at the Department of Transportation make more than $170,000
labor unions have in recent years become “increasingly dependent” on public sector unionization because private sector unions’ membership levels have plummeted
Teachers Union
Of the more than 7,700 words written by Feaver in the past couple years, he mentions kids, students or children a collective 16 times. The word training appears twice, but only once in reference to teachers honing their skills. Feaver mentioned retirement 44 times in the compiled writings.... Talk of pay earns another 40 mentions ... Health insurance also earned high mentions from the union president, grabbing 21 references.
Union boss boss
The union leader has earned well over $200,000 every year since he was promoted to Secretary Treasurer in 2003.
The president is also onboard with Trumka’s message. Obama’s union connections are well documented: White House visitor rolls show the godfather of organized labor [Trumka] making some 70 visits to Obama’s White House.
...a major contributor to Democrats during election years, spending almost $1 million on the 2010 midterm elections, 93 percent of those donations going to Democratic candidates. In 2008, over a million dollars, a full 91 percent of the $1.3 million the union donated to congressional campaigns, went to filling Capitol Hill with Democrats.
Unions tend to be more prevalent in fields where automation will flourish. Physical labor, assembly line work, machinists, etc
Surely we'll have robot code monkeys at some point down the line -- or maybe we'll go away and be replaced with a very small shell script -- but that day is further off, and thus less news-worthy.
I've had to fight my way through two different red light camera tickets. One wasn't even my car (different make and model, different lic plate, though only 1 digit off), and the other shows me clearly coming to a full stop before turning right on red (which is legal in California)
Both incidents involved three trips to the courthouse. First to acknowledge the receipt of the ticket and set an arraignment date. Second trip for the arraignment, "How do you plead," and setting a trial date. Third trip was the first time a judge actually looked at the content (or rather, had a bailiff look at it and give a head-shake of disapproval) and summarily dismissed all charges. Each of those trips involved several hours of waiting before three seconds of face-time with a judge or clerk, and then more waiting for paperwork about my next appointment or dismissal.
At this point, I'm pretty sure the camera just snaps at random. If it catches someone, good. If it takes a picture of an innocent person, c'est la vie. Maybe they'll just comply and send the city free money. Or maybe they'll miss the letter in the mail, or forget their court date and the city can bilk them for a few hundred bucks.
Which side does more violating than the other is entirely moot. Pedestrian is going to lose either way.
To refute your *specific* example, potholes are paid for out of gasoline taxes, not income taxes or corporate taxes. Thus, if you don't drive, you don't pay the tax, and if you drive a lot, you pay more tax -- all just as it should be. So, yes, I do actively prefer the former because your argument of the latter is neither analogous nor applicable.
You can refute specific examples, but you can't refute the concept. Google creates frivolities. Street view is nice, Fiber Optic internet is nice. I like these things. I like schools, roads, hospitals, etc much more.
No, of course not. Let's completely dispense with any consideration of all the pointless, wasteful, negative-return-on-investment projects that suck up billions and billions of tax dollars every year with no useful output. If my argument was in favor of higher taxes rather than private business reinvestment, I'd want to try to get rid of that argument too because it's quite damaging to the "higher taxes" idea.
Because Google and all other money laundering corporations are beacons of non-wasteful, non-pointless spending. Right. Don't get me wrong, the Google Conference Bike is cool and all, but if the choice was between a dozen of those, or some extra funding for my schools, well ..
Cancer is most readily killed by cutting off the blood supply. Out of control spending is most readily stopped by cutting off the money supply and enforcing fiscal responsibility from our elected officials. So long as people -- like you -- continue to freely supply them with tax dollars in the name of "fairness" or "ethical responsibility," they'll keep running up the national credit card to the limit...and then some.
So you propose to kill a brain tumor by completely cutting off blood flow to the brain? Yes, the government is a wasteland of corruption and cronyism, but fixing it will take a much more deft touch that "FUCK THEM, LET GOOGLE HAVE THE MONEY"
Unfortunately for most people -- people like me -- we have little recourse but to pay what's required of us. I don't have enough personal accountants to setup off-shore accounts and trust funds, nor do I have sufficient lawyers on staff to fend off the IRS when they come a'knockin. Really, it's ironic. The IRS squeezes every red cent out of people like me, but guys on their 3rd yacht can flaunt how they're screwing over the system loud as they want with zero repercussions.
Ah...and now we get to the crux of your argument, the so-called "fair share" argument. The implication, of course, is that Google isn't paying its "fair share" and should thus pony up more. So, pray tell, what is "fair" in your world view? Come now! You've asserted Google isn't paying its fair share, thus you must have a figure or percentage in mind of what "fair" is, otherwise you're just frothing. Fess up and enlighten us with your definition of "fair."
Here's a thought : sit down Eric Schmitt in front of TurboTax Online and have him fill out all the forms accurately and completely. No army of lawyers and accountants. Just an honest run through the "system" like every other citizen who owns a business. I wonder how that would compare to the actual amount of taxes he pays.
You forgot to mention the watermarks and banner ads that pop up all over the screen while the program is actually playing.
TV is nigh unwatchable these days, and that's without considering the content, which is barely drivel anyway.
I'd much rather Google have the $5 billion than the U.S. government. Google is much more likely to spend it doing useful, productive, innovative things than the government -- *any* government -- ever would. The ancillary effects of Google *not* having paid that $5 billion in taxes are far more beneficial to you, me, and everyone else if it stays in the private sector, not in some politician's pork barrel fund for inefficient, unwanted, or outmoded government programs oriented more towards buying votes and propping up cronies than ever "serving the public."
Google makes street view, tax money goes to repairing the potholes in your street. And you'd prefer the former? Really?
Don't distract the point with government waste. Yes, there's a lot of Pork Barrel shenanigans that make DC a money pit, but those issues need to be addressed separately.
The tax situation is a simple letter of the law vs spirit of the law. The letter of the law allows for google's behavior, even if the spirit of the law requires people to pay their fair share.
How many people reading this have the clout to effect self-beneficial changes in the tax code?
Adding core functionality costs money.
Porting to console generates money.
Given the current state of diablo, it's not terribly surprising which they opted for. If you do ever get that core functionality, expect it to be bundled in the first payed Expansion Pack. Hell, it might be the entire XPac. PvP now on sale for $50... you can pay with your Real-Money AH proceeds, from which we already pilfered 15%. Also expect the XPac to include items 1% better than everything currently in existence, just to start the farming all over again.
whoops. vocab fail. Droning monotone. Dry monotone.
Problem is that the rich make the laws. So they adjust the rules to benefit themselves unfairly.
Hey there poor person, why don't you have your investments setup in IRAs and 401(k)s? You should get into the consulting business and write a few books. Capital gains taxes are rather agreeable. What's that you say, you can't afford food? Well, if you'd taken my advise ...
You're right ... every lecture should be delivered in the most droll monotone available. We need to get a hundred Ben Stein clones up in our colleges and universities. That way only people who REALLY want to be there will an education. Also, no chairs. Or pencils. Laptops and other electronics are right out. If you want to take notes, stab it into your flesh. No one is forcing you to go to college, right? If you can't stand for 8 hours while bleeding, drop out immediately and make room for someone who actually wants an education.
[end sarcasm]
Your claims of this being asinine, are in fact, asinine. Anything that can be done to make subject matter more approachable should be done. Anything that can be done to help students retain the knowledge should be done. And not just people who want an education. Everyone. It's elitist attitudes like yours that lead to the widening gap in education levels, that directly lead to the stupifying effect we feel every day.
Maybe you're a big fan of Jersey shore and honey boo boo. Maybe you like that everyone is willing to roll over and get groped by the TSA every time they travel. Maybe you're loving big pharma's stranglehold on the market, and the litany of "side effects" we hear associated with every new miracle cure they invent to cure a condition that didn't exist 5 years prior.
Personally, if I have to make lectures a little bit more WoW, that's a small price to pay for imparting some real knowledge and critical thinking skills onto the general populace.
You apparently didn't watch the video. One of the biggest points, and easiest to pull off with minimal cash money ... simply count scores UP instead of DOWN.
That's part of what makes video games fun/addictive. You see a goal, and every step you make works towards that goal.