I am *Hispanic and the 1st generation born in the United States. I have received Affirmative Action. I have blond hair (or did, it is brownish now), blue eyes and skin so white that anything less than 80SPF is bad news.
Tada!
Affirmative Action is the assumption that all people of a certain ethnicity are the same and different from people that are not of that race. This is obviously not true.
BTW if we follow your logic, how about blacks of other countries?
If Blacks are in the situation they are in as a result of history (which I agree with, btw) then why continue to offer a helping hand to blacks that have "made it"?
The way to make Affirmative Action more equitable is to discriminate on economics instead of race as the GPP suggested.
--Joey
*I hate saying that. I am a freakin American. I have little in common with non American Hispanics.
Point taken, but the more substandard the service the greater the complaints which will ultimately hurt the company outsourcing the work. It is just one more factor for others thinking of doing the same.
Back on topic, it should be no surprise that Indian wages are on the rise. While there are a billion people not all of them are qualified to take every job.
Take tech support. If you are answering phones, you can't be merely functional in English you must be completely fluent and familiar with the culture, the idiomatic expressions, and, now, even adopt the American accent. The low hanging fruit has been picked. If you want talented people in India, the word is out, you got to pay more...or you have to in turn outsource to poorer countries.
It's like the drug companies saying that if the US imposes price controls on medicines that they won't have a profit motive to sell the drugs here. Well, Canada has price controls and they're quite happy to sell their wares there.
LK
They will always sell drugs, the question is do they invest lots of money on development if the path to a return is hindered substantially?
Free healthcare: In Western European countries, health care is, on average, much better than in the US. Heck, for a long time it was better in Cuba.
I am curious as to whether you actually believe that or just want to make a 'point'...maaaaannnn Cuba is an awful God forsaken island that has a hard enough time feeding itself. What the hell makes you think their healthcare is on par with the US? Oh because you read the WHO report a few years back? The one that was (largely) based on "fairness" (or in other words, treatment parity). Sure Cuba comes out ahead. In the US the better off you are the better treatment you get. In Cuba everyone gets the same level of crappy healthcare.
Communism's main industry is the misery of those it oppresses.
Well yes, you do know what the cost will be (which is convenient) but it disguises it a little. If you have to pony up 17.5% on top of the price listed, you can bet that raising it will be considerably tougher.
Americans know (or I hope most do) that a refund means that the government took out more money. I do feel for Europeans w/r/t the petrol tax because that is really brutal (and I thought our petrol tax was high)
That is a smart idea, because that way people will be less aware of the taxes they are paying, very similar to the IRS taking more than they are due to "give" everyone money on April 15th.
Good point! It is at times like these that you stop paying attention to science fiction novelists trying to sell books and start paying attention to kneejerk idealogues running for public office.
Tampa is not a shithole, but the buses don't service the suburbs in any convenient way. I have never done it, so I am not sure where they go in my area. Let me put it this way. I see buses in my home area maybe...maybe once every 3 weeks or so. In the ghetto, they run, but only because the poor people have no other choice.
W/r/t the groceries, I have three stores at the 3km distance. My three are all at the 3km mark (one might be 2 and change). It takes a while just to leave the neighborhood (5 minutes of solid 5km/hr walking). That is one of the costs of living in a house over an apartment.
--Joey
The Myth of American Obsesity Re:in comparison to.
on
Linux Grows 27.1% in China
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· Score: 2, Insightful
For two reasons. One because you're probably the most obese people on earth, which doesn't get any better by you sitting in cars and at desks all day. Getting to the public transportation is tiresome because you don't get the exercise of using public transportation. The 10 minute walk to/from public transportation actually makes a difference.
Kjella, I think we have spoken before, you are Norwegian right? I recently got back from a trip to Europe, so I would like to point out a few things. One, Americans are not that fat. I saw plenty of fat people while I was in Spain, Italy and yes, even Norway. The main difference is that there are more truly obese people in America than in other countries. The average guy in the US is just slightly more overweight than the average guy in Europe from my experience. (Actually, my experience was that the British I met on the continent, were fatter than the Americans I met there). In fact, several times I was the one suggesting walking here or there, when others wanted taxis.
The 10 minute walk to public transportation is why New Yorkers are more in shape. I agree with you there. The problem is that even in a big city, such as the one where I live (Tampa, FL), my work is at least 15-20km away. By car, it takes 15 minutes to get there. By public transport, I would have a 20 minute walk (I know many people, who couldn't even get out of their neighborhood in 20 minutes of walking), a 1 hour trip and then a half an hour walk back to my job site. So almost two hours, and when you arrived you are soaked in sweat...assuming that you don't have to change buses. Because it is predominantly poor people riding buses (not as true in really large cities) the bus stops are in bad neighborhoods and are usually dangerous. Not my idea of a good time. Nor would it be yours. Many Europeans asked me about this subject while I was there, and I think I figured it out. Europe is conducive to losing weight. I dropped 40 pounds (~20 kilos) in 9 weeks. Heck, walking in the US, is usually not the safest. The streets are loaded with cars, the sidewalks are next to the road and you are always a sneeze away from being killed. I think the lifestyle difference comes down to two things:
1.) You walk...everywhere. I was averaging 3-4km a day (more or less) 2.) Because of all that walking, you are buying your groceries on a daily basis, this means you are eating fresh vegetables, fresh breads, and generally more healthy food.
Secondly, you don't have much of public transportation because noone would use it. Why should you, your car gets you where you want at almost no cost at all, and I admit the convienience of going exactly when you want it to go, to exactly whereever you're going is an advantage.
It is a HUGE advantage! In Europe, it is a pain to find a place for your car. Not true in the states. We had measures that dedicated a lane on the highways for two or more passengers. It was still more convenient for people to bypass that opportunity and wait in longer lines, than find someone who works where you do, who is interested in being dependent on you to get to work. Unless you living next to the person, forget about it. A lot of cities have removed them because the added wait times on the commutes were pumping out more pollution.
In order to run it at any profitability, there must be people willing to use it regularly, not as a last ditch emergency when the car breaks down. If you expect public transportation to act as a taxi service on demand, it's not going to happen.
Like I said earlier, people aren't going to use it as long as driving a car is inexpensive. I prefer public transportation. If I lived in Alexandria and worked in DC, I would be taking the metro...it is fantastic! DC is made for that though. Large population, hard to expand the roads etc. Ditto with New York.
If you tell me it can't be done, bullshit. Our population de
Speak for yourself or what ever idiotic group of 20 year old you represent. I don't know any 20ish year olds that consider communism a good idea. The best you can find are people that consider socialism (and by that I don't mean Cuban communism dressed up as socialism, I am talking the Scandinavian style, cradle to grave government involvement style)
We even had "socialists" (read: communists) parked out front of a building on campus (and the liberal arts side of campus at that) and most people thought they were nuts.
How long do you think it takes for policies of a president to get implemented? Remember from civics 101 that congress makes the law (thought frequently at the behest/influence of the president).
Bush was in office for roughly 8 months when 9/11 happened.
Don't let the facts get in the way of your anti-Republican stance however.
I'll do you one better. One time a guy from Switzerland said that he met a fellow Swiss and they were speaking in their native tongue (I am guessing Romanch?). After struggling for a little while, one pops in with "Do you speak English?"
"Yeah,::laughs::" and they continue on.
I had a similar experience with two Indian brothers. They usually speak in their native tongue, but at times their language does not have certain words, so they switch to English. I think English is one of the best languages (in terms of variety of words) even if it is not the easiest (my vote would be for Norwegian)
Oh and No, people won't learn to retype for a new keyboard unless they have to. Hell, I gave my mom Suse and she freaked out when there was no start button.
No kidding. Maybe he doesn't understand how it works because he is a doddering old fool who is still under the delusion that he is relevant outside of his house.
Slashdot Mirror
How about we abolish the tax on corporations, so the incentive to outsource is lessened?
What did you major in? In Electrical Engineering my friends and I had to work for Bs
--Joey
I am *Hispanic and the 1st generation born in the United States. I have received Affirmative Action. I have blond hair (or did, it is brownish now), blue eyes and skin so white that anything less than 80SPF is bad news.
Tada!
Affirmative Action is the assumption that all people of a certain ethnicity are the same and different from people that are not of that race. This is obviously not true.
BTW if we follow your logic, how about blacks of other countries?
If Blacks are in the situation they are in as a result of history (which I agree with, btw) then why continue to offer a helping hand to blacks that have "made it"?
The way to make Affirmative Action more equitable is to discriminate on economics instead of race as the GPP suggested.
--Joey
*I hate saying that. I am a freakin American. I have little in common with non American Hispanics.
How _OLD_ are you exactly? Frittering?
--Joey
I would guess that "math" works out like this:
Surveys show Linux downtime per year is 6 days a year compared to 5 for Win2k. 6-5=1 1/5 = 20%.
The writer (either?) does not understand English or Math.
--Joey
Point taken, but the more substandard the service the greater the complaints which will ultimately hurt the company outsourcing the work. It is just one more factor for others thinking of doing the same.
--Joey
Windows XP FireFox 1.5.0.3
No problems.
Back on topic, it should be no surprise that Indian wages are on the rise. While there are a billion people not all of them are qualified to take every job.
Take tech support. If you are answering phones, you can't be merely functional in English you must be completely fluent and familiar with the culture, the idiomatic expressions, and, now, even adopt the American accent. The low hanging fruit has been picked. If you want talented people in India, the word is out, you got to pay more...or you have to in turn outsource to poorer countries.
--Joey
There are plenty of "drugs" that are never sold, that never get FDA approval. That money is already baked into the pie.
--Joey
They will always sell drugs, the question is do they invest lots of money on development if the path to a return is hindered substantially?
--Joey
I am curious as to whether you actually believe that or just want to make a 'point'...maaaaannnn Cuba is an awful God forsaken island that has a hard enough time feeding itself. What the hell makes you think their healthcare is on par with the US? Oh because you read the WHO report a few years back? The one that was (largely) based on "fairness" (or in other words, treatment parity). Sure Cuba comes out ahead. In the US the better off you are the better treatment you get. In Cuba everyone gets the same level of crappy healthcare.
Communism's main industry is the misery of those it oppresses.
--Joey
Well yes, you do know what the cost will be (which is convenient) but it disguises it a little. If you have to pony up 17.5% on top of the price listed, you can bet that raising it will be considerably tougher.
Americans know (or I hope most do) that a refund means that the government took out more money. I do feel for Europeans w/r/t the petrol tax because that is really brutal (and I thought our petrol tax was high)
--Joey
That is a smart idea, because that way people will be less aware of the taxes they are paying, very similar to the IRS taking more than they are due to "give" everyone money on April 15th.
--Joey
Good point! It is at times like these that you stop paying attention to science fiction novelists trying to sell books and start paying attention to kneejerk idealogues running for public office.
--Joey
Tampa is not a shithole, but the buses don't service the suburbs in any convenient way. I have never done it, so I am not sure where they go in my area. Let me put it this way. I see buses in my home area maybe...maybe once every 3 weeks or so. In the ghetto, they run, but only because the poor people have no other choice.
W/r/t the groceries, I have three stores at the 3km distance. My three are all at the 3km mark (one might be 2 and change). It takes a while just to leave the neighborhood (5 minutes of solid 5km/hr walking). That is one of the costs of living in a house over an apartment.
--Joey
Kjella, I think we have spoken before, you are Norwegian right? I recently got back from a trip to Europe, so I would like to point out a few things. One, Americans are not that fat. I saw plenty of fat people while I was in Spain, Italy and yes, even Norway. The main difference is that there are more truly obese people in America than in other countries. The average guy in the US is just slightly more overweight than the average guy in Europe from my experience. (Actually, my experience was that the British I met on the continent, were fatter than the Americans I met there). In fact, several times I was the one suggesting walking here or there, when others wanted taxis.
The 10 minute walk to public transportation is why New Yorkers are more in shape. I agree with you there. The problem is that even in a big city, such as the one where I live (Tampa, FL), my work is at least 15-20km away. By car, it takes 15 minutes to get there. By public transport, I would have a 20 minute walk (I know many people, who couldn't even get out of their neighborhood in 20 minutes of walking), a 1 hour trip and then a half an hour walk back to my job site. So almost two hours, and when you arrived you are soaked in sweat...assuming that you don't have to change buses. Because it is predominantly poor people riding buses (not as true in really large cities) the bus stops are in bad neighborhoods and are usually dangerous. Not my idea of a good time. Nor would it be yours. Many Europeans asked me about this subject while I was there, and I think I figured it out. Europe is conducive to losing weight. I dropped 40 pounds (~20 kilos) in 9 weeks. Heck, walking in the US, is usually not the safest. The streets are loaded with cars, the sidewalks are next to the road and you are always a sneeze away from being killed. I think the lifestyle difference comes down to two things:
1.) You walk...everywhere. I was averaging 3-4km a day (more or less)
2.) Because of all that walking, you are buying your groceries on a daily basis, this means you are eating fresh vegetables, fresh breads, and generally more healthy food.
It is a HUGE advantage! In Europe, it is a pain to find a place for your car. Not true in the states. We had measures that dedicated a lane on the highways for two or more passengers. It was still more convenient for people to bypass that opportunity and wait in longer lines, than find someone who works where you do, who is interested in being dependent on you to get to work. Unless you living next to the person, forget about it. A lot of cities have removed them because the added wait times on the commutes were pumping out more pollution.
Like I said earlier, people aren't going to use it as long as driving a car is inexpensive. I prefer public transportation. If I lived in Alexandria and worked in DC, I would be taking the metro...it is fantastic! DC is made for that though. Large population, hard to expand the roads etc. Ditto with New York.
At the risk of being modded redundant, I too found that hilarious beyond words
--Joey
Speak for yourself or what ever idiotic group of 20 year old you represent. I don't know any 20ish year olds that consider communism a good idea. The best you can find are people that consider socialism (and by that I don't mean Cuban communism dressed up as socialism, I am talking the Scandinavian style, cradle to grave government involvement style)
We even had "socialists" (read: communists) parked out front of a building on campus (and the liberal arts side of campus at that) and most people thought they were nuts.
--Joey
Of course, the [music] industry doesn't exactly support MP3s, legal or otherwise.
--Joey
Probably, but they aren't reading these comments ;)
--Joey
Do you realize/realise that you said 100 GBP? That is a ridiculous price for a hotel in these here United States.
Every Holiday Inn Express (that I have ever stayed at) is roughly 40GBP and they come with a decent breakfast! 100GBP are Disney World prices.
I wish they would show the inside of one of these, or at least a mockup.
--Joey
He also did not say that he wanted the US to control the web. Let me guess...you are anti-American?
--Joey
Right!
Wait, what?
How long do you think it takes for policies of a president to get implemented? Remember from civics 101 that congress makes the law (thought frequently at the behest/influence of the president).
Bush was in office for roughly 8 months when 9/11 happened.
Don't let the facts get in the way of your anti-Republican stance however.
--Joey
English is considered the language of business and international diplomacy.
:)
I think you are right, it just won't be the same English that you and I speak
--Joey
I'll do you one better. One time a guy from Switzerland said that he met a fellow Swiss and they were speaking in their native tongue (I am guessing Romanch?). After struggling for a little while, one pops in with "Do you speak English?"
::laughs::" and they continue on.
"Yeah,
I had a similar experience with two Indian brothers. They usually speak in their native tongue, but at times their language does not have certain words, so they switch to English. I think English is one of the best languages (in terms of variety of words) even if it is not the easiest (my vote would be for Norwegian)
Oh and No, people won't learn to retype for a new keyboard unless they have to. Hell, I gave my mom Suse and she freaked out when there was no start button.
--Joey
No kidding. Maybe he doesn't understand how it works because he is a doddering old fool who is still under the delusion that he is relevant outside of his house.
--Joey