Yeah, y'know, us heathen Europeans mostly don't think a punishment should fit the crime, it should help to better the criminal. I would feel strange telling my child "Look, we kill that guy to teach him killing is wrong".
Being military, though, I would make an exception for (professional, not drafted) military personnel convicted of treason, dereliction of duty etc. during wartime. If they enlist, they better know the rules.
And being a republican, too, I'm all for beheading kings, 'cause it's a great tradition and all...:-)
At the core of the problem is the (IMHO) extremely restrictive Swiss legislation, namely the Freisetzungsverordnung (Decree concerning the release of genetically modified organisms into the environment). The amount of bureaucracy you need to get anything done is incredible, check out the legislation. Plus, an ethics commission composed chiefly of non-scientists and including vehement biotech opponents can effectively veto any research they consider unethical. (All links but the last in German, I'm afraid)
In other news from the rice front...
Apparently, Monsanto has developed such a rice, too. This article (in german) says they intend to provide it to farmers without demanding royalties.
This paper claims golden rice is a hoax and will not alleviate vitamin A deficiency. Propaganda, by the look of it, but then I'm no biologist.
Okay, take a look at the wonderful innovations that are already patented by the EPO, with obviously no prior art existing, such as
Flash File System
Visualising a Process
Multitasking
Creating dynamic webpages by invoking a script
etc.
Why? Because (quoting the article) "patents can be granted for software that is an integral part of a new machine, if the software -- such as an operating system -- controls the functions of that machine."
If there is something about panspermia - and there probably is - we have already contaminated half the System, in typical Earth fashion:-)
Think about it: If a piece of rock from Mars can travel to Antarctica, what prevents a hunk of our continental crust, filled with bacteria - which are very good at surviving in harsh climates - from impacting on Mars? Bacteria have been around for some 100 million years, more than enough time for the occasional dinosaur - killer comet whose impact offers a ride out of the gravity well.
I for one would not be surprised to find some E. coli look-alikes on Mars (I don't know about the possibility of low - energy trajecories to places in the Outer System, though)
And another report from the front: While my Athlon 700 / Asus K7M / 128M PC133 RAM setup performs flawlessly by itself (needs the append=128M parameter, though), things don't look so good after adding a nvidia TNT2 AGP card: weird errrors under Windows and X. (The card is an "Apollo" from Joyimage, a crappy-looking Chinese manufacturer - but they do include Linux drivers on their CD-ROM)
CH = Confederatio Helvetica = Swiss Confederation. (Switzerland has four official languages, so maybe a fifth, Latin, was needed for the official acronym...)
Ontopic: As far as my understanding of Swiss patent law goes, the crucial point is the possibility of people mistakenly associating "Coke" with Coca Cola (TM) instead of yonder white powder. Since few Swiss know that "Coke" is a slang expression for a drug in English, but many use it referring to the beverage, the company may have good legal standing on this one. (IANAL, just a 2nd semester law student in Berne...)
BTW, cocaine.ch is already registered to some guy in Montreux, Switzerland. The site doesn't seem to be up, though. For Swiss accounts, Switch is the place to look.
According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Switzerland has a population of 7'123'500 (of which 19.4% aliens, who don't get to vote) and a surface area of 41'284 km^2.
As a Swiss citizen, I feel justifiably proud of our system of direct democracy (even if some feel it favors political stagnation overmuch). Our governmental executive body (the Federal Council) is a coalition of the four major parties (who get >80% in parliamentary elections), and has been so for the last 40 years. It is notable that we have managed to maintain our system even given the ever-accelerating urbanization and anonymization of our society - I wouldn't see it as impossible even with a population of 70 or 700 million.
(On a sidenote, if any of you happen to be in Switzerland presently, you'd better forget about Y2K-induced looting and rioting:-)...nearly every citizen has an army issue assault rifle at home and knows how to use it.)
Happy new (take your pick) Year / Century / Millenium / Eon / 42!
Re:Questionable research concerning Swiss laws
on
Dumb Laws
·
· Score: 1
The ban on absinthe was introduced in the Swiss constitution around 1900 via a referendum initiated by religous groups, because of the social problems with the widespread addiction to the liquor - it was called the "green scourge" back then. AFAIK, with the constitutional revision, it is no longer banned - not that the ban would have been actually enforced the last 50 years or so.
Questionable research concerning Swiss laws
on
Dumb Laws
·
· Score: 2
After taking a quick glance at the Swiss section, I (as a swiss national) have the feeling that the research done by the operators of the site has been somewhat sloppy:
Clothes may not be hung to dry on Sunday. You may not wash your car on a Sunday. It is considered an offense to mow your lawn on a Sunday, because it causes too much noise.
These are purely social conventions and not enforced by any law I know of.
It is illegal to flush the toilet after 10 P.M. if you live in an apartment. A man may not relieve himself while standing up, after 10 P.M. If you forget you car-keys inside the car and you leave the car open, you will be punished.
Utter nonsense. Whilst such norms might be part of rental or insurance contracts, they are certainly not part of a national law.
Though it is illegal to produce, store, sell and trade absinth (special alcohol), it is legal to consume it.
This is no longer valid as of Jan 1, when the constitution of 1874 is replaced by the new 1999 revision.
The highest speed allowed on national freeways is 120 km/h
So what? I don't call that dumb.
Maybe I'm a bit too legalistic here... but we Swiss have a reputation to lose in that regard.
Slashdot Mirror
There is a good frame-by-frame-analysis of the new trailer at TheOneRing.net.
Being military, though, I would make an exception for (professional, not drafted) military personnel convicted of treason, dereliction of duty etc. during wartime. If they enlist, they better know the rules.
And being a republican, too, I'm all for beheading kings, 'cause it's a great tradition and all... :-)
...Oh wait, you Americans do that too.
In other news from the rice front...
Apparently, Monsanto has developed such a rice, too. This article (in german) says they intend to provide it to farmers without demanding royalties.
This paper claims golden rice is a hoax and will not alleviate vitamin A deficiency.
Propaganda, by the look of it, but then I'm no biologist.
Flash File System
Visualising a Process
Multitasking
Creating dynamic webpages by invoking a script
etc.
Why? Because (quoting the article) "patents can be granted for software that is an integral part of a new machine, if the software -- such as an operating system -- controls the functions of that machine."
If there is something about panspermia - and there probably is - we have already contaminated half the System, in typical Earth fashion :-)
Think about it: If a piece of rock from Mars can travel to Antarctica, what prevents a hunk of our continental crust, filled with bacteria - which are very good at surviving in harsh climates - from impacting on Mars? Bacteria have been around for some 100 million years, more than enough time for the occasional dinosaur - killer comet whose impact offers a ride out of the gravity well.
I for one would not be surprised to find some E. coli look-alikes on Mars (I don't know about the possibility of low - energy trajecories to places in the Outer System, though)
And another report from the front: While my Athlon 700 / Asus K7M / 128M PC133 RAM setup performs flawlessly by itself (needs the append=128M parameter, though), things don't look so good after adding a nvidia TNT2 AGP card: weird errrors under Windows and X.
(The card is an "Apollo" from Joyimage, a crappy-looking Chinese manufacturer - but they do include Linux drivers on their CD-ROM)
CH = Confederatio Helvetica = Swiss Confederation. (Switzerland has four official languages, so maybe a fifth, Latin, was needed for the official acronym...)
Ontopic: As far as my understanding of Swiss patent law goes, the crucial point is the possibility of people mistakenly associating "Coke" with Coca Cola (TM) instead of yonder white powder. Since few Swiss know that "Coke" is a slang expression for a drug in English, but many use it referring to the beverage, the company may have good legal standing on this one.
(IANAL, just a 2nd semester law student in Berne...)
BTW, cocaine.ch is already registered to some guy in Montreux, Switzerland. The site doesn't seem to be up, though. For Swiss accounts, Switch is the place to look.
According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Switzerland has a population of 7'123'500 (of which 19.4% aliens, who don't get to vote) and a surface area of 41'284 km^2.
:-) ...nearly every citizen has an army issue assault rifle at home and knows how to use it.)
As a Swiss citizen, I feel justifiably proud of our system of direct democracy (even if some feel it favors political stagnation overmuch). Our governmental executive body (the Federal Council) is a coalition of the four major parties (who get >80% in parliamentary elections), and has been so for the last 40 years. It is notable that we have managed to maintain our system even given the ever-accelerating urbanization and anonymization of our society - I wouldn't see it as impossible even with a population of 70 or 700 million.
(On a sidenote, if any of you happen to be in Switzerland presently, you'd better forget about Y2K-induced looting and rioting
Happy new (take your pick) Year / Century / Millenium / Eon / 42!
The ban on absinthe was introduced in the Swiss constitution around 1900 via a referendum initiated by religous groups, because of the social problems with the widespread addiction to the liquor - it was called the "green scourge" back then. AFAIK, with the constitutional revision, it is no longer banned - not that the ban would have been actually enforced the last 50 years or so.
After taking a quick glance at the Swiss section, I (as a swiss national) have the feeling that the research done by the operators of the site has been somewhat sloppy:
Clothes may not be hung to dry on Sunday. You may not wash your car on a Sunday. It is considered an offense to mow your lawn on a Sunday, because it causes too much noise.
These are purely social conventions and not enforced by any law I know of.
It is illegal to flush the toilet after 10 P.M. if you live in an apartment. A man may not relieve himself while standing up, after 10 P.M. If you forget you car-keys inside the car and you leave the car open, you will be punished.
Utter nonsense. Whilst such norms might be part of rental or insurance contracts, they are certainly not part of a national law.
Though it is illegal to produce, store, sell and trade absinth (special alcohol), it is legal to consume it.
This is no longer valid as of Jan 1, when the constitution of 1874 is replaced by the new 1999 revision.
The highest speed allowed on national freeways is 120 km/h
So what? I don't call that dumb.
Maybe I'm a bit too legalistic here... but we Swiss have a reputation to lose in that regard.